BRITISH COLUMBIA Some 150 municipal councils across Canada are being urged to press the fed- eral government for an inquiry into the number of nuclear-powered or nuclear- capable warships visiting Canadian ports — visits the campaign’s backers warn have increased alarmingly during the past year. Peter Brown of Operation Dismantle, the Ottawa-based peace group which last month sent out letters to municipal governments whose jurisdictions could be affected by a nuclear leak or accident, said there were 272 “ship-days” of visits by nuclear-capable warships from the United States in 1985 — representing a 250-per cent increase over the previous 10 years. The campaign is backed by Victoria mayor Grétchen Brewin who, in a letter, has called on Prime Minister Brian Mul- roney to conduct a full, public inquiry into the warship visits. Brewin’s primary concern was the danger of leaks from nuclear-powered vessels’ reactors. She noted a recent visit to Esquimalt harbor by the USS Hawkbill, a submarine with a history of leaks, one of which contaminated five shipyard workers. The mayor also noted figures that reveal some 600 accidents involving U.S. Navy nuclear-capable vessels from 1965-85. “The inquiry should also examine the question of whether, in permitting these visits, indeed welcoming them, the Cana- dian government is giving support to the nuclear arms race, which itself poses the greatest threat to the security of people in - this area and beyond,” Brewin wrote. Brewin noted External Affairs Minister Joe Clark’s recent statement that Canada has a long-standing agreement allowing visits by nuclear submarines, with terms that are not public and did not pass through debate in Parliament. Brewin -proposed that the federal government: : @ Convene a public inquiry to review all aspects of the issue; @ Consult affected provincial and municipal governments on the terms of reference and personnel of the inquiry commission, and provide funding for intervening groups; : @ Rescind all visits by nuclear-powered Mayor urges inquiry into n-ship visits] Operation Dismantle campaign warns of danger from nuclear submarines such as, the USS Drum, pictured above, in Nanoose Bay, June 1985. and nuclear-capable warships, unless these are declared to be nuclear-free, until the commission has reported; @ Require, if the visits are not can- celled, that all visiting vessels be subject to inspection and regulations from the Atomic Energy Control Board. North Vancouver district council last month backed Brewin’s call for an inquiry, and the council of Amherstburg, near Windsor, Ont., recently adopted the proposal. - Citizens overruled as megamall OK’d VICTORIA — City council has given the green light to a downtown shopping mall despite the warnings of the city’s special development commis- sioner and the opposition of thousands of citizens. Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to back the proposed Eaton’s megamall while the gallery, packed with the project’s supporters and members of the Save Our City Coalition (SOCC), looked on. Council supporters of the Cadillac Fairview development have cited the economic shot in the arm the project will supposedly bring in jobs for the area, which has a 15-per cent unem- ployment rate, and in increased con- sumer spending. But citizens, who have packed several large meetings since the project was first announced more than six months ago, and who gathered 3,600 signatures on a petition, have called the project a disaster. They had the backing for their posi- tion at a public meeting in the Royal Theatre Feb. 23 featuring former Toronto mayor John Sewell, former Victoria mayor Peter Pollen and former Vancouver alderman and Uni- versity of B.C. geography professor Walter Hardwick. The speakers all hit the project for the damage it would do to the city’s unique downtown build- ings and the threat it poses to estab- lished businesses in the area. Sewell in particular compared the development to Toronto’s gigantic Eaton’s centre, which he termed a “black hole” drawing business away from the area’s regular merchants and “devastating” the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, Yonge Street. In a recent letter to special develop- ment commissioner Gwynn Symmons, local Communist Party leader Ernie Knott said economic revitalization depends on diversifying Victoria’s industries — several of which have been terminated recently — and en- hancing the city’s heritage character for the tourist trade. The furore created by the gigantic, 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 11, 1987 two-block development which will des- troy or significantly alter 10 heritage buildings, has split both the local labor council and the New Democrats. Mayor Gretchen Brewin, an NDP sup- porter, voted for the mall. But what makes the case particularly unique in the annals of urban develop- ment is the manner in which it has been handled. Symmons gave some details in a recently released report on the project. In it, the special commissioner revealed that the plan has been managed not by the city, but by the developer, Cadillac Fairview. Cadillac Fairview did all the plan- ning, and conducted two polls to determine public attitudes towards the project. “Tt is regre‘table that the city did not fully appreciate the importance of establishing its own information and