COmmy

Kingsway

Sent NIST CANDIDATES are shown above with Canadian Communist
Alec a discussing the party’s program. Photo was taken at a meeting d
Kash Workers last Thursday. Left to right, Rod Doran, New Westminster; ,
an; Sean Griffin, Vancouver South; Eric Waugh, Burnaby Seymour;

leader William Kashtan (in the

n Vancouver of more than 150
Maurice Rush, Vancouver East;
William Turner, Vancouver
—Pat O’Kane photo

Rejal cabinet requesting a
8 in the immediate
to discuss a temporary
Crease freeze.
: a Yorke, president of
Organization, com-
aS that the main purpose of
aE would be to con-
tha ste new government that
et P was necessary to pro-
ior egy oPosed increase in
Soo, ti2€n pensions.
as after the pension in-
Bi oye’ announced by the
slong Tnment, many old age
Ntieg, TS in the city received
that,» ‘Tom their landlords
Cteaseq wt Tent was to be in-
Perati due to higher labor and
Yor, 24! costs.”’

Ure
Ent in

tive fo. Teeze be made effec-
ee the period August 31,
Viseq Ctl the passage of a re-

thee O° and Tenant Act.
Oke . 'S no point’’, said
’ providing urgently

needed increased pensions, if in
fact the money ends up In the
hands of the landlords in the
form of increased rents. We
want to ensure that it Is the
senior citizens who get the bene-
fits.”

Yorke said there is a pre-
cedent for such a temporary
rent increase freeze. It was the
combined pressure of the
tenants organization and the
NDP members of the Legisla-
ture then in opposition who in
1970 forced the Social Credit
government to provide a tem-
porary rent increase freeze
from February, 1970, to April,
while the new Landlord and
Tenant Act was before the
House.

In its letter to the new provin-
cial cabinet, the ean ae

rganization said the reasonin
is that a large part of the $200 a
month pension will be gobbled
up by the landlords if there is no
such temporary freeze. You
will recall’’, the letter said,
“that when the Social Credit

Temporary freeze on rents
| t’s Council

government made $50 a year
grants to senior citizen tenants,
the main effect of the reform
was that it ended up costing the
beneficiaries money. We feel
that the temporary freeze would
be very much welcomed and
would clearly serve to illustrate
the difference between the NDP
approach and that of Social
Credit.”

“We feel that legislation to
put into effect your general
policy favoring collective bar-
gaining rights and the establish-
ment of a Rental Review Board
should be introduced at the
January session of the legisla-
ture, and it is our intention to
draw up detailed proposals in
this regard for your con-
sideration after the October
session,”’ the letter said.

The question of the rent freeze
for senior citizens 1s of an
emergency nature, however, and
protection for them is of first im-
portance, the Tenant’s Organ-
ization concluded.

Kashtan warns against

right wing conspiracy

Canadian Communist leader William Kashtan told a
meeting of election workers in Vancouver last Thursday
that Prime Minister Trudeau and Conservative leader
Robert Stanfield are deliberately trying to push aside
the real issues facing Canada by focussing attention on

side issues.

He coupled this charse witha
warning that a conspiracy is
afoot in this election to push
politics to the right.

“‘The real issues are control of
the Canadian economy, full
employment without inflation,
a new Canadian constitution
guaranteeing equality to
Canada’s two nations, and
redistribution of the national
wealth.”’

But instead of dealing with
these issues, said Kashtan, they
are raising questions such as
fraud in Unemployment Insur-
ance, to distract the public.

“‘An unholy alliance of
Conservatives, right - wing
Liberals, Social Crediters and
separatists has been formed to
attack the democratic rights
and living standards of the
people. Neither Trudeau’s
‘standpattism’ or Stanfield’s
‘tighten-your-belt’ program is in
the interests of Canada. Canada
needs forward looking and
dynamic policies to meet the
challenge of the 70’s, not policies
which look back or stand still,”’
Kashtan declared.

The Communist leader
charged that the Conservative
program aims to lay the founda-
tion ‘‘brick by brick’’ for a sharp
turn to the right. With their
proposals for wage and price
freeze, restrictions on the right
to strike, attacks on unemploy-
ment insurance, the Tories are
trying to create the climate for a
shift to the right and to become

the centre of a new right wing
alliance.

Turning to the Liberals,
Kashtan said that progressive
international initiatives taken

by Prime Minister Trudeau have-

been negated by his reactionary
domestic policies. ‘‘After
pretending that he will stand up
to the U.S., Trudeau retreated
and pushed aside the legislation

Kashtan fo speak

William Kashtan, Canadian
Communist leader, and Van-
couver candidates will address a
major election rally at Templeton
High School auditorium, Sunday,
October 15 at 8 p.m. See details
on page 12.

needed to curb growing U.S.
domination of Canada.”

Kashtan said that on the issue
of Quebec and the rights of the
French Canadian people,
Trudeau rejects recognition of
their rights, and instead
threatens coercion.

Pointing to the Communist
electoral policy of aiming to
elect a large progressive bloc of
NDPers and Communists,
Kashtan said his party does not
give uncritical support to the
NDP. He pointed out that right
wing leaders of the NDP have
shifted their policy to the right.

Drawing attention to the fact
that the NDP has not criticized

See KASHTAN, pg. 12

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