WHY ALL THE
ALARM ABOUT AIR
_ POLLUTION ?

EDITORIAL

CRACK DOWN ON INDUSTRY

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

City Council has agreed on the
terms of a new by-law on
pollution control. Elevators,
foundries, sawmills and other
industries polluting the air we
breathe will be required to instal
pollution control equipment. The
by-laws will set out standards
defining’ what constitutes

Well-earned hostility

J -V. Clyne, chairman and dominant director of the vast
B.C. timber monopoly of MacMillan and Bloedel Ltd.,
(M-B for short), ‘‘deplores’’ the growing mass hostility against ©
foreign investors in Canada and elsewhere.

As is known M-B operates large lumber establishments in
Britain, the U.S., Spain, South America and other “free world’’
countries, and particularly in areas, as in the U.S. deep south,
where cheap labor is available in abundance.

In his spiel to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce tycoons
in London, England just recently Mr. Clyne dwelt long and
rather touchingly with the problem of a growing hostility to
multi-national monopolies exploiting the resources of other
nations. In the manner of a professional tear-jerker Mr. Clyne
bemoaned the fact that “it must be realized that the life of a
multi-national company is not necessarily a happy one, and at:
the moment, becoming more and more difficult.””

Referring in the course of his address to the C-of-C boys on
the recent seizure by the government and people of Peru of the
assets and holdings of Standard Oil of New Jersey and Inter-
nation Petroleum, it was readily obvious that Mr. Clyne was
worried no end about such developments.

It was a ghastly thought, but said the great man, ‘‘even
Britons were showing an unfortunate hostility”’ against those
pioneering multi-national companies who came with purely
philanthropic motive to help the natives help themselves, etc.

Mr. Clyne warned multi-national company managements _

“to move cautiously, which they had not always done in the
past’’, (probably the prize under statement of the year) and to
show more understanding of the phenomenon of nationalism in
the country or countries they propose to operate in”’, otherwise

they run the risk of getting and early heave-ho by and from the
people. >

Taking the Hudson’s Bay Company as an example on how
multi-national monopoly tycoons should operate, Mr. Clyne
observed “‘no other organization now in business can claim such
noble origin, (by royal charter granted by Charles II in 1670),
and no modern multi-national company was born with such
distinct advantages,’’ He might have added ‘‘royal charter’’ to
what didn’t belong to the royal ‘“‘donor’”’.

Space does not permit elaboration of or on those “distinct ~

advantages’, except to add that the exploitation, robbery and
despoilation of the Native Indian people of Canada is probably
one of the blackest and most shameful pages in Canadian
history, written by a multi-national ruthless monopoly.

Mr. Clyne was also anxious to dispel the idea that just ©

‘because U.S. monopoly now controls more than one half of the
Canadian economy, that such control in any way threatens
Canada’s independence and “sovereignty”. Tut, tut, opined the
great man from M&B “‘we all know that the tens of thousands of
American shareholders in multi-national companies operating
in Canada, Britain or France, cannot — or would not seek to

influence a decision on any single public issue in the host
country.”’

However, Canadians in ever-growing numbers appreciate his
fears for the future of monopoly exploitation, and_ will
undoubtedly do their best to accentuate the “hostility” to
monopoly parasitism and profiteering— at home and abroad.

polluted air and at what point it
becomes a health hazard.

The owners of industry
protested, of course. They
wanted more time — some as
much as 20 years. But they have
had many years now to do
something and most* of them
have done absolutely nothing. If
we give them another five or ten
years we will be faced with the
same problem all over again,
only it will be much worse. We
can’t afford to delay action much
longer.

Any firm that fails or refuses
to abide by our new pollution
control regulations should be
dealt with severely to show we
mean business, up to and
including taking its license away.
The health of the many can’t
forever be sacrificed to the
irresponsible selfishness of a
few.

I realize, however, that
pollution of our air and water
can’t be stopped by Vancouver
alone. Much of our problem
originates in surrounding munici-
palities, in the saw mills of New:
Westminster and Port Moody,
the oil refineries of Burnaby, the
potash, sulphur and coal bulk
loading wharves of Port Moody
and North Vancouver. Control on
a regional scale, or better yet on
a provincial scale, is necessary.

The main reason we have no
effective pollution control in the
province is because the

to take any effective action. The
reason is obvious — the big
industries responsible for
pollution carry a lot more weight
with the government than do the
people.

provincial government is afraid:

control and get off the hook
itself, the provincial govern-
ment is insisting that pollution
control be looked after by the
regional districts and munici-
palities. But if the big pollution
producing industries are so
powerful they can sway the
provincial government. What
chance has a municipality or
regional district?

The real attitude of the
provincial government was
cearly revealed last week.
Federal forestry and fisheries
minister Jack Davis threatened

BURRARD INLET. Grain dust covers the Hastings East area fg
Alberta Wheat Pool where ships are loaded with prairie wheat-
In an effort to stymie pollution forms scum on water and pollutes nearby New Brighton Park.

ee

Pollution controls must
be vigorously imposed

enna
to close down certain mills
interior responsible for pol aS ;
Did provincial resolu

e
minister Ray Williston welcome

the statement? On the contraly
he loudly protested! :
panchivet city council acted a
the interests of all citizens fe
bringing in pollution contro i
laws. This should not deter ©
‘however, from continuing s
insist that pollution control s
its very nature a po ae
problem requiring province 3
legislation. Pollution knows
municipal boundaries.

While the people of Trail are
struggling to overcome the

flood of April 23, which did an
estimated $3 million damage, the
provincial and federal govern-
ments are refusing to face up to
their responsibility, passing the
buck from one to the other.

Foss:

‘Pacitic Iribun

‘West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune

> oe

Editor—TOM McEWEN Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.,
Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.

Subscription Rate: Canada, §5.00 one year; $2.75 for six months.
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Expressing concern about the
plight of those who suffered
grievous losses, Mayor F.E.
DeVito said last week:

“TI don’t want to get into a
political hassle with the senior
governments. The people who
have been hurt by the flood have
had enough anxiety and worry. I
am hopeful that the provincial
. government will bear the bulk of
the costs without further fuss.”

During a recent visit to Trail,
Premier W.A.C. Bennett refused
to meet full costs of the flood

disastrous affects of the flash *

be about $25 million. He told the
Trail city council that the B.C.
government will only pay 60
percent of the cost of the

__It is also reported from TF

Compensate Trail flood victims

rhe

Dus!

= ee

e

damage, and no more.
advised council to sen

delegation to Ottawa for the rest.
ail
that the Socred governme?
wants to pay damage to reside?
on the basis of assessment ve
of their homes rather than on the
actual or repla¢ement value 9
today’s costs:

Flood costs to the city hav@
been “astronomical,” according
to a member of city council, a?
the city is hoping, .so
unsuccessfully, to get aid from
senior governments.

The Trail Club of thé
Communist Party has called 0?
the provincial government — a
pay 100 percent compensati?
out of the provincial disaste
fund to victims of the flood on thé

ae of theif =| ™
Second class mail registration number 1560, damage out of the provincial : pas ws the AE eee —
Peers is | disastet'fund wiiich is reported to, 5... MAYORER,DeVITO. .... .,., lost or damaged property... —
: hi 4 BNET AGIODNG. Vy eee SES sighitwen 37 bina ashi
(PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY. 23,.1969—Pag ER eee Le! ESS AN SR ee DEI DEE SURV OS." 3a 299 21 BOR IANO ,
i ore RIRUNE ath thre SAPP ADR 2a. ze, ve ;