AREA hits statements | by Volrich The Area Representation Elec- tors Alliance (AREA), blasted mayor Jack Volrich this week for his statement that there is “supreme disinterest’? in Van- couver for electoral reform. Volrich held a press conference and issued a press release to make his pronouncement that the public is not interested in the issue, but earlier refused invitations to participate in two debates on area representation organized by AREA, Vancouver Community College and the West End Com- munity Council. “Mayor Jack Volrich should get out of city hall and find out what the community thinks on this issue,” AREA declared in a statement. “AREA has met with over 30 community organizations. The response to our presentations has been very positive, far from the ‘supreme disinterest’ claimed by the mayor.” AREA reiterated its invitation to Volrich to debate the issue on Feb. 25 when AREA will co-sponsor a conference on area representation with Vancouver Community College at its Langara campus. March 9, a conference of com- munity organizations in Vancouver will adopt an official proposal for a ward system. Already the strategy to win a ward system has provoked debate, especially prompted by an editorial in the Vancouver Sun Feb. 4 that was critical of COPE’s Harry Rankin for his opposition to a plebiscite, while applauding the efforts of independents Darlene Marzari and Mike Harcourt for, their work in AREA. The Sun editorial ignored the fact that Rankin and other COPE members initiated the formation of AREA and have been its driving force. But most important, the Sun missed the point that an initiative on a plebiscite at this time, with a TEAM-dominated council, would inevitably result in a ballot similar to that of 1973. That kind of plebiscite would likely produce another setback for area representation, or else a partial ward system which is widely agreed to be a worse system < \ 3 (og } ie ~7 .t = 4 ‘a LN ~ F.L. F .. Labor Intensive Projects LP You remember the LIP program? Well, the prime minister told Bud Cullen what he could do with it, and there you are.... Jobless should follow orders — with a twist Noting that ‘“‘the unemployed must become very visible’ to pressure ‘“‘uncaring governments * to deal with the economic crisis,” the Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association’s Bruce Eriksen has proposed that the unemployed get together and follow government regulations to the letter, but with a twist. Eriksen proposed that the unem- ployed do as federal minister of employment Bud Cullen and provincial human_resources minister Bill Vander Zalm instruct and ‘‘aggressively search for work and document at least six searches per week.” “But with a dif- ference,” said Eriksen, ‘‘all of the unemployed in the different cities and towns should do it at the same time and at the same potential employer’s place of business.” “The British Columbia Develop- place to start,” he said. ‘‘At least they would have to put on more men to deal with the crowd.” Eriksen sent off his proposal to the Vancouver and District Labor Council, the B.C. Federation of Labor and the CLC with a request that they give it some thought, along with other ideas to contact the unemployed and organize - public activity. “In B.C. there are over 100,000 unemployed and only one job for every 28 workers,”’ he said in his letter to the labor bodies. ‘“The provincial government hasn’t done anything about it. In spite of high unemployment, our minister of human resources slanders and maligns the unemployed em- ployable at every opportunity and those seeking assistance from his ministry must provide documented proof of ongoing job searches. “So now it’s time for the people than the present at-large system. ment Corporation would be a good to demand action.” MP pension plan | called scandalous By ALD. HARRY RANKIN The pension plan that members of the House of Commons voted themselves is nothing short of scandalous. Any MP who quits or is defeated after being a member for six Years immediately gets a life pension starting at $4,700 a year. After 10 years as an MP the starting annual pension is $7,800, and if he has been a cabinet minister, then after 14 years as an MP he will begin with $15,000 to $16,000 a year. But that’s not all. The Members of Parliament Re- tiring Allowances Act also provides that when the retired member (whether he retires voluntarily or is retired by the electorate) reaches the age of 60, a COLA (cost-of-living) clauses goes into effect. And it’s a real nice COLA clause too. It doesn’t only provide that his pension will go up in accordance with the cost-of-living increase after he reaches age 60; it provides that his pension will be boosted to make up for all the increases in the cost of living from the time he retired until he reached age 60. If, for example, he retired at age 46 after 14 years as an MP and ‘ cabinet minister, and if the in- flation rate should average seven per cent a year, his pension at age 60 would be $40,600 a year and at 70 would be $79,890. If the rate of inflation would average 10 per cent and that is also a distinct possibility, his pension at age 60 would be over $62,000. That’s still not all! His medicare payments will also be taken care of for life. The plan is . contributed to jointly by the member and the federal budget. But of course it doesn’t pay for itself. The deficits for these huge pensions come out of the federal treasury. Compare that to what our senior citizens get, On reaching age 65 — not 60 — they get (at present rates) $153.43 or $1,841.16 a year. They have no built-in COLA clause — they are dependent on the “‘generosity”’ of the federal cabinet for any in- creases to meet the cost of living. -that most MP’s could sustain The last increase was 10 cents a day! The Canada Pension Plan pays 4 maximum pension of $194.44 4 month (at current rates) oF $2,333.28 a year. Many do not get the maximum and = many (housewives, for example) do not | get any Canada Pension Plan at all. Some unions have been able to win — after years of struggle — 4 pension plan of a few hundr dollars a month for members who retire at age 65. But only a third of Canadian workers belong to unions and many have not yet won pension plans. I can see no_ justification whatever for any MP receiving 2 pension for life after ‘“‘working”’ for only six years. ‘They deserve no special privileges at the taxpayers: expense. They should