asa a Cat News_ 2 NDP._ READY TO TAKE POWER? By TIM NAUMETZ Canadian Press oi tvetqton ae expe yt edi ma % : “a wideon (8C-Delta) goes to court. in moun charged with rent and forgery relating to his Lawsuits fi d election raising last fal f VANCOUVER (CP) — Lawsuits have been filed fj Vai Zam ws sno nda by the eppon New naions Vouteureyy Passe emnenniase wolee oe if Democrats for his cabinet ministers’ problems wit ‘with conflict | waa botaliem poisoning at the heter's Five Belle, 7 ; jtaurant. Susan Gomez, hotel executive assistant manager; _ said the suits were filed ibe lawyers representing Dale Tarasoff, a estaté manager, — be Vancouver Pers soar Gina Fischer, VICTORIA — The B.C. legislature opened this week with an upbeat throne speech, but two empty chairs on the government side were a reminder that all is not perfect in Lotusland, ‘The throne speech for Bill Vander Zalm's first session since becoming premier last summer outlined his government's priorities to get “off the back of the private + sector,” sell off Crown-owned companies and reduce the ; $1-billion deficit. MONTREAL (CP) — New Democrats face.a onee-in-a- lifetime chance to capture the political middle ground and take power, the head of the country's biggest labor group told delegates to the NDP’s national convention Saturday. “This is the moment of truth, the moment to demonstrate to Canadians that we are ready to govern,” He missed two days in the Wednesday, saying: “I'm not ashamed of anything. Meantime, comptroller years: ali Alger ncocdh recurs ta toa tornase Waar aifias, The But the plight of two of three missing Socreds an cabinet slightly and had Rogers sworn in as intergovern- on which the mental affairs minister. It called education the bedrock STOPPING TO CHAT... . The only declared for the New Democratic Party's leadership Mike Har- didi the promises. —_ Former highways minister Alex Fraser is recovering Thursday. . court, stops to talk with Harry Killough while touring HARCOURT continued from front page day night and appeared on a-Trail radio station Friday morning. He toured Cominco Friday afternoon and then spoke at a Trail Chamber of Commerce dinner Friday evening. He was at a fund-raising dinner in Grand Forks Saturday, before return- ing to Vancouver today. Harcourt conceded that the NDP needs to work on its pride. He added that sometimes he feels the party is too defensive. Action Center in Castlegar on Ministry to draft anti-AIDS program VANCOUVER (CP) — Education Ministry is set to draft an anti-AIDS sex edu- cation program with the help of school groups, the ministry of health and the premier’s office. The program, which will be a required course beginning in the fall, will “respect the role of the family and paren- tal values and yet recognize the emotions children feel as they mature sexually,” Edu- cation Minister Tony Bru- mmet said. Premier Bill Vander Zalm said he wants to make sure the program meets “accep- table dard: Harcourt said party members should attend workshops during the day to prepare party policy “and then go out and boogie at night.” “We should let people know that we can have fun. I think we'd find a lot more young people would be interested in us,” said Harcourt. He added that he ts touring the province so he can hear what “the grassroots people of B.C. are saying.” FOR INDUSTRIAL USERS “We are a great social movement in the mainstream of British Columbia polities.” Commenting on his bid for the party's leadership, Harcourt said he misses “the challenge” of not having an opponent in this race. He also took a shot at Vander Zalm, who he defeated in the 1984 Vancouver mayoralty campaign. “T kittd of enjoy a tussle. I enjoy a contest--Just ask that visitor from Surrey who came out in 1984.” Inland to cut rates KELOWNA (CP) — Inland Natural. Gas Co.'s proposal to cut rates for five Prince George companies would mean rate increases for resi- industrial which include Prince George Pulp and Paper Ltd. and Husky Oil Co. — have said they want to bypass Inland’s consumers — pass Inland, would year, told. dential ‘Ss, says @ brief to a B.C. Utilities Com mission hearing. Inland is asking the com- mission to allow it to offer cut rates to the five companies so it can keep them on its distribution system and avoid losing revenue. It proposed to cut rates to the five companies almost in half, to 39 cents a gigajoule from the current 71 cents. A company spokesman said this would cut Inland’s revenue in the Prince George area by about $4 million. The hearing was told large gas consumers now.have the option of either bypassing the local utility and building their own pipelines