“Well-[-er-Ya See -l-er-” “Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much higher consideration.” — A. Lincola Dec. 3, 1861 People vs money influence real issue on Gabriola By MABEL RICHARDS a issues being fought out in Res into development on abriola Island stand out sharp oe Number one, it is a Bn of people vs real estate eh Number two, itis a envirg of cosseting the Onment in one small section de Ee Province against the Batons of over-use, and righ er three, it is a case of the ts of Regional District a fs nalorities to plan for their ie ’S without government terference, own ramifications of the all Boa Island hearings take in and a Gulf Islands, for Galiano Scale hers are next in line for big- Bstat development if Wildwood i €s is allowed to go ahead Subd; Its gigantic scheme of Smale a former farm into -lot sites for builders. the wareds of people flocked to on anes over the weekend Ming ola. Municipal Affairs calleg or Dan Campbell, who of at hearing on the appeal those. dwood Estates, warned that Ring: representations ~ tape. € hearings were being anythi corded and ‘‘that aBainst y Pou Say may be used should « inevitable that people Nanaj © angry and upset. The alread: Regional District had aDplies turned down Wildwood’s Oia eon pending completion They a plan for the Island. into th ad held public hearings € matter. Metin © Campbell-sponsored Cloge = More than 1,200 letters, letter” 2 hundred briefs, form the de and verbal opposition to doubt tobment proved beyond Which ,. Very real alarm with fact bce on the Island and in region 2 whole Lower Mainland n the 'ewed this latest attack Which Temaining bits of land Measy afford some peace, a Te of clean air, and space. alreag Undreds of lots have "porte een sold at a price With ly as low as $25 down, dinar ank financing. What Set in y Joe would not want to iS ty his Opportunity, if such indeaa °%" a Piece of land? Why Alloweg Was Wildwood ever to push this development as far as it did without it being a sensible and environmentally suitable part of an overall plan? Why indeed did the provincial government allow such sub- divisions when experience had already shown that over- development has to a large extent already ruined North Pender and Mayne Islands? Galiano is next on the list. It is possible that the Social Credit government is anxious to clear Gabriola for development in order to pave the way for MacMillan-Bloedel’s avowed intention of sub-dividing their land on Galiano for development. It is only too well known in this province that when big money asks, they get, and unless Wildwood is stopped in its tracks, MacMillan-Bloedel’s real estate plans for Galiano will come to full flower. Wildwood’s lawyer Alan McEachern is reported to have told the hearing on the weekend that the Islands should be viewed in no way different to Delta, Surrey, White Rock or anywhere else. This is, of course, nonsense. The Islands are, in the matters of recreation, environment, livelihood, soil, water, utilities of all kinds very very different from the already developed areas in the Lower Mainland. It is all too true that land for housing is needed in the Lower Mainland area. There is such land available, thousands of acres of it— being held today by real estate and land speculators. If the government wants to see housing development they can always expropriate this land, just as they have expropriated the farms and ranches of the unfortunate people in the vicinity of their hydro projects; just as the small business men had their properties expropriated for CEMP Investments in Block 42. In the meantime the Gabriola hearings are of utmost importance to everyone in BC: We repeat, it is a test case in the matter of big money influence vs the peoples’ environmental and social welfare. YOUNG REPORT Ground Last week the Prices and In- comes Commission headed by John Young issued its report which was given wide play by the media and political and big busi- ness spokesmen to press their drive for a wage freeze on workers. Following is the front page editorial from last week’s issue of the Canadian Tribune: One by one the moves are being made to prepare the ground for clamping a wage freeze on Canadian workers, which both old-line parties of Big Business fully intend intro- ducing following the federal election. The Prices and Incomes Com- mission under the chairman John Young, which was set up by the Government three years ago and aroused the universal anger of the workers of that time by promoting such an ‘‘incomes”’ policy, has now been taken off the shelf and has presented its report. Carefully trying not to evoke a new wave of opposition, the report says that “‘temporary”’ wage and price controls are ‘‘in certain circumstances’’ sup- posedly ‘‘the least of all evils’ in combatting inflation. The vague