Union fights B.C. Packers plant closure

Friday, April 16, 1982

40‘

Vol. 44, No. 16

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ooo

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Thousands
march in
Eur., U.S.

Over half a million people mar-
ched in Europe and the U.S. over
the Easter weekend, delivering a
powerful message to the U.S. to
halt its nuclear arms buildup and to
stop its planned deployment of new
generation missiles in Europe.

Inthe Federal Republic of Ger-
many (West), organizers. of four
days of disarmament protests said
that some 480,000 people had
taken part in various centres
around the country. The weekend
of action culminated Monday with
mass rallies in Hanover, West Ber-
lin, Dortmund and other cities.

In Glasgow, Scotland leaders of
the Scottish Campaign Against
Trident (SCAT) estimated that 30,-
000 took part in the march through
the centre of the city to a rally at
Glasgow Green where speakers re-
iterated opposition to the planned
deployment in Britain of U.S. Tri-
dent missiles.

The march was one of several in
centres across Britain including
Manchester, London, Leeds, Lei-
cester,- St. Albans, Birmingham
and Bridgend in Wales which re-
cently declared itself a nuclear-free
zone.

In Chicago, several thousand
people marched along Michigan
Ave. to demand arms stockpile re-

_ductions and to mark the 40th an-

niversary of the splitting of the
atom at Stagg Field in the Univer-
sity of Chicago.

The scene was also repeated in
other cities across the U.S. with
many actions called to back the in-
creasingly powerful demand for a
nuclear freeze.

The growing power of the dis-
armament campaign international-

- ly has also been reflected in the

growing numbers supporting peace
groups. In Britain the Campaign
for Disarmament (CND) has
grown from 3,000 members at the
end of 1980 to 37,000 today. In the
U.S., Physicians for Social Re-
sponsibility, which now has over
20,000 members, had 2,000 only 10
months ago.

Some 400 unionists, including Canadian Labor Con

TRIBUNE PHOTO—MIKE PHILLIPS *

gress president Dennis McDermott, braved zero

temperature Apr. 6 to demonstrate outside the Toronto headquarters of the Toronto-Dominion
Bank in protest over continuing high interest rates. The rally was one of several organized by the

Ontario Federation of Labor as a follow-

up to the CLC’s Nov. 21 action.

arolin mine spill
reveals gov't rules
not being enforced

The recent case of water poi-
soning by cyanide emissions in-
to the Coquihalla River and
Ladner Creek near Hope reveals
inadequate enforcement of the
provincial government’s pollu-
tion control standards and an
indifferent attitude on the part
of mining companies. .

Interviews conducted by the
Tribune with environmentalists
revealed a history of neglect by
the environment ministry of its
own pollution regulations. And
enforcement standards that do
exist showed how easily the poi-

} soning incident could happen.

News that cyanide emissions
40 times the allowable amount
were flushed into the Fraser
River tributaries by the Carolin
gold mine surfaced in weekend
editions of the daily papers.
Many local residents, some of
whom complained of illness,

+ were not informed until two

days after the presence of cyan-
ide in the waterways became
known.

According to the reports,
mine officials allowed the dum-
ping of normally recycled water
from its tailings pond to make
room for anticipated melt-off
from heavy snows. Mine man-
ager Kel Collins claimed the
company did not know the level
of cyanide, used in the extrac-
tion of gold, was so high.

That incidents like this can
easily happen was revealed in an
interview with the environment
ministry’s Surrey regional office
manager, Mike Wong.

Wong told the Tribune min-
ing companies are not required
to file reports with the ministry
every time they dump effluents.
Monitoring and reporting of
waste effluents is required of the
company under its Pollution
Control Permit, and the minis-
try conducts an independent re-
view. But neither review is done
on a daily basis, he said.

In the case of the Carolin,
Wong said he believed monthly
reports were required, while the

See DUMPING page 12

B.C. Place putting squeeze on city

— page 3 —

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