——

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aas prices protested

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OIL PRICE PETIT

1 70: THE HONOURABLE HOUS dersigned resid

: d ancient and undoubte the certain assurance that your

i i d gas col WHEREAS Canadian oi] an while prices for these same pro

: : 5 WHEREAS the cost of producing of] and 9 paid by the United States; @ i i ducing comp: AS the Canadian oil pro ‘Bagi Be ccbstantia’ profits by charging

WHEREAS the federal or ata taxes on oi] and gas, Cc BS od expense of ordinary consumers; 4

i i hard WHEREAS such a policy 1S creating 4

i i t the lower as/oil prices reflec Brice of crude oi] on Be world prices actordingly; an

i t ~¥ gas/oil prices and recoup t 5 an Canadians through the impos?

AND as in duty bound your petition

— OF COMMONS OF CANADA,

a nts of Canad ig riev

2 The petition of a 4 right thus to present a as will ‘therefore

honourable Hous

HUMBLY SHEWETH

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ducts are dropping s in Canada js about half the

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which is respons? to embrace 4 low t

ship for ordinary Canadians;

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nment of BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED elibee nou by making the taxation

tion of fair tax ra

N PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED their

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i mselves of

e ar Petitioners 1" provide a remedy»

who now ava ance common

i d gas exhorbitant prices for oi] and 9

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d eive major tax breaks an

rtion of consumer

the largest Potions at the

le for peace for corpora

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ensure that diately to = u ction in the

€ Canada move imme to reduce their

the red jon costs and F ates the oi] companies

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Canada remove }

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completed.

_ The B.C. Federation of Labor is circulating the above petition, calling for a _ reduction in gasoline prices to reflect lower world oil prices and production Costs and a shift in the burden of taxation on to corporations to allow a cut in

_ gasoline taxes. Copies of the petition are available from the B.C. Fed, 3110 ~ _ Boundary Round, Burnaby, V5M 4A2 and should be returned there when

i - Continued from page 1 ‘|| Roted: “With the complete disappearance | _ ofsuch funds and the probable reduction in 3 I _ surpluses in 1986-87, it will be necessary for || boards to cover this difference by re- Ai | | !

|| allocating funds from other programs, or, if | rules permit, raising local taxes.” | __ Noting those choices would be “difficult” | forschool boards, the committee went on to | recommend additional monies for all but | one of the spending categories in the fiscal framework. : _ In total the committee recommended an increase of $127.8 million. _ “Yesterday’s (March 20) budget speech showed that funding this year is down by $25 million. Add this to the $127.8 million and school district budgets fall more than _ $150 million short of being able to maintain the service levels of last year,” Buckley said.

_ The provincial government has made _ much ofits “Fund for Excellence” in educa- tion. But this year’s allocation of $110 mil- lion, much of which has been spent and

‘Schools $150M short

which also must cover colleges and universi- ties is “no panacea,” said Buckley.

“Even if the entire fund were given to the public school system it would fall far short of covering inflation and the salary incre- ments boards must pay to honor existing contratual agreements,” he said.

_ “We need recovery funding for recovery of prescribed services, and I mean services prescribed by the ministry, and we say we need that before we can pretend to believe we can afford:to purchase excellence. ‘Rec-

-overy before excellence’ is the best way I can

describe that,” Buckley said. Buckley said the figures show why almost

~ every board in B.C. has filed a budget

exceeding ministry limits. The BCSTA president rejected the

~ option school trustees have of raising resi-

dential taxes to cover the shortfall, noting some districts would be forced to raise taxes by more than 50 per cent.

He said the BCSTA executive is “still considering” holding an independent audit of school finances. :

Labor movement, CP slam Socred gov't for budget ‘deceit’

The Social Credit government budget brought down March 20 drew condemna- tion throughout the labor movement as a document full of unreal economic projec- tions, deceptive programs and the real promise only of more restraint on wages.

And with its declaration that there will be

no increases, either for public sector -

workers held back by four years of wage controls, or for the province’s 230,000 wel- fare recipients — while business gets $370 million in new tax cuts — the government has demonstrated that it has lost all credibil- ity, opponents said last week.

“This budget is a sham,” B.C. Commu- nist Party leader Maurice Rush charged ina statement March 21. “It offers nothing new of any significance to people’s welfare but promises better times based on misleading and dishonest projections.

“The four years of restraint which Curtis has the gall to laud as the basis of a recovery we are supposedly in have, in fact, been a disaster for hundreds of thousands of people in this province,” he said.

Curtis’ budget, expected to be .the last before a provincial election, reaffirmed the

essential direction of Socred policy laid out .

in 1982 and reiterated in the Throne

Speech — to continue the cuts in social -

spending, both through expenditure cuts and wage controls, and to offer a range of tax breaks and incentive programs for busi- ness.

