anti-KKK
campaign

The B.C. Organization to Fight
Racism launched its anti-Klan
campaign Sunday with a call on
the federal government to ban the
‘use of the mails and telephone for
racist purposes.

- Charan Gill, president of the
anti-racist organization, told
about 150 people in the New
Westminster Carpenter’s Hall
that his group will also fight for
tougher legislation against racist
activities. His organization has
long stated that B.C.’s Civil
Rights Protection Act is inade-
quate to stop the Klan from or-
ganizing in the province, he stat-
ed.

The umbrella organization has
been gearing up for increased ac-
tivities since Ku Klux Klan leaders
announced they were moving
their head office from Toronto to
the Vancouver area a few months

4 {
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TRIBUNE PHOTOS — JOSHUA BERSON

¢

Some 150 people turned out to Carpenters Hall (top) to join with
BCOFR president Charan Gill (bottom, speaking) in launching re-

MAY DAY
GREETINGS

from

B.C. Federation
of Labor (CLC)

JIM KINNAIRD, PRESIDENT

MIKE KRAMER, SECRETARY-TREASURER

yy

greets labor
on May Day

newed campaign against the Klan.

oO.
Gill said at that time that the -

racist Organization was forced to
move because of the praiseworthy
efforts of Toronto groups to kick
the Klan out of the province, and
called for increased activities
here.

“‘We demand from the govern-
ment of British Columbia, from
the federal government and from
all concerned governmental agen-
cies that the KKK should not be
allowed to use the mails to dis-
seminate propaganda and to or-
ganize its work,’ Gill told the ral-
ly Sunday.

He said the BCOFR will circu-
late a petition containing these de-
mands, to be sent to the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecom-
munication Commission, B.C.

Telephone, Canada Post corpor-
ation and other government
agencies.

~Tommy Kwan of the Chinese
Benevolent Association also call-
ed for federal legislation ‘‘against
further racism and violence.”’

Meanwhile, University of Al-
berta lecturer Dr. Joya Sen told a
three-day symposium sponsored
by the federal department of
multiculturalism in Vancouver
that the Klan should not be grant-
e legitimacy under Canadian
aws. :

The conference produced 32
recommendations to be consider-
ed by participating groups as
possible submissions to multi-
culturalism minister Jim Flem-
ing.

MAY DAY

‘Relief camp’ jobs program

Organized labor doesn’t sub-
scribe to the glowing opinion of the
new federal-provincial. jobs pro-
gram expressed by Premier Bill
Bennett when he upstaged the fed-
eral government by disclosing it a
day early. In the words of B.C.

- Federation of Labor secretary
Mike Kramer, it smacks of a ‘‘relief

“camp mentality.’’

The plan, which is supposed to
provide up to 10,000 jobs in
forestry management and

egeneration, requires the federal
“government to add $50 to the $190
a week unemployment insurance
benefits received by laid off
forestry workers, with the provin-
cial government’ s contribution br-
inging the total to $300 a week.
Estimated cost to the federal
government, including an $8
million contribution by the Cana-
dian Forestry Service, will be up-
ward of $30 million. Cost to the
provincial government will be some
$10 million.
~ Following a meeting with federal
employment minister Lloyd Ax-
worthy last week, Kramer describ-
ed the program as ‘‘a simplistic at-
tempt to patch up the incredible
mess the economic policies of both

governments have created. It’s a
return to the relief camp mentality
of the thirties.

“‘Undoubtedly the program will
be looked upon by some as a
positive move, but a hard look at
the program shows that it is far too
simplistic and far too little to ac-
complish very much.”’

- Kramer pointed out that when

the federal government ‘“‘embark-_

ed on its program of high interest
rates and restraints, it knew full
well that the result would be
massive unemployment — and all
the problems such unemployment
brings. Yet it did nothing at that
time to plan a sound strategy to
deal with the problems.

‘*Now the governments come up
with a piece meal plan that will put
10,000 of the 130,000 unemployed
in the province to work. The plan
may sound good, but it doesn’t ad-
dress the problem. E

“It will severely erode the collec-
tive agreement in an industry that
has been unionized since the turn of
the century. At the same time, it
will do nothing for other industries
in the province which have been hit
almost as hard as the forest in-
dustry.”’

GREETINGS!

Serving workers in the telecommunications industry
since 1949.
5261 Lane Street, Burnaby 437-8601

Kramer was critical of the fact
that ‘‘no one in industry or labor”’
was consulted about the program
before it was announced.

“Governments must learn that
they cannot simply inject
themselves into a situation without
talking to the people affected

D. E. Bremner

Secretary-Treasurer

W. G. (Bill) Clark

President

first,’’ he declared.

“Tn any event, this program is
not the answer to our economic

MAY DAY GREETINGS

to our members and friends
in the labor movement

Retail Clerks Union
Local 1518, UFCW

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 30, 1982—Page 3

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