Sunday, March 30, 2008

Act NOW!

Canada: Tell Sears you won't buy until they end the lockout

Sears Holdings Corporation has 3800 retail stores and over $50 billion in annual revenues in Canada and the U.S. On October 1, 2007, Sears Canada locked out 70 appliance repair technicians in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Sears said the technicians could return to work under imposed terms that do not include any scheduled wage increases for four years, allow Sears to schedule split workweeks without two consecutive days off, eliminate certain overtime premiums, and remove a pre-existing paid holiday. Sears also said the technicians returning to work would not pay union dues. Two months later, the lockout continues. The locked-out technicians are asking North American workers to boycott Sears stores in order to get Sears back to bargaining.

Tell Sears you won't buy until they end the Lockout HERE

Read More HERE

Read More From Business Manager Rick Dowling HERE

Joining The Race To The Bottom

An Assessment of Bill 6, Amendments to the trade Union Act, March 2008 By Jim Warren

About the Author

Jim Warren is a Regina based researcher and writer, with a special interest in labour issues. His 1985 Master’s thesis examined the political experience of organized labour in Saskatchewan during the first three decades of the 20th century. Jim co-authored, On the Side of the People: A History of Labour in Saskatchewan, winner of the 2006 Saskatchewan Book Awards for Scholarly
Writing and Publishing in Education. Jim is a Research Fellow with the Canadian Plains Research Centre and is currently pursuing studies toward a Ph.D. that deals with public policy related to water use and delivery in Saskatchewan.


Read the Assessment by Jim Warren HERE a must Read for all members.

Also From Warren: CCPA study demonstrates Bill 6’s damaging effects on
province’s industrial relations HERE

Stop the Attack on Trade Union Rights in Saskatchewan HERE

Tough new green plan targets tar sands

BRIAN LAGHIOTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF; Compiled by Rick Cash; Shawn McCarthy, Global Energy ReporterMarch 10, 2008

Canada has set a target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by the year 2020. It aims to cut emissions by 60-70 per cent by mid-century.

Mr. Baird will also elaborate this week on a previously announced industry-wide requirement that forces companies to reduce carbon emissions by 18 per cent by 2010 for every unit of production. They would then have to reduce emissions by 2 per cent for every year thereafter until 2020, although the regime would be reviewed in 2012.

Some critics have panned the 18-per-cent reduction idea because it does not require firms to cut overall output.

For example, an oil sands plant will be forced to cut greenhouse-gas production per barrel of oil, but it will still be allowed to increase the number of barrels of oil it puts out.


But Mr. Baird said that no sector in the economy, save for the oil sands, would grow by more than 18 per cent over the next two years.

He estimated that the cost to industries to implement new measures to reach their targets will be $25 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2010, rising to $50 by 2016 and to $65 by 2020.

Companies that fail to meet their targets would face prosecution under the Criminal Code.

In the case of oil sands and coal plants, this week's announcement would force plants that have yet to hit the drawing board to store their emissions rather than allowing them to escape and increase the amount of gases tagged as the cause of global warming.

By contrast, oil sands firms that have been in operation since before 2004 would be subject to the 18-per-cent reduction regime, while more stringent targets would be applied on firms that have been established since 2004 and on plants that are in the construction process.

Read More HERE

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Wall says he has big plans for nuclear power in Sask.

James Wood, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Friday, March 28, 2008

Premier Brad Wall said Thursday he envisions an ambitious project involving the federal government, SaskPower and one of the uranium companies located in the province that would see Saskatchewan playing a lead role in the research and development of nuclear power.

Speaking to reporters, Wall said he had a lengthy discussion with Stephen Harper when the prime minister was in Saskatchewan this week about a federal investment in the province involving the nuclear industry.

The premier said it's linked to the Conservative government's recent budget commitment of $300 million to the federal Crown Corporation Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., in part for its development of the next generation Canadian nuclear reactor.

Read More from Woods HERE

and

Sask. government to release nuclear power report

Avoiding suggestion of Devine influence

Thursday, March 27, 2008

SUN defends record in essential services

The Leader-PostPublished: Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Premier Brad Wall, when the Saskatchewan Party was sitting as the Official Opposition, stated in a Jan. 10, 2007, letter to myself as Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) president: "I want to emphasize that it is our view that in the past, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, on their own volition, has been responsible for protecting public safety by agreeing to provide essential services during a strike."

