¢ Nearly 40,000 protesters representing a wide cross section of society gathered in Kitchener City Square to send clear messages to the Mike Harris government.

Protest movement against Ontario government builds
as tens of thousands gather in Kitchener rally event

On April 19, I.W.A. CANADA mem-
bers in Canada joined yet another ma-
jor day of protest against the Mike
Harris government in the province of
Ontario. It was third such day of
protest in less than six months, as al-
most 40,000 people gathered together
iayand around Kitchener City Square

The day-long event was dubbed as
the “Community Action Day of Water-
loo Region.” Trade unionists, and
coalition groups including anti-pover-
ty organizations, religious denomina-
tions, high school and post-secondary
education supporters, and women’s
groups were all in attendance to de-
nounce the slash and burn reform
policies of the Conservative govern-
ment.

L.W.A Local 500 had over 30 mem-
bers at the event, which included
members from two unionized opera-
tions from the Kitchener area: Canbar
Ltd. and Pannil Veneer.

Also present were National Second
Vice President Fred Miron, Local 500
President Bruce Weber and Local 700
President Ron Diotte.

The day of protest saw unions and
coalition supporters gather in the city
of Waterloo where they went on a five
kilometer march to Kitchener City
Square Hall. Thousands of other sup-
porters from the tri-city of Cambridge
joined the protest rally to hear speak-
ers and enjoy musical entertainment.

Bruce Weber of Local 500 says that
the day of protest was important to
show that momentum is building
against the Harris government and
that support remains broad based.

He says that in the future a
province-wide shutdown may be pos-
sible.

“All of us are putting as much pres-
sure as we can on the Harris govern-
ment from unfairly hitting working
people and the poor,” said Brother
Weber in an interview with the Lum-
berworker. “We hope that the pres-
sure that we are putting on the gov-
ernment will stop deeper cuts than
have already happened.”

“As long as Harris has public sup-
port he will continue on his way,”
added Weber. “But I think he is begin-
ning to feel some heat from some of
his corporate supporters and cabinet
ministers to back off on some of this
stuff.”

Terry Schweitzer, plant chairman at
Canbar said that the protest is a good
way of informing the public about the
issues involved but thinks that more
can be done to educate workers. He
said that workers are just beginning to
understand the big picture.

Ray Lever, a committee member at

Canbar, said that “by coming out to-
day it shows a willingness of people
to participate in order to show that
we just can’t be steamrolled over.”

The Conservative government is
continuing with its plans to cut about
10,800 of 81,000 public service jobs in
the province. A five week strike by the
Ontario Public Service Employees
Union (OPSEU) in February and
March stopped the Harris government
from dumping senior employees with-
out pensions or successorship rights
if their jobs were to be contracted out
to the private sector.

Harris plans to cut out $8 billion of
the spending budget over the next

three years. However he has given de-
tails on only $4.6 billion of those cuts.

At the rally Leah Casselman, Presi-
dent of OPSEU thanked those who
supported the strike against the
provincial government. She said that
the protest was “a celebration of the
ties that bind us together.”

She then took aim at Tory Labour
Minister Elizabeth Witmer’s com-
ments that the province’s Employ-
ment Standards Act is “too complex”
and is in need of reform.

“Protecting the rights of workers is
too complex for Liz,” Casselman told
the rally. “It would be simpler for her
if we simply had no rights.”

Gordie Wilson, President of the On-
tario Federation of Labour, spoke
against the Harris government’s
threatened use of scabs in the OPSEU
dispute. He also condemned the tak-
ing away of workers’ rights by the
repeal of the Wage Protection Act in-
troduced by the previous NDP govern-

ment led by Bob Rae.

He called Elizabeth Witmer the
“Minister of Death” for gutting health
and safety standards in the province.
He then said that working people de-
serve a government that protects
health and safety of workers, human
rights and employment equity.

Harris has abolished proxy pay eq-
uity for women, closed pay equity le-
gal clinics, and in the public sector,
has put a cap on funding for pay equi-

ty.

Two days before the protest rally,
there was a previous protest on the
pay equity issue at Witmer’s con-
stituency office in Kitchener.

At the rally Buzz Hargrove, Presi-
dent of the Canadian Autoworkers,
praised OPSEU members who fought
a “valiant fight on behalf of all of us.”

John Clarke of the Ontario Coali-
tion Against Poverty told the crowd:

Continued on page fourteen

¢ Leading the I.W.A. delegation to the protest was Local 500 President Bruce Weber (holding banner on right of photo)

and members from union's operations in Kitchener.

6/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1996 ,