get pensions at age 65 the same as anybody els¢ who pays into a pension plan and the plan should be self-funding. If they quit or are retired by the voters: before they reach age 65, — they should have to wait until they are 65 before they can get theif pension, the same as anybody else. For MP’s to vote themselves such huge pensions while keeping — the average citizen down to only 4— fraction of what they get is two" faced to say the least. The average — person who works for a living, works a lot harder and under much more difficult and dangerous conditions than any MP. The most” dangerous “‘industrial” accident would be falling off a bar stool. It is to the credit of half of the NDP MP’s that they voted against | » this featherbedding pension plan. It is to the disgrace of the others that they did not. As for the Liberals, Conservatives and Social - Crediters, to expect anything better of them would be naive. These MP’s who voted them: selves such a munificent pensiol for life are the same ones who aré screaming about people cheating on unemployment insurance an welfare. If the term ‘‘welfaré bum” applies to anybody, it cel tainly applies to these MP’s. e’re not exactly sure why (and Dorothy Vint, our bookkeeper is even more puzzled since it was addressed to ‘‘Mr. D. Vint’’) but the Royal Insurance Company sent us a letter this week which, apart from extrolling the virtues of free enterprise, ‘‘earnestly solicited” our support. Now the letter didn’t nail down exactly what it was they wanted our support for, but the tone adopted by the writer — Alan A. Horsford, the president and chief executive of- ficer, himself — fairly drips with the “‘virtue”’ of the free enterprise peddler. He talked of the importance of con- sumers being given ‘“‘a choice between government and free enterprise,’’ about his sincere belief ‘‘that his company’s insurance in optional coverage is better off than that of- fered by ICBC,” and that ‘‘free enterprise automobile in- surance is alive and well in British Columbia — and is anxious to prove itself.”’ That last comment gets to the heart of the matter, of course. Together with its letter blitz, and the huge billboards crying ‘‘Choose’’ that have suddenly proliferated in the Lower Mainland, Royal Insurance is making the push to get back into market for auto insurance from which they were rightly evicted five years ago as the NDP government responded to a long standing popular demand. And the present government in Victoria is paving the way. Rest assured, however, they won’t get our support, despite the ‘‘earnest’’ appeals. Nor will they get the support of the motorists of this province who emptied their pockets long enough for private insurance companies. If the rates are bad under a Socred government, they’ll get even worse if private insurance is allowed back again. Despite that free enterprise cover, insurance is big business — and Royal is bigger than most. Together with Horsford on the board of directors are directors of some of the largest corporations in the country including the Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bell Canada and the CPR. And two of them are also on the board of Sun Life Assurance Company which has already gained notoriety in Quebec. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 10, 1978—Page 2 na ‘PEOPLE AND ISSUES iftieth anniversaries are events usually celebrated to honor great moments in history or to mark the achievements of institutions like newspapers or political parties. But last Saturday in Vancouver, a different kind of 50th anniversary was celebrated, in honor of a marriage whose 50 years make it an institution inits own right. The anniversary was that of Lil and Ben Margolese, a couple who have contributed more than a little to the history of the progressive movement, both in Canada and the United States. The 100 people who turned out to wish them well at the banquet sponsored by the Committee of Progressive Electors, were only some of the many friends. that Lil and Ben have won since coming to Vancouver in 1953. Among those who brought special greetings to the celebration were COPE’s alderman Harry Rankin who brought Lil and Ben into COPE as foundation members in 1968. On two occasions since then, Ben has been called on to take the mammoth job of campaign manager for civic election campaigns. The Margoleses are equally well known in the progressive Jewish community in Vancouver, and’ Ben Chud of the United Jewish People’s Order was present to voice congratulations. * * * qe: anniversary of no small significance will be marked this Saturday, February 11, when former Tribune editor Tom McEwen marks his 87th birthday — and looks back on a good many years of struggle as a Workers Unity League organizer, a Communist Party leader and a one-time inmate of Kingston Penitentiary, charged along with seven other Communist leaders, under the infamous Section 98. Although he retired as Tribune editor eight years ago, Tom continued to write a column until 1976. Ill health finally compelled him tp put down his pen but the long associatio? was renewed even for our new readers when, in our yeal- end issue of 1977, we reprinted an article of his on Pa Bunyan. We join with Tom’s family and many friends throughout the labor movement in extending our best wishes. * * * f readers have sometimes wondered how the address labels get attached to the paper that comes to them each week, the answer is that it is one of the traditions of the Tribune. Every Thursday, just as has been done for many years, our volunteer mailers come by the office and spend the afternoon wrapping and labelling papers in preparatio® for mailing. Without them, the paper just wouldn’t get out. Now they tell us they could use some extra help. Natural attrition has reduced their ranks and the number of papers that have to be mailed has been going steadily upward (something we ardently hope will continue). If you can spare a Thursday afternoon, or even spend a hour or two, drop by the Tribune office or phone us at 251° 1186. Apart from carrying on a long tradition at the paper: you’ll have good company, good discussion — and a part in getting a good paper out to its readers. —TWIsONE Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C, V5L 3X9 Phone 251-1186 Subscription Rate: Canada, $8.00 one year; $4.50 for six months; All other countries, $10.00 one year Second class mail registration number 1560