wording hardly conceals the definite aim of inflicting the freeze. While the Bennett govern- ment of British Columbia is trying to enforce a variation of the freeze on the workers in the City hail protest Delegates from the Vancouver Welfare Rights Organization and Unemployed Citizens Welfare Improvement Council appeared in city council sessions Tuesday to protest new rulings regarding welfare. In their presentation to council members they said the new rules mean that single employable men and women who have been receiving monthly assistance will now only be eligible for assistance for a maximum 14 day period. This will mean an 8 percent decrease and single people will be unable to meet their rent expenses, forcing them into skid road hotels and boarding houses. The welfare groups point out that landlords are reluctant to rent rooms on a two week basis, where the tenant can give no guarantee of continuous tenancy. Secondly, they point out thtat all single ‘‘employable”’ .people are to be paid on a 14 day basis at $3.35 per day, and people receiving this amount will not be able to afford transportation to look for work, for suitable clothing, or any of the other needs of a person looking for employment. The brief states that the changes in policy were made without any discussion by city council members and without ‘any formal vote. A policy which will affect some 5,000 ‘people should. have been dealt with by council, the welfare groups say, and they urge clarification of Walter Boyd’s dictat. being readied to clamp freeze on workers province, who are stoutly fight- ing back, and similar measures are being undertaken to one extent or another in other prov- inces, the media are being used to “‘soften the ground”’ by propa- ganda intended to ‘‘provide’’ that strikes and wage increases are “against the public interest.” The Toronto Star’s Canadian Magazine printed a loaded ques- Militant strikes in all parts of Canada serve notice that Cana- dian workers will not passively accept a straitjacket. Trade union bodies are all definitely opposed to any wage freeze. Instead the demand is growing for government policies that would take control and guide the economy in the direction of building the country and provid- tionnaire for a ‘‘public opinion~ing jobs and rising living poll’’ on the matter. standard. Po YoU BELIEVE ALL WAGE INCREASES ARE INFLATIONARY? Si ee BRITISH COLUMBIA PRINCE GEORGE — Indian and Non-Status Indians are up in arms here over the charges of Supreme Court Justice J.G. Gould that Indians “have no ability to handle liquor; that all their troubles comes from liquor, and that ‘‘this is not the fault of the white man, it is a lack of self-control by the Indian The Justice made the state- ments in sentencing a juvenile to two years in prison following a shooting incident last March in Fort St. James. Northerners who know the economic and social conditions under which many native people are forced to live, even in isolated areas where liquor is not a problem, are appalled at the statement of Justice Gould. When the boy asked to serve_ his sentence in Prince George where his family would at least be able to visit him, the Justice said Prince George is the last place he should be, and sen- tenced him to the Haney Correc- tional Centre. Several Indian and Non-Status Indian groups have protested the statements of Justice Gould, and in one case demanded that he be dismissed from his posi- tion. * eX PRINCE RUPERT Representatives of the Fisher- men’s Union from Vancouver MY OPINION ALL WAGE INCREASES ARE A COMMUNIST PLOT! ive : | PROVINCE AROUND the met in Prince Rupert on June 15 with UFAWU members whose jobs went up in smoke at the waterfront fire which razed the Oceanside plant in the northern city on June 10. Recommendations adopted at a meeting of Oceanside workers formed the basis for a plan of action submitted earlier to the Fisheries Association’s labor committee. Steps that could be taken now to minimize impact of the blaze on an already critical unem- ployment. problem among fish- ing industry workers on the north coast were proposed: Canadian Fishing Company give a committment that the plant will be rebuilt or replaced and that as many as possible Oceanside workers be absorbed in the interim by other company operations. e Plants such as North Paci- fic, Sunnyside or Namu be reacti- vated this season. elf a surplus of Oceanside workers without jobs still remains, Canfisco should arrange transfers to southern operations wherever possible. The B.C. Association of Non- Status Indians this week wired Prime Minister. Trudeau and environment minister Jack Davis urging that immediate measures be taken to relieve the unemployment crisis created by the fire. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 30,-1972—PAGE 3 sc nesiapsiocniniii vern