BRITISH COLUMBIA Unprecedented unity of forces backing Yorke in Feb. 2 race It’s on. Supreme Court action. by defeated right-wing aldermanic canaidate in last November’s Vancouver city council elec- tions means city voters will go to the polls again, on Feb. 2. But although wealthy Vancouver busi- nessman Philip Owen was successful in his attempt to have the council seat — won for the third time by Ald. Bruce Yorke — declared vacant, strong predic- tions are that Owen’s court victory will ultimately leave a bitter aftertaste follow- ing the Saturday vote. * Qwen’s action has united the city’s trade unions, community organizations, churches, ethnic groups, political parties and the left and centre civic force sin a manner that outpaces even last fall’s unprecedented Those forces packed a meeting at the Maritime Labor Centre Dec. 13 and gave their unanimous and undivided support to the candidacy of the alderman from the Committee of Progressive Eelctors. It was, COPE officials said later, “his- tory in the making.” Even as the phones were being installed in the new COPE campaign headquarters, also in the Maritime Labor Centre, the new alliance was picking the ground on which the Feb. 2 race will be a fought. A key issue will be democracy. “The citizens wanted a certain result from November’s election. they got it when they re-elected the progressive majority to council, and now that’s been snatched away from them by a narrow legal technicality,” said Yorke after the In her ruling, Justice Patricia Proudfoot decided that the key phrase in Sec. 73(1) of the Vancouver Charter that ruled voters must “swear or affirm” their eligibility required some form of verbal exchange - between election officials and the voter. Also planned to bring that issue before the public is the tentatively named “citi- zens coalition for civic democracy,” an independent body that will likely involve trade unionists, community leaders and religious leaders. The other key issue, is of course, the survival of council’s progressive majority. With the backing of labor and several con- stituency associations of the New Demo- cratic Party and the B.C. Communist Party thousands of volunteers from the forces aligned with Mayor Mike Harcourt and his running mates and those from COPE merged their efforts to achieve the final success on-election day. Elected, along with Harcourt, who defeated ex-cabinet minister Bill Vander Zalm by a 2-1 margin, were COPE alder- men Harry Rankin, Bruce Eriksen, Libby Davies and Yorke, and Harcourt’s running-mate Ald. Bill Yee. “People should know that a vote for Yorke is a vote for Harcourt. He’s part of the progressive majority that’s keeping Vancouver working. A vote for Owen, on the other hand, is a vote for Vander Zalm,” Eriksen commented. Almost certain to be on the chopping block, should Owen win at the polls, would be the estimated 300-plus jobs of civic workers. With the exception of one alderman, the right on council has consist- ently voted against the use of city reserves to preserve jobs and services. It is that reality, along with the NPA’s: tactics to re-open the election, that is cre- dited with uniting the city’s diverse labor, . community and religious groupings. Gathering at the Maritime Labor Cen- tre; they included Vancouver Centre NDP MLA Emery Barnes, Vancouver East fed- eral riding president Gordon Larkin, Margaret Birrell, the former NDP leader- ship candidate whose organizational skills helped engineer the large east end turnout Nov. 17, and several representatives of “other city NDP constituency associations. Support from labor included that of the International Woodworkers Vancouver local, the Hospital Employees Union, the Building Trades Council, the B.C. Federa- tion of Labor, the Canadian Labor Con- The upcoming civic battle will be fought on the issue of democracy — democracy that was thwarted by a ‘‘narrow legal technicality,"’ Ald. Bruce Yorke tells repor- ‘ters outside B.C. Supreme Court Dec. 6. Ps TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON gress, the Vancouver and District Labor Council, the port unions (who have already donated the centre’s space for the election campaign) and dozens of others. “They know that behind the NPA stand the Socreds, and that the election effort for myself is part of the whole movement for rejecting the so-called ‘restraint’ policies and the layoffs that entails,” said Yorke later. “The NPA has succeeeded in creating a broader unity than has ever been seen before in civic politics — and I think that unity will pay off, just as it did Nov. 17.” We don’t need Socred gov't’s low-wage ghettos when the government pays all the bills and subsidizes them? The profits would be enormous. ‘ These zones would add nothing to our economy, only distort it. ~ . Only a government with a paranoid fixa tion that the trade union movement and a labor legislation must be destroyed could come up with such a conspiracy to give away public funds and destroy all the gains row money at the going rate of around 12 per cent and then loan it to these wheeler- dealer exploiters of cheap labor at about half that rate.) : It all amounts to one enormous subsidy. _ The public purse is being opened to these modern day pirates and you and I will pay | the bills. This is what the government, in its — confidential document on the subject, calls Despite the strong and determined oppo- sition of-the trade union movement of this province, the Social Credit government is rushing ahead hell-bent with its plans to ~ establish so-called “special enterprise zones” in or adjacent to our west coast ports. Planned for these zones are export indus- tries such as automotive parts, electronics, fine papers, specialized chemical and phar- maceutical products, products manufac- Harry ‘Rankin meant when the minister of industry in a tured from plastics and specialized electronic equipment. In many cases these would-be just assembly plants with the parts imported. The products manufactured or assembled would not necessarily be banned from the domestic market. Unions would be virtually banned from these zones. The industries located there would be exempt from much of our labor legislation. confidential brief to cabinet called for the “provision of inexpensive labor” and “low- cost labor.” Labor-ghetto is not too strong a term to describe these zones. These industries would also be exempt from a wide range of taxes including income tax, capital tax, the sales tax, property taxes, customs duties. In addition these would be provided energy (gas and electricity) at spe- “the creation of an investment climate favorable to foreign investment.” Actually, very few new jobs would be created.. The government’s confidential memo admits that the industries would be - “capital-intensive and high technology” and require only “unskilled and semi-skilled - labor.” The Silicone Valley in California pro- labor has made in the past 40 years. To implement such a scheme thi municipal govrenments such as zoning, property taxes and the provision of servi to these special economic zones. Personally I think the government has under-estimated public opinion in this pr vince. It still thinks that it can convin cial low rates, with land and buildings supp-. lied by the government. ee vides a good example of what happens when such high tech industries ate estab- lished. Workers there get the minimum wage or less and unions are kept out. If such zones are established it could also This could include hours, health and safety regulations, holidays with pay, the minimum wage, compensation coverage and child labor. That is what was really ‘people that recovery will be restored by bashing unions, laying off government employees, privatizing Crown corporations and cutting funds for hospitals and under- mining the whole system. of public educa After all this they would receive low interest loans (the government would bor- Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association 9 East Hastings St. Vancouver. V6A 1M9. 682-0931 HAUEVEVUGAVAUUOUURUUUUEUEHELEGEGEDEUEUAOEUADEAEO AGAR ALOU UGE fighting for progressive municipal government 596-1355 al ea ae edad result in industries in. other parts of the figntl don'tthink:neople are taken in by4 3 Season's fre efings z S eason 5 Gre etin 2S E province moving to these zones. Why nots Symons | with a wish for peace | 2 nd ae ae : | foall our friends | ¢ Best Wishes = | Season’s Greetings from COPE inthefabormovemien! | = for the = ..working to make Vancouver Surrey 3 New Year Z _a better place for working people * Alternative | = toallour friends 3 Call us or drop by the election centre and volunteer Movement = and supporters z dp tel in hells Byelectcn. = = , = 111 Victoria Drive, Vancouver. Telephone: 253-5108 = = = - a hs _ 2 PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 19, 1984 ~