Record of a phoney ‘Liberal’ Real Estate Act supports |

PAgTy CON

1966-1968 Top SAL

J

1950 HELPED INTROOUCE THE
CONCENTRATION CAMP BILL WHICE
BECAME PART OF M<CARRAN ACT

INTRODUCED BILL TO OUTLAW

! 954 é COMMUNIST PARTY

-LABOR
1959 vores, com Aer ner

196 : HELPED GET RID OF MISSISSIPPI
NEGRO Soaps FROM

|ON DEMOCRATIC

NTION

ESMAN FOR U.S.

AGGRESSION IN VIETNAM

EDITORIAL

‘A national disgrace’

he Economic Council of Canada statement last week,
4 to the effect that the extent of poverty in Canada ‘“‘isa

national disgrace”; and that an estimated one in every five

: Canadians from the new-born babe to the senior citizen is

(4
is

Communist and other progr

condemned to a poverty existence in a so called “affluent”’
| society, is enlightening indeed coming from such a source, but
‘itis scarcely news.

essive segments of the’

Canadian people have been saying the same thing for years, but

| the Establishment, whether Tory, Liberal or Socred, have

e, invariably pooh-poohed the contention and sought to black-out .
stark reality with phoney rose-tinted statistics to the contrary.

B.C.’s “Prime Minister” has majored in this ‘‘affluent’’ con-

game for nearly two decades without serious challenge.

Now we have the august body of the Economic Council of

Canada confirming what a majority of the people have long
known — and which high-priced monopoly-dominated
governments have consistently refused to recognize, admit, or
do anything about; viz, that nearly one-quarter of Canada’s 20-
million people.are condemned to a poverty existence. This in
the midst of an ‘‘affluent society’’ in which our “‘standard of
living” is touted as one of the world’s “highest”.

Of course, that is not to say that Canada is not affluent.

Quite the contrary, as the super-profit balance sheets of Big
i Business monopoly in industry and finante will show at a
glance. Thus it may be said without fear of any serious
contradiction that this class ‘‘affluence”’ is the root cause of
the class poverty so dramatically set forth by the Economic "
Council of Canada.

During the recent federal election campaign many

aspiring political contenders made numerous fine speeches
about poverty in Canada and the need to do something about it.
Prime Minister Trudesu himself made some touching ‘
references about the building of a ‘‘Just Society’’ in which the
nation’s poverty-stricken should and must be the first to be
rescued.

7 Mofe recent statements of the Prime Minister would
e indicate however, that instead of legislating to eliminate this ,

“national disgrace” the Trudeau “Just Society’’ plans to
increase it by cutting off even that poor pittance which the law
allows, in this case municipal winter work aid, plus similar
economies in the area of health and welfare. This while the
real cost of poverty as outlined by the Committee remain and
increase; that is slums, disease, lowered health standards,
lack of education, crime, ad infinitum, all the evil spawn of
enforced poverty.

The Economic Council of Canada is to be congratulated for

telling millions of Canadgans in frank and blunt terms what’
they already know all tog well. What they would now like to
know is what the Council, the Establishment and the “Just
Society”’ spell-binders plan to do about it — if anything?

ag
24
43

North and South America and C

‘ t editi

—

Editor—TOM McEWEN ~— Associate.
Published weekly at Ford Bidg., Mezzan!
Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.

Subscription Rate:

and

PSPS UE

‘<

foi'pa

Tribune

n, Canadian Tribune
SE Se

°

Editor—MAURICE RUSH
ne No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.,

5.00 one year: $2.75 for six months.
snr waeaee countries, $6.00 one year.
All other-countries, $7.00 one year. Authorized as second class mail by the
‘Post OFficé Department, Ottawa,

ymerit-of ‘postage in cash.

Puke

Coun

big entrenched interests

(The following is the first of a series

of three articles on the operations of
real estate interests in B.C. by a
reader in Victoria who has made a
study of the problem. In this article he
analyses the Real Estate Act under
which the industry operates. In the
next article he will explain how the
real estate interests draw their pound
of flesh from the average
homeowner.) ‘
Sifting through the morass of
verbiage and legal terminology
written into the B:C. Real Estate
Act, 1958, it becomes clear that
the authors of such legislation
could only be the long
established and well entrenched
real estate agencies and boards.

Having for so long operated
without restraint or legislative
controls they obviously did not
intend to share their economic
status with others.

As a result of the massive post
war boom in residential housing
requirements thousands of real
estate brokers, agents and
salesmen attached themselves to
the many housing construction
projects throughout the country.
A goodly number of these people
operated outside, and
independently, of the established
real estate boards.