participation process, independent of a party with a very defined, special inter- est,” Symmons wrote. The special development commis- sioner, who met with the developer sev- eral times to negotiate planning and other details, also hit the air of secrecy that surrounded the project, and noted that members of advisory committees complained that their recommenda- tions were consistently ignored. Critics also note that the project runs roughshod over the city’s development plan, struck after some 10 years of debate, which stresses enhancement of the downtown’s heritage character. The haste with which the project was introduced and adopted becomes sig- nificant in light of recent public opinion polls which showed support for the’ Eaton’s megamall slipping. A survey carried out by Trend Anal- ysis Research, commissioned by the B.C. Public Interest Group, found that the public still favored the project with _ 44.9 per cent for, 32.8 per cent opposed and 20.1 per cent neutral.By compari- son, an earlier poll conducted by Mar- con found 62 per cent in favor and only 16 per cent opposed to the mall. NPA council imposes rent on Tools for Peace space If Tools for Peace can’t send as much aid to Nicaragua next year — matching or surpassing the record figure of 1986 — it will bé thanks to a decision by the new right-wing Vancouver city council. Council voted 6-4 March 3 not to renewa lease which gave the organization city- owned warehouse space virtually rent-free, ending years of support the city has given to the six-year old, national project. Tools for Peace co-ordinator Phil West- man says the project will continue its efforts to raise money and material aid for the Central American nation, but acknow- ledged that rent charges will take a bite out of the project’s yearly aid. In an interview, Westman said several other municipalities — including Dart- mouth, N.S., Saskatoon and Edmonton — have also supplied warehouse space for Tools for Peace, which is run by the Coali- tion for Aid to Nicaragua. “But no other city has ever put a dollar value on their donation,” said Westman in reference to a recent city manager’s report that claims the city could reap up to $54,900 in annual rent for the warehouse at the south foot of Main Street which the organi- zation rents for $1 on a month-to-month basis. The Nicaragua aid project began in 1981 when the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union and Oxfam Canada sent a boatload of fishing supplies and other items to aid the new society established by the Sandinista revolution in 1979. It has since mushroomed into a national project run by 120 local committees anda yearly campaign which, in 1986 — the period ended in Jan- uary this year — collected a record figure of more than $2 million in goods and cash. Previous city councils, on which the alliance of Mayor Mike Harcourt and the Committee of Progressive Electors held a majority, were highly supportive of the pro- ject and eventually granted it warehouse space. _ The new council, now dominated by the right-wing Non-Partisan Association, heard Rev. Robert Smith of Shaughnessy United Church describe conditions in Nicaragua resulting from the economic boycott waged by the U.S. Reagan administration. “It is because we as ordinary citizens find this a significant avenue for our compassion that we believe it to be a cause worthy of support by city council,” Smith said. Westman said the project had to be assured of a space to place the goods cok lected mainly between August and January, but told council the organization did not need all the warehouse space during non peak times. That failed to move council right-wingers such as Ald. George Puil, who claimed that imposing rent on the warehouse space di not constitute “a political decision. “Was I elected to give financial support to an international organization of this type? — No,” said Puil, claiming that con- tinued rent-free status for the groups would “open the floodgates” for similar requests from other organizations. NPA Ald. Jonathan Baker said he opposed granting the group any furthel space, and in debate told COPE Ald. Bruce Eriksen “Id vote against aid for Chile, too. Ald. Gordon Price, the NPA membetf who usually acts as a moderate, moved that council extend Tools For Peace’s tenancy at a nominal rent on a monthly basis if the organization agreed to administer. surplus space in the warehouse on behalf of othet “charitable” groups. He rejected an amend- ment from COPE Ald. Libby Davies that the lease be extended for one year. That amendment failed, with only the support of the COPE aldermen, as did Pr ce’s motion, which had the support ° Davies, Eriksen, Price and Ald. Carole Tay” lor. After some wrangling, council eventually adopted — with Davies, Eriksen, Price al Taylor opposed — a motion from Bakef that the organization’s lease expire on May SHE | i how the project can in “some fashion” co®™ tinue to use city warehouse space. Meeting on suites set Westman said later the coalition will be discussing with the city’s properties divisio" — The questions raised by Vancouver cit) _ council’s crackdown on illegal suites will the subject of a public discussion spons0! by the East Indian Workers Associatio® March 15. Featuring as guest speaker forme! alderman Harry Rankin, the meeting is the community centre at 6260 Killarney St» | at 2:30 p.m.