to main trans-provincial gas lines or buying their own gas at the wellhead and paying pipeline companies to transport it. In the Prince George. Quesnel area, five large hook directly to the West- coast Transmission Co. Etd. trunk line. If the five busi by- A French court im- posed a life sentence Satur- day on a man who beat his 16-month-old daughter to death, then chopped up her body and fed part of it to the family dog. The baby’s mother was imprisoned for 4% years for failing to aid a person in danger and hiding a body. The couple, Michel Dus- sap, 30, and his wife Renee, 24, testified that Dussap beat the child's head against a wall of their bathroom after her network and the FRANCE were watching. their dog. the company lose $8.7 million a the commission was “Inland believes that re- sidential increases are need- ed to bring them closer to the cost of providing service,” the company said i in a brief to “To avoid crying repeatedly interrupt- ed a television program they They said the baby, Vir- ginie, died shortly after the beating and they put her body into the freezer. However, the couple had arranged to sell the freezer and when the buyer arrived they placed the little corpse in the bathroom. When the smell of decomposition be- came strong, they cut up the body and fed part of it to Dussap must serve at least any suggestion of rate shock, such increases should be in- troduced over a period of time.” The hearing began in Prince George and ‘luded “We're launching upon a pretty important program and I realize that we have to have such programs and they need to be le to stu- ince,” Vander Zalm said. “But Talso want to make sure that it's done in keeping with the, wishes of the people and to good standards and to accep- table standards.” While details have not been worked out, prevention measures stich as the use of condoms will be discussed, Brummet said. “That's one of the things the advisory committee will be working out,” Brummet said. “In other words, how far do you have to go in the presentation of condoms in the school system?” A family life education ad- visory committee will be cre- ated in April to provide ad- vice on program details and course materials, Brummet said. dents throughout the prov- of the B.C. ‘School Trustees Asso- BILL VANDER ZALM . . . (good standards’ ciation, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, the Association of B.C. School Superinten- dents, the Federation of I dependent School Associa. tions, the ministry of health, the B.C. Medical Association, New a the B.C. Home and School Association, the B.C. Council for the Family, the ministry of education and the pre- mier’s office will be asked to sit on the committee, Bru- mmet said. Right to strike sought ee eae (CP) aad But wage controls and and the right | te ririke topped the agenda at the British Columbia, Teachers’ .Feder- ation annual convention be- ginning here, today. * There have been hints tea- chers might disrupt classes this spring and fall if they don’t get satisfaction from the government. The convention, which will draw about 540 delegates from the 25,000-member or- ganization, will address a range of issues including sexual abuse of students Ry ig rights are the hottest issues at the four-day meeting. The federation wants the, government to amend the Schoo) Act to allow teachers to strike. It also wants to conduct negotiations on wages and salaries directly with the Education Ministry. Other issues, including working conditions, would be handled at the school board level. The teachers are also call- ing for elimination of the teachers and the ila bili of birth control information in schools. ion program, which has limited public sector wage increases three days of submissions here Thursday. The hearing resumes March 25 in Vancou- ver. Man gets life sentence ANGERS, (AFP) — 18 years before becoming eligible for parole. The pros- ecution called for a four-year sentence for his wife, citing as extenuating circumstances that she is “moderately re- tarded” and totally domin- ated by her husband. The court was critical of the social services depart- ment in this northwestern French city, which was aware the baby had been in- jured twice before but ac- cepted the couple's explana- tion that she had fallen down stairs. Six SPOKANE, WASH. (AP) — It was an honor when the U.S. Strategic Air Command asked Fair. child Air Force Base to as- semble an act with a B-52 and its companion tanker, but a practice run ended in tragedy when the tanker crashed, killing at least six people. The KC-135 tanker was practising for its air-show debut in the Thunder. hawks project. when