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Evictions doubling as Expo date nears

The charge that evictions in Vancouver are doubling due to Expo 86 brought new emphasis last week to a study which showed the erosion of tenant rights under the pro- vince’s revised tenancy legislation.

A survey released by the B.C. Tenants Rights Coalition March 27 gave the proof to the claims of tenant activists “that revi- sion of the Residential Tenancy Act and the abolition of the Rentalsman’s Office have enabled landlords to exploit tenants with greater ease,” said coalition spokesman David Lane.

And Linda Mead of the Red Door Rental

_ Aid Society charged March 20 that evic-

tions have doubled as landlords scramble to clear their premises to handle the crush of ied reportedly heading to the world’s air.

Mead reported that Red Door’s volume of eviction cases had doubled with more than 30 cases recorded in the first two weeks of March. Normally, said Mead, Red Door handles between 26 and 30 evictions a month.

Mead said few landlords give Expo as the reason for evictions to their tenants “but no one is going to convince us that this sudden increase is merely a coincidence.”

Additionally, landlords have been phon- ing Red Door asking for information on how to evict tenants from apartments and basement suites for the Expo trade, she said.

Recent press stories have reported a jump in the anticipated Expo attendance, with the figure now standing at some 16 million vis- its. Those same reports show that agencies are getting desperate to find accommoda- tion for the flood of tourists this summer.

More than 30 agencies — in addition to

the Expo-sanctioned Res West — are in the

field, according to reports. Homeowners who rent suites have been receiving calls from at least one of the agencies seeking Expo accommodations.

According to Lane, who co-ordinates the tenant coalition’s Tenants Rights Action Centre, many attempted evictions are suc-

Socred housing ‘investigation’ a privatization ploy

Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Ritchie told the legislature on March 12 that he has launched an investigation into alleged widespread abuses of social housing in B.C. Why? What’s behind this so-called investi- gation which will be conducted under the direction of another Social Credit cabinet minister, Jack Kempf, minister of lands, parks and housing, who, with a salary of $71,000, lives in social low-rent housing? (Kempf has now announced his intentions to move out of the housing co-op — Ed.)

There is no doubt in my mind that this so-called investigation is only the first step in the government's plan to privatize all social housing in the province. We have about 44,000 units of social housing in B.C. and another 23,000 low rental units for the elderly. Social housing is low or moderately price housing built with federal assistance. Co-ops, are one example; low-rental non- profit housing by churches andother organ- izations is another.

These won’t be privatized immediately. This will probably wait until after this year’s provincial election and Social Credit’s hoped-for re-election.

Privatization could be carried through by the outright sale of publicly owned social housing to private speculators or by placing it under the control of private management. In either case the results will be the same. Rents will be raised to “market levels” and those who can’t afford them will be kicked out. If you think the present evictions in the downtown eastside area are bad, wait until

2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 26, 1986

cessfully challenged only because few land- lords are aware of the power accorded them through the Residential Tenancy Act.

Lane said clauses in the Act — revised following the infamous Socred budget of May, 1983 — allow landlords to’ evict tenants with greater ease.

Landlords wishing to convert their pre- mises for Expo uses, such as bed-and- breakfast accommodation, may now do so without first obtaining the necessary con- version permit and business licence from the city, said Lane. If such cases are brought before the Residential Tenancy Branch, property owners only have to declare their “intent” to seek the permits, he noted.

(The city for its part has already rejected an attempt by a West End apartment owner to convert his building for Expo use by forbidding conversion on the basis of zon- ing bylaws. City council has also passed a policy resolution calling on the provincial government to amend the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act to prevent evictions for hotel and rooming house dwellers in the city’s Downtown Eastside. The government has refused to take action on the resolution.)

Lane said the coalition has concluded froma survey of Vancouver neighborhoods carried out last summer that tenants gener- ally have been victimized by changes to the Residential Tenancy Act.

Among its findings, released last week, were:

@ One in four tenants have some prob- lem concerning their tenancy;

@ One in five tenants find it difficult to retrieve security deposits;

© Only five per cent of the respondents were aware of the Resdiential Tenancy Branch;

© The number of disputes handled by the branch (which must be non-monetary dis- putes) are half of those handled by the defunct Rentalsman’s office;

® More than half of those disputes arise from attempted evictions.

the private interests get their greedy hands on our social housing.

The aim of this so-called investigation will be to smear; slander and discredit social housing in every way possible. It will be a hatchet job. If the facts can’t be found to back up the intent, they can always be manufactured.

