Bill Vander Zalm is a man with a
mission. His mission, it would seem,
is to attack, hurt, legislate against,
ignore, and generally weaken the
position of the average working fam-
ily in British Columbia. It started
with Bill 20, the legislation attack-
ing teachers in the spring, then it
was followed by Bill 19, the most
sweeping attack on unions ever seen
in Canada. This has been followed
by everything, from threats to close
hospitals, to putting B.C. up for sale
to the highest bidder, through
privatization.

Recently, Vander Zalm suggested
that the health care system could
save money by closing some emer-
gency outlets at hospitals. That sug-
gestion has been attacked by every-
one from the B.C. Medical Asso-
ciation, to business leaders. Then
Mr. Vander Zalm suggested that it
would be a good idea for the private
sector to get into the hospital busi-
ness. The Premier suggested that if

people want to pay to go to a private
hospital then they should have the

choice. It is shoot from the lip, trial
balloons like this, that really expose
Vander Zalm for what he is. He is
fostering and encouraging a society
that has two levels of service: One
for those who can afford it and one
for those who cannot. It is a society
that is unequal and anti-democratic.
It is a society that is elitist and a
return to the old class structures of
19th century Europe. He loves to
hold up what Margaret Thatcher

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VANDER ZALM
ONTINUES TO ATTACK
ORDINARY FOLKS

Bill Vander Zalm’s vision of B.C. is not

“fanantastic’ it’s fanatic and short-sighted

has done in England as a shining
example of what can be done here.
All the Premier sees when he looks

at England in the 1980s is a country
whose gross national product has

improved, a country that has moved
away from the state owned and run
systems of the ’50s and ’60s, a coun-

try that has regained some of its lost
economic clout of an earlier day.
That may all be true, but what he
doesn’t see is the price that has been
paid. He doesn’t see the Brixton
riots by unemployed youth, he
doesn’t see the endless lines of unem-
ployed youth with no future and no

IWA Pension secure

The recent ups and downs (mostly downs) of the stock
market may have some IWA Pension Plan members
concerned about the long term prospects of the fund. The
pension fund is administered by five separate money
managers, each of whom has a different approach and
philosophy on investment. This ensures that the fund’s
assets are not all being funnelled in one direction. It also
allows for differing opinion as to where the economy is
going and where it might be best to invest the assets of the
fund. You may have taken note that over the last month,
so-called “stock market experts” in both the U.S. and
Canada all had differing thoughts on whether the latest
stock crash was the start of a recession or just a “correc-
tion”. By spreading the money amongst five separate
managers we are hedging against human error, ensuring
that differing opinions work to your advantage by making
the investment policy more secure.

This round of stock market fluctuations has shown that
a sound, well-balanced pension fund investment approach
is the key to the health and prosperity of your pension
dollars. Beyond that, the Federal and Provincial govern-
ments’ pension legislation demands strict payment time
limits on debt for pension funds. This ensures that
pension funds do not get overly levered with debt. Overall
the IWA Pension Fund is in good shape. There is no doubt
that it has been affected by the slumps in the market, but
because the fund invests in high quality stocks and
generally in stocks that have a strong book value there is
no need for concern. The TWA Pension Fund remains
healthy and strong.

hope. He fails to recognize that there
is a whole segment of society being
left behind, being forgotten. Bill Van-
der Zalm’s vision of England’s shin-
ing example is clouded by the hair
spray of Margaret Thatcher. His
vision of British Columbia is clouded
by the unreal view from his Fantasy
Garden castle tower. Bill Vander
Zalm’s vision of B.C. is not “faaaan-
tastic”, it’s fanatic and short sighted.
It’s a vision that requires corrective
lenses if we are to remain a demo-
cratic and fair society.

Contador page7

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE

Join EAP — Our Responsibility

There is a growing recognition
that all worksites are social struc-
tures, with social problems that
demand a joint response of social
accountability. A joint EAP is one
of the more meaningful and effective
responses.

Union, employee groups, and
employers must all learn to accept
EAPs as an integral component of
the workplace and not a frill that is
turned off and on as the economy
shifts or as leadership changes. The
responsibility is to be shared,
together we can and will make a
significant contribution to the lives
of those we are here to serve.

There should be no thought that
we — EAP or not — can ever solve
all of the workplace problems, or
take responsibility for an individu-
al’s conscience or behavior. And
there will be failures despite the
combined efforts of those involved.
But we can make progress toward
meaningful social responsibility,
which, after all, is really no more
than the old-fashioned notion of
helping each other. Respect for the
individual is more than a statement
— it is a working solution for most
of our problems.

8/LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 1987