Time to put stop

to export of jobs |

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

The 2,500-strong Citizens’ Lobby
for Jobs that gathered in front of
the legislative buildings in Victoria
on March 30 under the leadership
of the B.C. Federation of labor,
was an impressive demonstration.

Whether it admits it or not, I
think it shook even this complacent
and arrogant government. The fact
is that despite all its rhetoric to the
contrary, this government has
done and is doing nothing to create
jobs on a scale needed to meet an
emergency of over 100,000 jobless
in the province. The same applies
to Ottawa which is showing a
similar lack of concern.

I have used the term ‘emer-
gency” but I’m afraid that what we
are up against in B.C. and in all of
Canada is a permanent emergency
of mass nemployment. Although
some economists and _ business
leaders have expressed cautious
optimism about an upturn in the
economy at some time in the fore-
seeable future, I haven’t heard one
of them predict a decrease in un-
employment. It is generally con-
ceded that unemployment will co-
tinue to increase, no matter what
happens to the economy.

The trade union movement and
progressive political groups have
come forward with a variety of
programs to meet unemployment,
inflation and the economic crisis.
They range from measures to in-

crease purchasing power (an end
to wage controls, increased pen-
sions, cuts in income taxes and
sales taxes) to job creation
measures (a large housing pro-
gram to build housing that people
can afford, the establishment of
secondary industries to process
our raw natural resources before
shipment abroad, building a
Canadian merchant marine and
here in Vancouver building a light
rapid transit system).

But there are some other stops
that we must face up to in view of
the branch plant nature of our
economy — branch plants of U.S.
multinationals, that is. Much of our
unemployment today is arising
from the closing down of USS.
branch plants in Canada. They are
closing down these plants on the
grounds that they are not making
enough profit in Canada and so are
moving elsewhere.

What are we going to do about it?

My view is that they should not
be ‘allowed to close down and move
out; they should be instructed to
keep their plnts operating. They
owe it to Canada and the people.

Let me give just one example of
how a multinational has rooked the
taxpayers (with Ottawa’s com-
plicity) and now proposes to take
all the profits made at the expense
of Canadians and move its opera-
tions to Guatemala or Indonesia. I
refer to International Nickel of
Sudbury, of course.

%.

U.S. branch plants in Canada.”

In 1971 (and this is just one exa-
ample) this company made a clear
profit of $94.2 million. Not only was
it excused from paying any income
tax that year, it was given a tax
credit of $2.8 million to use against
any future income tax payments!

According to a resolution from
the United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union being submitted to
the convention of the Canadian
Labor Congress in Quebec City this
week, International Nickel made a
profit of $300,000,000 last year; it
has received $900,000,000 in loans
from the government and it owes
the government $278 million in de-
ferred income tax.

And now it wants to pull out and

HARRY RANKIN AT JOBS LOBBY... “much

leave Canadians holding the bag —
the empty bag.

This situation could be multi-
plied a hundred times with all the
other multinationals. They are
here to make a fast buck and as
soon as they have taken all they
can out of us, they want to pull up
stakes and carry out the same type
of operation in another country.

They should be compelled by law
to stay here, to keep on operating
and to invest their profits in
Canada.

Which brings up a second
question, that of the billions of
dollars that are siphoned out of our
country each year in the form of
profits or the export of capital.

of our unemployment is the result of the closing down of

—Sean Griffin photo

Controls should also be placed on
this drain. This money should be

- reinvested in Canada to produce
the goods that Canadians need or

which we can export to other
countries.

It’s about time to bring this
pirate-like operation of foreign
multinationals in Canada to an
end. They must be placed under
public control and if they refuse to
abide by Canada’s laws they
should be taken over.

It’s time we placed Canada’s”

needs first, and the major need
now is to get the economy moving
and begin to eradicate un-
employment.

Tenants blast Mair for

The Kitsilano Tenants’ Associa-
tion has protested a Rent Review
Commission advertisement that
recently appeared in most B.C.
newspapers.

In a letter to Socred minister
Rafe Mair last week, the KTA ex-
pressed ‘‘disgust” with “the gen-
eral tone of the advertisement,
which is a pleading one.”’

The advertisement was headed
“Important Notice To All Land-
lords” and pointed out that rent in-
creases may be invalidated unless

the landlord used official notice of
rent-increase forms and filed a
copy of the form with the Rent Re-
view Commission within seven
days of serving the tenant.

The KTA objected to the use of
the word ‘‘may” and to the appeal
in the ad that the information in the
forms may be used to justify
‘“‘decontrols.”’

“Instead of a straightforward

statement of the law and the land-
lord’s legal obligation,” the tenant

ad that ‘pleads’ with landlords

association wrote Mair, ‘You

virtually beg them to comply in the
name of self-interest — that is, the
announced intention of the govern-
ment to decontrol rents.”

The official forms required by
law have not been completed for
over half of the province’s rented
premises, the KTA claimed, “In
plain words, over half of the rents
in the province are illegal and the
agency responsible for the so-
called control does nothing about

PEOPLE AND ISSUES:

it, but plead with landlords to
comply.”