it crashed Friday, killing five aboard and one on the ground A sixth crew member was still listed as unac Col. commander of the 92nd Bomb Wing, said a board of officers of the U.S. air force would begin its in. vestigation into the crash today at southwest of Spokane. The tanker, designed to carry fuel for other planes, went down in a field near Fairchild’s runway. “It looked like they were trying to get out of each killed in air crash counted for early today. The names of the victims were being withheld pend- ing notification of rela tives, said Capt. Bob Ball- ew, a Fairchild spokesman. Thomas Harris, The ver: the air base earth. The other's path or something,” said Greg Price, who was just outside the base when the crash occurred. He said the tanker had its wing tips perpendicular to the ground just before it hit. $19 million plane, a military transport ion of the Boeing 707 jetliner, hit an unmanned weather observation tower and power lines and left a 305-metre sear of charred Thunderhawks were to be the Strategic Air Command's answer to the air force's , Thunder. birds and the navy’s Blue Angels and were supposed to show the American public what it gets for its defence dollar. Flying low enough to impress audiences with the bomber's size was to be a major point of the 19'- minute act, said Ballew. Us The show was to feature a series of high bank turns to reveal the tops and bot- toms of both aircraft, and passes as low as 15 metres above ground. The Thunderhawks were to debut May 17, during Fairchild’s annual Aerospace Day. Police File since 1982. The federation plans a demonstration pro- testing the guidelines at the government's Vancouver of- fice on Monday. “I am quite distressed that we are going to see further. major disruptions this spring and this fall over the com- pensation stabilization pro- gram and over teacher bar- Korea to gaining,” said federation president Elsie MeMurphy. “You cannot withhold those rights from people and not expect there are going to be problems.” MeMurphy said teachers have tried for three decades to win normal collective bar- gaining rights available to other workers. increase B.C. coal imports VANCOUVER (CP) — A spokesman for the state- operated Pohang Iron and Steel Company of South Korea said the company will increase its coal imports from Western Canada by 23 per cent in the 12-month period beginning April 1st. A two-car collision Friday morning near the Robson ferry resulted in a total of $1,800 damage. According to RCMP, Alex Poznikoff, 57, of Castlegar was making a left turn onto the ferry from Broadwater Road when he collided with a vehicle driven by Andrew Evin, 54, of Castlegar. Damage to Poznikoffs 1981 Chevrolet was esti- mated at $800 and damage to Evin’s 1985 Ford pick-up was estimated ‘at $1,000. No charges are being laid. * * « A rear-end collision Tues- day morning has resulted in a total of $1,300 damages. According to RCMP, Sher- ri Comba, 22, of Trail sus- tained $1,000 damage to her 1981 Honda when it was rear-ended while stopped for a flagman on Kinnaird Bridge. by a 1979 Chevrolet Blazer driven by Judith Evanero, 88, of Castlegar. No charges are being laid. * . Disciplinary action is pend- ing against three youths who started a fire in a laundry bag at the Sandman Inn Monday morning. RCMP say cleaning staff extinguished the flames and little damage was reported. New programs in works for NEC The West Kootenay Na- tional Exhibition Centre, through the federal Employ- ment Development Branch has contracted the services of three people. Helen Lee, Weather Cloudy today with sunny s. Isolated . Highs near 10. Outlook for Monday is sunshine. Chance of precipitation is 20 per cent today and 10 per cent Monday. Judy Brown and Kathy Dil- len will be working at the centre in the coming months. Work is being done to add two new education programs to the NEC's growing list of offerings for the region's schools. In September the centre will be offering a museum kit on the Kootenai Indians for the Grade 56 level and a resource/activity book on Castlegar. Plans for later in 1987 include resource/activity books on Trail and Nelson, a soap-making kit and a kit on the Interior Salish Indians. Elsewhere, the NEC will be introducing an admission fee for three exhibits in the coming year. e however, planned to ‘pay about $5 a tonne less than it is currently paying for B.C. coal. Pohang president Byong- Wha Ahn said the company would buy 2.9-million tonnes of metallurgical coal worth $170 million. The figure is up from 2.25-million tonnes worth $130 million purchased in the previous year. , Westar Mining in south- eastern