Sha TE OIE LEER ABE LR RODS tle BRITISH COLUMBIA - SS ae The Sunshine Coast regional district has been declared a nuclear-free zone, whether or not the provincial govern- ment approves of it. The Sunshine Coast Peace Commit- tee, with the assistance of local politi- cians, declared the area nuclear free with a large sign outside the Langdale ferry terminal, Apr. 19 despite a directive from forbidding it. “It was obviously the intention of the whole Sunshine Coast to put up a sign declaring the area nuclear free, and that’s what we’ve done,” regional director Brett McGillivray told the Tribune Sunday. The story behind this mild act of civil disobedience began a year ago, when the Sunshine Coast regional district board of directors voted to declare the area nuclear free, in line with Vancouver and several other B.C. and Canadian municipalities. “Part of that motion called for the erection of signs at the two entrances to the peninsula, the Langdale and Earl’s Cove ferry terminals,” said McGillivray. “Municipalities can do this kind of thing any time they want, because they have control over their streets and byways — but regional districts must apply to. the provincial government for permission.” But the district’s application to the provincial highways minister Alex Fraser . Sunshine Coast n-free despite gov't diktat local branch of the highways ministry was rejected. A subsequent appeal and an application to the office in Burnaby were also rejected, McGillivray related. “For instance, we were told that highway signs ‘must be applicable to the driving task.’ But when you drive around this province, you see all kinds of signs asking you to ‘beware of forest fires’ and other such messages. Those are valuable, _ but so is ours. What could be more valu- able than a declaration of peace?” The appeal process ended with a letter from Fraser informing the district that the nuclear-free zone sign would not be permitted. “Finally, to their credit, the Sunshine Coast Peace Committee erected the sign — and it’s still standing,” he said. The sign, which greets motorists dis- embarking from the ferry at Langdale on the highway heading to Gibsons, simply States: “Welcome to the Sunshine Coast — A nuclear-free zone.” Some 50 people, many of them members of the peace committee, pre- sided over the erecting of the sign, at 2:30 in the aternoon Apr. 19. The affair, covered by local media, was attended by McGillivray, Gibsons alderman Ron Nielson, B.C. Federation of Labor vice- president Joy Langan, and local MLA Don Lockstead, who had raised the issue * of provincial refusal for the sign in the legislature. Council passes Vancouver's 2nd no-layoffs budget Vancouver city council’s progressive majority has passed a 1984 operating budget that saves the jobs of some 300 city workers and keeps services for the city’s residents, with only a modest increase in homeowner taxes. In doing so, they faced a right-wing opposition determined to make political points by painting the progressives — particularly the four aldermen from the Committee of Progressive Electors — as fiscally irresponsible : In the often heated debate at the regular council meeting Apr. 17, the polarity between council’s labor backed forces, who opt for maintaining jobs and services in the face of provincial government cutbacks, and the right-wing aldermen who argue for layoffs while pushing costly megaprojects, became clear. * “In my opinion, the political decision we have to make is that maintaining services and jobs in Vancouver is desirable,” said COPE’s Bruce Yorke during the budget debate. The right had chosen their battleground over two budget issues: the progressive majority’s preference for a 4.5 per cent tax hike, following a decision in the finance committee, and a $7-million transfer from the city’s $400-million property endowment fund, a decision already made last February. The granting of the lease governing direct fish sales from a federal fisheries dock to a private entrepeneur has False Creek fishermen up in arms against a move towards “privatization” by the Min- istry of Fisheries and Oceans. The members of the False Creek planning a petition asking every vessel owner in the vicinity to oppose privatiza- tion in response to part-time fishermen Eric Wickham’s obtaining a lease granting the right to govern direct fish sales to the public on “Float D” of the government marina. : : The lease, a precedent-setting action allowing Wickham the right to charge fishermen up to $20 a day plus a three-per cent surcharge on sales, was granted over the objection of local fisheries officials at the express order of Fisheries Minister Pierre De Bane, said committee spokes- man Dunc Shields. The granting of a lease to Wickham’s company, the Fishermen’s Wharf Market, ' Taises two issues: the displacement of the commercial fishery from False Creek, already under pressure from other sources, and the precedent set by allowing ment marinas. ; Seen in a large context, it is “part and parcel” of the treatened wholesale reduc- tion of commercial fishermen on the fed- eral government agenda, said Shields. “We see this as just an extension of the bloody Pearse Report,” Shields, one of some 500 boat owners in the False Creek area using federal floats to moore their vessels, said. The committee charges that Wickham used undue influence and false pretences to procure his lease. “Wickham and his partners are mem- bers of the Fisheries Advisory Committee and we feel they’ve used their influence to get what they want,” Shields said. “He went around to individual members Fishermen a middle man to govern sales at govern- % o Fishermen’s Committee in