ae za Sg i i sec NSM ala a Ri A i Ha SIN UG ei Rae demonstration of 2,000 demanding the release of political Police in the Spanish capital of Madrid last week attacked this - students protesting repression and prisoners. On the same day, in the Basque town of Victoria, police opened fire on a workers and students gathering killing four and injuring 100 and precipitating a massive wave of demonstrations against police violence. COMMISSION INCREASES RATES 20 PERCENT TORONTO — The Toronto Metro Council, the civic government for metropolitan Toronto, refused last week to reverse Toronto Transit Commission fare increases for a period of up to 30 days in order that alternatives to the transit rate hikes be studied. The TTC operates all forms of public transit within the metropolitan Toronto area in- cluding buses, subways and street ears. The decision not to reverse the fare increases came after three hours of discussion in a council meeting which was packed to overflowing by about 600 angry Torontonians opposed to the in- creases. The motion to roll back the increases for a 30 day period was defeated 22-10. Among the opponents of the fare increase was the Metropolitan Toronto Committee of the Com- munist Party of Canada, which ina statement released immediately following the decision to proceed with the hike, said ‘“‘the recent transit fare hike is an attack on low-cost transit and runs counter to every principle of progressive urban planning.” The CP statement called upon the provincial legislature _ to “restore and maintain the grants for public transportation which ‘Defend rent control’ theme of BCTO meet Rent controls are in real danger of being phased out in B.C. is the warning sounded by the B.C. Tenants’ Organization, in an- nouncing a province-wide con- ference of- tenants to be held Saturday, March 20, at 10:00 a.m. in the Fisherman’s Hall. ‘Tenants are faced with a new and ominous situation,’ said BCTO president Bruce Yorke. ““The new government goes along with the landlords’ demands for the ending of rent controls. Rentalsman Clarke is unabashedly cam- paigning in the press for the end of controls, falsely claiming they are responsible for the housing shortage. The press echoes this lie. “Our best defense is an offense,” said Yorke in urging a mass tur- nout of tenants to the conference. “We fully intend to smash the assault on our living standards that would accompany the end of controls,’’ he said. “We intend to organize on a city, neighbourhood and apartment block basis, starting with the conference. In the final analysis this is our only real protection”’,* said Yorke. Yorke said that the BCTO con- ference would not be “‘just another meeting’’, and would be in- strumental in charting a new course of action for the tenants organization for the next year. He said that the agenda would include the organizations annual report which would deal with the ac- tivities and membership of the BCTO, as well as an overview and assessment of the new situation created by the election of a Socred government. “Another area of extreme concern to us,’’ Yorke said, “‘is the revitalization of local tenant councils and increasing our grassroots organization. As well we will discuss proposals for a meeting with attorney-general Garde Gardom and the Social Credit caucus.” He said that other items would be discussed as they arose, and that the BCTO would be conducting election of its officers for the next year at this conference. were once so solemnly pledged by the Ontario government. “The money for this purpose must come from taxation on capital gains and the swollen profits of big business, not from the fare box or further regressive taxes on the dwellings of working people’? the statement declared. The fare increases, originally announced February 19, raise the adult rate from three tickets for $1 or 40 cents cash to five tickets for $2 or 50 cents cash payment. The new rates‘are 20 per cent higher. The increase, though a matter of speculation in weeks previous to its announcement, appeared to be rushed through the transit com- mission in order to head off growing public opposition to the move. Council observers said that it was unprecedented that the TTC should approve of such an increase in fares without first consulting with the Metro Toronto Council, which helps finance its debt, even though the commission is legally entitled to set transit fares at whatever level it wishes. Although the motion to reverse the fare increase, was defeated, two other motions put forward by a member of the reform caucus, John Sewell, did pass. They called for council to undertake a study of alternate ways to get money though a special tax on business, and for council to ask the province for more money for the TTC. The TTC deficit is currently $15 million. In asking council to support his motion, Sewell said that the in- crease had been rushed through Car cavalcade, rally to mark city May Day May Day, 1976 will be marked in Vancouver with a car cavalcade and rally against the federal government wage control program. Chairman of the Lower Mainland Trade Union May Day Committee, George Hew ison, in announcing the theme of this year’s rally said that ‘the federal Anti-Inflation Act is a fraud in that it cannot and will not attack high prices, but merely cut living standards of working Canadians.” He said that the theme of the rally would be ‘“‘Control Prices, Profits — Not Wages.” * Hewison said that the recent announcement of the Anti-Inflation Board's decision to remove “‘the already pathetic special assessment on export profits is further evidence that neither board chairman Jean-Luc Pepin, nor anyone else the federal government may appoint is.either capable of or willing to make the legislation work in the in- terests of Canadians and against the corporate interests.”’ Speakers for the rally have not been finalized, Hewison said, but they would include prominent individuals within the labor movement. He said the car cavalcade would muster at the PNE grounds at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, May 1, and would proceed to John Oliver Secondary School, the site of the 2 p.m. rally. The rally will also include musical entertainment. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 12, 1976—Page 12 without the TTC even being aware of how much money the Metro council had put aside for transit operations for the 1976 fiscal year. He argued that the fare hike goes against stated council policy of trying to cut down on the number of cars in the downtown core and would hit low income people the hardest. Sewell called for a special tax increase instead. Other aldermen speaking in support of Sewell’s motion called for a special mill rate levy on businesses to make up the $15 million needed to cover the deficit. It was pointed out that out of the $120 million which the Metro council pays to the TTC, $100 million comes from the general public while businesses provide only $20 million. oy heer Also cited, was massive public opposition to the rate increases, which was demonstrated by the fact that over 15,000 names were collected in a petition opposed to the fare hike in a little less than one week. _ although two — Luis Otero # es SPAIN cont'd from pg. 1 ; by the democratic Armed Fort Movement, is also of centli concern to the Spanish oa and it has moved swiftly to cr any protest within the armf forces. & Nine military officers, commandant and eight captall were put on trial this week, % cused of membership in | Democratic Military Union. It the first trial of military offid since the Civil War and an dication of the opposition whl has reportedly been grow within the armed forces. The trial itself has also been Sf as a denial of liberalization by new regime as the officers aré be judged by the hated Council War, created by Franco. Lt.-@ Federico Gomez, former mander of the Spanish’Sahara, is). head the military trial. q Most of the officers face § tences of three to eight yea nandez, commandant in the a corp of engineers, and Ferll Ibarra Renes, captain in the” my’s artillery — face sentences twelve years each. The demand of freedom for nine has also figured in the su actions across Spain and the ill Workers Commissions issue@ statement denouncing the Cowl of War and demanding an ené the trials. 4 The Commissions, considél for a decade to be the voice Spanish workers despite thé underground organization, continuously pressed the gové ment for changes. ; Earlier this year they outlil demands for an immediate en! the repression and for the rele of political prisoners; for an end the wage freeze and satisfaction of worker’s demam for a general amnesty; and restoration of trade union democratic freedoms. Commission leader, Marc Camacho, recently released for second time from a Spanish pri emphasized: ‘‘Freedom will not granted by decree, nor will it c? without difficulty. It will be through the Spanish democf@ mass struggle.” BCSF maps cont'd from pg. 1 Sagaris cited Notre Dame University in Nelson which she said was ‘‘the number one example of cutbacks — there they’ve cut out a whole institution.”’ The reper- cussions of that move would be felt much more widely than simply amongst the university’s students she said. Other areas of concern to the BCSF include the threat of cut- backs to services which students rely heavily upon such as transit services, and the threat of massive tuition fee increases, which Sagaris said have been rumoured to go as high as $1000) per year at the universities. A combination of these factors would place ‘“‘post- secondary education in B.C. in jeopardy of virtual foreclosure,’ Sagaris said. The BCSF meeting decided that most of the campaign would be handled by individual students’ associations, by organizing protest actions in their own areas, but that the central body would have a hand in determining the _ overall direction of the protest. Sagaris said that one other area of considerable concern to the BCSF was the ‘unprecedented firing of two members of the UBC board of governors who were representative of the working people of this province.’’ McGeer announced last week that B.C. Federation of Labor assistant secretary-treasurer Clive Lytle campaig and Bing Thom were b®@ removed from the UBC boa governors. Their replacements, Vancoll) lawyer P. R. Brissenden and Greenwood of Kelowna, are si} “businessmen who don’t red represent the commutl! Sagaris said. She said that the BCSF woulé LAKE SAGARIS demanding an explanation fo! action from the departmelly education, as well as demat that McGeer name replace for retiring members of ¢ universities council and V4) community college councils, ¢ Sagaris said would be unable function until replacements named.