aterfront layofis loo!

Fibreco, Vancouver Wharves feeling effects of rail strike

NORTH SHORE waterfront industries and tourism opera-
tors hit hard by a month-long BC Rail strike say they can’t
hold out much longer before they start to shut down their

operations and lay workers off.

And one North Shore MLA said
he has been told by some striking
BC Rail employees that union
leaders should have put the North
Vancouver-based company’s Jatest
contract offer to a vote because it
might have been accepted.

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Moe
Sihota said’ Wednesday that he
would have an announcement

‘ about the strike either Thursday
or Friday. Sihota had not issued a
statement to press time Thursday.

Tony Jarrett, president of North
Vancouver’s Fibreco Export Inc.,
which exports woodchips from
northern pulp mills to foreign
markets, said his company has lost
over $4 million since the start of

‘ the strike, which entered its 33rd
day today.
' The company’s Fibreco ‘Pulp
Inc. in Taylor, B.C., has told the
pulp operation’s 130 employees
that they will. be laid off if the
strike is not settled by Sunday.

Fibreco Pulp ships its product
to. Fibreco’s North Vancouver
terminal for export.

North Vancouver’s Vancouver

i Wharves Ltd., which relies on BC

. Rail to ship mineral concentrates,
sulphur and potash from northern
» suppliers suid it is relying on its
_- current stockpile of cargo to meet
i customers’ demands.

But: spokesman Roger Clarke
“said the terminal’s stockpiles will
last only ‘until about mid-
September.

Lynn Valley
Little League
. team meets
Quebec for
national title

LYNN VALLEY’S Little
~ League. team plays Quebec
’ today for the right to rep-
resent Canada at the Little
. League. World Series in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania,
“Jater this month.

~~” By Kevin Gillies ,
‘Sports Reporter

Lynn Valley defeated Jasper
Park, Alberta, 3-0 on Tuesday to
advance to the fiual, while Quebec
prevailed 9-4 over Ontario to ad-
vance.

_ Lynn: Valley’s record of four
wins and one loss ties the team for
first place with Quebec.

. Lynn Valley’s only defeat was a
4-1 loss to Quebec.

But Lynn Valley coach Eden
Briscoe pointed out that Quebec
has not played. against pitcher
Clinton Hosford, who. will be
starting the championship game
for the North Vancouver squad.

_Hosford is Jeading the tourna-
<ment with 14 innings of no-run
pitching.

The winner of. the final will
proceed directly to Williamsport
for the Little League World
Series.

The’ teams in the tournament

are made up of il- and 12-year-—

old boys. .

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

If the strike is not settled by
then, Clarke said Vancouver
Wharves will be forced to cut its
workforce.

“Our ability to receive in-
bound rail shipments from BC
Rail is gone. We’re now limited to
receiving rail shipments by barge,
and that is less efficient and more
costly.

“Once those stockpiles are
depleted, we can’t replace it. Right
now we've taken a financial loss,”’
said Clarke.

But he said he could not put an
estimate on how much money
Vancouver Wharves has Jost as a
result of the BC Rail strike.

“On the waterfront, if a ship
doesn’t come in, then you don't
call a crew. There'll be far less
employment at (Vancouver)
Wharves,”’ said Clarke.

North Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce manager Judi
Ainsworth said the strike has hurt
the local tourist trade by shutting
down the BC Rail’s Royal Hudson
steam train service between North
Vancouver and Squamish.

She said the chamber sent
Sihota a letter on Aug. 13 urging
him to end the labor dispute, but
she said the chamber has yet to
hear back from the minister.

“There are hundreds of people
who would come into our com-

munity from the Royal Hudson
that are not coming in. It's (strike)
very disturbing for a lot of peo-
ple,"' said Ainsworth.

The provincial cabinet met on
Wednesday to discuss the strike.

Sihota said he has been told to
take a new direction to end the
labor dispute but would not say
what new measures he has plan-
ned.

BC Rail spokesman Barrie Wall
said that, as of Thursday morn-
ing, the Crown corporation had
not heard from Sihota's office.

He said the strike had thus far
cost BC Rail over $30 million.

West Vancouver-Garibaldi
MLA David Mitchell said Sihota
has the power to end the strike
this week.

“Up until the cabinet meeting
yesterday (Wednesday) there was
no direction .... Mr.
the power to end this. Why they
haven’ taken any action is beyond
me,” said Mitchell.

