{Ment has completely adopted the big

ee |

Friday, July 1, 1983
Newsstand Prec Sie > 48
price

40c | Vol. 46, No. 26

Socreds
signalling
full assault
on labor,
services

By MAURICE RUSH

Throne speeches are usually very vague
and commit governments to very little except
Seneralities. But the throne speech delivered
M Victoria June 23 was something entirely

fferent.

It left no doubt that the Socred govern-

business policies advocated by the
Employers Council of B.C. and the right
Wing Fraser Institute, and intends to in-
Oduce legislation at this session to effect
af-reaching changes which will adversely
affect the lives of all British Columbians.
A columnist in the Vancouver Sun
described the throne speech as inaugurating
a “Tevolution” in B.C. A more correct
€scription would be ‘‘counter-revolution”’.
Premier Bill Bennett is obviously inter-
Preting the 1.2 percent increase in the Socred
Popular vote of the May 5 election as a man-
t€ to dismantle the public sector, to cut
ack social service programs...and
to emasculate labor legislation won through
People’s struggles over the last 30 years.
The throne speech makes it clear that the
lop Priority will be given by this govern-
Ment to strengthening the private big
Usiness sector of the economy at the ex-

Pense of the people, labor, and particularly
€ unemployed and those depending on
SOcial services. The throne speech is full of
references to ‘‘strengthening the private sec-
or’, but for B.C.’s 200,000 jobless it says:
‘Orthose who are unemployed there are no
Ck fixes, no magical solutions.’’ The
. One speech makes no attempt to put the
Jobless back to work outside of announcing
t the public works program budgeted for
2B t year will be carried out. Instead of action
, teate jobs, the throne speech projects
widespread cuts in public services which
Ould add tens of thousands more to the
themployed rolls. Only days before the
a One speech 1,200 government forestry
Orkers were laid off as an ‘‘economy
Measure, ’?
on key Passage in the throne speech says:
t is evident that taxpayers and the
€mployed can no longer support the level
Public services, including attendant
Ployment levels that have grown up in the
; t 30 years.’? What the government is say-
hg here is that public services won by the
hole of B.C, since the 1950s will be severe-
Y curtailed, cut or completely abolished.
S heralds a new, stepped up offensive by
oth eds against social legislation and
€r public services. Among public services
cao to go is the rentalsman’s office
a ch presages the early abolition of rent
| trols long demanded by the big
@ndlords,

Se throne speech makes it clear that the
be Jor thrust of the Socred government will

m to turn over to the private sector “‘com-
“cial functions and many government-

produced services which are, or could be,
Sten privately.”” Big business must be
Ing its hands with glee at the prospect

of

LL. See BROAD page 3

wa

Bae

demonstration organized in conjunction with the world peace assembly.

*

k

More than 3,000 delegates at-
tending the World Festival for
Peace and Life: Against
Nuclear War in Prague June
21-26 have launched an appeal
calling on the world’s peoples
“not to allow 1983 to become

‘ yet another springboard to a

new and mortally dangerous
round of the arms race, to a fur-
ther intensification of confron-
tation.”

Sixty Canadian delegates, 16
of them from B.C., attended the
conference, made up of
organizations both within and
outside of the sponsoring
group, the World Peace Coun-
cil

The appeal, hammered out
after six days of discussions and
an opening demonstration of
200,000 people who filled to
overflowing Prague’s huge city
square, warned that ‘“‘never
before has the arms race,

»"= especially the nuclear arms race,
a8" reached such threatening pro-

More than 200,000 people jammed into Prague’s Old Town Square June 22 in a massive Portions as today.

See HALT page 11

TRIBUNE PHOTO— DAN KEETON

Assisted by DERA supporters, Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association president Glenn Bullard (back to camera) unrolls the
huge list of signatures backing DERA’s grant appeal during the packed appeal hearing at city hall Tuesday night. After several
hours of submissions and council debate, supporters wrested a conditional commitment from one of the tie-breaking aldermen
to vote for the grant in two weeks’ time. (Story page 2.)

— page Il