Saturday, October 24, 1992

A STRONG,
UNITED CANADA

It’s a good reason to vote Yes.
Do you have a better reason to vote No?

The B.C. Canada Committee asks you to
consider the following before voting on
October 26:

The Charlottetown Agreement
is a breakthrough
after years of failure.

The Charlottetown Agreement represents the
sixth attempt to get agreement on Canada’s
constitution in the last 25 years.

e 1966: Confederation of Tomorrow
Conference.
1971: Victoria Conference.
1982: Patriation Round.
1987: Aboriginal Round.
e 1990: Meech Lake Accord.
e 1992: Charlottetown Accord.

After each failure, we’ve gone back to the
bargaining table.

The Charlottetown Accord is a breakthrough.
The Prime Minister, all ten Premiers, government
leaders in both the Yukon and the Northwest
Territories and leaders of the First Nations all
agree the accord is fair and balanced.

Time and time again we have gone back to

square one. For the sake of Canadian unity, isn’t
it time we moved forward?

. 7

Quebec is finally included
in the constitution
and that’s good for Canada.

The Charlottetown Agreement provides Quebec
with 25% of the seats in the House of Commons.
Four other Canadian provinces already have
minimum representation. Quebec makes it five.

Population projections show that 50 years
from now Quebec will still have about 25% of
Canada’s population. So it’s unlikely Quebec will
get more than one or two seats more than its
population warrants for the next 50 years.

Are a couple of extra seats in the House of
Commons - fifty years from now — enough reason
to throw away the opportunity we have today to
strengthen our nation’s unity?

With Canada’s unity at stake
can we afford the luxury
of a protest vote?

We owe it to ourselves to separate this
constitutional vote from a general election.
Because it’s more than partisan politics. It’s a
decision on how we want to live together as
Canadians.

With so much at stake, we can’t afford the
luxury of a protest vote.

Vote for a strong, united Canada.

OCTOBER 26

AUTHORIZED BY THE B.C. CANADA COMMITTEE

@ Saturday, October 24, 1992

AroundTOWN

Our person
for

Our People
Corinne Jackson
365-7266

HEY KIDS!

Don't forget to
get your Unicef
collection box
from school. The
money you
collect on
Halloween and
then return to
school is spent
on books, food
and medicine for
children around
the world. Boxes
are also
available to
moms and dads
at West's
Department
Store and the
Canadian
Imperial Bank of
Commerce.

HALLOWEEN
PARTY

A Halloween
party is being
planned at the
Robson Hall for
Oct.31. The
event, complete
with snacks,
prizes and
entertainment by
D.J.’s Music,
begins at 9 p.m.
and ends at 1
a.m. Tickets are
$6. Call 365-
5860 for more
information.

LEARN NOW

A mass public
training session
in
cardiopulmonary
resusitation is
being offered by
Selkirk College's
Trail campus.
The program
entitled “Learn
CPR because
watching never
saved anyone” is
scheduled for
Nov.3 from 6:45
p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Cost for the
session is $10
and to register
call 368-8229.

i IBEW member anxiously
awaiting end to labor dispute
with West Kootenay Power

Corinne Jackson
NEWS REPORTER

Neil Austin is angry and
although he doesn’t want to take
it any more, he’s says he is going
to have to.

A member of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Austin was on strike
from July 17 until Oct. 6. And
although a deal between his
union and West Kootenay Power
has been struck, he and other
IBEW members have been
waiting for the utility to ink a
deal with the Office and Technical
Employees’ Union before
returning to work.

Austin says he feels that West
Kootenay Power workers have
been forgotten.

“The strike hasn’t stopped the
product from going out. The
strike isn’t hurting anybody,” he
explains.

“When management goes out
and does our job and the power
still flows, nobody cares,” Austin
argues.

“We can’t stop the power flow. We can’t
picket. The media every once in a while
puts a blurb in, and the government
doesn’t say anything.”

And until talks broke off

News photo by Corinne Jackson
Neil Austin catches up on some paperwork to pass time while
waiting for a resolution to the West Kootenay Power dispute.

construction for 10 years during the mid-
1980’s. Tough economic times and the
nature of the job required adopting some
survival skills.

“When I worked in construction I ended

According to Austin, “we’ve
maintained our payments only
because we saved, Debbi
worked and (I received) strike
pay.”

Austin says that he and
other workers “talked on the
picket line in September.
People seemed to be doing OK.”

However, he has not met
with many workers since lines
came down two-and-a-half
weeks ago when IBEW
accepted a deal.

But Austin thinks “there are
some people really starting to
suffer.

“As well as I’d prepared,
we've started eating into our
savings account,” he admits.

Canning tomatoes and
making jam are just two of the
ways Austin and his family
prepared for the strike. They
are also two of the ways Austin
has kept busy during this time.

Another method has been to
play golf.

“Neil would probably have
gone batty if we didn’t buy a
golf pass,” Debbi says.

The couple explains that the
pass was a Christmas present and not
bought after the strike was called.

“One of the worst things you can do
when on strike is to be idle. (Golf) keeps
you out of the mental doldrums,” Austin

says in defence.

between WKP and the OTEU on
Oct. 7, Austin was pretty
optimistic, looking forward to
getting back to work.

“I’m angry at WKP for not
bargaining in good faith (with
OTEU). I’m angry at
management for doing our jobs, ~
and I’m angry at the public for
not caring.

“I bet if you went to (Economic
Development Minister David) Zirnhelt and
asked if WKP was still on strike he

wouldn’t know.”

Despite his anger, Austin says that
he, his wife Debbi and their three
children are probably better off
than some of the workers.
“We're different because
we knew the strike was
coming,” he says.
“We made sure
there was a
savings.”
Austin was
i n

‘We can’t stop the power flow. We can’t picket. The
media every once in a while puts a blurb in, and the

government doesn’t say anything.’

up on unemployment insurance and the
money available dropped drastically.

“I learned to deal with the idleness,” he
explains.

“I always maintained a good food
supply. I would wait for specials and then
buy a case.”

As well, Austin says this isn’t the first
strike he has been faced with, pointing out
the six-week strike at WKP two years ago.

But for other IBEW members who are
faced with a strike for the first time, or
who did not prepare, Austin and his wife
say they may be suffering as they enter
their 14th week off the job.

“(The average) Joe Lineman has bills: to
pay. They’re probably having a brutal
time,” Debbi says.

— IBEW member Neil Austin

While he was golfing
almost six days a week
during the first six weeks of
the strike, Austin has found
other things to keep himself
busy.

“When I work, he takes
over the house, the laundry,
he cooks the meals,” Debbi
explains.

Austin says, he could have gone out and
found work elsewhere but he won't.

“I have a steady job and I don’t think it
would be right, in light of the fact that
there are people (looking for work) who ff
haven’t worked in three years.”

Although Neil is looking forward
to getting back to work, he says
it won't be easy.

“Those guys (in
management) have been
going out for three
months doing your
job,” Neil says.

“You just can’t
forget
that.” f

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