• Members of the Soviet delegation to the recent FAO conference in Vancouver saw the Hell's Gate fish ways in the Fraser Canyon on a trip arranged for them by the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission and Fisherman photographer George Legebokoff accompanied them. Seen here (left to right) are deputy fisheries minister Dr. S. A. Studenetsky, Dr. A. S. Bogdanov ; the chief officer and captain of a Soviet supply ship; interpreter Y. B. Riazantsev, Bob Johnston, the commission's resident biologist; Dr. Y. V. Novikov and Dr. V. P. Ponomarenko.
Labor Federation presents brief
Ministry of fisheries urged
Creation of a provincial ministry of fisheries was urged this week by the B.C. Federation of Labor in its annual submission to the provincial government in Victoria.
The federation urged Premier Dave Barrett and his cabinet to take this step on the grounds that "one of our most important industries, which faces many problems, should receive the exclusive attention of a minister."
A provincial fisheries minister's responsibilities would include "solving such problems as the exclusion of fishermen from compensation and from coverage under the Labor Relations Act," the federation said.
In general, the submission endorsed the direction of policies initiated by the New Democratic Party government since it assumed office last year, singling out for praise the inquiry into collective bargaining rights for government employees, improvements in the social welfare field, and introduction of the Land Commission Act — "the first legislation designed to arrest the uncontrolled exploitation of land." UNIONS HAMSTRUNG
At the same time, the federation expressed "concern over the lack of progress on a number of matters," particularly in the field of labor legislation.
"During last summer's provincial election campaign," it said, "the federation was very pleased with the WDP's) eight-point program for labor management relations '. . . (and this) assisted us in mobilizing trade union support for the NDP to an unprecedented degree."
The government's "prompt action" in amending the Mediation Commission Act and abolishing the discredited Socred commission had "brought support for the NDP on the part of trade unionists to an all time high."
However, the federation hinted that some of that support may be eroded because of the government's failure to carry out the rest of its program, particularly in regard to the removal of repressive Socred laws which hamstring organizational work and lay unions open to attacks through the courts.
"Several months have now passed (since the mediation commission was eliminated) without further steps to alleviate some of the more onerous burdens hampering unions in their organizational activity," the federation pointed out.
"While our affiliates appreciate the potential value of a broad
overall study of labor legislation and labor-management relations (as proposed by labor minister Bill King), there is general agreement that certain vitally important specifics of the eight-point program should be dealt with immediately . . .
"Immediate action on the remaining points of the program would reinforce the faith of working people in B.C. . . . and create a climate conducive to a concerted and cooperative effort to organize the unorganized . . . All (these matters) can be resolved by very simple legislative amendments, much less complicated than those entailed in the changes from the Mediation Commission Act to the Mediation Services Act." RESOURCE ISSUES
The federation also gave notice that "our policies and the views of our affiliates on a wide variety of subjects within the jurisdiction of the labor department will be dealt with in detail in a submission within the next few weeks."
Elsewhere in its submission, the federation:
— Expressed concern at the "ineffectiveness" of the Landlord and Tenant Act in protecting the rights of tenants, urging that the act be strengthened and that municipal legislation be amended to provide all tenants will full voting rights.
— Stressed the need for rational use and development of power resources "to enable us to avoid such disastrous measures as dams on the Fraser River which jeopardize the fishing industry."
— Recommended that government policy require companies utilizing B.C. natural resources to contribute to the development of secondary industry, adding that the government itself should embark on a "major program" of secondary industrial development "under public ownership whenever it would be considered necessary or beneficial."
— Called for tougher laws and "much stricter enforcement" in the area of pollution control; public access to all Pollution Control Board findings on the amount and degree of pollution by industries; and improvements in the operation of the control board and the manner in which its hearings are conducted.
— Urged that the B.C. Medical Plan be extended to cover "all medical and para-medical expenses," including dental care, prescription drugs, ambulance service, artificial limbs, eyeglasses, hearing aids and other costs, and that a "system of community health clinics be developed throughout the province to provide improved health service with substantial reductions in cost."
Two B.C. men die in Nfld. boat fire
ST. JOHNS — Two B.C-. commercial fishermen are missing and presumed dead after a fire earlier this month razed the 77-foot herring seiner Bar-Van at Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland.
Troll pact sets pace
Commercial trollers in northern California last week reached agreement on a 1973 minimum price schedule for red spring salmon of 93 cents a pound for large (12 pounds and over), 74 cents a pound for medium (eight to 12 pounds-) and 62 cents a pound for small (under eight pounds). The new prices represent an advance over the 1972 schedule.
Prices in the major Washington and Oregon troll fishery come up for negotiation later this month. Representatives of the West Coast Trollers Association meet spokesmen for New England Fishing Company in Seattle on March 26.
WCTA president Gerald Simmons said this week that fishermen in the two states intend winning a "realistic settlement equalling or surpassing the California agreement."
Last year, members of the WCTA won substantially increased minimum prices after a solid 28-day tieup of the fleet. Minimum red spring prices finally were set at 84 cents for large, 65 cents for medium and 54 cents for small, with an additional 12 cents a pound for fish delivered at Seattle.
In 1971, the companies had cut prices to a range of 73 cents, 53 cents and 43 cents in the U.S. Drastic cuts were also imposed in the B.C. troll fishery. Before last year's tieup, the companies' best offer to Washington and Oregon trollers l)ad been for 80 cents, 55 cents and 45 cents.
Negotiations also opened in Seattle this week between the Alaska Fishermen's Union and processors on a new agreement for the 1973 Alaska salmon season covering Bristol Bay gillnetters and beach gangs, tendermen and cannery workers.
They are Wallace Brown Jr. of Vancouver, who had been sailing as engineer on the vessel, and Brodie Hunt of Bella Bella, who had been sailing as mate.
Wallace Brown's brother, Charles Percy Brown, and Albert Wilson, both of B.C., were also aboard the vessel at the time but escaped without serious injury.
According to Don MacPherson, manager of the Nelpack Fisheries (B.C. Packers) plant at Isle aux Morts, four other crewmen were at their homes in nearby Port aux Basques when the fire erupted.
First alarm was raised at about 4 a.m. on March 4 by a watchman at the plant. Foam had to be brought in from Corner Brook and Stephenville, about 150 and 100 miles away by sea respectively, MacPherson said, and it was not until after its arrival some 18 hours later that the fire could be extinguished.
The steel hulled seiner had been tied on the outboard side of another B".C. Packers vessel, the Eastern Pride. After the fire started she was towed to another part of the harbor where unsuccessful efforts were made to combat the blaze.
JUST BACK FROM B.C.
Although the interior of the vessel forward of the engineroom bulkhead was gutted, other parts of the hull and the herring seine net reportedly escaped serious damage.
MacPherson said that until early this year the Bar-Van had been skippered by her part owner, Wallace P. Brown of Vancouver, father of Wallace Brown Jr. and Charles Brown.
The elder Brown died in Vancouver in February and his sons, after attending their father's funeral, were spending their first night back aboard the Bar-Van at Isle aux Morts when the tragedy occurred, MacPherson said.
Built in Vancouver, the Bar-Van left for the Atlantic coast to fish herring under charter to B.C. Packers immediately following her delivery in the fall of 1969. She had been operating on the East coast with mixed B.C. and Newfoundland crews since that time.
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THE FISHERMAN — MARCH 16, 1973 3