Without full compliance from
landlords, the claim that the rental
market will be analyzed by rent
increase forms is a ‘‘joke,” the
tenants said, which would produce
a “grossly inaccurate analysis at
best.”

The tenant association sent to
Mair a reworded version of the ad
which they called an “impartial”
statement of the legal re-
sponsibilities of landlords, and

urged the minister to have the new
ad published.

The tenants also demanded that
the government release the statis-
tics of non-compliance, provide
tenant associations with relevant
statistical information from the
forms and with information about
the areas where decontrols are
being considered.

Before controls are lifted from

any area, they urged, public
hearings should be held in the
community concerned.

everal weeks ago, we noted in this column that former

‘Greenpeace executive member Paul Watson had cast
some light on the Foundation’s reasons for focusing the
anti-whaling campaign on the Soviet fleet while disregard-
ing the Japanese fleet. According to Watson, even though
Greenpeace knew the location of the Japanese fleet within
an hour of landing on one of the Hawaiian Islands, it had
resolved to seek out the Soviet fleet instead — namely, said
Watson, because a certain Ed Daly of CIA-lined World
Airlines, had paid for the fuel in return for just such an
agreement.

Now Watson has some new revelations suggesting that
Greenpeace was infiltrated by the CIA and an agent placed
aboard a Greenpeace vessel.

Predictably, the charges prompted indignant denials
from Greenpeace guru Bob Hunter and the Foundation’s
lawyer Peter Ballem. But in the flurry of charges and
countercharges, a comment of Ballem’s emerges which
gives added substance to what we have said before.

Ballem said that the decision to “go after the Russian
ships” was made “‘for sound policy reasons.’ No doubt it
was. And we’re sure that part of the ‘‘soundness’’ of those
policies was based on the idea that an anti-Soviet campaign
was bound to be attractive to wealthy financial supporters,
World Airlines among them. Considering that it is now into.
moviemaking, concert bookings and the international
media event on the Newfoundland ice floes — which cost the
Foundation upwards of $60,000 — Greenpeace’s “‘sound
policy decision” obviously paid off.

* * * * *

A s of this week, tenants’ advocate Margaret Dewees of-

ficially becomes one of this province’s 115,000 un-
employed, but in this case at least, the loss will be felt by
hundreds of other people as well as by herself. For two
years she had been holding down the office at Tenants’
Advisory Counselling Service, in Grandview, providing

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 7, 1978—Page 2

assistance to the scores of tenants who sought her out each
month.

But after first abolishing the Vancouver Resources Board
which had initially provided funding, human resources
minister Bill Vander Zalm then went on to cancel all fun-
ding, thereby cutting off the supply to the Grandview
Tenants’ Association and the West End Tenants’
Association which had each maintained a TACS office.

But with the determination that has won her wide respect
among tenants, Margaret hasn’t given up — not yet,
anyway. The tenants are looking around for alternative
sources of funds and Vancouver city council will be ap-
pealing on their behalf to the provincial ministry.

* ae * * *

R or years, we in this office, as well as trade union locals
throughout the province have looked through the pages
of the popular UE News and have found much of interest in
the paper that long ago established itself as the lively,
militant voice of an equally militant union, the United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers’ Union. But with
the next issue, there will be something missing, for George
Harris has written a ‘‘30” — the end in newspaper parlance
—to his column Labor at Home and Abroad which is much
an institution as the paper itself.

Although UE ceased to have a local in this province a few
years ago, Harris, as secretary-treasurer of UE is well-
known and his column, throughout its 28 years of existence,
has won considerable esteem for its hardhitting com-

- mentary.

As he ended his column, Harris wrote, “‘. . . hope that my
37 years in the working class, trade union and labor political
movement will have contributed in some small measure to
the needs and aspirations of our class and to the eventual
achievement of its historical aims and goals.”

Of that there can be no doubt.

W: had a special call this week from Mona Morgan, asking ©

us to convey her thanks for the many kindnesses shown
her and Nigel following his hospitalization in February.
Here is her note: ’ :

“Nigel and Mona Morgan wish ‘to thank all the clubs,
members and friends who have phoned, sent greetings,
flowers and gifts. Greatly appreciated is the attractive book
signed by the participants in the provincial convention of |
the Communist Party, and the beautiful handmade card
signed by members at the party’s recent central committee
meeting. Nigel’s condition is much improved but long

hospitalization is indicated.”
* *

* * *

t’s not the kind of sacrifice that we’d want to ask too”

many people to make, given the sad state of public
transportation in this province, but Ed Dotzler, a Tribune
supporter for more years than most of the staff has been
around, did it nevertheless. He sold his car — and turn
$800 over to the financial drive.

But then doing without a car and using his feet instead iS |
something that Ed has done for years. Even though he’s in —

his 70’s, he walks several miles every day and when we

moved our offices last year, he was running up and down —
the stairs with furniture as fast — and as often — as any of
us. .

: Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O’CONNOR

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