VICTORIANEWS VICTORIA COMMUNITY
SPORTS
Showing their pride
NHL to WHL
Supporters of all stripes came out in full force for the annual Pride Week parade. Photo page A25
Victoria Royals announce their new GM, a former assistant to the Rangers’ Glen Sather. Page A19
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
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Local lawyer scores windfall for nurses Landmark settlement redefines gender discrimination in battle between ‘David and Goliath’ Roszan Holmen News staff
O
n his big day to shine last week, Victoria lawyer Laurence Armstrong was stuck in hospital, undergoing surgery. For someone not shy of the media glare, the timing was terrible. “It’s so unfair,” said Armstrong, laughing. On July 3, the Canadian Human Rights Roszan Holmen/News staff Tribunal issued an order Lawyer Laurence Armstrong awarding Armstrong’s specializes in civil litigation clients – more than 400 and tax disputes, but has Canada Pension Plan nurses – $160 million and gained notoriety with counting. It compensates two high-profile gender discrimination cases. them for nearly 35 years of discrimination. Armstrong describes it a simple tale of David and Goliath – with one twist: David is a woman. On the surface, the win is small in scope compared to previous pay-equity cases, involving thousands of publicsector employees and payouts worth billions of dollars. But the case against the federal government is precedentsetting in that it effectively broadened the way the tribunal defines gender discrimination. As Armstrong went under the knife, lead complainant and nurse Ruth Walden spoke to the press in Ottawa, where she lives. “It has taken years of effort by the nurses to get to this day,” she wrote in an email to the News. PLEASE SEE: Drawn-out battle, Page A3
Photo by Jacek Szymanski/Used with permission, Department of National Defence
Submarine HMCS Victoria arrives at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii before taking part in the annual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 combined and joint exercise. The events are taking place off Hawaii now through Aug. 3.
West Coast in capable hands Much of naval fleet absent, but ships could be redeployed to respond to emergencies Erin McCracken News staff
With hundreds of West Coast military personnel, seven ships and a submarine away at sea, CFB Esquimalt may seem like a ghost town. Two warships, three maritime coastal defence vessels and submarine HMCS Victoria are sailing in Hawaiian waters as part of a multinational Rim of the Pacific exercise until Aug. 3. Warship HMCS Regina left for the Arabian Sea on Tuesday. HMCS Van-
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couver will sail with her until they reach Hawaii. Two frigates remain at the base, though there are other smaller naval vessels training in local waters. HMCS Calgary just left the shop and HMCS Winnipeg is about to undergo a midlife refit. Having the bulk of the West Coast fleet sailing at the same time is, in fact, an ideal situation, in the eyes of navy leaders. “What we want is to have as many ships at sea doing (the) training and operations that are ultimately what we are all about,” said navy Capt. Luc Cassivi, chief of operations for Maritime Forces Pacific. “This is good news that we are getting as much as we can out of our ships.” Ships sailing abroad or at home can be quickly reassigned to respond to an emergency situation, though there is typically advance intelligence
that allows the navy to prepare, Cassivi said. In the event of a domestic emergency, several provincial and federal government agencies would respond before the navy was called in. “They tap on us as a force of last resort if they don’t have capacity, or if the situation is beyond what they are capable of managing,” he said. The navy is always ready to support other agencies, which doesn’t limit it from carrying on with regular activities, such as training exercises and missions abroad. “We need to train our sailors and we need to get our ships ready and our crew used to managing life at sea and operations, so that when we do get a tasking for international (or), national operations we (will) have as ready a crew that we can to deal with those situations,” Cassivi said. editor@vicnews.com
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