The Record • Wednesday, May 29, 2013 • A07
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Same old, same old in B.C. ◗ continued from page 6
instead of constructively debating and crafting laws that meet the needs of the people. The money-power of corporate insiders will continue to speak loudest in the backrooms of the premier’s office while the backbenchers are whipped into shape. Meanwhile, a regressive tax and userpay agenda benefiting big corporations and the wealthy will continue to worsen poverty and economic inequality. It’s business as usual in B.C. The corporate bottom line is the only value that matters. Mike Divine, New Westminster
All voices should be heard Dear Editor:
I was part of a delegation of representatives from all municipalities along the coal train route from White Rock through Surrey, and those affected by the Surrey Fraser Dock facility and resultant barge traffic from New Westminster to Texada Island last week at the Port Metro Vancouver offices at Canada Place. We were there to present them with our 400plus signed petitions, letters and a request for a meeting. Of all the posters, placards, speeches, and letters at Canada Place, the most impressive presentation came from a high school student. He and some 40 others of his generation had evidently convinced port authority to allow them to make a
presentation about the effects they saw in allowing Surrey Fraser Docks to proceed to facilitate U.S. coal exports via Canada. Alas, the port authority reneged on the promised meeting, ostensibly on the basis that the experts the students wanted to bring to the meeting were too one-sided and Fraser Surrey Docks had no experts to bring to the table in rebuttal! I am relying on his account of events but, if true, the hypocrisy demonstrated by that action not only undermines the faith that youth should have in their “right to be heard” but is also demonstrative of how the Surrey Fraser Docks so-called “public consultation” is really a “public relations” exercise – a one-sided sham sanctioned by the port authority as they ink their rubber stamp. Our local politicians here in New Westminster are to be lauded for their initiative to hold a public town hall meeting on Thursday at Douglas College with all parties invited to share their views on the issue. Even though Surrey Fraser Docks refused to have one of their open houses here, there is no reason to exclude them from a meeting we put together – both sides need to be heard, just like in a public hearing. On the assumption that the port authority attends, I am hoping this lad and his cohorts will be invited and allowed to finally make their presentation, despite their earlier shoddy treatment. By doing so, perhaps we can begin to restore the faith of the next generation in public institutions and due process.
rest should do so by the end of next month. This sets the stage for a possible confrontation between the unions and the B.C. Liberal government in the fall. Of course, it’s quite likely the government will simply impose a contract on both unions if they can’t be freely negotiated and if job action becomes problematic in schools. Nevertheless, this situation could be Premier Christy Clark’s first real test as an elected premier with a mandate. It is imperative that her government delivers its budget with its projected surplus if it wants to establish credibility when it comes to budget-making. This means there is very little money for wage increases in the education sector (school boards say there are no more savings to be found to fund wage
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hikes for employees). So to get to that magic land of a balanced budget, Clark will have to hold firm against two public sector unions with their hands stretched out. Both unions no doubt expected to be dealing with a newly elected NDP government in contract talks, and therefore probably assumed they were in for an easier ride. But the upset win by the B.C. Liberals changed many things, not the least of which has to be the expectations of the public sector unions. They are about to discover the new sheriff in town is actually still the old one, but her hold on the job is much stronger now. Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C. Email him at Keith.Baldrey@ globalnews.ca.
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courts would allow such a long deal to be imposed on a collective bargaining process (but a five-year contract may be a different story). Still, it’s clear the B.C. Liberals are intent on trying a radically different approach in this round of talks with the BCTF. Just days after the election, they bailed on the current set of negotiations, even though the union said progress was being made, in favour of shifting talks towards the 10-year plan. As for the unionized support staff, they’re looking for a wage increase in the neighbourhood of two per cent a year. Most of their locals have already taken strike votes, and Vancouver Sun education reporter Janet Steffenhagen reports the
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Teachers: New approach to talks ◗ continued from page 6
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