+ TRUTH ABOUT FREEWAYS. The above sign appears on the south west corner of the new Georgia Bridge telling motorists travelling east that they are travelling on ‘Freeway -401- east.” This proves what the PT has maintained all along, that the new bridge and the Third Crossing are all to be part of a planned system of freeways running through the city. The next link will probably be pressure to put a freeway through the east end of Vancouver, linking up the Georgia Bridge and the 401 which enters at Cassiar St. —Grant Richards photo Time running out to block freeway plans By WILLIAM TURNER The plan to complete the main links of Vancouver’s freeway construction are being pushed in spite of mounting opposition from the public favoring public transit. The proponents of a third crossing of Burrard Inlet arrogantly brush aside all protests demanding that priority be given to rapid transit and not freeways. The haste to let tenders for con- struction of the third crossing in the New Year, reveals the timetable pattern for a freeway system to skirt the Vancouver waterfront connecting with the Thurlow tunnel then eastward to the Georgia Viaduct. From there . traffic will create a new bottle- neck as it moves through the east end section of the city to connect with Highway 401. The freeway boosters if given their way, hope that, by adding to the traffic congestion in the Keefer-Strathcona area of the city, public opposition to the planned link with Highway 401 will be overcome in support for the east-end freeway as being the lesser of two evils. While Vancouver city council has adopted a public posture of being opposed to the outlay of $60 million for the east-end freeway, there is no assurance that eouncil will not reverse its position on this matter at an opportune time. This remains a constant threat and will continue to be as long as the plans of the Ammediate construction, a Greater Vancouver Regional Racing the white flowers you're so PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1971—PAGE 12 District for rapid transit remain on paper. Powerful real estate interests, the CPR’s False Creek and Project 200 development, the Bayshore, Four Seasons project and other groups, are pushing to promote first one phase then another to complete the final freeway system. The opening of the eastward lane on Georgia Viaduct in early January to serve as an access route to Highway 401, indicates the priorities for freeway con- struction that are being unwrapped stage by stage. The refusal of the North Vancouver city council to hear a citizens delegation request — that a public referendum be held on a third crossing, exposes the council’s reluctance to air public scrutiny and debate the key tie-in of the crossing as part of the freeway system. While the North Shore municipal councils including West Vancouver have gone on record as favoring a third crossing and urge its survey reveals that 40 percent of the North Shore people inter- viewed opposed it. The attitude to this taken by the councils reflects a policy aimed to co- ordinate efforts of the federal and provincial governments to third crossing as being essential to Vancouver’s freeway system. The need for public protests to call a halt should be stepped up within the short period of time that remains. The fight for rapid transit must be seen as an urgent priority if the freeway system and the third crossing are to be defeated. Only stepped-up public protests and action can turn the tide in favor of rapid transit. ensure a capacity crowd in support of the public rally in the Q.E. Playhouse on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 8p.m. Demand the halting of the third crossing, register your protest against freeways, declare support for action on rapid transit by making your ¥ opinions known to your munici- pal council, M.P., and M.L.A. | | push through construction of the ¥ z q a Every effort should be made to ¥ We LiL scablshnamebetesh MILLA BL Aa L Co Hospital employees will take a strike vote the first of next month. The union and the.B.C. Hospitals Association have been negotiating for weeks, but early in December the Health Minister got into the picture by announcing there would be a 6.5 percent wage freeze covering hospital employees just as there is supposed to be covering teachers. : Negotiations then broke down and the strike vote became necessary. B.C. Government Employees Union undoubtedly will face the same 6.5 percent dictum from the Socred government which is attempting to do a job on labor for the benefit of the big companies who will be going into negotiations with scores of unions in 1972. This week the BCGEU announced they would seek a pay hike averaging $90 to $95 a month for liquor store clerks and security officers in provincial correctional institutions. They will also press for pay hikes averaging 13.2 percent for ‘highway employees. The increases are necessary to bring government employees wages into line with federal and municipal government services, and in