Texada garbage dump no solution for GVRDproblem How would we like it if Vic- future is behind it. Texada toria Regional District con- Island residents don’t even put tracted with a developer to ship _ their own garbage into a landfill all its garbage across the Strait on the island — they transport it of Georgia to be dumped into to Powell River for incinera- the sunken garden rock quarry _ tion. in Queen Elizabeth Park? The point out also that the Would we believe the developer rock quarry in question — if he said that the operation Grilse Point — still has a good would not contaminate the city deal of commerically useful limestone in it and that at the in any way, and that he might rate of 250,000 tons a year it take some steps to make the quarry leak proof and that he would be filled upin three years. might haul away the millions of What the GVRD is doing is gallons of leachate that would —_ exporting its troubles to another accumulate annually? regional district, and in the pro- Harry Rankin cess giving Genstar a fat con- tract that will net it millions of dollars in easy profits. The citizens of Texada are right when they say that Genstar can’t betrusted, that its research is suspect, that it has not com- mitted itself to make the quarry leakproof or to remove the leachate. The deal is so bad that all the Vancouver representatives on the GVRD with one exception voted against it. That alderman, of course, was Wornout Ken- nedy, the friend of the developers. Of course we wouldn’t believe him, and of course we would tell both him and the Vic- toria Regional District to go to hell, to take care of their own garbage and to leave us alone. And yet that is exactly what the Greater Vancouver District is doing to Texada Island. It has decided to sign a contract for 20 years with Genstar, a developer, to dump 250,000 tons of gar- bage annually from the Lower Mainland into a rock quarry on Texada Island. Genstar will get $25 a ton for handling the gar- “ people of Texada Island The GVRD should settle its and their regional district are garbage problems in its own mad as hell at this outrageous back yard. We have three alter- proposition. And well they natives — recycling, incinera- should be. They point out that it _ tion and landfill. The problem is will contaminate their water by no means insoluble. It’s just supply, ruin the tourist potential that the majority of the GVRD of the island and in fact jeopar- refuse to face up to it and will dize its whole future. Once that not undertake any long term is done the island is finished, its solutions. The B.C. Telephone Company has failed to improve its service despite rate increases granted to it on that condition earlier this year, and therefore its current applica- tion for an interim six percent hike should be rejected. That’s what the B.C. Com- munist Party has demanded in a letter to the secretary-general of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Com- mission, J. G. Patenaude. The party’s B.C. executive protests ‘‘in the strongest terms”’ the increase sought from the federal regulatory body since the company ‘‘exercises a virtual total monopoly in B.C. and... has reported large profits (which) for the first six months of this year totalled $26.2 million and could well exceed $60 million by the end of 1982.”’ Notification of B.C. Tel’s ap- ‘No 6% hike for B.C. Tel plication for a two-stage rate in- crease was sent to consumers in their monthly phone bills. The company wants a six percent hike to go into effect January 1, 1983, and an undisclosed total increase effective June 28 of next year. “This two-stage application by B.C. Tel without disclosing what it will ask for in the general rate application, is like asking the CRTC and the public to buy a pig inapoke. . .Itpreferstogoafter rate boosts in stages which the company believes will be more ac- ceptable by the public, since the full impact of the rate boost will not come all at onetime,” provin- cial CP leader Maurice Rush charged in his letter. Rush noted that B.C. Tel pro- poses to reveal the total increase sought after Dec. 23 — ‘‘only after it has already received from the CRTC the interim rate in- CLEASE = ca, “B.C. Tel claims that if it does not receive the six percent rate boost the rate of return to com- | pany shareholders will amount to 12 percent. This is the major argument by B.C. Tel for a rate increase. The Communist Party does not consider a 12 percent | profit on investment a hardship for the company. “We believe it is disgraceful that this corporation should be seeking even larger profits in the | present situation (which would) || impose an additional hardship 0} the B.C. public,” asserted Rush Rush said no hike should be granted before a ‘‘full publi hearing where the application 0! this monopoly for a rate increase could come under publi scrutiny.’’ Such a hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Apr. 5, 1983. Resurgence of Socred right © shows need for labor unity By STEVE GIDORA The absence of left unity in Sur- rey municipal politics has once again prevented real gains for the progressive reform movement and has allowed the extreme right to emerge once again as a significant political force. The most disconcerting factor that influenced the outcome of the Nov. 20 election was the lack of voter participation — only 23 per- cent of voters, or 15,000 out of 62,000, gave successful candidates their mandate. The failure of the left forces to offer a single, effective alternative, coupled with the low turnout, is a setback for the community as a whole. Running as an aldermanic can- didate for the Surrey Alternative Movement (SAM) I received 8.3 percent of the popular vote while Charan Gill of Citizens for a Better Surrey (CBS) received 17.9 percent and CBS running mate Joan Smallwood received 20.9 percent. Compared with last year, Gill in- creased his vote by 4.9 percent and Smallwood by .8 percent, although it should be noted