Despite this, the Saskatchewan Party government has attempted to justify its interference in the collective bargaining process by stating that changes to essential services legislation are necessary to ensure public safety.

Public safety has never, and will never, be put at risk as a result of any job action by SUN members.

Read Rosalee Longmoore Letter to the Editor HERE

Harper prefers cordial premiers

Angela Hall, Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

ESTEVAN -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper says provincial leaders who pursue a "confrontational" relationship with his federal government don't fare as well as ones willing to work together.

While Harper said federal money gets distributed fairly, he also said "the reality is that more gets done when governments work together than when they fight each other."

Harper cited the planned clean coal, carbon storage project near Estevan -- which will use $240 million in federal money -- as an example of what he called a "positive working relationship" between Ottawa and Saskatchewan under Premier Brad Wall's recently Saskatchewan Party government.

The previous NDP government in Saskatchewan and Harper's Conservative government had been frequently at odds over the equalization formula, with the province filing a constitutional challenge on the matter last year.

Both the NDP and the Sask. Party had lobbied for the removal of non renewable resource revenues from the equalization formula, but when the Conservatives did so in 2007 they also put in place an unforeseen cap on payments.

Saskatchewan, which had estimated it would get about $800 million federal equalization funds annually if the promise was kept, got $227 million last year and nothing this budget year.

Read More From Hall HERE

Also

Harper's old news is still welcome

Harper asked challenge be dropped: Wall

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

U of R technology used

Bruce Johnstone, The Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A $1.4-billion clean coal project at Boundary Dam power station will use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology developed over the last couple of decades at the University of Regina and licensed by a Regina-based company.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to officially announce the federal government's contribution of $240 million to the project, promised in last month's budget, at a news conference in Estevan today.

The clean coal project is expected to use "post-combustion, amine-scrubbing" technology developed by the U of R's International Test Centre for CO2 Capture.

The ITC research team is led by two U of R professors, Paitoon Tontiwachwithikul, considered one of the world's leading experts in carbon capture and storage research, and Malcolm Wilson, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

"This is technology that has been developed over the last 15 years between Malcolm and Paitoon,'' said Lionel Kambeitz, CEO of HTC Purenergy, the Regina company licensed to market the CCS technology. "They've done a fabulous job of taking that to that commercial level."

"We've only been involved for going on to our seventh year,'' said Kambeitz, referring to HTC's attempts to commercialize the U of R's CCS technology

Read More Here From Johnstone

Also

Harper announces gov't partnership with Sask.

Clean coal will cost us: Harper

Harper Confirms Clean Coal Project

New Democrats raise money concerns over clean-coal project




Friday, March 21, 2008

Making hard work of labour changes

Murray Mandryk, The Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Were it limited to the issue of changing the labour rules to achieve "fairness" and "balance", the Saskatchewan Party government would be winning this fight hands down.

But if change was needed, why didn't the Saskatchewan Party government simply advocate change on that principle? Why would it need to be anything less than upfront and honest about what it was doing?

Unfortunately, Norris's newfound forthrightness has come only after his latest misadventure emerging out of his appearance at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) convention Friday. (This, too, is a tad unfortunate, given that going before the angry union mob demonstrated the kind of courage of conviction the Saskatchewan Party government needed to demonstrate on these issues from Day One.)

Asked by a local CUPE executive if he or anyone in his government consulted with University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon prior to the tabling of essential services bill on Dec. 19, Norris said no such consultations happened. The union executive then produced a Dec. 14 e-mail that quotes government media relations director Bonny Braden pleading with the minister's own communications director, Herman Hulshof, to "be in the loop, too" on the essential services legislation. Braden volunteers that she had just spoken "with President MacKinnon and he'll support us on this publicly so that's cool."


While it may not all that nefarious for the government's communications director to be lining up a high-profile supporter, it isn't necessarily consistent with the answer Norris had been giving. (Nor was it necessarily complete harmless, either. MacKinnon is Norris's old boss and was in the middle of a labour dispute.)

Moreover, the e-mail was part of a chain that showed the legislation was well into the draft stage. In fact, included in this e-mail chain was MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman (MLT) partner Kevin Wilson -- a labour management lawyer who has long advocated labour legislation changes.

