British Columbia

Continued from page 1

It went on to condemn the provincial
Social Credit government for its rascism in
refusing to negotiate Native land claims.
The resolution backed the demand that the
Yukon and Northwest territories have full
status in constitutional negotiations.

The resolution demanded constitutional

amendments to guarantee the rights of .

women, national social programs, and full
labour rights, “including the right to organ-
ize into unions of worker choice, the right to
free collective bargaining and the right to
strike.”

Further sections of the resolution
demanded governments negotiate in good
faith self-government for aboriginal people,
establish a charter of economic rights
including the right to a job, and entrench
abortion rights. The right granted to pro-
vinces to nominate federal Supreme Court
Justices was opposed.

The resolution made it clear that the B.C.
party “welcomes Quebec” into the Consti-
tution, and that a vote against the accord
Should not be taken as a vote against
Quebec.

For all those reasons, the resolution
stated, the B.C. New Democrats oppose the
accord “unless the amendments proposed
by the federal and provincial NDP are
included ....”

Several leading New Democrats took to
the microphone to back the resolution.
Former B.C. Federation of Labour presi-
dent Art Kube warned of a return to the
days of the anti-labour padlock laws and
noted the current “trampling on minority
rights” practiced by current governments,

IRC protest
on April 19

The Carpenters Union has calleda
demonstration for April 19 outside
the office of the Industrial Relations
Commission to protest the IRC deci-
sion decertifying the union at BCE
Development Corp. and demanding
that the IRC move immediately to
hear its appeal.

In its decision March 27, the IRC
ignored all precedent and ruled that
the collective agreement between
BCE Development — asubsidiary of
the Bell Canada conglomerate — and
the Carpenters was terminated. IRC
vice-chairman Paul Devine stated in
his ruling that notice of cancellation of
the agreement had been sent to the
Carpenters when in fact no such
notice had been sent. —

The Carpenters launched an appeal
of the decision March 31 but has so
far not been notified when it will be
heard.

In the meantime, according to
Carpenters Local 452 business agent
Marty Smith, BCE Development is
proceeding non-union on two pro-
jects currently underway in the Lower
Mainland. In one case, the Jericho
Village site in Kitsilano, BCE dis-
missed the union contractor, PCL
Construction, and brought in non-
union contractor Van Maren Con-
struction.

On the other site, the Park and Til-
ford re-development project in North
Vancouver, the company contracted
with Stewart and Olsen, a member of
the anti-union Merit Shop Contrac-
tors in Alberta, Smith said.

The demonstration is set for 10
a.m. at the IRC offices at 1125 Howe

St. >

12 e Pacific Tribune, April 13, 1988

GEORGE WATTS ... NDP should take
leadership on aboriginal rights.

such as. that by the Saskatchewan Tory
government with its French language legis-
lation.

But the most impassioned speech came
from George Watts, co-chair of the Nuu-
Chah-Nulth Tribal Council on Vancouver
Island.

“The Meech Lake accord makes sure
that Indian people will never have a place in
this country,” he asserted.

“Are you, going to tell me that Bill
Vander Zalm and the premier from
Saskatchewan —I don’t even want to
mention his name — and the premier from
Newfoundland, are you going to tell me
that those people are going to be nation
builders?” Watts demanded.

“Colonialism is not acceptable to my
people. It will never will be,” he continued.

The former Liberal federal government
made a pretence of caring for Native rights,
but things didn’t improve under them, said
Watts.

“Then the Conservatives came along. At
least they didn’t even try bullshitting us
about consulting. They just leapt right into
bed with big business and continued erod-
ing Indian rights in this country.

“So what’s the NDP going to do? I would
suggest to you that it’s more than just win-
ning an election. This party has got to start
doing something .... You can’t run this
country by polls. At some point people have
got to stand up and offer leadership,” he
declared to applause.

Opposing the motion and favouring vot-
ing for the accord were federal party presi-
dent Johanna den Hertog and former
provincial party president Gerry Stoney.

Stoney, secretary-treasurer of the IWA- -

Canada, suggested that the accord was like
a collective agreement that would come up
for renegotiation periodically.

“But when the vote came a forest of hands
went up in approval. Only a few were raised
in opposition to the condemnation of
Meech Lake.

That should have sent a signal to the
party leader. But in a session with reporters
afterwards, Harcourt reiterated his position
favouring the accord when it comes up for a
vote in the provincial legislature.

The party has allowed MLAs a free vote
on the accord.

