Nichol, Stevens, Hewison ordered to appear Combines renewing attack United Fishermen and Allied ‘Srkers Union president Jack Nichol charged Tuesday that the ~QAmbines branch was ‘‘prosecuting Ny persecuting a legitimate trade M\ on’? as he read from a ‘‘private ‘244 confidential’ letter ordering “Ny to appear before an in-camera '\ring conducted by the Restric- IV\..-Trade Practices Commission. | Yhe letter, which ordered Nichol appear before a hearing January \ confirmed that the Combines htends to renew its attack against << UFAWU, begun in 1975 osten- Sly as an investigation into the en- tire fishing industry but revealed in court documents last year to be aimed solely at the union. Nichol, speaking to delegates to the Vancouver and District Labor Council meeting Tuesday, noted that union secretary George Hewison and past president Homer Stevens had also been ordered to appear on the same day. The hear- ings are to be held in Room 215 at the Hotel Vancouver. “7 don’t know if it is the ar- rogance of this Liberal government or the persecution of a union, Nichol said, ‘‘but it’s clear that the Combines branch has no intention of dropping its attack on our union nor have the politicians in Ottawa instructed it to. “It is persecution of a legitimate trade union,”’ he charged. As was the case in previous pro- bes into’ the union’s affairs — in 1956 and again 20 years later — the hearings slated for January 29 are to be secret hearings, closed to all except officials from the Trades Practices Commission and those under investigation and their legal counsel. The executive board of the UFAWU was to meet this week to determine what approach it would take towards the hearings although Nichol said that the three would be appearing, pointing out that the let- ters sent to the unionists ‘‘were in the nature of a subpoena.’’ But he added, in reiterating the union’s demand for open, public hearings, ‘‘It’s always been our position that ‘star chamber, Spanish Inquisition-style’ hearings have no place in an investigation in- to the affairs of a trade union.”’ He said that the ‘executive board See THREE pg. 12 JACK NICHOL... three ordered to appear before hearing. CNIS S JAANE TS ROGRAMS MIRE ar ae ok 5 ‘embers and supp at empt to win pub "wr ey orters of the Native Brotherhood Q urthouse last Thursday protesting increasingly hostile press coverage relating to Native food fishing d hunting rights. Several articles have appeared in local papers which Brotherhood leaders see as an lic support for eventual elimination of fishing and hunting rights. WII FACTS , B.C —Fisherman photo by Joe Yoshida Piece-of-B.C. shares plan : Premier Bill Bennett’s program s& pass out free shares of the pro- i \ce’s Resources Investment Cor- ai\;ation was denounced as “‘elec- s\n gimmickry’’ and ‘“‘sheer I \ceit?? as the Vancouver Labor uncil and the Communist Party hes ponded to the premier’s latest at- ; ‘npt to garner popular support for t | Faltering Social Credit party. t@ Bennett announced the ‘‘piece of ii! C.”’ scheme last week, promising . Ye free share of the Resources In- vestment Corporation to every citizen of the province over the age of 16. Applications would be taken later in the spring, he said, and the shares would be distributed on B.C. Day. But opponents pointed out that the scheme was a fraud since the assets originally belonged to the public, the corporation having been formed from the assets of all crown corporations. Moreover, the shares will not give enounced as ‘gimmickry’ the public any voice in the decisions of the corporation since they are classified as ‘‘non-voting shares.”’ Voting shares can only be obtained . through purchase — raising the possibility of private ownership of what were once publicly owned assets. Labor council UFAWU delegate Hal Griffin pointed to that danger suggesting that the provincial government was intent on disposing See GOVT pg. 11 Socreds’ ceiling ‘anti-democratic’ The Socred government came under heavy criticism from municipal leaders this week for its anti-democratic five percent ceiling on municipal budgets and its edict that municipalities must spend all surpluses. One of the strongest responses came from Burnaby where city council Monday voted five to four to accept BCA alderman Doug Drummond’d motion calling for an emergency convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities to organize a, fight back against the provincial government measures. By the same vote council approv- ed a letter from Burnaby mayor Tom Constable to premier Bill Ben- nett charging that the ceiling on budgets ‘‘is interfering with the municipal budgeting process and is in conflict with the democratic pro- cess and is an affront to the electors of Burnaby.”’ Another sharp response came from Port Alberni where alderman George McKnight initiated a formal protest from the city. McKnight, chairman of the city’s finance com- mittee, was particularly critical of the directive to spend accumulated surpluses in 1979. By forcing municipalities to spend surpluses, the government is putting them at the mercy of the banks, to which municipalities will be forced to go to borrow at high interest rates in the event of an emergency or for replacement of equipment. McKnight expressed particular concern over the limitation placed on hospital budgets, noting that cost increases at the West Coast General Hospital were substantially above five percent. In Vancouver Tuesday, city Kaiser raises spectre of west coast oil port 1 The danger of a west coast oil \rt has escalated with new cor- prate involvement in Kitimat peline Company and the prospect -* a May deadline for a U.S. deci- “Abn on an oil pipeline route. Kitimat Pipeline Company, those plan to build a supertanker ‘1 port at Kitimat with a pipeline to ‘iberta and the U.S. was presumed had after the West Coast Oil Ports quiry; was reactivated two weeks bo by tycoon Edgar Kaiser Jr., had of the multinational Kaiser ™esources Ltd. Last year Kaiser bought Ashland Oil Canada Ltd. for a sum reportedly in excess of $480 million. Ashland had been a major partner in the Kitimat consortium. The reactivated KPL project is in competition with another bid to build a west .coast oil port at Skagway, Alaska, with a pipeline across B.C. to Alberta and the U.S. The $1 billion Skagway project is promoted by Foothills Oil Pipeline Company Ltd., equally owned by Alberta Gas Trunk Line Co. and Westcoast Transmission. Competition between the com- panies is fierce, but what concerns Foothills president Ed Phillips, who is also president of Westcoast Transmission, is the fact that the KPL application will have to be put before public hearings, and possibly before a resurrected West Coast Oil Ports inquiry. “‘If the two of us enter the regulatory process and if the Thompson oil inquiry gets underway then the U.S. secretary of the interior will recommend an all U.S. route,’’ Phillips said. Although the Kitimat project came under heavy public criticism and was rejected by the federal government, observers note that Kaiser Jr. likely feels he has more pull with the Socreds in B.C. and that a Tory victory in Ottawa will also favor him. In May, the U.S. secretary of the interior must report to U.S. presi- dent Carter which oil route he favors to bring Alaska oil to the U.S. midwest. Carter must then make a recommendation to Con- gress within 45 days. council approved a letter from mayor Volrich to minister of municipal affairs Vander Zalm ex- pressing ‘‘dismay over the provin- cial government’s arbitary and un- See PROVINCE page 2 @ LABOR: The hard line stance by both govern- ments and employers points up the need for co-ordinated bargaining as the number of expir- ing collective agree- ments makes 1979 a ma- jor bargaining year, page 12. MEETING: @ WORLD Among the world leaders at the international theoretical conference of Communist and workers’ parties was Canadian Communist leader Wil- liam Kashtan. His ad- dress to the meeting is on pages 6, 7. @ CUTBACKS: A storm of protest from teachers, parents and community ~ organizations has greeted the decision of the right wing Vancouver School Board to slash its budget by $2.6 million, page. 2.