Nature and post war
immigration on the one hand,
coupled with years of neglect by
governments and private
enterprise, had created a
demand never previously
experienced
demand brought sharply into
focus by extensive market
research and investigation, that
would for many years provide
real estate with an opportunity
to syphon off millions of dollars
in unearned commissions. This
was a prize that the established

real estate forces were
determined to, capture for
themselves. :

Turning to government for
support, the pressure was
applied to impose legally
constituted restraints

deterrents through special
legislation that would make it
possible for the entrenched
moguls of real estate to build and
establish monopoly control of
property transactions.

Their success in this
endeavour is well and truly
documented in the proliferation
of clauses, sections and sub-

_sections of the Real Estate Act. _

It provides for the setting up of
a Real Estate Council, whose
membership is selected from the

_ranks of the more successful and

most influential members of the
real estate fraternity.

The powers conferred upon
this Council are practically
unlimited insofar as they apply

to discipline and control within |

the general ranks of real estate
membership. The Council
actually takes on the form of a
special police force which stands
careful and watchful guard over
the vested interests they
represent. :

The real estate Agencies, each
of which is a separate corporate
entity, form the backbone of the
local, provincial and national
organizations. It is from this
source that the Council members
are chosen. Agency membership
is carefully controlled by
license, which in turn is under
the strict jurisdiction of the

Stn

= *
MUItIp.

in Canada. A™

and °

service is fostered and generated
through the centralization of
area agencies. Participation in
this service is held out as a
privilege and an agency that is
denied this privilege is severely
restricted in its operations.

Under the terms of the Act an

_ agency that does not conform, or

toe the line, becomes an orphan
and in danger of having its

license revoked or withdrawn.

Because of the rich monetary
fruits involved, however,
agencies generally are only too
happy to conform and to seek the
“‘protection’’ provided by
monopoly control underneath the
umbrella of the Real Estate Act.

It is actually down below, in
the ranks of the working forces,
where the special police force
role of the Council is brought into
play.

In order to become rich and
prosperous, agencies must
pursue aggressive policies of
promotion and massive
infiltration into the personal
lives of property owners. This is
accomplished through the
employment of hundreds of sales
people who go forth among the
property owners to drum up
business.

As licensed employees of the
agencies their role and personal
interests are considerably
different from: those of their

employers. Not being salaried |

employees but operating on a
straight commission system
their bread and butter, in most
cases, depends upon how
successful they are at listing and

selling properties on a month to’

month basis. Whilst employed as
salesmen, their employers are
not called upon to assume any of
the financial responsibilities
involved in the daily.or weekly
work of a sales employee.

Under the terms of the Act a
real estate salesman must

function exclusively as such. He
is not permitted to take other
(part time) employment whilst
holding a valid license to sell
real estate. If he does his license
will be revoked. He is, therefore,

A child victim of U.S. napalm bombing lies in a
South Vietnam. The campaign by the Canadi
Civilians is aimed at relieving the suffe

can send.

(Te cats

~ persons
_prohibited;

a donation to: Canadian Aid Vietnam Civilians, P.O. Be

in an unenviable- position” =
being denied by law the
elementary rights of other

4

workers who, at least if they so

desire, are free to seek and enjoy
the fruits of other part time
employment.

To make sure that he, the
salesman and of course many

others, will not be able to enter — 3

into competition with the
establishment the Act also
decrees that — payments to

not licensed _is

Section 30. says in part:—
“every person who violates any
provision of this section, or who
knowingly receives any
commission, compensation, or
thing of value paid or allowed in
violation of this section, is guilty
of an offence against this Act” —
and — ‘“‘is liable, on summary
conviction, if an individual, to a_
penalty of not less than $50.00 or
more than $1,000.00.

This is the most vicious piece
of legislation, and the fact that it
includes “every person’’ within
its scope indicates the
tremendous power and influence
wielded by provincial real estate
association over our legislators.
And they do not stand alone;
welded together nationally each
provincial association derives
additional strength from the
Canadian Association of Real
Estate Brokers.

Throughout the Act the
authority for dealing with
complaints and infractions etc.

and also for disciplinary action —

and recommendations for court
action, which is usually taken —
upon the advice of the Real
Estate Council, is an officer in
commercial affairs —
Superintendent of Insurance.

. the department of financial and —
thes

With the able assistance of our —

provincial government monopoly
control of real estate prices has —
brought about a crisis situation —
that government and business
have no desire of coming to grips —
with.

Provincial hospital
idian Aid For Vietna
ring of Vietnamese children. Y: