pean er a Tira ee SEE RES

6° Terrace Review: — Wednesday, January 8, 1992

Pag

~ A JANUARY TALE

hen the two guys in the pickup truck pulled up
across the street witha Christmas tree in the
bed, it was nothing unusual. When one of

WwW

trash barrel, we jumped for our cameras. ,

_ them jumped out and planted the tree in a city

_He saw us photographing him through the office window, -

and, grinning crazily from beneath a baseball hat with the
brim flipped up, tossed a jaunty wave as we snapped sev-
eral frames. The, truck roared around the corner onto Greig
Ave., leaving behind a thin cloud of blue smoke and the

tree, leaning acutely out of the trash can like a green rocket

aimed at somewhere in the vicinity of the aquatic centre.
_It was a big tree, somewhere around two and half metres:
high, still bearing remnants of tinsel and looking like a
party gone bad. The picture of the surreptitious disposal
would make a punchy point, perhaps prompting people to
wonder about the Christmas tree dumping situation in
general, maybe even lead to broader points like the eco-
logical impact of an annual world-wide festival that has as
one of its focal points the destruction of millions of trees.
Depressing, just what everyone wants to think about, along
with mountains of personal debts from the holidays and the
prospect of returning to work in the cold depths and dark-
ness of winter. _

But 15 minutes later the same truck, minus the grinning
baseball-capped passenger, pulled up again. The driver,
looking like he was on a serious mission, grabbed the tree
by the trunk, yanked it-out of the trash can and hurled it
back into the pickup bed. He drove off with an expression
that said he’d seen the light and didn’t particularly like

.

what itilluminated:

‘There are some actions people take that they would prefer
not to have listed on the public.record. There are some acts:

people participate in with others that they would never do
--by. themselves. And there are some acts that, reconsidered

in time, can be reversed. This incident had elements of all _

three; we could reflect upon it and conclude that a vigilant

press can improve the public morals and the quality of life |

even in the most trivial contexts, that-there is hope even
for people who drive pickup trucks, that people who

~ . acquire large Christmas trees should put more forethought

into what they’ll do with them after the holidays.
_ But what we actually did was wonder where the hell that
- tree ultimately did end up. If anyone knows, call us.

we

”

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AN

The view from
Victoria —

by John Plfer

VICTORIA — Labour.

If there is one area which is the
most volatile, and potentially the
most dangerous, politically, for the
new government of Premier Mike
Harcourt, it is labour.

The New Democrats, by defi-
nition; are expected to be more
sympathetic — they say more fair-
— to unions and workers in B.C.
They campaigned and won an

election on that theme, and no one. -

will be surprised to see their
actions reflect that commitment.
However, it is the degree to
which they intend to go which is -
the crucial element. .
If changes to the labour code
and to Bill Vander Zalm’s egre-

‘gious 1987 Bill 19 restore the bal-

ance to the equation, fine.

But if some of the changes
reflect the more leftist thinking of -
many NDPers, it could lead to
confrontation and consternation...
even to jeopardizing the govern-

‘Ment’s goal to serve more than

one term, |

In fact, some of the “free enter-
prisers” in business and politics
are actually hoping that the B.C.
NDP labour laws will be extreme.

‘They reason (if that is nota
contradiction in terms) that 60 per-
cent of the voting population are , .
opposed to socialistic policies, as
witness the popular vote in Octo-

ber which game the NDP 51 of 75

seats with barely 41 percent of the

. vote.

Anyway, rest assured that Mr.
Harcourt and his labour minister,
Moe Sihota, are well aware of the
landmines sprinkled across this _

_ field, awaiting their decisions. |

You.can bet that they will... .-....

Pyne ds ped 5 i. a,

approach it oh, so cautiously, as

well they should,

It is worth remembering that a
few months.ago in Ontario, Pre-
mier Bob Rae introduced pro-.
posed changes to its Labour Rela-
tions Act which sent the right- _~
wingers rushing to their typewrit-
ers and chamber meetings to con-

demn it.

Given that in British Columbia,

Mr. Harcourt and Co. were elected-

under the same banner — NDP —
it may be wise to review some of —
the Ontario proposals which have
the opposition there in a lather.

The new Ontario Act imposes a
tule which would allow a union to
be certified if only 20 percent —
that’s one in five workers — want
it.

It would allow union organiz-

_ers to speak to workers at any

time, anywhere, while preventing

acompany from putting forward

its case during adispute. .
The Ontario labour Laws would

~~ allow, even encourage, secondary

boycotting and picketing, and
would protect those workers

- involved in those practices.

And they would make it illegal
for a company trying to survive
during a labour dispute or strike,

to use Management or replacement

workers to do any work designat-
ed for a union worker,
Throughout the B.C. election

campaign, and since, Mr. Harcourt

avoided direct answers to whether
such laws will be included in his
government's labour agenda.

He and Mr. Sihota are adamant

_that no.changes will occur.without.

_fabour- union-brethren, We'll seep.

F) . Ae

“full consultation” from both sides
of the issue — labour and manage-
ment,

A blue-ribbon panel which will
probe the matter, with a view to.
producing the most fair and rea-
sonable of laws (says the NDP),
will be appointed soon. Its hear-
ings and meetings throughout the
province no doubt will hear the
deeply-held convictions on both .
sides. .

It is to be hoped that the . .
panel’s deliberations will factor in
the percentage of working people
in B.C. who are (or have no choice
but to be) trade union members,
and that in its final proposals, the
committee will show a thoughtful,
fair, wise sense of compromise,
which will be acceptable to the
majority.

_ That may be a lot to ask for,
but if the review should fail in that
regard, and produce recommenda-
tions which are seen to be extreme
or unfair; or if the government -
ignores some of the advice, in
order to meet its own promises to ©
labour, there will be hell to pay.

That payment would come at
the polling booth in four years...
and the NDP know that full well,

Whichis whylexpectthe = -
results and the legislation to be a
lot Jess dramatic, a lot more mid-
dle-of-the-road, than Mr.
Oniario’s proposals.

_ Mikey and Moe are no fools,
and they truly believe that they
can find a compromise which
avoids the political landmines, and
can do it without upsetting their —