national policies.”

REMP

Seen above is the masthead of “The R.C.M.P. Quarterly” in the
January issue of which is featured in glowing terms a review of the
exploits of the latest anti-Communist “expert” to be elevated to the
“professional circuit’. On page 76 and 77 of the magazine, published
by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is a book recommended for
reading, which it describes as “the first documented study of Soviet

Anti-Communist Kolansky, Canadian-born Toronto school teacher
of Ukrainian descent, having decided to spend all his time on a visit to
the land of his parents delving into “the now evident planned systematic
Russification,” soon had “cartons of books, newspapers and documents
flowing to Canada through secret channels before being suspected by
the KGB,” the RCMP mag. reports.

Kolansky, who was expelled by the Communist Party a year ago for
his anti-Communist, anti-working class activities, was featured on a half-
hour CBC TV program and a number of “top public service” radio
programs in Vancouver last week, For months past the new-found
“expert witness” has been receiving “favored treatment” and wide
publicity on the monopoly-controlled mass media across the country.

“Bitter resentment is going to
be felt by British Columbians
when the real effects of the
Socred’s new automobile
insurance legislation becomes
known,’’ Nigel Morgan,
Provincial Leader of the Com-
munist Party warned this week.

“The new legislation is the
biggest bonanza the insurance
racket has received in years,’ he
charged. ‘‘And contrary to what
is being said by the Bennett
government in the Legislature,
insurance costs instead of going
down are going to rise sharply.
It’s compulsory feature will add
immediately an estimated 90,000
customers, which even at the
conservative figure of $80 per
policy will mean an additional $7
million in premiums and close to
$142 million in commissions.”

LABOR SCENE:

VLC has short session,
but no shortage of beefs

This week's session of the
Vancouver and District Labor
Council (VLC) was largely a
routine affair, disposing of most
of its business in less than an
hour.

Delegates approved a motion
calling upon the B.C. Federation
of Labor (BCFL) to investigate
the $l-dollar tax now being
placed upon all prescriptions for
welfare recipients by the B.C.
Pharmacists Association. Such
an investigation will
undoubtedly lead back to the
Bennett government which to
date has failed to consider the
pharmacists’ proposals in this
regard, with the result that the
welfare recipients must. now
carry the extra tax load on their
medical prescriptions.

Delegate Mrs. Hallock, also an
active worker in the VLC Human
Rights Committee, told
delegates that the Socred
“human rights’ now before the
legislature is not only ‘full of
holes’’, but excludes large
groups of workers, including
agricultural and domestic
workers, Aside from calling for
the inclusion of all workers in the
proposed bill, Mrs. Hallock
urged that efforts be made to set
up a union for domestic workers,
and that all VLC affiliate unions
write attorney-general Peterson
and ‘‘tell him about his bill’’.

The VLC session heard a
report from delegates of the
Plumbers Union and the
Carpenters, both of which have
voted for strike action to support

FOREST POLICY UNDER FIRE

Cont'd. from pg. 1

gains and are paying between $40
and $60 for a thousand acres of
timber, the NDP said that
present government policy is
designed to push the small
operators out. They also
charged that timber companies
engage in collusion to avoid com-
peting with one another in
bidding at timber sales.

“The B.C. government follows
a conscious policy to kill any
semblance of competition’ at
timber sales, said Williams. He
charged that there appears to be
an arrangement with about 95
per cent of sales going at upset
prices. The result of this
arrangement is that timber in
the U.S. northwest, where more
competitive bidding is allowed,
sells for 63 per cent more than in
B.C,

Responding to the attack on
Socred forestry policies,
Minister of Lands and Forests
Williston replied that the govern-
ment’s policies have rnade B.C.
“the envy of every integrated
forest industry throughout the
world.” He is probably speaking
the truth. Nowhere in the world
have these large integrated

forest monopolies been handed
such a bonanza, nor found a
government more subservient
to their interests than here in
B.C.

The charges made by the NDP
in the House last week have been
repeatedly made by the PT and
the B.C. Communist Party. Ina
brief to the last royal com-
mission on forestry the B.C. Com-
munist Party called for all
Crown forest lands to be
returned to public control thus
putting an end to the giveaway
of our forests to the big
monopolies, mostly U.S. The
Communists have also called for
an expanded forestry service to
operate Crown forest lands on a
perpetual yield basis with logs
sold by public auction to the
highest bidder.

The explosion in the Leg-
islature last week again points
up the need for a new public
hearing into present forestry poli-
cies. It is the second time in
recent weeks that Williston had
to rush in with “explanations”
to defend these policies. A few
weeks ago the Truck Loggers
convention in Vancouver made
similar criticisms of these
policies.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 3, 1969—Page 12

union in a new wage contract. At
a big meeting last weekend at
Exhibition Gardens with an
attendance of more than 2,100
union members present, the
strike vote was 96-percent in
favor,

In compliance with the
provisions of Bill 33 negotiations
between the plumbers and a
number of big plumbing
contractors with mediation
officer Chuck Stewart may soon
be under way. Should strike
action be necessary it will affect
some 2,500 plumbers and could
tie up the entire B.C,
construction industry. The VLC
session voted ‘‘full support’’ to
the plumbers dispute.