For the first time Monday, Norris confirmed that Wilson has been retained (at $325 an hour) by his government -- presumably to help with these labour bills. Shouldn't we have known this earlier? And wouldn't it also be have been nice to know that new LRB chair Ken Love was appointed by the transition team -- and had giving legal advice to that transition team?
Even Premier Brad Wall -- who offered his unqualified support to Norris in the assembly Monday -- made a cryptic comment to reporters later that the labour file has not been communicated well.


Read More HERE

Read More HERE From Mario and Wood. "Gov't under fire for e-mail"

Sask. Party slammed for 'biased' legal help



MLA reacts to

By Calvin DanielsYTW Staff Writer

Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit says he is not trying to duck local labour unions by not attending a meeting held in Yorkton last Monday to discuss union legislation currently before the Saskatchewan Legislature.

During the meeting there were four chairs sitting empty at the front of the room. Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour said they were for local areas MLAs Greg Ottenbreit, Ken Krawetz, Bob Bjornerud and June Draude, who were invited to the Yorkton and District Labour Council organized event. Ottenbreit and Krawetz's offices did respond saying they could not make it, the other two MLAs did not respond to the invitation said Maryanne Federko with the local Council.

Read More HERE

Act NOW!

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and its affiliates have launched a public relations and mobilization campaign to have Bills 5 and 6 withdrawn. We are also challenging the legislation in court, arguing that they violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Human Rights code, and international law, including the International Bill of Human Rights and several UN and ILO Conventions.

Stop the Attack on Trade Union Rights in Saskatchewan HERE

Labour board being politicized: NDP

James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServicePublished: Thursday, March 13, 2008

That follows the appointment as board chair of Regina lawyer Ken Love, a long-time member of the Sask. Party who was most recently vice-president of a constituency association and recent comments by Premier Brad Wall that he expected board members to "consider what the government has said publicly in opposition and in government," noted NDP Deputy Leader Pat Atkinson.

She said it's a pattern that raises concerns about whether the new board's first priority will be its legislated role of interpreting the law.
"It leads one to believe this could well be a political appointment where it's going to be the philosophy of the Sask. Party that is going to be taken to bear when decisions are being made," she told reporters.
The Sask. Party government has been at odds with organized labour since taking office over its sweeping overhaul of labour laws and its housecleaning of the labour relations board.


Atkinson said she's concerned that the government views the labour relations board as a patronage position. Love's $180,000 salary is nearly $60,000 more than previous chair James Seibel, who was fired with vice-chairs Angela Zborosky and Catherine Zuck.

Read More from Wood's Here and Also Here

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Baird talks tough, but emitters win

Don Martin, National Post Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Oilsands projects built after 2012 will be forced to incorporate technology to capture and bury "the vast majority" of their carbon discharge through a future pipeline subsidized by the federal government.

Good news there. But existing oilsands plants and those now under construction must only curb the "intensity" of emissions per barrel of output, which means today's carbon discharge will double by the year 2018 before it flatlines.


The push to stamp out "dirty coal" power generation sounds impressive because it will banish new plants of that type entirely after 2012.

But the department only knows of two or three coal generators still on the drawing boards anywhere in Canada.

Read More Here

Documents show Harper was warned

Unscrambling the myths about eggs

Samara Felesky-Hunt, For The Calgary HeraldPublished: Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Guidelines not to limit egg consumption have been revisited because of the latest research, but also due to a better understanding of eggs' nutritional benefits. Eggs provide a number of heart healthy nutrients, such as folate, vitamins E and B12, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, as well as antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are important for good eye health. Eggs also contain vitamin D and A, iron, phosphorus and zinc.

We know that one egg has little total fat -- just five grams, of which 1.5 grams is saturated and 3.5 grams is healthy unsaturated fat.

Eggs also are a superb source of choline. Recent research has also found choline to be an essential nutrient needed for the normal functioning of all cells. It is especially important for proper liver, brain and nerve function, memory and transporting nutrients throughout the body. Research is providing more and more details about the benefits of choline and that most people are not getting enough

Read More HERE

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Hydro dam SaskPower's best option

The Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Re the article: "Clean-coal cuts carbon, power", Leader-Post, March 6.

The clean-coal project is optimistically estimated to cost $1.4 billion for a 100-megawatt generating station, or $14 million per MW of capacity. It will take seven years to build the demonstration project, then (if feasible) it will take another 10 years while a generating plant is being built -- a total of around 20 years before we have new clean-coal generating capacity.

