; a E Dally
3 ts [sesiycteny, D)

Bank vaults stuffed

The huge profits being made by
Canada’s major banks is becoming
a source of serious embarrassment
for the Trudeau government,
which is trying to sell its anti-
inflation program to the Canadian
public on the plea that the rich as
well as the poor will have to make
sacrifices. :

These profits make the Liberal
government’s claim that cor-
porations will be hit just as hard as
worker’s wages, look pretty hollow
with each passing day, as one
Canadian bank after another
reports its profits. Latest of the
banks to report profits for the year
ending October 31, 1975 was the
Bank of Nova Scotia. The bank
showed that profits had jumped 58
percent from last year — from
$70.5 million to $111.7 million this
year. And that was after taxes. The
total assets of the Bank of Nova
Scotia stood at $16 billion, an in-
crease of 19 percent over last year.

Embarrassed by this huge profit,
the bank announced recently it
would put a 12-month freeze on
service charges as a ‘‘con-
tribution’’ to the’ federal anti-

inflation program. One _ banking
official from a smaller bank called
this measure “‘inconsequential’’.

The biggest gain in profits by any
bank was posted by the Bank of
Montreal which showed an in-
crease of 80.7 percent. Up to the
year ending Oct. 31 earnings rose
from $56.5 million the previous
year to $102.1 million.

The Royal Bank of Canada, the
largest in the country, reported an
increase of 42.9 percent in profits
over the previous year. Their
profits rose from $107.2 million a
year ago to $153.2 million this year.

Realizing that there would be a
public uproar against the huge
profits, the Bank of Montreal in
June froze some of its service
charges on personal cheques,
money orders, and traveller’s
cheques — all items of very little
consequence. The major items
such as interest rates on loans and
deposits is a main source of bank
profits and will not be changed by
banks unless pub lic opinion forces
the government to crack down on
them — which it so far shows very
little inclination to do.

HOUSING DISCRIMINATION

Children made victims

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

One of the bitter side effects of
the growing housing crisis is
discrimination against children.
It’s evidenced by the ‘Adults
Only” policy of more and more
apartment owners.

A new organization, the Tenant
rights for Children, brought some
startling facts before City Council

recently.

A recent survey by the group
revealed that 90 percent of rental
premises in the Greater Vancouver
area do not accept families with

* children.

A key offender in this respect is
Killarney Gardens in South
Vancouver at 54th Avenue East
and Kerr Street. .This apartment
complex which occupies 10 acres
and has 267 units began phasing out
children two years ago. :

Two methods were used. One
was to re-rent to adults only when a
family vacated a suite. The other
was to bring pressure through
harrassment and restrictions on
people who have children so. that
they will find it so uncomfortable
they will move even though it is
extremely difficult to find new
premises. Ironically, Killarney
Gardens won a national award for
excellence in family-oriented
rental housing!

The number of children in this
complex has as a result dropped
from 400 to 100. Furthermore, the
YWCA Day Care Centre opened in
the area in July, 1973, is now being
closed too. If the working mothers
of the 25 children who will be

Morgan to analyse
election results

Nigel Morgan, provincial leader
of the Communist Party, will
analyze the new political situation
in B.C. resulting from the
December 11 election at a public
forum on Wednesday, January 7 at
8 p.m. :

The party leader will address the
first session of the Norman
Bethune lectures to be held at 805
E. Pender St., Vancouver.

Cassette tapes of Morgan’s
speech will be made available to
those wishing to purchase them.
Orders for tapes should be made
through Room 408—193 E. Hastings
St., Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone: 684-
1451.

dispossessed can’t find another
day care centre to meet their
needs, they’ ll just have to quit their
jobs and go on welfare.

How are we to deal with un-
conscionable* landlords who
discriminate against children?,

One method would be for City
Council to enact a_ by-law
prohibiting discrimination against
families with children. It should be
justas much ofa violation of law to
discriminate against families as it
is to discriminate against people

because of their sex or race or
nationality.

Such a by-law should prohibit —

conversions to
buildings and it
retroactive to at least 1972. It could
include a provision for exemption
from the by-law for just cause, to
take care of exceptional cases that
may arise.

The Provincial Department of
Human Rights should enact

“‘adult-only”’

legislation to bar discrimination

X

 MEPZ
FRED

WILSON

" See RANKIN, pg. 16

MIKE GIDORA

Tribune staff changes

Fred Wilson, business manager
and staff writer for the Tribune for
the past three years, was recently
elected to the post of general
secretary of the Young Communist
League, and will be leaving in
January for Toronto to assume his
new duties. ‘

The Tribune congratulates Fred
on his new and

to have'a person of his proven and
outstanding leadership qualities.
Their gain is the Tribune’s loss. In
the time Fred has been with
Tribune he has contributed much
to the paper in every department.
Under his leadership the financial
drives for the paper reached the
highest point in its 40 year history.

Fred takes with him the best
wishes and congratulations of his
fellow staff members and_ the
readers of the Tribune.