B.C. would supply 1.82 million tonnes of coal. MORE LETTERS Sports has a positive side Surj Rattan obviously knows what it is like to be on a “bad team;” he works for the Castlegar News! Now if this seems to be an unfair statement to all the hardworking people who work there (some of whom I know personally), that’s be- cause it probably is. Mr. Rattan, think very carefully now, couldn't your articles have praised (a) the young men for sticking with it the whole year regardless of the odds; (b) the coach, Ed Wyatt, for managing to keep it all together through very Plant a I am writing this letter to express my concern over the fact that a truss plant may be located in downtown Castle- gar. Without question there is a need for secondary industries but I find it unfair to the Castlegar property taxpay- ers to locate it in downtown Castlegar, in a business area, difficult times; and (ce) the Beaver Valley fans for con tinuing to support the team regardless of the outcome? This team knew from the beginning of the year it would not win a lot of games and that didn't stop them from giving it a hell of a try game in and game out. Negative journalism, Mr. Rattan, is the easiest form of prose. But look carefully there is a positive side to concern when we have three desig nated industrial parks ready to accommodate light indus tries, such as a truss plant. If it isn't financially feas ible for people to locate their industries within these parks, why are we keeping them. Joan Roth Six people were sent to hospital with petallies poisoning last month after eating contaminated preserved mushrooms at the restaurant. Two are still in hospital, listed in serious but stable condition. fj They're paralysed from head to foot and breathing with the aid of respirators. Coolers removed VANCOUVER (CP). — Three cooler. products from Seagram Distillers Ltd. may contain traces of || fine glass particles and are being removed from B.C. © liquor store shelves, Liquor Distribution Branch spokesman Peter Choate said. i Shipments of these brands bottled before Oct. 1, 1986 have already been taken off Ontario shelves pending further investigatién. Choate said Seagram Distillers asked the liquor branch to remove all the bottles as a precautionary move, but that there was only a miniscule chance of any pre-October bottles being on local shelves. He said_the bottles will remain off shelves until the company advises them there is no danger. Consumers returning bottles from the pre-Octo- ber shipments will receive a full refund, Choate added. The ‘three products are: No. 154492 Seagram's Rye Cooler; No. 161364 Seagram's Ventura Vodka Cooler; and No. 161356 Seagram's Wildberry Vodka Cooler. Deal in limbo HALIFAX (CP) — The federal government won't sign a freer-trade agreement with the United States unless every province approves it, Housing Minister Stewart McInnes said. “If every province does not think this is a good agreement for them all, we.shall not sign it,” he told the Halifax Board of Trade. “If they feel it is good for all parts of Canada, then we shall proceed.” Refugees arrive ESTEVAN, SASK. (CP) — Fifteen refugees from El Salvador have arrived in this southern Saskatche- wan city from the United States and are waiting for an immigration hearing. The refugees had been living in Houston, Tex., for two years, but came north because of United States immigration policies. An inquiry conducted by Immigration Canada in Estevan earlier this week heard the Salvadorans’ lives were in danger in their own country. There was no reason given why they chose Estevan. The community is about 15 kilometres from the border of North Dakota. Sauve in Hong Kong HONG KONG (AP) — Canadian Gov. Gen. Jeanne Sauve arrived in Hong Kong Saturday for a three-day stay before beginning a state visit to China. Sauve, accompanied by her husband Maurice and Canadian External Relations Minister Monique Landry, are scheduled to attend wreath-laying ceremonies today at two war cemeteries where Canadian soldiers who died in action for the defence of this British colony during the Second World War are buried. Advice rejected WASHINGTON (AP) — President Ronald Reagan said Saturday he wrongly rejected the advice of State Secretary George Shultz and Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger who “advised me strongly not to pursue” the sale of arms to Iran. But Reagan said he went ahead after deciding “the initiative was worth the risk. “It turned out they were right and I was wrong.” Hostage threat BEIRUT (REUTER) — A French hostage was threatened with death by an underground Lebanese group Saturday after France ignored an