wee

of

24 " Terrace Review _ Weds, K iy : 16

concerning the legality 0 of such guidelines. A fair wage bylaw in the City of Vancouver was recently struck down by the courts as being beyond the jurisdiction of the ci- ty’s charter; the legal. opinion gathered by Hallsor indicated that any such bylaw, or even policy guidelines passed by a resolution of coun-

~ cil could meet’ a similar ’ fate in a court challenge

under the terms of the Municipal Act. Johnston said that the guidelines could be used as an un- written policy and in-. serted into the terms of each individual tender, but Hallsor expressed discomfort with that

concept, saying that it .

left things ‘‘up in, the

air’’ . The fair wage policy

proposal was received in

Platonian Effects

Extensive physical examina- tions of a special group of 26— Manhattan Project workers show no adverse health effects from ‘their more than 35 years of con- stant exposure to the plutonium they carry in their bodies.

The group has the longest known history of exposuré to the

-tadioactive metal, a principal in- gredientin nuclear weapons. -

According to three research physicians conducting a long-term study of the individuals, the 26 men were chosen for study be- © cause each is known to have taken plutonium into his body during the ultra-secret race to produce the first atomic bomb in the ‘1940s.

Strike contesea trom,

notices were sent out to put the union in a legal strike position if the mediator books out of the dispute, and to call public attention to the

‘nurses’ situation. Miller

said that no talks have taken place ‘between the BCNU and the HLRA since April 20. On May 21 a strike vote received 91 percent approval from the provincial membership and 97 per- cent approval in the Ter- race local.

“We don’t want a strike,’’ Miller said, ‘‘what we want is a fair contract.’? Miller went on to say that if job ac- tion becomes unavoid- able for nurses, total withdrawal of services will be implemented only as a last resort. Initial ac- tions will involve work- to-rule and an overtime ban. .

Miller said that since the onset of the restraint era in B.C. health care, nurses here have fallen behind their counter- parts in other provinces. As examples he stated that the starting rate for a general duty RN in B.C. is $12.85 per hour, compared to rates of $14.32 in Ontario, and $14.05 in Alberta and in the federal government service. Top rate in B.C., he said, is presently $14.85 per hour in B.C., whereas the top rates for

a + studied. bui cool 1 man- ner by council members,

and it appears that there is still, a degree of

animosity between the

building trades and

council over the RCMP

‘building fiasco. Despite

a province-wide settle- ment between the

building trades council

and contractors, the local project remains behind picket lines due

to a dispute between the .

non-union contractor and carpenters and laborers employed on the site, At'the present time, it is reported that no fur- ther talks are scheduled, and the possibility of an agreement appears remote. a

One matter which did

seem to be of mutual

concern to both the building trades and municipal council was the demise of the appren-

ticeship program at. Northwest Community College

~ (NWCC). Johnston attributed the problem to the inroads which non-union con- tractors have made in the construction trades, say-

‘ing that the diminishing

availability. of union work is responsible for the lack of both sponsors and students in the pro-

_gtam. Johnston contend-

ed that non-union con- tractors are using the

on present’ economic ic climate “to ‘take advantage of

union trade skills while

contributing nothing to -

the. standards of safety,

and construction quality

implemented and main- {f°

‘ tained by unions through

the apprenticeship pro- gram. He predicted con- tinued ‘erosion of these

Standards if the trend {> non-union.

toward awards gots on.

‘At the suggestion of |

Ald. Doug Smith, coun-’

cil decided to request

further information from Kitimat, Prince

Rupert, Prince George -

and Kamloops regarding

their municipal policies :

on wage standards for contractors. It was agreed that the issue would be studied further

at the next Committee of fj ones

the Whole meeting, but the majority of council expressed no particular enthusiasm for deeper consideration of the mat- ter, Ald. Ruth Hallock characterized it as ‘‘an exercise in futility’, and Ald. _ Robert Cooper stated that implementa- tion of any such policy

-could put the municipali-

ty in a “prejudic position. Cooper also

. Stated reluctance to have

council put in a “straightjacket”’ regard- ing future — contract tenders.

page 1. | Ontario; Alberta and the

federal government are

all over $16.00 per hour.

‘Miller contended that the

B.C. government is responsible for the situa- tion because funding to health care is inade- quate, and he pointed to the $120 million cabinet- administered Health Care Improvement Fund as an indication that fun- ding is available.

