Photo by Dan Mclellan

¢ THIRD TIME LUCKY — National Organizing Director Lyle Pona (1.)
and National Organizer Rick McRae teamed up with inside workers
at Louisiana-Pacific’s waferboard plant in Dawson Creek, B.C. to cer-
tify the anti-union company to IWA Local 1-424 in March of this year.
Persistance paid off as the union had three previous drives and lost
two other certification votes. See story page 9.

Criminal Code

Continued from page eleven

Justice and the Mulroney govern-
ment.

If Ms. Campbell is disposed to
making some specific criminal
amendments, Mr. McEvoy says that
“we would provide whatever assis-
tance we could to insure that a
proper provision goes into the Code
which deals with the issue of tree
spiking.”

Peter W. Ewert, Q.C., the
province’s Executive Crown Counsel
is very aware of the matter said he
supports Criminal Code amend-
ments as a greater deterrent to tree
spiking.

However just because it’s not in
the Code doesn’t mean that prosecu-
tions can’t nail spikers with crimi-
nal offenses.

The Crown can use fall back pro-
visions of the Criminal Code which
allows for prosecution under sec-
tions dealing with criminal negli-
gence causing bodily harm or dam-
age to property.

The Criminal Code also has provi-
sions under the mischief section
and can be used to impose sen-
tences and penalties for activities
causing intentional danger to
human life or property.

Two years ago when spikes hit a
band saw at MacMillan Bloedel’s
Somass Cedar Mill in Port Alberni,
the government of the day reacted
by making amendments to the
province's Forest Act.

Currently, under the B.C. Forest
Act, it is an offence to aid, abet or

20/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1992

council another to spike timber, to
solicit materials or money for spik-
ing purposes, and to pack spikes or
hazardous objects for the intention
of tree spiking.

Convicted tree spikers could face
imprisonments of up to 3 years in
jail and up to $10,000 in penalties if
the spiking of any tree, whether liv-
ing or dead, standing, fallen,
limbed, bucked or peeled, results in
physical injury or property damage.

So with the current Criminal
Code and Forest Act, there are sev-
eral penalties in place.

Mr. Ewert says that “if we were
actually able to get the evidence
and have charging standards met,
we would take it very seriously and
prosecute with a great deal of
vigour.”

He says as a Crown Counsel that

he is fully aware of the type of con-
sequences that can occur from tree
spiking, has read some of the litera-
ture on it and says “we realize that
the people out there need protect-
ing.”
“We're not powerless if we do
catch somebody,” says Mr. Ewert.
“We do have a number of different
pieces of legislation that we can use,
all of which carry heavy jail sen-
tences as a maximum deterrent.”

Perhaps in the future forest com-
panies will be seeking more injunc-
tions to restrict public access, ironi-
cally to public land.

Injunctions, such as the one
granted to MacMillan Bloedel for
the Walbran 300, may be used as a
preventative measure in the future.

Mr. Ewert says courts would
“take a very dim view” of those who
violate such injunctions.

Harvey Arcand appointed
as National Fifth V-P

Harvey Arcand, President of IWA-
CANADA Williams lake Local 1-425,
has been appointed to 4th Vice-
President of the National Union.

On May 29 National President Gerry
Stoney notified all National Officers
of the decision and subsequently,
Brother Arcand’s appointment was
ratified by the IWA National
Executive Board on June 5.

Brother Arcand, who will be a part-
time representative of the National
Union will retain his position as
leader of the Williams Lake Local.

At the National Level, he will serve
as the IWA’s representative on the
Long Term Disability Plan, and a num-
ber of Health and Welfare Plans. He
also is looking at further duties within
the Pension Plan Board of Trustees.

IWA members who have been to
National Conventions and many
regional conventions before the union
became a National Union in 1987 will
likely recall Brother Arcand for his
speeches at the microphone and many
harangues of the Workers’
Compensation Board.

Arcand has been around the IWA
for a long time considering his rela-
tively young age of 42.

Born in Cranbrook, B.C. and raised
in Skookumchuk and Radium Hot
Springs, Harvey started working very
early in life helping his father cut and
haul timber for railroad tie making.

In 1968 he started working at the
Canadian Forest Products, Fort St.
James operation in Northern B.C.
During those times the IWA was try-
ing to close a gap in wages between
workers in the interior and those in
the rest of the province.

Brother Arcand remembers when in
1970 a company representative came
into the lunchroom to tell workers
that the outfit would shut the mill
down if the crew gave the union a
strike vote.

"I had no trouble figuring out who
was b.s.ing who between company
and union,” says Harvey.He became

° Harvey Arcand

active in the Union and has remained
so from that day on. He eventually
became a sawfiler while he was there,
being one of the first saw fitter
apprentices in the province under the
then new Filers and Fitters appren-
ticeship program.

A year later he was elected as plant
chairman and was elected as a Local
1-424 union Executive Board Member
in 1972. By 1975 Harvey was 1-424’s
Second Vice-President.‘

In 1977 Brother Arcand was nomi-
nated by acclamation as President of
the newly formed Williams Lake Local
1-425 and has been successfully re-
elected every term since then.

In his home local, his membership
faces many challenges ahead, not the
least of which is the attempts of major
environmentalist groups to set aside
1/3 of the land area in the Cariboo and
Chilcotin districts of B.C. for parks
and wilderness areas. Already over
11% of the areas are set aside.

Needless to say between his duties
as President of 1-425 and the National
Union, Harvey will have little time for
much else.

Workers Foundation of Canada.

© $0 LONG SHIRLEY — The CLC’s Convention in Vancouver in June
saw the end of Shirley Carr’s six year presidency as she has decided
to step down. Sister Carr will remain active in labour issues in the
years ahead and is an honorary chairperson of the Disabled Forestry