Other than $240 million from the federal government, provincial taxpayers will be on the hook for the remainder of the $1.2 billion by having to guarantee SaskPower's debt and a return on any private monies invested.

This province doesn't have the lowest electrical rates in the country -- 750 kilowatt hours (kwh) per month in Winnipeg costs $50; the same amount of energy would cost $86 in Regina, and other customer classes would reflect the same cost relationship.

SaskPower's recent decision to buy power from investor-owned utilities, build more windmills and rely on gas-fired generation have tended to widen the spread in rates between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. And with the uncertainty as to what direction the corporation plans to take in the next 15 years, the spread will widen -- while on the other hand Manitoba Hydro can fuel that province's economy into the foreseeable future with stable and predictable electric rates.
Rather than directing its attention to coal or uranium, it is time SaskPower directed its attention to providing electricity at the lowest possible cost, having regard to safety and the environment. Saskatchewan (unlike Alberta) has undeveloped hydro options.


While the lowest cost option would be a conventional 300MW coal-fired unit incorporating the latest proven emissions controls costing about $1.5 billion, the better alternative would be to develop two hydro sites upstream from Nipawin. That would give us 500 MW of capacity producing emission- and escalation-free energy at a cost much less than the $3.8 billion estimated for a 300 MW "clean coal" plant. And the first plant could be up and running in less than eight years. Good for the environment and good for the cost of power -- a win-win situation.

John R. McClement
Regina

Conservatives vow to kill RESP tax break bill

CTV.ca News Staff

The Tories are vowing to kill a private member's bill that would give tax cuts to parents who save for their children's post-secondary education.

The bill, which quietly passed in the Commons earlier this week, would treat Canada's Registered Education Savings Plan more like RRSPs. If the Senate passes the proposal it would allow parents to contribute up to $5,000 annually to an RESP for each child -- and deduct the amount contributed from their income taxes.

Read More HERE

New board needed: Wall

James Wood, Canwest News ServicePublished: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A new Labour Relations Board is needed to oversee the government's new labour legislation as part of bringing a "healthier" balance between unions and management in the province, Premier Brad Wall said Monday after his government fired the permanent members of the board last week.

NDP deputy leader Pat Atkinson said the government is simply stacking the deck against labour, even through what is intended to be an independent, quasi-judicial body.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this is a group of men and women who have decided to declare war on working men and women who happen to belong to employee organizations, whether that's through the Trade Union Act, essential services and now the labour relations board. Because the labour relations board is where organized employees go to have their cases heard ... this is clearly a government that has a bias against organized working people," she said following question period

Read Woods Article HERE

Read More From Joe Kuchta HERE

and Murray Mandryk HERE

Monday, March 10, 2008

Oil is Canada's ace in any revisiting of NAFTA

J. MICHAEL ROBINSON
From Monday's Globe and Mail
March 10, 2008 at 7:51 AM EDT


Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are threatening to opt out of NAFTA if elected, which means re-negotiate, a position that is quite tenable particularly with a protectionist Congress. This really is about more than politics — this threat is genuine.

Negotiating treaties involves horse trading and results are uncertain. In preparation for negotiation of the predecessor 1989 Canada/U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the Hon. Donald MacDonald concluded after exhaustive study that Canada should make a "leap of faith" and plunge in.

Should Canada do so again? There may be no choice. And if that happens, we need to pay heed to at least three key areas.

Read More HERE

Tough new green plan targets oil sands

Regulations, which also apply to coal-fired power plants, would force future projects to store greenhouse-gas emissions underground

BRIAN LAGHI
From Monday's Globe and Mail
March 10, 2008 at 2:20 AM EDT


OTTAWA — Ottawa will unveil new climate-change regulations this week that would force new oil sands projects and coal-fired electricity plants to capture and store the bulk of their greenhouse gases rather than spew them into the air.

The new rules are part of Environment Minister John Baird's plan to regulate 17 key industrial sectors, which include manufacturers of pulp and paper, cement and chemicals, as well as producers of mineral products like steel, aluminum and iron ore, among others.

“There's no doubt we're asking a lot of industry and a lot of Canadians but we believe Canadians are up to the challenge,” Mr. Baird said Sunday.

