tive Library, Parliament Bldgs... 5O0l B Victoria, B. c, is WSV -1x4 VOL. 38, No. 35 WEATHERCAST Trail first to ink pact By ADRIAN CHAMBERLAIN Staff Writer TRAIL — The City of Trail helped preserve up to 6,000 jobs in B.C. and the rest of Canada Monday when it became the first to sign an ag under the Provincial-Municipal Partnership Act, says Premier Bill Bennett. The five-year agreement was signed by Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Ritchie and Trail Mayor Charles Lakes in a ceremony at Trail city hall, with Bennett in attendance. It gives the Cominco plant a 100 per cent exemption from municipal, general and debt taxes on its proposed $281 million lead smelter, Bennett told 200 people at a Trail Chamber of Commerce luncheon following the signing. The provincial government will in turn reduce school taxes on the smelter by 50 per cent, and “these joint concessions will play a major role in assisting the smelter project to become a reality,” Bennett said. He suid property tax savings on the smelter will be more than $2 million in the next five years. Under the Act, municipalities and the province can jointly offer property tax and licence fee relief for new job-creating investments. Provisions in the recent provincial budget which eliminate property taxes on new machinery and equipment, and reduce provincial school taxes on industrial impi ovements mean taxes on the smelter will be reduced from $13 million to $4 million from 1986 to 1990, said Bennett. Tax i i and industrial tax prt ‘il total pf Si men million in the third year for all of Cominco's B.C. operations and properties. Bennett later told a press conference that “if you take (the) $22 million to Cominco and the tax relief I mentioned, you've got to know it’s the same as giving them a $200 million loan interest free. That's significant.” If the smelter project. goes ahead, up to 1,200 jobs at the Cominco smelter will be preserved, and the chances of the Sullivan mine in Kimberley continuing will increase, saving another 1,200 jobs, Bennett said. Since more than 50 other B.C. and Canadian mines will have access to the proposed “state-of-the-art” smelter, a total of 6,000 jobs will be preserved, and 7,000 man-years of employment will be created during its construction. However, Trail is still waiting to hear whether $60 million in funding will be provided by the federal government for the smelter project. Unless Cominco gets the funds — which could take the form of a grant or a loan under the Industrial Regional Development Program — the company “can't go ahead” with the project, said Cominco spokesman Jim Cameron. continued on page A2 BILL BENNETT. . . tries on ball cap given him. Credit union buys Boel property By RON NORMAN Editor Castlegar Savings Credit Union has purchased the Boel property next to Safeway for an undisclosed amount, the Castlegar News has learned. “We just bought it to control our own destiny,” credit union general manager Harold Webber said in an interview Tuesday. The two-acre parcel is located be- tween the Safeway store and Castlegar Savings Credit Union. Castlegar’s Boel family owned the property and had intended to develop a 62,000 square foot mall on the site to tie in with the__ Safeway store. However, Webber said the credit union doesn't have any immediate plans for a mall or for the site itself. The credit union has asked the B.C. Central Credit Union in Vancouver to prepare a feasibility study for the site. A B.C. Central representative was scheduled to arrive in Castlegar today to look over the property. The credit union — located on a one-acre parcel since 1974 — bought the Boel property about a month ago, Webber said. Hearing to resume on May 9 By CasNews Staff Workers at Westar Timber's Celgar Pulp Operations will resume their landmark appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Commission May 9. The hearing, scheduled for the Fire side Inn banquet room, will take only one day to complete. ‘The hearing was cut short March 19 after only one day because the lawyer representing the Celgar pulp workers was called away on personal business. The Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada, which represents the 270 Celgar pulp workers, has just one more witness to call before it presents its legal argument The Unemployment Insurance Com mission has already presented its legal case The pulp workers are appealing a decision by the Commission denying them benefits during last year's industry lockout. The appeal could affect the whole labor movement by providing locked out workers with UIC benefits. Meanwhile, Human Resources Min ister Grace McCarthy has assured