“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