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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

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

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

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

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

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

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