‘aL Tax reform to lift the burden of 'Lift tax burden | fromhomeowners | says Harry Ball | BURNABY, B.C. increasing taxation from the shoulders of the homeowner Is the main election demand of three can- idates sponsored by the Burnaby iviunicipal improvement Association for Council this year. “illiam Turner. _ “We propose to assess industuy 4nd other revenue-producing pro- Perty in line with its ability to Pay,” said Harry Ball, a former Member of council from 1942 to , 1947, when he resigned to run for Teeve, > “Our three-point tax reform calls for assessing value of property to Bees 75 percent on im- | provements for taxation and low- ering the mill rate to benefit on taxa- : increasing : : py 100 percent Catherine Marshthe tax on public utilities; and raising trade license fees on big business while lowering fées on small businesses.” Catherine Marsh and Elizabeth Wilson are backed by the Muni- cipal Improvement Association. for schoo] board. Mrs. Wilson is @ Well-known member of the Parent- Teachers Association and was 42 school boarld member from 1945 to 1948. Mrs. Marsh is corresponding Secret. f the Capitol Hill PTA é oe HARRY BALL Candidates Ball, John Greene and & Achy spss he Wee ee ees and president of the Burnaby Wo- men’s Peace, Action Committee. Two contentious by-laws” ‘face voters. Both are money by-laws dealing with construction of a hos- pital and a school. While declar- ing that “we need and must have more schools”: and “a hospital for Burnaby is a definite and urgent need” the progressive candidates point out that senior governments are shirking their full responsibi- lity and forcing citizens to vote the additional money’for such pro- jects. Other municipal improvements urgently needed include: Operation of a municipal gravel pit now Jeased to a private com- pany. A program of systematic road- way and side- walk construc- tion, ending the present unsatés- factory patch- work repairs of residential streets: are Harry disposal plant & turn the. of sewage disposal I (a loss of $16,704 for garbage last year) into a means of levenue “through the sale of py-products of the plant. Transportation problems are of pressing concern to Burnaby resi- dents and Ball, Greene and Tur- ner, if elected, ai? pledged to work for more frequent bus Service in heavily populated areas; extension of routes through South and Cen- tral Burnaby; and more direct north-to-south service. — ( , Harry Ball, 2 railroad worker, just missed election to council, by 16 votes last year, and is conceded an excellent chance to win a seat this year. NEW PAMPHLET EXPOSES BCER Just off the press, ‘umbia’s power and ‘ son and Bert Whyte, this of a modern transit octopus. Partisan politics, the ti midst of a municipal daily, the factual lowdown on “The B. OC, Electri for public ownership 9° has paid for this transi “The B. C. Electric and or single copies at the People’ Pender Street. amphlet issued’ by the Labor-P umbl i transit monopoly. Written by pamphlet is a expose of the birth, political upbringing, ‘The BCElectric and You’ “phe B.C. Hlectric and You” is a 16-page rogressive paltty or British Col- interests high in : With: BOEC Ne mely appeairance of this pamphlet in the election cam y citizen who Te: Bivees toe yea who is being taken for a dime ride. ec and You” is an’ unassailable argument f. the BCElectric’s transportation system. By comparison with other large Ca You” is available in bundle orders s Cooperative Bookstore, 337 West Make this ‘pamphlet serve citizen in the fight for public ownership of civic transportation. Emil Bjarna- hard-hitting factual and grasping habits the repertoire of Non- paign gives it a double value. pays the BCElectri¢ shot nadian cities, it shows WHO you as a Vancouver Nase was nominated last week program. Active in union work and com- munity circles for many years, Ru- nar Nase is assured wide support from many sources. Coming to Albermi 12 years ago, Nase worked as a logger, was later employed at pridge building and for the past five years has been a carpenter, and holds the position of trustee in the Carpenters and Joiners Un- ion, local 513. Nase is president of the Seandi- navian Society, a strong and vigo- rous association here. He has held that responsible post for two terms. Married, with one daughter, Nase at.46 is in the prime of life. He has for many years been an active member of the Alberni Rate Pay- ers Association and is always among the first to volunteer for work on community projects. “My campaign is based on a few simple needs,” says Nase. “We want mail delivery, road paving and sidewalks. Alberni is growing | PCES and we need a progressive admini- stration to look ahead and plan piiogressive steps. “T feel that a union represen- tative on council is needed. If elec- ted, I will work to help our city grow along progressive lines- We need street delivery of mail at once, We need a paving program —our streéts are a disgrace. The sidewalk situation is just as bad as the roads, and I will fight to recti- fy this and have new sidewalks built.” Harris seeks Port seat PORT ALBERNI, B.C. Another prominent Port Alberni citizen has thrown his hat into the ring to join Clarke Tassie in the “fixed assessment” fight. He is Walter Harris, a former alderman and a, former police commissioner for Port Alberni, Harris is deter- mined that the people of Port Al- berni will elect aldermen pledged to ending .a situation which de- piives their\ city of thousands of dollars of taxable revenue. Commenting on Harris’ nomina- tion, Clarke Tassie declared: “No man can serve two masters, Raikes and’ Hastie have worked hard for their position in the mills. They are good servants of Bloedell, Stewart and Welsh and the Alber- ta Pacific Lumber Co. You cannot expect them to endanger all those years of hard and conscientious work by defying their employers, in serving the public interest. “The only fit and ‘faithful serv- ants of the ratepayers must be un- fettered and independent of these two major corporations. Walter Harris and I offer ourselves for no other