BRITISH COLUMBIA Emergency Campaign: ‘No Star Wars’ card campaign The postcard campaign against Canadian participation in Star Wars launched in this province Apr. 27 by End the Arms Race continued to gather momentum as the peace coalition handed out the last of the initial 10,000-card press run. A new order was to be placed with the printer this week with the expectation that more cards would soon be available for peace groups throughout the province. The three-part card includes tear-off cards to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and local MPs, calling on them to reject any Can- adian involvement in Reagan’s Star Wars program. The third part, which is returned to End the Arms Race, gives those signing cards an opportunity to participate in the various stages of the cam- paign: letter-writing, a telephone blitz to Mulroney, Joe Clark and Erik Neilson as well as newspaper ads and visits to MPs. The campaign was _ initially launched in Toronto by that city’s response cam stages OfEAR's emergency : oye * Nd thi ar peace coalition, the Toronto Dis- 3708 W160 0092 © END the ARMS RACE oe ee armament Network and was picked Winni fSsuccos uP. by BAR and by thes Winnipee Gl eenda tert Bia WRITING bee to the Prime Minist ary x a oy “ SUING 1 een Ses Be Co-ordinating Committee. Minis of Exel Atay moet your set research anadian suppor tor Sar ek All three coalitions have empha- sized the need to move quickly to mobilize - opposition across the country because of the 60-day ultimatum put to Ottawa by the Reagan administration. Tens of thousands of cards are already on their way to Prime Min- ister Mulroney from all three cities and thousands more are expected to be sent over the next few weeks. In addition, several thousand dol- lars in donations have been sent in by card-signers for the newspaper ads which are to be published over the next several weeks. Copies of the post card are available from EAR, 1708 W. 16th, mounts r { Politicians Address any one or all the 4 __STAGE Tw We are organizi Vancouver, B.C. V6J 2M1. STOP STAR WARS! What can you a H 0 to hel : : involvement in Star Were Prevent Canadian i MP You ; can pledge your involvement below in $ ancoy (604) 736-2366, > V6 2M1 ut of Canada. tet sade! writing your own letter wilt (Tick Pere it you will be doing It threatens Missile treat : ee Be i threatening 2: PHONE BLITZ | 9 @ concentrated phone b 0 violate the Anti- Y and cause @ furti Scalation of the arms r; oe 'urge you to deman Canada not allow a tha Star Wars. Hitz of federal D1 welt! participa He in the phone bii : OD Prime Minister saree’ Yours sincerely, Name Address____ Postal Code _ Ou t keep Star Wars out of Gonna YOU can to her life race. Nuclear war tthe governmen; nadi tot ‘an Participation in To the Prime Minister, Dear Prime Minister Mulroney erefore mak @ thi: more—secure py Strategic experts plan has “no hi Ballistic Cau: Canada’s support to a aren peace. Lending lurge you tor Star Sata not allow Canadian s. Yours sincerely, Name Address __ | | i | i i Parents, labor, teachers hit gov't trustee firing Education Minister Jack Eeinrich im- posed a trusteeship on the Vancouver school board Monday, singling out that board from the five which have rejected the Socred government’s schools cutbacks, for special punishment. The move, which effectively tosses the progressive majority and its right-wing opposition out of office, was accompanied by the release of a report which calls for up to $20 million in cuts to the Vancouver board’s budget. The trusteeship comes after Heinrich refused to meet with trustees from the five districts following his speech to the annual meeting of the B.C. School Trustees Asso- ciation Saturday. Those districts had placed themselves and their offices on the line May | by reject- ing the ministry’s directives that they pass tax bylaws in accordance with the cutbacks budgets dictated by the government. Three boards — Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam — all d bylaws setting mill rates that placed their 1985-86 budgets in excess of the ministry’s guidelines. In Vancouver's case, the budget exceeded min- istry limits by $14 million. Trustees in Cowichan, however, voted 6 to 3 against a bylaw complying with Hein- rich’s directives. But the ministry, saying the bylaw was invalid, rejected it. The Courtenay board in a 4 to 3 vote simply refused to pass a bylaw. Heinrich’s response was to give the ‘boards a 24-hour extension on the deadline in hopes trustees would change their minds. They didn’t and Heinrich again extended. ee deadline, this time until midnight Sun- y. In his address to the BCSTA convention, Heinrich made little mention of the storm of Conflict involving parents, teachers, stu- dents and trustees across the province 1n opposition to the Socreds’ restraint policies. Instead, the