Z

‘At the City Hall

Housing Problem
Again Evaded

By Cynthia Carter

A NCOUVER City Council this week proved cenclusively (to the
Satisfaction of the city council) that there is no housing problem
in WVaneouver. Then having convinced themselves that they were
doing everything they could to solve the non-existent problem, the
aldermen complacently moved on to the next order of business.

The privileged witmesses of this demonstration of Non-Partisan
policies in action—inaction being the guiding principle—was a dele-
fation representing a eross-section of organized labor appearing
before the city council’s building committee.

Having with difficulty obtained the privilege of appearing before
the committee, members of the delegation next had to fight for the
right to speak. Ald. Buscombe, plainly peeved about the whole busi-
ness, tried to “receive and file” the delegation’s initial letter without
allowing the trade unionists to speak; then his anger led him
to such an outburst, during which he repeatedly interrupted labor
speakers, that. Ald. Greyall was forced to intercede. _ : :

John ‘Turner, secretary of Vancouver Labor Council, had the floor.

Turner: This-is an immediate problem and we are asking- the
council to take some immediate action. We believe

Aid. Buscombe: Its no use talking about 5,000 homes, or 2;000
homes, here, because the city council has no responsibility in the
matter. Its not our problem, and were not going to solve it.

Ald. Greyall: Come come, Mr. Chairman, let the delegates speak!

Aid. Buscombe: I’m running this meeting!

_Buseombe had clearly come to the meeting with his arguments
prepared. On his desk were pages of statistics, which proved, accord-
ing to him, that Vancouver building had kept pace with population
increases.

- One of the most absurd statements,
Worthington, who stubbornly insisted:

“The council shouldn’t have to act. We didn’t cause the housing
shortage. The people in Ottawa wanted all these prairie people to
come here—we didn’t ask for them.. So it's just not our responsi-

bility.”

however, came from Ald.

Alex Gordon, of the Cannery Workers Union, immediately asked ~

aldermen: “If a ship carrying a plague came into our harbor, and if
the plague swept the city, would aldermen consider it their responsi-
bility to act? The housing situation will lead to plagues, too. Its
already been the cause of a great deal of sickness and juvenlie
delinquency.”

Buscombe had another “excuse” for inaction.

“Tf we look after all the people who are here and make them
comfortable, well just haye another bunch on our hands before we
ean turn around,’ he said.

When the labor delegation had successfully disproved all the
council’s weal excuses for its collective apathy and demanded that
aldermen impress on federal authorities the need to declare Vancouver
an emergency area, Ald. Buscombe had a happy—if not particularly
original—thought.

“Why we just cant do anything about housing,’ he beamed sud-
denly. “The city charter doesnt’ allow for it!”

* e

City Charter Restrictions -

J HAVE a mental picture of a Non-Partisan alderman kneeling down
beside his bed, folding his hands piously, and repeating his nightly
prayers. We can almost hear him say—

“Dear City Charter: Please save us from trade union political action
groups, protect us from the 5,000 Homes Now Committee, deliver us
from a broadening of the franchise ,and look after our interests
generally, amen.”

The city charter has proved a very handy little weapon for the
council in its war against progress, ever since the Non-Partisan
association took control of Civic polities nine years ago. Witness
the deplorable affair around election time last year, when a union
investigation revealed that the council had been depriving residents
of their votes for years through a clever misinterpretation of the
charter’s working. Now half-a-year has rolled around since the Non-
Partisan bloc made a joke of- civic democracy, but every week
brings new evidence that changes in the city hall setup are very
“necessary.

Higin Ruddell, LPP city organizer, summed it up in a few words
speaking before the building committee on Monday.

“Tf the charter stands in the way of progress,” said Ruddell, “then

the charter must be revised!”
c=)

The Japanese Question

LDERMEN waged what headlines writers call “verbal warfare”

Monday morning, on the controversial question arising out of
Mayor Cornett’s statements before the Canadian Legion convention,
of what to do with the Japanese, and were divided on the issue. The
majority favored the mayor’s resolution urging repatriation of all
Japanese after the war. A stubborn minority, however, held firm
to the view that since the council unanimously adopted a resolution
in 1942 recommending the setting up of a tribunal to inquire into
loyalty of all Canadian-born Japanese before a decision is made
either way the mayor’s resolution was unnecessary.

