contra remain unresolved NV City and District get temporary cost reprieve THE ONE-year extension of the 1990-91 coniract agree- ments for RCMP services between the federal government and all contract jurisdictons, including municipalities, has given the two North Vancouver municipalities a reprieve on a hefty hike in costs. But North Vancouver RCMP must find ways of keeping their own costs down, Earlier this year the province was facing a 5% increase in its share of the police bill. The municipal share of the contract increased by 1% annually between 1980 and 1990. The municipal share now stands at 90%. The one-year extension of the 10-year agreement maintains the 90% share and buys provincia} and federal negotiators move time to reach a new agreement. The federal government was pushing to have the municipalities pay 95% of the police contract cost this year. But in May, federal Solicitor General Doug Lewis announced a One-year extension after the origi- nal agreements expired in March. Contract talks between the pro- vinces and territories and the fed- eral government resumed in June. Said North Vancouver City administrator Gerry Brewer, ‘‘The hope is that in the next six to 10 months we can conclude an agreement that recognizes the benefits to both and is satisfactory to both so we can carry on with what we enjoy in a national police force.” A new agreement would cover a 10-year period. According to Brewer, megotiators are attempting to establish a framework within which face-to-face negotiations could restart. From a municipal perspective, footing an increased portion of the police bill would be unfair. Said Brewer, ‘‘The argument has been that it’s unfair because there is a benefit (to the federal government) worth at feast 10% cost per (police) man because tiiy enforce federal statutes and law which is not the responsibility of the municipality. There is mutual benefit.’’ Said North Vancouver RCMP Supt. Bob Byam of the one-year contract extension, ‘‘The feds want the municipalities to pay more and the municipalities don’t want io pay more. They think they are paying enough already. But that’s a political thing. We're here to do the job no matter the decision. We're not going to leave them high and dry and vice versa. “The dollars are there at last year’s rate. In other words the municipalities and the province are getting a break. Their costs aren’t increasing on a percentage basis,’’ he said. The per capita cost, the amount required to put a North Van- couver RCMP constable on the street, is about $70,000 in North Vancouver. The city pays for about 57 members while the By Michael Becker News Reporter district pays for about 70 police force members. Meanwhile, tightening belts. Said Byam, ‘‘What I have been lead to believe is the government has capped last year’s budget. In other words this year we have the same budget even though there are increased costs. So we have to cut back somewhere. If we're fully employed now, we can’t do all the nice-to-do things that you would normally do. “Major things would still be addressed. We have to look at things like will we attend all motor vehicle accidents. When you get to non-criminal things like fender benders and that, things we've normally attended, we have to take another look,’’ Byam ad- ded. Police are pressed limited resources to criminal activity. the RCMP are to apply increased “Now people complain of speeding in an area and we go and have members check it out. We may have to look at other alter- natives, such as using volunteers to monitor areas of speeding complaint. This is being research- ed now,”’ Byam said. Friday, August 16, 1991 - North Shore News - 3 nome? NOATH VANCOUVER District firefighters and B.C. Ambulance crews were called out to Lynn Canyon Park Wednesday afternoon to rescue a 25-year-old New Westminster teacher who got into trouble while swimming in ar: area known as 30-foot pool. District fire Capt. Malcolm Dickie said the man, whose name was not released, had been swimming in the pool with a friend when “the found himself in a situation where he couldn't handle the currents.”’ A firefighter rappelled dewn a rock cliff and tied a harness around the man and then attached the man to his own system before other firefighters pulled the pair up. The entire rescue operation took about 35 minutes. ‘There is no way that guy could have got out by himself. He was in the water for 15 minutes before we got there and he was white when we got him out. | don’t know how you stop mature adults from doing stupid things,’ said Dickie. Union unhappy with Versatile plan Six out of 10 creditors approve deal; federal decision on hold WHILE SIX of the 10 class of creditors owed money by North Vancouver-based Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. (VPSI) have given the thumbs up sign to the company’s restructured business plan, the union rep- resenting the majority of laid off VPSI workers has turned thumbs down on the deal. In March, the financially- troubled VPSi was granted B.C, Supreme Court protection to allow it to restructure its fi- nances in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. On July 15 the North Van- couver shipbuilder filed a restructured business plan with the court. The plan asks for federal government approval to sell its $60-million Panamax floating dry dock to an un- named Asian buyer for $14.8 By Surj Rattan News Reporter million. Another option is to have Ottawa purchase the dry dock for $7.5 million. Versatile also plans to con- solidate its ship building and repair operations in Esquimalt and permanently close its North Vancouver yard. Earlier this week VSPI of- ficials met with creditors at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver to hear what they thought of the company’s restructured business plan. Six of the 10 class of cred- itors have now approved the deal. But the federal govern- ment has now said it will wait until Aug. 27 to decide if it will accept or reject the new plan. Ottawa is also seriously con- sidering purchasing the dry dock, the only one of its kind in the Port of Vancouver. The federal government orig- inally invested over $28 million in the dry dock. But Marine and Boiler- makers Industrial Union secre- tary-treasurer Bill Scott said Thursday that VPSI has used “underhanded”’ tactics and is trying to convince former VPSI employees who are owed pen- sions to agree to the new plan of arrangement. “The pensioners were never told of the alternatives if they rejected the plan of arrange- ment. They were told the plan included a 17% increase to the pensions and that if they ref- used to accept it then the pen- sion pian would stay the same,’’ said Scott. ‘‘That was an underhanded move on Ver- satile’s part.”’ He added that while VPS! has said it would like to sell the dry dock to an Asian buyer for $14.8 million and, failing that, have Ottawa purchase it for $7.5 million, VPSI has failed to explain where the $7.3 mil- fion shortfall would be made up from. ‘A lot of the employees are bitter that Shieldings (VPSI’s Toronto-based parent com- pany) had the money to pur- chase the Versatile lands but not to get out of debt,” said Scott. VPSI chief executive officer Peter Quinn did not return News phone calls to press time Thursday.