Last week the Council of Trade
Unions (CTU), which represents
seven BC Rail unions and 1,600
employees, rejected what BC Rail
called its final offer.

The offer included 2% wage
increases in each year of a three-
year contract and a performance
bonus.

The CTU did not put the offer
to a membership vote.

“My sense from talking to BC
Rail employees in Squamish was
that offer might have been ac-
cepted if it was put to a vote,’”’
said Mitchell.

CTU chairman Ray Callard did
not return News phone calls to
press time Thursday.

Sihota has _

rye
EWS photo Mike akotield

House broken

NORTH VANCOUVER resident Doug Lancshire looks over the
damaged cages that once housed four exoiic birds. The
birds’ owner, Gail Logan, said someone came onto her prop-
erty, freed the birds and destroyed the cages.

Fed party heads. bashed by candidates

Reformer says Campbell, Chretien in ‘bidding war’ with tax money

WHILE PRIME Minister
Kim Campbell has yet to
call the federal. election,
the political gloves are al-
ready off on the North
Shore.

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

Both Campbell and Liberal
leader Jean Chretien were at-
tacked this week by Capilano-
Howe Sound Reform Party of
Canada candidate Herb Grubel,
who charged the = pair with
engaging in a ‘‘bidding war’’
with taxpayers’ dollars.

But North Shore Tory and
‘Grit candidates were fast to
come to their leaders’ defence.

Grubel criticized pre-election
speeches made by Campbell and
Chretien this week.

In her speech, Campbell
promised to improve education
planning with negotiations be-
tween the federal and provincial
governments, business, labor
groups and schouls.

She added that her govern-
ment would increase the max-
imum available student loan
from $3,500 to $5,100 a year for
eligible full-time students.

Maximum loans for part-time
students, she said, would in-
crease from $2,500 to $4,000.

SEED MONEY

In his speech, Chretien said a
Liberal government would con-
tribuie $100 million over four
years to create a Canada Invest-

LIBERAL LEADER Jean
Chretien... has the support
of smali business, says
North Vancouver Liberal
candidate Mobina Jaffer.

ment Fund that would give seed
money for new small businesses.

The fund, to be managed by
the private sector, would ask fi-
nancial institutions and the
business sector to contribute
$150 million.

But Grubel said the pre-elec-
tion promises by Campbell and
Chretien would end up costing
taxpayers.

“While education is a top
priority for many Canadians, the

prime minister has not explained .

where the money will come
from. Will there be more bor-
rowing or higher taxes?” said
Grubel.

He added that the announced
spending .promises made by
Campbell and Chretien indicate

smarter. It’s not a bidding war.
We see the Reform party once
again being ill-informed,’’.‘said
McMartin. ’

He added that whiie the Con- .
servatives also support the small
business sector, Chretien’s plans
call for spending millions of
dollars on setting up a bureau-
cracy.

SMALL BUSINESS

North Vancouver Liberal can-
didate Mobina Jaffer dismissed
Grubel’s claim that Chretien
plans to offer subsidies to the
small business community.

She. said his plans call for
creating jobs and that he has the
support of the small business
sector.

“The majority of the popula-
tion say jobs are the main thing
and who will create the jobs?
Small business will. It’s not def-
icit-creating,’’ said Jaffer.

She also attacked Campbell’s
announcement of increased
funding for education, saying
that was already announced by
the Liberal party.

“She’s again playing catch-
up,”’ said Jaffer.

North Vancouver NDP can-
didate Graeme Bowbrick said
Campbell is only promising to
return money to the provinces in
the form of transfer payments
which the government has al-
ready taken away.

CAPILANO-HOWE Sound
Reform candidate Herb
Grubel... ‘‘old-line parties
are engaged in old-style
politics of manipulation.”

“the old-line parties are engaged
in old-style politics of manipu-
Jation.”’

“This is the type of manipula-
tion that has led Canadians to be
so cynical about politics. The
voters should ask Campbell and
Chretien who will pay for their
bribes,’’ said Grubel,

But North Vancouver Pro-
gressive Conservative candidate
Will McMartin said Grubel
doesn’t know what he is talking
about. .

He said Campbell’s top prior-
ity is to cut the deficit and
balance the budget within the
next five years.

“Her commitment to educa-
tion is part of her goal to make
sure we spend our money

“It sounds like an empty
promise. It’s important not to
fight the deficit on the backs of
education funding,’’ said
Bowbrick.