PACIFIC TRIBUNG aiken ipo a om EDITORIAL Dusting off an old gag Bd recent fast trip to sunny California by B.C. Pro- ‘vincial Liberal leader Dr. Pat McGeer now begins to further reveal a pattern of Liberal strategy in the event of an early provincial election. While sojourning in California, according to press reports, McGeer received the full ‘‘red carpet’’ treatment from Governor Ronald Reagan and other U.S. monopoly tycoons, and returned to B.C. all enthused with the Reagan anti-campus anti-demonstration ‘‘crack-downs”’ against what some of these spokesmen of U.S. reaction call ‘‘creeping socialism’’. There is no doubt that when an election comes, Dr. McGeer will seize on to what is left of the Trudeau charisma to bolster up his party’s bid for a ‘‘comeback”’ in B.C, politics, (at present there are only six, including himself in the B.C. legislature), his trip South indicates Pat is looking for something of more substantial backing than the tattered remnants of Trudeaumania. Seeing the Bennett Socred regime, with all its homegrown and U.S. monopoly backing looking as though it might be nearing the end of its 17-year ‘“‘give-away”’ career in B.C., and noting also that the resurgent NDP is picking up the bulk of the by-election plums falling by the wayside, Liberal McGeer is looking towards becoming U.S. monopoly’s ‘‘alternative’’ in the event of a Socred political demise in B.C. come the next election. There is little doubt that California’s monopoly-dominated politicians of the Ronald Reagan type are in full agreement with McGeer, Bennett and the Socreds generally, who are now loudly raising the old red-bogey of ‘‘socialism’’ should the NDP win the next election. In this old gag however, McGeer goes one better than the Socreds by insisting that the longer the Socreds stay in power, the greater the danger of an NDP government and “socialism’’. Hence the pose now being adopted by McGeer as the ‘‘saviour”’ of B.C. from socialism, and the only leader and party that can keep B.C. firmly on the old tried and trusted (?) ‘free enterprise’ give-away track. When Bennett and his Socreds faced the electors in the last provincial election their battle-cry was also that of “‘saving B.C. from socialism’’, with the notorious Frank McMahon, Westcoast Transmission and oil baron stepping into the electoral picture at the last moment with a promise of ‘10,000 jobs’’ if only the electorate would vote down the NDP and return the give-away Socreds. With the danger of ‘‘socialism’’ thus averted, the ‘‘10,000 jobs’’ evaporated along with most others of the Socreds’ pre-election promises. What McGeer and his Liberal cohorts are now attempting in their assumed role of ‘“‘saviour’’ is more of the same, but this time with a characteristic Trudeaumania twist; to ward off the danger of ‘‘socialism’’ by portraying the Socreds as its prime unwitting incubator, and himself and his party as the sole guarantors of continued monopoly laissez faire in their chosen jungle of ‘‘free enterprise’. From his most recent programmatic announcements following his trip South, McGeer’s main political forte at the moment is to prove to Big Business monopoly in B.C. and elsewhere that he and his Liberal stalwarts are the sole bulwarks left them in a last-ditch stand against NDP ‘“‘socialism’’, It’s a “‘bogey’’ that has always worked, reason these up-and-coming Liberal ‘‘statesmen’’, so why not again? Pa SS REE SS Pacitic Tribune ‘West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune Editor—TOM McEWEN Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH Published weekly at Ford Bidg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St., Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288. Subscription Rate: Canada, $5.00 one year; $2.75 for six months. North and South America and Commonwealth countries, $6.00 one year. All other countries, $7.00 one year. Second class mail registration number 1560. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 25,. 1969—Page 2 te A SNE Gs tro AMEE) ED AS é ’ Freeways to serve CPR, Project By ALD. HARRY RANKIN Last week the Province of April 17 carried an editorial ‘A Lopsided Redevelopment Effort’’. It charged me with delaying a second crossing of Burrard Inlet and a network of freeways through downtown Vancouver by creating ‘‘a smoke- screen of doubt to confuse the public’’ and some of my colleagues on council. Whether I deserve that much credit is debatable, but what is evident is that the Province is trying to whip council into line. The editorial left no doubt that as far as the Province and its friends in Project 200 are concerned, the only purpose of the inlet crossing and downtown freeways is to serve the CPR and other interests who are behind Project 200. I replied to that editorial; whether or not they print my reply remains to be seen. In any case I made it quite clear that I do question this whole concept of freeways, and with good reason. Why should the traffic from West and North Vancouver be funnelled through downtown Vancouver when about 50 per cent of it has another destination? Then there’s the - ‘‘little’’ question of who is going to pay for all these new transportation links. The federal government is footing the bill for the Inlet crossing and the