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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
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Wages ‘unsustainable’ PREMIER JIM PRENTICE LOOKS TO OVERHAUL BARGAINING WITH CIVIL SERVANTS BY DEAN BENNETT THE CANADIAN PRESS
LABOUR
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jim Prentice announced Monday he will overhaul how the province bargains with public-sector workers and review legislation that prevents civil servants from striking. Prentice says the patchwork system of past bargaining has left Alberta with “unsustainable” publicservice wages that are among the highest in Canada. “The need is to ensure some co-ordination, some discipline and some consistency of approach (to collective bargaining), which we have not had in Al-
berta to this point,” Prentice told reporters after a lunchtime speech at a downtown hotel. “The provincial government needs to be at the centre of this.” Prentice said a group chaired by senior civil servant Tim Grant will examine the best way to take a long-term approach to bargaining that matches the financial goals of the province and report back in four months. The premier said the province will also review
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labour rules in light of the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down as unconstitutional a Saskatchewan law that prevented public-sector employees from striking. He said a new dispute resolution will be based on essential services models already in place in other provinces. The plan would allow unionized staff to strike and employers to order lockouts with the proviso that essential services continue operating during the disruption, Prentice added.
Please see LABOUR on Page A2
MAYERTHORPE — 10 YEARS LATER
Candlelight vigil to mark ‘horrible day’ BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Exelta Gymnastics Club member Dylan Patsula works through his moves on the pommel horse at the Collicutt Centre on Monday. Patsula and his teammates are preparing for an upcoming meet in Calgary. The University of Calgary International Cup will be held on the weekend of March 27.
Buchanan urges city council to revisit crime map debate BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer city Coun. Buck Buchanan is not giving up the fight to have the city’s crimes plotted on a map. Buchanan filed a second notice of motion asking for the city to collaborate with the RCMP to explore the concept of crime mapping as a tool in the overall safety strategy on Monday. His initial motion died on the floor on Jan. 19 because there was no seconder. Buchanan initially proposed working with the Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre but city administration recommended changing the motion to working with the RCMP. “It’s about awareness,” said Buchanan. “It’s not like it isn’t being done in other places or other jurisdictions with the RCMP (such as Kelowna and St. Albert).” He said it is just a matter of releasing the information and the RCMP are not going to release the information unless they are advised by the city. “The Crime Prevention Centre is going out in the communities and the things that are constantly coming up is ‘Can you tell us what is happening in our neighbourhood?’ ” he said. “And unfortunately we can’t.” Buchanan was not part of the Jan. 19 discussion because there was a perceived conflict of interest. Buchanan said, in fact, some paperwork was mistakenly filed that put him on the Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre board. This time, Buchanan hopes he has the support of
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his council colleagues. “I think the last time there was a little bit of misunderstanding,” said Buchanan. “I think certainly some of the councillors are understanding it a bit better now. Hopefully when we speak to it there will be support.” On March 16, council will debate the motion. Typically when a notice of motion fails, the mover or another councillor must wait six months before it can be brought back to council. Because the motion was not discussed on the floor, it did not “virtually exist,” enabling someone to bring it forward again without waiting six months. In other council news: ● The City of Red Deer agreed to loan $2 million to the future host society of the 2019 Canada Winter Games. ● Council adopted an updated Economy Charter for the City of Red Deer. It was originally adopted in July 2013. The long-term work plan consists of three roles, including led, co-ordinated and advocacy strategies. It focuses on maximizing Red Deer’s position in the province, diversifying the economy, and an emphasis on small business and downtown revitalization. It also places emphasis on approaching development from multiple perspectives. Mayor Tara Veer said the community has lots of ideas and dreams for where they would like to see us progress but we can’t just rely on annual increases in the tax base alone to do this. “We recognize that we need to protect and enhance Red Deer’s competitive positioning in our region and our province for new business growth attraction, expansion and retention,” she said. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com
A candlelight vigil will be held in Mayerthorpe today to commemorate the fallen four RCMP officers on the 10th anniversary of their deaths. In Red Deer, Keith and Colleen Myrol will gather with friends and family to remember their son Brock Myrol, 29, who was slain along with Constables Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston and Peter Schiemann. “It’s a strange day because it’s not a celebration,” said Keith. “It’s the marking of a day that actually was a horrible day. “So we’ll just work our way Brock Myrol through the day.” Myrol said their daughter and her husband and grandchildren all live in town and some friends are also stopping by. “We won’t be alone. That’s the main thing.” There have been many events over the years to remember the sacrifices of the four young RCMP officers and the Myrols are grateful for the thoughts and messages from other Canadians. “Over the years, we’ve gone to so many memorials and things that people have done in honour of the boys. “It’s wonderful when people do that, obviously.” A lifelong musician, Myrol found a way to put his thoughts together through lyrics and song. He posted his song Heroes on YouTube and has been pleased to see how many people have seen it. About 3,000 have viewed the video so far. It can be found by typing in ‘Heroes by Keith Myrol.’ It is introduced as a “tribute to my son, his fallen brothers, and to all of the men and women in uniform who serve and have served, to keep us safe and secure.” The moving musical tribute includes a slideshow featuring the officers and the opening of the official memorial park for the officers in Mayerthorpe, among other images. One image shows Brock, Leo and Peter posing for a detachment portrait with seven of their comrades, all in red serge, and two civilians. Brock had been on the job for less than three weeks. “The whole idea is just to be a memorial tribute,” he said. The four officers were shot by James Roszko on his farm near Mayerthorpe. RCMP had been there as part of a vehicle theft and marijuana grow-op investigation. Roszko was wounded by returning fire from police and later committed suicide in a building where he was holed up. Two local men, Shawn Hennessey, 28, and Dennis Cheeseman, 23, were sentenced to 15 years and 12 years respectively for helping Roszko prior to the shootings. Cheeseman was released from prison last November after serving two-thirds of his sentence. Hennessey remains in prison. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
Toronto tunnel mystery solved A mystery tunnel discovered near a Pan Am Games venue was built by two men who wanted a place to ‘hang out.’ Story on PAGE A5
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