minister promised amendments to the School Act making it possible for boards to negotiate layoff provisions with their local teachers associations. Heinrich also alluded to possible changes he said emanated from the forthcoming ‘Teport from his unpopular “Let’s Talk About Schools,” hearings held across the Province. He said it was “my belief. . that we should return powers suspended on a SmIpOrary basis and indeed seek ways to xtend autonomy (to local school boards),” without committing his government to that course, CHRIS TAULU But angry trustees would have none of it. Instead, representatives from defiant boards, as well as some which ultimately complied with the ministry directives, hit Socred poli- cies which removed all democratic local- decision making. “Your ministry has controlled the budgets of school boards, you have con- trolled. . .the bargaining of school boards. Is it your intention that the five boards must say ‘uncle’ and vote yes to a bylaw that they cannot in all good conscience vote to?” asked trustee Phil Rankin. Heinrich replied that trustees take an oath to comply with “the provisions of the law.” “Even if that law indicates that there is a vote, and we have chosen to vote no?” Ran- kin retorted. Representatives from Cowichan and Nanaimo asked the same question. Nanaimo board chairman Bill Holdom asked Hein- rich why, instead of forcing trustees to adopt the bylaw “under threats of repri- sals,” he didn’t simply reach for his minis- try’s “five-minute solution” and impose the bylaw from Victoria. “Because it was our position that we would not,” replied Heinrich, raising incredulous laughter from the delegates. Burnaby board chairman Barry Jones asked the minister to meet with the five boards, but Heinrich replied, “Pve made it clear you have the weekend to reconsider your position.” ; Vancouver school board chairman Pau- line Weinstein raised the issue of the special PAT CLARKE team of finance investigators — the Budget Review Advisory Team — whosingled out the Courtenay and Vancouver boards for investigation three weeks ago. Following visits of a few days to each district, the team then compiled its report, a few details of which appeared in the press Friday. “We've made a formal request that the findings of the report be made available to the board before they are made public. They have been leaked to the press in part. We would appreciate and respect your allowing us the privilege of seeing that doc- ument before the ministry takes that docu- ment to the media,” Weinstein requested. Instead, the minister released the report to reporters along with the news of the Van- couver trusteeship early Monday morning. While members of the education com- munity could not give detailed responses to the 64-page document by press time, one summed it up as “the worst case scenario.” The report calls for large reductions in special needs courses, including English as a Second Language, recommends reductions in principals and the elimination of vice- principals from elementary schools, and was termed “ridiculous” by Vancouver par- ent representative to the school board, Chris Taulu. Also pledging support was the provincial New Democratic Party caucus, and the B.C. Teachers Federation. BCTF president Pat Clarke, who a week earlier had vowed the federation’s support at a packed VSB meeting, said the local Vancouver teachers associations were »® ART KUBE advised to consider the elected Vancouver board as the legitimate one. Calling the trusteeship “the end of demo- cratic decision-making by boards in B.C.,” Clarke said there are several ways teachers in three Lower Mainland districts — “Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam — can make it untenable for a government- appointed trustee to rule. ‘The B.C. Federation of Labor also hit the trusteeship, with president Art Kube calling it “a black day for British Columbia.” Newly-elected BCSTA president Eric Buckley, an Okanagan trustee, would not comment directly on the Vancouver situa- tion, but told the Tribune the association believes, “There should be right for locally elected boards to make their own decisions and be accountable through the ballot box > In appointing former Victoria School superintendent Al Stables to take over the affairs of the Vancouver board, Heinrich was acting in accordance with the existing legislation — according to sources within the BCTF — but unclear is whether or not the minister had the right to continually extend deadlines, and then impose the harshest penalty on the Vancouver board alone: : Heinrich announced Stables’ “interim” appointment, leaving it unclear whether a byelection will soon be called, or if the trus- teeship will remain until the next scheduled election in November, 1986, or beyond. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 8, 1985 e 3