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JULY 7, 2016 | Volume 29 No. 81
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Mail delivery across Canada could be suspended as early as tomorrow.
ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
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they’re CO, in honour of him,” said Halliwell. Celebrations will begin tomorrow with the arrival at 10 a.m. of a CT155 Hawk aircraft painted to resemble a Second World War-era plane and the release of a book chronicling the squadron’s history, including its Kamloops connection. On Saturday, the squadron will celebrate its Freedom of the City with a parade beginning at 10:15 a.m. Moosemen will march to Kamloops City Hall, 7 West Victoria St., for speeches and a flyover of more Hawk jets before heading to
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 52. Freedom of the City is a special status granted to military groups that have a special relationship with a community, said Halliwell. The practice dates back to the English War of the Roses. The City of Kamloops granted Freedom of the City to the 419 in 1993. “They could march into town with their bayonets raised and their colours flying because they were trusted members of the city,” Halliwell said. See 419, A6
Return to sender? CAM FORTEMS
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Posties in the city and region are preparing for the possibility of being off the job as early as tonight as Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. The last contract expired at the end of last year. Canada Post has issued 72-hour notice of lockout to union, which means employees could be off the job as of 9 p.m. tonight. “We have people working at the plant [on Dalhousie Drive] who could be ushered out at that time,” said Lara Plummer, president of the local CUPW. There are about 175 unionized workers in Kamloops, including mail carriers and workers in the sorting
plant. Another 15 or so are management employees. Canada Post claims union demands will increase its costs by $1 billion. It is seeking concessions, including a less generous pension for new workers and flexibility for workers on weekends due to competition from private couriers. The lockout notice is caused in part by what Canada Post said is a drastic slowdown in mail and parcel processing as a work stoppage nears and fears of trapped mail become closer. Union national president Mike Palecek said the looming job action “is brought to you by the people who wanted to take away home delivery. “They refused to negotiate fairly with us and now they ‘re locking the doors and will try to starve us into submission,” he said in a statement. See COURIER, A6
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The 419 Moose Squadron doesn’t call Kamloops home, but as the Royal Canadian Air Force squadron prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, veterans and active members are headed to the birthplace of the Second World War pilot after whom the squadron is named. About 100 members of the 419, based out of CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, will arrive in the city tomorrow for a weekend of celebra-
tions, said public-affairs officer Lieut. Jennifer Halliwell. Fittingly, they will touch down first at Fulton Field, named for the same John “Moose” Fulton who served as the squadron’s commanding officer from 1941 to 1942. “Even to this day, we’re still called the Moosemen. And the Moose commanding officer, every pilot gets a call sign when they graduate pilot training, but when they become the CO of 419 Squadron, they all change their call sign to Moose for those two or three years