-

D aedlemin Spock, the noted U.S. children’s dren Or, said last month that, ‘‘ A million chil-

ay . feinet pean killed or wounded or burned in

i ©usands of 'Ng in North

e’s no telling how many tens of

these are the victims of U.S. bomb- Vietnam.

the ue veel marks the second anniversary since of North ane bombing the Democratic Republic 90es on So anane and still the terrible bombing

the bloody slaughter of men, women

{nd child r P : Public ne le despite outraged world

R : Nam, Roa? the Foreign Minister of North Viet- 9¥yen Duy Trinh, said there could be talks

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1967

ow sa childre efore U.S. halts

VOL. 28, NO. 6

between North Vietnam and the U.S. if ‘‘the U.S. ends definitely and unconditionally the bombing and all other acts of war against North Vietnam.”’ The leading Hanoi newspaper, Nhan Dan, said this week the Foreign Minister’s remark was ‘‘a serious statement.”

President Johnson brushed aside the move by Hanoi with the comment that he was not aware of any ‘‘serious effort’ to end the war. The U.S. has made no move to stop the bombing which is an in- dispensible condition for getting peace negotiations

‘under way.

In all this, the voice of Canada and its Prime M.nister remains silent. The only remark from Prime

Minister Pearson in the last few days was that Can- ada won't use the services of Chester Ronning any more because he was ‘‘indiscreet’’ in criticizing _U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.

Now is the time for Canada to speak up, not to be silent! The Canadian people want an end to the bombing and an early end to the war. Prime Minister Pearson must be compelled to make the opinions of the vast majority of Canadians known to President Johnson in unmistakable terms.

Now is the time to write or wire Prime Min- ister Pearson. Demand that he call on the U.S. to stop the bombing. Urge the Prime Minister to dis-

‘sociate Canada from U.S. aggressive policy.

MacFARLAN SPARKS CAMPAIGN

SCHOOL CUTBACK PROTESTED

“The provincial government’s restriction on school construc- tion is an irresponsible action. It is the action of a government which places children’s welfare second to power projects and highways.” .

This denunciation of theSocred government’s ban on school con- struction came from Vancouver School Board member Jim Mac- Farlan who sparked a Board decision this week to begin a major protest campaign.

MacFarlan went on to say: “There should ‘not be a class-~ room shortage. Overcrowding, use of auditoriums, lunchrooms and gymnasiums for classrooms is the result of a policy of ne- glect. It ‘s a shameful blight on a province with such great wealth,

“It is apparent that the pro- vincial government considers the completion of great concrete

edifices on our rivers as more-

appropriate Centennial projects than our schools.

“1 challenge Mr. Peterson (Socred Education Minister) to appear before this Board and de- bate with us in open, public ses- sion what the real needs of edu- cation are in this city and prov- ince. If he will not come here then we must take a delegation to Victoria immediately.

“The Vancouver School Board is the largest and most influen- tial in B.C,. We have an obliga- tion to lead a great public cam- paign to force a change in policy.”

Other Trustees gave unanimous approval for two action resolu- tions. Board Chairman Betsy MacDonald was instructed to ar- range for a Board delegation to meet Peterson as soon as pos- sible, Trustees also agreed to

approach Vancouver MLA’s, City

Council, PTAs, teacher organi-

zations, business organization and trade unions for support,

Last October’s government de- cision to block all so-called non- essential construction (gyms,

cafeterias, activity rooms, lib- raries, play areas, etc.) and to restrict regular classroom con- Struction has forced manySchool Boards to consider larger classes, swing shifts and the use of makeshift facilities.

In a statement to the Pacific Tribune, Trustee MacFarlan urged all labor and progressive people to “take the lead in mount- ing a major campaign against this government’s education finance policy. They can be forced to back down on the construction issue and to substantially in- crease general grants to local school boards, In this respect the proposed provincial budget is totally inadequate.”

The provincial budget intro- duced last week by Premier Ben- nett fell far short of estimated’ requirements for elementary, secondary and higher education.

See SCHOOLS, pg. 12