the PPWC that union members on strike will be eligible for provincial income assistance provided they can qualify Initial reports indicated that the B.C cabingt repealed a section of the Guarinteed Available Income for Need program, making workers on strike or locked out ineligible for income assis tance. However, in a letter to the union, McCarthy said the ministry will still provide help “in hardship situations where there was a threat to life, health and safety of a family.” The PPWC had requested that the section making locked out workers continued on poge A2 WIGHT LIGHTS . . . Photographer Doug Harvey cap- tures the bright lights of the Castlegar Ferry and Rob- son. Streams of lights on the ferry are actually headlights of cars coming off the ferry created by time exposure photograph. Talks still on despite strike vote TRAIL — Negotiators for the United Steelworkers of America and Cominco Ltd. resumed talks today after union members voted overwhelmingly to back contract demands with a strike. Production and maintenance work- ers in Trail and Kimberley voted 95.6 per cent in favor of a strike Monday. Office and technical workers. in.Trail voted 94 per cent in favor, while those in Kimberley voted about 90 per cent in favor of a strike, said Jim Saare, president of Trail's Local 9705 Tues. day. The last two-year contract expired at midnight last night, but Saare and Ken Georgetti said there are no immediate plans to strike. Georgetti, president of production and i workers in Trail's WEST KOOTENAY POWER Kelowna workers strike By CasNews Staff A spokesman for West Kootenay Power and Light Co. electrical workers said today the union has no immediate plans to escalate a full strike in Kelowna to the West Kootenay. Twenty members of the Interna. tional Brotherhood of Electrical Work ers in Kelowna went on legal strike Tuesday. The strike was called partly because West Kootenay Power sent a crew of eight to 10 West Kootenay IBEW members Monday to move a power line near a highway in the Rock Creek area, said Cliff Rundgren, business manager for IBEW's Local 213 today. The union thought the crew should have been called out of Kelowna. owna Rundgren said the strike is also to put “some pressure” on WKPL mana gement to speed up contract talks. Tories to OTTAWA (CP) Justice Minister John Crosbie confirmed today that Ottawa is putting the final touches ona constitutional resolution to curb the powers of the Liberal-dominated Sen ate “The general theme (of the resolu tion) would be to remove the Senate's power of vetoing or blocking legislation passed by the House of Commons,” Crosbie told reporters as he entered the government's weekly meeting of MPs and senators. “We can’t have an unelected body in a position to thwart the will of the people as expressed by the elected House of Commons. That's the purpose of the bill.” Crosbie said notice that the resolu tion will be coming up for the debate in the Commons will be given this week After that, he said, “we will be proceeding with it shortly.” Asked if Ottawa has the necessary One-hundred and ninety members of the IBEW and 90 members of the Office and Technical Employees Union Local 378 have been without contracts since Jan. 31 The electrical workers last met with management March 20, after which the union gave 72-hour strike notice. Rundgren said the IBEW hasn't yet discussed extending the strike into the West Kootenay “But we're in a legal strike position,” he added in an interview from Van. couver. “We can shut the whole thing down if that’s necessary to get our agreement.” Issues concerning the IBEW are West Kogfenay Power's refusal to grant el@Mrical workers their wage demands, and the company's proposal that those working overtime hours should receive only the regular hourly rate, said Rundgren. “The money issues are still outstand. ing,” he said. “I really don't want to get into it.” Jim Stevens, WKPL manager of human resources, wouldn't comment specifically on negotiations with either union, saying he didn't want to “jeopar dize” the situation He said West Kootenay Power met with the OTEW April 25, and union negotiators “took away a company proposal on all of the outstanding is. sues.” “Both parties got their positions out,” said Stevens. “We left the meeting without planning to get back together again. We don't know what action will come from th The office and technical workers haven't taken a strike vote. Fred Cum mings, business representative for the local 378, was unavailable for com ment this morning. curb Senate power support from the provinces to have a constitutional amendment approved, Crosbie said: “We think that we have at