“This phone tapping has gone far enough; yesterday 1 found | was listening to myself!” EDITORIAL Trudeau ‘wows’ them? A ccording to the current rash of press reports, Trudeaumania star is still in the ascendency. One aay we read of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau skin- diving in the Bahamas, cavorting with the porpoises in the blue Carribean, the next tripping lightly over the knotty spots of Canada’s “foreign policy’’ and NATO relations. In this latter exercise M. Trudeau is much like a contortionist attempting to contemplate a misplaced navel on the back of his neck, yet finding nothing other than an old fixation, viz; that without Washington’s permission there’s nothing much Canada can do about it anyway— and of course the U.S. will ‘‘defend’’ Canada against all aggressors, so why, get in a sweat on the subject? Then we see our PM doing a day or two’s fancy footwork at another shrinking conclave of past imperial glory, now in the twilight of a ‘““commonwealth’”’ prime ministers conference; a commonwealth beset with a shrinking economy, currency and confidence, plus a growing determination on the part of its ‘‘far-' flung”’ non-white majority millions to assert their ‘‘British’’ equality and sovereign independence with and from England’s white elite. Here our versatile M. Trudeau is said to have had some sharp repartee with ‘“‘Labor’’ watchdog of empire, Mr. Harold Wilson, but nothing to cause any sag in the sagging pound or the teeniest ripple on Fleet Street. Nowhere is it recorded that either of these ‘Commonwealth statesmen’’ voiced an opinion that the U.S. should get the hell out of Vietnam, or get on with the peace talks in Paris— as a definite aid to commonwealth |. and world peace and health. No sireee. Just the problem of “saving’’ a decrepit relic of “‘empire’’. _ Ona much lighter note however, the kind the more fatuous among us seem to lap up like a hungry cat at a saucer of milk ‘(and by which Trudeaumania triumphed at the last. federal \election), Pierre really ‘wowed ’em on the old Kent Road”’- Big headlines tell us London was all ‘‘agog’’ with his tour, and _ the gals, lor’ bless ’em, all ascramble to get a peck at— or from Pierre. Moreover from this galaxy of female pulchritude there emerges a lass, pardon, a Madam. the ‘‘descendent of a noble German family,” a Mrs. Eva Rittinghousan ‘ (35), who according to her own sayso in a Canadian Press front-page story, has already got a full-nelson hold on our swinging PM. One shudders to think what would have happened to the stock market, the pound sterling and the dollar, to‘say nothing of the franc, had her name been Gerda. Anyway the PM gave her the old heave-ho for her talkative indiscretions. __ No Canadian following the peregrenations of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau during the past couple of weeks will argue that he has not been a very busy man. Even the press reports, often meagre in detail make that much eminently apparent. However the issues that really count for the advancement of Canada’s economic wellbeing, peace and security, remain as was and if anything, worse. Rising unemployment, farm crisis, bigger monopoly grabs of the people’s resources, mounting tensions and intensified war ‘brinkmanship’. These and a thousand other issues continue to mount, quite unaffected by M. Trudeau’s capacity to “‘Wow ’em on the old Kent Road’. Mebby it’s time Canadians began a real down-to-earth anterim ‘stock-taking — to strike a balance between eed “wowed’’ and represented—and doing eorterting about it. good New Year resolution for 1969. Canada’s West Coast eciBeo: See 8 anpepe Editor—TOM McEWEN Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St., Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288. Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH t Subscription Rate: Canada, $5.00 one year; $2.75 for six months. North and South America and Commonwealth countries, $6.00 one year. All other countries, $7.00 one year. Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office ee Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cash. EW 29 GET) NESE” SSN ETNA R reve"etae"e'e'ee PACIFIC TRIBUNE——JANUARY 10,:1969-—Page 2 Pacific Tribune “IF PROPERLY USED...’ By ALD. HARRY RANKIN If you are a property owner, | City officials probably gave you a belated Xmas present you didn’t expect or want — a whopping big increase in your assessment for 1969. In some cases it apparently ranged as high as 40 per cent. The excuse given by City . Officials is that now they are no longer held down to a maximum - five per cent annual increase. An amendment to the Assessment Equalization Act passed by the provincial government last spring removes all limits to increases on individual properties as long as the total assessment roll for Vancouver in 1969 is not more than five per cent above last year’s. If this new authority were "properly used by the City, big industrial and commercial properties, now greatly under- assessed, would be assessed at their true market value. But that is not being done. Instead, big industrial and commercial properties are being let off with very small increases, while homeowners’ assessments are being boosted to the limit. This is manifestly unfair and Council should not be allowed to get away with it. My advice is that if your assessment has been excessively boosted, you should appeal your case. If you decide to do this, you must do it without delay — the deadline is January 20. The mill rate will be set by City Council in April. If the mill rate is lowered sufficiently, your taxes would not-go up even if your assessment is up. But of course that is not likely to Big business would pay its full share - to ease load happen. All indications are that Council plans to boost the mill rate and your tax bill will be much higher this year. Actually there is no need for an increase in taxes on your home this year. We could and should have a two mill rate system in Vancouver, aS some Ontario cities have. Then we could have one mill rate for industrial and commercial properties, and another and lower rate for residential properties. If commercial and industrial properties in Vancouver were assessed at their true market _ homeowner taxes. value there would be no need fot any substantial increase in You have from now until April to make your views known t0 - Council. Send a letter or brief, better yet, come with 4 delegation of your neighbours oF from an organization to which you belong. Let Council know that you want an end to this discrimination against homeowners. Property taxes; like income taxes, should bé based on ability to pay — and big business properties are not}, paying their fair share today. ~ ZZ TO BLOCK LEGISLATION Mining lobby organized : Powerful mining interests are organizing a lobby to counter the growing public protest over present mining policies in B.C., ‘and to prevent the coming session of the Legislature from adopting legislation which would curb their activities. The driving force behind this RESOURCES Cont'd from pg. 1 stop the ‘‘strip-and-get-out”’ policy in B.C.’s mining industry. Now is the time for labor and other concerned citizens’ organizations to take up the fight to stop the plunder of B.C.’s mineral resources. Premier Bennett should be flooded with resolutions, wires and delegations demanding that steps be taken by the legislature to stop giving away the people’s - ‘heritage to U.S. and Japanese monopolies; that the initiative be taken to process mineral resources in B.C. through establishment of a steel and. copper refinery; and that legislation with teeth in it be put -before the coming session to stop the devastation wrought by open pit or strip mining. lobby are the big U.S. and Japanese companies, ‘particularly Kaiser Coal, who are prepared to spend large sums of money to influence the public and government not to adopt legislation limiting their ‘‘strip- and-get-out”’ policies. Vancouver Sun columnist Allan Fotheringham said in his column Tuesday that, ‘‘All the Kaiser brass from California are in town today ... and the image boys are trying to stir up some coverage today from a Mining Association of B.C. special press conference to emphasize the impact of mining on the B.C. economy... “Tt’s all the best thing that’s ‘happened for years,; the people who live in this province are now demanding a say on how it will look in 20 years.”’ The mining lobby is organizing its campaign through the Mining Association of B.C. In a press statement Tuesday the Association warned that if the promised legislation to control mining is too severe it could retard the industry. It said that the regulations— which Premier -Bennett said the government is > preparing — ‘‘must be taild! made for each situation.’” (TH? is almost the identical phré used ws Premier Bennett. ) their special ' exploitation of our mine? : resources or face econo disaster, the mining lobby 1 indicated that it believes 4) cannot stop some regulati of from being adopted because ‘the public uproar. They ai therefore decided on the tactic’ influencing whatever shea are adopted to be as ineffectl as possible. They do not want i; regulations, but loose onéthe “tailor made for each sta : ‘which would enable them toige around each regulation a render them useless. The regulations - Bennett indicated he will brid down are prepared by a one- side! y committee which includes ¢ : representatives of the minife " industry and two governmé t mining officials, but on whi@we public and conservation grou! were excluded.