ERA RNR iste Aen rene re ARREST or oan aang anne ey Decinnue ee ‘A a BRITISH COLUMBIA ‘Big changes’ needed for jobless — Rush Pledging to fight for a ‘‘people’s alterna- tive economic program” Maurice Rush, provincial leader of the Communist Party, accepted the nomination last week as CP candidate for the Vancouver East riding in the upcoming provincial election. “Our program offers a different road from the present road of deepening eco- nomic crisis, of poverty and of unemploy- ment for working people. The only way working people can express themselves, can express support for the kind of program that we are putting forward is to vote fora Communist candidate where we are run- ning a Communist candidate,” said Rush, noting that the CP would also be running in Nanaimo and New Westminster. Rush told the nomination meeting that the three Communist candidates would advance policies that would meet “the immediate needs of the people of British Columbia. ..policies that would alleviate much of the suffering that we see today in this province. “Our people’s economic program in- cludes the launching of a $1.5 billion re- forestation project, a project that would provide some 15,000 to 20,000 jobs. We will call for a massive public housing program A program of this kind will not only provide much needed housing for the working people of this province but will also stimu- late the forest industry and employ thou- sands of building trades workers who are presently unemployed,” he said. Other policies highlighted by Rush included: ® Doubling GAIN rates to the poverty line, increasing the minimum wage to $6 and restoration of all social services; @ Blocking free trade and continental integration of energy policy with the U.S.; @ Putting corporations that control the province’s resources, such as MacMillan Bloedel, under public ownership and turn- ing them to processing and manufacturing; @ Protecting trade union rights by ending wage controls and introducing a new labor code guaranteeing the right to organize and strike. Rush blasted the Social Credit govern- ment for its economic policies which have been modelled on the “right wing neo- conservative theory that you give every pos- sible incentive to big business. “The result of that plan has been dou- bling of unemployment in the 10 years that Bennett has been in office, and a doubling of the number of people on welfare,” he charged. ‘*We have seen wiped out much of the social security system in this province. MAURICE RUSH We have some of the worst anti-labor legis- lation of any province in Canada. ‘And despite all of the incentives that the Social Credit government has given to big business, the amount of capital investment has declined by 27 per cent between 1981 and 1985,” he charged. Rush was also critical of the New Demo- cratic Party which, he said, has failed to advance a strong alternative that would confront the Socreds’ economic direction. Instead, the NDP under Bob Skelly has put forward such proposals as the Austral- ian Accord, the central theme of which is voluntary wage restraint — proposals which are intended to win over liberal voters. ““We don’t need the NDP to do that,” he said. Neverthless, in British Columbia’s polar- ized political scene, the NDP offers the only realistic government alterantive for working people and the Communist Party will give critical support to the call for the election of an NDP government, Rush said. “At the same time, we will maintain our independent campaign to bring forward our program not only in the three ridings where we will have candidates but every- where in the province where there is a Communist Party club,” he said. Fred Wilson, provincial campaign man- ager for the CP, outlined the plans and objectives of the CP campaign which began last week with a two-week long pre-election campaign. ; ' On track for the pre-election period is a information leaflet drop in key polls in each of the three ridings. Work will also begin on checking voter registration and enlisting campaign workers. Warship visit hit Peace and political organizations have fired off protests to Ottawa over the planned visit to Vancouver this month of five United States Navy war- ships, some equipped to carry nuclear weapons. * The vessels are scheduled to dock in the harbor April 18, one day before commencement of the city’s nine-day peace festival. “Such a visit is an affront to all of us in the Vancouver area and to the many world dignitaries who will be meeting here at that time to promote peace,” stated the North Vancouver Citizens for Peace in a letter to North Vancouver-Burnaby Conservative MP Chuck Cook. The group staged a brief demonstra- tion outside the constituency office of the MP, whois parliamentary secretary ~ to External Affairs Minister Joe Clark. The umbrella peace group End the Arms Race fired off letters to Prime ret ae CTR, Wri Beet ae LS SVE SAT HE Ege ok Atay oy Setar ROM OR LO PV Lk is bts kebnt cies! aa ty Rh Sead ie Ars Increased fares, debt Minister Brian Mulroney, government — house leader Erik Neilson and opposi. tion leaders ‘“‘deploring” the Canadian — government’s invitation to the U.S, | Navy. EAR urged its member groups — to do the same. E On Tuesday the Vancouver Peace | Assembly, noting the fact that the more than 70 per cent of Vancouver residents voted in plebiscite for a negotiated end to the arms race, resolved to telegram | Ottawa protesting the visit. In a statement April 4, B.C. Com- munist Party leader Maurice Rush called the visit a “serious provocation, “To proceed with the vist of U.S, warships to Vancouver on the eve of Expo and