earlier ultimatum to clarify foreign policy remarks by President Francois Mitterrand. The handwritten statement from the Revolution- ary Justice Organization, delivered to the independent an-Nahar newspaper, said hostage Jean-Louis Nor- mandin faced trial and execution within two days. “Because Mitterrand’s statements were not ex- plained, we have declared war on rance and put (Jean- Louis) Normandin on trial and will announce his execution within 48 hours,” it said. Bank robbed LONDON (AP) — Robbers held up a security van outside a London bank and fled with the equivalent of $2.7 million Cdn in cash, Scotland Yard said Saturday. The robbery occurred Friday afternoon shortly after the Group Four security van made a cash pickup at a Midland Bank branch in the North London district of Islington. Two masked robbers forced the van into an alley and unloaded 60 bags of cash containing about $1.3 million. Contra claim TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS (AP) — The largest Contra rebel fighting force said it has destroyed six Soviet-made Nicaraguan government helicopters in eight months, including three in the past two weeks. The Nicaraguan Democratic Force made the claim in a radio broadcast Friday, saying it used SAM.7 surface-to-air missiles in all the operations. There was no way to confirm the report. SPRING CONCERT .. Aydiences at Woodland Park School loved each of three performances of “Robin Hood” resented last Wednesday and Thursday. The play included virtually every student and teacher at th the court jester, teases Leanna Plotnikoff, Prince John, in the castle near Nottingham. CatNewsPhoto by Alexie turrfer POLL RESULTS Death OTTAWA (CP). — Seven- ty-three per cent of Cana- dians favor the return of capital punishment, suggests a public opinion poll pub- lished today The Angus Reid survey of Trial to 1,666 adults; -condueted. for Southam News from Feb, 28-March 4, indicates that 46 per cent of those polled support the idea strongly and 27 per cent back it moder- ately. be held over Chernobyl MOSCOW (AP) — A So- viet official says those res- ponsible for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. disaster last year will go on trial soon in Kiev, capital of the Uk- raine. Andranik Petrosyants, chairman of the State Com- mittee for the Utilization of Atomic Energy, told a news conference he did not know how many people are being prosecuted, what the charges are or when the proceedings would begin. “All I can say is that it will be soon and it will be in Kiev,” he said. The disaster, the world’s worst nuclear accident, des- troyed the No. 4 reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine on April 26, 1986. Two workers were killed on the spot and at least 29 other people died from radiation-related _ill- nesses. Hundreds of victims were admitted to hospital af- ter being exposed to harmful levels of radiation. Soviet newspapers have reported that at least six senior plant officials, includ ing the director, were fired after the accident. Petrosy ants declined to say whether any of these officials would be prosecuted, but he re- Twenty-four per cent op- pose the reinstatement of the death penalty, 18 per. cent strongly and six per cent moderately. Three per cent of respon: dents said they were unsure whether they supported cap- ital punishment. A poll of this size is ac- curate within 2.5 percentate points up or down. When asked to indicate the most important issues facing Canada, only five per cent of respondents citied capital punishment. It finished be- hind unemployment, the economy, refugees and immigration, the deficit, dis- armament and government honesty. ALBERTA HIGHEST On a regional basis, sup- port for capitol punishment runs from a high of 84 per cent in Alberta to 80 per cent in h peated official that blamed the accident en tirely on human error. HOLDS CONFERENCE His news conference was held in connection with the visit of 11 U.S. nuclear en ergy experts who toured the Chernobyl facility and other nuclear plants and training institutes. The Americans arrived Feb. 27. Strike breakers being trained? OTTAWA (CP) — Canada Post is training strike- breakers in anticipation of a bargaining dispute this spring, says the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. But the Crown corporation denies the charge. “The pre-employment training pregram will simply give Canada Post a resource pool to call on in the event of unforeseen circumstances,” Canada Post spokesman Brenda Adams said. “The trainees are not em- ployees and would only be called in if a need exists such as unexpected mail volume increases,” said Adams. About 