least the number required to pass an amendment, which is seven provinces having over 50 per cent of the popula tion of Canada.” Government insiders said Tuesday the resolution would limit the amount of time a money bill can be debated in the upper chamber to 30 days The Senate now has the consti tutional power to reject any bill, although that veto right has rarely been used. In exchange for provincial accep- fance of the resolution, Ottawa has agreed to hold a full-scale constitu tional conference with the provinces by 1987 on broader Senate reforms, Cros- bie confirmed. Liberal Leader John Turner told reporters later that Crosbie had con- sulted him on the resolution, but he re- fused to comment further. New Democrat Leader Ed Broad bent, whose party favors abolishing the Senate, said he would support any move to whittle down the powers of the non-elected chamber. “Any reduction in the powers of the Senate, as rapidly as possible towards zero, would be a healthy move, but a much healthier move would be to abolish it.” The government decided to curb the powers of the Senate after the upper chamber stalled a major borrowing bill for weeks. The Liberals now hold 72 seats in the 104-seat Senate, and the Convervatives hold 25. There are three Independents, one Independent Lib eral and three vacancies. Under the current amending formula for the Constitution, any change must be approved by the Commons and at least seven provinces containing at Local 480, said, “We're still hopeful we can get a settlement out of (Cominco's) negotiating committee.” Dune Wilkins, chief negotiator for Cominco, said today talks between union and management are “moving steadily,” focussing Tuesday on con tract wording. However, the major stumbling block is wage increases, which he says Cominco can't afford “Our position is we've lost money for the last three years in Trail and Kim berley. We lost money in the first quarter. No matter how you cut it, the fact of the matter is we can't afford any increases at this time,” he said. Saare disagrees. “We understand the company’s ac counting, and we're very familiar with pany _proposal.for a two-year wage freeze, with six cost-of-living adjust- ments based on inflation during the second and third years of a three-year contract. The cost of living adjust ments, which Saare says would likely be about 10 cents each, were to be rolled over, coming into effect in 1988. Local 480 members now average $13.50 an hour, and Local 9705 mem bers about $15.15 an hour. Georgetti said the production and maintenance workers want sick leave and pension improvements, and onable” annual wage increases in a two-year contract. He declined to be more specific. Saare said the office and technical workers are asking for increased job security, pension improvements and an early retirement plan. He said in lieu of a wage increase, they're asking for shares in Cominco. There are a total of 4,250 union members at operations in Trail and Kimberley —inside FONYO'S RUN: Steve Fonyo left Revelstoke this morning, con tinuing his Journey for Lives run to the coast. Before he left the Rocky Mountain community, he was given thousands of dollars in donations, including $25,000 from the city of Nelson... A2 CABIN DESTROYED . destroyed by fire... A2 campaign last September A4 in the B.C. Place Stadium said Jock Klein chairman of SaskExpo Expo 86 and they are all invited go down toa s REUNION PLANNED: VANCOUVER date for what it hopes will be a record-breaking reunion Next year on April 25. 26 and 27 all former Saskatchewan residents now living in British Columbia are invited to a get-together A three-room cabin in Shoreacres was PARK PROJECT: Zuckerberg Island Park is getting a new septic tank Crews installed the tank with the help of a crane Tuesday A2 TORIES MEET: Kootenay West Progressive Conservatives are reorganizing their association in the wake of their successtul election Saskatchewan has named the Originally we thought 5,000 people might turn up but now it looks as though it will be triple that number, maybe even 20 000 Saskatchewan's minister of tourism and vice He said the date has been set so that out-ot-towners who come to Vancouver for the reunion will be able to stay on and attend Saskatchewan will have o $6-million pavilion with a 10-storey tier like a grain elevator at the fair There are 250,000 people in B.C. with Saskatchewan roots said Klein. He said events for the three-day reunion have not yet been finalized BATTLE OF QUEBEC: The battle for hockey supremacy in Quebec will enth and deciding game after Montreal Canadiens manhandled Quebec Nordiques 5-2 last night 81 least 50 per cent of the pop