Sunda ric Yuri

last histo Pp Stogra h ing Valenti

Y marked the third anniversary of the Gagarin space flight. This above unusual Shows the six Soviet cosmonauts, includ- naTereshkova Nikolayeva.The occasion

Ww “ain B.C. Provincial Com- ie Ee of the Communist Party aa ely condemned Prem- an ; Nnett’s announced re-

jon j; in fra Cationay Provincial edu-

Other mun demandin

Srants and joined

1Cipal spokesmen in

& reconsideration.

ce z ith municipal taxes what

the Vising and school costs grants @8ain, it is increased ictor and not cut-backs that Nouncins s Should be an- Provin 8. Nigel. Morgan, Clarea 1 Party leader, de- ed, ,

& Paes than a month ago the

Neial that S0vernment pledg-

e eee OO! grants would

SOCRED EDUCATION GRANT CUT HITS MUNICIPALITIES

not be cut. If the govern- ment’s new sharing formulais allowed to stand it will mean a $7.00 to $10 increase for the average taxpayer, taking away more than half the bene- fit of the Home Owner Grant increase.

“In the case of Vancouver it could eliminate whatever hope there may have been for the first small tax reduc- tion in years,’ Morgan concluded.

A forthright united expres- sion of public indignation is the only thing that can compel the government to reconsider the scandalous treatment of B.C. municipal ratepayers.

R

Cmoval of sales tax

Women’s petition aim

> 5% sales tax is the demand of

0

Committec Against High Prices

latncheg a In their petition T ‘ 1S week,

e es Bennett a iton urges Premier 0 Temove the sales tax

Soa. S bathron : sstergents, toothpaste, Persona) lang and women’s

Sut Senic needs, pointing

hang hi “is unfair and creates

theo for those with modest

nd t,, 2 ‘POSe on fixed incomes The penn tPloyed.

the oo ition further states that

Ten is ma iothing School child- hts reo, te daily, and as stud- Now § Wiring adult sizes are tay, it eelled to pay the scales British “Bes the government of Slumbia to remove the : On these items, and en's i © purchase of child- _ °S without tax upon Lah ee of a student’s card.

May think that the sules

Watch this space next week for an

Important Announcement

on future plans for the

PACIFIC TRIBUNE

tax is only a few cents here ana there,’? said Mrs. Elaine Pod- ovinnikoff, chairman of the Com- mittee, however, it is interesting to know that the provincial gov- ernment estimates that it will bring in $101 million in 1964 to the provincial treasury.

A province-wide concentration to secure signatures will be held outside stores, supermarkets and shopping centres on the week- end of May 8th and 9th, while work on securing signatures will start immediately. The Com- mittee is planning to have an interview with the Government Cabinet as soon as one can be arranged, following the comple- tion of the signature campaign.

Anyone interested in securing further information, or wishing to receive some petitions may do so by contacting Mrs. Pod- ovinnikoff at YU7-4585, or Mrs. Cameron at HE 4-5955.

was marked in the Soviet Union by sending aloft last Sunday of spaceship Polyot 2 — forerunner of a manoeuvrable space platform for probing the ex- ploration of space.

HAIDA NATIVES SEEK JUSTICE

Native Indian fishermen and shoreworkers in the Queen Char- lotte Islands area are refusing to work as long as a former truck driver involved in a fatal accident last year remains onthe company payroll.

The strikers have the full sup- port and backing of the United Fishermen & Allied Workers Un- ion, which has sent former Busi- ness Agent Alec Gordon andnor- thern representative Carl Liden into the area to see that demands of the Haida tribe for justice are met,

The protest centres around an incident last October 4 when a truck, driven by Fred Steele (a white man) overturned, kill- ing one man and injuring 36 others, some of them seriously.

Steele was fined $200 for the accident and Queen Charlotte Canners $25 for operating a veh- icle without a license.

There is reportedly a strong undercurrent of feeling at Haida and Masset that the light fines imposed on Steele and the com- pany represent an example of white man’s justice.

As a result, the Haida tribe is refusing to work until Steele has been fired by the company. It is also pressing the Attorney- general’s department to appeal the light sentences.

Rumors are rampant that ‘there is a strong undercurrent of racial discrimination’’ in the area, according to a news story carried in the April 10 issue

of ‘The Fisherman.”’

Halt produce dumping demand Valley growers

The Fraser Valley Fruit and Vegetable Growers Associa- tion is presenting a brief to the federal government, demanding tariff protection against U.S. dumping of produce into B.C.

