~~ Vol. 3, Issue No. 33

Contractors get |
audit warning |

‘TERRACE — In response to an. -

overwhelming and persistent
volume of complaints about em-
ployment practices of Northwest
logging companies, the local
Ministry of Labour office is
preparing to launch an investiga-

‘ tion. . .

*

Opposition leader and B.C. New
Democratic Party chief Mike Harcourt
atopped in Terrace recently as part of
a fast-moving tour of the Northwest.
Harcourt spoke to an audience at the
Happy Gang Centre on NDP policy re-
garding native land claims, economic
development and a variety of other

_ Issues. See page 2 for story.

Steelhead
shortage
spawns ©
battle

Bob Hooton, of the Fish and
Wildlife Branch of the Ministry
of Environment, has said that,
effective last Monday morning,
‘sports fishermen on the Skeena

drainage system, or thé Tseax.
and Cranberry. Rivers in the

Lower Nass system, will be
allowed only one steelhead each
and then will be restricted to
catch and release only.

by Tod Strachan

‘Gord Judzentis of Water
Witch Excursions in Terrace

used the opportunity of a press -

continued on page 23

Roger Davis, Industrial Rela-
tions Officer for the Terrace
region, recently notified more
than 140 contractors, account-
ants and bookkeepers involved
in Northwest logging operations
that their payroll records will be
audited to ensure. compliance

-with the Employment Standards

Act.

- Davis said that in 1986 about
50 percent of. the cases he was
called upon to resolve were relat-

- ed to complaints against woods
- employers. ‘‘This year the pace

seems to be about the same,’’ he
said, co

In a letter dated June 22 sent
out to the contractors, Davis

f makes particular note of the in-
|. creasingly widespread practice

of engaging individual workers

as ‘subcontractors’ rather than
‘payrolling them as employees. |

‘There appears to be some con-
fusion in the industry regarding
what an ‘employee’ ‘is...’’ he
states. ‘‘Just because.an employ-
er hires someone.with their own
saw and caulk boots. to ‘buck’

wood and.pays them on a piece’

or commission basis, that does
NOT necessarily mean the per-
son is a self-employed ‘subcon-
tractor’.’’? He goes on to indicate
that each case is assessed in-
dividually, but ‘‘generally
speaking, the Ministry considers
in the aforementioned case that
there is an ‘employer/employee’
relationship.’’

TERRACE, B.C., WEDNESDAY, August 19, 1987.

* Legislative Library, O1
Parliament Buildings,

Victoria, B.C.

V8V 1X4

' Davis noted in an interview. &

that once that relationship is an

-established fact all the condi-

tions of the Employment Stand-
ards Act come into force, in-
cluding frequency of payment,
provisions for holiday pay to be
shown separately from other it-
ems, limitations on what can be

‘ deducted from an employee’s

paycheque, minimum daily pay
and overtime premiums. No de-
ductions, Davis said, except in-

come tax, Unemployment Insur- . §
ance premiums ard Canada @

Pension Plan premiums can be

taken from an employee’s che-
_que without the employee’s per-

mission in writing.

‘‘Any agreement to waive or
nullify the terms of the (Employ-
ment Standards) Act is in itself
null and void,’’ he said.

Employers can be ordered -to

_ compensate employees as far. .

back as six months for any de-
ductions that violate the Act.
Unethical employment prac-

continued on page 21

a
Outside
Date HI Lo Prec.
Aug. 10 26 15 trace of rain
Aug 11. 26 14 nil
Aug. 12 19 «19 5.2 mm raln
Aug. 13 aa oii 5.6 mm rain

Aug. 14 Pa - all
’ Aug. 16 19 13 trace of rain
Aug. 16 7 12 trace of raln

Forscast: Mainly cloudy with
showers and cool. Highs around
17° and lows about 9".

Inside
Business Guide ' 10
Church Diractory  . 44
Classifled Ads 21
Coming Events 16
Comics _- 20
Crossword . 20
Dining Directory 2
Entertainment — ' 6
Horoscope 16
Lettera 5,7
Opinions ; 4
Sports . 8
Stork Report . 8
Talk of the Town 5

Equipment from Northern Mountain Hellcop
bucket came to the ald of Thornhill volunteer flrefighters and the B.C, Forest Service in extinguishing a recent fire on
Terrace Mountain. |

50 CENTS.

ters of Tarrace in the form of a Bell 206 chopper carrying a monsoon

Blaze hits Terrace Mountain

A fire on Terrace Mountain
last week was attributed to either
children playing with matches or
an abandoned campfire, accor-
ding to Ministry of Forests
spokesman Joe Katasonoff.

The fire had serious potential
because it occurred near a

populated area during a time of

high hazard on a dry south face,
said Katasonoff. ‘‘But as it turn-
ed out, we brought it under con-

trol and put it out within about

four hours with our Initial At-
tack crew and the assistance of a
Northern Mountain helicopter
with. a monsoon bucket, and
help from Thornhill Fire
Department,

“We have been trying to tell
people to please be careful, and
we're suggesting that parents
kind of keep an eye on where

their kids are at,’”’ Katasonoff -

said. . ; .
Two other forest fires were

reported under control and in ©

the mop-up stages about the

same time as the Terrace Moun-.

tain fire occurred.

Katasonoff said that one was
an industrial fire that was
brought under control with the
help of DC-6 air tankers out of

continued on page 23 -

Pais