By TOM BERGER
Leader of the NDP

LABOUR

Unemployment figures in B.C. last winter show-
ed B.C. was amongst the highest in the country
with 7% of our workers out of work. If 3% of the
Swedish workers become unemployed, a crisis
meeting of their parliament is called. Here in B.C.,
with 7%, the government doesn’t even pause in
their bragging. A whole new generation of workers
have come to expect the boom or bust, seasonal
lay-off type of economy that has plagued real
development in this province. Surely, it isn’t enough
to simply continue to export raw materials any

more; we must and will find labour-intensive in-
dustries that will establish themselves in our pro-
vince.

A story appearing in the financial pages of the
daily press reports that NDP Premier Schreyer has
successfully renegotiated with a pulp and timber
operator in Manitoba. Schreyer had prevented the
export of raw materials, had increased the amount
of the company’s risk capital and had obtained
agreement from the company to make public more
information. The agreement also provided for two
Canadians to be added to the directors and the
timber will be processed in Manitoba. As an extra,
the company also agreed to return to the province
6000 square miles of timber land. This agreement
should nail the scare tactics used by our opponents
when they say that capital will stop coming to the
province.

The New Democratic Party, if elected, would act
as a balance between labour and management. We

would press for collective bargaining to be on a
continuing basis and we would enact the following

specific policies.
e@ A Department of Labour run by a full time
Cabinet Minister. -

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

@ Repeal of the compulsory arbitration provided
under Bill 33.

@ Are-organized, truly independent and fully staff-

ed Mediation Commission.
@ Abolition of the use of ex parte injunctions in
labour disputes.

Full bargaining rights for civil servants.
Legislation to ensure that technological changes
and dislocation during the life of an agreement
be open to collective bargaining.

@ Full government responsibility for industrial
safety standards.

@ Three weeks vacation after one year, and four
weeks after five years.

© Minimum wage of $1.75 per hour and a legal
maximum of 40 hours per week. ‘

© Repeal of all legislation that hinders the organi-
zation of the unorganized.

© Encouragement of the formation of industrial
based labour and management groups.

@ Easy access to government research staff, data
processing, and statistical branch for both man-
agement and labour.

An NDP government will take the initiative in
ensuring that labour and management develop ade-
quate procedures for handling disputes and grie-
vances within their own ranks.

AGRICULTURE

The NDP regard the agricultural industry as im-
portant both as a way of life for the people directly
involved and as an economic part of our provincial
economy. We believe the provincial government
should spend more energy and money to improve
the status of the agricultural industry in our pro-
vince. We are extremely concerned about the loss
of prime agricultural land to real estate and indus-
trial development. We have what we consider to be
constructive proposals to deal with these problems,
and would welcome the opportunity to work out
these programs by consultation with representatives
of the farming community.

The following are some of the specific policies
that a New Democratic Party government would in-
troduce with a view to improving the agricultural

industry:

EXPROPRIATION

Particularly since the Columbia River Treaty
program started, the New Democratic Party, in
Convention and in Caucus, has expressed the need
for one Act dealing with this question of expropria-
tion. Our spokesmen in the House have endorsed
th views of the B.C. Federation of Agriculture and
have urged the government to act upon the recom-
mendations of the Clyne Commission. We shall con-
tinue to encourage this action and pledge that a
New Democratic Party government will move in this
direction very quickly.

TAXATION ON FARM LANDS

Our policy is that property taxation should bear
the costs of servicing property, whereas services
to people should be borne out of general revenue
of the province. Ttie effect of this would be to sub-
stantially reduce taxation of all land and improve-

- ments and to shift the load of taxation so that it

will be more properly related to ability to pay. Our
first step would be to remove the cost of regional
colleges from the local taxpayer, to be followed by
the eventual elimination of property tax as a source
of revenue to provide services to people.

MULTIPLE LAND USE
AND SERVICE CORRIDORS

As a party, we are very concerned about the
loss of land suitable for intensive agricultural pro-
duction. However, we are also concerned about the
amount of grazing land that has been alienated. We
realize that there will be conflict of interest such as
between timber operators and cattlemen but these
must be resolved in the best interests of the com-
munity as a whole.

POLLUTION AND LITTER
With the spread of pollution and litter, our pro-

vince, which has been advertised as a tourist para-
dise, is fast becoming a tourist nightmare. As one
small example, we have taken quite a strong stand

.are made Crown corporations, must be given th

against the use of non-returnable bottles. We are
told that we have the best pollution control legis-”
lation in Canada, and are told that the legislation
is so good that it cannot be enforced. New Demo-)
cratic Party legislation to control pollution would;
be workable and would be enforced. Pollution h |
threatened the life of lakes and rivers in various)
parts of our province and effective measures must
be adopted before it becomes too late.

SUCCESSION DUTIES

Our party has endorsed, in principle, the Carter)
Royal Commission on taxation. This would includ
the Carter recommendations with respect to suc
cession duties. On the other hand, we are anxious)
to maintain farming as a way of life and to main-
tain farm units of economic size. We believe
latter to be of prime concern but believe also
it is quite compatible with the former.

B.C. TELEPHONE —
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

The NDP does not believe in public ownership)
for the sake of public ownership, nor as the cure)
for all evils. What we do believe is that public)
utility monoplies, particularly when they are nov
even Canadian-owned, should be owned by t ae
people of British Columbia and should
service on a non-profit basis. We also believe ti
the employees of these public utilities, when t

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same full collective bargaining rights as the rest off
the labour force. 4

The Socreds ‘argue that B.C. Tel is a federally,
chartered company and therefore could not be).
taken over, and the short answer to this is, so was
the B.C. Electric, and look what happened to them:
B.C. Tel, like all corporations, pays Corpor ;
(some $152 million since 1954), and since 1
they have made a net profit of approximately
million. A Crown corporation would not pay corpe
ation tax or make a profit, and therefore this mom

would be available to make the Company
and reduce rates. Alberta, Manitoba and $
wan already have public telephone systems

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