The HLRA is offering zero, One and two per- cent wage increases to the nurses over a three year period. Miller argued that the package is unacceptable, saying that the B.C. Ministry of Finance projections for the Consumer Price In- dex through 1987 show an 11 percent increase in the rate of inflation since the expiry of the nurses’ last contract in March

Miller warned that the deteriorating wages and working conditions have resulted in a shortage of nurses in B.C. Miller stated that from 1984 to 1985 the number of va- cant nursing positions in the provincial health care system has doubled, causing bed closures, ad- ditional workload for re- maining staff, . and longer waits for patients requiring care. He added that in 1985 the number

of new registrations for.

nurses in B.C. was the lowest in twenty years and many hospitals are actively recruiting nurs- ing personnel in other parts of Canada, ‘This is not just a nursing pro-

“blem, it’s a public health

care problem,”’ he con- cluded.

Shirley Bentley, direc- tor of nursing at Mills Memorial, stated that staff shortages are not troubling the local facil- ity. ‘In fact,’’ she said, ‘‘since the cutbacks began, there has been less mobility - the turn- over rate used to be about two years, but

‘now nurses are staying

here longer,"

. Program,

‘District 88,

A recent fund-ralsing ralfle by the Terrace Figure Skating Club resulted in a new type of mobillty for winners Sham- man (center) and Upasna (éeated) Ramsundhar. Club presl- dent Steve Schurdevin sald that the raffie was “a fot of work, but worthwhile”. The four-wheel all-terrain vehicle was provided at a reduced cost to the club by Terrace Equipment Sales, represented by Mike Maroney (rear).

Community services couiauea trom pate 1

training in a public ser- vice context. Copeland stated that one group is presently involved in rebuilding hiking trails for the Terrace Parks

and Recreation Depart-

ment.

_ The Terrace Alternate operated in conjunction with School establishes smaller classes and less severe demands for students who aren’t suc- ceeding in standard

“school situations, with

the objective of Mainstreaming the students’ back into the system. The New Alter- nate Program, modeled on the success of T.A.P.,

is designed for students who will not return to the school system and

emphasizes life skills and

employment orientation.

Abuse of intoxicants is one of the most. glaring rips in the social fabric of the north, and. the Society addresses that ongoing problem through Northwest Al-

cohol and Drug Counsel- ing (NADC). . Copeland said that the approach is one of professional care and treatment for vic- tims. She stated that NADC now has offices in Terrace, Kitimat, Prince. Rupert and Smithers, with a new facility, the ‘‘House of

.Purification’’, going into

operation soon in Hazelton.

Care for the elderly: also comes under the Society’s umbrella in the form of home- support’ services. These. include

personal care assistance,

the homemaker service, | and ‘‘Meals on Wheels’,

the Society’s only volunteer program. Copeland announced at the meeting that funding is nearly secured for

Handy Dart, a specially .

equipped van which. will make full-time scheduled

runs in order to help

seniors get out and around the community. The funding consists of a

‘donation from the

: ‘Cassio Hall

“Under 10° | @ am. dul ‘2°

AGK Pac Men va : Skeona Siwenl Thundarhliids vs Carlyle Shepherd OS Item, Julyi2 O85 Co-op vs Surveyors - a. Shoppers Drugs v8 Westar 9 a.m. - duly 18 : Co-op vs Carlyle ‘Shepherd: Cee Shopper's Drugs va GK Pac Men Viam. July 18. | “ Thunderbirds vs Skeena Sawmill wey Surveyors va Westar et 6 p.m. July 23

* Thunderbirds va Shoppers Drugs. :

AGK Pac Men vs Wester" ;

8 p.m. July 24 7 j _

Surveyors va Carlyle Shephard

Co-op vs Skeena Sawmill -

6 p.m. July ‘30 Poa ty

Carlyle Shepherd va Wosiar. ,

Surveyors vs Skeana Sawmill § Gp.m.July31 ¢

Shoppers Drugs vs Co-op

AGK Pac Men ve Thunderbids

Don’t tallgate or follow too closely

Over and above your — need for a ‘‘space | cushion’’ of safety, the © habit of following a large commercial vehicle too closely or driving along side puts you into. the professional driver’s. blind spots. Neither the driver . nor motorists will be able to see you.

Telephone Employees _

with a matching grant . from the Vancouver Foundation, she said.

Copeland concluded by observing, ‘Terrace seems . to be’: stricken socially as well as economically, and there | are. serious problems here. The Terrace and District Community Ser: — vices Society ‘addrésses _ many of these problems. T haven’t come here to ask you for moriey, but

to ask for your recogni-

tion and support.’”

Ald. Ruth Hallock stated that any requests from the Society would be worthy of council’s consideration,- and Mayor Jack Talstra. remarked that in regard to volunteer community help he had never seen any place like Terrace. “It’s one of the best things about living here,’’ he said.

The point would be difficult to dispute.

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