PAGE A4, THE HERALD, Wednesday, March 9, 1977 Boer reso SS . S e « ae ate ae - te pi te vane aes Ge rs return postage guaranteed weer reper Ce eoncentrates in November showed mixed results with gains : in lead, zinc, molybdenum and iron ore and a decline in > copper shipments. Asbestos shipments were substantially < higher in November. : MANUFACTURING British Columbia factory shipments were valued at $756.6, ~ million in November, up 28.5 percent over a year earlier. : Significant advances over November 1975 values were - made in wood industries, petroleum refineries, metal ‘ fabricators and primary metal producers. Most industry glasses recorded value increases, but producer's of textiles, . " machinery, transportation equipment and non-metallic “ mineral products did experience reduced sales. a Rational rationale r Al) human beings are born free and equal in dignity and : rights". This was a declaration made by the United Nations . in 1948 which Canada iully supported and signed. Perhaps, ~ however, we are looking more at a piece of wishful thinking : than an accomplished fact. Instances of inequality can be : found, some unfortunately within the law and some that - cannot be completely eradicated with the best legislation. =. Today, lam suggesting that there should be equal rights and responsibilities for both employers and trade unions. It - ‘should be explained that the Vancouver Board of Trade * eonsists of some 3000 members, working voluntarily in ~ committees to advance and promote different sectors of the - economy, The committee which considers labour problems : comprises men and women involved in the daily practice of ~ employee relations and contract negotiations. Their source ~ ‘material is not found in glossy magazines, the yellow press * ‘or hot-line shows. Any changes to the Labour Code have - ‘been suggested in a format and with a purpose likely to be « -acceptable to both trade unions and employers. . > Weare all aware of the horrifying loss to production when ‘ ‘contract talks fail and strikes ensue. Hardship is caused, * mot only to those on strike but to their families, Employers + -have sometimes been forced into bankruptcy, a failure that ‘ ‘might have been avoided if the rights of both parties had < ‘been better recognized during negotiations. Strikes have * ‘caused untold hardship and inconvenience to thousands of * ‘British Columbians who have no involvement in the dispute * ‘itself. Hardship — not only through the withdrawal of goods ‘and services but indirectly through loss of provincial = srevenue from production. .< The Vancouver Board of Trade has submitted to the > ‘Minister of Labour, the Honourable Allan Williams, a short * ‘brief outlining some proposals for amandments to the ‘Labour Code. These would redress some inequities af- : fecting employees and employers. First, in order to give 2 ‘equal rights to both the employer and trade union, the Code :, should be amended to provide that, prior to a representation * ote by, or a certification vote of, a trade union bargaining + ‘unit, an employer may explain his point of view to em- = ‘ployees, Second, we feel that an employee's right to privacy = 4s violated when an employer is required to supply his or her Gee a r “8 (ALL RIGHT, ‘ ALL RIGHT, fi POINT TAKEN — =3 CD S ©, ey Qa —_ oF 635-6357 : An Award Winning Weekly Published by Sterling Publishers Ltd. Published every Wednesday a¢ 3212 Kalum St., Terrace, B.C. A member of Varified Cir- culation. Authorized as second class mail, Registration number 1201, Postage paid In cash, GORDON W. HAMILTON” Business highlights Volume changes in pulp and paper production durin November included a 3.6 percent drop in paper an paperboard tonnage and a rise of 3,2 percent in pulp production. Newsprint accounted for the decline in paper production. Hees | — The Four-Way | Test .* Of the things we — think, say or do. Is it the TRUTH? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL ' to all concerned? Sts AER PUBLISHER . Sate"eneTeeTs Me NOTE Unless otherwise stated, it can be assumed that per- centage or other changes noted in the following paragraphs will be in comparison with the same month or same period for the preceding year. : ' CONSTRUCTION The value of building permits in November at $152 million was up 27.1 percent. Nearly all regions in the province recorded advances except the southern interior and lower coast. Housing construction in the same month was up 5.1 percent with 2,625 units started (preliminary. November data for completions is not yet available but October figures recorded a gain of 1,340 units over October 1975. ‘ EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR INCOME January employment was 31,000 higher than a_year earlier, but declined 26,000 from December 1976. Unem- ployment at 112,000 was 4,000 greater than in January 1976 and 20,000 more thanin November. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January at 8.8 percent was un- changed from the previous month but was fractionally above the January 1976 level. Labour income from salaries and wages in October at $991.2 million was 15.2 percent higher. In the same month the average industrial weekly wage increased 13.0 percent over a year ago. 7 ; TRADE AND SERVICES Retail sales in November amounted to $590.8 million, $58 million greater than a year earlier. Navember gasoline sales in the province were 10.5 percent higher. Cheques cashed in provincial clearing centers in November were valued at $15.1 billion compared with $13.9 billion in November 1975. Travel and tourist activity in British Columbia remained below 1975 levels in November. Cargos handled at the Port of Vancouver in November showed tonnage gains compared to a year earlier. Cargo loaded was 11,5 percent higher and cargo unloaded was up by 2.0 percent. Exports laden in British Columbia during October were up 30.6 percent in value, while imports cleared through British Columbia ports were 4.2 percent higher. Exports through British Columbia customs ports in October were above October 1975 values for such provincial exports as forest products, fish products, metals in ores, refined non-ferrous metals and chemical products. Declines -oceurred in exports of coal, oilseeds, grain, crude - petroleum and natural gas. Imports through British Columbia were 5.2 percent higher in October. Canadian stock pricesin December averaged fractionally less than in December of 1975. The Canadian General Wholesale Price Index recorded a modest 2.8 percent rise in November. The rate of expansion in consumer prices remained below 1975 growth rates. The December Canadian Consumer Price Index was up 5.8 percent and the Vancouver City Index was, 8.6 percent higher. in labour legislation name, address and telephone number to a trade union or intended bargaining unit and he should not be required to do so. Third, the right of the Labour Relations Board to in- vestigate and act upon violation or defiance of the Board is presently cancelled when the party bringing the complaint ater withdraws. This interferes with the pursuit of justice and we feel that the Labour Code should empower the Board to continue its investigation and action. So far, we have pointed to the loss of rights for employer, employees and the Labour Relations Board. There is more. We are concerned that certification of a bargaining unit should take place after both employer and union have stated their case and, that at the request of either, a secret ballot be taken under the direction of the Labour Relations Board. Voting by secret ballot is a fundamental right of democracy. Fear is expressed by the Board of Trade that this privilege, of individual rights, in wage settlement and strike situations, is being taken too casually. We urge that strike votes be by secret ballots and by mail. They should have a simple YES-NO format. We also urge that any final offer by an employer be presented to employees before a strike can commence. _ We fee] that the rights of society are abused when striking members of a union take work elsewhere and expect to retain their vote in a ‘return to work” ballot, There is an old expression about having your cake and eating it — maybe we should add, from someone else's mouth? We found this principle hard to justify and requested that the Labour Code correct it and render such workers ineligible te vote on a return to work ballot. It must be emphasised that we are not presuming to in- terfere with the right of a union to run its own affairs — nor of an employer torun his. We are concerned with the rights of individuals, be they employees, employers or the in- nocent bystanders sometimes caught in the middle of sputes, British Columbia must make a concentrated effort to reduce industrial failures and breakdowns. We feel that these suggestions would facilitate progress. We think that they are realistic and practical. We ask that you consider them in the same spirit ln which we have. Zs [7A T KEEP DOIN' THAT = MAKIN! THE MISTAKE )- OF THINICIN! SHE'S GINEN UP WHEN SHE'S GIVEN INS : | letters The Editor: May I take advantage of the generosity of your newspaper to pass on to your readers my personal ‘thoughts with regard to the North Central Municipal Association Convention to be held aboard the cruise ship “Princess Patricia’. Firstly, may I point out that this was not a decision of the Terrace Council but of the Kitimat Council and the executive of the N.C.M.A. I personally am not too happy about this decision, but one must consider not if we can afford the luxury, but if we can afford not to Planned P Planned Parenthood Association of B.C. Vancouver, B.C. Dear Sir: We wish to apply for acceptance as a branch of the Planned Parenthood Asseciation of B.C. En- closed is a copy of our prepared By-laws and ten do ars ($10.00) registration ee. The names of the elected committee members are: a. President - Alice Chen- Wing. b. Vice Presidents - 1. Dr. Gillian Hodge 2. Brad Letham ce. Secretary - Elizabeth Manji. d. Treasurer - Brad Letham. e. Five Members.at Large - 1. Maggs Gingles 2. Mary Brown 3. Joyce Krause 4. Lesley Weatherston 6. attend. Terrace Council policy is to pay $50 per day or expenses when travelling on city business, which is to pay for hotel rooms and food. The total cost of the cruise is $260 for five days, The only real extra cost is travel to Vancouver, which un- fortunately is an expense which we would not have to y if the convention had n held in Kitimat. I think when one considers the work of N.C.M:A. and U.B.C.M. it appears almost mandatory that we attend these conventions. It is arenthood Our proposed program is: a. Adrop-in centre, giving information and counselling on family planning, sexually transmitted diseases and infertility. . b. Liaison with schools in the area, with aims to im- rove the standards of juvenile sex education and amily planning. c. Public education by: 1. Giving Informed Lectures. 2. Film shows. 3. Publicity via the media, of the ser- vices provided. d. Research into the needs of clinic facilities for the actual. dispensing of family planning devices, etc. Our training needs are’ those of training the officers of the society in methods of ‘ implementing the program successfully. Yours sincerely, Sharon Biggs. Elizabeth Manii. Poor Taste The Editor, views that I think this type Dear sir: of publicity is in very poor In your February 23 taste, edition of The Herald, one of Iam sure that if you were your front page articles aware of the anguish that gives the details of a suchan article would cause Terrace resident who ap- parently took his own life. - While I appreciate the fact ; that this is a deniocratic*: country with freedom of expression of the press, I would like to express my — to the close members of the family, the dictates of your “own conscience “would stay ‘your hand...” * Yours very truly, D.W. Strangway | OTTAWA and Small Business NN by JIM SMITH Once upon a time, there was a country which had a very large government sec: tor. And, because the govern- ment was so large, it forgot how to think small. The - government developed basi- cally big projects and dealt primarily with big compa- - nies. This was fine with the government bureaucrats be- cause it made their work easier, eee As it happened, however, the very big campanies were generally owned and ope- rated by foreigners. Conse- quently, when the big firm received a government con- tract, it farmed out much of the work to the foreign head office. Gradually, some strange things happened to that coun- try. A great deal of money and jobs left the country be- cause so much work was being done abroad. The country failed to develop or retain any important techno- logy; all the research and de- velopment was done by the head offices. And, because there were relatively few big firms, there was little com- petition to keep costs of gov- ernment contracts down. The price of the bigness-oriented policies was frighteningly high. + Feeling smug? Don’t. The fairy-tale country is Canada. Our governments do deal pri- marily with large, foreign- owned firms, And we are _ paying unduly for bureau- _ cratic ex pediency. : eee. In the United States, it’s different. The U.S. Congress has passed laws requiring that, wherever possible, small businesses should be involved in public purchases, whether aerospace projects or office supplies. On very large, ¢x- pensive projects, the main contractor is expected to sub-contract much of the work to small firms. Last year, this policy resulted in one-third of the federal gov- emment’s total spending of $54 billion being directed to small business. What has the American public gained from this poll- cy? The Canadian Federation of Independent Business re- ports that a study commis- sloned by the U.S. govern- ment found that actions to bring small business into the public sector contract pro- cess have reduced the cost of public purchases by 20 per cent! Meanwhile, in Canada, there is no positive policy in- volving small business. Often, small firms are discouraged from public projects. And you can sum up Canada's dis- -appointing lack of progress in one easy fact: more than 30 years after the U.S, Con- gress passed laws to assist small business, the Govern: ment of Canada still doesn’t have even a definition of ~ what constitutes the small business sector. to theeditor Luxury Cruise through these organizations that pressure has been brought on to the provincial government to bring into effect the following: (a) Natural Resources Sharing Revenue Program, which has resulted in yearly revenue for permage of approximately $30,000. oh) The ‘one-third recreation sharing grants from which Terrace has benefitted greatly. = {c) Just recently, it is through U.B.C.M. efforts that the policing contracts with the federal government have been