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thewestern canadian

VANCOUVER, B.C.

lumber worker

5c PER COPY

SS’

OCTOBER, 1971

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UNTIL EVROCAN DISPUTE SETTLED

IWA TO WITHHOLD
CLC PER CAPITA TAX

IWA International Conven-
tion delegates strongly sup-
ported a resolution of Local 1-
71 which demanded with-
holding per capita payments to
the Canadian Labour Congress
unless it acted quickly to settle
the long-standing  juris-
dictional dispute at the
Eurocan Sawmill at Kitimat.

The dispute between the IWA
and the International Brother-
hood of Pulp-Sulphite & Paper

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THE LUMBER WORKER

2869 Commercial Dr.,

RETURN REQUESTED

Mill Workers’ Union (both CLC
affiliates), occurred when
International Pulp defied the
Congress Constitution in 1969
and raided the IWA’s juris-
diction at Eurocan. :

The CLC’s Impartial Umpire
H. Carl Goldenberg upheld the
raiding charges pressed by the
IWA against International
Pulp. In his determination he
ruled that in attempting to
represent employees engaged
in the production of sawn
lumber, the International Pulp
Union was in violation of the
CLC Constitution.

The IWA, following en-
dorsation of Goldenberg’s
report by the CLC in a 1970
executive session, requested
that sanctions be imposed

against International Pulp,
until it abided by the CLC
Constitution.

The CLC imposed sanctions,
held further meetings between
the two parties. The meetings
proved fruitless and after a
year of almost total inaction by
Congress officers, the IWA lost
patience with their pro-
crastination by approving the
per capita tax resolution.

The resolution still left the

door open for an amicable.

settlement. It proposed that
the withheld CLC per capita
tax be placed in escrow and a
top-level meeting of the CLC
and IWA be held at once to
implement further sanction

terms to bring International
Pulp to heel.

‘HERE IN CANADA

| MOORE WARNS MEET

‘OF WAGE FREEZE THREAT

Regional President Jack
Moore warned the Annual
Meeting of Local 1-367 IWA
October 2, in Mission, that
Canadian workers must be
prepared now to fight to
protect their right to free
collective bargaining.

He stated that all signs
pointed to the danger of the
federal government following
U.S. President Nixon’s
example of freezing wages.

He pointed out that in-
fluential people like MacMillan
Bloedel’s Robert Bonner and
others, were strongly ad-
vocating such a measure in
Canada.

Moore was highly critical of
American labour for knuckling
under to the wage freeze and
stated that Canadian workers
must resist with all their might
and resources, any measure
that hamstrung labour while
allowing the industrialists to
pile up further profits.

The meeting held in the
Royal Canadian Legion, was
also given a comprehensive
report by the officers on the
state of the Local Union.

They reported that the Local
was showing continuing pro-
gress and activity, especially
in the field of organization.

Seven new operations had been
organized in-the past year and
the officers were giving top
priority to organizing more of
the unorganized operations.

The officers also reported
that the recent increased
activity in the forest industry
markets coupled with the new
two-hour base rate dues for-
mula, was providing the Local
with a fairly strong financial
structure.

The Report noted with alarm
that three members employed
in the logging section of the
industry were killed on the job.
The officers promised a
renewed effort to put an end to
this unnecessary and tragic
loss of life.

The officers were critical of
the Unemployment Insurance
Commission’s apparent

inability to deal with members’

claims in an effective and
expedient manner and placed
the blame on the UIC’s change
from small decentralized of-
fices to one central
headquarters.

The Report concluded with
the officers expressing their
thanks for the cooperation and
assistance given by the active
members, committees and

others, to building the Local
Union.

AMCHITKA TEST SCORED

IWA delegates attending the International Convention
in Kansas City, September 20-24, protested the proposed
Amchitka nuclear test, in a telegram to U.S. President

Richard Nixon.

The 347 delegates, representing 106,000 members in
Canada and the United States, urged the President to cancel
the project which had no practical purpose and constituted
a grave danger to the west coast of North America and

Japan.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S INCENTIVE PROGRAM
CREATING MORE UNEMPLOYMENT THAN JOBS

The federal government’s
shocking lack of controls on its
incentive grants to companies
locating or expanding in
economically depressed areas
of Canada, has led to wholesale
abuses,

The grants, instead of ac-
complishing their purpose of
stimulating the economies of
the depressed areas through
the creation of new em-
ployment, has allowed millions
of dollars of the taxpayers’
money to be wasted on highly
questionable ventures.

Incentive programmes were
initiated by the federal govern-
ment in the ’60s to tackle the
problem of chronic unemploy-
ment in depressed areas, The

government designated the
depressed areas into three
classifications- and to entice
new industry set up an in-
centive system providing for
special tax concessions and
grants to companies taking
advantage of the plan.

Under the programme appli-
cants planning new plants or
products received higher
grants than existing plants
interested in modernizing or
expanding.

The grants vary from region
to region. In region A, which
takes in parts of the prairie
provinces, Ontario and
Quebec, the size of the grants
range from 30 percent to 35
percent of an industrial pro-

ject’s capital costs. In region

B, which includes part of the
Southern Interior of British
Columbia, the grant is 20
percent to 25 percent. There’s
an extra 10 percent grant
available in region C which
covers the Atlantic provinces
as well as areas around
Montreal.

Special areas across the
country may qualify for
federal infrastructure invest-
ments, plus the incentives
normally available in their
region.

Size of an individual grant
can go as high as $6,000,000,
the only stipulation being that
the company must be in actual
production before any part of

the grant is given. Payment is
made in two stages, with 80
percent of the total amount
paid on production proof and
the balance paid in thirty
months.

The Act states that awarding

.of grants shall be left to the

discretion of the Minister in
charge of the programme,
Jean Marchand, who in theory ~
it is presumed, guards against
any abuses.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t
worked out. Unscrupulous
employers have taken advan-
tage of the programme to line
their own pockets and the

See “PROGRAM”
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