the peace festival would demonstrate Canada’s integration with the U.S. military plans and would be contrary to the strong peace sentiment of the people of Vancouver and B.C. We demand that you act at once,” | Rush stated. APM CEM LEE DT OLY PAE ORO eS Te meen . ‘ socred transit legacy On April | bus fares went up by 15-25 per cent. On top of that, the B.C. Hydro surcharge tax to pay for the bus system (including the ALRT) went up to $5.30 a month from $1.60. These increases will impose an additional hardship on low-income citizens — senior citizens, people on welfare or unemploy- ment insurance, and those working for low wages. The hikes are one more ripoff of transit users, tenants and homeowners by a dictatorial provincial government. What makes it even harder to take is the fact that while fares and taxes are going up, bus service is deteriorating. It’s a case of the more you pay the less you get. At the heart of the problem is the exces- sive cost of our new rapid transit system, the ALRT, which cost $950 million. The pro- vincial government kicked in $275 million, the federal government another $60 million. The remaining $615 million (which was borrowed) has been folded into the annual operating costs. This was done in a special way. The pay- ments, spread over a number of years, are arranged so that they are smaller at first and then gradually get bigger each year. That’s one reason why we haven’t seen the end of fare increases, surtax charges or additional taxes on gasoline. The operating costs will increase each year because the cost of paying off the principal and interest on No matter what Socreds may claim, restraint is still on the table. Restraint is still there in education funding, with school districts needing close to $200 million more in excess of government finding just to bring school services partially up to pre-1982 levels. ; : Restraint is the essence of this year’s provincial budget, which contains several hidden taxes while continuing to underfund health and social services. And restraint continues in the form of wasted millions of dollars on megaprojects, such as the ruinous Northeast coal project, the deficit- ridden Expo 86, and the overpriced rapid transit line. We want those facts remembered Ending the rule of restraint When election time comes up, and Social Credit faces voters hopefully aware of the real nature of restraint: drastic cuts to people’s services while corporations reap windfall profits through government giveaways. We think British Columbians will be aware of the Socreds’ sorry record — and the alternatives — when the writ is dropped. And the Tribune wants to be there in strength for the upcoming fight. That, of course, means dollars. Dollars from the same people already hard-pressed by the years of Socred restraint. Dollars from people who also face demands on their pocketbooks to help elect candidates who will bring a real change to B.C.’s political scene. This year we’re asking our friends and supporters to raise $95,000 to keep the Tribune fighting for the next year. Through analysis and by providing a forum for policies to end restraint and put British Columbians back to work, the Tribune aims to be in the thick of that fight. By now all press clubs will have received their suggested targets for this year’s press drive. And we ask that meeting and surpassing those targets _ be the priority for the next two months. Unlike schemes such as the Site C dam, Northeast coal and other megaprojects, this investment is one that will pay off in real gains for B.C. 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 9, 1986 this loan will increase each year. Accordiy, to Colin Kelly, the president of the trang) union, “the introduction of ALRT Meay, the operating budget for the transit SYstyy will more than double from $120 milliony $269 million.” What’s so galling about the whole buy. ness is that it need never have happeny, The citizens of the Greater Vancouyy region wanted a conventional rapid / system that could have been built for million, less than half the cost of the ALRy, Furthermore COPE proposed a way of pa, ing for it that wouldn’t have cost bus Tider, nickel. Harry We proposed that the transit authority buy up all the land around the rapid transi bus terminals well in advance of the system being built. The value ‘of this land woult increase greatly as soon as the rapid transi system was built and the terminals estab lished. That is exactly what is happening. In ever other major urban area in North America the transit systems are under the control of the regional authorities. But not” here. In B.C. the provincial government has taken complete charge. That’s because thal is the only way it could get an ALRT buil that nobody wanted. ; Now we’re stuck with a huge debt thal will be with us long after Premier Bennetts gone and forgotten. It could ruin the whok transit system because the more bus fares increase the less people use the system. | This latest round of fare increases and surcharge increases was carried through without any public hearings or consultation with citizen groups. This is what Premiet) Bennett calls “partnership” and “consulta tion.” ; When this matter came up in city cound | on March 25, the labor-backed majonily (the four COPE aldermen — Yorke, Davies, Rankin, Eriksen — plus Yee) voted to oppose the fare increase. Not sur prisingly, three of the NPA-Team-Soere aldermen voted against our motion (Camp bell, Ford and Puil). We also demanded that if and when tht Bennett government intends to raise fares again, it must hold public hearings to lt citizens express their views.