reduced by a total of seven million dollars, or ‘Variety Club The Editor: Dear Sir: On behalf of Variety Club of Western Canada Tent 47 and the Pacific Region Jaycees, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Terrace for their. pledges and donations to the Variety Club Telethon — B.C.’s annual show of hearts. Having answered the phones during the Telethon Gledhill Public School | anniversary The Editor: We are asking for your cooperation in locating all former students and teachers of Gledhill Public School, which is located in the east end of the City of Toronto. - This year, Gledhill is celebrating its 60th An- hiversary and an Open House will be held at the school on May 14, 1977. In order to make this event a suceess, we would like to locate as many former grads and teachers as possible and ask for your assistance in doing: so.::- Many. ‘of.: thé : former students have moved away the total provincial- municipal share over a period of the next five years. (d) It is also these two bodies which are able to have legislation changes made in the Municipal Act, which often bring indirect savings to our community. It is with these thoughts in mind that I cast the deciding vote in favour of our com- munity maintaining a vote at the convention, not only for the District of Terrace, but for the benefit of all north country residents. Yours truly, 7 Gordon E. Rowland. Mayor it was heartwarming to take the pledges from all over B.C. and especially. from northwestern B.C. If you made a pledge and have not sent it in please honor it by sending your cheque or money order to Variety Club Telethon, Box 7400, Vancouver, B.C. V6éB 4E2, ; - Dale A. Nixon President Kitimat Jaycees from the Toronto area and now reside in various towns and cities across Canada. Would you be kind enough to find a small space in your publication for this notification? It°may assist us in locating many people. We ask that they contact the school by writing to: Gledhill Public Schoql, 2 Gledhill Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, MAC 5K6. . Thanking you in. an- ticipation ~ of your assistance, I remain, . Yours very truly, _ Arthur’B. Kelly,” ~'°"'” , Publitity,Chajrman. ~~ Caledonia Sensex _ Hockey team The Editor: The Caledonia Sensex Hockey team which recently played the R.A.R.S. team emerged victorious posting anl1to10 victory, - This fun game was organized and played to raise funds for the Child Development Centre Construction Fund and the profits realized will be turned over to the Con- - struction Committee, The Caledonia students wish to express their ap- - preciation to all those who Heart Editor, The Herald _ Dear Sir: The contributions from our door to door campaign are now all in and Heart Week 1977 is over for another year, The com- munity was canvassed during February 13 to 19 and - to date a total of $3100 has been collected. It is public-spirited per- ‘ gons who aye willing to donate time and energy that make this campaign such a success. In particular, I supported this project especially the followin; merchants who contribute door prizes: Erwin Jewellers, Shoppers Drugs, Mantique’s Men’s Wear, Safeway, Lakelse Phar- macy, Jeans North, Ernie’s Fine Foods (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Sight and Sound, Terrace Sewing Centre, Ev’s Men’s Wear, Grace Fell Florists, Winterland General Store and the Terrace Herald for the fine publicity, The Sensex Organizers. Fund would like to thank. the Herald and CFTK Radio and TV, as well as our ‘area captains and canvassers for their invaluable help and lsupport. Most important are ail those citizens of Terrace and district who responded to the slogan “Give until it helps’, Yours sincerely, P.M. Bowen-Colthurst Terrace Chairman 1977 Heart Fund Cam- paign ot | Heart Foundation Dear Editor: On this, the final day of Heart Month, we'd like to say a most sincere Thank You to you and your readers _for the support we've received, _ Although it will be some time before the final figures are in, we are most pleased to note the generous con- - ’ tribution to the Heart Fund from your community. We feel that this is due, in no small measure, to the support and publicity that you have given us. If the mail donations keep up we will be able to achieve ou provincial target and keep our ongoing research programs in B.C, We wiil be able to continue our life- saving school and com- - munity education projects and our professional education programs will keep on providing your doctors and nurses with the latest information on car- diovascular health measures. We also pledge to continue our community aid programs. We can accomplish a great deal in fighting heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke and congenital heart ailments if we but try. ‘All we need are people who are ‘AWARE ... and CARE! Again, our hearty thanks! . Yours sincerely, Kelly Young, _ Public Information . & Publicity B.C. Heart Foundation