Ald. John Bennett, one of the three who opposed Mayor Cornett’s
resolution, shrewdly exposed the desire—as old as British Columbia
politics themselyes—of some of his colleagues to use this issue to
divert public attention from their failure to act on such urgent prob-
Jems as housing.

“T want fairness and tolerance,’ declared Ald. Bennett. “I would
Jeave the loyal Japanese here, and I won’t play politics just because
there’s an election this fall. It seems that a lot of aldermen want
to jump into the fray now. Why stultify our previous resolution be-
cause there is a little public kudos to be gained by it!”

Aid. Bennett was right, for once. The problem of the future dis-
posal of the Japanese is only a minor one compared to the major
wartime problems now confronting the city council.

Burnaby

@
Services
e@ ‘e oe * :

Criticized

BURNABY, B.C. — While
many residents of this muni-
cipality are complaining
about the lack of water pres-
sure, Burnaby Council this
week considered several by-~

laws to set a reserve fund
of several thousand dollars for

waterworks “at some future
date.”’
Vigorously opposing the pro-

posed bylaws, Councillor Harry
Ball (LPP) pointed out that the
money was already held in re-
serve under a previous resolu-
tion adopted by the council and
to pass bylaws establishing a
reserve fund for a specific pur-
pose was actually telling a fu-
ture council what it should do
with the municipality’s money.

Councillor Ball supported a
delegation of residents from the
Norland Avenue district asking
that a larger water main be in-
stalled immediately.

It was stated that residents in
a lower part of the area were
unable to get any water at all
while those on higher ground
were drawing water. One resi-
dent had been-refused water by
the municipality because of low
pressure, forcing him to carry
water for all domestic purposes
from a nearby house.

The area is in acre lots and
fifteen people are served by the
one one-inch main.

“These are the things we -
should be doing with our money
now,” Councillor Ball declared,
“not putting it aside in a fund
which we cannot touch without
the permission from the lieuten-
ant-governor. We are elected by
the people to serve their needs
and some of these needs must be
served now. Certainly we should
be planning now for postwar re-
construction. But we should not
allow this te become the pretext
for putting off work that needs
to be done now.

Supporting Ball, Councillor
Walter Dingle (Ind. Lab.) re-
marked that “it seems as if we
will have fone to the trouble of
making a bylaw to have to pass
another and get the lieutenant. .
governors permission before we
can spend our own money.”

. Passage of the proposed by-
laws would mean that no money
could be spent out of the re-
Serve waterworks fund until per-
mission was obtained from Vic-
toria, or a bylaw agreed to by
the people in a plebiscite.

Delegates asking for new mains
have been told to wait until ma-
terials are available after the
war, but Councillor Ball main-
tains that “sufficient materials
can be obtained now to do a lot
of much needed repair work to
Burnaby’s water system.”

Sawmill Pacts
Signed By IWA

Extension of the industry-wide
agreement to include Rowans
Shingle Mill on the Fraser River
with completion of negotiations
covering Wages and bargaining
rights was announced by offi-
cials of IWA Local 1-217 this
week.

The local has signed an agree-
ment with Eburne Sawmill, with
wage adjustments applied for,
covering some 225 men.

Application has been made for
certification of the local as bar-
gaining agent for employees of
Mission Sawmills, Kapoor Saw-
mills at Barnet and Burks Saw-
mills, Vancouver.

fourth Wednesday

Cancels Agreement .

Pearson Bars —

Company Union

The federal labor code can in no way be interpret
enabling societics or non-trade union bodies to act as ¢
tive bargaining agents, Labor Minister George S. Pe

assured a joint AFL-CCL delegation from Vancouve

Victoria last week.

Pearson, who will administer the labor code in this ;

ince, informed the delegation he
had for that reason cancelled an
agreement signed by West Coast
Shipbuilders and United Weld-
ers and Cutters, an “independ-
ent” union.

Although the United Welders
erganization has taken no ac-
tion sinee its agreement was
cancelled, W. D. Mclaren, gen-
eral manager of West Coast, has
protested the minister’s imterpre-

tation of the labor code.
“This is something new in the

annals of trade union history —

for a company manager to be
acting as pusiness agent for a
union,’ Norman MacSween, Boil-
ermakers business agent, stated.
The Boilermakers Union, which
has jurisdiction over welders, is
now in a position to present its
own agreement to the company.

