The Committee for Fair Assessments is challenging North Vancouver District Council to disclose what it describes as ‘‘the scandalous tax situation’’ resulting from its continued adherence to property tax Option D. The issue is one with implica- tions for taxpayers in other municipalities operating under the same choice of provincially dic- tated tax options A, C and D, which determine what proportion of taxes is paid by industry, business and homeowners. es ~ — Reporting that municipal and assessment office officials in North Vancouver District had refused to give ‘information which should be readily available to every citizen,” the committee reported it had been denied figures showing tax in- creases for various property classifications under Option D as compared to tax increases for these same classifications had Option A been chosen. ‘“‘Are they afraid to let people know that municipal taxes on single family homes jumped 31 per- Setting it straight A story on the impending North Vancouver district election in the Sept. 18 edition of the Tribune wrongly identified North Van- couver district alderman John R. Lakes as “‘the corporate lawyer defending Hooker Chemicals in an appeal against its property tax assessment.”” 2 Alderman Lakes is not now, and has never been, counsel for Hooker Chemicals. And he is not defen- ding Hooker in any property tax appeal. In fact, alderman Lakes has been retained as counsel for Shell Canada Ltd. in the case of a pro- perty tax appeal against Shell Oil’s refinery in Burnaby. The Tribune sincerely apologizes for the error and for any embar- rassment it may have caused alder- man Lakes. -< nged cent this year, but taxes on industry decreased 11 percent and on business, nearly 17 percent, as a result of council choosing Option D instead of Option A?’’ asked committee spokesperson Betty Griffin. “If it had chosen Option A for 1980 and 1981, then the increase in taxes for single family homes would likely have been 22 percent instead of 31 percent, and instead of industry and business actually getting a decrease in taxes, industry would have had about a 20 percent. increase and business a 4.5 percent increase. “While Option A is still no great . break for homeowners, at least it’s the best of the choices. “Under the Assessment Act, councils must decide by Nov. 10 which option they will use for the . following year. If North Van- couver District Council takes no action, we’re stuck with Option D, and homeowners will take another beating next year because their assessments will be even higher than this year, reflecting high market prices,’’ she said. _ The action of the provincial government in delaying the pay- ment of homeowner grants to municipalities, and then in- vesting this withheld mohey to make a profit for itself, is nothing less than a form of financial dirty tricks, and a pret- ty cheap and shabby one at that. One immediate result was that Harry Rankin some municipalities have been compelled to borrow money at high interest rates to enable them to keep going. That means an automatic increase in taxes for homeowners. It’s actually a way of cutting grants to the municipalities. It was a scheme worked out some months ago in secret. When municipal affairs minister Bill Vander Zalm addressed the re- cent convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities, he avoided the question. That’s hardly sur- prising since the convention had just passed a resolution deman- ding that the provincial govern- ment never again repeat ‘this nefarious practice. In an effort to make himself appear as a good guy, Vander Zalm told the delegates he would take action to raise the interest Socred fast buck bilks municipalities rates on tax arrears (at present they are 12 percent) toarate 12 percent higher than the current market rate. What is apparently happening is that some big cor- porations are withholding their municipal taxes, then re- investing them at 20 percent in- terest and making a nice profit for themselves of eight percent with money that doesn’t belong to them. That is wrong, of course, and should be stopped. But the question must be ask- ed: If it is wrong for corpora- tions to withhold taxes so they may re-invest them at a high rate of interest and make a profit at public expense, isn’t it equally wrong for the provincial government to withhold homeowner grants so that it may re-invest them to make a profit for itself at the expense of taxpayers? Should we not also have legislation that would penalize the provincial government by compelling it to pay a rate of in- terest 1% percent higher than the market rate on any monies that it withholds from the municipalities? Residents insist transit must go underground Faced with the prospect of an overhead transit line strung on con- crete pylons along Commercial ‘Drive from 8th to 19th avenues, residents are demanding a full meeting of Vancouver City Coun- cil in the area to discuss their de- mand that the line be placed underground. enants at the Rufus Park development in North Vancouver City have just proven for themselves what organization can