150 people are re ceiving 16 hours of training on postal coding machines and are paid $4.50 an hour. Adams said eight postal sta. tions, including one in Ot- tawa, are offering the pro- gram and that more trainees may be accepted. But CUPW vice-president Bill Chedore said he believes the program is more wide- spread and is designed to help the corporation through a strike. “It’s obviously part of an overall Canada Post strategy to try to intimidate its em ployees into accepting less than they now have,” Che- dore said. He accused Canada Post of exploiting the un employed and risking con frontation with its unions. Most Canada Post sorting plants have causal employees who are called to work on short notice to deal with un. expected surges of mail. 15 per cent in Ontario, 73 per penalty wanted cent in Atlantic Canada, 72 percent. in British Columbia and 65 per cent in Quebec, the poll suggests. The poll also indicates that capital punishment is popular among 75 per cent of de- clared Liberals and among 69 per cent of declared NDP supporters. The survey also suggests that 74 per cent of Canadians believe the death penalty should be used for serial or mass murderers, 68 per cent for those who kill a police officer or a prison guard, 66 per cent for people who com- mit premeditated murder in general and 56 per cent for those who commit multiple sex offences against children. If the death penalty were restored, only nine per cent of respondents said they favor hanging. Fifty per cent said they would support the use of a lethal injection, while, 13 per cent favored electrocution. Pilots to appeal EDMONTON (CP) Two Alberta pilots will appeal their dismissal by “Pacific Western Airlines for Violat- ing safety regulatiofis last , month on a scheduled flight from Whitehorse, to Prince George. The Feb. 27 firings — a rarity in Canadian commer- cial aviation — are part of a grievance the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association will file with the company next week. The grievance will be heard first by airline officials and may ultimately be ap- pealed to an arbitration board with members from outside the airline. “It’s a harsh and severe penalty for this offence, but we're just going through the normal appeal channels,” said Gavin Brown, local director of the associastion. Company spokesman Jack Lawless said the Edmonton co-pilot violated regulations when the ground safety pins were not removed before the Feb. 19 flight began. The pins are 30-centimetres-long steel rods that prevent the landing gear from collapsing while the aircraft is parked. When the landing gear on the Boeing 737 would not re- tract after takeoff because the pins wefe still in place, the Calgary pilot violated safety regulations by contin- uing to Prince George in- stead of returning to White- horse, he said. Suspensions and_retrain- ing for pilots who violate flight-operation procedures are not infrequent, but these are the only dismissals for that reason in the last 10 years at Paciic Western, Lawless said. “It was the combination of two blatant contraventions of flight-operating procedures that produced the firings. It's unfortunate this happened, but safety is paramount in the operation of an airline.” With more than 30 years of commercial flying time be- tween them, the two employ- ees were among the more experienced of the airline's 350 pilots. Roger Burgess-Webb, na. tional spokesman for the as. sociation, said firings of Can- adian pilots have been rare in the last 30 years. Pilots’ salaries range from $18,500 to $135,000 but the average is about $65,000, he said. Labor Congress, said. | ; ‘ i! ’ A Shirley Carr, president of the two-million-member Canadian “Not only that are we ready, but we have earned the right t6 govern,” Carr added as she urged the party to captiire voter turf which she said is held tenuously by the Liberals and is unavailable to the Conservatives. In a speech d by di ovations, Carr said Canadians have been turned off by right-wing philosophies which she said helped sweep Brian Mulroney's Tories into power in 1984. “Conservatism is a barren philosophy and when you are barren, you are dead and that’s where that one is going,” she said. MIDDLE GROUND The CLC president argued that the Liberals under John Turner are desperately trying to win back middle ground they gave up in 1984 when Turner took his party to the right in an unsuccessful battle against the Tories on their own turf. The Liberals may lead with 42-per-cent support from decided voters nationally, Carr said, but she added “the middle vote is soft. “They (Liberals) have not succeeded in consolidating