The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 1

The Vanco VERS SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2000 www.vancouversun.com ffl fl it RCMP spied on peace groups almost half of which are blanked out. ter Coombes believes some surveillance rnntirmes rnrlav. riven that de Filpc on Vancouver-based End the Arms Race show THE CONCORDE JET SET that agents feared the peace movement would make Canada vulnerable to advances by the Soviet Union. the theme that emerges is that Canadian security services were worried that a successful peace movement would lead to Canada becoming vulnerable to advances by the former Soviet Union. A report on the 1984 march, marked SECRET, said: "It is interesting to note the speed at which the USSR obtained the details of the Peace March so as to exploit it with their people." There is no mention of the fact the march was carried on national television newscasts.

Coalition national coordinator Pe tails of a 1997 meeting attended by End the Arms Race were noted in government files released through the recent APEC inquiry. But Coombes's attempt to find out if security personnel are currently watching the group was scuttled by CSIS, which recently sent him a letter saying the service will neither confirm nor deny the existence of files. Earlier this month, Coombes sent a letter to Solicitor-General Lawrence MacAulay requesting access to any records that still exist. SEE SPYING, A12 By KIM BOLAN Peace groups across Canada were infiltrated and spied upon for years in the 1980s by the RCMP and later the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, according to documents obtained under freedom of information legislation. More than 200 pages of files on the Vancouver-based End the Arms Race coalition released from the National Archives show that intelligence-gath ering services targeted rallies, the annual peace march, meetings and coalition members between 1982 and 1987.

Unions, non-profit groups and churches were all included in the coalition, as were people from political parties as diverse as the Communist Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservatives. Reading through the documents, After the tragedy, Christie Blatchford experiences the jet's allure. is this the world's oldest animal? A4 CHAMPIONS SLOTH We live in Canada's Day willing to work with Bloc to beat Liberals Separatists are not a problem if they share conservative values, Alliance leader says. By AMANDA JF.LOWICKI NORTH HATLEY, Que. Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day said Friday he would team up with the separatist Bloc Quebecois if it meant forming the next federal government.

"I'm not focused on labels," Day said in North Hatley in Quebec's Eastern Townships. "The Canadian Alliance position is to be open to anyone interested in limited government and the respect of provincial Mix, El orfQ) 'I t. iLjer ju.siir raa Lnf rights. Day said that despite his openness to talks with the Bloc, the Canadian Alliance is a party with a rapidly growing following in Quebec and across the country, and can win the next election. He said the federal Liberals take pains to divfde the loyalties RUNNING FOR A RECORD Marion Jones' bold bid for five gold medals at the Sydney Olympics.

JOHN K.B. FORDSpecial to The Sun OLD TIMERS: Bowhead whales, which frequent the Arctic, could live for several centuries, scientists say. Bowhead whales may live past 200 and joining forces "AY with the Bloc could combat that. "At this time, we're not looking at a coalition. We're not at that stage of consideration," he said of teaming up with the separatist party.

"We have the ability, experience, policies and principles to form the next government "But) if there are people who embrace the views of the Canadian Alliance, and believe we need a federal government that is limited in size, that respects the provinces and that wants lower taxes, I'm not interested where they may have been in the past politically. I'm interested in the future." Day was in North Hatley, about 150 kilometres east of Montreal, to meet Mayor Stephan Dore and draw attention to the Alliance and its efforts to gain support in Quebec. He did not meet provincial Liberal leader Jean Charest, who lives in North Hatley, but said he would be open to meeting with Charest in the future. "My target is the federal Liberals, not the provincial Liberals. If I have the opportunity to talk with Mr.

Charest, I look forward to that." Day is in Quebec taking intensive French lessons with a private tutor. Montreal Gazette Passage. "People recoiled a bit," says Craig George, lead researcher with Alaska's department of wildlife management, recalling the first reactions to the suggestion that bowheads can make it past the second century. But the evidence, to be detailed in the upcoming issue of Equinox magazine, is compelling. The first sign came almost 20 years ago in the form of a tradi-tional harpoon head found Ivory harpoon heads found in the Arctic whales are evidence of their long lives.

By JAMES HRYNYSHYN Scientists in the High Arctic have a new candidate for the oldest animal on earth. Already known as a creature of extremes, some of the bowhead whales now plying Canada's Arctic waters may even be the very same whales encountered by Sir John whalers. "Then we started seeing more. That's what really got me excited," says George. Since then, the whalers have pulled at least six stone and ivory harpoon heads from their catches.

Anthropologists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C date the points to at least 130 years ago. Proof to back up the circumstantial evidence of the harpoons wasn't easy to come by, as none of the usual aging techniques would work. SEE BOWHEADS, A2 THE KERMODE imbedded in tne DiuDuer 01 a whale landed by Alaskan Inuit Franklin and lus tellow explorers in their search for the Northwest III LUCU atOiVUlVl awj. KID INSIDE Critics urge province to reform Irrational' old tenancy laws WEATHER MORNING CLOUD, THEN SUNNY Rv If FN MarDIIF.F.N 5.C. teenager Simon Jackson's high profile quest to save the Spirit Bear.

Insight, A17 Births Deaths H16 Horoscope H4 Bridge H7 Landers B5 Business Dl Letters A18.E19 Campbell Dl Manthorpe D3 Careers Jl Mason D12 Classified FI Mil ComicsKids B4, Movies E14 H9 New Homes II Crossword H9.HL Parrjr A3 H3 Sports D12 Editorials A18 TV B8 Entertainment Theatres E6 Ferry Schedule B2 Travel Tenants of a Richmond business park say they are being plundered by their landlord because B.C has neglected to reform commercial tenancy laws so out of date they are rooted in feudal times. Successive provincial governments have ignored warnings dating back 20 years that the Commercial Tenancy Act and the Rent Distress Act are archaic, unbalanced and open to abuse. A scathing report written in 1981 by the former B.C. Law Reform Commission said the Rent Distress Act contains penalties that are "irrational" and "ex-vive commercial land The province's bailiffs have also repeatedly called for reforms. The Vancouver Sun reported Friday that Richmond landlord John Braut, owner of a 28-unit commercial complex at 12371-12391 Bridgeport Road, has been using both laws to extract thousands of dollars from his tenants for alleged rent arrears over the past decade.

Many of the small business tenants said Braut's bills are unjustified or grossly inflated, but that existing law leaves them at the mercy of Braut, who regularly hires bailiffs to seize their assets. SEE TENANTS, A2 FULL REPORT B2 SL25 RETAIL $1.35 COIN BOX $1.75 MIMMI IHTS1DE LOWFR MAINLAND 0lw57040tt 10075 lords "particularly favourable treat- First class, seats for less. The Summer Seat Sale continues with substantial savings on all custom crafted sofas, loveseats, sofabeds, chairs chairs-and-a-half and ottomans. Sale on now at both our Bumaby and Vancouver destinations. ofyS IN BURNABY 0 4361 KINCSWAY 438-3480 IN VANCOUVER 909 WEST BROADWAY 731-9020.