Focus On Victoria

PROFITEERING EXPOSED

Oil magnate Frank McMahon made a profit of $11,250,000 at
the taxpayers’ expense simply by signing an agreement with the
Social Credit Government, charged Alex Macdonald M.L.A. (Van-
couver East) during the Throne Speech debate in the Legislature.
The Vancouver East member linked this profit with Social Credit
campaign funds, and McMahon’s support of the Social Credit Party
in the 1960 general election.

His motion of non-confidence regretted that the throne speech
did not contain any measures to protect the public from promoters
amassing huge fortunes at public expense. The Liberal members
combined with Social Credit members to defeat the motion 32-14.

Alex Macdonald repeated his charges in a television interview
within a few days, thus waiving immunity for a speech in the Legis-
lature.

Describing the situation as “the pipeline scandal of 1961” Alex
Macdonald related the circumstances as follows:

Some years ago the Socred Government gave Frank McMahon’s
West Coast Transmission the pipeline rights for natural gas. Mr.
McMahon gave himself stock options to buy shares at 5 cents each.
Without investing even the 5 cents, he and his friends cleaned up
millions in tax-free risk-free profits. That stock is now worth $20.

Mr. McMahon sold the gas under 20 year contract to the Ameri-
cans for 22 cents per 1000 cu. ft.—but he charges 34 cents to Van-
couver. With this, and the built-in profits, Vancouver natural gas is
away up.

Mr. McMahon was angling for the crude oil pipeline from the
Peace to Vancouver. He gave the Socreds campaign funds, and made
the Province statement in September, 1960.

Four months later the re-elected Socred government gave Mr.
McMahon the crude oil pipeline.

Profiteering starts again! Mr. McMahon forms a new company,
Western Pacific Products Co. to build the crude oil line. But it is a
private company. The insiders gave themselves shares at $5. The
public can’t invest. But later, when the promoters have their cheap
stock, the Government allows the Company to convert to a public
company. The public can invest today, but at $15 a share!

Another pay-off. Westcoast always had a right of way from Peace
River to Kamloops, all paid for, surveyed and cleared. For his sig-
nature allowing the new crude line to use 20 feet of this right of way
Mr. McMahon and friends got 11 million dollars in shares in the
new company!

The motorists of the province should know that when they pay
for their gas, they will be paying off these promoters’ secret profits
for years to come. They should know they will be paying off the
political debts of the Social Credit government.

$3,000,000,000 DEBT

The present power policy of the Social Credit Government was

condemned by Randolph Harding M.L.A. in the Legislature as a ~

“tragic blunder” and “dereliction of duty” because vital information
had been withheld from the public leading to a hydro development
stalemate.

The member from Kaslo-Slocan charged that the indirect debt of
British Columbia would total more than $3,000,000;000 before
1970. The two-river policy was “nothing but a political trick”, he
declared. Talk of developing the Columbia River had proved to be
nothing but “window-dressing”, in the hope of gaining votes.

The NDP-CCF, he said, believed:

There should be publicly-owned power under one power author-
ity for the whole province.

The cheapest power in the province, the Columbia River, should
be developed first, with Mica Creek the key. The High Arrow Dam
is opposed.

There should be no export of power, except on a surplus, in-
terruptible power basis.

Logical planning for other projects, including the Peace, should
come as and when required.

SOCRED CAMPAIGN FUNDS

An enquiry into the sources of Social Credit campaign funds was
demanded by Opposition Leader Robert Strachan during the
Throne Speech debate in the Legislature. He stated that only control
of election expenses would ensure that large donations from business
sources no longer corrupted political affairs.

He said, “The Government, taking undue advantage of its politi-
cal power a year ago, passed legislation to prevent a union member
from donating 60 cents a year to the New Democratic Party. This
was represented as a devilish scheme. Now the Minister who con-
coeted this witch’s brew known as Bill 42, is threatening further
protective legislation. If the Minister would stop picking on the
workers, and find out where his campaign funds come from, he would
find so much to do that he could leave the workers alone for a
while”. He made reference to the exclusive franchise given Frank
MeMahon and Social Credit Opposition to expropriation of the
B.C, Telephone Co.

B.C. LIGHT BILLS

B.C, light bills could have been cut by $178 million, and telephone
bills by approximately $90 million if the Social Credit Government
had acted on its present reasons for public ownership in 1952,
declared Robert Strachan M.L.A, in the Legislature.

The Government had been completely out-classed in its deals with
the Wenner-Gren interests, who had received $8 million, $3 million
of which was clear profit.

In discussion of the oil and natural gas pipelines he said that the
- MeMahon interests had “scooped up” $14 million in profits.
The policy of the New Democratic Party would be to place all
lies under public ownership, with provision for arbitra-
tion, and in such manner as to reduce costs to the consumer.

His no-confidence motion, defeated by a Social Credit majority,
C that “the present Government has violated the trust of the

yy disregarding their election mandate and acting contrary

intentions. They have constantly undermined
procedures by constant failure to consult this

WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

European
Free Trade Area

Population: 90,000,000

ROS

0 Gormunist bloc

THE EUROPEAN COMMON MARKET and its relation to Canadian and
American plans for trade expansion was a topic under consideration by economists
attending the recent WAGE POLICY CONFERENCE OF THE B.C. FEDERATION
OF LABOUR. Export trade expansion, especially for lumber, could prove to be a
sound economic base for wage advances, it was stated.

