' Bjarnason,

BCA aims to win
council majority

The Burnaby Citizens
Association (BCA), a coalition of
reform minded citizens supported
by labor, is determined to maintain
and increase its majority on
municipal council. This was made
clear at the enthusiastic BCA
nominating convention held in the _
Operating Engineers Hall in
Burnaby on Sunday evening, Sept.
19:

The 110 members present
nominated Lorne Bezubiak, Paul
Alderman’ Fred
Randall and Hazel Semnett to
contest the four seats open on

municipal council this year. The
election will be on Nov. 20.

UBCM parley shifts to right

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN
This year’s convention of the

Union of B.C. Municipalities held,

in Vancouver September 15-17
showed a pronounced swing to the
right.

It wasn’t because of any major
changes in the composition of the
delegates—mayors, aldermen and
‘members of regional , districts.
What had changed was that we
havea new government in Victoria
and in the new atmosphere created
by this government, delegates felt
free to reveal their hostility to
organized labor, racism against
the native Indian people and their
eagerness to serve the developers
and special business interests who
call the shot in many municipal
councils.

The turn to the right was also
illustrated by the ovations given
red-neck provincial cabinet
ministers such as human resources
minister Bill Vander Zalm and
attorney general Garde Gardom
who called for regressive
legislation. This included cur-
tailment of the right of a
municipality to charge developers
for off-site expenses, abolition of
the shorter work week and -so-
called “right to work” legislation.

Every major development
whether commercial, residential
or industrial brings new costs to a
municipality in the form of new
water and sewer lines, street and
road improvements, police and fire

costs, etc. Present practice is for
municipalities to recover some of
these costs by impost fees or off-
site charges.

Municipal Affairs minister Hugh
Curtis told the convention he was
alarmed by “horror stories’ of
fees imposed on developers to
recover some of these costs. He

' didn’t express any alarm at the

extra costs to taxpayers - when
developers renege on these costs
nor did he say anything about the
landfall profits that developers get
when municipal councils rezone
their lands upward.

Apparently the minister wants
the municipalities to- give the
developers everything and to take

back nothing in return. His.

conception of government is that
its role is to enhance the profit
opportunities of business at the
expense of the people.

Attorney general Gardie Gar-
dom told the delegates that he
wants a return to the 40 hour week.
This, he says, ‘‘will stabilize the
economy and get the country
moving forward again.” That’s a
lot of unadulterated crap. We are
in the midst of an economic
recession the major cause of which
is price-fixing by big corporations
with the excessive profits that
follow.

Labor had to fight hard for
generations to force the employers
to agree to a 40 hour week. There
are people still living who

remember when the work week
was 54 hours and when employers
cruelly exploited child labor.

Technological advance and
increased productivity made the
shorter work week realistic. A few
unions in recent years. have
brought the work week down to 37
1/2 hours or 35 hours. Their em-
ployers are not suffering. Now the
provincial government wants to
turn the clock back. All that will
accomplish is higher profits for the
employers and greater ex-
ploitation of labor.

A resolution’ endorsed by the
delegates, called for ‘right to
work”’ legislation. Rumor has it
that such legislation is being ac-
tively considered by the provincial
government. Under cover of such
phrases as “freedom of choice” by
workers as to whether or not they
must join a union, such legislation
would in fact outlaw the union shop
and enable employers to hire anti-
union elements and strike breakers
fo replace union workers.

Alderman George McKnight of
Alberni, who is also an active
unionist, called it “right to scab”
legislation. That is exactly how it is
being used south of the border in
those states which have such
legislation. It wouldinevitably lead
to more labor-management con-
frontations and strikes . because
labor is not about to give up the
union shop, something it took
generations of sacrifice to win.

Many aldermen and mayors at
this convention were people who
were associated in one way or
another with developers, real
estate and other business interests.
Many were themselves employers
and hostile to labor. They used the
convention to join with the
provincial government in attacks
on labor, and in support of other
regressive legislation. Many ap-
peared.only too willing to kiss the
posterior of the right wing
government in Victoria under the
illusion that this might bring a few
concessions.

But that attitude will do nothing
to solve the urgent problems facing
the people of every municipality—
the lack of housing, developer rip-
offs, inadequate transportation,
excessive taxes on homes, miserly

See RANKIN, pg. 3

“speculation is taking place.

board this year. Nominated were

Burnaby has a municipal council
of eight plus a mayor, with four
aldermen elected each year. Next
year, however, Burnaby will
revert to biennial elections whi he
means that next fall the mayor and
eight councillors will be electe

The BCA at present has fout
aldermen—Gerry Ast, Brian Gunn,
Fred Randall and Doug Drun
mond, plus the mayor Tom Co
stable—giving it a majorit
Aldermen ‘Gunn’s and Randall’s
terms areup this year; Gunn isn
seeking re-election. To maintain i
majority the BCA will have to ele
at least two of its alderman
candidates. :

The BCA aldermanic platform, —
adopted at a membership meeting —
on Sept. 9, calls for tax reform by
assessing industrial and com-
mercial properties at their true
market value, removal of school
and welfare costs from local taxes,
and policies which will enable the
municipality to benefit from up-
ward zoning where land

A housing program to meet
Burnaby’s housing needs for the
next 10 years is also advocated.

