Large areas of the province are being ripp

the mining companies are still crying they need more profit.

ed apart by open pit mining being carried on mostly by
foreign-owned mining monopolies. This photo shows open pit copper mining carried on by Bethlehem and
Lornex in B.C.’s Highland Valley. Lornex reported a net profit from these operations of $8.2 million for the
first six months of this year. Brenda Mines Ltd. more than doubled its profits in the same six months. But

COPE mayoralty candidate
Bruce Yorke said last week that he
has ‘‘revised upwards’’ his
estimate of how successful the
COPE candidates will be in the
November 17 civic elections. Yorke
said that because of the way both
TEAM and the NPA are split,
COPE ‘finds itself in a_par-
ticularly favourable situation.
Clearly, we are now the only
reform alternative for the people of
Vancouver.”

Yorke also dismissed
suggestions by former TEAM
alderman Mike Harcourt that he
might step down from. the
mayoralty race in favor of either
Harcourt—or fellow COPE can-
didate Harry Rankin. “I am not
going to step down and Harry
Rankin is not going to run for
mayor. Bruce Yorke will be the
COPE mayoralty candidate,” he
stated. »

‘Vancouver needs new direction’

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

What is the key issue in Van-
couver’s municipal elections?

According to TEAM and its
mayoralty candidate Jack Volrich
the main issue is fiscal respon-
sibility. According to Ed Sweeney,
it’s financial irresponsibility.

I. don’t agree. Financial
responsibility is an important
matter (and I'll deal with this
later), but, it is not the central
question.

The main issue, as I see it, is the
role of City Council.

Is City Council simply to serve
the requirements of special in-
terests, and in this period, par-
ticularly those of developers?

Or is City Council to serve the
needs and requirements of the
ordinary citizens, the homeowners
and tenants? ~

Vancouver has reached a crisis
point in its development.

Homeowners face excessive
taxes, tenants pay excessive rents,
we have an acute housing shor-
tage, bus service is being curtailed
and fares increased, crime and
drug addiction continue to grow.
We have a school board that is
unable or unwilling to cope with the
declining quality of education and
increasing juvenile delinquency.

We have a Parks Board that is
more interested in building high
priced tourist attractions than
recreation facilities for the people
who live here. |
This is the result of 40 years of
misrule by the NPAand TEAM.
The NPA, which ruled Van-
couver for 36 years, has always
been the creature of narrow, self-
seeking business interests.
TEAM, masquerading as a

reform party, served essentially .

the same interests.

City Council has spent tens of
millions of dollars to subsidize
commercial developments like
Block 42/52, Granville Mall, Gas
Town, the CPR’s Granville Square,
developments that could and
should have paid their own way.
Our limited and priceless water-
front property, which should be
saved for port expansion, is being
turned over to commercial
developers. y

The CPR was handed an
unearned gift of over a hundred
million dollars by the upward
rezoning of its False Creek

properties, without any com-
pensating return to the city. The
city’s housing development on the
south side of False Creek is
‘beamed to middle and upper in-

and very tortuous trail, the Tory phalange is now getting
set for their by-the-grace-of-god kill.
Such events have happened quite frequently since

come brackets, not at relieving the
housing shortage facing the or-
dinary citizen. :

Successive NPA and TEAM
administrations have schemed and
manoeuvered to turn the entrance
to Stanley Park over to private
developers and if they haven’t as
yet succeeded, it was only because
of the determination of citizens to
save this site for public use and
enjoyment.

Mayor Art Phillip’s obsession
with the concept of an “‘executive
city’, the essence of which is to
develop the downtown area as the
preserve of the business elite, has
brought about the destruction of
thousands of units of low and
moderate rental housing units to
make way for expensive com-
mercial developments.

We now have over 4,000 empty
condominium suites that people
can’t afford to buy. The city is
sitting on over 1,000 acres of city-
owned land that could be leased for
a nominal fee or used to build
public housing.

For the first time in its history,
the population of Vancouver is
beginning to decline.

The term “fiscal responsibility”
is being used by both TEAM and
NPA mayoralty candidates as a

cover-up for a program of cutting
services to people while raising
taxes still further. What about the
financial irresponsibility involved
in the practice of assessing big
commercial and __ industrial
properties at far below their real
value, thus allowing them to
escape paying their fair share of
taxes?

To me the term ‘“‘fiscal
responsibility’ means using the
city’s financial resources
prudently to provide needed ser-
vices to people, not to give sub-
sidies and concessions to private
business.

There is a way out of the crisis
that faces Vancouver, but it
requires a fundamental shift of
direction and purpose.

Vancouver needs a City Council

‘that is people-oriented, that is

responsible to, responsive to and
accountable to its citizens.

Neither the NPA nor TEAM can
come up with such a Council.

