-

Socred premier Bill Vander Zalm (top, right) lost his conciliatory smil

i: \

VZ tackled on issues
as B.C. election opens

e Sunday when faced by trade unionists and jobless

outside a campaign meeting in Nanaimo. Pickets, who called for restoration of the original B.C. Labor Code and an end to
restraint, saw something of the true face of Vander Zalm when the premier said his government supported free trade and
when he refused to rule out legislating woodworkers back to work.

_ NANAIMO — There were more hard
questions than handshakes and there were
placards instead of campaign streamers

; x . . .
§ for Premier Vander Zalm in Nanaimo as

some 75 unionists demonstrated outside
the Socred leader’s meeting with the party
faithful at the Coast Bastion Inn Sunday.

Although notified of the demonstration
only the day before, dozens of striking
IWA members as well as members of the
Telecommunications Workers, United
Fishermen and Allied Workers, Canadian
Union of Public Employees and the
unemployed confronted the premier as his
campaign bus rolled up.

The image was in stark contrast to his
appearances so far where Socred cam-
paign workers have ensured that there is a

crush of supporters around to maintain
the impression of a continuing honey-
moon with the public.

Wearing placards reading ‘“‘No free
trade”, “Restore the labor code”, “Issues
not smiles” and “End restraint”, demon-
strators picketed outside and went into the

Communists contest three ridings,
_page 3

lobby briefly before Vander Zalm agreed
to meet with them.

Outside, Vander Zalm was pressed by
IWA Local 1-80 strike committee member
Joe Lychak who told him that IWA
members “don’t want and don’t need”
government intervention in the dispute as

had been suggested earlier by the premier.

Asked for a pledge that he would not
legislate the workers back to work,
Vander Zalm replied, “No I can’t promise
that.”

The premier was also pressed on
changes to the labor code but answered
with the now familiar, “I’ll have to look at
ats

He was more direct on the issue of free
trade and made it clear that the Socreds
under his leadership would proceed with a
free trade agreement despite the mounting
evidence that it would be disastrous not
only for the country but for. British
Columbia in particular. He suggested that
only those in central Canada had any rea-
son to be concerned with free trade.

October 1, 1986
40°

Vol. 49, No. 35

Wood
companies’
agent
snubs
Hutcheon
report

— page 12 —