Vancouver are |=“ FALSE CREEK FISHING VESSELS. . .owners oppose privatization, fear ouster. of the committee with a petition in favor of direct fish sales to the public in Vancouver. Since no one is against that, people signed it,” he explained. Shields said Wickham used the petition as “evidence” the fishing community sup- ported his plan to be a middle man in fish sales on Float D, at a special meeting of Vancouver aldermen, city officials, fisher- ies officers, Wickham and the False Creek committee Apr. 16. That meeting had been called after the False Creek fishermen appeared before city council the preceding week to argue for a delay in granting Wickham’s applica- tion for a business licence and to urge council to press the fisheries department not to grant a lease until the fishermen had time to gather information on the surprise development. “Mr. Wickham told everybody about his plans except the fishermen he’d be dis- placing,” Shields, who also challenged the validity of Wickham’s lease, told council. Shields told the Tribune the lease was subsequently found to be invalid, as it was signed by a fisheries official lacking the necessary authority. But by the Apr. 16 protest ‘privatization’ eae ease bd Al oie meeting in council chambers, Wickham had a valid lease, signed by the depart- ment’s regional director of the Small Craft Harbors Branch, Warren Parkinson. “Parkinson told a meeting we had of about 100 fishermen that he opposed the lease, but that he’d been ordered to sign by (Fisheries Minister Pierre) De Bane him- self,” said Shields. But the fishermen, determined not to be outsted by the unprecedented privatiza- tion of the federal docks, plan to continue _ the fight, said Shields. And the committee — comprising rep- resentatives of the Pacific Trollers Associ- ation, the Pacific Gillnetters Association, the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, the Gulf Trollers and independent fishermen — have united around a com- mon goal, said Ald. Bruce Yorke. Yorke, who attended a meeting of False Creek fishermen Apr. 18, said the group has agreed that the “Steveston model” — whereby fishermen sell their catch under the direct supervision of the fisheries min- istry at nearby Steveston — should be the one governing all direct fish sales. 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 25, 1984 - That morning aldermen May Brown and ‘Marguerite, Ford, from the centre-right group, The Electors Action Movement, held a press conference to attack COPE for its support for the tax hike, which was on& per cent higher than that recomended by the city’s finance director. gaa In the council meeting, Ald. George Puil of the Non-Partisan Association led attack on the property endowment fund transfer, intimating council’s progressive were fiscally irresponsible, while defending his own record of favoring large scale expensive projects such as the new Cambie Street bridge: . . Describing the bridge as an “asset” while maintaining that earmarking funds 1 ~ ‘maintain jobs -was wasteful, Puil rhetori- cally asked “What are we going to take from the property endowment fund next year — $11 million? If that money isnt taken out, there’ll be a hell of an increase @ taxes.” : In response, COPE’s Harry Rankin reminded Puil of his earlier attempt tO $20 million from the fund to defray costs of the $65-million bridge — a project whi¢ will hike taxes for Vancouver’s homeownels beginning next year. ee Given that, and the fact that council's right wingers have favored the city adopting other costly projects, COPE aldermen tres ent the attempt to portray them as big spenders, said Rankin. — “T want taxes to be as low as possible, said Rankin while noting the debate was really over priority differences between the | progressive and right-wing forces.- Ironically, the wind was taken from the right-wing’s sails largely because of the Cambie Bridge. Just prior to the meeting aldermen learned that tenders for the bridge construction were lower than anticipated, meaning extra money initially budgeted for the project will likely be available for othet needs. ° That meant the tax hike of 4.5 per cent favored by Yorke, Rankin and Ald. Bill Yee at the finance committee meeting the preceding Thursday could be lowered to 3.9 per cent. That was done by reducing the finance committee’s recommended $9-million trans fer from the operating budget into cap! projects to $7.4 million. Insignificant as the move might seem in light of Vancouver $ multi-million dollar annual expenditure, the — transfer is the main reason for this year’s ta¥ _increase. As such, the revised motion that appeared before council should have had the support of council’s right-wingers, who. had argued for a ceiling of $7.4 million and a maximum 3.5 per cent tax hike. But the final vote was 6-4, with COPE’s — Yorke, Rankin, Libby Davies and Bruce Eriksen, and Mayor Mike Harcourt and Yee in favor, while Puil, Ford, Brown and © NPA’s Don Bellamy were opposed. — The TEAM-NPA alliance took issue with the second part of the motion, which called for allocating an additional $1.6 mil- lion to the capital budget in a few weeks time. That’s when it will be clear how much money is available from the Cambie bridge budget, and other possible sources of revenue. The COPE aldermen want that money to go towards city services. : “Tf there’s any money left over from that bridge, I'll move to get it — for parks, for - libraries and other services,” said Rankin. COPE aldermen point out that the capi- tal funds were in effect approved by city voters in the 1982 civic election, during which they passed a plebiscite proposing a four-year capital plan. 7 Brees!