~ % VEGETARIAN “First beef went up ... then pork went up... tamb wentup .. . then chicken went up . - - oA ae By ALD. HARRY RANKIN Attorney General Alex Mac- Donald says that the amend- ments to the Landlordand Ten- ant Act, whichheintroducedin the legislature on March 20, are “interim.” They better be. There's really nothing in them for tenants. They limit rent increases to once a year related to the prem- ises but not to the tenants. Asa result of this sloppy drafts- manship, tenants could well get two increases this year instead of one. As the Province said editorially on March 23, this will create ‘‘no particular hardship for the landlord.” Every city and municipality COPE’s proposed city ward system launches electoral reform campaign The Committee of Progres- sive Electors took the first initiative inthe campaignfora ward system for Vancouver at a press conference Monday where a city’ ward map was unveiled. : The COPE proposal, which out- lines 21 wards each with an average population of 12,600 registered voters, is the work of a committee consisting of Bruce Yorke, Colin Portnuff, Chris Shelton, Popo Chudd, Bob Rosen and Marty Smith. The plan will be presented for ratification at a COPE member- ship meeting March 28. The community development committee, under Alderman: Jack Volrich has scheduled seven, public hearings to consider electoral changes and the COPE ward proposal will likely be the forcus of attention at the first meeting April 5 at city hall. Although TEAM is committed to a program of considering electoral changes and present- ing them for plebiscites, TEAM itself is opposed to a compre- hensive ward system, favoring insteada ‘two-tiered’ system by which some aldermen would be elected from wards and some at large. COPE is the only organi- zation which has supported elec- tion of aldermen from wards. ‘All major Canadian cities have ward systems, with some variations,’ Bruce Yorke states, ‘‘our system of electing aldermen is actually really back- ward.” Yorke said that full time ward offices in each area are also being considered in the proposal. Vancouver did have a ward sys- tem in the 1930’s consisting of 12 areas arbitrarily divided from east to west. Itwas scrappedin 1935 when the old line parties whodominated city hallfeared that it would facilitate a CCF vic- tory. : COPE’s ward proposal will be the central pointina public cam- paign around electoralreform culminating in the general plebiscite to beheld October 31 of this * >ar. will now be required to estab- lish a landlord and tenant ad- visory bureau. The catch is that they will have no legal power. They can listen and talk but they can do nothing to stop unfair practices by landlords. It’s hardly surprising that spokesmen for apartment own- ers’ associations and Van- couver real estate dealers should express themselves as pleased with the new legis- lation. Or that B.C. tenant organi- zations should criticize weak. The fact is that the provincial government has done nothing yet to meet the three main prob- lems facing tenants — pro- tection against evictions, recog- nition of tenant organizations as bargaining agents, and a require- ment that landlords be com- it as -pelled to justify rent increases. Today tenants have no sec- urity of tenure. They can be evicted at any time. Tenant organizations are only demand- ing elementary justice when they say that evictions must be only for good cause. They have never asked that tenants who are obnoxious, who damage property, who make life intol- erable for other tenants, or who do not pay up their rent be pro- tected. Nor have tenant organizations asked for rent controls. When the daily press and landlords praise Attorney General MacDonald for not introducing rent con- trols, they are only settingupa straw man in order to knock him down. What tenants have demanded is that rent increasés must be justified. Rental rates should be- come one of the bargaining ell,’ sez Mr. Docherty to his bosom friend Mr. Hini- W ssey when they were comfortably settled downtoa beer, “‘How do yez loike this new socialism we're havin?” -‘| havn't seen inny of it around here,’’ sez Mr. Hinissey, “buy mebby yer more forchunate in th’ big city.” “Th divil take ye.’ sez Mr. Docherty, *-with wan for all and all ‘for wan, includin th big bhoys, how kin we be more forchunate. Ti’s nonsense yer talkin Mr. Henissey.”” Mr. Hinissey took off on another slant. ‘This socialism,” sez he, ‘“‘remoinds me of the.ould Fina Fail bhoys, all red and roary on th’ outside whin y’er just promisin it, but turning a verra dull pink, when ye can have it but don’t want it. Be jabers ti’s no wonder th’ big bhoys sezit doesn't froighten thim at all atall.”’ Th’ divil take ye,’ sez Mr. Docherty, “ye want iverything all at wance; d’ye want to frighten invistment. free enterprise. confidenceav th’ peepul, allaway? Yerinadivilofahurry for changes that kin only come gragually. “Ah well,’ sez Mr. Hinissey. emmitting a loud beery belch, ‘‘let’s stretch our legs an go over as see our ould friend Dinnis O’Toole. He’s th’ lad that got himself elected on this all- for-wan hurrahand is doin very well at it. For mesilf | wud say that he doesn’t know as much about socialism as Mrs. Murphy’s cow, but that’s me private opinion.” Mr. Dinnis O’Toole was at home. greeted his two old friends with warm cordiality and invited them be*"beseated” inquiring meantime if they” ~would loikea mouthful of the ould ~ Shamrock Dew to warm their ould bones.’ With native cordiality, they both concurred. ‘‘Well,”’ sez Mr. Dinnis O'Toole. “I’ve just been putting some av th’ finishin’ touches toa spache IJ intind to mak’ inth” House this evenin on th’ Land Bill. Some flourishes yeknowt" i iM press the elictorate: Landyeknow~ilooking hard at Mr. Hinissey) Is a very precious assett, an we hiv no intintion av letting th’ divilopers, realestatesharks. another specieav landlords walk off with it as the British did the Oul Sod. We intind to nail it down wit sale and building restrictins wherea eon remain a farm, an th’ hi-rises can go somewhere else. Mr. Dinnis O'Toole paused, took a sip of his Shamrock leaned back in his chair, and waited forthe comments of his visitors. Meantime Mr. Hinissey had been somewhat mesmerized by a neatly-framed legend : ‘ which read Dinnis O'Toole, M.L.A. made a few nero eee to himself, but didn’t want to show his i that MLA, landandsocialismhad Mr. than an Irish coleen at a Londonderr Hinissey remained question: e a few mental guesses gnorance by asking. But Hinissey more mixed up y fair. Consequently Mr. Silent, but Mr. Docherty ventured a “Just supposin,”’ sez Mr. Docherty ‘ i wants to sell his farm bécause he cheese: ee projucin pigsor poul ivi proj ust iz oe sm var ne of Yer diviloper lads wanttbuy; Quite aisy,’’ sez Mr: O'Toole, ‘j insi diviloper lad or whativer koind ahd ane ak md ae dealin with, grows pigs or chickens or whativer he ie ae the land remains a farm instidava housing orsa commer ial jungle. That will cool off his diviloper grab av farm lands ve quoted some of the most eminent authorities on th’ sibjectot land in my spache; John Stewart Mill, Henry Geor 5 Karl Marx. Those bhoys knew what they were talkinabout Se lot of me colleagues, the whole Socred opposition and a on half av the electorat : Shamrock.” rate don't. Have another drop av the ould From his exertions with the 0 ‘““spache’’ Mr. O'Toole, MLA wa Docherty instinctively felt that fundamental note for socialism j i fundar alism in this land propositi Didn't that man named Lenin put land first in his Poke ‘tani and Bread slogan. . . somethin i ued rie g that even the Irish have ae . and not by the graceofG or Lizzie II. but b : : race of George III independince.”’ y th’ grace av their own free-born “Be Jasus.” sez Mr. Hinis “I sure hope O'Toole an his pa uld Shamrock and his S getting a bit drowsy. Mr. his friend O’Toolehadhita sey. hurriedly crossing himself, rtners don't stop half way on this land battle: they've got the name av soeinite so they =aieht as wellhave the game Anapleasan i : tevenin to i . . . . MLA and success in all yer ifforts!™ puree : : i i} _ nam civilians which ete" PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1973—PAGE 2 ‘°° / °°” em ae) y eeter oe rus tion. ‘There’s nothing for tenants in Act amendments’ — Rankin points between landlords and j tenants, with tenant orgalh F zations recognized in law ast | bargaining authority for the!’ | members on all matters relae | ing to their tenure. g The grievance boards whl will now be set up under new legislation introduced by® torney General MacDona will be worse than useless. tenants they will only be added source of frustrale Tenants will continue to be si from grievance boards to sma" claims courts to proseculol” | officesin anendlessmerly® | round without their grievane® | being settled. zi What we need are boards mull | teeth in them. Each board shor have a staff including S& taries and inspectors. - vindictive landlords ¢U water, electricity or heat effort to make life miseraP Fei intolerable for tenants’ ¥ don’t like, the grievance b0® acting on information thot inspectors, should have au det | ity to issue a mandatory Ba that such practices be ime iately stopped. Then hearing the grievance could continue: I’m afraid the Attorney ali eral has no conception of t vil tical powder keg that !S rele ing up over landlord-tenantl tions. In some apart rents are being increased ore: much as $50 a month oF matt There are literally 1° vagal cies, Landlords are charé? rf the traffic will bear and M0 The provincial governme aduty to take somereala¢ t curb landlords and to ae tenants. Included in this Or ing action to provide more HOU ite In its election platfor ‘ NDP recognized that ‘Def is a basic right and must D vided on the basis of nee® od | than profit.’’ It proms ni “institute a major Prost’ ail socially-owned housing” at? able to all regardless of} ity?! and serving a wide vale social and human needs - *~ jot Action is needed now next year or the year aft . § Nanaimo pla™ for tag day. The Nanaimo, Dunetiedl™ trict Labor Council aPF iro? and received permisS! oid! | the City of Nanaimo Hi ov tag day in support of ale’ pe t off | sink on Saturday, April } 4p the hours of 10 a.m. 4 : sted A meeting of inter im and individuals in N@\/ rch being held Wednesday» day: to further plans for the i The Burnaby tag 44Y the tee announced last wee gd? totalcollected inthell sh 28 March 17 now stands at K CORRECTO FH) In the article on nous vel, March 9 issue it should wate Pacific Apartmem™ steady. ment Association cial a Pacific Managers The managers aa ma paid caretakers: U ude ment association Vy di the owners — 4 crucne aeane al fromils §