it, and that’s where we're going.” Carr predicted the NDP is about to emerge as one of two major national parties, with either the Liberals or the Conservatives losing out. “One is going, one is going,” she said. “And the reason that one is going is because both are too far to the right.” Carr's exhortation to focus on a wider spectrum of voters followed similar statements by leader Ed Broadbent and Terry Grier, the head of the party's election planning committee. The convention, which ends today, is the first for the NDPin Quebec — where the party holds 40-per-cent support and is tied with the Liberal party in first place. Attendance by Quebec party members as of Saturday was not’ what the party had expected. About 70 Quebec delegates were registered, well below the 110 which party officials had predicted. DENIES REPORT Carr denied what she said were false impressions left by a recent report that she hopes the Liberals win the next election if voters cannot bring themselves to elect their first NDP government. In an interview early this month with The Canadian Press, Carr said: “This government is incapable of running the country. They are the most regressive government we've ever had... I'm hoping (the NDP) will win but if we don't win then obviously I have to go the route of the Liberals.” Carr told the convention her comments had been distorted and that her support and the CLC’s support for the NDP are “absolute and unequivocal.” The party's strategy to move to the middle ground was apparent as the convention rolled through a stream of policy resolutions on socila, economic, justice, inte other issues. tional and Air companies tend to merg MONTREAL (CP) — The first step for the brass at Pacific Western in building a bigger airline was relatively easy — they forked out $300 million to buy Canadian Paci- fic Air Lines. Merging a profitable re- gional carrier and a money- losing international line into ah efficient entity is fraught with potential pitfalls. Last year, People Express swallowed profitable Fron- tier, Airlines and choked. Frontier went bankrupt and a rapidly sinking People Ex- press was gobbled up by Texas Air Corp. Northwest Airlines fritter- ed away hard-earned cus- tomer goodwill for the sloppy fashion in which it absorbed Republic Airlines. Crews and planes often weren't where they were supposed to be. April 26 is D-Day for Can adian Pacific and PWA, when they begin operating as one, with the same timetable and airport facilities. The airline's new name hasn't been an. nounced. If things get off to a bumpy start, regular passengers could switch to Air Canada, and Murray Sigler, the 39. year-old president of the new carrier, knows it. AVOIDS TROUBLE To avoid trouble, he says, his airline must score well in four areas: proper handling of staff, staying sound finan cially, strong marketing of a product and making operations efficient Over time, staff seniority lists must be merged, labor contracts renegotiated, main. tenance schedules redrawn and different operating pro cedures reconciled. The new airline will have 13,000 employees — too many for its year-round needs — a fleet of 78 jets and routes spanning five contin ents. Management hasn't decid- ed where the new head- quarters will be — Calgary or Vancouver. For the time be- ing, there will be senior ex- ecutives in both. Despite the firm's inter- national character, 18 of the 35 top executives — including the chairman and president — come from PWA, although CP is bigger. Management hopes attri- tion, early-retirement incen- tives and relocation benefits will take care of staff sur- pluses. Some services per- formed by private contrac- tors may be brought in house. ENDURES STRIKE PWA endured a bitter three-month strike a year ago to gain what the airline described as competitive la- bor conditions. Management is determin- ed to realize the cost- saving potential of the mer- ger. But, Sigler added, “this doesn't mean we are going to pick on organized labor, be- cause we are certainly not. Labor has done its share. We are very encouraged by what they have done in helping us piece this together.” One thing the airline won't do in quest of bigger profits, he said, is sacrifice quality. Financially, PWA Ltd. has been working down the debt it incurred in buying CP on Dec. 2. Aside from the take- over price, it assumed $800 million in short- and long- term debt. Since then, it has raised $382 million through the sale of stock and de. bentures. PWA had a profit of $29.8 million last year compared with $6.2 million in 1985. CP lost $4.2 million, a big im provement over the 1985 loss of $26.6 million.