Ritchie gave us an example of this when he announced the investigation. He claimed that in the Fleck Building, social housing units cost $100,000 each, when in fact they cost between $50,000 and $60,000 each. He claimed that in other cases social housing

Harry

Rankin

units cost as much as $180,000, but he was uanble to come up with any evidence to back up this absurd and fictitious claim. The other immediate reason for launch- ing this so-called investigation was to divert attention from and take the heat off government because of the hundreds of evictions that are taking place due to hotels and rooming houses renovating their pre- mises for the Expo 86 tourist trade. For these poor and deperate people the Social Credit government will do nothing. Human Resources Minister Jim Nielson says that the government cannot enact legis-

tion in technology.”

Dr. Allan Inglis (r), president of the Vancouver branch of the Canada-USSR Frieng ship Society, presents a copy of Working Lives to Soviet guests Vladimir Trofi a; (centre) and Vladimir Oulasevich at a reception Saturday night. Trofimov, a Sovj,, history professor, and Oulasevich, a specialist in international relations, were ,_

Vancouver for a weekend conference on ‘‘The economics and politics of the revoly

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Council presses feds to revamp shipyards

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Citing the threat to Canada’s sover- eignty over the Arctic and the “disaster” of economic decline, the district of North Vancouver has called on the federal government to engage in a major ship- building program immediately.

In a resolution Feb. 24 the district’s municipal council voted to “urge the fed- eral government to take immediate steps to commission west coast shipyards with the construction of appropriate ships” to travel Canada’s Arctic waters. ~ At its March 18 meeting, Vancouver city council unanimously endorsed the motion, which has been distributed for approval to 22 Lower Mainland munici- pal councils.

In its motion, also distributed to 13 area members of Parliament, the North Vancouver district council noted the recent “challenge” to Canada’s sover- eignty over its Arctic territories, a refer- ence to the Polar Sea incident last year when the U.S. coast guard piloted its

vessel through the Northwest Passagy | without seeking Ottawa’s permission. |

_The resolution stated that “this chak | Jenge can only be met if Canada asserty |/ its sovereignty through meaningfu) | development of the Canadian north ang | the construction of appropriate shipy with icebreaking capability.”

Stating that the west coast industry iy } well-equipped to produce such vessels, | the council noted that “the continuation | and well-being of the shipbuilding indus, | try in North Vancouver is of enormouy economic importance not only to North © Vancouver but the whole region.”

The resolution noted the Conservati government’s election promise of “mean, | ingful job creation” for western Canada | and warned that the North Vancouvey } shipbuilding industry “faces virtua) | extinction with disastrous economic con, sequences unless immediate action iy | taken.” |

lation to control a few “greedy” landlords. Why can’t it? When a few “greedy” corpo- rations came to the government and claimed they couldn’t maintain their profit levels, the government not only cut their taxes and gave them cuts in electricity rates, it set up a special office under Art Phillips to work out ways and means to give them further financial concessions at taxpayers’ expense. 3

Housing Minister Kempf said of the evicted downtown tenants: “We hear that these people are having little difficulty locat- ing replacement housing and in some cir-

cumstances are moving into newer and brighter housing at considerably less rent.” Did one of these poor and unfortunate souls jump out of his window to his death, Mr. Kempf, because he couldn’t stand the idea of getting into “newer and brighter

housing at considerably less rent?” I know —

that your government has a muscle bound, well-filled leather billfold for a heart, Mr. Kempf, but I still think it should be ashamed of its callous attitude to human suffering.

The irony of the whole situation is that +

the Social Credit government has contrib-

- quite simple. They reflect the views ay,

uted nothing to the social housing th, exists. It was made possible by the fede, Liberals. e

The Mulroney goernment, which li social housing about as much as So Credit, has decided to turn the whole thi over to the provinces. That is a sure gua tee that we will get no more social ho in B.C. as long,as this government ren in office. : ;

Why does the Social Credit governmy, hate social housing so much? The answer.

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demands of the big landlords. Co-ops t rent three rooms for $476 a month seta bad example. Tenants in private hous point to it and think “Why do we have; pay so much more?” 3 The answer of Social Credit is not ty provide more lower rental housing but ,, abolish it. Then the landlords will have y. competition at all and can and will char, $600 or $800 or more for the same type yy accommodation. % There aren’t enough units of social ho ing in Vancouver or the province. If we 10,000 more in Vancouver we still wouldn, have enough. Let’s not forget that we ha) 500,000 people on welfare or unempl ment insurance in B.C. in this great periq 1 : of Social Credit inspired recovery. a We need a government that will unde, | take a large scale program of buildin, affordable social housing, that would gi\, work to thousands of people and filla g social need. :

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