E cg _ OCTOBER, 1971 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORK.EF In the House of Commons we get mail four times daily and also some over the week-end “and I can tell you that the people of the Lower Mainland * are good correspondents. Many write me about their . problems and others pose questions as to Federal mat- ters and also as to their M.P.’s activity on many issues. I thought in this report that it might be useful to quote some questions and my replies. ' For instance, one man writes: “You took an active , Stand in opposing the U.S. Amchitka nuclear un- derground blast. But what did you do about the Russian one that went off last week. Did you ¢ protest that one too?”’ The answer is yes. I wired « the Soviet Embassy to the effect that I regretted the action of the Soviet Union in touching off a massive un- derground nuclear blast and that I believed it was wrong, from both an ecological and ‘world peace point of view. It is | the nuclear explosions which , are the dangerously important and it does not matter who sets them off. The action is wrong! “Will there be a federal election this year is another question in the mail.’’ Well of | course there’s no way I can say + yes or no to that one. The political situation has some of _; the earmarks of a snap fall or winter election. Unem- ployment, bad now, is likely : to get worse rather than better this winter. 7 ”. . , inflation shows no Sign of easing. The discontent ‘ that is evident now with the government may well grow ' rather than decrease by next | spring or summer. Those are ‘, some of the elements which just might cause Mr. Trudeau to follow the mandate of an earlier slogan ‘“‘Why wait for Spring, do it now.’’ However, ‘there is this to be considered ___ also — the Liberals have been _* nine years in power. They have ' a good majority in the Com- -« mons. They still have at least a | year to rule. They have a \, program of legislation and there is no likelihood of their being returned with as strong a __ number as now. However, my | own guess is that there will be _’ an election in the next 6 to 8 months. . “What happened to your . Opportunities for Age « program”’ is also a question I receive. Some weeks ago I put _, @ resolution on the Order _ Paper of the Commons calling, A report prepared for the aera government says absentee ownership is a major reason why the Seaway city of Cornwall has the highest un- employment rate in Ontario — 20 cent of its work force. 18 companies studied 13 _, Were owned by people living outside the city. And big of land suitable for me: trial. development were being held by people who lived Montreal, Ottawa, ilton, New York and Los BARRY MATHER'S REPORT _ ON HIS CORRESPONDENCE in effect, for an Opportunities for Age program similar in principle to the recently concluded Opportunities for Youth plan. There is a great pool of ex- perienced, talented and in- terested senior citizens whose abilities could be put to use ina way of benefit to themselves and to others, if the federal government will take the lead in co-ordination with the provinces and the senior citizens themselves. Well, as to the question of what has happened . . . the only thing has been a great wave of let- ters from Atlantic to Pacific from individuals and organizations, and every one of them saying that they favor this project. : In many cases, hoping to encourage the Government to call a national conference on it, Ihave been sending the letters on to the Prime Minister and to Health Minister Munro. I continue to do this and I hope that if they receive enough expressions of approval they will take the initiative toward an Opportunities for Age program. Another question I am asked . . . ‘‘during the debate on the M.P. pay increase, you voted against it and stated that you would not accept the net salary increase if it was ap- proved until at least after the next federal election. What are you doing with the extra money?”’ The answer to that is that I try to send out contributions either to individuals in dire need or to organizations who are doing good work for good causes in the Lower Mainland. Approximately $3,000 in back pay increase went to the Cerebral Palsy Association. The Salvation Army in Surrey has received a cheque this last week or two to aid it’s useful work. I am paying for an add- and-phone service for White Rock and Surrey people who want to talk to me so that I may try to assist them directly in their problems. This runs me about $100 a month. I am sending a cheque this week for $100 to the Surrey Co- ordinating Bureau. So — it goes. In brief, I try giving out this extra money at a rate which will just maintain my M.P. salary at its old pre-pay boost figure, having in mind the increased tax I must shoulder in the meantime and at the end of the fiscal year. RA TRS Ed - ABSENTEE OWNERS BLAMED Price Waterhouse Associates, a firm of Canadian business consultants, said it appears this land is being held for purely speculative purposes. The report also says these absentee owners have little interest in Cornwall’s urban and industrial development in terms of the good of the com- munity. ; Cornwall, with a population of 47,000, had a city welfare bill of $1,200,000 last year. , Other towns and cities in Eastern Ontario also have heavy jobless rolls and relief costs. Ya know . vacation! . . after them three weeks vacation I’m rarin’ to go... WITHIN LABOUR UNIONS CUPE BOOKLET ON STATUS OF WOMEN By THELMA CARTWRIGHT We all know about the status of women in Canada. Late last year the Royal Commission on the Status of Women issued its long awaited Report which presents a pretty bleak picture of the position of women within Canadian society. Since then the government has made no major policy statements on the Report and public reaction, which was apathetic to say the least, appears to have withered away and died altogether. Now the Canadian Union of Public Employees has decided to examine its own position in regard to its women union members. In a concise booklet prepared for its convention in Edmonton last week and handed out there to members CUPE admits its own backyard needs tidying up where women are concerned. CUPE President Stanley Little and Secretary-Treasurer Grace Hartman point out in the foreword that not all the moves for women’s rights can be left to government. Labor, business and society at large must all play their part. CUPE has prepared.its own case for more consideration and con- cern for women members within its ranks. In effect what the booklet does is to highlight those recommendations of the Royal Commission Report that directly relate to women within unions. It points out that there are many CUPE locals with a majority of women members whose bargaining units are made up entirely of men and that only one of CUPE’s staff of 89 field and educational representatives is a woman. Wage discrimination exists in CUPE largely because of the designation of jobs by sex. The booklet urges that all CUPE collective agreements that do this should be eliminated. Pension plans for public employees, too, often show a sex bias, and provide for earlier retirement for women than for men. Since women have a longer life expectancy than men in Canada there seems little logic in an arrangement that will see them retired earlier to live for longer on a reduced income. This kind of discrimination often works against men, too, as sometimes smaller benefits are provided for the survivors of women workers than for those of men. Group life insurance plans negotiated by CUPE also reveal certain forms of discrimination, a state of af- fairs this booklet deplores and hopes to see changed. Maternity leave and provisions for the care of the children of working mothers is also covered in the CUPE booklet. These are areas that men tend to see as only con- cerning women. Yet the care of children, including the unborn, is surely the responsibility of both family and society and if a woman works she should ex- pect her union to negotiate suitable conditions for her as a union member. Growth Savings Certificates a plan to help your savings grow CANADIAN ce. <> ae OF COMMERCE