The BCA strongly supports the
principle of municipal services
being provided by municipal
employees, and opposes con-
tracting out. ;

The nominating meeting also
selected candidates to contest the
three seats vacant on the school

June Williams, Elsie Dean and
Barry Jones. Burnaby has a school
boardof five members. The BCA at
present has only one member on
‘the school board, Ann Blakey, who
is not seeking re-election.

Where has all capital gone. . .

To paraphrase a popular song, ‘Where has all the capital gone, long

time passing?”

One of the most frequently heard. excuses by: the government for
‘justifying higher profits is that big business in Canada needs more profit
to invest in keeping our economy going. Last week Statistics Canada
issued its latest report on Canadian investment abroad, which shows
what big business is doing with a lot of the profit it makes in Canada. —

The report shows that by the end of 1974 direct Canadian investment
abroad amounted to $9,307 million, an increase of almost $1,500 million
(20%) for the year. Most of the investment, 53 per cent, went into foreign

manufacturing industries.

Indications are that 1974 and ’75 saw even larger increases in foreign
investment. Who says there is no capital for investment, provided it was

kept in Canada?

TOM
McEWEN

hat fickle jade Truth has a difficult time surviving in
these trying times of falsehood and fabrication but
surviveshe does, boldly, fearlessly and to the point.

We are indebted to a good friend and colleague (we’ll
just call him ‘‘Gordon’”’ for short) who supplied us with the
main gist of this valuable information. Perhaps it was
because his heart is in Ireland with the Irish ‘struggle
there for liberty and freedom that he ‘‘goes to bat”’ for the
Italian people, or for people anywhere and everywhere
who suffer from the iniquities, misleadership and worse
from a decadent and outworn ruling caste. :

It would appear that back in July during the Italian
general elections a considerable number of important
ministers, deputies and so on were elected and/or
reelected during those hectic days to responsible
government positions. So great was the uproar among the

hang-overs of the old Mussolini regime, that an old Musso

diktat had to be invoked against these professional
manure-disturbers. In short they had to be silenced and
theonly way to dothat was to invoke the will of the Italian
people themselves. This-had the effect of cooling down
these fascist noises and allowing the will of the Italian
peoples to be heard.

Inthe July 26th edition of the Vancouver Sun tiene; is an
editorial citing the electoral unity of the Communist Party
of Italy, together with a breakdown of the gains made by

PACIFIC dopa tees! se 24, ae

POC HAD

the Christian Democrats and others. Aside however from
recording the fact that the Communist Party of Italy had
won a large number of key posts in the new central
government, the editorial said very little else except play
down the overall Communist victory. This is quite un-
derstandable. Could the Sun have blacked out the whole
story of Communist gains its editors would have done so
and gone to bed much happier.

One must be a bit naive who expresses amazement at
the shenanigans of right-wing social democracy these
days, particularly since its exponents primarily exist for
the preservation and continuance of capitalism, under
any and all circumstances. To all such the next best thing

_to distorting the news re Communist victories is to apply

the blackout treatment entirely. Meantime in the recent
Italian general elections the Communist Party of Italy did
very well, and come the next round will undoubtedly
better the score.

Meantime, the super-leftists, whether in Italy, Ireland,
here or elsewhere, continue to play their Jekyll and Hyde
roles in an unending class struggle, providing (among
other things) the ready material for a vast network of
Trotskyite and Maoist intrigues and betrayal of working-
class aims and ideals; a Fifth Column in the service of
imperialism. That they operate in Italy, in Ireland or
elsewhere is not to be wondered at. The main thing is to
know your “‘isms’’ as a child his a b c’s. Then you will
know their worth and to whom.

*

In more mundane affairs the recent victory of NDPer

Dave Barrett for Vancouver-Kast is worth noting, first

because of his say-so it was to be a last ditch effort, and __

secondly that he conducted this round on the hustings in a
considerably toned-down tempo. Quite unlike the
Bragodocio of earlier days, AlOUEn now getting into the
old stride.
Barrett cannot “ride with the hounds and run with the
hares” at one and the same time. Political adventurers of
all stripes have tried it before and run afoul of realities. It
just don’t work, as scores of political pharias have learned
to their sorrow and chagrin. Time changes lots of things,
but never the worth of a man who stands steadfastly and
against all odds for the rights of his fellowmen. Political
movements and politicians are like that, sometimes free

‘and easy but ever exacting.

In a dog-eat-dog capitalist environment they’ve got to
be in order to survive. Hence the winners are not always
those who make the best speeches or advance the best
promises or give out with the best promises, etc., etc. That

_ kind we’ve had more than enough of...and it’s time for a

change. And so far there’s little indication of any ‘deep-
going changes in Davie or those like him. More’s the pity! 3

TRIBUNE

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

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