BRITISH COLUMBIA - Tenants set to fight rent hike _ Tenants of three Zen and Aquilini build- Ings have targetted Vancouver’s most notorious slumlord for rent gouging, one of Several practices the city’s tenant activists Say are on the rise following the complete abolition of the Rentalsman’s office. More than 50 of the some 600 tenants in the buildings located in the Mount Pleasant area jammed a meeting sponsored by tht Tenants’ Rights Action Centre (TRAC) and the buildings’ tenants committees Oct. 22 to Plan an organized response to rent hikes Tanging from 35 to 50 per cent. The case of the Zen and Aquilini tenants Underscores the point TRAC has been mak- Ing since the Social Credit government introduced its new Residential Tenancy Act and abolished the Rentalsman’s office and Tent controls: soaring rents will gouge the Poorest of the province’s tenants. “Our case load is way up — and I'd €stimate about 50 per cent of the calls we Teceive are from those on welfare,” said TRAC co-ordinator David Lane. In addition to astronomical rent hikes, Lane said the biggest problem tenants face 1s the refusal of landlords to refund security deposits. Such cases were handled for a Small fee by the Rentalsman’s office, since Teplaced by the Residential Tenancy Branch, “The new branch has no information on Security deposits. The tenant is referred to small claims court. The landlords are mak- ing a habit of not returning deposits, know- ing full well that in a court case, they’ll walk away with most of the money,” said Lane. A $30 fee charged by the branch for all non-monetary disputes, including repairs, keeps most tenants away from the few remaining avenues of redress, Lane said. The Rentalsman’s office had a staff of 35 full-time officers, 140 clerical, and 15 full- time information officers, with offices in six Major B.C. centres. The branch, in contrast, employs on a contractual basis only eight, government-appointed “arbitrators,” 45 full-time staff and eight information staff, TRAC points out in its booklet, Tenant Survival Guide. : _ ‘We see landlords simply taking the law into their own hands, with rent hikes and DAVID LANE. ..tenant activist predicts new militancy. illegal evictions, while they ignore the laws that do exist,” said Lane. The Rentalsman’s office, officially closed in October, ceased handling new cases back in June. By August, Lane reported, the branch was handling only one-quarter of the caseload handled by the Rentalsman. The result has been an increased caseload for TRAC, the active arm of the B.C. Tenants Rights Coalition. The Centre, which recently received extra funding from the city of Vancouver, also engages in an ongoing public education campaign and other activities. _ ‘Whenever we hear of something going on, we get out and leaflet the building involved. We could certainly use more volunteers,” Lane stressed. And the centre helps organize meetings, such as the Oct. 22 one in which angry tenants resolved to demand a rent hike roll- back and a meeting with their landlords. Zen and Aquilini refused, but the tenants were to meet Monday with the general property manager. They’ve vowed that if their demands aren’t met, they’ll consider picketing their buildings to discourage prospective new tenants, mount a picket at Zen and Aquilini’s head office and, if all else fails, engage in a rent strike when the new rents are to come in effect Jan. 1. Lane said the absence of the Rentals- man’s office and rent controls make such occurrences inevitable. “Tf the Zen and Aquilini tenants win their case, it’s sure to signal a return to the mil- itant tenant tactics of the early 70s,” he predicted. ‘Target Socreds,’ CP _urges in Nov. 8 vote The B.C. Communist Party’s provincial executive announced Oct. 25 that it would not be fielding candidates in the Nov. 8. provincial byelections by Vancouver East and Okanagan North but urged voters to “demonstrate their opposition to the right- wing policies of the Social Credit govern- ment. : “*A defeat for the Socreds in one or both ridings would send a strong message to Vic- toria of popular opposition to the ultra- right program of the Socreds which has brought B.C. massive unemployment, a countries into your mailbox for 12 months — and a chance to see W Tribune essential reading. If you’re a new reader, why not encourage him or her to take Pe a a The bargain-priced Trib subscription - At $14 year, the Tribune is a great bargain, putting news and commentary from the labor movemen rm: movement and news and analysis on the socialis | months. A offer during our circulation drive, $2 gets you the paper for three hy thousands of people consider the But with the special introductory you can get an even better deal. Just fill out the coupon below? If you’ lar reader, pass