jad a |

WEATHER:

Cloudy with scattered
showers Wed ond Thurs.

RACER: 2]
She’s 16 years old and
hopes to make the car

racing team et Westwood.

Hae Ne

GALLOPING: 19

The Pony is racing ahead in
the import car success

Story.

WINNING SMILE: 33

Tiffany Burns has made the
North American finals in

3 - Wednesday, April 3, 1985 - North Shore News

Business..........23

look of the Year Contest.

BCTF SUPPORTS PRO CHOICE

Car Market........21
Entertainment ..... 24
living............33
Sports............22
TW occ cee eee eee 28
WGO............36

Teachers battle teachers

‘

he
NEWS photos Terry

A B.C. Teachers Federation decision not to allow
an anti-abortion petition to be circulated at the
group’s annual meeting shows where the group’s
sympathies lie according to a North Vancouver

teacher. :

| By BARRETT FISHER

Pau! Birch, an English
teacher at Sutherland school,
was one of those involved in
attempts to stop a BCTF
proposal to seek Canadian
Teachers Federation support
to have abortion removed
from the criminal code.

Birch and members of a
group called Teachers For
Life attempted to circulate
their petition Monday during
opening sessions of the
meeting at the Hotel Van-
couver. :

BCTF chairman Frances
Worledge put a'stop to that,
ruling it out of order.

Birch, who says he is not a
member of Teachers For
Life, said Tuesday he was
involved because he didn’t
consider the issue proper for
teachers’ to. address as a
group. ;

“It’s a matter not directly
related to education,’’ Birch
said. ‘it is outside the re-
sponsibility of the BCTF.”

Birch said he is not a
member of Teachers For
Life because he feels the
group's aims are too limited.

“IT don’t mean to press
people one way or another
on abortion. People are wel-
come to their views, but let’s
not have the BCTF tell us
our views. That would be
offensive to some teachers,
as well as parents,’’ he said.

Birch went on to say that
the BCTF should discuss
educational issues. ‘‘There's
plenty to talk about: in
education. We don’t need to
talk-about abortion. Abor-
tion is a social, ethica! issue
and I would prefer people’
would speak for themselves
on the issue.”

Birch says he checked with -
the BCTF handbook’ after.

‘sympathies tie.’’

over anti-abortion petition

the petition was said to be
out of order, and agrees on
Worledge’s ruling.

“According to the hand-
book, a petition can not be
circulated without prior con-
sent of the executive, repre-
sentative assembly or the
annual general meeting
itself.”’

But Birch adds that with
all the other displays permit-
ted at the meeting, he felt
the petition should have
been ailowed.

“I feel uneasy about the
federation pushing certain
lines. I prefer to have less
radical representation at the
meeting. I would have
thought on the basis of some
of the things allowed at the
meeting, she (Worledge)
would have given her per-
mission to allow the petition.

“TF just thought it was a
rather revealing demonstra-
tion of where the group’s

Birch said the pro-choice
Statement on abortion was
passed by the BCTF in exec-
utive council in 1981.

Frances Worledge was
unavailable for comment at
time cf press. - .

uw TEACHER PAUL Birch (right in photo right) was one of those who attempted to have the
we B.C. Teachers Federation back away from its pro-choice abortion stand Monday. While the
petition attempt was going on inside the Hotel Vancouver, pro-life demonstrators marched

outside. , , ; .
A ee