Omen,

Labor backs hydro protest

The projected increase
4 hydro and bus fares due

°pposition from dele-

ates at the regular meet-
Ng of Vancouver Labor
Ouncil on Tuesday night.

i Delegates decided to take part
de 4 candlelight protest

Monstration on Tuesday,
viag 31, at 8 p.m. at the Hydro
sik on Burrard St. Paddy
se VLC secretary, reported
ee the petition campaign

€sting the increase was one
und € most successful they hand

€rtaken, with names. still

Pp

| Oming in.
'’ pave VLC petition called on the
Vincial government ‘‘to

s
theron’ the increases pending
@ppointment and report of

all-party committee of the

AMCHITKA NO” says.the slogan atop one of the c
) Bcwn Vancouver last Monday noon while a de
©nsul General demanding the U.S. halt the Amchitka tests. T

on April 1 met with sharp °

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1970

legislature empowered to
conduct a public investigation of
all aspects of Hydro operations.”

In discussion several dele-
gates urged that citizens turn off
their lights and use as little
power as possible.

“Hit Hydro in the pocket-
book,’ one unionist urged.
“That’s the only thing they
understand!’

A. colorful leaflet entitled

“Inflation—Why?’’ dealing par-.

ticularly with the housing
scandal was on display and was
the source of much favorable
comment. Prepared by the
Trade Union Research Bureau
for the VLC, the brochure is part
of labors’ fight back against the
campaign of government and
big business to blame labor for

inflation. :
One. union. delegate said his

ars taking part in a caval
legation of prominent citizens presente: t
he cavalcade was sponsored by the Voice of

PUBLIC PROTEST DEMANDS:

HALT AMCHITKA TEST

The demand for a halt to the testing of nuclear.

alcade at the U.S. Consulate in
da letter to the

—G. Legebokoff photo

union was distributing 7,000
copies through the mail, and all
unions will use every means to
get the leaflet out to the public.
Some $1,400 has been subscribed
by the affiliates to date to carry
on the campaign. ;

Council decided to support in
principle the April: 18 March of
Protest against the Vietnam
war, and to work with the B.C.
Federation of Labor in working
out labor’s participation.
Council: secretary Paddy Neale
pointed out that the March Com-
mittee had agreed that the
theme of the protest would
centre on the demand for with-
drawal of U.S. troops, an end to
Canadian complicity, and in
general tie in with inflation
and pollution which has been an
end result of the war.

See HYDRO FIGHT pg. 11

VOL. 31 No. 12

weapons at Amchitka Island is gaining momentum
among all sections of the population in B.C. as the
forthcoming U.S. test in the Aleutians draws closer.

Although a date has not yet
been announced by the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission, it
is known that preparations have
been moving ahead rapidly for
the next test, which will be three
times. more powerful than the
test last October.

Despite world-wide protest the
U.S. went ahead with its test in
1969 which was of 1-megaton —
equal to one million tons of TNT.
The AEC has already said the
next test will be of the 3-megaton
range and will be followed by one
in the 5 to 6-megaton range.

The AEC announced a few
weeks ago that it was pro-
ceeding with a series of tests
after studying the results of the
first blast in October. The Cana-
dian government has not been
informed either of the results of
the last blast nor of the U.S.
government. plans for future
tests.

Monday of this week a broadly-
based delegation representing

Easter Walk
for Peace

An Easter Walk for Peace
will feature children carrying
flowers and peace doves and
will leave from the Court
House fountain on Saturday,
March 28 at 2:30 p.m.

Peace Action League, which
is sponsoring the Walk, will
distribute a leaflet con-
trasting the new life and joy
associated with Easter with
the death and maiming of
children in Vietnam and call
for a renewed dedication to
the effort to end the -war in
Vietnam and the ultimate
achievement of global peace.

The public is invited to
participate.

women, labor,
workers, church groups and
others, headed by Muriel

Duckworth, national president
of the Voice of Women,
presented a letter to the U.S.
Consul General in Vancouver
protesting the tests.

Included in the delegation
were Ray Haynes, secretary of
the B.C. Federation of Labor,
Robin Harger of SPEC, Rev. P.

-Kent of the Unitarian Church,

Father’ Roberts, Mrs. Teresa

‘ Galloway, well-known women’s

civic leader, and Robert Hunter,
columnist of the Vancouver Sun.

The letter to the Consul
General said:

“We want to impress upon you
our very great concern about the
danger that we see to ourselves
and to all of humanity in the an-
nounced plans of your govern-
ment to explode a series of
nuclear bombs at Amchitka
Island.

“There was great anxiety and
resentment in Canada at the
time of the last Amchitka
nuclear test . . . Scientists and
naturalists as well as ordinary
citizens of this country feel that
your government is taking un-
justifiable risks, which endanger
the lives and welfare of the Cana-
dian people.”’

Pointing out that they were
opposed to nuclear testing by any
country, the letter says that
further testing. ‘threatens an
already dangerously polluted
physical environment and
jeopardizes not only the im-
mediate area in which the bomb
explodes. but the environment
of the entire planet for a long
time to come. We ask you to
convey to your government our
emphatic opposition to any
Amchitka nuclear tests.” :

The letter also registers strong
opposition to the placing of ABM
or MIRV bases near Canadian
borders and says that if such
weapons are used whether
accidentally or deliberately.
Canada would suffer damage of
catastrophic proportions. ~

anti-pollution