Reporting for the Carpenters
Union dispute in Victoria with
the Yakimovich Construction
Ltd., Lorne Robson stated that a
strike vote at the plant had
recorded 8-6 in favor of strike.
Later through a series of
interviews with the men, with
“refreshments’’ supplied free,
Yakimovich management had
got some of the workers to
‘‘swear’’ they had voted ‘‘no”’. A
court comment on these regula-
larities had ruled the problem
should not be heard in court, but
granted the Yakimovich
Construction Ltd. an exparte
injunction prohibiting picketting
Yakimovich Construction.

Robson pointed out and VCL
delegates concurred, that no
trade union in B.C. will ‘‘take
this sort of stuff from any
employer without a fight.’’

A VLC Executive recommen-
dation that the council vote a
donation of $50 to the Greel
Freedom movement was
unanimously approved, and
delegates urged to attend the
meetings scheduled for this
week to hear Greek Seamen's
leader Tony Ambatielos.

«ke

The Trail Local of the United
Steelworkers Union, (formerly
Mine-Mill), unanimously
adopted a resolution at its last

regular meeting, calling upon |

Prime Minister Trudeau to
withdraw Canada from NATO.

Newspaper

‘Auto insurance changes
a cruel hoax on public’

‘Under the proposed new law,
citizens will have to carry their
own policy to cover costs of
repairs to their own car over
$250. It is expected (and noteably
not denied by the insurance
companies) that there will be a
‘$250 deductable clause’ except
where additional premiums are
paid. And here the public will
really take a soaking. This
means an estimated 30,000 of us
will have to pay our own
accjdent repairs annually.

“Secondly, instead of
insurance companies covering
hospital medical costs, they will
henceforth be borne by the B.C.
Hospital Insurance Fund, B.S.A
or C.U.&C. — a_ tremendous

saving for the auto insurance
underwriters and of course in
the long run, an added cost to
B.C. taxpayers.

“And thirdly, while 75 percent
of B.C. car accidents are
estimated to cost $250 or less,
there are 10,000 more serious
ones for which costs will not be
recoverable as in the past.

“British Columbians should
unite as one voice to demand the
proposed legislation be laid over
for further study,’ Morgan said.
“Since the private companies
apparently cannot provide
adequate coverage at reasonable
rates, the government should
take over and provide insurance
service at cost.”’

Doctors warn of ‘calamity’

Vancouver's Medical Association last week warned of an
“impending calamity’ in the overcrowded emergency ward at

Vancouver General Hospital,

This warning came a couple of weeks after a report from City
Council that fire officials have disclaimed any responsibility for the

safety of patients in the ward

in case of fire, The ward is

overcrowded and beds are jammed in the hallway.

Charging that the B.C. Hospital Insurance Service of the
government has failed in recognizing the critical situation and the

need for more emergency facilities, the VMA_ said

responsibility must be placed at
minister and the premier.”’

the
the door of the government, the

The emergency ward was designed for 24 beds. but now houses
35, The General Hospital has submitted plans for a temporary 50-bed
annex for the emergency ward but the government has failed to act

on them.

‘Tenant bill doesn’t
go far enough’

“The announcement by Mun-
icipal Affairs Minister Dan
Campbell that the provincial
government will circulate to
municipalities a draft bill to
give them the right to establish
rental accommodation
grievance boards, does not give
the municipalities any rights
they do not now have,” said
Bruce Yorke, secretary of the
Vancouver Tenants’ Council.

‘Details of the draft bill have
not been made available to the
Council, so specific comment is
not possible at this time.
accounts suggest

Vietnam films
shown Sunday

Support the struggle of the
people of Vietnam by
attending a special showing of
Vietnamese films sponsored
by the B.C. Peace Council,
Sunday, April 6 at the Pender
Auditorium, starting at 8 p.m.

All proceeds from the film
showing will go to medical aid
for the people of Vietnam,
These seven short films
portraying the heroic struggles
of the people will be shown:
Story of My Village, Message
from Vietnam, U.S. Attack on
Leper Hospital, Toxic Chemical
Warfare in South Vietnam,
The DRV Commission for
Investigating U.S. War Crimes
in Vietnam, Victory Will Be
Ours, and Special Newsreel

from Hanoi.

that the provincial government
has in mind that municipal
boards would deal only with
notice for rent increases, notice
for termination, level of service,
but nothing about rents
themselves or the question of
limiting the arbitrary rights of
landlords to evict.

‘It may be that the intention of
the Provincial Government is to
limit the right of the munici-
palities to enact rent regulations
involving all economic and
social aspects of the problem,”
said Yorke. “It could be signifi-
cant that the provincial govern-
ment earlier refused to answer a
letter and two telegrams asking
for information with regard to
the provincial government's in
tentions.”’

“The Vancouver Tenants
Council feels that the best
interest of tenants would be
served if the Vancouver City

Council established now a Rental
Appeal Board, one of whose chief
functions would be to require
public economic justification
for any proposed rent increase
“The power to act. and to act
now. rests with Vancouver City
Council, there is no need for
further legislation from
Victoria. Aldermen Rankin.
Phillips, Hardwick and Bird
have definitely committed
themselves to the general
principle of the establishment of
a Rental Appeal Board. We
appeal to tenants to bring
massive pressure on the
remaining aldermen to
act now, said Yorke.

ge a _—