THIS MILL HAS
OPERATED 1403pays

THE FIRST PAIR
OF
PARIS BOOTS
x 1907 x

IWA

THEY’VE WORKED 1415 DAYS
ACCIDENT-FREE. Top picture
shows the seventy-one employees
of the B.C. Interior Sawmills
Ltd., Kamloops, who have com-
pleted four actual working years
without a compensable accident.
Bottom photo is the Mill’s Joint
Safety Committee.

ORIGINAL
PARIS

LIGHT CRUISER

NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR 58 YEARS’
Experience & Craftsmanship

PIERRE PARIS & SONS

$1 West Hostings Street
Vencouver 3, B.C

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

2nd Issue
June, 1965

POLITICAL WEDGE

By JACK MacKENZIE
Regional Ist Vice President

HE Political Education

Conference called by the
Canadian Labour Congress
July 11, Toronto, one day
prior to the National Conven-
ion of the ew. Democrttic

arty, wi oie

deal with is- [",
sues of im-
portance to
the IWA local
unions in Brit-
ah eo: —_ J

econfer- Pm de
ence will as- © >
sess the results OFS
of Citizenship
Month this year, when the
need for medicare was
brought emphatically to the
attention of the Canadian
public.

As far as results can be de-
termined in British Columbia,
the persistent campaigns of
the trade unions has had a
most useful impact.

Obviously, trade unions
must now continue to correct
the situation resulting from a
patchwork of provincial
health insurance plans in ord-
er to gain universal and com-
prehensive health coverage.

Not until health services are
placed on a national basis will
it be possible to include drug,
optical and dental services as

in the United Kingdom with-
out any form of means test.

The Toronto conference will
no doubt recommend the
trade union political issues to
be stressed next year by Con-
gress. On this question, B.C.

unions should state their
views.

An opportunity will be pro-
vided for B.C. trade unionists
to prepare recommendations
on federal legislation at such
a conference. A meeting of
minds between trade unionists
and the members in the House
of Commons invariably results
in clarification of trade union
issues before Parliament.

Here again, trade unions in
British Columbia are expect-
ed to make use of these chan-
nels to back up their legisla-
tive demands. The burning
question now is manpower
adjustment to technological
change in industry to offset
manpower displacement. B.C.
labour must be heard on this
question at the federal NDP
convention this year. The final
answers for problems arising
from technological change
will be found only in the polit-
ical field.

Many members of the New
Democratic Party have not
fully appreciated the handi-
caps placed upon B.C. unions
by reason of the Bill 42
amendments to the Labour
Relations Act.

It is hoped that with the as- .

sistance of the national trade
union movement these handi-
caps may be lessened.

As this national conference

will undoubtedly show, trade
unions in Canada are steadily
developing a program of polit-
ical action that is successfully
reinforcing their economic
struggle.

HYDRO GAS

Opposition Leader Robert
Strachan called on the Provin-
cial Government to reduce
natural gas rates to the con-
sumer immediately and to
take over all natural gas pro-
duction, transmission and dis-
tribution systems.

BOB STRACHAN

This latter move, .said Mr.
Strachan, would make pos-
sible even greater reductions.
Mr. Strachan pointed out that
gas prices in British Columbia
were exorbitant with B.C. Hy-
dro consumers paying $13.62
for the same quantity of gas
that sold in Edmonton for
$5.80 and San Francisco for
$7.50.

The latest financial report
from B.C. Hydro, continued

Mr. Strachan, proves two

things:

1. Public ownership of pow-
er utilities dan mean lower
rates to the consumer;

2. Hydro figures showing ap-
proximate gas revenues
from domestic consumers
of $30 million on gas that
cost $10 million means the
gas consumer is being
soaked; first, to force sales
of electric power to justi-
fy and provide cash for
the Peace River develop-
ment and, secondly, to
pay what the traffic will
bear to government friend
and natural gas monopolist
Frank McMahon.

- The recent full scale sup-

port by the Socred Govern-

ment before the National En-
ergy Board to assist Mr. Mc-

Mahon in his efforts to export

our gas to the United States

is part and parcel of this over-
all picture, said Mr. Strachan,
and something else which the
taxpayers have paid for.
Natural gas, concluded Mr.

Strachan, is a monopoly pub-
lic utility in the same field as
electric power and telephones,
and the public interest in
these fields must always be
placed before the interests of
the owners of these utilities
even when these owners sup-
port the political party in
power.

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