Ohe officers and staff of wish all JA members and th a very Merry Christnas and a Happy New Year aes =0 BS rat CU ra Fd thewestern canadian rker DECEMBER, 1981 me ore than fourteen hundred people who attended the rally sponsored by the B.C. Federation of Labour November 29th, at the PNE Garden Auditorium in Vancouver, to protest high interest rates and mounting unemployment. =A aR yet Two hundred and fifty angry and frus- trated delegates attending the 44th Annual IWA Regional Convention November 2 - 6th, in Vancouver lashed out at the federal .| B 28 3) BS £3 g Es Ee &2| FO es) Lo nso Mick ” & 9 3 3683 Oksyu wmsss eas zie ae ar 22383 mose Wess mess | IWA CONVENTION DELEGATES SCORE HIGH INTEREST RATES government’s failure to deal with the coun- try’s high interest rates and mounting unemployment. Both Trudeau and the ten provincial premiers were bitterly condemned in a telegram sent to them by the Convention for devoting their energies to constitutional matters while ignoring the economic crisis that was devastating the lives of so many Canadians. The telegram stated in part, “Ten thou- sand of our brothers and sisters are out of work, and facing the bleakest winter since the Depression. Unless there is a dramatic SEE “CONVENTION” PAGE TWO B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Kinnaird Is shown addressing the rally. To Kinnaird’s left are, Mike Kramer, Fed. secretary-treasurer; Jack Munro, IWA regional president; Nora Paton, executive officer of the B.C. Nurses’ Union; Len Friesen, small business representative; Jack Gerow, president of the B.C. Hospital Employees Union. RALLY SPEAKERS CHEERED Fourteen hundred people from all sectors of the public loudly cheered speakers at the rally sponsored by the B.C. Federation of Labour November 29 in Vancouver, to protest the country’s criminally high inter- est rates. The rally was the third held in B.C. in support of the giant rally held by the Canadian Labour Congress November 21st, in Ottawa, at which over one hundred thousand people demonstrated their con- cern over interest rates and mounting unemployment. At the Vancouver rally held in the PNE Garden Auditorium NDP Leader Ed Broad- bent drew a standing ovation when he stated that the banks should be forced to make mortgage money available at afforda- ble rates. He stated that an NDP government would change the Bank Act to prevent the banks making obscene profits at the expense of working people. Regional president Jack Munro suggested in his address that Canadians should refuse to pay their high mortgage loans and crippling rents until the banks and lending institutions lowered their rates. Other speakers suggested putting the bankers out of business by nationalizing the banks, a proposition which also drew loud cheers from the audience. While these demonstrations have been peaceful to date, Munro warned that future demonstrators might have to use different means than walk around with signs to get their message across to the banks and government.