@ Continued from page 5

days and Thursday until the

price of meat comes down.
Prices Review Board

The principal WASP demand
is for a Prices Review Board
which will have the authority to
stop further price increases and
lower prices. Margaret Rouble
of the WASP steering committee
pointed out that her organiza-
tion is not only concerned with
the price of meat, but the prices
of all basic necessities that af-
fect the pocket book of working
people in Canada, such as pres-
cription drugs, housing and
clothing. Mrs. Rouble stated
that WASP is also protesting
the recent price increase granted
to Bell Telephone and is de-
manding the nationalization of
Bell.

Among WASP actions is a
campaign to send postcards and
petitions to Prime Minister Tru-
deau demanding a prices review
board. During Saturday’s de-
monstration hundreds of shop-
pers sympathetic to the demands
signed petitions, and many did
not buy meat in the super-
market.

One shopper declared “the
price of everything is too high.
The government is responsible
for not taking action to put con-
trols on prices we pay in stores
like this one.” <

Should Show Cause

Among the many who came
out to demonstrate was William
Kashtan, leader of the Commun-
ist Party of Canada and federal
candidate in Davenport where
Galleria is located.

Mr. Kashtan said that the
the Communist Party is in favor
of a prices review board. “A
prices review board would serve
as a form of pressure on cor-
porations who would have to
show just cause for price in-
creases. It would demonstrate
that they have no just cause.
Their only motive for price in-
creases is. increased profit.”

He pointed out that Bell Tele-
phone is now guaranteed a pro-
fit of 7.8% by the Department
of Transport. Workers have no
such guarantees to protect them
against costs which are beyond
their means. Mr. Kashtan said
that what is needed are many
mass actions to roll back prices
not just freeze them at a level
which is already too high, as
President Nixon did last week
in the United States.

Meaty Profits ~

Many of the slogans carried
by the demonstrators reflected
consumer resentment. against
not only the high price of food
but also the amount of money
spent by supermarket chains to
advertise and promote their
stores. Some of the siogans read:
“Are the Lollipops really free?
It’s mainly because of the meaty
profits. And by gosh the price is
high! More meat, less bull!”

Food City, the Galleria super-
market, responded to the demon-
stration with attempts to pro-
ject a “nice guy” image. They

“Whom do | see about a cost-of-
living increase in my unemploy-
ment check?”

— a oe

People act on

William Kashtan, general sec-
retary of the Communist Party,
and candidate in Davenport, is
among Galleria demonstrators.

presented the unimpressed de-
monstrators and shoppers with
a smiling but nervous store man-
ager, a slick PR man from the
corporation and free coffee and
donuts. Food City also passed
out a leaflet which urged shop-
pers to buy alternatives to meat
such as eggs (which have vir-
tually doubled in price in one
year), cheese, (which will go up
in price soon because dairy com-
panies have been granted a fur-
ther price increase) and finally
tasty and stimulating foods such
as dried peas and beans.
- Scrimping for Years

Food City also recommends
that we extend servings of meat
by adding bread, flour or maca-

Ontario tax

ood

prices

roni. Working people, pension-
ers and low-income families
have been doing this for years.
As Mrs. Rouble put it, “We are
boycotting meat in order to low-
er the price, not to eliminate it
from our diets. We have a right
to eat meat.” :
Food City’s leaflet ended in a
pathetic plea for forgiveness.
“We are very sorry prices are
high and wish there was some
way we could stop the spiral.”
The WASP petition which was
signed by Food City’s PR man
states very clearly what Food
‘City and other chains can do.
The petition reads in part: ‘““We
urge your government to act
now to set up a prices review

board with power to immedia-

tely stop price increases and
roll back prices of food, cloth-
ing, drugs and other basic neces-
sities of life, by cutting down
profits of the large corporations.

Since WASP initiated this
campaign they have received en-
dorsation from many groups, in-
cluding organizations such as
the 200,000-member Consumers
Association of Canada and the
Ontario Anti-Poverty Organiza-
tion. Women in many communi-
ties have joined with WASP and
are planning actions in their
own areas.

WASP is urging that more
women, including Tribune read-'
ers, join with them, support the
meat boycott and write to Prime
Minister Trudeau demanding a
prices review board and an end
to price gouging by the large
corporations.

hike threat

@ Continued from page 5

centage share of the tax dollar
_were maintained, that would
produce an additional $500-mil-
lion for the Ontario treasury
annually. -

Taxing the working people
will simply reduce the money
in circulation and further dry
up the economy, to say nothing
of the serious effects on the al-
ready over-burdened workers
whose pay cheque is under as-
sault from all sides.

Aside from this one cannot
help but stand agape at the bare-
faced political cynicism which
finds Mr. Stanfield berating the
Liberal Government in Ottawa
for not sufficiently reducing in-
come taxes in the recent Fede-
ral budget, while his counter-
part in Ontario proposes to gob-
ble up the few crumbs that Ot-
tawa threw to the hard-pressed
taxpayers.

