TUESDAY APRIL 22, 2014
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Vol. 63, Issue 76
Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951
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When mayors converge Cranbrook and Kimberley host B.C. Mayors Caucus this week ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
This week, Cranbrook and Kimberley will be jointly hosting the BC Mayors’ Caucus. The Caucus is meant to facilitate discussion on various diverse and pressing issues that relate to municipal government. The mayors will all be meeting to have these discussions on April 24-25. “Cranbrook is very excited about having municipal leaders from around B.C. here to discuss issues that are common to all of our citizens,” Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Stetski said. “I look forward to sharing the outcomes and recommendations with our community.” This will be the fifth meeting of the Caucus.
See MAYORS , Page 3 STEWART WILSON PHOTO
?aq’am approves land code in BCTF strike action starts Wednesday significant vote This bald eagle is the latest in a collection of metal sculptures created by Ron Demaniuk of Cranbrook, and can be spotted in his yard by those using Rotary Way between Kinsmen Park and Idlewild. It stands over four metres from the ground and has a wingspan of more than five metres.
TOM FLETCHER Black Press
VICTORIA – After rejecting an offer from the school district bargaining agency for a longterm contract, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation has served notice it will begin work-to-rule action April 23. BCTF president Jim Iker announced Thursday that 72-hour notice has been given, after union members voted 89 per cent in March to endorse a three-stage strike plan. Phase one includes refusing communication with school managers, arriving no more than an hour before and leaving an hour after school hours, and refusing supervision of students outside class time. It does not affect pre-ar-
ranged voluntary activities such as coaching, but the refusal of supervision requires essential service levels that compel some teachers to assure the safety of students while they are out of classes. Report card preparation and parent meetings will continue. Iker said progress at the bargaining table will determine how long phase one action would last. Phase two of the BCTF plan is rotating one-day walkouts in districts around the province. Phase three, a full-scale strike, would require a second vote by members to authorize. The BCTF has rejected the government’s offer for a 10-year agreement with pay increases totalling 6.5% over the first six
BCTF president Jim Iker years and additional wage increases to be negotiated for the final four years. There has been little change
to the “lowball offer” on wages and no movement on the long-running dispute over class size limits and special needs support, Iker said. BCTF negotiators countered with a three-year proposal with three per cent plus a cost-of-living increase in each year. With compounding and current estimates of inflation, BCPSEA calculates that could amount to 13.5 per cent over three years. Iker said school districts are cutting staff and programs due to ministry budget cuts, and the ministry should at least cover school districts’ costs for increase medical services plan premiums and BC Hydro rate increases.
See BCTF , Page 4
Ktunaxa community voted 73 per cent in favour of a land use model crafted by members SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
An important vote for ?aq’am (St. Mary’s Band) has given approval to a new land code for the Ktunaxa community outside Cranbrook. Band members voted from Monday, April 14 to Wednesday, April 16 on whether they supported the land code, which sets regulations that would remove one-third of the legislation in the Indian Act. 141 ballots were cast, and 103 were in favour of adopting the land code. That works out to be 73 per cent, said Julie Couse, ?aq’am’s Director of Lands and Natural Resources.
See BAND, Page 4