It was disclosed that within the European Common Market, production and
national income has risen to the point where higher standards of living are enjoyed
by industrial workers. Unemployment, under the planning for economic integration,
has virtually disappeared. If Britain joins the European Community, the potential
of this trading bloc will rival that of the United States. B.C. lumber will find a
wider and more substantial market, because of increased demand from flourishing

national economies.

Norway's Economic Growth

Achieved By Planning

While Canada has marked time
economically, the little country of
Norway has shown that growth can
be achieved with some economic
planning and government leadership.

According to. the latest figures,
Norway’s gross national production
has risen 18 per cent in the past
three years! Last year the GNP rose
5.6 per cent.

And it is the average Norwegian
who benefits.

Since 1957, reports the Norwegian
Labour Party newspaper, the real in-
come of Norwegian wage-earners has
risen 29 per cent. There was virtually

no real increase in “owner-income,”
or corporation profits.

Most of the increased income of
business in Norway went to offset
the heavy losses suffered during the
1957-58 recession.

Reports the labour press: “Capital
growth in the private sector has in-
creased substantially since 1958, not
least because a considerable part of
the income gains achieved by wage-

earners, agriculture and commerce

have been saved.”

A 1961 slowdown in economic ac-
tivity throughout Europe has had
little affect on Norway where pro-
duction expanded rapidly.

Strikes Mere

Economic
Fleabites

Strikes are generally no more
than an economic fleabite, annoy-
ing but not very painful, according
to Jack McArthur, financial editor
of the Toronto Star.

“I’m sure we threw away more
production because employees took
time off to go fishing, skiing, golf-
ing or visiting Aunt Minnie.”

Agony Boys

Mr. McArthur stated his views

in a recent Star financial page edi-

In
Memoriam

The British Columbia labour
movement has lost another good
friend in the passing of Tom Up-
hill, who died February 19, in
Burnaby. His death occurred just
twenty days after that of George
“Tiny” Hobbs, NDP-CCF-MLA,
who died in his sleep January 30.

Tom Uphill, like “Tiny” Hobbs,
was a champion of the workers’
rights and while he did not always
support the position of the CCF
in the House, he never let labour
down.

A former coal miner, he repre-
sented the City of Fernie for 40
straight years in the provincial
legislature. He retired in 1960 due
to ill health. He entered politics
in 1912, when as a member of
the United Mine Workers’ Union,
he was elected a city alderman
and subsequently mayor of
Fernie.

B.C.’s one-man political party
is gone but his ready wit and good
humour will be remembered by
all those who knew him.

torial debunking the agony boys
who scream for a clamp-down on
labour every time there’s a strike.

“Much more damage to our liv-
ing standards is done by absentee-
ism, umnecessary industrial acci-
dents, sloppy production techniques
and poor management,” says Mr.
McArthur.

“If we worried and talked as
much about them as we do about
strikes, we would rapidly increase
the efficiency of Canadian indus-
try.”

The Star’s financial editor doubt-
ed if anti-strike laws would help
much. “Management-labour prob-
lems can damage business in less
spectacular ways. Production slow-
downs and rising absenteeism are
not uncommon in such cases.”

Strikes Over-Rated

Strikes make headlines. They
grab attention, But generally they
are over-rated as a business prob-
lem, Mr. McArthur states.

The time lost by strikes is not
great. Last year Canada lost about
one-tenth of one per cent of all the
man-days worked—about one day
in 1,000.

In 1960 the record was even bet-
ter, Mr. McArthur points out. Only
0.06 per cent, six days in every
10,000 were lost.

“Let’s face it,’ Mr. McArthur
concludes: “A system of free collec-
tive bargaining results in some
strikes.”

“In spending so much of its time,
speech-making ability, energy and
money trying to beat the strike,
Canada is probably making a poor
investment.”

In New York City, a city magis-
trate grabbed a lot of publicity by
delivering a long speech denouncing
alleged gambling in defense plants.
Two weeks later police arrested an
assistant bailiff in the same court
and charged him with taking bets in
open session even while trials were
in session.

No Seat
For
Canada

After all the fuss and furore over
the Common Market by Tory Cab-
inet ministers Hees and Fleming,

‘Canada won’t even have a place at

the negotiating table in Brussels.

Strange as it may seem, even
Australia will probably be seated at
those meetings affecting the future
of Australian trade. Down-Under has
applied, through the U.K., for
representation privileges. But Canada
hasn’t, Finance Minister Fleming
told the House.

advice

. according to Lord Chester-
field, it is 3
“seldom welcome, and those

who want it the most always
like it the least.’””

We hesitate to dispute the re-

doubtable earl . . . but it has been
our experience (two B.C. genera-

tions of it, all told) that those
who seek our advice about good
logging boots want it, and wel-
come it..Why? Because they find
it makes all the difference in the
world to their comfort and safety
in the woods. It’s as simple as
that.

DAYTON SHOE
MFG. CO. (B.C) LTD.

2250 E Hastings St.,
VANCOUVER, B.C.

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