capa Members of the Albert Johnson Committee picketed Toronto's court house last week deman ng that the two police responsible for the Jamaican immigrant’s shooting death last August be charged with murder. The police are facing manslaughter charges. The trial judge has banned a leaflet issued by the committee and has ordered a media blackout on the trial. Mortgagors urged to fight back against interest rates Homeowners faced with the prospect of renegotiating mor- tgages at current high interest rates are being called upon to organize themselves and to demand federal government action to stop the massive increases in monthly hous- ing costs that the new rates will br- ing. The initiative comes from Van- couver political activist Bruce Yorke, who has called a meeting for homeowners Wed., Mar. 19, 8 p.m. at the Plaza 500 Hotel, 12th Ave. and Cambie St., Van. One of the founders and leaders of the tenants’ movement, Yorkeis now a homeowner; himself faced with a mortgage to renew, It is a logical step from tenant to homeowner struggles, Yorke said. ‘Affordable housing should be a right of every person, whether they rent Or own.”’ Many homeowners are on the verge of losing their homes because they are unable to meet the new mortgage rates, he warned. A five- year mortgage renewed this year will mean increased monthly payments of between $100 and $200, or more, depending on the size of the mortgage and the length of its term. : Wednesday’s meeting, he said, “‘will bring people together to discuss what collective action we can take to forestall being hit with 15 percent interest rates.’’ Yorke said that he will propose that the homeowners put pressure on the federal government to slap a freeze on all existing home mor- tgage interest rates until action is taken to bring down the general in- * terest rate level. F : “Subsidies to a select group of ‘homeowners are not the answer,”’ he said. ‘‘It is the banks and mor- tgage companies who are making a killing out of high interest rates and they should be prevented from gouging any more out of us.” About 200,000 people in Canada have to negotiate new mortgages this year and thousands are expected to default. A $50,000 house purchased in 1975 with a $45,000 mortgage at 10% percent over 25 years would have set mon- thly payments at $410. To renegotiate at 14% percent will raise monthly payments by $132 to $543 per month. Renters’ organization founded The crisis in the rental housing market is forcing tenants to take action and at a public meeting last Sunday, about 20 tenants took the first step in organizing themselves by forming a renter’s association. The organizational meeting heard long-time tenant spokesper- son, Bruce Yorke and NDP MLA hen we first saw the publicity posters, we looked around to see if there was someone in Victoria with a twisted sense of humor; but we can only conclude what many people already know only too well — that this government has few equals in its cynical disregard for people. First thére was Grace McCarthy’s $40,000 ‘‘human resources week’? — proclaimed just days after the United Way reported, that because of drastical- ly inadequate allowances for peo- ple on income assistance, many people were forced to ‘‘cut back on food to subsidize rent.’’ But then, as if to add its own cruel touch of irony, the ministry of, health declared the same week — Mar. 3-9 — as ‘“‘Nutrition Week”’ — and sent posters all over the pro- vince urging people to ‘‘Eat right, feel great.’ z * * * e have from Len Norris of the Veterans of the Mackenzie- Papineau Battalion saluting yet another of the veterans, Jimmy Dobson, who died in Shaughnessy PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 14, 1980—Page 2 for Vancouver Centre, Emery Barnes talk about the ‘‘objective need”’ for tenants to mobilize on their own behalf. “Tenants will have to take in- itiative themselves,’’ Barnes added ~ ““because they won’t see much in- itiative from the present govern- ment in solving the housing crisis.”’ ‘PEOPLE AND ISSUES ~ Hospital where he had undergone treatment for cancer. Born in Calgary 66 years ago, Jimmy, like many of his generation was an active participant in the unemployed struggles of the 1930’s before he volunteered for Spain in 1937. Wounded in action during the Spanish war, his wound later con- tributed to the disease which ultimately felled him. : In later years he was a member of Local 115 of the Operating Engineers for which he served as both a trustee and recording secretary. For three decades, he worked for Burrard Dry Dock in North Vancouver, now Burrard Yarrows. . a * Be or the many people who have F asked that we reprint the ad- dresses to which protests over the transfer of Leonard Peltier to the infamous ‘‘control unit’’, they are as follows: Warden Fenton, Federal Corrections Institution, PO Box 1000, Marion, Illinois; and Norman Carlson, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Wash. D.C. 20001. Most of the tenants at the meeting have had first hand ex- perience with the crisis in the rental market... Dorothy Cook and Mark For- nataro live in separate buildings, but share the same landlord. Both are engaged in bitter confronta- tions over excessive rent increases. The landlord, Aquilini and Zen Construction Ltd., is currently under investigation by the Ren- talsman for illegal rent increases of up to 80 percent. 2 About 60 percent of B.C. tenants are not covered by rent con- trols, and the rent increases far in excess of seven percent which they are receiving is adding to pressure to raise rents above seven percent for those covered by controls, said Yorke. “All tenants should be covered by rent controls, and no increases above seven percent should be allowed,”’ he declared. Yorke reminded the meeting that massive tenant pressure in the early seventies ‘‘brought rent con- trols and some security against evictions.”’ Barnes noted that ‘‘a ground- swell movement of tenants,’’ when organized, can effectively lobby the provincial government for changes in legislation as well as press for non-profit housing. After the meeting, a motion to form a tenant’s organization was unanimously endorsed. Calling themselves the Vancouver Renters Association, the tenants have begun preparing a brief to Van- couver city council on the housing crisis. MacPaps deserve gov't recognition By ALD. HARRY RANKIN On Jan. 21 Torpnto city council unanimously passed a motion call- ing on the federal government ‘‘to’ afford the veterans of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion of the Fifteenth International Brigade the same rights and privileges as veterans of the Canadian armed forces.’’ It was further agreed that Toronto would ask other cities to make a similar recommendation to Ottawa. I am happy to.be able to report that on March 4, Vancouver city council also endorsed the recom- mendation which came in a letter from Toronto city council. The war in Spain from 1936-39 provided examples of both heroism and shame for Canada. The heroism was supplied by the 1,250 Canadians — unemployed, trade unionists, Communists, CCF’ers and others — who enlisted in the in- ternational brigade to fight for Spain. The shame comes from the Canadian government of the day, headed by Mackenzie King, which not only made it illegal for Cana- dians to enlist to help the Spanish Republic fight back against the German and Italian fascists, but also supported the blockade of Spain which prevented the democ- — racies from giving aid to the elected democratic government of Spain. Only Mexico and the Soviet Union dared to run the blockade and at great risk and with many losses, helped out the Spanish people with food and munitions. But let the Canadian veterans of that war speak for themselves. Here is what they said to Toronto city council: : “We are a group of Canadians living from coast to coast in Can- ada with over 30 living in Toronto, who fought against Nazism and fascism prior to the Second World War. We believe the time has come when our government should recognize what we did was a con- tribution to democracy in Canada and elsewhere in the world. We are seeking your assistance to make this a reality now. - “While the war in Spain, 1936- 39, has been described as a civil war, in reality it marked the begin- ning of W.W. II. Franco and his mercenaries would never have been able to leave North Africa had it not been for the Nazi Junker and Fascist Savoia planes. These planes and navies of the two fascist powers ferried the Moors and Foreign Legion soldiers across the Mediterranean Sea to attack Spain. “The Spanish people fought - back, defending their democratically elected Republican * government. Had the various democratic governments (ours in- cluded) agreed to support the recognized and elected Spanish government, had they even been willing to sell them modern arms for gold, the Nazis and fascists could have been defeated in Spain. The Second World War was not in- evitable. It was possible to prevent it or at least postpone it for a long time by supporting the elected Spanish Republican government. “Some of us did just that. About 1,250 Canadians went to Spain as anti-fascists to fight and to die in the hope that Nazism and fascism would be defeated in Spain and thereby prevent the terrible tragedy of a second world war. “More than half our numbers died in Spain. Of those who return- ed to Canada, those who were physically able joined the Cana- - same rights and privileges, as were _ If our government can afford t0— _ Canadian immigrants, surely it call” dian army just a few months lately to again take up the fight against the Nazis and fascists. 7 “From that time till now te — Canadian government has not see” fit to recognize our organization _ representative of the first Cama dians, who as-an army, fought 0 defeat fascism. Moreover, OU history books ignore this important q fact with the result that futule generations of Canadians may 0! be aware of this historically curate information. : “Recently a group of us (30) © visited Spain. There we welt welcomed on all sides by everyone — we met. Many leading people welt — surprised that our government still i. does not recognize our organza tion and grant to us the same recognition as is given-to Secome — World War veterans. i “In Spain the government has; — as of September 11, 1979, leg Hf the former prisoners of Franc?” who fought in the Republican 4 my. Hence it is hard for them 10 — understand why our government still had not acted to recognize US: — “What weare seeking is a resolu: tion from the Toronto city coun@® — to the federal government ! questing them to recognize OU! organization, and to grant us the given to veterans of the Second World War.” Bt The only member of Vancouvel — city council to oppose this resolU- tion on March 4 was Aldermat” Kennedy whose brains are SO” scrambled he called it an ‘‘opening _ of old wounds”’ and couldn’t s@ © that it was an effort to correct all historical injustice. <— bring in several tens of thousands ~ of. ‘‘boat. people’’ of@ ‘*humanitarian grounds’’, at a cost of many millions of dollars, and tO provide them with amenities an@ — opportunities denied to most other ‘ afford to spend a few thousand dollars to give the surviving members of the Mackenzi¢-— Papineau Battalion the privileges, rights and status of veterans who ™ served the cause of democracy when they fought in Spain. U.S. author | here Mar 23 William Mandel, distinguished — U.S. author, broadcaster and lec- — turer on Soviet affairs will speak on — Iran and Afghanistan in relation to _ the current U.S.-USSR crisis at — a public meeting in Kits High School, 2p.m., Mar. 23. : A former consultant for United Press on the USSR Mandel now ~ teaches at UCLA at Berkeley and conducts a radio program from San Francisco. : He is the author of a number of books ranging from “The Soviet — Far East and Central Asia’’ to — “Soviet Women,” the latter based — on material gathered during his — seventh visit to the USSR in 1978. He has an extensive knowledge. of the republics bordering on Iran and — Afghanistan. 7 ae The lecture is of a series on — topical issues sponsored by Peoples — Co-op Books. COPE meeting slated The Committee of Progressive Electors (COPE) annual meeting — will be held this Sunday, March 16, — at 1 p.m. in the Ironworkers Hall. — 3 di