“Tt is now up to the welders
and burners to decide for them-
selves what kind of outfit the
United Welders is,’ MacSween

continued. “Welders hay:
better conditions in other
yards where the Boilerr
have agreements, but the
the West Coast yard pre.
ihese gains from becom.
fective there.”

As a result of the mai
protest, Pearson had to a
a ruling on the matter fron’
Humphrey Mitchell, feder
bor minister. Pearson to)
celegation that according
interpretation of the code
bona-fide trade unions ea
bargaining agreenients, by
societies or non-trade
organizations cannot sign ~
ments.

The labor department wi
prepare a special memb
application card to be us
all “bona fide unions beca
instances drawn to its ati
where government invest
have questioned the valid {
membership applications <-

dence for certification.

CLASS

IFIED

A charge of 50 cents for each
insertion of five iines or less
with 10 cents for each additional
line is made for notices appear-
ing in this column. No notices
will be accepted later than Wed-
nesday midnight of the week of
publication.

NOTICES

Regular meetings of the South
Vancouver LPP Branch are held
on the second and fourth Wed-
nesday of each month at Norquay
Hall, Kingsway at Slocan.

Regular meetings of the Hast
ings East LPP Branch are held
at 8 p.m. on the first and third
Friday of each month at club
headquarters, 2443 East Hastings.

Regular meetings of the South
Hill LPP Branch are held every
second and fourth Wednesday in
Horticultural Hall, 4ist Ave. and
Fraser, at 8 p.m.

Regular meetings of the Vic-
tory Square LPP Branch are
held at 8 p.m. on the second and
fourth Friday of each month at
531 Homer.

Make this a date. Social, Sat-
urday, June 24, 9:30 p.m. in
Fishermen’s Hall. Sponsored by
the New Forum Club.

Dancing every Saturday night,
9 p.m., throughout the season at
Seymour Park (Swedish Park),
north end of Second Narrows
Bridge. Sponsored by the SDC.

Canadian Aid to Russia Fund,
Auxiliary No. 1, wants sewers
and workers. Send used clothing

of all kinds to 835 West Pender. -

MArine 2744,

All Vancouver City members
of the LPP working swing shifts
are urged to attend swing shift
meetings held on the second and
of each
month, 1 p.m., at 531 Homer.

Regular meetings of the North
Vancouver LPP Branch are held
at 8 p.m. on the second and
fourth Wednesday of each month
at 1320 Lonsdale Ave., North Van-

couver.

f
eset
SCANDINAVIAN |
ANNUAL MIDSUMMI
FESTIVAL
Sunday, June 25
SEYMOUR PARK
(North end of Second N
Bridge)

Oldtime dancing to Al |
son’s Orchestra every W |
day and Saturday ey

HASTINGS AUDITOR!

828 East Hastings -

Phone: HA. 3248
Moderate rental rates for
weddings, meetings, etc.

VAGATION RESORT

Spend a
PLEASANT VACATI:
—at—
SELMA LOD!
Selma Park, B.C. ;
' G. NEAL
formerly of Shelly Coffer:
Phone BAy. 6430-Y
For Information ~

FOR SALE—McLary Re ;
good condition- with wate
and plenty of stove pipe: =
finish. Price $60. On view
Homer. Phone MA. 5746:
S863R.

BOAT EXCURSION
and z
BASKET PICNIC

BELCARRA PAE
Father’s Day, Sunday, JU
Boat Schedule: |
Leaves Gore Ave. Pier 1
Returns 5:00, 7:00 and 9:0
EVERYBODY WELCO!
Qutdoor basket social,
sports, swimming, bathing,
ers’ Sing song, fun for al
or shine, large pavilion
good beach. :
All-Out
PICNIG BASKET. AUCT
Doll ’em up with prett
Fill ‘em up with good
Make ’em pile up pent
To carry on our duties.
Bring along your kiddiv
Your families and sweet
Forget about your wort
And do some lambsi div;
- AUspices-
WEST END LPP BRAN
Convenor: L. Robson, MA