reetings to”

B.C. labor Fed. delegates

SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 3

Exser

Replica of a

H TIGER CAGE |

TxSag ft

used by Thieu
2 to imprison many of
200,000 political prisoners

IN SGLTH WeTWAM

_ Pick up literature.

estee Yorke, head of the B.C.
ip nts Organization, Wednesday
onalg Attorney-General Mac-
“ and Premier Barrett:
endlords Wednesday night
lly and calculatedly defied
cr Tepeated judgment that rent
“88 notices in excess of eight:
rent constitute a combines
1, piracy to violate the law. They
sen to ignore your implied
€stion to drop the matter in a
SWI le fashion and to await the
<q P8iSlation.
Nder these circumstances we
P °n you in the strongest possible
¥n3 ‘© honor your pledge of last
“in pe’Sday not to abandon tenants
a inflationary times and to
ot ®consider yesterday’s position
ne ; prosecute and to im-
ately commence prosecution.
1S the only action that will
8 the landlords to their senses.
lina Ue the strongest possible
€ statement to tenants
them that the rent in-
Notices are illegal and
full government support to
ho ignore them. These

Is replica of a tiger cage in which many of the 200,
™ political prisoners are held,
nt House last Friday and Saturday by the Va
4 “National Committee to Free South V
a.tteds of people stopped to examine the tiger cage,

indispensible for the sake

was displayed at the Vancouver
ncouver branch of the
ietnamese Prisoners.
sign the petition

the government’s integrity and

oe ees of the provinces
tenants.”

oii RT united in the B.C.
Rental Housing Council, have said
that they will issue increases In
most cases of 20% on the more than
100,000 rental units which a
controlled by the landlor
organization. The landlords nee
asserted that their action is lega
due to a “loophole” in the oe

Both attorney general Alec
Macdonald and the BCTO. ae
denied that any such loophole
or ie said that the latest la.
dlord tactics “are: but anot -
variation of their intention to ta :
the law into their own hands a
shows their utter contempt for

eethe Interim Rent Stabilization

is crystal clear. Section 2
ae No. landlord shall, on a
after the first day of January, Ee
charge, in respect of a ay

riod, an amount of rent or
residential premises that is ager
than eight percent greater than t ;
amount of rent charged in respect

Massive layoffs in the B.C.
forest industry while there is a
serious housing crisis in the
province was branded as “‘insane”’
by B.C. Federation of Labor
secretary-treasurer Len Guy in a
statement made on the eve of the
annual B.C. Federation of Labor
convention, opening Monday in the
Vancouver Hotel.

Indicating that the layoffs, which
have now reached 14,000 in the

“forest industry, will be a major -

concern for delegates at the con-
vention, Guy said in a press. in-
terview that layoffs are expected
to go much higher and that it
“eould have serious side-effects
since it is our basic industry.”
As if to underscore the
seriousness of the forest industry
layoffs, it was announced by Crown
Zellerbach Canada Ltd., that
further layoffs will take place on
November 1 at which time
operations will be suspended at
Beaver Cove, Sandspit and Kitimat
operations affecting close to 400
workers. Predictions are that there
could be as many as_ 24,000

woodworkers off the job this .

winter.

Spurred by layoffs in the forest
industry, unemployment in BC.
has been rising sharply above the

ee

of the last rental period during 1973
for the residential premises.’
Section 6 reads: ‘This Act shall be
deemed to have come into force on
the first day of January 1974 and is
retroactive to the extent necessary
to give full force and effect to its
provisions, on, from and after that
date.”’ :
Yorke called on the provincial
government to deal “resolutely”
with the ‘‘landlord’s lawlessness”’,
and on the attorney general to
‘personally see that prosecution
proceeds quickly. “Their actions
constitute open defiance of
authority,’ Yorke said, “It is now
more imperative than ever that the
provisions of the Rent Stabilization
Act remain in force and under no
circumstances be altered at this
session of the legislature. Any
change would compromise the
integrity of the government and its
responsibility to legislate and
would be contrary to the previously
expressed will of the legislature.”
~ This weekend is a particularly
important one for the tenants as
the BCTO will meet in its first

annual convention on Saturday and —

VOL. 36, No. 43

national average. In September
unemployment in B.C. stood at 6.5
percent while the national average
was. 5.8 percent. Although latest
figures are not yet available, it
appears certain that October saw a
further deterioration of the em-
ployment picture in B.C.
Condemning the. layoffs, Guy
said it is ‘‘astounding”’ that mass
layoffs should come at a time when
there is a ‘‘dangerous shortage of
adequate. housing.”’ He criticized
governments for failing to cope

~ Milk price
rises again

Milk for our kids is going to
become a luxury item if current
price increases are not stopped.
This week it was. announced that
milk will go up four cents a quart
on Monday, and go up another
three cents by the end of February.

On September 30 it went up two
cents a quart bringing it to its
present price of 50 cents at chain
stores and 53 cents delivered. With
current increases added, milk will
sell at 57 and 60 cents by the end of
February.

Sunday at the Sheraton Plaza 500 in
Vancouver. The convention, which
will adopt a constitution, elect
officers and formulate policy, will
itself be an important aspect of the
BCTO’s campaign as it coincides
with the opening of the legislature
when new landlord and tenant
legislation is expected.

Three cabinet ministers in-

cluding attorney general Mac-
donald, provincial rentalsman

Barrie Clarke, Vancouver

Tribune

«= 15°

with the housing problem by
providing money for construction
at reasonable interest rates. ;

Support for Guy’s demand for
action on housing to boost the
domestic lumber market and meet
the serious housing crisis also
came from Jack Munro, IWA
president, while appearing on a
BCTV program in Victoria. He

called for financial help to the ©

housing industry through lower
interest mortgages.

Munro pointed out that if the
federal government made more
mortgage money available for
housing the plywood industry
would receive.an immediate boost
since almost all of its products are
sold in Canada.

The IWA leader spoke out
against proposals coming from the
forest companies that the govern-
ment reduce stumpage rates and
relax some of its new natural
resources tax legislation as an “‘aid
to employment.” The heads of
B.C.’s forest industry are meeting
with premier Dave Barrett and
resources minister Bob Williams in
Victoria on November 4 to press
the NDP government to make
concessions to the companies.

Munro said that reduction of
See LAYOFFS, pg. 12

alderman Harry Rankin, mayor

Art Phillips, B.C. Federation of
Labor President George Johnson

and a number of other prominent —

labor and civic leaders have been |

invited to address the convention. —

Main items up for discussion will
be BCTO policy towards changes in
the landlord and tenant act, with
special attention begin given to
recomendation to the provincial
government for a major non-profit
housing construction program.

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