BRITISH COLUMBIA College actions assail Socred cuts The protest against government cuts to the universities and colleges moved into high geear last week as students, faculty and support staff staged rallies and marches across British Columbia. An all-day phone in to Premier Bill Ben- nett and other cabinet members and on ongoing postcard campaign also marked the provincial day of concern Mar. 19 on several campuses, most of which are members of the Pacific region of the Cana- dian Federation of Students. The demonstration centred on a five-per cent cut to the 1985-86 budgets of both colleges and universities, which campus leaders point out come on the heels of four years of continuous cutting that has eroded services and made it increasingly difficult for low-income earners to attend post- secondary institutions. One of the largest demonstrations took place at the Langara campus of the Van- couver Community College, where some 1,000 students rallied in the main square before marching to the constituency offices of local Socred MLAs Russ Fraser and Ste- phen Rogers. The rally had been preceded at 7 a.m. by a demonstration of some 200 Langara stu- dents and staff on the Oak Street bridge, CIP fight wins pay Nineteen: months of hard work paid off for some 200 welfare recip- ients who Friday collected back pay from a special program cancelled by the Ministry of Human Resources. The amounts varied, but for Denis Jensen — the Vancouver downtown eastside resident who performed a live-saving door-knocking _ service under the former Community Invol- vement Program — it was $500 in much-needed funds. The next battle is to procure back pay for the other 2,300 people improperly cut off from the $50-per month payment in September, 1983, said Sue Harris, chair of the CIP Fightback group. “Tm not sure how much effect the last victory will have on this case, but itll help,” Harris, a community worker with the Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association, said. The problem for the other 2,300 former CIP volunteer workers was their failure to appeal the cutoff within 30 days of the last cheque, said Harris, whose group is planning further court action — possibly a class action suit — in the near future. CIP Fightback, a Solidarity Coali- tion member group, won its case on the grounds that the ministry failed to remove the regulations covering the program following its cancellation. The next case will also rest on ministry bungling, said Harris. Some offices denied CIP claimants the necessary forms to appeal the cutoff, on order from Victoria, she said. “They don’t have the right to refuse appeal forms,” Harris, who has talked to some 50 former CIP volun- teers affected, said. The 19 months of court battles involved an initial victory for the CIP group, a subsequent loss when the government appealed the verdict, and a final win in the B.C. Supreme Court Feb. 4. The group demonstrated out- side MHR regional offices Mar. 1 over the ministry’s failure to pay the retroactive benefits. The ministry subsequently removed the regulation governing the program after CIP Fightback’s recent victory. 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 27, 1985 where commuters honked their car horns in support of the anti-cutbacks messages on placards, said Langara student society representative Tami Roberts. At the noon rally classes emptied as speaker Paul Mendes urged students to join the protest and sign the petition, which organizers say garnered some 2,000 signa- tures. The petitions bore five demands on issues that figure prominently in the Socred government’s chronic underfunding of all education. The demands included: @ Restoration of funding to at least the 1982-83 levels; e@ An account of where federal funds earmarked for post-secondary educaiton are going; @ Reinstatement of the bursary program in student financial aid; @ Recognition and respect for the “necessary historical autonomy of post- secondary institutions in education mat- ters;” @ Rescission of the legislation eliminat- ing “elected representation” on the college boards, and new legislation allowing the community to elect all board members. ““We’re sick and tired of (Education Min- ister Jack) Heinrich saying the federal money is ‘going through the sytem’ without saying what they’re spending it on,” said Mendes, noting the Socreds have been cha- nelling some of the federal transfers for post-secondary education into general revenue. Education autonomy has also become the focus in the education funding battle as educators have accused Victoria of using a “carrot and stick” aproach to financing, by promising to reward institutions that cancel some programs and departments. During the boisterous rally students unfurled a long scroll from a third story window that read, “‘Can you hear us now, Mr. Heinrich?” — a reference to the minis- ter’s claim that the government hadn’t heard any complaints from students over education financing. Taking up Heinrich on his comments, students telephoned the offices of Heinrich, Universities Minister Pat McGeer and Pre- mier Bill Bennett from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on New Act The provincial deficit this year, according to government forecasts, will be $1 billion. Actually it could be much higher. Govern- ment policy seems to be to underestimate the deficit each year. Last year for example, it was $300 million higher than the budget forecast. Counting the debt of Crown corpora- tions, for which the provincial government is responsible, the total provincial debt is almost $17 billion today compared to a surplus of $542 million in 1979. The government pays more than $1 million a day in interest charges on its debt. To finance its pet megaprojects such as B.C. Place, Expo 86 and