PAGE §, THE HERALD, Monday, November 728, 1977 Bennett calls for united front VANCOUVER (CP) — Premier Bill Bennett's call on the governments : of Canada to form a - united. front against - economic problems .: highlighted the threeday : annual convention of the rovincial Social Credit arty which ended here .. Saturday. . Bennett, in a wide- - ranging address to about - 1,000 delegates Friday, . said British Columbia . will demand the par- . ticipation of the federal - government and the other provinces to control gov- ermment spending. The province has built -a Strong economy, the premier said, but could . Seeits wealth eroded by a -- weak national attack on a. Ss _. Spending and inconsistent Inancial policies. Bennett said the . country needs financial policies that will limit government spending to a percentage of gross national or provinial product and called for ong policies that “cannot be changed at whim from year to year." He said _ solving Canada's economic difficulties is particularly important at a time when the people of Quebec are c on sid Confederation. IS FALSE HOPE “It’s a false hope to believe that the economic problems that face them (Quebeckers), would be resolved if they leave Canada,” said Bennett. “Canada was not built by people who ran away.” In a news conference following his speech, he said he would like to see the nation’s governments agree on the basis for a compulsory national economic policy before the expiry of the anti- inflation regulations. He said a premiers’ con- ference could get the plan underway. Bennett said the plan Should include specific objectives to control spending, limit foreign borrowing and to develop e": as ue abe - . oO ra] policies across the country, He said the issue was one of national necessity. Convention delegates generally were in a don’t- rock-theboat mood and appeared pleased with Bennett’s first 23 months in office, following the NDP defeat in 1975. The convention ended, however, with delegates Split on the question of right-to-work legislation that would abolish the closed union shop in B.C, MOVE DEFEATED In a narrow 233-to-217 vote, and only after several hours of often- rancorous debate capped by a plea from Labor inister Allan Williams, delegates defeated a policy resolution that called on the government to introduce right-to-work laws. The only cabinet minister seen to vote for the resolution in the standing vote was Eco- nomic Development Minister Don Phillips. Williams, | Education Minister Pat McGeer and Transport Minister Jack Davis opposed the resolution. The premier was not present during the vote, the third decision on the issue in three years. Last year's convention tummed down a right-to-work resolution and delegates tabled a similar motion in 1975. Williams said later that he wouldn’t have recommended such legislation even if the mo- tion had passed. He said that if the resolution ssed, the party would e accused of taking away the hard-won democratic rights of workers. Other delegates said right-towerk legislation would split the province into two warring camps. GIVES WARNING Williamswarned delegates on the con- vention floor an affirma- tive vote would place the cabinet in the position of “refusing to follow your lead or of passng legislation disestablishing unions," Those advocating the motion had argued right- to-work laws would ‘‘give trade union power hack to the workers and take it away from unscrupulous labor leaders.’’ The resolution was ‘‘not antiunion, not anti-labor and will not be accepted as such by the people of this province,”’ said Jack Kempf, MLA for Omineca. _ While many of the delegates supported the concept of rightto-work legislation in ‘principle, they voted against the motion because of its possible consequences on the party and industrial mood in the province. Among the resolutions approved during the convention were: —a call requiring a national before any jurisdiction was permitted to leave Confederation ; NEW MINISTRY —creation of a ministry for small business; —a call for greater worker and management co-operation to avoid strikes and lockouts; —a resolution calling on the government to pass legislation by Jan. 1, i980 forbidding the discharge of untreated sewage into any body of water: —a resolution calling for passage of an in- dustrial land reserve act to ecourage development of a reserve of industrial serviced land throughout the province.{Delegates deleted a clause that would give the province authority to acquire or dispose of land to create a reserve.) Delegates never reached a postponed resolution calling for the tomt mis nnast resignation. The motion said Davis's introduction of seat belt legislation was an infringement of civil liberties and contrary to Social Credit philosophy. One delegate said the resolution should be disposed of because its existence was making “a laughingstock of this con- vention.” Another minister came under fire for his policies, but not from party delegates. labor PIE CONNECTS Human Resources Minister Bill Vander Zalm was plastered in the face with a banana cream pie Friday night by a young woman who made good a speedy escape. A note found in the remains of thd pie—a communique from the Anarchist Party of Canada (Groucho- Marxist)—said Vander Zalm was selected as target because of, among other things, “his con- sistent attacks against welfare recipients, single mothers, mental patients, the hospitalized, native people and Que- c ” Vander Zalm, who was not injured, laughed off the incident saying: “I'm grateful its banana cream pie, it's one of my favorites, but it’s all over my