Vancouver needs more services, not fewer

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STEWART TELLS RADIO AUDIENCE

‘A deadly serious disease is eating at the vitals of Vancouver civic government, It is known as ‘Merchant Mentalitus’. It’s main carrier is the Vancouver City Council, and its victims are the citizens of our city. The germs are the ideas that ‘what’s good for big business is good for Vancouver’ , and that ‘Van- couver city hall should be run like any other business,’ *’

This was the way William Stewart, Vancouver secretary of the Communist Party described the ailment at city hall last Sun- day over the party’s weekly radio broadcast on CKLG at 1:15 p.m.

Stewart said the symptoms of this ailment is ‘‘mounting home- owner taxes and a cut back in necessary civic services and a steady deterioration of our city. The latest manifestation of the disease is a rash of statements by high-temperatured civic of- ficials that civic services should be cut back and or turned over to private companies.’’

Examining some of the *‘patients’’, Stewart recalled Mayor Rathie’s involvement in 1957 when as an alderman he was on the Board of Directors of a firm which applied to city council for a garbage collection contract. A public exposure forced Rathie to resign from the firm and the city turned down the offer.

Stewart said the ‘‘disease’’ started 26 years ago with elec- tion of the Non- Partisan Associa- tion-which has ‘‘sappedthe health of public institutions until now the public sector of Vancouver’s economic life is perhaps the low- est of any major Canadian city.’’

WORLD COMMUNIST PARLEY URGED BY FRENCH PARTY

Speaking to the 17th Congress of the French Communist Party last weekend, Mikhail Suslov, a secretary of the Soviet Com- munist Party, said that unity of

MIKHAIL SUSLOV

He recalled that in most cities transportation, electric and gas distribution, parking, . General Hospital, Harbor Board, Airport are civic enterprises, and in some telephones are a civic util- ity. Many of these enterprises produce substantial revenue for the cities and serves to keep the mill rate down, :

The Communist Party radio broadcast came as Lands and Forests Minister Ray Williston prepared to reopen hearings in Prince George on May 27 into the application by Alexandra For- est Industries Ltd., which is seeking a huge three and a half million acre licence north of e Prince George.

Stewart said that civic govern- ments cannot be run by methods employed in big business. Serv- ices such as transportation, gar- bage disposal, care for the sick and needy, maintenance and im- provements of civic services, roads, water mains, etc., can- not be operated on the basis of profit or loss. All these services need to be. subsidized and run by the public and for the public.

Experience shows that other Canadian cities, when these serv- ices are turned over to private concerns, wages for the workers go down, so does service and prices per capita go up just as soon as the city has dumped its equipment and staff and the private firm gains a monopoly. The B.C, Electric is a prime example of-this fact,’’ said Stew- art.

He said Vancouver needs more public services, not less, and called on the people to ‘‘block our private enterprise council from reducing the already in- adequate services being given our city on the pretence that the hard working civic employees got a 10¢ an hour wage increase this year,’’

sources,’”’ he said.

Stewart said that in his broad- cast next Sunday he will let the public in on the biggest scandal in the history of Vancouver.

A demand that Premier W. A. C. Bennett intervene to stop the B.C.’s forests and the immediate setting up of a Royal Commission on no further forest licences being granted pending the findings of such made this week by B.C. Communist Party leader Nigel Morgan ina s broadcasts heard in many coast centres.

H. H. STEVENS, former trade and commerce minister in the R. B. Bennett government, told a Van- couver audience recently that “U.S. corporations play a big part in handcuffing Canadian expan- sion.’ He criticized the shipping of unprocessed raw materials to the U.S. then buying them back as fin- ished products at exorbitant prices. “Many parts of the U.S. have been built up by Canadian naturai re-

On-to-Ottawa fishlobP

A delegation of 40 members of the United Fishermen & Allied Workers Union and women’s aux- iliaries will leave Vancouver Sunday, May 24 for an intensive three day lobby of members of parliament that will concentrate on demanding a multi-nation North Pacific fisheries treaty and an end to Japanese high seas salmon fishing.

the working people and all pro- gressive forces in the capital- ist countries was being forged in the struggle for peace.

He said the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party were **contemptous of the struggle for peace, and in effect spur on the nuclear arms race, carry through a line which can lead to nuclear war.”’

