Single Pollution Authority
Environmental Control Departments Advocated
Ministries of environmental control endowed with broad powers to curb pollution in all its aspects should be established by both federal and provincial governments.
This is the proposal advanced in a resolution submitted by Vancouver Shoreworkers Local and endorsed by delegates to the UFAWU convention last month.
The new government departments should be provided with staffs of technical experts "empowered to impose heavy fines on offenders, suspend or shut down offending industrial operations and withhold licences for new industry where satisfactory pollu-
tion controls have not been provided," the convention said.
At present, it noted, there is "no single authority at the municipal, provincial or federal level responsible for pollution control but, instead, a multiplicity of authority divided among departments of government under various statutes — a situation which leads to buck passing."
In other resolutions dealing with specific areas of serious industrial pollution in this province, the convention called for a halt to dumping of toxic mining wastes into coastal waters and urged that no further construction of pulp
Labor's Role Vital In Pollution Fight
John Rutka photo
• As he has done for more than 20 years, veteran U.S. trade unionist John Tadich represented his Seattle Local 3 of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union as a fraternal delegate to the recent UFAWU convention.
Death of Mark Woodward Ends Long Fishing Career
A lifetime which encompassed four decades of work in the Pacific coast fishing industry ended March 30 with the death of UFAWU honorary member Mark Woodward of North Surrey.
Born near Merritt in 1897 to a pioneer family which settled the Nicola Valley around 1880, he came to the coast and entered the fishing industry in 1928.
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With the exception of some years salmon seining aboard the Cape Mudge in the mid-thirties, he worked almost exclusively as a tenderman on a series of Canadian Fishing Company vessels.
They included the old Canfisco, now the tug Sea Fox 2, the Cape Flattery, Cape Pine and, in more recent years, the new Canfisco which he joined soon after her launching in 1956 and sailed on each season until his retirement two years ago.
A member of Vancouver Fishermen's local, he joined the UFAWU at its founding 25 years ago after holding membership in earlier fishermen's organizations
Predeceased by several brothers, he is survived by his wife, Mrs. Gertrude Woodward of Surrey and four sisters in California and British Columbia.
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Organized labor must make its influence felt more strongly inside anti-pollution groups in the community, in the opinion of delegates to last month's UFAWU convention.
Endorsing a resolution submitted by Prince Rupert Fishermen's Local, the convention reiterated the union's intention of cooperating with "all forces fighting against pollution."
Commending the Society for Pollution and Environmental Control for its good work in publicizing the pollution issue, the resolution pointed to indications that lack of full labor representation could lead to the society adopting an anti-labor stance in some matters.
The picketing by some SPEC members of an IWA regional wage conference because of the union's alleged failure to make pollution control a contract demand was referred to specifically during debate.
Northern organizer George Hewison said that the society's breadth in the community gives it a potential for accomplishing more than the UFAWU and other unions can achieve bv themselves. •NAIVE APPROACH'
"But some spokesmen for SPEC seem to have a rather naive approach," Hewison said. "It's almost as if they expect working people, faced with tough day to day problems in making ends meet, to take a cut in their paychecks as part of the anti-pollution fight.
"Our position is that those responsible for polluting the environment must bear the costs of cleaning it up—and that means the monopolies who own and exploit our resources."
Many UFAWU members, belong to SPEC and other anti-pollution groups and participate actively in their work, Hewison said.
"There's a whole range of potential support for SPEC within the labor movement," he added. "But picketing union conferences and criticizing justified wage demands isn't the way to go about rallying that support."
T. (Buck) Suzuki, North Delta Local, noted that SPEC president Derrick Mallard recently restated the society's policy of encouraging involvement by organized labor.
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The way for labor to overcome any communication gap that may exist is for all unions to take up the offer and participate fully in SPEC activities, he said.
In another key resolution endorsed by the convention, the UFAWU reiterated its opposition to oil drilling in Strait of Georgia and all other B.C. coastal waters.
The ban should be in effect "until available oil resources on land are fully used and until technology develops to the point where guarantees against oil escapement can be obtained," it said.
Dave Mcintosh, Vancouver Fishermen's Local, said the question of whether or not such guarantees are valid should not be one for the oil monopolies to decide.
"After all," he said, "the oil companies, some of which are now involved in exploration off the B.C. coast, gave Californians plenty of guarantees before the Santa Barbara disaster."
Veteran UFAWU Member Drowned
Veteran UFAWU member George Breckenridge was drowned March 17 after falling overboard from the trawl vessel Mermaid 2 while she was moored near Celtic Shipyard in Vancouver.
Born in 1916, he had been a member of Vancouver Fishermen's Local continuously since 1947, fishing as halibut longliner, seiner and trawler, most recently aboard the Tatchu and with Jack Haan on the Mermaid 2.
He was not married and is survived by his mother, two sisters and two brothers in Montreal.
mills be allowed until pollution problems associated with their operation have been overcome.
Utah Mining Company's plan to dump several million gallons of mine effluent daily into Rupert Inlet, Quatsino Sound, represents a "grave danger to all marine life in the area," delegates said. The plan has been the subject of several vigorous protests by the union and conservation groups.
The convention was sharply critical of the federal fisheries department for failing to protect the fishery resource and for giving Utah Mining a green light to proceed with pollution of the inlet.
The department was again singled out for criticism during debate on the dumping of mine tailings into Tasu Sound, Queen Charlotte Islands, by Wesfrob Mines.
A resolution from Masset Fishermen's Local rejected the department's contention that there are no bottomfish in Tasu Sound and that mine tailings do not constitute a threat to fish stocks in the area.
Ed Regnery, Skidegate Local, said Tasu Sound was once a salmon producer and the department's claims are contradicted by the experience of many commercial fishermen. ASSURANCES CHEAP
Nick Spilchen, Ladner Local, said the question is not only one of certain fish stocks being threatened, but also one of the "overall detrimental effect on the marine environment."
Company and government assurances are voiced freely despite the absence of thorough going research into long term effects of toxic wastes dumped into coastal waters, he said.
"We must take the position that no dumping of poisonous substances can be permitted in these circumstances," Spilchen held. "And that's not an impractical stand to take. A society capable of exploring outer space has the technological capacity to finance research and clean up pollution— once again it's just a question of making the polluter pay the costs."
Delegates also endorsed a resolution, submitted by John Person, New Westminster Local, naming pulp mills in British Columbia as "major contributors to air and water pollution" and a proven menace to salmon runs.
Pointing out that plans have been advanced for additional mills at Bella Coola, Houston, Quesnel and Ashcroft, the resolution demanded that their construction be delayed until pollution problems which "in any way pose a threat to our fisheries" are solved.
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THE FISHERMAN — APRIL 3, 1970