ALRT, the government and its Crown agencies will this year borrow $2.3 billion. Defying all of the above facts, Finance Minister Hugh Curtis in his budget speech had the temerity to pat himself on the back because of what he alleged was “the success of our restraint program in bringing the deficit under control.” Why is the deficit growing at such a rapid rate? For one reason only. Each year the government cuts corporate taxes. This year is no exception. Ata time when the government is cutting funding for public educations and universi- ties and health care, when it is borrowing ‘ ‘money to finance its megaprojects, when it is borrowing money to pay $1 million inter- est a day, it gives a $1 billion tax break to the big corporations! That tax break is a gift from your pockets and mine into the pockets of the big multinational corpora- tions in this province. . Langara student Paul Mendes addresses rally before some 1,000 march on office of Vancouver South Socred MLAs Stephen Rogers and Russ Fraser, during post secondary students’ day of concern Mar. 19. the day of concern, reported CFS organizer Donna Morgan. She said that students from Douglas and Kwantlen colleges demonstrated at the Pat- tullo Bridge spanning the Fraser River between News Westminster and Surrey. Actions also took place at Simon Fraser University and Capilano and Cariboo Col- leges, and Malaspina College, while not a -CFS member, held a walkout and patch at noon, she noted. On Thursday, University of British Columbia students held a candlelight vigil outside Senate chambers as senators filed in to decide on course cuts in light of the five- per cent shortfall that precipitated the resig- nation of university president George Pederson. Action also took place at the University of Victoria, where the second high-ranking educator to defect from a B.C. university, Len Burton, resigned as head of the fled- gling engineering school, citing broken government promises of adequate funding. Students leaders are also incensed at comments by McGeer in the legislature last week that colleges were recieving the same To cover up this shameful theft from the public purse, the Social Credit government tries to make us believe that these tax breaks will create new jobs. That is not only utter economic nonsense, it is the worst kind of political deception. That $1 billion tax break to the corporate giants who control our resource industries will not create one new job. Whether or not these resource industries expand or contract their operations depends entirely on markets and prices, not on tax breaks in BC When the government takes $1 billion out of its revenues to give to corporations, Harry Rankin this money has to be made up somewhere else. The only two sources are more taxes on working people, cuts in services to people, or both. And that is exactly the path the government is taking. It increased taxes on people in this budget and they will be increased even more in the next one. It is continuing with its cuts in education and health care. The cuts in these two fields alone this year will result in the layoff of several thousand teachers, school support staff and hospital support staff. So the end result of Premier Bennett’s gift of $1 billion to the corporation is not only funding as in the previous year. Morgan suggested the minister was playing with fig: ures. She said McGeer was likely referring t0 special adjustment funds made available this year, “which we think are mainly usé for separation pay to those laid off. W certainly won’t see that money next year. This year’s funding cut, which follows four previous years of cutbacks, is $1.5 mil- lion for the whole college, with $1 million of that chopped from Langara’s budget. Foul teen layoff notices have been issued to sup” port staff, Low said. She said the student protest has received the active support of college faculty and support staff, members of the Vancouvef Muncipal and Regional Employees Union. “And the community should be thanked for the support they’ve shown for our demon strations.” Morgan said the postcard campaign is} continuing, and the CFS executive, consist ing of representatives from all ‘member campuses, will meet at the end of this month to plan further actions. is ‘protection racket that it will not create one new job, it will | result in the loss of several thousands exist ing jobs. But the premier and his cabinet of yeat round scrooges aren’t content with hand- outs from the provincial government to big business. They have introduced two bi into the legislature called (what could bé more phoney?) the Provincial-Munici Partnership Act. Any municipality entering into this part nership with the provincial government be compelled to grant new industrics exemptions of at least 50 per cent of theif property taxes, 50 per cent of their educa” _— tion taxes and a reduction in business — licence fees. Furthermore the provin government will give these new businesses 4 | generous reduction in their electricity rates Since the municipalities concerned still be expected to service these new busi- ness, what this means is that they will in fact _ be subsidizing them and the money for this | subsidy will come from taxes on homes. This new Provincial-Municipal Partnel ship Act has all the earmarks of a protectio® racket with the provincial government play’ ing the role of enforcer. The 1985 provincial government budget makes clear that (a) this government 15 determined to keep on with its policy 9 giving tax breaks and subsidies to big bust ness; (b) this government is determined tO make the people pay for these tax breaks and subsidies by increased taxes and cuts i social programs; (c) we are going to sink — deeper and deeper into economic dep sion with still further loss of jobs.