“We will very strongly be bringing for-
ward amendments to the Meech Lake
accord and we hope that the premier will
listen. I do it understanding the very strong
feelings (of the delegates) and I will be
representing them,” Harcourt told repor-
ters.

In reply to a question, he said: ““We’re not
abandoning the Indians; our party recog-
nizes that aboriginal title exists and we have
to sit down and negotiate with Native peo-
piesa at

He and other MLAs and MPs support
the accord because it brings Quebec into the

‘Constitution, Harcourt said.

That position ignores the fact that the

,

_ NDP meet rejects Meech Accord

accord is opposed by the Quebec NDP, the
three Quebec tragle union centrals, the Parti
Quebecois and the Parti Communiste de
Quebec. The PCQ has said the accord
“represents an entrenched denial of the
right to self-determination of the French-
Canadian people.”

Harcourt reconciled his position with the
convention vote by saying that the NDP is a
democratic party that listens to its grass-
roots. He said neither he nor any other
MLA spoke during the debate because they
didn’t want to steal the discussion away
from the delegates.

Harcourt’s decision to stick with his vote
for the accord shows that the style of silent
leadership he has practised means no only
not making pronouncements on various
issues —a job he has left to other
MLAs — but that he will vote for his own
agenda, regardless of what policy his party
adopts.

In this case the B.C. NDP has saved some
face by allowing the free vote. But delegates
also moved a motion stipulating that if an
elected member wants to take a public posi-
tion that runs counter to party policy, that
person must first consult with the party’s
governing bodies, including the consti-
tuency associations.

Delegates voted to oppose the Socreds’
privatization program and to support
“B.C.’s labour leadership and the working
people of this province. ..in their fight to
protect public assets and the public interest
against this sellout.”

They toughened up last year’s resolution
against Bills 19 and 20, which had called for
the “hoisting” of the Industrial Relations
Reform Act and the Teaching Profession
Act, and their scrutiny by an all-party parli-
amentary committee. This year’s motion
committed an NDP government to repeal
the legislation.

Another motion committed the party as
government to strengthen fair wage legisla-
tion by amending the Employment Stand-
ards Act.

The party opposed the free trade pact,
and backed the growing demand that the
Tory government allow Canadians to vote
on the pact in a federal election.

The federal NDP caucus was urged to
Oppose any attempt to re-introduce abor-
tion into the Criminal Code and to work for
the entrenchment of the right to safe, fully
insured medical abortion in the Canada
Health Act.

A strong international motion on the
Palestinian question passed handily, after
being referred back to committee for an
amendment agreed to by the motion’s
backers. It called on the federal party to
reaffirm its opposition to the Israeli occupa-
tion of the West Bank and Gaza, supported
a United Nations conference on a just set-
tlement, recognized the Palestine Liberation
Organization as the Palestinian people’s leg-
itimate representative, and affirmed “the
right of the Palestinian people to self deter-
mination within the boundaries of a secure
Palestinian territory. The reworked motion
acknowledged UN Resolution 242, which
supports Israel’s right to secure borders.

eee eee eee ee eee eee eee oe

. Margaret Thatcher’s Britain has

_ convention was told. ‘

of the deceased buried there. The

*
3

ea

DIANE ABBOTT ... British MP
NDP convention.

of sell-off.

The consequences of the “massi
wave” of privatization sweep:

a decrease in the quality of servi
large price hikes to consumers, at
the abandonment of environmen
considerations, last weekend’s ND

And, British Labour Party M
Diane Abbott informed delegates
the B.C. New Democrats conventio
April 9, privatization has meant a lo
of national control over formerly pu
lic resources, such as oil and g
reserves, cS

Through the sell-off of the No
Sea oil fields, “we could well be in the
position by the end of the year whe
Kuwait controls Britain’s oil reserves
Abbott told some 600 delegates. —

“The only way that privatizatio
can be done more cheaply is by driv:
ing down standards, driving dow
wages and conditions, and smashin
labour, organizations,” she said. —

Abbott said these ills are all seen a’
the local government level, many o:
which were forced to divest publi
assets by parliamentary legislation. —

She cited two examples carried ou!
by the “very keen on privatization’
city council in Westminster. Afte
abolishing the jobs of civic architec
the council faced such lack of exper-
tise from the private firm it was force
to hire them back, Abbott related.

buy back the cemeteries after being
besieged by calls from angry relatives

company to which they had been orig- —
inally sold had flipped the properties _
to another firm which had neglected
their upkeep. =

_ “In all seriousness, that is whe

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