detwee

T here are many things relating to privacy, freedom,

etc, which a lot of people take for granted. Recently
however they are beginning to experience some rude
awakenings.

Some “‘infallable’’ confidences used to be regarded as
almost sacred; the confessions of the sinner to the holy man in
the confessional box; confidences said to exist between the
lawyer and his client; the highly-touted confidences (to head
off Medicare), said to exist between the medical protession
and its multiple patients; the confidence alleged to exist
between a Bank (any bank) and its clientele, etc.

All such confidences were pretty well shot to hell a long
time ago. All that is now left is the illusion of confidence —
upon which the very bank itself is founded. That was about the
one thing innumerable royal commissions on banks and
banking made clear in the periodic gabfests since the turn of
the century and before — that the bank was as ‘‘solid as the
Rock of Gibraltar,” just so long as the depositor thought his (or
her) money safe — and just so long as they didn’t all demand
it’s return on the same day. In that unlikely event, the banks
couldn’t even meet 50 per cent of their depositors’ claims.

Confidence is cash in the bank, says some of our wiseacres—
but it now has some hazards. Everyone today paying an
inflated federal Income Tax, and who, luckily has .a bank
account, may have noted a neat little slip in his monthly
accounting, specifying that the bank has already notified the
Income Tax Branch on the standing of his (or her) account,
thereby making doubly sure that the federal income tax
gougers don’t miss a single nickle of this “‘little bit put away
for a rainy day.” Such ‘‘confidence’”’ in the depositor’s integrity
is obviously less than skin deep.”’

Then we have the fine art of electronic bugging -which
reaches into the labor, social and business circles, even up to
Parliament itself, keeping track of the activities, thoughts and
general behaviour of the average M.P. There’s a law agin it’ of
course, but as the inimitable Mr. Bumble in Dickens’ Oliver
Twist says, ‘The law is a h’ass’’. It is therefore quite proper in
our modern way-of-life to bug your neighbor any time of the
day or night— only don’t let him know about it.

Talk about stooging and stooling on your neighbor, quite
innocently and without malice aforethought.

A sauve-young man or a charming young lady wearing a
miniskirt and a gorgeous smile rattles your front door, Excuse
me Madam, but our company is underwriting your neighbor
for an important insurance or other policy. We would
appreciate your comments on his habits, etc. Does he work
steady? Does he attend church? What are his political views?
Does he drive a car? Does he drink, moderately or
excessively? How are his domestic relations? etc. and etc.

All this seemingly harmless information is carefully noted
and filed, later to be computerized (probably) and sent out to
Big Business, and/or to police security and intelligence
departments’ as a service — on the credit rating, habits,
thoughts and general deportment of your neighbor. You don’t
know it of course, but it might be the very data which serves to
bar that particular John Doe from a needed loan at the bank,
from getting a job, from renting or buying a home, or even
from getting urgently needed assistance from any social
welfare agency.

The March edition of Macleans Magazine carries a very
enlightening and informative article on how the powers-that-be
check up on credit rating — and how it affects the hapless
victims of such check-ups. And yet we have literary prostitutes
and simpletons hourly bleating about our ‘‘free world.”’

_The Ides of March would seem to indicate an urgency for
disillusionment — plus the need to check on your own credit
rating as befits free men.

What the tenants

Bill means to you.

The B.C. Tenants Organization has released an analyses of Bill 20, an Act to
Amend the Landlord and Tenant Act, which has passed first reading and will shortly
come up for second reading in the House.

Tenants groups are now
involved in a campaign to win
amendments to Bill 20 which will
strengthen it to give greater
protection to tenants who now
constitute nearly 60 percent of
the population in B.C.

Tenants leaders have
welcomed Bill 20 as a big step
forward in changing the
relationship between tenant and
landlord and ending the feudal
relationship existing up until
now under which tenants had
absolutely no rights in face of
landlord property rights.

Here are some of the
provisions of Bill 20 which the
B.C. Tenants Council points to as
‘being most important:

. Eliminates any new security
deposit after the Bill is enacted,
except where authorized by a
municipal by-law.

. Landlords must pay 6 percent
interest on all old security
deposits as well as any that
might be established under a
municipal by-law. A landlord can
withold a portion of the deposit
beyond 15 days after the tenant
has moved only if the landlord
gets an order from a judge.

. Three months notice must be
given for any rent increase, and

. there. must be no rent increase

during the first, year of a

tenancy. Landlords ‘must give’

one months notice (if rent is paid
by the month).

.~ Landlords are prohibited
from altering the locking system
of any door giving entry to the
premises, except by mutual
consent, and twenty-four hours
written notice must be given by
the landlord before he can enter
rented premises, and then only
between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

.~ Landlords are required to
keep the premises in a good state
of repair and fit for habitation,
complying with health and safety

-as well .as housing standards

required by law.

