Soviet broadcaster Andrey
Knishev, in Seattle for the
Goodwill Festival, has been
likened in his brand ‘of humour
to Monty Python.

— page 8

Steelworkers shut down the
Cominco smelter at Trail
Monday in what is expected to
be a tough fight over wage

parity.
—page 3

July 16, 1990
50 cents
Volume 53, No. 26

Bill 51 no
relief for

B.C. tenants,
says TRAC

The Social Credit government has intro-
duced legislation allegedly banning dis-
crimination against tenant families by
landlords, and that sounds good.

But in reality, Bill 51 is window-dress-
ing: “a typical Socred election goody,” the
B.C. Tenants Rights Coalition has charged.

The amendment to the Residential Ten-
ancy Act will likely continue to allow land-
lords to discriminate against children, con-
tains numerous exemptions and would not
withstand a legal challenge, TRAC’s Laura
Stannard said.

Akey problem i is that the amendment, if
passed, will require those seeking redress
against a discriminating landlord to file a
complaint not under the Residency Act, but
under Section 5 of the Human Rights Act.

“Section 5 does not cover family status,
so the landlord’s lawyer could successfully
argue that there has beenno discrimination,”
she noted.

Additionally, complaints before the
Human Rights Council often take up to a
year to resolve; arbitrations under the Res-
idential Tenancy Act are not as lengthy,
Stannard said.

The Socreds could have amended both
the Residential Tenancy and Human Rights

i Visio’ lementary,
Members of the B.C. Nurses Union picket their facility, the B.C. Centre for Disease [aoe meee
Control, on the Vancouver General Hospital grounds July 12.

| tee ee
dimes
es ali

Striking members of the Union of
Psychiatric Nurses are still waiting for
government negotiators to put on the
table a supposed wage offer anounced
by Finance Minister Mel Couvelier in
a meeting with nurses last weekend.

UPN labour relations director
Dwight Wenham said July 11 that
there could be “light at the end of the
tunnel” based on Couvelier’s state-
ments. The finance minister held out
the possibility of wage increases total-
ling 20.9 per cent over two years

see TENANT page 2

‘Moscow — epee ae eerie Soviet mccty Willen fewer

Bie et appr ES ~ has been measured by the increments be- As forthe p party itsel trem ey along the path of profound changes, a |
wre unisn tas mecamed that the | | SwoemPamy conetesses: The leader Rave “Changs oro —_o ae 5 eee oe er ered
offer is based on what rmment aes Saul 0 Oe B Ip coca ob i enuine knicmens a of Seo T am com that aw fe
Ot Eom “cessive congress, that this one represents ture is in store for our great multinational |
negotiators are now authorized to} | qsqualitative leap” ora “turning point” in — state,” Mikhail Gorbachev told the 4,683
make at the bargaining table. - the life of the country. This ime aes — accredited delegates ¢ on opening day. “Or
“Of course, the only problem we they're right. : else, forces opposed to perestroika will -
have is that government negotiators foo ilies se q

have not made the same offer at the

bargaining table that the minister has

made to the media,” Wenham said.
see PUT page 8

= aye Sov Communi ay at — dismal times are in