Doug Collins

® get this straight ®

SOME PEOPLE have funny ideas about democracy, and
frequently they are the ones who shout Joudest about it.
Like the B.C. Federation of Labor.

Democracy means, literally,

‘people rule’’, Right back to the
Ancient Greeks. But the werd is
abused. In East Germany and
similar heavens, for example,
there is oligarchy (government by
the few). Yet the few call
themselves a ‘'people’s
democracy’’.

In calling Monday’s general
strike, the labor leaders of this
province became oligarchs. They
decided that the ferries wouldn’t
run, that the mills would shut
down and that the buses wouldn't
function. Their actions said
“damn democracy’’, and that is
what the sign carried on Lonsdale
by a young picketer should have
tead. Instead, ‘it read, falsely,
“*Kill’ Bill 19. Support
democracy.” .

The picketer and the B.C.
Federation of Labor don’t know
or don’t care that the rights or
wrongs of Bill 19 are of small con-
sequence, and that what matters is
rule by law, not by unelected
crazies. For rights and wrongs are
often in the eye of the beholder.

I happen to think it is wrong
when the unions shut down a
plant that i is not in a labor dispute.
The unions think it’s right. On the
other side‘of the coin, most of us
would think it wrong if the
government gave strikebreakers a
vote when a union attempted to
get a contract. Until it dropped

THE ‘FOLLOWING people xp-
peared! in North and West Van-
couver!, provincial courthouses
recently. to: face various charges
laid against them.
Before Judge BP. Byrne in North
Vancouver provinci«l court June 1:

Kyle Glenn Knapp .was given a
conditional discharge and placed
on probation for two months after
the 19-year-old North Vancouver
man pleaded guilty to a charge of
theft under $1,000.

Glyn Harold Langdale was given
a conditional discharge and placed
on probation for two months after
the 58-year-old West Vancouver
man pleaded guilty to a charge of
theft under $1,000. |

sentenced to one day: i in jail and

| WE INVITE ALL OUR FRIENDS TO |

the idea, though, the government
thought thar was right.

The bottom line in this affair is
that Bill 19 is constitutional and
that the unions are not the govern-
ment. As for the B.C. Federation
of Labor, it is just another
pressure group.

, Uf democracy means anything»
‘to the Georgettis, the Succamores
and the Kuehns, this fight would
be settled at the next election. In-
stead, we have seen an abuse of
power. Democracy if necessarv
but not necessarily democracy.
Might is right.

The NDP members of the
legislature understand the issue.
._They understand that what labor!
is really saying is that MLAs don’t
count, and that labor will. write
the laws. That’s why Mike Har-
court Sat on the fence.

Harcourt didn't have the
courage to tell them they were
wrong, and he couldn’t tell them
they were right: If he did that he

- would be in a poor position if the

employers started to act like
fascists. He may be < parson
without a dog-collar, but he does
know about geese and ganders.
There’s been argument about
who is ‘‘confrontational’ and
who isn't. That too is irrelevant,
even though it's obvious that Bill
Vander Zalm has decided to
challenge union power. But so
what? Nothing is written in stone

Before Judge 4B... Paradis in
North Yancouver provincial court
May 29:

Peter. Jeffrey Hamm was
sentenced to one day in jail after
the 28-year-old West Vancouver
man pleaded guilty to a charge of
failing to appear for a scheduled
court date.’

Marko Visona was fined $150 -

after the 19-year-old Burnaby man
pleaded guilty to failing to com-
plete 35 hours of community ser-
vice work.

Before Judge B, P. Byrne in North

Vancouver provincial court May

2
>

Roger Evan Gaskin was

and it’s no more wicked to
challenge union power than it is to
chal! tenge employer power, pro-
vided it is done democratically.
The Slam isn’t the first to take
on the unions. Maggie Thatcher
has done it in Britain and it looks
as if the electorate will support her
when the Brits go to the polls next

_ week, Certain it is, in any case,
‘that the British unions have not

been stupid enough to call a
general strike in an effort to get
her to change her habits.

The outrageous union stance in
B.C. presents the premier with op-
portunities. He could say to the li-
quor store workers, ‘‘Thanks,
toys and girls. Why should the
public be denied the right to buy a
botile of booze just because your
union bosses don’t like our laws?
My next bit of good work will be
to privatize the liquor stores. All
of them. Collect your cheques on:
the way out.’

As with the liquor stores, so
with the ferries. Why should
anyone deny us the right to travel
on our publicly owned ships?
Next thing you know, they'll be
telling us we can’t use the roads,

The premier has said this will be |
the last time the ferry unions will
be able to deny us that right. Let’s
hope he makes that stick.

Meanwhile, labor is threatening
mare one-day walkouts. But if
Vander Zalm retreats before that
kind of bullying he might as weil
invite the B.C. Federation of
Labor to move its offices to the
parliament buildings.

placed on probation for six months
after the 38-year-old North Van-
couver man pleaded guilty to steal-
ing two packages of wieners.
Before Judge R.D. Grandison in
West Vancouver provincial court
May 21:

James Hugh Kitson was fined
$100 after the 22-year-old West.
Vancouver man pleaded guilty to a
charge of misleading a police of-
ficer,

Before Judge R.D. Grandison in
West Vancouver provincial court
May 21:

Daniel Ivan Maxim was fined
$100 after the 18-year-old Surrey
man pleaded guilty to a charge of
possession of marijuana.

9- Wednesday. June 3, 1987 - North Shore News

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