The Committee of Progressive
Electors (COPE) representing
community groups, trade unions
and the ordinary citizen, offers the
only alternative available in this
election.

See RANKIN, pg. 12

arise between them is purely hot air and has nothing to do
with the political realities of the time.
Joe Clark however is staying with ‘‘pure and undefiled”

Yorke also reacted to the al-
nouncement by Helen Boyce that —
she will run for the mayor’s job.
‘‘As far as we are concerned, her
entry into the mayor’s race will
strengthen our campaign. In her
own words,Boyce has said that she
is not a left winger. For
reason, we feel that the left and
reform elements within this cily
should have nothing to do with her
and should come to us.’ aa

“Politically, she is on the right 4
with Volrich and Sweeney.”

Inother matters, Yorke said that
the COPE election plans were
finalized at a COPE membership
meeting held over the weekend.
“Our final election policy
statement was approved by the
membership, as was our election
slogan.” Yorke said that the slogan
for COPE candidates would be
“Vote COPE for real change”’.

The COPE campaign will be run

as much as possible on the basis of
existing COPE area committees.

Yorke said that anyone wanting t0 —

become involved in the COPE

campaign should contact the
COPE election headquarters which

are located at 2245 Commercial
Drive. The phone number is 251
1207.

Additionally, Vancouver al-
chitect and author Donald Gutstein.
has agreed to serve as COPE’S
press agent and publicity director
for the duration of the election
campaign. He too is available at
COPE election headquarters.

ALD. HARRY RANKIN

TOM

‘W\he Establishment is busy building up the non-descript

Joe Clark come general election time. True they
haven’t got much to work on but that don’t worry them one
damn bit. Joe has already demonstrated that he is the
kind of lad a highly corruptible establishment needs, and
that’s all that matters. The electorate as befits monopoly
capital will do their growling the day following election.
At the moment its all hosannahs for the new Tory Moses,
who, among other things, is to deliver us from the
liberalism of Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Tory Joe Clark is a small town politician, not an ex-
ceptionally bright one, and had it not been for the dearth
of leadership timber and the Tory stockpile, would have
remained as he was, practically unknown. Now he has
been catapulted into an ersatz fame, but without the
glamour of a national saviour. One gets almost the feeling
of acute embarrassment felt by his Tory colleagues every
time he gets up to orate. No wonder Tory stalwarts of the
old school make a beeline for the toilet every time he plans
to sound off on something or other. What better place to
head for when the stomach-and-brain are united in a
common bout of nausea?

Sensing the political mish-mash which the glamorous
Pierre Elliot Trudeau is almost certain to leave in his long

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 1, 1976—Page 2

~~ pS

McEWEN.

Confederation, but one major similarity imposes itself
more and more on the picture, viz, that the “‘differences”’
between erstwhile Liberals and Tories has now become
similarities, so much so that even the most studious
elector is hard put to it to tell them apart! Now they are
Tweedledee and Tweedledum, with one aim and one
purpose for their being - to hookwink, swindle, and
doublecross a leaderless electorate.

One may take the short view and blame the electors for
this sorry state of affairs over the years, but if one takes a
rational view, then there’s no one to place the onus upon
but himself...or herself. And while we’re scouting around
for someone to blame the Tory mills are “grinding, and
grinding exceedingly fine’. Ten years of Trudeauism.
have fertilized a barren soil for ten years of Toryism. One
can almost hear the R.C. Iron Heel Bennetts chanting
hosannahs to their heavenly abodes.

The so-called break between Socreds first seer Aberhart
and the Tory and Liberal assortments of the 30’s was no
break at all. In fact nothing but the lavish promises from
either side were slightly bent, and these could always be
fixed up with a minimum of political malarkey. The
problem was then, as now and always to get control of the
ship of state. With that assured then it didn’t matter one
damn what came next. Abie could always be relied upon
to deliver the goods on behalf of the Bankers Association
and sundry other social sharks. That fact alone clinches
(if such clinching is necessary) any differences between
Tory and Socred. So whatever political arguments may

toryism, whatever that is. He requies no cajolery or other
enticements to stay with the Tory herd. He grew up with
it, lives withit, and if need be, like the fable that survived
Sir John A. MacDonald, die with it—which in this period is
time is readily possible.

Joe plays it cautious. He has just got back from a near-
world trip, has met all the great and near-great in world-
politics-who stand for Toryism (read reaction). But he’s
not saying much at the moment, primarily because he has
nothing tosay that would be of any interest to the people of

Canada. They’ve heard it all before in great Tory orations

and the similarity is deadly. Like another Trudeau or a
Diefenbaker turned inside out.

Better get back to the sticks Joe and try your new
toryism on the gophers. They’ll give you a nice long
whistle.

TRIBUNE

Editor - MAURICE RUSH
Assistant Editor SEAN GRIFFIN
Business and Circulation Manager — MIKE GIDORA

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