provincial government is contributing to the cost of the approaches. But what about the by-pass between the Inlet crossing and Georgia Viaduct, the cost of which is now estimated at between $42 and $66 million but which may run into $100 million? Who will pay that— Vancouver taxpayers? And what of the connection between Georgia Viaduct and Highway 401 which could mean the demolition of some 1200 homes and a cost of another $100 million or more? The public subsidies secured by the Block 42-52 promoters are peanuts compared to the public subsidies demanded by the Project 200 people in the form of freeways to serve _ their properties. The Province editorial stated that ‘‘downtown redevelopment and traffic planning is supposed to be a team effort for public authorities and _ private investors.’’ That’s not my concept of council’s responsi bilities. As far as I’m concerned we were elected to serve the public and not a few private investors. Eighty per cent of the public are working people; only a very small minority are investors. It ¥ MAY DAY 4 GREETINGS to FRIENDS & SUPPORTERS of LABOUR South Vancouver Club CLUB hat yr 200 promoters’ seems to me that the teamwork should be between council and the public as a whole, not only a small part of it. It is interesting that nowhere in its editorial does the Province make any reference to rapid transit, something of direct concern and benefit to all the public. Since the Province raised the question of teamwork, I pointed out that the decision as to just where the second Inlet crossing would be located was made by Ottawa without consulting Van- couver city council. Conse- quently there are good grounds for the suspicion that the CPR and the Project 200 people made the decision for Ottawa. @ The Province urged the city to “get a move on in implementing its half of the bargain’’ or else Project 200 will become ‘“‘hope- lessly lopsided’. I know of no bargain between council and the Project 200 people to build trans- portation links on their terms. If the Province knows of any behind- the-scenes deal, I would like to hear more about it. To avoid any mis- understanding as to just where I stood, I summarized my position in these words: Council should postpone making any decision on by-passes and freeways through downtown Vancouver until (a) a compre- hensive overall transportation plan is drawn up for Greater Vancouver, endorsed by council and supported by the majority of citizens and (b) such a transpor- tation plan includes a low fare rapid transit system to move people instead of cars into and out of Vancouver, and (c) we are clear who will pay the bills for these undertakings. Transit report aired at rally A public meeting to consider the Swan Wooster Report on a new Burrard Inlet crossing and freeways through the downtown area, has been called by the Vancouver Central Council of Ratepayers for Wednesday, April 30 at 8 p.m. in the IWA Hall, 2859 Commercial Dr. The report, which Ald, Harry Rankin said recently could determine the future of the city, will be discussed by Frank Leighton of Swan Wooster Engineering; Prof. S. Pendakur of the UBC School of Planning; Prof. M.E. Ellis Hurst, SFU Dept. of Geography; Dr. J. Blumes, chairman transpor- tation committee of COPE, and Ald Rankin. IWA wants pay boost Cont'd from pg. 1 The coast contract signed last year has another 14 months to go, but it provides for a reopening of the contract on the anniversary date, June 15, by mutual consent. John Billings, president of Forest Industrial Relations Ltd., the employers’ bargaining agency, said in a _ public statement this week that the companies will not agree to reopen the contract. However, in taking that stand the forest monopolies are not reckoning with the growing militancy and unity of the woodworkers. IWA spokesman Jack MacKenzie told the Pa. ‘fic Tribune that if the companies reject the demand for reopening of the contract ‘“‘members of the IWA will be justifiably disturbed in light of the profits the industry is making .. . The only way to get some of the wealth being e GREETINGS FOR PEACE & PROGRESS in 1969 On This MAY DAY NORTH SHORE eri produced to trickle down through the economy is by granting a wage increase,”’ he said. The IWA district negotiating committee met Wednesday of this week to draw up the union’s demands. What these demands will be is not known by press time, but it is certain that the pressure from the rank-and-file in B.C.’s largest union will go for a substantial increase, which the forest monopolies can well afford to pay. Endicott to speak here Dr. James Endicott, chairman of the Canadian. Peace Congress, will speak at a number of public rallies in B.C. next week marking the 20th anniversary of the World Council of Peace and the Cana- dian Peace Congress. Speaking on the subject: The. Peace Movement — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Endicott will address a rally in the Man- hattan at 1727 West Broadway in Vancouver on Thursday, May 1 at 8 p.m. He will also speak at the Dell Hotel in Whalley on Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m., and in Victoria at The Inn on Cook St. on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. Endicott recently returned from a visit to Cairo and Berlin.