{"id":8138,"date":"2019-12-23T22:56:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T22:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/heritage\/?p=8138"},"modified":"2020-03-26T23:37:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T23:37:17","slug":"chapter-seven-the-seventies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/heritage\/2019\/12\/23\/chapter-seven-the-seventies\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Seven – The Seventies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opening of the Britannia Community Services Centre, 1976<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I. INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Setting the stage – An outline of major events in the world, Canada, British Columbia, and Vancouver.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0A. <\/strong>The World<\/strong><\/p>\n

1971\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Idi Amin, a military officer, declares himself President of Uganda. A year later, he orders the expulsion of South Asian minorities.<\/p>\n

1972\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Relations between the United States and the People\u2019s Republic of China improve following President Nixon\u2019s visit there.<\/p>\n

1973<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community.<\/p>\n

1974\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Nixon resigns as President of the United States due to his complicity in the Watergate political scandal.<\/p>\n

1975\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>The Vietnam War comes to a close. \u00a0In the years that follow, more than one hundred thousand Vietnamese refugees are accepted into\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Canada.<\/p>\n

1979\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>A period of improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union ends with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Vietnamese refugees seek rescue following the victory of\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Communist forces in South Vietnam in 1975.<\/strong><\/p>\n

B. <\/strong>CANADA<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 1969 – The Official Languages Act of Canada<\/strong> comes into force. The Act gives French and English equal status in the Federal government and makes them “official” languages.<\/p>\n

October 1970 –\u00a0The FLQ<\/strong> (Front de lib\u00e9ration du\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec)<\/strong> triggers the crisis on October 05, 1970 by kidnapping British trade commissioner James Cross. Five days later, the FLQ kidnaps Quebec\u2019s Minister of Labour. Premier Robert Bourassa then petitions the federal government to invoke the War Measures Act<\/strong>. Prime Minister takes this action on October 16. The FLQ is banned and 500 suspected terrorists are arrested. James Cross is rescued but Pierre Laporte is found murdered.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>December 1970 –\u00a0The Royal Commission on the Status of Women<\/strong> releases a report that examines everything from access to abortion to the rights of Indigenous women. The report finds that housewives do an average of 77 hours a week of unpaid labour.<\/p>\n

1971 – A policy of multiculturalism<\/strong> is officially adopted by the federal government led by Pierre Elliott Trudeau.<\/p>\n

1973 – An international crisis triggered when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries<\/strong> proclaims an oil embargo spurs the development of Canada\u2019s oil resources.<\/p>\n

November 15, 2976 – The Party Quebecois<\/strong>, a separatist party led by Rene Levesque, wins the provincial election.<\/p>\n

1977 – Canada adopts the metric system<\/strong> of weights and measures.<\/p>\n

During much of the 1970s, “stagflation<\/strong>,” – a combination of stagnant economic growth and inflation – depresses the Canadian economy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The FLQ Crisis (1970): Canadian troops guard streets in Ottawa, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 talks to reporters prior to invoking the War Measures Act, the War Measures Act invoked.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Canadian Immigration Policies and Statistics during the 1970s<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Excerpts from A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada 1900 \u2013 1999<\/u>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>1971\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The federal government announces its policy of multiculturalism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1971-72\u00a0 \u00a0The U.S. is the largest source country of immigration<\/strong>, in part because of the large numbers (possibly 30,000-40,000) of\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 draft dodgers and deserters unwilling to fight in Vietnam who find refuge in Canada.<\/p>\n

1972\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>By the end of 1973, more than 7,000 Ugandan refugees<\/strong> have arrived in Canada.<\/p>\n

1978\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A new Immigration Act<\/strong> comes into effect. Immigrants are divided into four categories: independents, family, assisted relatives and\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0humanitarian. The Refugee Status Advisory Committee is created.<\/p>\n

1979-80\u00a0 \u00a060,000 refugees<\/strong> from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are resettled in Canada. In response to media reports of the plight of the\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0“boatpeople”, thousands of Canadians join a private sponsorship program for refugees.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

C. British Columbia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Milestones in Education during the 1970s<\/strong><\/p>\n