some cases with the private sector, says union head John Fryer. At the present time supermarket clerks earn more per month that do liquor store clerks who handle millions of dollars of ‘“‘public’’ money. FALLERS & MAC-BLOE The Menzies Bay Bulletin this week details some of the latest maneuvers on the part of MacMillan-Bloedel bosses to get their fallers back to work without a just settlement of their grievances. It is a story of ‘divide and rule’ with some unwelcome help from union officers, according to the Bulletin. B.C. PROVINCIAL COMMITTEE — COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA Hospital workers to challenge | | Socred freeze, take strike vote” Speaking of a Memorandum of Agreement submitted to an IWA meeting in Courtenay on December 5 which was signed by managers of three M-B divisions and by Max Salter, president of Local 1-363, the bulletin says: ‘‘The adoption of such an agreement would have set a completely intolerable pre- cedent. It would have meant that any time the company wants to arbitrarily impose new working conditions on workers all they have to do is fire them, then use their return to work as a bargaining lever to force these workers to accept the new conditions.” _ The Bulletin says further: “Despite the fact the fallers have been doublecrossed time and again in their efforts to obtain a pricing program, they are still prepared to go to work under the conditions that prevailed prior to the dispute. The fallers will not be intimidated into accepting pay cuts, increased work loads, without proper compensation for their work.”’ Following the rejection of the proposal for settlement the workers from Eve River and Kelsey Bay went to Vancouver for a demonstration at Fort Clyne protesting firings, suspensions and blacklists. Although the workers were told at the December 5th meeting that if the proposal was rejected the agreement could not be improved upon, further meetings were held where a somewhat improved version of the same thing was signed by Moore and Salter for the union. The main difference in the second agreement was that Menzies Bay fallers were left out of the agreement. ee The second proposal was finally accepted but the acceptance was far from unanimous. It remains to be seen whether management will live up to their side of the bargain, — says the Bulletin, and put all their employees back to work. In a comment from the membership, the Bulletin says: ‘« _ , the tactics used by officers of Local 1-363 in this dispute were indistinguishable from those of management, — specifically to divide and rule. Attempts were made at all three meetings to subject the fallerst0 accepting unsatisfactory © working conditions by attempting to conduct a vote of the entire crew.” ; The bulletin ends with a ~ flourishing wish: A Very Merry — Christmas To Everyone, including J.V. Scrooge! ——e a * “I was wondering if ! could buy | a steak on time?” a: Car owners gouge Cont'd from pg. 1 ‘ be cut considerably simply by the fact it would be non-profit. 2. Instead of 178 companies with duplicated offices, staffs and high-salaried executives, the industry would be centralized PSPS SRE BS SER PES BE PR GSAS SEE PS GEIR SG LET'S MOVE FORWARD % in the FIGHT FOR PEACE in 1972 FOR CANADIAN INDEPENDENCE and DEMOCRATIC ADVANCE! Vancouver Regional C’ttee, S Communist Party of Canada LIS IS EIS BIS SAR OS RES IS BEN RSS IE OS BIE BIS, BAERS OE CES SEASON'S GREETINGS May the spirit of peace and goodwill be carried into the New Year to bring a quick end to war in Indochina and throughout the world; And may 1972 see the end of oppression of man by man, urgent need — jobs or guaranteed income for all SR WE WR RE RE BIE WE BS IS wa and fulfillment of today’s with elimination of unnecessary ‘duplications: all down the line. — 3. Money wasted on-advertising and competition for customers would be saved, and 4. Court cases arising out of accidents would be rare, as Saskatchewan — has shown. age The government knows from } its own experience these things p are possible. That is why it x doesn’t insure government-— ¢ owned vehicles with private ~ companies. For years it has — provided insurance for its ow? cars, and in 1968 the cost of non- profit insurance on 5,838 vehicles (from passenger vehicles to snow-ploughs) aver aged out as little as $30.36 per vehicle. > Government-owned B.C. ~ ; Hydro, which formerly insured 7 " with private profit-making com — jy, panies at a cost of $60 to $70 per ' - bus, today takes care of its ow — 1 insurance also, and my infor- mation is that last year the cost 4, worked out to only about $15 ‘§ each for its 2,300 buses. Compare Dr these figures and those of Hi Saskatchewan and Manitoba}, with what you are compelled 0 jy pay! 8) If the provincial government h and B.C. Hydro can take care of a7 By their own insurance, why cant ok the government extend this OW, cost service to all B.C. motol- te ists? It must be compelled to d0 so, for that is the only way to get justice and end the overcharge — abuse.