Accordingly, the budget made no provi- sion, for the fourth year in a row, for any increase in Guaranteed Income for Need rates. Instead it cut that portion of the Human Resources allocation by $11 mil- lion.

Curtis also stated that there would be no money in the budget for salary increases for public employees despite the fact that virtu- ally all public sector contracts are up for’ renewal this year.

At the same time, a series of new tax

‘reductions and incentive programs were outlined for business, including a two-stage cut in corporate income tax rates.

The new feature in this year’s budget, clearly linked to an impending election, was the government’s use of its own rosy eco-. nomic projection of four per cent growth

___ “Tcan’t prove a damn thing, but I think _ there’s something about music that makes “changes.”

___ It was a typical comment from the man who’s sung for labor, peace and the envir-

- onment for well over four decdes. Andina

q | Meaningful way, it was a typical Pete

_ Seeger concert that brought some 2,500

| People to their feet in standing ovations at _ the Orpheum Theatre Friday night. ___ The audience that came to hear Seeger

and support the Council of the Haida Nation’s attempts to stop logging in the South Moresby islands also responded warmly to the Rainbow Creek Dancers, a _ Haida dance ensemble directed by artist _ Robert Davidson.

Proceeds from the concert raised some $25,000 in ticket sales, enhanced by a $4,000 contribution from audience members.

__ Ata press conference March 20 Seeger tead extracts from some letters he'd received at his New York state home opposing his participation in the Lyell

Seeger benefit dra ws full house

oh be World-renowned fol

onment aired. Island cause, including a telegram from International Woodworkers regional pres- ident Jack Munro.

In his telegram Munro linked the Lyell Island issue to the loss of woodworkers’ jobs through the downturn in B.C.’s econ- omy, and told Seeger, “In my opinion,

ksinger Pete Seeger (I) and Haida Nation council chair Miles Richardson at press conference: issues of land claims, culture and envir-

b>.

Pete, that puts you squarely against the loggers and mill workers. . .”

Munro termed the recent blockade on Lyell Island as being “against loggers” and claimed the IWA was unfairly placed in the position of being opposed to the Haida Nation.

this year and three per cent in 1987 to justify

its policies.

B.C. Federation of Labor secretary- treasurer Cliff Andstein ridiculed those pro- jections, calling the budget ‘ta smoke and murrors budget.

“The entire budget is based on some very shaky assumptions,” he said.

“The government is predicting relatively large increases in economic activity when research organizations are predicting the opposite.

“It clearly attempts to paint a rosy picture which most British Columbians know is just not true,” he said. “In spite of the pre- mier’s pleadings to the contrary we are in as deep a recession as we ever were. ..”

Rush also condemned the government’s projections, charging that the Socreds are “attempting to cover up the realities of unemployment, poverty and the sellout of our province to foreign financial interests by presenting a set of fixed books.

“The budget is full of lies,” he added. “It projects a decline in unemployment, based on temporary Expo jobs, while in Alberni, Trail and elsewhere the basic industries con- tinue to reduce employment levels.

“It projects increased consumer spending and income tax revenues while it simultane- ously seeks to freeze public sector incomes and while major employers like Construc- tion Labor Relationsa are demanding mas- sive wage cuts,” he said. : :

Drawing the most fire were the govern- ment’s claims of “major new-expenditures” in education, reforestation and health, claims which collapse under even the most perfunctory analysis.

Since the budget came down, a leaked education ministry document has revealed that the government knew it was under- funding education by at least $150 million (story page 1).

On reforestation, Rush noted that the $70 million allocated “is about one-thirtieth of what is needed for a meaningful reforesta- tion program.” d

And the 3.8 per cent increase in health spending this year — below the rate of inflation — “‘is just old money dressed up to look like new,” charged Hospital Employees Union secretary-business man- ager Jack Gerow. :

- Most of the new health funds set out for the next three years will go to finance new high-profile programs such as transplants and high-tech medicine, intended to give the appearance of an up-to-date, innovative health care system. :

“It’s a gimmick to get people to believe everything is okay with health care in this province — and it isn’t,” said Gerow.

Little of the money will go into operating funds for cash-starved hospitals. And none will go for salary increases for nurses or hospital workers.

_ In fact, in his budget speech, Curtis spe-

- cifically ruled out salary increases through-

out the public sector, giving further credence to the charge that the government is determined to create a confrontation with public sector workers in 1986 bargaining in the hope of exploiting it for an election issue. te

Rush charged that government had lost even more credibility with its budget, adding that “‘it will be seen for the sham it is.

“It is another attack on the people which leaves the social movements of the people no alternative but to organize protests to repudiate Socred policy.

“The Communist Party pledges to do everything it can to assist that process,” he said.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 26, 1986 e 3