that CBS ran two less candidates than in the previous election. The school board race showed a better performance: Kim Zander, running asa first time candidate for SAM won 18.9 percent of the vote SURREY ELECTION while CBS candidates Lois Peter- son and Paul Winn received 38.7_ and 24.6 percent respectively. The council race finished as follows: 1) Bob Bose 6,520 (47.8%) 2) Bonnie Schrenk 6,343 (46.5%) N e’s sung at progressive rallies and labor events for nearly two decades. And during that time the friends of B.C.’s most melodious labor leader have been urging — in fact, begging him, to record his rich baritone for posterity. Now, after almost two years of effort, that task has been ac- complished, with the release Friday of a 12-inch album of material from George Hewison, the secretary-treasurer of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union. Produced by UFAWU organizer John Radosevic, the album con- tains some of the songs the union leader has been noted for at public ap- pearances. But there are a number of new offerings as well, including material by Hewison and arranger/musician Bob Wishinski. Many are done in an up-tempo sytle with strong and varied musical accompani- ment that shows a progression in Hewison’s style and is a testimony to the care and dedication that went into the album. Numerous musicians and backup singers were involved, in- cluding Ash Street members Tom Hawken, Charlotte Diamond and Steve Gidora. Together they have recorded an album that is a dedica- tion to those who labor and struggle on a number of fronts, from com- mercial fishing to the peace movement. Often plagued by a lack of time and money, and interrupted on one occasion by a strike in the fishing industry, the Hewison album was one year and nine months in the making. But the album’s backers, grouped into a production company called Trojan Horse, figure that the trials and tribulations they’ve undergone have provided the necessary experience to proceed unhindered with the next offerings. Back-up musician Hawken, himself a noted labor and progressive singer for many years, is slated to go into the studio soon, and arranger Wishinski will record a selection of his songs for thethird LP ina series for the labor and progressive community. It’s no small tribute to Hewison’s popularity that, as of this writing, most of the initial pressing of 1,000 copies has already been sold. That leaves precious few available for Christmas buyers, but ac- PEOPLE AND ISSUES. cording to chief marketer Janet Hewison, there is a strong likelihood that a further 1,000 LPs will be off the presses in about two weeks. In the meantime, the few unsold copies from the first run can be obtained, while they last, from Janet Hewison by phoning 298-3474 or writing her at 6150 East Broadway, Burnaby, V5B 2Y2. * of e never lived to see the elections but Jim Cork would have been exhilarated to see the first major breakthrough for the Committee of Progressive Electors in the Vancouver vote in 1980. And that ex- hilaration would have turned to jubilation had he been there to celebrate the election results this Nov. 20, since he had worked towards them for most of his life. So it was perhaps fitting only the day after the Vancouver election the Hastings Community Association chose to honor him with a dedication ceremony to open the Jim Cork Room in the newly- renovated Hastings Community Centre. A long time community activist, tenant advocate, Communist, * * civic leader and for many years the president of the Hastings-Sunrise Action Council, Cork had achieved a considerable record before he died of cancer in 1978. And several people were there Nov. 21 to pay tribute to that record including chairman Dusty Greenwell, Vancouver East NDP MLA Alex MacDonald, COPE aldermen Harry Rankin and Bruce Yorke, parks commissioners Andy Livingstone and Pat Wilson and Shawn Hatch, from the Action Council. The room named in his memory is part of the new renovations in the community centre and will be used, among other purposes, as a board room for the centre’s association. PAGIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 3, 1982—Page 2 3) Gary Watkins 5,779 (42.3%) | 4) Rita Johnson 5,722 (41.9%) Bose, Schrenk and Johnstol) have all served as alderman undét } the old Socred-backed Surté)| Voters’ Association banner all’) have a high profile in Surrey. Bu! the alignments have changed Schrenk, a Social Crediter, no runs with the Surrey Munict Electors, which also ran NDI members, including Watkins. . On the other hand, Bob Bos®| who ran as an independent, ha) been critical of the Social government, particularly ove transit issues. Rita Johnston, who once sat ® an SVA alderman with Bill Vande Zalm, also ran as an independef!| although her vote indicated that had reactivated former SV/ mambers and used her wide So a Credit contacts. She was successtt!) in edging out SME incumbent Jack Whittaker. “in Significantly, even though ran only two candidates, N members and used her wide So year, with Whittaker losing 7” position and Watkins slipp! from first place to third. i However, SME candidates t0 fi all the school trustees’ positions * board are Doreen Biener, H! Kelly and Ken Rehnby. The fact that the NDP mem the! of SME lost ground and ©” former SVA members and OF", right wing candidates g@! ground underscores the ne of labor and left unity. The aif gains in CBS candidates’ von the reduced percentage for ‘il candidates — largely as res the denial by the New Westm! ile and District Labor Council of st” traditional endorsement — ~ | phasizes the point. el The one promising indicator the vote received by both CNS SAM school board candidates:.| Left unity did not matet ool} a5 ‘ two years when SAM a | board candidate received cent of the popular vote. a must be achieved if there is 107, possibility of electing lab” : endorsed candidates. ti The right wing is again OF 9) move and labor needs an ef and united alternative.