_The Social Credit government’s first budget, brought down last iday, has drawn a barrage of denunciation from several quar- f ‘ers, adding to the vehement i titicism already voiced by op- | Position parties in the Legislature. ff The B.C. Federation of Labor termedit “‘one of the most abusive, 4 2nti-people budgets in the history of our province” while the Com- ®#™Munist Party, in a special Fesolution adopted by delegates to ) l€ provincial convention last } Weekend, condemned it as ‘an arbitrary cut in the living stan- dards of working people which | ‘Anti-people’ comes,at,a time when wages and salaries are,,being controlled by decree and prices are spiralling ever upward.”’ The 800 delegates to the B.C. Teachers’ Federation annual general meeting added their voices to the condemnadion, noting particularly the drastic cur- tailment of education programs that the budget measures would entail. (See story below). Although many had anticipated —if not accepted — tax increases, particularly after the increases in ICBC premiums, few were ready for the severity of the tax budget condemned measures nor the vindictive, partisan statements which ac- companied the budget speech. Finance minister Evan Wolfe repeatedly attacked the former NDP government throughout his speech but the propaganda, though applauded by table-thumping Socreds, only emphasized the bias of the budget which shifts the weight of taxation against people and away from resource in- dustries. : “The -failure of the budget to spell out this government’s at- titude towards resource taxes is an issue of grave concern for British BC PROVINCIAL CC Communist Party leader Bill Kashstan, seen here with provi airman Harold Pritchett, opened the party’s 21st Biennial B.C. =e provincial leader Nigel Morgan (left) and convention Convention last Friday at the Sheraton AR AAT APTANA —Sean Griffin photo Pp | laza 500 Hotel. (convention stories, page 3, 11) ‘KISSINGER SPEECH SPARKS RESPONSE i y x Washington newspaper has ane the Pentagon of for- follow plans to attack Cuba Psup ime that country’s active ebort for the. liberation Vements in southern Africa. : € allegations appeared in the thay unston Star-News which said Poss; the plans included the blo ibility of mounting a naval rade against the island s tik lic, launching limited air | Sane and even the possibility of ap military invasion. The Star- heel ST€port followed closely on the S of several news stories in the oe press quoting unnamed fas 480n and intelligence sources | «. Saying that Cuba had become a “al to U.S. interests in the (else bean, southern Africa and Where, of tough the American:Secretary mo Henry Kissinger, im- i any lately denied the existence of Such plans, he could not deny | rete Teatening speech he made in bp Tence to Cuba last week in allas, Texas. arn ssinger told the Dallas World tha Council: “We have issued I the © Warnings before. I repeat foie today. The United States will inte wcePt further Cuban military €rventions abroad.” HENRY KISSINGER Kissinger’s threats against Cuba have been seen as a further American attempt to attach conditions to the policy of detente with the Soviet Union just as Democratic presidential hopeful Henry Jackson sought last year to force the Soviet Union to allow American interference in Soviet internal affairs as a pre-condition to granting the USSR preferential trading status with the US. Whatever Kissinger’s motives, however, the threats brought a terse reply from Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko who told a press conference in London, “‘the less there were of such threats, the better it would be for all.” Gromyko, in London for talks with Britain’s foreign secretary, James Callaghan, responded to reporters’ questions regarding Angola by saying that the Soviet Union felt that the question of Angola and the area surrounding Angola could be resolved con- structively “given. certain con- ditions and given the desire of the parties. directly concerned. Something of the sort is in the making,”’ he said, “but I do not want to go into details now.” In the United States, Kissinger was denounced by the former chairman of the Congressional black caucus, representative Charles Rangel of New York. In a message to Kissinger, Rangel said that he was “especially appalled’’ at the severity of the measures repor- tedly being considered against - Cuba. Rangel’s message to the Secretary of State said that “‘such See THREATS pg. 12 Columbians,’ B.C. Federation of Labor secretary Len Guy warned. “Ts the government avoiding the question while planning a return to the giveaway policies of the W. A. C. Bennett era?”’ he asked. The point was stressed by delegates to the Communist Party convention which noted that working people were being robbed of much-needed income ‘‘in order to finance the continued profit growth and expansion of large corporations in the resource field which have already been relieved of mineral royalties and. look forward to further concessions from the Bennett government.” The convention resolution. called for substantial tax increases on the resource industries, increases in the export price of natural gas and the establishment of an excess profits tax. The increases in the sales and personal income tax and new rate schedules for hospital care and medical premiums have been of central concern in the opposition to the budget since-all are regressive in nature. The B.C. Federation of Labor cited the increases in medicare see BUDGET pg. 12 Teachers outline action campaign 800 delegates to the annual general meeting of the B.C. Teachers Federation outlined a determined action program this week as the provincial govern- ment, following the lead of a previous Social Credit ad- ministration, slashed provincial grants to education, threatening thousands of teachers jobs and the quality of education programs throughout the province. The education department had earlier hinted at severe cutbacks in provincial grants and Friday’s budget, coupled with statements made by education minister Pat McGeer during an address to the convention Monday, indicated that the worst fears of teachers were justified. BCTF president Bill Broadley focussed on the issue in his opening remarks Monday, suggesting that the government was hypocritical in its various statements on education policy and guilty of a “stupid, unplanned and_ un- businesslike”’ approach. He cited a campaign speech made by premier Bennett that Social Credit was “‘committed to return to high budget priority to public education’’ and told delegates: ‘‘The teachers of British Columbia call upon you to make good on your commitment. Not on the eve of the next election in 1978. Not in 1977. But now!” The same concern had prompted the executive committee of the Federation to draft several recommendations outlining a public campaign in response to the government’s budget. The first recommendation, unanimously endorsed by the delegates, condemned the Socred budget for education on the basis that it ‘‘substantially reduces the provincial share of the education budget and imposes a major tax increas on local taxpayers; attacks the educational opportunities of students at a time when higher standards are being demanded by the public; and removes the jobs of 5,000 teachers.”’ Earlier, BCTF staff represen- tative Mike Zlotnik had un- derscored poiits made in the resolution, explaining that of the $656 million needed to maintain education programs throughout the 1976 school year, the provincial government had cut its share from $370 million to only $300 million, leaving local boards with two difficult alternatives. Boards could.cut staff severely —as many as5,000 teachers across the province — or levy a mill rate increase of 6.5 — the amount necessary to make up for provincial deficiencies. A second recommendation, however, pledged the Federation to a campaign to “‘insist that the provincial government’s grants to school districts for operating ex- penses of the publid schools be increased to a level that will ensure that there will be increase in the basic levy.” A further recommendation, subsequently endorsed by the convention, called on the BCTF to “actively resist’? any layoffs of teachers, to oppose any increases in the pupil/teacher ratio, to insist that local school boards hire staff to replace normal retirements, resignations and terminations of temporary appointments and to see TEACHERS pg. 12 1976 press drive begins April 1 is one of the most important days of the year to us in the Tribune office because that day marks the beginning of our annual financial drive. Inthe next two months the Tribune will need to collect $40,000 to carry on with our work. We know where that money will come from; it will come from the many working people who read and support our paper. These are the same people who are being caught in one of the worst squeezes which the capitalist system has ever seen. But, we also know that our readers and supporters know the value of a better, more alive Pacific Tribune and see the need to continue B.C.’s working class press publishing for the fifth consecutive decade. So, let’s all roll up our sleeves and set about the job which has to be done in the next two months. Let’s get about raising that $40,000.