Read More HERE

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Plant's clean-coal retrofit would cut power output

Generation capability would fall by 40 MW due to CO2 capture

Bruce Johnstone, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Thursday, March 06, 2008

SaskPower's proposed $1.4-billion clean-coal demonstration project at Boundary Dam Power station in Estevan has been billed as producing "100 megawatts of clean, base-load power, while reducing SaskPower's greenhouse-gas emissions by about one million tonnes per year."

While the pilot project is expected to reduce SaskPower's GHG emissions by one megatonne, it will also reduce Boundary Dam's total output by about 40 megawatts, a senior SaskPower official confirmed Wednesday

Read Johnstone's Article HERE

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Welcome news

By David Willberg Lifestyles

Estevan has received some good news on the clean coal front. Maybe not the news local residents were hoping for, but it's good news.The federal government has pledged $240 million for clean coal in Saskatchewan. It's not for the construction of a clean coal plant; it's for the retrofitting of Unit 3 at the Boundary Dam Power Station. The provincial government is calling it a "clean coal demonstration."The total cost of the project will come to $1.4 billion - to be split by the federal and provincial governments, and the private sector. The price tag is dwarfed by the $3.8 billion that a clean coal plant was going to cost, but the Unit 3 retrofit will be one of the largest investments in Saskatchewan's history.

The change at Unit 3 is good news, but Estevan can't forget the ultimate prize: a clean coal plant.

Read More HERE

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Think twice before dipping into RRSPs

By Gordon Powers February 09, 2008

Despite stiff tax penalties, many Canadians are dipping into their RRSPs early to invest in homes, pay down debt and cover living expenses, Bank of Nova Scotia data suggests. And most of those have no real plan to pay it back.

Among those who've made the plunge, the average amount withdrawn was $18,000 -- a move, for some people at least, that's going to prove quite costly.

Had they left that $18,000 invested at, say 5%, it would have grown and compounded on a tax-deferred basis to roughly $61,000 over 25 years. That's a loss of $43,000 in potential investment gain.

Read More HERE

Four money lessons from Fred Flintstone

By MP Dunleavey February 07, 2008

In case you thought your money problems were a function of modern life -- easy credit, rampant online shopping options, coffee drinks that cost more than a pair of socks -- I have great news for you.

Your bad money behaviour (and mine) stems from a host of DNA-deep instincts that have scarcely evolved since caveman days:

-More is always better than less.

-What he has, I want.

-Kill and eat it before it runs away.

Read More HERE

Wall's world: Prairie ruckus about to begin

Three Months later and John's predictions are right on the money.


November 23, 2007 JOHN F. CONWAYFOR THE RECORD

What will be the shape of Wall's nightmare?

One aspect is certain beyond any doubt - Wall will attack the working class, especially organized labour. The one element of the old Saskatchewan Party's rightist agenda that Wall didn't bury for the purposes of election was his clear anti-labour position. This was essential to keep his rural redneck base happy. Wall promised to amend the labour laws so they are more business and investor friendly. He also indicated a willingness to ban strikes in "essential services." He will do so and thus provoke a confrontation with labour that will lead to years of deepening and ever more confrontational industrial conflict.

Read More Here

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Bill 5 and Bill 6? UNION BUSTING, plain and simple.

Remember Back on October 27th, 2007 When Brad said "a Sask. Party government would "reach out" to labour."

Well thank you very much for "Reaching Out" Brad!

Re-Created From Larry Hubichs Blog Page:

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) has posted it's brief to Sask. Party Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris on the SFL Web-Site.You

can download a copy of the brief here: Brief to Minister Norris - Bills 5 & 6. (Adobe PDF Format)

You can download a copy of the SFL's Flyer here: Our rights are essential. (Adobe PDF Format)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Brother Wyatt Bushell brought over 30 years of experience as a lineman when he joined Epcor in November of 2006. He is 52 years old with a wife and four sons. According to his foreman and manager he would, in all likelihood, have become a permanent employee of the company in the near future.

However in August 2007 Wyatt was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Because he was still a temporary employee at Epcor and because he had been gone from IBEW Local 424 for more than 6 months, he had no benefit package. Like many individuals who find themselves in similar circumstances, Wyatt seems more concerned with his family's dilemma than his own. We at IBEW Local 1007 have setup a Trust Fund for Wyatt. I humbly ask you to look deep in your heart and help us restore a little dignity to Wyatt Bushell's life. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he was worried about funeral expenses. The cancer is terminal. Please give generously to the Trust Fund listed below and don't put it off till another day. Go do it today...please.

