Vancouver needs more
services, not fewer

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STEWART TELLS RADIO AUDIENCE

‘A deadly serious disease is
eating at the vitals of Vancouver
civic government, It is known as
‘Merchant Mentalitus’. It’s
main carrier is the Vancouver
City Council, and its victims
are the citizens of our city. The
germs are the ideas that ‘what’s
good for big business is good
for Vancouver’ , and that ‘Van-
couver city hall should be run
like any other business,’ *’

This was the way William
Stewart, Vancouver secretary of
the Communist Party described
the ailment at city hall last Sun-
day over the party’s weekly radio
broadcast on CKLG at 1:15 p.m.

Stewart said the symptoms of
this ailment is ‘‘mounting home-
owner taxes and a cut back in
necessary civic services and a
steady deterioration of our city.
The latest manifestation of the
disease is a rash of statements
by high-temperatured civic of-
ficials that civic services should
be cut back and or turned over
to private companies.’’

Examining some of the
*‘patients’’, Stewart recalled
Mayor Rathie’s involvement in
1957 when as an alderman he
was on the Board of Directors
of a firm which applied to city
council for a garbage collection
contract. A public exposure
forced Rathie to resign from the
firm and the city turned down
the offer.

Stewart said the ‘‘disease’’
started 26 years ago with elec-
tion of the Non- Partisan Associa-
tion-which has ‘‘sappedthe health
of public institutions until now
the public sector of Vancouver’s
economic life is perhaps the low-
est of any major Canadian city.’’

WORLD COMMUNIST PARLEY
URGED BY FRENCH PARTY

Speaking to the 17th Congress
of the French Communist Party
last weekend, Mikhail Suslov,
a secretary of the Soviet Com-
munist Party, said that unity of

MIKHAIL SUSLOV

He recalled that in most cities
transportation, electric and gas
distribution, parking, . General
Hospital, Harbor Board, Airport
are civic enterprises, and in
some telephones are a civic util-
ity. Many of these enterprises
produce substantial revenue for
the cities and serves to keep the
mill rate down, :

The Communist Party radio
broadcast came as Lands and
Forests Minister Ray Williston
prepared to reopen hearings in
Prince George on May 27 into
the application by Alexandra For-
est Industries Ltd., which is
seeking a huge three and a half
million acre licence north of
e Prince George.

Stewart said that civic govern-
ments cannot be run by methods
employed in big business. Serv-
ices such as transportation, gar-
bage disposal, care for the sick
and needy, maintenance and im-
provements of civic services,
roads, water mains, etc., can-
not be operated on the basis of
profit or loss. All these services
need to be. subsidized and run
by the public and for the public.

Experience shows that other
Canadian cities, when these serv-
ices are turned over to private
concerns, wages for the workers
go down, so does service and
prices per capita go up just as
soon as the city has dumped its
equipment and staff and the
private firm gains a monopoly.
The B.C, Electric is a prime
example of-this fact,’’ said Stew-
art.

He said Vancouver needs more
public services, not less, and
called on the people to ‘‘block
our private enterprise council
from reducing the already in-
adequate services being given our
city on the pretence that the hard
working civic employees got a 10¢
an hour wage increase this year,’’

sources,’”’ he said.

Stewart said that in his broad-
cast next Sunday he will let the
public in on the biggest scandal
in the history of Vancouver.

A demand that Premier W. A. C. Bennett intervene to stop the
B.C.’s forests and the immediate setting up of a Royal Commission on
no further forest licences being granted pending the findings of such
made this week by B.C. Communist Party leader Nigel Morgan ina s
broadcasts heard in many coast centres.

H. H. STEVENS, former trade and
commerce minister in the R. B.
Bennett government, told a Van-
couver audience recently that
“U.S. corporations play a big part
in handcuffing Canadian expan-
sion.’ He criticized the shipping of
unprocessed raw materials to the
U.S. then buying them back as fin-
ished products at exorbitant prices.
“Many parts of the U.S. have been
built up by Canadian naturai re-

On-to-Ottawa fishlobP

A delegation of 40 members
of the United Fishermen & Allied
Workers Union and women’s aux-
iliaries will leave Vancouver
Sunday, May 24 for an intensive
three day lobby of members of
parliament that will concentrate
on demanding a multi-nation
North Pacific fisheries treaty
and an end to Japanese high
seas salmon fishing.

the working people and all pro-
gressive forces in the capital-
ist countries was being forged
in the struggle for peace.

He said the leaders of the
Chinese Communist Party were
**contemptous of the struggle for
peace, and in effect spur on the
nuclear arms race, carry
through a line which can lead to
nuclear war.”’

