MISS

Nidé

Mayor

Owns
200

suites

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1970

Labor hits ‘iron heel’ law

The Vancouver Labor Council
Tuesday night called on the Cana-
dian Labor Congress to launch a
Nationwide campaign for repeal
of the Public Order Temporary

€asures Act. The motion
Adopted unanimously also com-
mended the NDP MPs and others
who voted against the Act.

The new law was forced
through the House by the Liberal
Majority with backing from the

ory MPs. The vote was 174 fer
With 31 voting against. These
cluded 17 New Democrats, 10

Teditistes and four Conserva
tives,

During the debate in the House
the Liberal government rejected
all amendments to limit the
SWeeping powers taken by the
80vernment under the new law,
Which retains almost all of the

Undemocratic features of the.

‘ar Measures Act which it is
aimed to replace.

Under the new law police can
Search without warrants, allow
tention of citizens without
Charge for long periods, grants
€ police extraordinary powers
and suspends many basic civil
li erties,

Although the new law is

Supposed to be a ‘‘temporary

measure”’ which is due to expire
at the end of April 1971,
provisions are built in which
enable the government to extend
the period of its enforcement.
The measure is being debated
by the Senate this week and
approval is expected by the end
of the week. Opposition has been
growing across the country to

COPE candidates are shown in the above group Bhoto as they filed
nomination papers last week for the Vancouver civic election next
Wednesday. Headed by Ald. Harry Rankin (centre) they are from left,

the new act, and the Trudeau
government was determined to
push it through to a vote this
week. —

Last weekend the B.C. pro-
vincial committee of the Com-
munist Party wired NDP leader
T.C. Douglas urging the NDP to
vote against the new repressive
act.

CAMPBELL OPPOSES
TENANTS RIGHTS

Puts landlord profits
before tenants needs

Mayor Tom Campbell, one of the city’s biggest
landlords, who owns 500 suites, voted last Tuesday in

city council to deny tenants the right to vote on money by-

laws.

Showing his true colors as a
representative of the real estate
and big business interests,
Mayor Campbell could only
muster the support of two other
hard-core NPA aldermen —
Adams and Sweeney.

Campbell saw his opposition
to giving the vote to more than
half the population on money by-
laws go down to defeat when a
majority of council voted for the
motion.

Many NPA aldermen voted to
extend the vote to tenants on
money by-laws out of fear that
tenants votes would go against
them next Wednesday.
~ However, there is a great
danger that if an NPA-
dominated council is returned on
December 9 that they will take
steps to sabotage the motion and

- prevent it. from being written

into the City Charter when it

goes before the provincial legis- _

lature in January.

COPE alderman Harry Rankin
has spearheaded the fight for
the amendment to extend demo-
cratic rights to the city’s
tenants.

During last week’s session of
council Rankin pointed out the
average tenant pays $250

property tax a year as a portion
of his rent. The average
homeowner pays only $50 more
when the homeowner grant is
deducted. To deny tenants the
vote is to impose taxation
without representation on them.

Landlord Campbell collects
property tax from his tenants in
the form of rent as do all
landlords, but he is not willing to
give them a voice as to how this
money will be spent.

Although Rankin had pressed
for a motion giving tenants the
vote on all money by-laws, an
amended motion which would
only exclude them from voting
on local improvements, was
finally passed. This victory,
partial as it is, represents a big
advance for democracy in Van-
couver, and in the first place for
the city’s tenants who now make
up more than half the population.

Continuing their fight to block
the tenants from taking part in
the elective process in
Vancouver, many apartment
owners this week tried to stop
COPE election workers from
distributing election material to
tenants. COPE aldermanic
candidate Bruce Yorke charged

See TENANTS, pq. 3

Mitchell (school board); Donald Greenwell (parks board); and
aldermanic candidates Bruce Yorke, Paul Sabatino, Ron Gomez. Fifth
COPE aldermanic candidate Muriel Pandia is not in photo. Also missing
is parks candidate Sidney Shelton.

Edward .leong (parks board); Karl Zuker (parks board); Margaret
Chunn aden Board); Russell Pedersen school board); Rankin; Paul