According to the latest issue of The Fisherman, the delega- tion may include representatives of other organizations in the B.C. fishing industry invited to a special conference May 22 in the Fishermen’s Hall.

He accused them of working ‘for the separation, the disunity of the principle revolutionary forces of our time, the world system of socialism, the inter- rational working class and the national liberation movement.”

British Columbia groups in- vited to attend include the Native Brotherhood, the Prince Rupert Fishermen’s Union, the B.C, Fishermen’s Co-op, the Prince

: Sea Fishermen’s Union, the B.C, The French party has taken

a stand opposed to any concilia- tion with the Chinese leaders theses, and has came out in favor of a conference of ‘‘frat- ernal parties to discuss the vital problems of our epoch and over- come the difficulties in the world movement.’”’

Association, the Pacific Trol-

Owners Association of B.C,

Rupert Vessel Owners, the Deep Fishermen’s Independent Co-op ers’ Association and the Vessel

Nineteen U.S. organization have also been invited to participate,

It was expected that besides demanding immediate adoption of

giveow’

Forestry a probe, eries of

» ¢eBul indus!

: , Alexandra Forest Industries ands of new jobs:

warned, ‘‘this rich

is an off-shoot of the Wenner- : 1 _ threat Gren concessions and was heritage is Beene recently combined with the E. PY Ms PONY 1

P, Taylor Argus - interests @WaYS.

through B. C. Forest Products and the powerful U.S. Mead Corporation of Dayton, Ohio.

He added that the com

Party has spoken nel - the giveaways. “We Ha ‘nd cated policies which Me, ‘our forest raw materi oft public control, yet enab facturing industries bring more perman greater returns to

Opposition to the vast give- away is growing in the Prince George area, Last week the local Chamber of Commerce announc- ed that it will present a brief to the hearing opposing the lic- ence on the grounds that the licence would give Alexandra ex- clusive management rights and eliminate large numbers of small independent loggers who depend on the area for their existence.

a “B, C, could be tax-fO" the government wou public control of bag gust go into partnership Ww Oo ce in the development ° qm ing and manufacturing: aie these rich resources © go profitable industry ee 40 return it should to ‘ of this province.”

gorest®

In his radio broadcast Morgan said the extent of the present licence applications makes ‘‘this question too important to be de- cided by one man, Premier Ben- nett should intercede. The pres- ent hearing should be stopped. A full; frank and thorough ex- amination should be made of just where B.C.’s number one industry is going.’’

licences were 8° tighten the grip OP by half a dozen be all but one of whic trolled by the U.S. He ended ee ealing to the } pasion Bemee reins ment of a Royal Com that 00 pending its finding® ante E ther licences be & ies must insist on pon fore : people’s interests opoly gains,’’ he sale

proadces

7 ce Morgan said B.C, ‘‘possesses ublic to

an unrivalled combination of power, wood, minerals, petrol- eum and natural gas which if properly used can become the basis for a great modern chem- ical, metallurgical and manufact- . uring industry capable of pro- viding many hundreds of thous-

a0 gishin® eP

a four nation Norpac treaty, the shed

territorial sea

delegates would speak out on of Canada, was PU gent proposed legislation relating to third reading i ory establishment of a 12 mile limit. May 14 after a CUD” 4g ©

before the bankine p merce committee. came despite eft nat UFAWU, backed bY”. ion Reid, to postpone — gl! the organized fisher™

heard.

phe

Bill S-17, the

covering

Reid informed ye go" pill would go to Commons immed ceiving third te?” Senate.

jately a

He had earlier wees! and commerce con pay man Senator Salter 15 0

pehalf of fisherme?

tion, am appe4 chairman banking @

- committee if ee the 12 mile bill PO” some day next to providing 2” CF the association case.”

HOMER STEVENS, secretary-treas- urer of the UFAWU, will be inter- viewed on CBUT (Channel 2) on Saturday, May 23, at 6 p.m. Stevens, who is leading the union delegation to Ottawa next day, will speak on the 12-mile limit. It is expected that others from the fishing industry will also be inter- viewed on Channel 2onthesame the U.S. becaus® program, Country Calendar. rights.’’ ;

May 22, 1964—PACIFIC TRIP