This is a legal trust fund set up by River City Credit Union(formally the Civic Employees Credit Union). No tax receipts will be issued in order to expedite the process and be assured that every last penny will go to Wyatt and his family. River City Credit Union has waved all service fees for the account and started us off with a $100.00 donation. Just give what you can.

You can make cheques payable to The Wyatt Bushell Trust Fund. In the memo line of your cheque put;

Transit # 13359/899 Account # 01 2920866

You can also drop off a donation to any Credit Union in Alberta. If you do use a Credit Union other than River City simply ask them to forward your donation to;

The Wyatt Bushell Trust Fund
River City Credit Union
11715A-108 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5H 1B8


For Further info contact Jimmy Conner, ABM, IBEW Local 1007 Edmonton at his office 780-429-1007

A Supreme Decision: Collective Bargaining As a Constitutional Right

By Elain Bernard/Our Times?CALM

In recognizing collective bargaining "as the most significant collective activity through which freedom of association is expressed in the labour context," the Court reversed 20 years of Supreme Court decisions excluding collective bargaining from the Charter's protection of freedom of association.

The Justices argued that workers coming together to negotiate their terms and conditions of employment has a long history in Canadian labour relations. While bargaining has not always been supported by the Courts or legislation, its history certainly pre-dates the 1982 adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Quoting numerous labour scholars and historians, the decision reviews the long legal battle to establish labour and bargaining rights for workers in Canada. In a ringing endorsement of bargaining expressed in the language of human rights, they conclude that, "the right to bargain collectively with an employer enhances the human dignity, liberty and autonomy of workers by giving them the opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thereby gain some control over a major aspect of their lives, namely their work."

Future Court decisions on labour relations issues may be possible because of the Court's explicit and detailed rejection of the argument from earlier Charter labour cases that collective bargaining and the right to strike are "modern rights" created by legislation, and not "fundamental freedoms." In this B.C. case, the Court contends that "long before the present statutory labour regimes were put in place, collective bargaining was recognized as a fundamental aspect of Canadian society."

THE RIGHT TO STRIKE IS NEXT?

Read More HERE

Elain Bernard. A Labour Educator from Canada directs the labour and Worklife program at Harvard Law School. Our times is an independent, pro-union Canadian magazine dedicating to promoting worker rights and social justice.

Viterra wants secret vote

Bruce Johnstone, Leader-PostPublished: Friday, February 29, 2008

Viterra has applied to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), the board that adjudicates labour disputes in federally regulated industries, to "review Viterra's bargaining unit structure.''

Specifically, Viterra wants the CIRB to hold a "secret ballot vote" of Viterra employees to determine whether they want union representation or not, according to an internal memo obtained by the Leader-Post.

Read Johnstone's Article HERE

New government charmed by nurses

Murray Mandryk, The Leader-PostPublished: Friday, February 29, 2008

Just how much influence the nurses have on the Saskatchewan Party government right now was evident in Thursday's joint announcement by Longmoore and Health Minister Don McMorris on a partnership agreement to address "Saskatchewan's shortage of registered nurses." This deal barely stops short of a total capitulation to SUN's negotiation-opening demand that the government adopt the union's proposed Emergency Retention and Recruitment Partnership even before it begins to talk money. (Imagine the outcry from the old Saskatchewan Party opposition were this any other union brokering such a deal with the old NDP government.) Heck, even the government news release Thursday noted the focus is now on the government meeting nurse-hiring targets and adds that the agreement "also acknowledges the need for an enhanced collective bargaining mandate" for these negotiations.

Read Mandryk's Opinion HERE

Gov't makes pitch for mill

Prince Albert

James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServicePublished: Friday, February 29, 2008

The Saskatchewan Party government announced Thursday it has presented a proposal to forestry company Domtar to get the closed Prince Albert pulp mill up and operating again.

Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said the proposal involved the previously discussed areas of infrastructure and power co-generation but he would provide no details to reporters at the provincial legislature.

read More HERE

Children Fire Alarms

A Video All Parents Should Watch