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LIFT THE FREEZE NOW

Crisis in our schools

By JAMES MacFARLAN

Vancouver School Trustee
The provincial government is sacrificing the education of
B.C. children to pay for the tragic error of the ‘‘two river’
policy. Millions of dollars of available capital has been
diverted from education to hydro to help pay for a huge deficit

on the Peace and Columbia.

The government’s announcement
last week of a new $10 million school
Lond issue will not end the school
construction freeze. In fact it will not
even provide enough money for
projects which are urgently required
for school opening in September.

The freeze must be ended now. I
call upon the Premier and the
Minister of Education to release
funds to meet all local school
building needs immediately. If they

will not act on behalf of the welfare

‘of the children and in fact, of all

citizens of B.C. by placing education
as a top priority item, then they
should resign.

As a school Trustee, elected to
help bring quality education to our
children I cannot remain silent when
the education of thousands of
students is jeopardized by a
provincial government more
concerned with power than people.

The tragic error of the Columbia

, Shrink from a decision on its implementation (medicare) .

EDITORIAL

The truth will out

A noted political analyst recently described Canada’s
old-line two party system as being ‘‘badly fragmen-
tated.’’ That was, and probably is the most descriptive understatement
in the century just passed.

These two parties, Liberal and Tory, are not only fragmented but, as
each passing week reveals, no longer, possess, or ever again likely to
possess that minimum of unity, honesty and integrity the common
people usually associate with responsible government.

Last week the B.C. remnants of the leaderless Tory party threw a
$50-dollar-a-plate banquet for their newly-found national leader,
Robert Stanfield. Touted as the “‘strong, silent’ type, the political
menu Stanfield dished out to his leaderless Tories in B.C. could have
been had at any third-rate political chow joint for 90-cents-a-plate, and
rated high at that.

All that the “strong silent’’ Stanfield had to offer his gastronomic
followers yearn for an early return to the public pork-barrel, was a
_ Stale rehash of Liberal leadership race, and faced with the dilemma of
how best to boost — or blast their own policies in an opportunistic
effort to woo leadership votes; and to conceal cabinet and party
schisms, splits and dissentions while “selling’’ their own special
qualifications to give Canada more of the same.

Sonorously he of the ‘“‘unshrinkable underwear” opined “ . ... it
would be an act of irresponsibility for the administration (Liberal) to
. . When
several ministers of the government have reopened the subject by way
of public debate’.

While Stanfield was telling his followers what the majority of
Canadians already know to their sorrow, he was careful to omit what,
if anything, he and his well-shrunk followers planned to do about
medicare. On that he was strongly silent but it could be deduced from
the silence that, in the interests of big monopoly, Stanfield was ready

to do a torpedo job on medicare — in order to hold down inflation. Guns
before butter — or health.

Whatever may result from last weekend’s Western Liberal
conference in Winnipeg in its preliminary choice of a ‘‘Pied Piper’ one
burning issue remains; a lengthy docket of scuttled promises ranging
all the way from medicare to the Carter recommendations on taxation,
from Canada’s complicity in U.S. genocide in Vietnam to the
surrender of Canada’s independence, and not the least the future of
French Canada in the Canadian confederation. All that and more for
which every Liberal race entrant to, date is responsible for — but in
their anxiety to catch votes, will seek to hide or weasel out of.

Some: “reputable’’ Liberal newspapers think all these issues and
more should be hidden during the race for top position in case it might

” .. . might bring the party and themselves tumbling under the fire of
general Canadian resentment and fed-upness’’.

Since when isn’t the truth good for Canada?