1970\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Vancouver Community College’s Langara campus opens in October.<\/p>\n

1972\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The New Democratic Party wins election on 30 August.\u00a0 Eileen Elizabeth Dailly, MLA for Burnaby North and a former school teacher, is\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0sworn in as Minister of Education on 15 September. The NDP government, led by Dave Barrett (a graduate of Britannia High School)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0remains in power from 1972 to 1975.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Premier elect Dave Barrett celebrates the NDP victory in the 1972 BC provincial election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1976\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 February: corporal punishment<\/strong>\u00a0(“the strap”) is abolished by an amendment to the\u00a0Public School Act<\/em>. June: departmental\u00a0 exams, i.e.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0province-wide Grade 12 graduation exams, are discontinued. The exams are reinstated in 1984. September: All school districts\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 are required to make provisions for Kindergartens.<\/p>\n

1977\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Social Credit Party, led by W. R. Bennett, wins election. Dr. Patrick McGeer<\/strong> is appointed Minister of Education.<\/p>\n

1979\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A “core curriculum” is established for provincial schools, from K – 12. The curriculum consists of three categories – “that\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0which must be taught, that which should be taught, and that which may be taught.” The School Support (Independent) Act\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0provides per-pupil funding for private schools that have been in operation for at least five years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

D. Vancouver<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Aerial view of Vancouver – 1961<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

View from the Vancouver School Board building. Jan 17, 1969.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two descriptions of Vancouver in the 1970s:<\/p>\n

Vancouver in the ’70s: Grime, Gangs, and Protest – and Far Crazier\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Jesse Donaldson,\u00a02 Nov 2016\u00a0|\u00a0TheTyee<\/p>\n

At the dawn of the 1970s, the City of Glass looked markedly different, and nowhere was that difference more obvious than the skyline. It would be decades before glass-walled high-rises came to dominate the downtown; in fact, it was only three years earlier that the 1967 Strata Titles Act had allowed for the creation of the condominium.<\/em><\/p>\n

False Creek and Granville Island were cluttered with derelict warehouses. Sections of Robson Street were European-themed \u2014\u00a0Vancouver in the Seventies\u00a0features photos of Danish tea rooms and schnitzel houses. Kitsilano \u2014 in particular a stretch of houses along West 4th Avenue known as \u201cAcid Row\u201d \u2014 was hippie central. Commercial Drive, Chapman explains, was still primarily Italian, and most businesses recognizable today had yet to take root (except for Nick\u2019s Spaghetti House, which opened in 1955).<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 1970s: A decade that changed Vancouver forever\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>VANCOUVER SUN, October 7, 2016<\/p>\n

It was the decade of Greenpeace, when a ragtag group of Vancouverites banded together to launch a worldwide environmental movement<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the decade of street protests, when Vancouverites raised placards against the war in Vietnam, old-growth logging, nuclear testing, fluoride in drinking water and in support of workers\u2019 rights, affordable housing, gender equality, aboriginal land claims and legalized marijuana.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the decade of the Gastown Riot and the Battle of Jericho but also the debut of Van Dusen Garden, The Naam restaurant, the NHL debut of the Vancouver Canucks and Fox and Fluevog\u2019s funky footwear.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the decade that, indisputably, brought a seismic political, economic and cultural shift that would transform the picturesque one-time hardscrabble harbour town into a vibrant modern metropolis that would ultimately become an international model of urban density, green initiatives and ethnic diversity.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

II. <\/strong>The Vancouver School Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the 1970s, the Vancouver School Board faced major challenges:<\/p>\n

The challenge of declining student enrollment.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>In 1932, student enrolment in Vancouver public schools stood at 39,866. In 1970, it peaked at 75126. However, by 1977 it had declined to 61 920. The decline would have been greater but for increases in immigration of families from other countries to Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>The challenge of meeting the educational needs of a diverse student population.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>In addition to meeting the diverse needs of English speaking students, Vancouver public schools were providing services for more and more English as a Second Language students.<\/p>\n

In 1975, a survey to identify ESL needs in the Vancouver School District revealed the following:<\/p>\n