The editorial board is pleased to
announce that the post of business
manager is being taken over by
Mike Gidora who has been with the

important .
, assignment. The YCL is fortunate

staff.

time he has shown himself to have
the qualities needed to fill the post
left by Fred. Only 23, Mike has a
wide range of experience behind
him. Born in New Westminster into
a family active in the working
class movement, Mike is chairman
of the B.C. Young Communist
League and has already had a few
years experience in the trade union
movement. He was an executive
member of the Surrey local of
CUPE and a member of the

executive of the New Westminster -

Labor Council for a time. Mike has
attended Simon Fraser University
where he served on the executive
of the Student’s Society; and UBC
where he was a member of the
staff of the student
Ubyssey. He was the Communist
candidate in Vancouver Centre in
the provincial: election.

In saying goodbye to Fred, and
expressing many thanks for his
valuable contribution to the paper,
the editorial board also extends its
welcome’ to Mike to the paper’s

should be

|

Fy:

paper,

TOM
McEWEN

he sovereign people of the province of British

Columbia have spoken in their democratic majority,
but the voice while seemingly united is far from
unanimous. In the murky fog of free enterprise versus
socialism a Social Credit gangup, with Liberal, Tory,
NDP and other nondescript “assists,” has produced a
Socred landslide, bringing the Barrett NDP government
down to ignominious defeat. Even in his own constituency
of Coquitlam, Barrett could-be nosed out by an unknown
Socred car salesman. NDP standing in the new
Legislature has been whittled down to 18 seats, while the
Socred free enterprisers hold 35.

Before election day a whole raft of B.C.’s big business
free entrepeneurs were muttering dire threats of moving
out. Tut, Tut, they now say, we never intended to move out
— all we wanted was to get rid of the socialist menace.

The election results illustrate a right-wing advance of
catastrophic proportions; a complete reversal of the
sweep in 1972. The lone Liberal elected chides B.C. for
always running to extremes and prognosticates, come the
next election, that the Liberals will provide an “alter-
native;”’ a real ‘‘dead center party,” blandly unaware,
that the logistics of dead center means that the political
locomotive isn’t going anywhere backwards or forward!
Dead center! All aboar-r-r-d! A Liberal interpretation of
the Barrett boast of ‘representing all the people.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 19, 1975—Page 2

Meantime a Socred chair-warmer with a_ Liberal
hangover and a ready access to the media, was extolling
the “great parliamentary and democratic traditions of
British monopoly,” the great Commonwealth of
Australia, at the Queen’s command, and regardless of
constitutional niceties, has applied the old heave-ho to the
Whitlam Labor government, and replaced it with a
government of the Fraser Liberal-Country Coalition — a
reasonable facsimile of the W.A.C. Bennett Socred
dynasty. Neither the Country Party, the Queen, nor the
Australian monopoly ripoff worried one damn bit about
democracy, the constitution, or a duly elected Labor
government. Their main concern was similar to that of
the Socred gangup — get rid of it, by fair means if
possible, foul if necessary!

The Whitlam Labor government had made the same
errors as the Barrett government, typical of right-wing
social democracy the world over; representing all the
people, boasting that its government was not in labor’s
pocket as a cover-up for anti-labor legislation, threatening
big business out of one side of its mouth while making big
concessions out of the other. Basically, failing to un-
derstand that while a labor or socialist government have
thé right and obligation to formulate its own policies, the
same right must be conceded to organized labor. Thus
neither are in each other’s pocket and the party ‘‘alms”
basket can be passed without stigma. Comparisons, they
Say, are odious’, but the genuine forces-of progressive
labor, peace and socialism must never take democracy
and socialism for granted!

The NDP Barrett government confirmed that warning
when it legislated 60,000 B.C. striking workingmen back to
work without so much as a by your leave. Loudly ap-
proving this action, the Socreds could have done no better.
Now they are its elected beneficiaries. :

British Columbians in their majority have been hyp-
notized into voting for what they didn’t want or need,
instead of holding onto what they had and uniting to ex-
tend and improve it. In short, as Lenin once wrote, voting
for ‘‘one step forward, two steps backwards.’’ But they
will speedily learn when ‘William the Second’ and his
courtly entourage of assorted opportunists get going for
free enterprise! i

To many, no doubt, the Communist vote in this election
may have looked much like the proverbial dog-catcher
vote, but the prime factor which distinguishes the Com-
munist Party of Canada from the NDP and all other
parties, is that it is in the forefront of the struggle all the
other 364 days of the year; fighting for the immediate and
long-range needs of labor and the people — for the
ultimate objective of a socialist B.C. in a socialist

~ Canada! : ;
So, with our confidence undiminished we can still say,a.,

Merry Xmas and a Happy prices-controlled 1976 to all —
to those who work for socialism and to those who haven’t
the faintest idea what socialism means. They will get the
idea long before this Socred dynasty expires in a deluge of
its own tears. ;

FRIiBUN

_ Editor - MAURICE RUSH :
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