‘West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune

~~~ Editor—TOM McEWEN Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.,
Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.

~ “Subscription Rate: Canada, $5.00 one year; $2.75 for six months.
All other countries, $7.00 one year. Authorized as séconi
for Payment of postage in cash.

-©Northand South Americéahd‘Commonwealth countries 6.( eres
Pea eae SRE nisino

- Pacific Tribune

__ to priva

River Treaty which thousands. of
patriotic Canadians, including the
late General A. G. L. McNaughton -
opposed is now becoming clear. Ata
minimum estimate the people of
B.C. will pay an additional $150
million over the original cost figures
for the Columbia. Mr. Bennett
promised free power from -the
Columbia. The opposite will be the
case. Every man, woman and child
in B.C. will end up owing close to
$100 more in hydro debt. In addition,
the cost of being denied a quality
education, to say nothing of adequate
hospital and other social services
can never be counted in dollars.

The construction freeze is a fraud.
Money has been and is available. But
the government has used and is using
this capital for hydro iiivestments.

The following figures prove the
point. In 1962 the B.C. Teachers’
Pension Fund had $18.5 million (or
23% of its total) invested in hydro
and $43.5 million (55%) in schools.
By Jan. 1966 comparable figures —
were hydro: $53.6 million (47%) and
schools: $43 million . (38%). My
estimate is that the Jan. 1968 figure
will show $65-$70 million invested
from this fund in hydro.

The pattern is clear. To pay for the
Columbia error this government has
decided to place education well down
its priority list.

A similar pattern can be shown by
studying other pension fund
investments. The following table
gives the proof:

Civil Service Superannuation Fund
and Municipal Superannuation Fund.
TOTAL OF BOTH FUNDS
1962 — $133.2 million
1966 — $216.2 million
INVESTED IN HYDRO
$17.3 million — (13%)

$101.3 million — (48%) aoe

INVESTED IN SCHOOLS : f er ;
$58.2 million — (44%) =o, a x Ves
$60.0 million — (28%) Ly SS! ath, Wiha wp Wr

TRUSTEE MacFARLAN

A shocking shift in investment. An
increase from 13% to 47% in hydro
and drop in schools from 44% to 28%.
These funds grew by $83 million and
schools received only about $2
million of the increase. In addition to
the above, a large share of the more
than $90 million in Canada Pension
Fund available for provincial
investment and a major share of the
announced $110 million government
“surplus’’ for 1967 has also been
placed in hydro.

In a recent C.B.C.-T.V. interview
(Jan. 4, 1968) Education Minister

Peterson spoke of the Vancouver
School Board in these terms.
“They’re very good at spending
money when its offered to them ona
silver platter.’’ I should point out
that the provincial government
doesn’t offer the Vancouver School
Board or any other Board money ‘‘on
a silver platter’.

The people of this province have
approved referenda amounting to
millions of dollars. The people, by
democratic choice have decided that
a part of their local and provincial
tax dollar must go to school
construction. Neither Mr. Bennett
nor Mr. Peterson has the right to
refuse. To do so is to act in the most
arrogant and undemocratic fashion
in regard to the will of the people.

This government will only change
its position if the people of B.C.
demand it. One year ago the
pressure of school boards, teachers,
P.T.A.’s, trade unions, other groups
and individuals ended the last freeze.

Similar action on behalf of our -

children’s welfare can force Victoria
to drop this freeze.

As an individual Trustee, a teacher
and a parent I call upon every
organization, every municipal
government, every person who is
concerned about providing quality
education for our children to demand
that the freeze be lifted NOW!!

Rankin

By ALD. H. RANKIN

City Council has voted an
additional $500,000 to the PNE to
help pay for the new Pacific
Coliseum. In my opinion, this action
was completely unjustified. I spoke
and voted against it in Council.

The Federal and Provincial
governments each contributed $2
million towards the cost of the
coliseum. City Council voted
$1,750,000 with a proviso that $500,000
of this amount would be paid back to
the City over a period of years by an
annual payment of twenty-five -
percent of coliseum profits.

Now Council has voted to reverse
that decision and will allow the PNE
to keep the $500,000.

I am certainly not opposed to the
City contributing whatever is
necessary to the building of publicly
owned and publicly controlled
facilities. The coliseum is a credit to
our City. The point at issue here,
though, is that the coliseum (and for
that matter, the whole P.N.E.) is not
publicly controlled.

As I mentioned before, years ago
Council turned over control of the
PNE to a self perpetuating. board of .
da ebD they ete ie fe
publicly owned facilities of the PNE

nercial sports and_

its PNE handouts

entertainment interests such as the
Vancouver Canucks at attractively
low rents. What this means is that
the public puts up the money for
public buildings while private
business interests take the profit.

The $500,000 that Council just voted
to give the PNE for the coliseum is
one more subsidy to private
business. With such gifts to be had
from City Council, the sports
promoters will be laughing all the
way to the bank.

The vote to donate another $500,000
to the PNE could possibly get City

_ Council into trouble. City bylaws

require that all motions dealing with
expenditures of civic funds be passed

by a two-thirds majority. This vote
passed by only a 5-4 majority.

In my opinion, Council proceeded
wrongly in declaring it passed. By so
doing, it now leaves itself open to
legal action by any individual or
group for violating the City Charter.

The .citizens of this. city should
demand of Council that steps be
taken to place control of the PNE in
the hands of Council so that it can be
used directly for the benefit of the
people of Vancouver. We demand
that the budgets and control of all
major boards in Vancouver be
placed before Council for scrutiny.
Why not this organization as well?

DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE OVER VIET NAM

a,

LIPHANT——DENVER POST