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PRAIRIEDALE TALKS P. 2 EDITORIAL P. 6
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NEW CNC CAMPUS NEEDED P. 3 COMMUNITY BUILDER P. 9
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Hopes, concerns expressed at pool meeting Cameron Ginn Omineca Express The pool committee held open houses in Vanderhoof and Cluculz Lake last week to discuss the value of building a $12-million aquatic facility here. The meetings were also organized to provide information to the community ahead of the pool referendum on Feb. 16, 2013, when electors will decide whether the municipality can borrow $4-million to put towards building the aquatic facility. “Today we’ve just got the information,” said Councillor Steve Little, chair of the committee. “We’re not here to convince you how to vote, but we think with the right information, the community will vote yes.” Almsot 130 people attended the open house at the Nechako Senior Friendship Centre in Vanderhoof, where the committee responded to questions from members of the community, many of whom shared concerns about costs. “The crucial information, in the end, is what is it going to cost,” said Monty Holding, senior associate of Professional Environmental Recreation Consultants Ltd (PERC). In August 2010, the pool committee retained PERC to prepare a $37,000 feasibility study related to the construction and operation of an aquatic facility in Vanderhoof. The study, which will be made available on the pool committee’s website, Vanderhoofpool.ca, reviews in comprehensive detail the budgetary expenditures of pool facilities in communities with populations similar to Vanderhoof. Although the study contains a wealth of information, Holding said it won’t be accessed by the majority of electors in the community, about 2,960. “Many people won’t take the trouble to go and get the information,” he said. “That’s the purpose of tonight.” Erling and Alice Clemmensen, who have lived in Vanderhoof since 1964, attended the open house to understand how an aquatic facility would affect tax rates. “We’re on a fixed income,” he said. “If it’s going to change, we don’t want it to chase us out of our home.” When Vanderhoof held a pool referendum 15 years ago, the couple enrolled in swimming lessons in Prince George with hopes that the community would vote in favor of the aquatic facility. But the referendum didn’t pass. Continued on page 3
Unionized support staff held a strike outside the College of New Caledonia campus in Vanderhoof on Wednesday, Nov. 21, shuttering services for a second straight day. Cameron Ginn/Omineca Express
Strike shutters CNC services Cameron Ginn Omineca Express An abrupt two-day strike by unionized support staff at campuses of the College of New Caledonia (CNC) left thousands of students without classes last week. After failing to reach a collective agreement on a two-per-cent wage increase with the CNC earlier this month, the support staff, who belong to the CUPE Local 4951 labor union, decided suddenly to hold a strike. "The college was unable to meet their money demands at that time and therefore talks broke off," said Randall Heidt, director of communications and development for the CNC.
Lily Bachand, president of CUPE 4951, said the provincial government recently approved a two-per-cent wage increase for operational staff at universities across the province. "The problem that we're facing is that the government is treating postsecondary sectors differently, each one of them," said Bachand. "What we're saying is just give us the two per cent." The strike, the first by CNC support staff since 1984, began on Tuesday and lasted until Wednesday evening when the the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA) - the bargaining agent for all public colleges, special-purpose teaching universities and institutes in B.C. since Feb. 4, 2004 - released a statement saying they were ready to negotiate.
"We are prepared to come back to the table with a reasonable offer, but unions in this sector need to be willing to stretch if they want to meet the expectations of their members," the PSEA said in the Nov. 21 statement. "We encourage the union to consider avoiding any actions that may impact student learning." With some exams set to take place next month, the strike comes at a sensitive time for faculty and students. "If we were to pick this time, we would have never have picked this item for that reason," said Bachand. "It's an opportune time if you're trying to prove a point, but it isn't our intent to do it on the back of the students. But the provincial government has made it that way, so we have nowhere to go."
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