accomplish. PEOPLE AND ISSUES Through the North Vancouver Tenants Association and the determin- ed efforts of its president, Richard Blackburn, and vice-president, Greg Richmond, they have just won rebates of illegal rent increases ranging up to $1,000 each. Their campaign forced alderman, all of whom come up for election in November, to demand that Cressey Developments, which leases the land under agreement with the city, to explain its actions — monthly rent increases this year averaged $200 a suite and ran as high as $300. Cressey Developments’ representatives failed to appear before council. But they did appear at an arbitration meeting Sept. 29 arising out of their rejection of tenants’ attempts to negotiate a rent structure agree- ment. When Cressey Developments refused to negotiate, the tenants’ association took the dispute to the Rentalsman’s office. The Rentalsman validated both the 1980 and 1981 rent increases as of Nov. | this year, but extended the period for review to Oct. 15, with every likelihood that tenants’ appeals will be successful in having them rolled back. At the same time, however, he ordered Cressey Developments to rebate to tenants all the illegally imposed rents col- lected up to Nov. 1 this year, an estimated total of some $50,000. . * * ~ Li generation that organized the province’s woodworking, mining and fishing industries, suffered discrimination and the blacklist and fought the strikes that won union recognition, is now in its sixties and seventies and its ranks are thinning. On Sept. 21 another of these veterans died in Victoria at the age of 71, John M. Wainscott, after a lifetime devoted to the labor and progressive movement. Forty years ago, as a shingle sawyer, he helped to organize the TWA local in Victoria, of which he became the first secretary in 1942. Later he became a golf course worker and his organizational work there took form in the first local of golf course workers. A talented man, author of a book of poems for children, he was ac- tive in the Canadian Authors Association, serving as vice-president of its Victoria branch. The philosophy he carried into a lifetime of activity is well expressed in these lines from one of his poems: Oh speed the day when men will dare To share in peace and friendship, Like flowers in the garden rare, Harmonious, blooming everywhere, To share in peace and friendship. * * * i nits quarterly newsletter, the Chemical Hazards Alert Committee is alerting residents of all municipalities around Burrard Inlet to yet another threat to their safety. “B.C. Hydro will begin construction early in 1982 of an LNG plant immediately north of its Burrard thermal plant on a four-hectare site ~bérdering Belcarra Park, storage to start in the summer of 1984,”” itre-. ports. “‘The plant will consist of liquifier, revaporizers and a 70,000 cubic metre storage tank (approximately 15 million gallons). “Original plan was to store during the summer months to dole it out during peak winter months to lessen demand on other Hydro facilities. However, there is now talk of exporting LNG to Japan. “Hydro has stated that in the event of an accident the ‘area of influ- ence’ would bea five km radius from the plant. Less than 0.5 km away is the Ioco oil refinery. The potential for cataclysmic ‘influence’ is threatening all who live within the five km radius.” The committee points out that the U.S. Coast Guard prohibits LNG tankers in Boston and New York harbors. Well, what has the Canadian Coast Guard got to say? PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCT. 9, 1981—Page 2, ‘ FOO ae eee ee eae aoe ee ey Ae ORE EN Ee RETO PO ECT eT 2 ee ee eC oo AVIVA ee ee WUE. Cou PROM EP Yee tre bee cere ae Meee 4 CONE EEE EAT V8 Ee Se ee OW Re ee Oe ce@woenenaecaret At a meeting called by COPE and held in Grandview Legion Hall — Sept. 30, the majority of the 125 residents attending backed their de- mand, adopted unanimously, by volunteering to assist in organizing opposition to the overhead line that would destory their neighborhood. As outlined by the COPE speakers, Ald. Harry Rankin and Solly Jackson, the issue which will determine the future of what nowis _ a well defined community is not whether the line should be elevated or go underground. Council already is on record as favoring an underground system. The issue 1S who will pay the estimated $25 million cost of placing the Com- mercial Drive underground. Municipal affairs ministet Vander Zalm, who imposed. the untried automated light rapid tran- sit system on the city by concluding acontract with Metro Canada over the head of the GVRD, is ready tO acquiesce in placing the section underground — if city taxpayers ~ foot the bill. ‘“‘The government is prepared tO spend millions on such grandios¢ schemes as B.C. Place and the waterfront convention centre which most citizens don’t considet a priority if they don’t actually op” pose them,’’ declared Rankin. “For residents of Grandview Cedar Cottage. an underground transit system is a priority and the government must be forced to rece } ognize it by making the money available.”’ section