lta. i os USSU Vol. 16, No. 33 <>" FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 1957 Authorised as second class mail by the Post Office Department. Ottawa VANCOUVER, B.C. 10¢ - 10, 000 in Burnaby robbed of vote — CCF The Social Credit government has “robbed” 10,000 citizens in Burnaby of the right to vote in the September 9 byelectipn, a CCF spokesman charged this week. “Inadequate” provin- cial machinery for registration of voters was roundly con- demned by Gordon Dowding, tion was revealed by a house-to- Suppotters. CCF standard bearer in the Upcoming byelection is Cedric Cox, whose program has won € support of many labor and progressive groups includ- ing the LPP. Dowding, holder of one of the seats in the two-member tiding, said CCF workers cov- fred 30 of the 60 polls in the Tiding and discovered that thousands of eligible voters Nad been left off jthe list. Reg- Stration closed on Wednes- day this week. Dowding blasted the short Period — eight days instead Of the usual 14—set aside for Tegistration of voters. “At least 10,000 people have heen left off the list who would be eligible if they knew they Were disfranchised,” he said. “Most citizens thought they Could vote because they were °n the list in the last federal election.” MLA, who said that the situa- house canvass made by CCF Dowding, a severe critic of the government in the last session of the legislature, said that Premier Bennett is “streamlining election pro- cedure to catch everybody by surprise for his own political advantage. This is fine for Socred party politics but it is bad for democracy.’* Burnaby’s provincial elec- tion list stood at 41,337 regis- tered voters in 1952 and at 42,307 in 1956. Yet Burnaby’s population was placed at 58,- 376 by the 1951 federal cen- sus, and at 83,270 by the pro- vincial government in 1956. The voters’ list growth has failed to keep pace with the population increase, Dowding pointed out. “On the basis of population statistics,’ the CCF MLA concluded, “we estimate 10,- 000 eligible voters are being robbed of their right to vote.” SITUATION ‘SE Some 16,000 people ate unemployed in Vancouver, as compared with 11,000 at the same time one year ago. ing for jobs. In addition, thousands of unemployed in provincial points are look- The situation is serious. But William Horrobin, head of the National Employment Service in B.C., is more con- cerned about ‘ ‘scare headlines” than he is about the lack of jobs. While admitting that the situation is “somewhat gloomier than last year” he insists that it is “certainly not calamitous.” When questioned about em- ployment prospects for the re- mainder of the year, he grudg- ingly concedes that he is not “too optimistic.” According to government statistics, the total labor force gainfully employed in B.C. has increased by 20 - 30,000 since last year. But this must be weighed up against the fact that the province’s population has increased by 89,000 in the same period,.an increase large- ly attributable to immigration from other countries. According to Unemploy- ment Insurance Commission officials, the labor force in the province has been expanding faster than the growth of in- dustry. Officials of the Building Trades Council, Canadian Labor Congress, are fore- casting that next winter will see 50-60,000 unemployed in the Vancouver area. -This would be double last winter’s total. Last week, Vancouver City Council called upon the pro- vincial government to “plan something now” for the ex- pected ‘unemployment crisis next winter. In the Labor Gazette of July, 1957, the Federal Department of Labor,~ through its Eco- nomics and Research Branch, was none too optimistic on the prospects for the year. Here is a brief resume as they. picture it: @® In the 11 largest centres, registered unemployed as of June 30 numbered 48 per- cent higher than June 30, 1956. @ As of July 1, areas classi- fied in labor surplus categories accounted for 25 percent of all wage earners, as companred with nine percent a year earlier. There were no labor shortage areas this year. @ The slow rate of increase in employment during the early part of this year can be attributed to reduction in housing, some, slackening in forestry and reduced output in durable consumer goods. TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK B.C. FEATURE ON PAGE 6 @ While non-residential con- struction is up 117 percent over last year, housing con- struction has been drastically cut. At the end of June, 45,- 000 skilled and unskilled con- struction workers were. regi- stered for unemployment in- surance, as compared with 25,- 000 a year earlier. @ Declining auto sales in -May and June caused:a_ 50 percent increase in unemploy- ment at Oshawa and Windsor. @ According to all indica- tions, the future for the pulp and paper industry, west coast lumbering and base metal mining is uncertain at the moment. Statistically, the adds up to this: picture w~ While the labor force is up to six million, some four percent more than a year ago, the number of persons regi- stered as unemployed is up 32.5 percent. w With jobs but on short time, up 68 percent. w Immigration, up 229.4 per- cent. There is every reason to be- lieve that organized labor will face a serious problem this. coming winter, unless government policies are adopted that will open up more opportunities for em- ployment and restrict immi- gration to those who can gain- fully be absorbed without put- ting others on the breadline. One lone girl picket tied up a plant employing 1,000 workers in St. Louis this week. Workers refused to cross the picket line set up by office employee Mary Ann Unnerstall at the Krey Packing Co., who was discharged for joining the union. Leia