The brief, prepared inconnec- tion with the so-called ‘‘ Kennedy Round’’ of tariff reductions, was read to a meeting of 200 Low- er Mainland farmers held in Ab- botsford on Wednesday, April 8.

It states protective tariffs are needed because ‘‘the American grower, having an_ internal market of 200 million people to feed, has in general much larger production units (farms) than have Canadian growers, who supply a much smaller Canadian population of only 19 million.

**Hence, the American grower

. has lower pro’uction costs on a per pound basis.”’

The brief goes on to make the point that while many manu- facturing incustries enjoy atariff wall of up to 40 percent, the farmers are not asking too much in demanding maintenance of the present 10 and 15 percent tariff on food imports.

‘Complete ban’

‘This association is not only against any lowering of tariffs, but sincerely uges a complete ban on the dumping of food im- ports into Canada, as this dump- ing makes the horticultural in- dustry in Canada a highly risky financial venture.

“The small fruit and vegetable producers in this area, realizing they are only a small, $12 mil- lion a year industry, fear that they may become pawns in the international shuffle-board of tariff negotiations.’’

At its ‘provincial convention last fall, the B.C. Communist Party demanded federal action to

halt U.S. dumping in Canada and outlined a 6-point program de- signed to aid B.C. agriculture.

The program included such de- mands as floor prices, securing new markets for farm produce, curbing monopoly profits — gouged out of both workers and farmers, a crop’ insurance scheme, etc.

These demands were subse- quently circulated in an open let- ter to all MLAs during the re- cent session of the house in Vic- toria,

B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture, Francis Richter, was present at the meeting and endorsed the con- tents of the brief read to the audience. He stated his depart- ment is also drawing up a brief on the question of tariffs which will be presented to the Pearson government,

Farm squeeze

In a leaflet being widely dis- tributed by the association, the charge is made that the farmer is caught in acost-price squeeze, largely due to a few big business packers who seek ‘as wide a pro- fit margin as possible.’’

“The evolution of the super- market and chain groups,’’ the leaflet states, ‘‘have placed a great economic force into the hands of a few buyers. To add to their bargaining power they use their own labels and switch pack- ers at any timé as price dic- tates.

‘Dumping of foreign fruit and vegetables into our market does irreparable damage. Wide fluc- tuating prices, diseases and in- sects, increasing costs of mat- erials and machinery all contri- bute to the load that the most efficient grower must carry in order to compete.”’

COUNCIL ‘UNREALISTIC’

‘Not too late to avoid strike’ — civic union

As the PT wentto press, mem- bers of the Vancouver Civic Em- ployees—Outside Workers were taking a government-supervised strike vote. Results of the vote was to be released on Thursday, April 16.

The latest issue of the union’s Newsletter points out the unsatis- factory way in which Vancouver City Council has handled its ne- gotiations with the Outside Workers.

*‘When you study the present composition of City Council,”’ it states, ‘‘you are struck by the fact that there is no labor repre-

MILITARY TAKEOVER IN BRAZIL. C

nis sweeping Latin America over

the suspension of constitutional government and the appointment of Gen. H. Branco as President-dictator. Jails are filled to overflowing with politi- cal prisoners. The U.S. government is under severe criticism for its com- plicity and support for the rightist coup. Above,-soldiers rounding up

political prisoners.

sentation.

“Tf we had at least two or three good trade unionists as aldermen, the interests of work- ing people would receive closer attention. Civic employees would find it easier to get a fair hear- ing in wage negotiations,’’

The PT asked union secretary Jack Phillips if there would be a strike.

‘In my opinion,’’ Phillips re- plied, ‘‘a strike is inevitable un- less City council comes to its senses. City council has taken a very unrealistic approach in col- lective bargaining with our union.

‘Comparable groups in private industry are receiving wage in- creases of 10, 15, and 20 cents an hour—yet city council is try- ing to hold our membership down to five and a half cents an hour.

“This, our members are not prepared to accept. It’s not too late, even now, for city council to sit down and bargain realistic- ally. If they refuse, then they will have to answer to the bar of public opinion for any incon- venience caused to the public by strike action.

‘We hope and trust that the readers of your labor paper will support our members in the event of a strike,’ Phillips con- cluded.

The union has been assured by Max Pierotti, Business Man- ager of Vancouver City Hall Em- ployees Association that, in the event of a strike, his members will not perform duties normally performed by Outside Workers.

April 17, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 3

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