IWA ADDRESSES FREE TRADE HEARINGS

Addressing a public hearing held
by the New Democratic Party’s Trade
Committee, IWA-CANADA Legisla-
tive Director, Clay Perry criticized the
ane of the Mulroney-Reagan trade

eal.

Speaking to a panel of four NDP
members of parliament headed by
trade critic Dave Barrett, Brother
Perry said that there are now becom-
ing two classes of unemployed in
Canada.

“There are those who will be unem-
ployed by private acts of private cor-
Porations. The other class, which will
be growing in leaps and bounds, is one
which is created by deliberate acts of
this society through its government,”
said Perry. “Voting in favour of the
trade deal took place under the under-
standing that while some would be
victims, others would be beneficia-
ries.”

Perry said that the Canadian For-
est Industry is one of the few sectors
large enough to compete with the
Americans. Canadian pulp, paper, and
wood production facilities are often
larger and more efficient than their
foreign counterparts. Lambasting the
agreement, the speaker said it specif-

Addressing an NDP Free Trade Panel is IWA-CANADA Legislative Director
Clay Perry. Seated on the panel are B.C. Members of Parliament, left to right:
Lyle MacWilliam, Okanagan-Shuswap; Dawn Black, New Westminster-Burn-
aby; Dave Barrett, Esquimalt—Juan De Fuca; and Brian Gardiner, Bulkley
Valley-Prince George.

ically excludes the forest industry
from tariff free trade.
The Reagan administration en-

shrined the 1986 memorandum of
agreement on Canadian softwoods in
the FTA as a political favour to Sena-

tor Robert Packwood of Oregon.
Packwood, as Chairman of the U.S.
Senate Finance Committee in 1986,
guided Reagan’s tax bill through Con-
gress and influenced Congress to
adopt the “fast-track” system of nego-
tiating the FTA.

The union spokesman said that,
from a sense of industrial planning in
the new era of the FTA, the govern-
ment should encourage production of
value added lumber and plywood
products.

Perry said that the present increase
in interest rates may become very
injurious to the Canadian Forest
Industry. A repeat of the early 1980s’
recession is likely if the Bank of Can-
ada continues on its path of increas-
ing interest rates.

Brother Perry drew attention to a
recent comment of Jim Matkin of the
BC. Business Council. Matkin said
the ability to deal with economic mat-
ters is passing beyond the jurisdic-
tion of any country.

Trade matters, according to the
speaker, are no longer based on eco-
nomic reasoning. Instead, private
political influence dictates govern-
ment policies.

THE TORIES —
BEFORE AND AFTER

Before and after the federal elec-
tion, Prime Minister Mulroney said
repeatedly that Canadian sovereignty,
as well as social and regional develop-
ment programs would not be compro-
mised in light of the FTA. He also
pledged generous support for those
who would be victims of free trade.

The De Grandpré Committee, ap-

pointed by Mulroney over a year ago,
has since recommended that any
changes to existing programs not
increase the national deficit.

Cabinet colleagues including Fi-
nance Minister Michael Wilson and
Employment Minister Barbara Mc-
Dougall have also stated that present

WOOD WASTE PROTEST

Fletcher Challenge Canada was the
target of an angry protest by IWA-
CANADA Loggers and Millworkers,
last November in Vancouver, B.C. The
members were protesting wood waste,
export of logs, and lost jobs.

Protesters demanded that the com-
pany put a halt to high-grading log-
ging sites and exporting timber at the
expense of their millworkers.

Local officials cited 1987 figures
which indicated that 9.8% of the
scaled volume of logs in Tree Farm
Licence 46 (Vancouver Island) was
considered either avoidable or un-
avoidable waste.

A sawmill in Youbou lost 50 jobs
due to log shortages as Fletcher Chal-

lenge continued to export prime logs.
In 1987 the company exported nearly
176,000 cubic meters of timber.

The protesters, led by Local Vice-
President Bill Routley listed at least
five operations where the employer
has laid off mass groups of workers.
On November 3, the company an-
nounced future closure of the Lumby
operation which will result in a devas-
tating loss of 96 jobs.

Members demanded that Fletcher
Challenge provide jobs to British
Columbians and fully utilize timber
resources for that employment. In the
last four years more than 500,000
cubic meters of logs were exported by
the company.

