BRITISH COLUMBIA Union housing p B.C.’s private-sector trade union unions are ready to invest up to $400 million in housing construction on the Expo grounds — and the Committee of Progressive Elec- tors is ready to accommodate the project. Union representatives, flanked by COPE mayoralty candidate Harry Rankin, current Mayor and NDP candidate in Vancouver Centre Mike Harcourt, and COPE alder- manic candidates, told a press conference Oct. 16 they were prepared to commit the funds to building some 4,500 units on the False Creek north shore land between the Cambie Street and Granville Street bridges. Rankin pledged that a council with a “progressive majority” of COPE and its unity partners elected would set the process in motion as early as January. ‘““What’s needed is leadership at the pro- vincial, civic and union level. Everything is waiting for the initiative, and in COPE, we have that initiative,” he said. Union leaders are prepared to follow through with their plans irrespective of the outcome of the provincial and civic elec- tions. But, stated one, the success of those plans will depend largely on who is success- ful at the polls. “Our relationship with the city adminis- _ tration has been good. If the Unity slate (COPE and the Civic Independents, both backed by the Vancouver and District Labor Council) — Harry Rankin, Bruce Yorke and company — is elected, then obviously our project has a better chance of success,” press conference chair Roy Gaut- ier said. “Tf, on the other hand, the (Non-Partisan Association mayoralty candidate Gordon) Campbell group gets in, their approach may be more in line with the (high density) development that has taken place in the West End,” the president of the B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council said. Building Trades union representatives Roy Gautier (I).a Bill Clark stand on Cambie Street bridge outside Expo funds in housing project. And, said Gautier, “If an NDP govern- ment is returned, their commitment is much more assured than that of the Socreds.” The unions’ plan, which would commit up to $400 million, or 10 per cent of the estimated $4 billion held in private sector union pension funds, dovetails with cam- paign pledges Rankin has made concerning the development of the Expo lands, which are under the administration of the B.C. Place Crown corporation. Rankin, who has called for north shore development similar to that of the model housing projects on the south shore of False Creek, said city co-operation under his administration is assured if the proposed development includes a mix of housing: one-third each of low-income, medium income and market price housing. He alo stressed that the city will “argue lan bac nd Colin Snell (c) with Telecommunication Workers Union | grounds where unions hope to invest a percentage of their pen Vander Zalm’s royal commission would mean more education cuts Premier Bill Vander Zalm has announ- ced that he will establish a royal commis- sion on education with hearings beginning next year. It was an obvious response to the growing demand led by the B.C. ' Teachers Federation and the New Democratic Party for a commission to thoroughly investigate the declining quality of education in B.C. due to cut- backs in education funding and to come up with some substantial recommenda- tions for improvements. There’s not a chance in the world that any commission established by a Social Credit government, and especially one under Vander Zalm, would make any objective survey or come up with any: progressive proposals. Vander Zalm had something entirely different in mind when he agreed to a commission. The “new” Vander Zalm setting out on a “new course” has made his position on education quite clear on at least three occasions in recent months. On July 16 he told an applauding audience at a Social Credit delegate meeting in Smithers that “the education system doesn’t need more money pumped in.” On Aug. 11 he said he would consider a plan to hand out tax vouchers which would permit taxpayers to direct their taxes to either private or public schools. The obvious result would be the under- mining of the whole system of public education. Well-to-do people would send their children to private schools for quality education; the rest of the people would send their children to a public 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 22, 1986 school system starved for funds and able to provide only a poor education. The tax voucher proposal is taken right out of the program of the right-wing Fraser Institute which continues to conduct an unrelenting campaign againt teachers and public education. The third statement by Vander Zalm on education was made Oct. 1 when he announced his royal commission. Accor- ding to The Vancouver Sun, Oct. 11, he said that he hadn’t decided yet which groups the commission would consult. Implicit in this remark is the idea that some groups will not be consulted. It would be interesting to learn which groups the premier plans to exclude. He also said that the mandate of the commission would be to look into the “excesses of the education system.” This sounds very familiar. Vander Zalm used the same language when he was minister of education — when he was bashing teachers and the whole education sys- tem. ‘ The premier is also reportedly anxious to secure the views of “business” but doesn’t show the same concern for the views of parents, teachers or trade unions. Finally he says he favors a one man commission because a three-man com- mission “might end up compromising some of the facts.” What “facts” is the premier so concemed about? Is he afraid — that a three-man commission might not unanimously discover the “facts” as Vander Zalm sees them? I don’t think we should be under any illusions as to what kind of a commission Vander Zalm will set up and what its duties will be. Any commission he sets up will give him the kind of report he wants and will have little if anything in com- mon with what the people of this pro- vince want — to restore the quality of education to what it was before the Social Credit cutbacks. Any royal commission on education appointed by Vander Zalm would pro- vide him with two other advantages. One would be to postpone any action on the grounds that the report of the commis- sion must be presented first. The other would be to deflect all demands for edu- cation reforms from the government to the commission. The problems facing our education system are no secret. They are known by schools boards, by teachers and by par- ents. The government knows them too. But it is determined to go ahead with its plans to emasculate education, the pro- cess first started by Vander Zalm when he was minister of education. If he carries through his intention of appointing a royal commission, it will be to further that same aim. president sion strongly” that any construction on the a pay at least fair wages. (City counc pict established a fair-wage policy undet W cot all work above the value of $50, oe tracted by the city pays at least the paid the city’s regular, unionized crews: The union heads cited as a precedent recently completed plan the Telecom™ fof cation Workers Union (TWU) 8 development of a block of land across the Expo site near the area known as town. ee “We’re talking about the reallocatiO® capital to socially useful projects. The bas no shortage of capital here, but them» been a shortage of long-range said TWU president Bill Clark. _ of Harcourt praised the “leadership unions” in coming up with the Pm noting that CMHC, the federal ho corporation, has promised B.C: financing for 500 units per year. Rankin said the projects still dept of co-operation from the senior : government. The province must be fed to write down land costs while bot)" and the provincial governments include the project in their respectl¥? housing funds. : The union’s proposal was, perhaps dictably, downplayed by the NPAS bell, a developer formerly with Realty, who claimed the city “rush” rezoning to accommodaté start for the project. ., a Hie His remarks were an indication ght union-proposed development bh city’s realtors and developers by * a Currently, there are few know® place for the north shore site, and B.C: rast little capital to undertake housing ee However, both provincial 0% ativ® spokesmen and B.C. Place represe ysio" professed to be “delighted” with the™” plans. 2 of att That shows a significant chen aoe we tude from the days when B.C: * ae wh? created in the early 1980s — atf co?” property values were soaring ants e row ration envisioned high-density 0” ents fo and high-priced housing develop™ the site. jon be In more recent years the corp? 1a95 worked with city staff to pre the Expo site, including the dja ph development slated for the area # 0 Chinatown. The project concé housing, with some office space. from yale could §