VANEGUVER Plans for NDP group threatens civic unity According to press reports a group of Vancouver NDPers will be meeting on Oct. 24 to consider setting up an NDP municipal organization to run NDP can- didates in next year’s civic elections. If that path is followed it could lead to asetback for the progressive civic reform forces in this city. In the 1980 civic election, NPA control of city council was broken. That was the result of two factors: (1) the right wing forces that support the NPA were divided and running candidates against each other; (2) the progressive reform forces were united under the umbrella of the Vancouver and District Labor Council. In the 1982 election, agreement was reached that COPE would run only seven candidates for council while a group of NDPers would run three for council and Harry Rankin Michael Harcourt for mayor. The Van- couver labor council called for election of this whole slate. So did COPE. But the NDP group did not reciprocate., In spite of that, COPE elected four and the NDPers two, giving us a majority on council. While the six of us haven’t seen eye to eye on all issues, we have been able to introduce progressive policies such as balancing the budget without the cut- backs in services and layoffs demanded by TEAM and the NPA. The NPA and its big business sup- porters have learned their lesson. This with one united slate. But isthe unity that “~ was established in 1980 by the progressive reform forces now to be thrown out the window? COPE was set up by the Vancouver and District Labor Council in 1968 as a result of its decision June 18 that year to convene a joint meetng of “labor, ratepayer groups, the New Democratic Party, and other interested groups to establish a base to enter municipal politics.’”” The NDP, however, never of- ficially endorsed COPE, although some of its members joined and many of its supporters voted for COPE candidates. In 1970 the Vancouver Area Council of the NDP ran half a slate of candidates. So did COPE. But because there was no unity between them, the only successful candidate was myself. In 1972 the NDP and COPE each ran a full slate. Again, I was the only one elected. In 1974 each group, again, ran half a slate with the same result. In the meantime, however, the NDP did have two members on council: Michael Harcourt and Darlene Mazari, both from TEAM. In 1975 the NDP made an abortive attempt to take over TEAM, which is controlled by the Liberal Party. After that failure, it stayed out of municipal elections in 1976 and again in 1978. The Vancouver Area Council of the NDP, which had pro-. moted a policy of disunity, was also abolished. Is this history to be repeated once more? Has nothing been learned from the past? Surely, the lesson is clear: united we can make gains; divided we'll get nowhere. COPE has always advocated and worked for unity since the day it was born. The Vancouver and District Labor Council has also striven hard to bring . about unity of the progressive reform forces. Surely, the lesson of Operation idarity.and Solidarity Coalition isthat - .we are strong if we are united!.. Let’s remember this: The NPA is the direct representative of the Social Credit government on Van- couver city council. And TEAM is its close ally. If the NPA and TEAM win the next election, we will have the same kind of cutbacks and layoffs in Vancouver that the provincial government has in- troduced in its jursidiction. _ The only way they can be defeated is by unity of all the reform forces. + opat—sc y ay Bylaws, signs to note | Vancouver n-weapons free zone declaration Vancouver city council has put teeth into its nuclear-weapons free zone declaration with bylaw amendments that make nuclear weapons illegal within city boundaries. And the city will advertise that declaration with a series of signs at major city entry points, a plaque at city hall and an ap- propriate logo on the postage meter cancellation stamp on outgoing city hall mail. Additionally, the city will host the Hiroshima-Nagasaki display on the effects of nuclear bombing on those Japanese cities in the near future following the adoption of all recommendations from its Nuclear- Weapons Free Zone Steering Committee, at council’s weekly meeting Oct. 18. The committee, consisting of chairman Ald. Libby Davies and aldermen Don Bellamy, Margueritte Ford and Bruce Yorke, was established following council’s declaration Apr. 19, to tender practical pro- posals for implementing the declaration. Coming as they did on the eve of the Inter- national Day of Nuclear Disarmament, the council gave a significant boost to the Van- couver peace march Saturday. A majority of aldermen approved amend- ments to the zoning and development bylaw, which now prohibits! ‘the manufacture, distribution or storage of nuclear weapons or their components” on city land, and the fire bylaw, under which it is now ‘unlawful for any person to store or transport nuclear weapons or their components within the ci- IVa oat: cee ~ Since the city council has no authority over the port area, a third motion directed the city to advise the federal government and the Vancouver Port Corporation of the nuclear-weapons free declaration and urged that ‘‘appropriate legislation be introduced to ensure that no ship carrying nuclear weapons or components enters or is off- loaded in the Port of Vancouver.”’ The motions won strong support from council, with the exception of right-wing aldermen Warnett Kennedy and George Puil, who called the committee’s recommen- Mx people in the progressive movement who have seen the commercial media all but disregard the Communist Party of Canada — ignoring conventions and public meetings and giving only one-line references to CP election campaigns — must have found it a little curious to see a photo of Communist Party demonstrators appear in the Vancouver Sun Oct. 17. It would have been nothing out of the ordinary except that the photo was not of a CP event but of the 60,000-strong Solidarity Coalition march Oct. 5. Was the photo chosen because it summed up the breadth, size and spirit of the historic march? Hardly. No doubt the editors, echoing the government’s oft-quoted position, decided that Solidarity was a movement made up only of those “‘who lost the last election’’ and others on the left. The photo was run to reinforce that view. The incident has typified much of the media approach to the Solidarity Coalition over the past several days. On the day of the march itself, the reporters who were dispatched by their editors to congregate outside the Hotel Vancouver almost outnumbered Social Credit convention delegates who were sion. As some indicated, they were assigned, actions of the Solidarity Coalition as it again made history, but to and demonstrators. Virtually all of the reports featured Premier Bill Bennett’s dismissal of the mass protest as the main item. Scant few of the reports even noted who the Solidarity speakers what they said. And none of them reported People’s Charter that was adopted by all of those present. * * * ee eee which greeted the first issue of Solidarity Times which appeared on Vancouver streets Oct. 15, the same day as the Solidarity Coali- tion march. Edited by local author and college instructor Stan Persky, the paper was launched with an initial grant of $50,000 and backing founders hope to establish a broadly-based alternative newspaper nett government. watching the proces- not to document the rest were at therally — or the substance of the PEOPLE AND ISSUES ‘ROU RR Seti rt ce ver aren cre peaeae ta anna which will reflect the same diversity as the Solidarity Coalition. The first issue set out to realize that promise in its 24 pages, with several articles on various aspects of the Solidarity campaign together with features on kids on the breadline and author Margaret Randall as well as lighter piece on baseball and the rock group The Blasters. The Solidarity Times faces a uphill battle — as we know — to keep publishing. There are the inevitable problems with the post of- fice and the formidable financial burden of printing a weekly newspaper. But we need more alternative native media in this pro- ~ vince and the launching of the Times is a welcome development. * 5 eoedis ‘ * inally, also on the subject of the media, an editorial in the - Oct. 22 Financial Post should dispel any ideas that big business in this country is not fully behind the legislative program of the Ben- The suggestion has been made that some among the corporate elite may have misgivings about the Socreds’ budget or that they would prefer that the government back off somewhat from ts legislative attack. The Post’s editorial — significantly timed to come several weeks after the budget was introduced and just after Bennett addressed businessmen in Toronto — should lay such suggestions to The headline — ‘‘Bill Bennett’s on the right course’’ — and the second paragraph tell it all: ‘‘Perhaps some of this (the protest) could have been avoided if Premier William Bennett and his govern- ment hadn’t thrown down the gauntlet so forcefully in their legislative package. Some bills appear to have been drafted too hastily. But having said that, it is quite clear that the direction in which the government is going is one that is long overdue — and not just in British Columbia.” There is a clear warning in that, of course. The federal Tories under Brian Mulroney have already adopted most of Bennett’s pro- gram, ideologically, if not officially. But like Bennett, they will pro- bably seek to move into office without revealing the legislative axe that they, too, would take to social programs across the country. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 26, 1983—Page 2 i pee JF SY ALD. LIBBY DAVIES... chaif§| council's disarmament committee. dations “‘ll conceived” and ‘‘a waste time.”’ He was contradicted by Ald. May Brow! | who said council in adopting the recommen’ | dations was ‘“‘making a statement”’ world peace, and Davies, who reminded he had supported the city’s production distribution of a leaflet urging disarmament | and distributed to all Vancouver household prior to the huge Apr. 23 Walk for Peact: | Aldermen Harry Rankin and Yorke warned of the drift toward the concept of limited nuclear war, and Yorke reminde) council that the constitution of Japan fot bids the manufacture and deployment of nuclear weapons in the country. The vote for the estimated 10 to 15 signs} to be erected around the city, the plaqué declaring the city a nuclear-weapons fre zone to be installed at city hall, and thé postage meter change was somewhat nat rower. Brown, Bellamy and Ford joi Puil and Kennedy in voting against thé measures, saying they objected to the cost~ | approximately $1,950 — of the items. _ Supporting the motion were Davie Yorke, Rankin and Bruce Eriksen of thé Committee of Progressive Electors, Ald. Bil Yee and Mayor Mike Harcourt. Harcourt praised the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for their recent | itiative in sending letters around the world urging city councils to work for world pea® With the exception, as usual, of Kennedy council voted to book the Nuclear Disarm ment Exhibit, currently touring the world part of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki progral™ as soon as possible. z ; Action for peact i i tia, meet Nov. 11-12. Those working and marching for dis | mament here will have the chance to new how Americans opposing their count? latest high-tech weaponry operate, dul the B.C. Peace Council’s action conferet™ Nov. 11-12. fae y Michela Terrazino, coordinator of * Northen California’ Coalition Aga™ Cruise and Pershing, is the featured speak at a special meeting, open to the public, ~ Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. ve Terrazino, who has been campald! 4 manager for Berkeley’s progressive may” Gus Newport, will speak at the confere™ site, the Science of Mind Hall, in Vancou"™, The two-day conference, which will oe = delegates from across the province, will @ sist of workshops with other guest speak = and a plenary session, with the aim of establishing new actions in the “= peace.