Saturday, October 3, 1992 Your business is our business Neil Rachyski 365-7266 QUESTIONS ABOUT CARS ANSWERED Do you have problems making sense of your car? On Oct. 6, Kalawsky Pontiac Buick in Castlegar is hosting a free “Women at the Whee!” seminar. Presenter Mary Jackson will teach the necessary vocabulary to communicate with the mechanic. Complimentary refreshments will be served from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The seminar begins at 6:30 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. For reservations call 365-2155. GRAMMAR GURUS A workshop on “Business Grammar and Usage for Professionals” is planned at the Trail campus of _ Selkirk College on Oct. 22> Ways of making oral and written communications more concise and dynamic will be one of the many topics discussed. The course runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a cost of $130. Contact Kerry Sims at 368- 5236. B.C. BONDS orRPLACE Women in a blue collar world Neil Rachynski NEWS STAFF There’s a movement for gender equality in the workforce that has gone largely unnoticed. For years the white collar woman has been the focus of equal opportunity issues. But there are support groups that advocate the integration of woman into trades — a blue collar movement. “The people who do call are either very supportive or it’s simply fine with them.” MacKenzie says attitudes towards women are beginning to change compared to when she was first apprenticing 10 years ago. “I don’t get a patronizing attitude going into a building supply store,” MacKenzie said. “(WITT) certainly works. The group has been really important ‘The fact other women haven’t been involved in these fields is not by chance.’ -Sally MacKenzie One of those is the Kootenay Women in Trades and Technology Association. Sally MacKenzie is a cabinet maker from Crescent Valley who appreciates what WITT does for its members. “It acts as a support network for women in_ trades,” MacKenzie said. “We help women who are new to the area, give some leads on jobs, and just give support when things get rough.” MacKenzie says she has seen some progress made for women in trades over a number of years, but she still encounters bias. “’’'m not on a job site with other people,” MacKenzie says, “so people who wouldn't want to hire a woman just don’t call me. for me to get through the roughspots. They understand that it wasn’t always easy.” There are about 20 area woman in the local organization. But WITT goes further than the Kootenays. MacKenzie says local WITT groups across Canada united to form a Canadian contingent — the WITT National Network. Based out of Winlaw, the network boldly states that it “works from a feminist perspective. “There’s something about women working somewhere that you have to mark your place,” MacKenzie said. “The fact other women haven't been involved in these fields is not by chance. “We know the need for calling a spade a spade.” CN Rail, the Department of National Defense, the Canadian Labor Congress .and. the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology all work with WITT. Together they focus on recruiting and training issues that face women in the trades. WITT is preparing for its annual general meeting in November. MacKenzie says at that time the group will evaluate its goals for what lies ahead. “We’ll decide what kind of energy we have for events or projects in the upcoming year.” The Women in Trades and Technology Association is providing a strong support network for blue-collar tradeswomen. Local chamber a facilitator for constitution Our local Chamber of Commerce doesn’t want to take sides in the unity debate. Castlegar and _ District Chamber of Commerce manager Renee Read says she’d rather help inform people than tell them how to vote. Read says at a recent Canadian chamber conference, the federal contingent decided to take a position of ‘yes’ on the Charlottetown Accord. But Read doesn’t want to tote that line. “Personally I'd like to see us not take position either for or against (the accord),” Read said. “We're not supposed to get involved in the political process. “I’d like to see us making sure more information is available,” she said. “We have brochures that have some ighlights on the accord in the | Nei/RACHYNSKI office. I want to provide both sides of what’s happening. “We should be more of a facilitator and less of a dictator. Who are we as a chamber to tell someone they should vote yes.” Good idea, Renee. We've got just over three weeks to get as informed as we can about this package. Every effort to make ourselves knowledgeable about the accord will go a long a way. Hindsight is 20-20 so it’s time to look ahead at what exactly the deal has to offer us as Canadians on a whole. ece Just some chamber dates to make a note of: Oct. 20 and 21 the chamber will be offering a seminar to help home-based businesses market themselves. The evening workshops will show you how to nurture a home operation to a full-fledged storefront business. Remember that the week of Oct. 26 is Small Business Week. Stay tuned for activities and highlights. eee The Kootenay Business ~Journal is out with its list of the Kootenay’s Top 50 Companies for 1992. It kind of reads like Billboard Magazine’s charts. The top four positions remain unchanged from last year with Cominco’s Trail operation holding down the number one spot and reported sales of $516) million. Celgar Pulp Co. has slipped two notches from last year to eighth place while Pope and Talbot climbs from seventh to) fifth. Kalawsky Pontiac Buick Ltd. remains at 21 with annual sales reported at $10 million. Only one retailer made the’ list. Mallards Sports is ranked 49th with $1.5 million in sales. Even still that drops them two spots from last year’s list. There are 13 companies that’ appear on the list for 1992 which don’t have a ranking for their 1991 results. Folks at the publication weren't available for commen to say whether that was because it’s the first time fo them on the list or if they just weren't rated. t @ Saturday, October 3, 1992 THE NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AGREEMENT THE HIGHLIGHTS Over the past two years, federal, provincial, territorial and*Aboriginal leaders have consulted with thousands of Canadians and concerned groups from Coast to coast. These consultations included Royal Commissions, participatory conferences, parliamentary hearings, and hearings in the provinces and territo- ries held by provincial and territorial legislatures. : Federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal A Social leaders have agreed unanimously on August 28, and 1992 in Charlottetown on a package of constitu- bs . tional proposals that recognizes the equality of Ze Mellie all Canadians and represents all of our interests. The agreement is now before Canadians. aaa , The agreement proposes that the new Constitution would contain a statement of key economic and social objectives shared by all of the governments in the federation. The objectives include comprehensive, universal, portable, accessible and publicly administered health care, adequate social services and benefits, high quality primary and secondary education and reasonable access to post-secondary education, collective bar- gaining rights and a commitment to protecting the environment. The economic policy objec- tives to be entrenched would be aimed at strengthening the Canadian economic union; the free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital; ensuring full employment and a reasonable standard of living for all Canadians; ensuring sustainable and equitable development. Exclusive provincial jurisdiction would be recognized in the areas of forestry, mining, tourism, housing, recreation, municipal affairs, cultural matters within the province, and labour market development and training. In addition, to ensure the two levels of government work in harmony, the government of Canada commits to negotiating agreements with the provinces in areas such as immigration, regional development and telecommunications. Federal-provincial agree- ments On any subject could be protected by the Constitution from unilateral change. , - The new Canadian Constitution would recognize the distinct nature of Quebec, based on its French language, unique culture and civil law tradition. Avoiding Overlap and Duplication Distinct Society ; In the reformed Parliament, the’Senate would reflect the li provinces while the House of Commons would be based more pgs tore representation by population. As well, various provinces would be assured a minimum amount of seats in the House of Commons. The proposed Senate would be made up of six elected senators from each province | and one from each territory. Additional seats — agony representation for Aboriginal —_ peoples. The reformed Senate’ significantly increase the role of the elected Senators in the ls ieee 1" ; The proposals recognize that Aboriginal peoples have an inherent right to self-government and that the Constitution should enable them to develop self-government arrangements and to take their place in the Canadian federation. The proposals recognize Aboriginal governments as one of the three constitutionally recognized orders of government in Canada. In addition the proposals provide for a negotiation process between Aboriginal leaders and provincial and federal governments to put this right into effect. The recognition of the inherent right would not create any new rights ‘ land, nor dilute existing treaty rights. jow that Canada’s federal, provincial, igi territorial and Aboriginal leaders plo reached Aboriginal a econ is the right of all Canadians to Self- understand the new proposals. Call the toll-free number below to receive an easy-to-read Government booklet on the new constitutional agreement or a complete text. It's your right to know what the constitutional proposals voting on October 26. proposals say, before FOR INFORMATION CALL: 1-800-561-1188 Deaf or hearing impaired: 1-800-465-7735 11100) Parliamentary Reform