suit.” Later it was discovered the pie-thrower, a woman who calls herself Mer- cury, had left behind her coat and briefcase. Vander Zalm, saying he intended to press no charges, invited her to return to get it. He said he would like to share a cream pie with her—eat one that is—and they could discuss their differences while doing so. She refused the offer and said on a radio broadcast Vander Zalm was naive to think she would ‘‘sit down and have a dialogue with him over a piece of pie.” KEEN ELECTED Delegates elected Les ‘Keen, head of a Coquitlam debt collecting agency, as party president to replace retiring Peter Hyndman. Keen's opponent, Kathy Almas, was nominated for vice- president after her loss to Keen and won that position in a race against three other candidates. Almas, 36, is a North Vancouver restaurant owner, Keen, 49, is the man who engineered George Ke eb bac ess campaign against NDP leader Dave Barrett in the 1975 election in Coquitlam _—_rid- ing.(Barrett later won a byelection in Vancouver East.) He said in an interview that although he has been working with the provincial Social Credit arty for 10 years, he folds a national mem- bership with the Progressive Con- servative Party. Keen said that as an opponent of socialism, he would support any party that was for private enterprise and had a chance of holding power if he lived elsewhere in the country. een ra referendum. ‘| oie ae , FF Spt . ar slamala Marsh World Dueck Cialr tend vial - WATER PLANTS — Aquatic plants show several madificatians necessary for life In the water. Air spaces afe abundant in the leaves and stems, ‘ providing buoyancy. This allows the plant to remain erect while retaining the flexibility needed lo withstand wincl anc! wave action. Leaves which ; float on the surface of the water have gas- exchange pores, or stomata, on the upper surface, _ in contrast to land plants which have their stomat on the under surface of the leaves. ° 162 » "76 Changes in assessment law now makc it possible for property owners to accurately measure whether they are fairly assessed. Your 1978 property Assessment Notice, issued by the British Columbia Assessment Authority, is in the mail and will be arriving at your door shortly. An information brochure explaining the changes accom- panies the notice. _ When they arrive, please take time to read bath carefully... Why changes in , assessment law? . Assessments had become outdated. They had become inequitable in terms of their actual value relationships. Properties having identical market values were assessed at widely differing amounts. This resulted in some owners paying more than ‘their fair share of taxes and others less, ‘The new law required production of the 1978 assessment roll based on fixed per- centages of actual value for each class of property. This means that the inequities will be removed, and that cach class of property will be assessed on the same basis. In all, it provides a fairer way lo share the cost of essential local services, What will happen to taxes? The assessment roll provides the raic base used by municipalities, school boards and other logal governments to raise the funds necessary to provide essential local services, The costs of these services determine the overall amount required to be raised by local property taxes, The purpose of the change in assessment law is NOT to raise more taxes but lo provide a fairer basis upon which to appor- tion the costs of essential local services nore equitably between property owners. Since assessments are now clirectly related lo aetual value, your assessed values may be higher or lower than in previous years. AD increase or a decrease in your assessed values from those in effect last year does not necessarily mean that your property taxes will change significantly. Tax notices based on your new assessed valucs will be issued later in 1978. ‘Is my 1978 assessment fair? As your assessment is now based on a fixed percentage of what your property is worth its Fairness can be measured by‘actual value comparisons. The Assessor's estimate of your property's actual value (market value) is shown on your 1978 Assessment Notice. - The fairness of your assessment may be determined by comparing the Assessor's estimate of actual value of your property to your own estimate of its current market value as well as by comparing it to the current market values of properties of similar worth. The percentage of actual value at which each class of property will be assessed is: Residential ~ 15% (includes apartments, condominiums, mobile homes, etc.) Business and Other — 25" (includes com- mercial, some industrial). Industrial, Utilities, Machinery and Equip- ment, Forestry -30%. The Assessor and his stat? will give you every assistance necessary to properly” cheek your assessment. What appeal do I have? Your Assessor is prepared to provide you witha detailed explanation of how your “assessment was determined. If you are dissatisfied with the assessment and wish an independent review. a right of appeal is available to you. The procedure to coniplain is simple and is fully explained on the reverse of your 1978 Assessment Notice. The deadline for any written appeal is January 20, 1978. The new assessment method is fully ex- plained in the brochure that will accompany the mailing of your individual Assessment Notices, BRITISH COLUMBIA | u ~ ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY ’“’ Assessment Notice... Look at your it's different this year! It now shows both the actual (market) value and the assessed value on which your 1978 taxes will be based.