purpose than to fight the fixed assessment.” The Port Alberni citizens’ com- mittee backing the election of Tasse and Harris plan a .mobiliz- ation on Saturday morning for citi- zens’ signatures calling for the abolition of the fixed assessment. Committee spokesmen expect a record turnout and response. — At a bang-up celebration last Sa- turday night in Alberni, with over 200 guests present, Runar Nase an- nounced his candidacy for council- man. for the “Old Town.” The ba gathering pledged “to elect him this first time out.” planks in the election program of Runar Nase, candidate in the coming civic elections. CCF, and John G. Strum, a retire bY dl Nase enters Alberni aldermanic contest ALBERNI, B.C. . Immediate postal delivery, a road paving program and the construction of additional sidewalks are main who is seeking an aldermanic seat as an independent labor i by Axel O. Johnson, local businessman and prominent member of the d grocer who in former years sponsored a union woodworkers’ radio RUNAR NASE ‘Rent boosts Ruddell hits NPA council sewer deal — Elgin Ruddell, Civic Reform candidate for alderman, wrote to Vancouver city council this week supporting the policy of the Civic Employees Union regarding con- tracting of city works and demand- ing that all public works be done by the city engineer's department be let out except to firms employ- ing union labou. = “The Civic Reform Association goes even further than this,” said Ruddell in his letter. “Our primary concern is the safeguarding of the taxpayer’s dollar, and we take a strong stand against contracting any work whatsoever. There should be no private profit derived filom city work for any private firm. In future, council policy should conform to the position of vital issue’ “The problem of rising rents is a big issue in this civic election campaign this year,” Effie Jones, Civic Reform aldermanic candi- date, said this week. “Nearly 2 quarter of a million Vancouver tenants will be hit by rent boosts, unless the federal government res- cinds its order, or the provincial govermment follows Saskatchewan lead and takes over rent controls. “Our civic gévernment, which is closest to the people, has a respon- sibility to protect its citizens from unjustified rental increases. The present Non-Partisan council can- not be expected to act on behalf of the people; that is: why it is vitally important to send progressive al- dermen to city hall. on December 14. “T have received several lette! from old age pensioners, who tell me that they have a choice between starving or eviction if the higher rents are allowed to come into ef- fect. There are thousands of other tenants in the same position as these senior citizens. “Tt is also true that many big landlords and real estate compa- nies are soaking the people too much for run-down flats and apartments even today, yet are pre- paring to boost rents sky-high. © “What can be done? First, I would advise every tenant to join a Tenants Association and prepare to fight back. If there is no such association in the neighborhood, get together with other tenants and form one. “Secondly, I would advise ten- ants to eleet people to city council who will fight on their behalf and demand that governments hold the rent line. I am pledged to fight for this program, if I am elected to council this year.” CRA seeks volunteers -“Only ten working days between acw and the Vancouver civic elec- tions, December 14, aitd we need hundreds, of volunteer distributors to put our election material into the fiands of the. people,” said a Civic Reform Association state- ment this week. “We appeal to all supporters of Effie Jones and Elgin Ruddell to come down to our elec- tion headquarters in the basement of the Ford Building, Main and Hastings, and help distribute lea f- lets and other materials.” ‘PACIFIC TRIBUNE — ratepayers groups that ’all city work should be done by day labor’.” Ruddell’s communication follow- ed the issuing of an open letter by local 28, Civic Employees Union, dealing with city council’s accep- tance of a bid from Baynes Man- ning Limited for the installation of sewers in. the South Granville area. The union’s letter, directed to all trade unions, ratepayers groups, and the general public, said: “The city engineer’s department and three contracting firms also bid for the job. In all cases, their bids were higher than the one ac- cepted, with the city second low- est. Does this mean, then, that the main consideration of the city was to give the job out to the low- est bidder? ' “On checking this fitm, we could discover no previous €x- perience in this type of street _ work in Vancouver. Further, on checking with the Building Trades. Council we were inform- ed that they were paying their laborers 10 cents an hour’! less than the $1.15 agreed to. : “The tate for ditch-diggers work- ing for the city of Vancouver, set in collective bargaining between the city and this union, is $1.13 per hour. This is exclusive of all benefits. We hold that it is not ethical for the city to agree to one standard of pay for its own work- men, and then give the work to a firm paying below that. standard. “This contract is the first sewer contract under the city’s 10-year plan, We maintain it should be the last. We share the opinion of many ratepayers groups and trade unions: that no profits should be made out of public works financed by the ratepayers’ money. ; “Our union maintains that all of the city’s public works should be done by the city engineer’s depart- ment, except wher this depart- ment lacks the trained personnel or equipment to do a specific job. In the case of sewer installation, no private firm can compete with the city engineer’s department in respect to trained personnel and experience, and they certainly have the equipment. “Our position is not a selfish craft or occupational one. We have the interests of our commu- nity at heart. As a trade union, we want good wages for our mem- bers, which is good for the com- munity.” i DECEMBER 2, 1949 — PAGE 7 where possible, and no contracts *