The Davis government must
not be allowed to get away with
a further tax increase to the
working people and farmers of
this province. The Tories must

be hit with an avalanche of pro-

test, demanding that they raise
the monies necessary to finance
this province from the wealth
producing industries.

While Manitoba is proposing
to eliminate health premiums al-

Protests not new

Housewives’ protests are not
new to us in Canada. In his
book, The Founding of Canada,
Stanley Ryerson notes that
“hardship occasioned by soaring
prices called forth vigorous pro-
test: as in 1714, when house-
wives went on a mass delega-
tion to Quebec, to petition the
authorities for curbs on the price
of the goods they had to buy
for their families.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1973—-PAGE 10

together, the Davis government
is attacking the very basis of
Medicare.

While the B.C. government is
considering removing all educa-
tion costs from real estate, the
Davis government is shifting the
load of education and other
costs, unrelated to property, on-
tothe back of home owners and
renters, while cutting back on
standards.

Now, an additional increase in
taxes.

The answer must be, enough
is enough Mr. Davis. And we
have had far too much already.

Ask onus shift

TORONTO — The Ontario
Federation of Labor called on
the Ontario government to shift
the burden of proof onto the
company in cases where work-
ers are fired for union activity.

The OFL brief to Labor Min-
ister Fern Guindon stated that
“It is almost impossible under
the Ontario Labor Relations Act
to prove that an employee was
fired for union activity and the
companies plead innocent and
unless the union can point to
blatant overt action the case is
lost for want of proof.”

Last year in Ontario, the brief
states, there were 208 cases of
unjustified firings for union ac-
tivity, 77 were dismissed, 115
were withdrawn and only 16 led
to a favorable decision for the
worker involved.

»

e@ Continued from page 5 :
worker told the Tribune, “The
only thing I learned from all his
speech was that the shop-crafts
haven’t settled with the com-
pany. That’s very interesting,
but what about the problems
we face every day. He just beats
around the bush when he’s talk-
ing about them.”

Secord’s reference to the
shop-crafts arose out of press
reports last week that a settle-
ment had been reached. The
shop-crafts who are bargaining
simultaneously with the non-
ops but separately, said they
would accept a 7% and a 6%
increase over two years, but to
date the company has failed to
make any statement on its posi-
tion.

The headline of the rank-and-
file pamphlet called for a na-
tional strike on the railways and
that was obviously the senti-
ment of the membership at the
meeting. James Hunter, regional
vice-president, who was not a
part of the negotiating commit-
tee, spoke of the possibilities of
a national strike. and said that
he would support such action.

Takes Real Unity

“But,” he said, “I don’t want
to see what happened last time.
That time, when it came to a
showdown, the union leadership
collapsed. If you are going to
go, you’ll be taking on the gov-
ernment and the establishment.

-I don’t want to see _ people

throwing up their hands, saying
its the law. If we are going
down the road for a confronta-
tion with this government and
this country, let’s go all the
way.”

And going all the way, Hunter
explained, “is going to take real
unity among all of the non-ops
in the industry and not just the
CBRT and GW.”

During the question-and-an-
swer period, after the member-
ship realized that they weren’t
getting any answers from Sec-
ord, they turned to the theme of
unity. Several of the motormen
pointed out that they were a
long way from parity with the
Teamsters and spoke about the

need for national unity in the |

strike “or we would be better
off someplace else.”

Delegates at the meeting of the CBRT and GW took the flog
press for more militant action in the bargaining with the CN Railw

=

aM

th
had discussions with the | :

ers about affiliating 0 ;
But the motormen who oF hat |
from the floor recognized | 4
such moves, at the present ¥ the |
would be harmful to all art
workers in a strike situation aed.
confined their remarks 10 sible |
ting the best contract poss a
“within the CBRT and G “sei
One young Black WO),
from the warehouse, prouglt
tremendous ovation W ere |
said “We need to think tobe net
Because we all sweat toet 1,
trucks bounce us arou 5 to"
gether, containers. fall 0? ui to
gether. So let’s all 8° Ou
gether.” :
Not Communication cant?
Throughout the question 10 :
answer period, workers W° po!
the microphones intent th
letting the leadership Ber,
they were frustrated and ders
py with the kind of lee at
provided. Secord was con
ed for not communicating —
the membership about ;
negotiations had been PR
sing. ;
“And, indeed”
warehouseman said,
time we hear from you

when you are force
them because the a
ready written them UP: ictit
At the close of the ae |
and-answer period, the mv” §
ship discussed the tacliGaes yor)
ed in work-to-rule and l@-" oft |
ed to institute a policy ©
in order to 8), gf)

The “someplace else” seemed [==

to confirm recent reports that
some CBRT and GM motormen

400 STUDENTS

ODESSA — Soviet Scientists
highly evaluated the research
work carried out by Le Kheu
Liem, postgraduate from the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
After completing his studies at

the Odessa Marine College, he
took a postgrad course and re-
celved the candidate of techni-
cal science degree.

Close to 400 students from
Vietnam are presently studying
at the institutions of higher
learning in Odessa, Ukraine.

“After Canal ‘B’ Is nation
build ‘C’, then...” > post
Conrad in the Denvé