According to the latest issue
of The Fisherman, the delega-
tion may include representatives
of other organizations in the
B.C. fishing industry invited to
a special conference May 22
in the Fishermen’s Hall.

He accused them of working
‘for the separation, the disunity
of the principle revolutionary
forces of our time, the world
system of socialism, the inter-
rational working class and the
national liberation movement.”

British Columbia groups in-
vited to attend include the Native
Brotherhood, the Prince Rupert
Fishermen’s Union, the B.C,
Fishermen’s Co-op, the Prince

: Sea Fishermen’s Union, the B.C,
The French party has taken

a stand opposed to any concilia-
tion with the Chinese leaders
theses, and has came out in
favor of a conference of ‘‘frat-
ernal parties to discuss the vital
problems of our epoch and over-
come the difficulties in the world
movement.’”’

Association, the Pacific Trol-

Owners Association of B.C,

Rupert Vessel Owners, the Deep
Fishermen’s Independent Co-op
ers’ Association and the Vessel

Nineteen U.S. organization have
also been invited to participate,

It was expected that besides
demanding immediate adoption of

giveow’

Forestry
a probe,
eries of

» ¢eBul
indus!

: ,
Alexandra Forest Industries ands of new jobs:

warned, ‘‘this rich

is an off-shoot of the Wenner- : 1 _ threat
Gren concessions and was heritage is Beene
recently combined with the E. PY Ms PONY 1

P, Taylor Argus - interests @WaYS.

through B. C. Forest Products
and the powerful U.S. Mead
Corporation of Dayton, Ohio.

He added that the com

Party has spoken nel
- the giveaways. “We Ha ‘nd
cated policies which Me,
‘our forest raw materi oft
public control, yet enab
facturing industries
bring more perman
greater returns to

Opposition to the vast give-
away is growing in the Prince
George area, Last week the local
Chamber of Commerce announc-
ed that it will present a brief
to the hearing opposing the lic-
ence on the grounds that the
licence would give Alexandra ex-
clusive management rights and
eliminate large numbers of small
independent loggers who depend
on the area for their existence.

a
“B, C, could be tax-fO"
the government wou
public control of bag gust
go into partnership Ww Oo ce
in the development ° qm
ing and manufacturing: aie
these rich resources © go
profitable industry ee 40
return it should to ‘
of this province.”

gorest®

In his radio broadcast Morgan
said the extent of the present
licence applications makes ‘‘this
question too important to be de-
cided by one man, Premier Ben-
nett should intercede. The pres-
ent hearing should be stopped.
A full; frank and thorough ex-
amination should be made of
just where B.C.’s number one
industry is going.’’

licences were 8°
tighten the grip OP
by half a dozen be
all but one of whic
trolled by the U.S.
He ended ee
ealing to the }
pasion Bemee reins
ment of a Royal Com that 00
pending its finding® ante E
ther licences be & ies
must insist on pon fore :
people’s interests
opoly gains,’’ he sale

proadces

7 ce
Morgan said B.C, ‘‘possesses ublic to

an unrivalled combination of
power, wood, minerals, petrol-
eum and natural gas which if
properly used can become the
basis for a great modern chem-
ical, metallurgical and manufact- .
uring industry capable of pro-
viding many hundreds of thous-

a0 gishin® eP

a four nation Norpac treaty, the shed

territorial sea

delegates would speak out on of Canada, was PU gent
proposed legislation relating to third reading i ory
establishment of a 12 mile limit. May 14 after a CUD” 4g ©

before the bankine p
merce committee.
came despite eft nat
UFAWU, backed bY”. ion
Reid, to postpone — gl!
the organized fisher™

heard.

phe

Bill S-17, the

covering

Reid informed ye go"
pill would go to
Commons immed
ceiving third te?”
Senate.

jately a

He had earlier wees!
and commerce con pay
man Senator Salter 15 0

pehalf of fisherme?

tion, am appe4
chairman banking @

- committee if ee
the 12 mile bill PO”
some day next
to providing 2” CF
the association
case.”

HOMER STEVENS, secretary-treas-
urer of the UFAWU, will be inter-
viewed on CBUT (Channel 2) on
Saturday, May 23, at 6 p.m.
Stevens, who is leading the union
delegation to Ottawa next day,
will speak on the 12-mile limit. It
is expected that others from the
fishing industry will also be inter-
viewed on Channel 2onthesame the U.S. becaus®
program, Country Calendar. rights.’’ ;

May 22, 1964—PACIFIC TRIP