the cou . Psgt aed Seat Ea aieoe of the special offer. And help us celebrate our 50th anniversary next yeat with an even bigger readership. Jae Lu : THREE MONTHS $2 -ANAME {SRR SST ee gas 5 see ER Rie es he A es 7 gADDRESS ....... ahaa eS vec eeeeenees oo ae - | Sere ieee ae POSTAL CODE ...s+se-ereteeseees | hee - mine ee he Vancouver, B.C. V5K1Z5 ff PA 1 East Hastings Street, § PACIFIC TRIBUNE, 268 fe eS A SO EE DD t, information on the peace t and liberated pon on to a friend and stagnant economy, lower living standards, and attacks on social services, labor and human rights,” provincial leader Maurice Rush said in a statement. He emphasized “new policies are needed which will provide jobs, get the economy - going, raise living standards and restore. social service cutbacks, labor and human rights. The Communist Party will press the NDP to takea strong : stand in support of #@ such new policies and to join in united action to defeat the Socred-Fraser Insti- tute right wing offen- sive,” The byelections were prompted by the death of sitting Socred MLA for Okanagan North, Don Campbell, and MAURICE RUSH ‘by the resignation of former NDP leader and Vancouver East MLA Dave Barrett. Contesting the Vancouver East seat are NDP member Bob Williams, the former resources minister who held Vancouver © East until he stepped aside in 1975 to pro- vide a seat for Dave Barrett after the NDP leader’s defeat in Dewdney; Liberal leader Art Lee; Socred Mario Caravetta; Green Hans Grages and an independent: In Okan- agan North, NDP candidate Lyle McWilli- ams is up against Socred Harold Thorlakson and Liberal Frank Cole. “In the Vancouver Eat byelection the NDPis seeking to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dave Barrett and to return the seat to the NDP candidate who formerly held it,” Rush said. “The issue of government is not at stake in the byelections,” he emphasized. “If it were the Communist Party would be field- ing candidates to project the Communist program for B.C. © they “In the present political situation, a . strong vote against the Socreds would blunt the right wing offensive and mark a setback for the Socreds who have led B.C. into the present crisis. We call upon the voters in Vancouver East and North Okanagan to cast their ballots against the Socreds and thereby demonstrate their demand for new policies which put people’s needs first.” EDUCATION DAY OF CONCERN DESC action aimed at education cutbacks A “day of concern” for education in British Columbia was marked Oct. - 23 and 24 as teachers, students and school staff members rallied at cam- puses and began handing out 80,000 leaflets and 40,000 buttons protesting the Social Credit government’s chronic underfunding of public and post- secondary education. The leaflets, with a tear-off section to be signed and sent to local MLAs _ urging an end to Victoria’s escalating round of cutbacks, and buttons with the logo “Education: A chance for a future” are distributed by the two- year old Defend Educational Services Coalition (DESC). The coalition is a member of the Solidarity Coalition and was formed after the Socreds’ “restraint” program began the massive slashing of educa- tion financing in 1982. It comprises the Association of University and College Employess (AUCE), the B.C. Teachers Federa- tion (BCTF), the Canadian Federa- tion of Students (CFS), the Canadian Unon of Public Employees (CUPE), the College/Institute Educators’ Association (CIEA), and the Van- couver Municipal and Regional Employees Union (VMREU). ~ In the Lower Mainland, students, faculty and support staff marked the day with meetings at Capilano, Doug- las and Kwantlen Colleges and Lan- gara Campus of Vancouver Commu- nity College. In the Interior, a public “meeting in Kelowna heard Larry Kuehn, past president of the BCTF call for an end to education cutbacks. Spokesmen for local teacher asso- ciations and other DESC organiza- tion members appeared on open-line radio shows. The Burnaby Teachers Association urged the Burnaby School Board in a brief to resist Victoria’s cutbacks, while CUPE took out a half-page advertisement in the Pro- vince protesting the loss of teachers’ aides and and offering an information booklet on the cutbacks. At Langara, an_ all-candidates meeting for Vancouver city council and school board saw members of the right-wing Civic Non-Partisan Asso- ciation booed for their attempted defence of Socred cutbacks. The “concern for public educa- tion” continues this week with an all- candidates forum for school board hopefuls at the Champlain Heights Community Room at 6955 Frontenac St. in Vancouver, at 7:30 p.m. It’s - sponsored by DESC and the Killarney- Champlain Citizens for Action Association. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 31, 1984 e 3