. There must be no restrictions
on access for canvassing
purposes during any election
campaign. Landlords cannot
impose additional rent in the
case of a short notice by a

CIVIC DEMOCRACY UNDER

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN
It has been an accepted

ground nuclear test
Amchitka Island in

the

practice at City Hall that Council
will hear any delegation of
citizens. Council hasn’t discrim-
inated by hearing some and
refusing to hear others. Nor has
Council demanded that organi-
zations must supply Council with
a list of its officers, members or
aims and objects’ before
presenting a brief. .

But that situation may be
coming to an end, if the NPA
majority has its way. Council
has taken the first step to
institute a policy of discrimina-
tion and intimidation.

The first group to be subjected
to this political means test will
be an organization called ‘‘Don’t
Make A Wave.” It is protesting
the staging of another U.S. under-

Aleutians. I believe it plans to
send a ship into the area to check
on the results of the nuclear
blast.

It may be worthwhile recalling
at this point that when the first
test was made last year, it met
with widespread opposition in
our province. Even Mayor
Campbell responded to public
pressure and sent a wire
expressing concern over the
possible effects.

“Don’t Make A Wave’’ asked
for permission to send a dele-
gation to Council. Alderman
Adams led off the attack with a
wild speech about Communists,
clearly intended to place ‘‘Don’t
Make A Wave” in an_ unfa-
vourable light. Then a motion

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 13, 1970—Page 2 _

was made that ‘“‘Don’t Make A
Wave’’ be allowed to present a
brief ‘‘only after filing with
Council a list of the names of the
members of the committee.”’ It
passed by a vote of 6-5. Voting
for the motion were Mayor
Campbell and Aldermen Adams,

Broome, Bird, Wilson. and
Sweeny. Opposed were
Aldermen Linnell, Phillips,

Hardwick, Calder and Rankin.

This motion is in direct contra-
diction to a decision of Council
made only a few months. ago.
Then Council voted down a
motion by Alderman Sweeny
requiring organizations to list
their officers before being
allowed to present briefs. Now
Council has reversed itself.

It’s not without. significance

that Council is not applying this’

tenant, if he is able to collect full
rent from a new tenant.

The new Act would take away
the right of Landlords to secure
payment for overdue rent py.
hiring a_bailiff,-at-fhe -tenants '

cost, to seize
belongings. Another provision,
considered of’ major importance
by tenants leaders, is that
disputes with landlords are now
placed in the hands of the Small
Claims Court.

Since lawyers are not required
in the Small’ Claims court either
to launch an action or present
the case before a judge, court
costs are very small, even in the
event the case is lost.

Explicit authority is given to
the municipalities under the Act
to set up Landlord and Tenant
Bureaus, which among other
things can receive complaint¢
and seek to mediate disputes

between landlords and tenaygts.
Although rents are ‘not
specifically mentioned in this
regard, they are not excluded.
There are references in the
new Act to municipal/by-laws

ATTACK

insulting and discriminatory
practice against any of the
business or real estate groups
with which the NPA diehards are
on such friendly terms. It is

_ being applied to a group that

stands for peace. To some
aldermen, being for peace or
against the war in Vietnam is the
same as being a Communist and
they go hairy just at the mention
of the word.

If the reactionary NPA
diehards on Council can get
away with this piece of discrim-
ination against ‘‘Don’t Make A

Wave,” next time it could be a
community, civic, or labor
group.

Thea time 10° -Stop. this

discriminatory practice is now
before it goes any further.

the; tenants‘.

dealing with rental regulations.
“In our view,” says the B.C.
Tenants - Organization; - - “‘this
reinforces the applicability of

Provincial Statute 338, the Rent ~

Control. Act, as:far as munici>.
palities are concerned.” ~~
This- Statute enables

pass rent regulations, ‘up to and
including full rent control, if
they so desire.

Section 61. of the new Act
provides that a judge can refuse
to grant an eviction order.
Previously it was automatic that
an eviction order would be
granted if sought by the landlord.
Now there is some protection for
tenants, but this section does not
go far enough in_ protecting
tenants from eviction.

The new Act also provides that
any violation of. its

$1,000 on summary: conviction.

Candlelight
march set
for April 17

“Vietnam—Peace Now’ ‘will
be the theme of a Candlelight
Procession in downtown
Vancouver on the evening of
April 17. Timed to coincide
with the International Days of
Protest against the- Vietnam
war commencing April 15,
those taking part will

at 8 o'clock and after a short
address by a speaker yet to be
named, will walk --silently,
carrying lighted candles,
one of the larger downtown"
churches for a short ceremony
which will include music and
poetry reading.

Organizers of the candle-
light walk, the Vancouvet
Moratorium Committee, urge
all.concerned citizens to jo!"
them.on that evening j

assemble at the Court House },

~

*

; any 24
municipality in the province t0_ ,

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- provisions opens one to fines of.”

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