GEORGETTI SLAMS DEAL

Continued from page 2

Australian-owned Elders is related to
the FTA even though, at present, the
Canadian brewing industry is exempt

from the deal.
Since the 1987 takeover of Carling-

O’Keefe and imminent iparasrelp
with Molson’s, Elders/ICL corpora-
tion has been lobbying the Federal
government to eliminate provincial
trade barriers. Elders has publicly
stated that if the barriers disappear,
additional plant closures and job
losses will follow.

In ten years’ time removal of
bi-lateral tariffs in the beer industry
will begin, giving Elders a decade to
shut down breweries and sell off real
estate and equipment to recoup their

entire investment in purchasing Car-
lings.

Georgetti stated that the FTA is
encouraging large corporate mergers
and that “our current government
pretends to be concerned but, in fact,
they support the trend ... the FTA
encourages corporate concentration
by allowing (a) no-holds-barred (style
of) American investment and take-
overs in Canada.”

The Federation President said that
the BC. organization will assist the
Canadian Labour Congress in moni-
toring the impact of the free trade
agreement and work together to
ensure that the Tory government
assumes responsibility for damage to
workers.

adjustment programs are adequate to
deal with the dislocation that will
result from the FTA.

The Canadian Manufacturers’ As-
sociation, (other certain Tories), have
already called for an overhaul of the
Unemployment Insurance Program
and harmonization of Canada-U.S.
policies.

FTA Threatens
Forest Products
Industries

The CLC has identified, to date, 50
industries as those who will be
directly affected by free trade. Ina list
of industries, six forest product sec-
tors are susceptible to the FTA.

Converted wood products, con-
verted paper products, container-
board, corrugated containers, inter-
mediate products for box board, and
folding cartons are specialized indus-
tries on the FTA hit list.

For the most part Canadian indus-
tries will suffer at the hands of their
US. counterparts. Smaller Canadian
owned firms will be unable to compete
against an influx of U.S. mass pro-
duced goods. U.S. corporate decisions
could shift production and employ-
ment to US. plants.

Soviet Invitation
Accepted

At March’s National Executive
Board meeting an invitation to visit
the Soviet Union was accepted. IWA-
CANADA has agreed to send a dele-
gation to visit Soviet trade union-
activists and learn about the peres-
troika first hand.

Mikhail Kuleshoy, President of the
Timber, Paper and Wood Workers’
Union Central Committee extended
the invitation in a letter to [WA Presi-
dent Jack Munro in early January of
this year. The Soviets plan to take the
Canadian delegation on a tour of Sibe-
rian plants and facilities.

A three member contingent of
Munro, Terry Smith, National Sec-
retary-Treasurer and Dennis Bonville,
President of Saskatchewan Local
1-184 are designated to make the tour
from May 13 to May 23.

In 1978 a six man IWA delegation
visited Soviet workers in Moscow,
Krasdoner and Sochi.

Munro
Renews

Gall For
Public Inquiry

During a speech to B.C. Professional
Foresters in Penticton, B.C. on Febru-
ary 16, 1989, IWA-CANADA Presi-
dent Jack Munro renewed calls for a
public inquiry into the B.C. Forest
Industry.

Citing recent scandals in the admin-
istration of provincial forests, Munro
urged an immediate public inquiry.
He suggested that a thtee member
commission, each member with a dif-
ferent background and a thorough
knowledge of the industry, thoroughly
examine the deteriorating state of
forests administration in the province.

Munro slammed forest industry
waste and inefficiency. He quoted the
T. M. Thompson report which said
MacMillan Bloedel left behind more
than 200,000 cubic meters of wood in
the Queen Charlottes over the 1983-
1986 period. The report said the com-
pany practices were not unusual.

The speech also noted a B.C. Om-
budsman’s report of February, 1984
which criticized the Ministry of For-
ests over British Columbia Forest
Products’ log scaling irregularities on
Shoal Island. The Ministry’s failure to
supervise BCFP’s scaling resulted in
significant financial losses for small
logging contractors and lost provin-
cial revenue in the millions of dollars.

Munro mentioned that despite
industry’s record profits, no addi-
tional federal funding will be spent
within the next year on silvicultural
treatment, other than planting.

The National President said many
of those opposed to the forest indus-
try don’t see themselves as benefit-
ting from the economic activity. Swe-
den, with half the forest land base of
BC., yet about the same annual cut,
provides three times as many direct
jobs as does the province.

Munro challenged the assembly of
foresters to be involved in improving
relations with the skeptical public. He
said we must restore confidence that
the public interest will be protected
and respect groups acting during the
decision making process.

au nS
LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1989/3