Legislative Parliament Victoria, 8. He's a new man Ultra-marathoner Al lifestyle... 8 Lior Bldgs c. MP gives good news Kootenay Wes! MP Bob Brisco says Cominco and the provincial gover- fnment will mak ning water license fees . a2 The $500,000 winning number in Friday's Provin- cial lottery draw is 1334597. There were also subsidiary prizes. CORKY COMES OUT ON TOP HAPPY WINNER . « Corky Evans receives leader ee prepa from provincial NOP Bob day. lly (left) and supporters following his successtul Evans gets NDP nod By PATRICIA LAKES Winlaw logger Corky Evans, captured the Nelson-Creston NDP nomination Saturday, beating out longtime party organizer Glenn Suggitt of Blewett. Evans 38, won the nomination on the second ballot, polling 353 votes to Suggitt’s 250. Evans, the former Regional District of Central Kootenay direct. or for the Slocan Valley, also won the first ballot, carrying 312 votes to Suggitt's 194 and Salmo logging contractor Dave Lang’s 136. Evans supporters reported they had signed up more than 300 new members prior to the nomination meeting. In the fall of 1984 Evans resigned spesanneenanens ssnsenonnua eenaananno reset from his regional directorship because of controversy over the Slocan Valley Plan, a comprehen- sive land use policy that was the subject of fierce struggles between environmentalists and resource industries. More than 800 turned out to the David Thompson University Centre gymnasium for the nominating convention. Provincial NDP leader Bob Skelly was on hand to congratulate the winner and the party on the riding’s largest nomination meeting ever Skelly received a huge ovation after saying Nelson “would be a great place for a degree granting post-secondary institution and it will be again. It would be a great OVER LOCAL HIRING More protests promised By CHERYL CALDERBANK Staff Writer Organizers of a public forum Wed nesday on local hiring promised more demonstrations, protests, petitions and meetings in an effort to keep local jobs for local residents. ‘There will be more meetings, and demonstrations and protests,” Joe Ir ving, coordinator of the Castlegar Unemployment Action Centre told a crowd of about 40 at Kinnaird Hall The meeting was called to discuss the issue of awarding local projects to out-of-town contractors and hiring out-of-town workers for the projects. Two construction projects now underway — the new Ministry of For ests office and the Kootenay Doukho- bor Benevolent Society's senior citizen housing complex — are being con- structed by out-of-town contractors. As well, the landscaping project at the Highway 3 interchange was awarded to a Vernon contractor. “We are facing a situation where un- employment is going to get worse be- cause the government is not prepared to move on the situation,” Irving said. Irving was one of a five-member panel of guest speakers at the meeting The panel also included Len Embree, Castlegar alderman and business agent for Local 2300 of the United Brother- hood of Carpenters and Joiners of American; Rick Pongrac, West Koot- enay coordinator of the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council; Corky Evans, NDP candidate for the provincial Nelson-Creston nom ination; and Sandy Cahoon, coordinator of the Trail Unemployed Action Cen. tre. “I don’t think news to anybody any longer that we are facing the highest unemployment rates in Can ada,” Irving said. “The way that things are done at the moment (contracting out of projects) is they have always been done,” Irving said. The provision for local hiring doesn't prevail anymore, he stated. He noted that at a recent demon- run for the Nelson-Creston NDP nomination Satur- CoaNewsrnote by Ryan Witser place to have a centre of govern ment services and a distribution centre for the West Kootenay. It was and it will be again.” Skelly said the future for young people is a major concern, with a highest level of unemployment in the youth age bracket. He said with low wages, youths that do find jobs are still living below the poverty level. Skelly suggested the attitude of the Social Credit government was “in order to accommodate the changes that are taking place in the world economy we may have to be whole done” to guarantee Jocal jobs for local people “I do not agree with this,” said. He said a local committee will be formed to come up with suggestions for a petition to be sent to all elected ity councils, regional districts, the Association of Kootenay Boundary Municipalities and the Union sh Columbia Municipalities. Embree stated that since the dem onstration at the forestry site, the issue of local hiring has been gi more prominence at Castlegar cou: He also mentioned that he had the opportunity to comment at council on the landscaping at the highway inter. change. “It's our tax dollars that are being spent,” he sai But Embree said local politicians, when confronted with the issue of local hiring, are making exeuses by saying that nothing can be done. He said there is a lot that can be done. He pointed out that if all the un employed the area are forced to Irving CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 1986 TO CASTLEGAR HOSPITAL Chiropractors request access By CHERYL CALDERBANK Staff Writer The Castlegar and District Hospital board has received applications from two local chiropractors requesting privileges to treat their patients in the hospital. But rather than reject the appli- cations, as some B.C. hospitals have done, the local board has chosen to David Williams to the hospital medical staff for comment. Salmon and Williams are among a growing number of the province's 355 chiropractors who have applied to their local hospitals for rights to treat patients requiring their care in institu tions. Chiropractors maintain that hospi- tals have the authority to accept chiro- practors in the same way they do other licensed health professionals. But according to a release from the British Columbia Chiropractic Associa- tion, responses from some hospitals indicate that opposition from local doc- tors is influencing the decisions. Health minister Stephen Rogers has said he won't interfere and wants the BCCA and the medical doctors to meet on the issue. A request for a meeting has been sent to the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons. The chiropractors’ campaign began after an incident in Smithers in Jan UNION VS NON-UNION CONSTRUCTION By SIMON BIRCH Staff Writer Handing over West Kootenay construction jobs to out-of-town non-union contractors is damaging the local economy will lead to a shortage of skilled construction workers, says the business representative for United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 2300 in Castlegar. “It’s gutting the apprenticeship program in B.C.,” says Len Embree, who has been the carpenters’ business agent for the last seven years. “Non-union companies have no commitment to job training.” Speaking passionately at times during a 90-minute interview, Embree explained that the collective agreement the carpenters’ union negotiated with the SUNDAY FEATURE Construction Labor Relations Association, which repre sents a majority of contractors in B.C., contains a clause specifying that every fourth carpenter hired be an apprentice. That assures a constant replenishment of skilled carpenters in the workforce, he said. But as more contracts go to non-union firms not bound by the collective agreement, fewer apprentices are trained, Embree said. uary when a bed-ridden patient was forced to take a cab from the hospital to He predicts that when B.C.’s economy picks up and construction once again booms, Ithe province will lake a base of skilled workers to man the pro- jects. Rick Pngracz, West Kootenay coordinator for the B.C. and Yukon Build- and Construction represents 17 trade unions, ith Embree. gain experience, young people get discouraged and leave the apprenticeship program, which generally takes about four years to LEN EMBREE complete, Pongracz said. gutting program “The real danger to a community like Castlegar is our young people are denied an opportunity to become tradesmen,” he said. “Our biggest fear is a great exodus from the community That fear is already becoming a reality in the carpenters’ union, which Embree said suffered a 20 per cent decline in membership last year In March of this year, 10 West Kootenay members moved to Manitoba to work on construction projects there, he said. Others, he said, have moved to Ontario to work on hydroelectric projects in that province “It's kind of tragic,” Kootenay workers. “Most have lived here for 15 years. “I don’t hang black crepe, but if things continue the way they are, small rural communities are just going to be decimated. Although he said, “ continued on poge Al Embree said of the migrating | I'm not Socred bashing.” Embree |