Vancouver, B.C. October 2-6 CONVENTION 1989 Munro challenges members with convention address Broadbent says goodbye as federal NDP Leader VANCOUVER, B.C. — Four days after announcing that he will resign from his seat in the House of Com- mons at the end of 1989, Federal New Democratic Party Leader Ed Broad- bent addressed delegates at IWA -CANADA’S Third Constitutional Convention. On October 2nd, Mr. Broadbent made his last appearance in British Columbia as NDP leader and paid tribute to the relationship between the IWA and the social democratic movement. “You as members of this union . . . have jointly worked with the NDP not by accident, not because of a coming together of interests on a particular issue ... but because we have over- spalinin ely been the forces in our society that have worked to create a different kind of Canada,” said Broadbent. “The trade union movement and the Party go hand-in-hand about the kind of country we want to create.” Broadbent again declared the affin- ity of the NDP and the labour move- ment, saying that trade unions have always been in the forefront of fight- ing for social justice. He said the combined forces of the trade union movement outside the House of Com- mons and the NDP inside the House will carry on into the future. He told the delegates that in the last 100 years in the developed world, trade unions and social democratic vernments in Canada and Western ‘urope have combined to create wealth and distribute it equitably. Broadbent said the IWA and the NDP have shown leadership on envi- ronmental issues, but said the ulti- mate responsibility must lie with those in power. With respect to concern about the environment, Broadbent said: “The threat facing our forest industry is not wilderness preservation, but gov- ernment and corporate policies that permit over-cutting, soil erosion, and inadequate forest regeneration.” Broadbent commended the IWA for its approach in calling for a long- range public forest-use policy. “There has to be a serious coherent policy put into place that takes into account the legitimate need for jobs,” said the outgoing leader. IWA-CANADA President Jack Munro characterized Broadbent as honest, credible, and having the most integrity of anyone in Canadian politics. “Day after day, year after year his concern has been the well-being of good honest Canadians and ordinary people,” said Munro. Brother Munro also said that Broadbent will be remembered as one of the “Great Three” which include Tommy Douglas and David Lewis, former Federal NDP leaders. “For the last 50 years it has been our Party that has been instrumental in every piece of social legislation in Canada and it’s because of people like Ed Broadbent,” said Munro. Broadbent took a good part of his speech to condemn the Conservative government's Goods and Services Tax for its complete lack of fairness. He also spoke out against VIA Rail cuts and poverty amongst Canadian children. VANCOUVER, B.C. — In his opening address to the Third National Con- vention, IWA-CANADA President Jack Munro told delegates that our union’s position on the future of the forestry industry is a serious matter in which all members must work to publicize. “Our position on that serious mat- ter is not simply to adopt the employ- ers’ viewpoint,” said Munro. “From bitter experience we know better than to believe that all the high-sounding concepts and lofty ideals — such as Forests Forever — will never be allowed to interfere with a profitable balance sheet.” Later during the Convention, a new Union Forest Policy was unveiled which provides the IWA’s viewpoint on a sustainable forest strategy, land- use and tenure, the environment and research into the value-added sector of the industry. Munro said that the industry is headed in the wrong direction. “We have every reason to believe that in the absence of rigorously enforced policies from the federal and provin- cial Governments, the old approaches will continue with disastrous conse- quences for our segment of the industry.” * Munro noted that a Chief Executive Officer of one of the nation’s major forest giants recently declared that the future is in pulp, not lumber. “Governments seem prepared to abandon the solid wood side of the forest industry, rather than pursue the need for greatly expanded value- added lumber products,” said the Union leader. “Common sense and past experi- ence show that providing jobs does not automatically follow from the industry harvesting more wood, or from making more money. But it will follow if the delegates here at this Convention and hundreds of thou- sands of other Canadians force our governments to require the corpora- tions to provide more jobs as a condi- tion of their forest licences.” Munro told the delegates that the Union is not at war with environmen- tal groups. “Governments and corpo- rations know that if we the environ- mentalists get together on issues, there will be no turning back.” He also said that government wants confrontation between labour and environmental groups to divert atten- tion away from the real issue of poor industrial and governmental per- formance. Munro cited Sweden as an example of a responsible, vibrant culture which respects environmental integrity. e IWA-CANADA President Jack Munro. “Other countries have shown that the forest can be a major source of revenue for first-rate health, educa- tion, and social systems without destroying the environmental values which are equally our heritage.” Munro said that Canada needs to come up with a new way of handling forestry and environmental issues. “We need a process where people can start coming up with solutions. We don’t want our neighbours think- ing that somehow because we are woodworkers, we are the ‘new crimi- nals’. We are good, solid, hard-working citizens who want to work today and want our children to work tomorrow.” © More than 200 delegates to the National Convention observe a minute of silence in respect of those forest workers killed on the job in 1989. LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1989/9