Vol. 42, No. 2 Vancouver, B.C. <^*>* January 28, 1977
'Process all roe herring at home1
UFAWU assails herring fishery 'irregularities'
Standing on guard for thee.
Imputing "an irresponsible and almost incredible method" of regulating the herring fishery to the Fisheries Service, UFAWU president Homer Stevens has sent a letter to federal fisheries minister Romeo LeBlanc calling for action on no less than six specific issues related to herring food and roe operations.
The union charges Fisheries' Pacific herring committee chairman Dick Crouter with being illogical and totally uncooperative at recent meetings with herring fishermen.
"When our union proposes a sensible and reasonable method of dealing with regulations, we might as well save our breath," Stevens declared in his letter under date of January 25. "The
Value conceded too late, lay up program scrapped
Halibut fishermen lost much and gained little at the International Pacific Halibut Commission's annual meeting in Vancouver which ended January 28.
The voluntary lay up program, which ameliorated working conditions and was a force for conservation, had been weakened over the past several years by growing delinquency among the fleet and finally is on the scrap-heap, though the commission has promised it will look at the possibility of resurrecting it by 1978.
In many ways it was the reluctance of the commission to administer the program that doomed it. Thus it was ironic this year that both the commission and the companies praised the program's usefulness at a time when it probably was past the point of being salvaged.
Instead, the commission's own plan for a series of 20-day openings separated by 15-day closures will go into effect this season.
Industry delegates scored a minor victory with the commission staff's willingness to compromise on quotas to the amount of one million pounds each in Area 2 and 3.
The commission tentatively had proposed quotas of 10 million
Thompson again VLC president
Syd Thompson was returned by acclamation as president of Vancouver and District Labor Council January 25 in annual elections that saw only one change in the council's executive board.
Colin Snell was elected unopposed as third vice-president when incombent Jack Lawrence failed to confirm his nomination.
Others elected, also by acclamation, were: Cliff Rundgren, first vice-president; Mike Stevens, second vice-president; Paddy Neale, secretary-treasurer; Homer Stevens, chairman of organizing committee; Hugh Comber, legislative committee; Dave Werlin, public relations committee; Bud Devoe, grievance committee; Walter Jacobs, education committee; Frank Kennedy, metropolitan advisory committee; Opal Skillings, credentials committee.
pounds for both areas, a five million pound drop in each area from the combined area quota of 25 million pounds in 1976.
Fishermen had asked for 13 million pounds in Area 3 and 12 million pounds in Area 2, the same as last year. They will get 11 million pounds in each area with an initial opening date of
May 10, later than the May 1 opening they sought.
The first 'season' will close May 29 in both areas then open again June 16 with a scheduled closure of July 4. The third season opens July 20 and closes August 7 and the fourth season August 23 and September 10. See LAYUP — page 6
viewpoint and logic we express goes in one ear and out the other."
A regulatory foul-up over the food fishery's Christmas layup resulted in unfair advantage in fishing time to members of the Prince Rupert Fishermen's Coop as well being the cause of "friction and hard feelings," Stevens charged.
Crouter also has "flatly refused" the union's request for a consultation meeting in the event a date earlier than February 27 is set for the opening of the roe fishery, he contended.
Other concerns voiced in the letter are:
— Indications of company pressure to increase the limit on herring carcass exports from five to 10 percent this year.
— Political pressure from sport groups hampering growth of the fishery within the Gulf of Georgia.
— Failure of Fisheries to tackle seriously the catch division issue.
— Possible irregularities in food herring marketing in Japan.
In his criticism of the Christmas layup, Stevens told LeBlanc the UFAWU was in "full agreement" with the food herring season extending from November 7 to December 17 and January 16 to 28 stipulated in a bulletin Crouter issued on November 1.
Problems arose when the Fisheries Association wished to shorten the December 17 -
January 16 closure by one week, and at a subsequent meeting the UFAWU made it clear there should be no variation of the closure without full consultation with the union, cooperatives and the companies.
See UFAWU —page 11
Ministers at parley
Ministers from both federal and provincial cabinets are among speakers who will be appearing before the UFAWU annual convention scheduled to open in Fishermen's Hall, Vancouver, February 12.
Romeo LeBlanc, for the first time since he assumed the full fisheries and environment portfolio, will be joined this year by provincial environment minister Jim Nielson, making his first appearance before a union convention.
Other speakers slated to address the week-long convention include Canadian Labor Congress president Joe Morris, B.C. Federation of Labor president George Johnston, Dick Crouter, director of field operations for the Fisheries Service, Vancouver alderman Harry Rankin and Donna Tyndall, representative of the Leonard Peltier Defence Committee.
Combines probers raid four newsrooms
Threat to freedom' cries Guild
In what was described as a gathering of evidence for possible charges of "obstruction" of Restrictive Trade Practices Commission hearings in Vancouver last month, combines investigators continued their forays into city newsrooms between January 13 and 17, adding B.C. Television and CBC radio and television to the list of media whose premises have been invaded.
Investigators Simon Wapniar-ski and Clare Savage from the bureau of competition policy
carried out the most recent raid at the BCTV newsroom January 17. It followed an earlier search of CBC radio and TV newsrooms January 13.
With the BCTV raid, the investigators claimed that "this completes this particular segment of our investigation," although film taken by a BCTV cameraman showed a coded name below that of BCTV on a list of places to be searched.
As in the invasion of Vancouver Sun and Province newsrooms the previous week, Savage and Wap-
JFAWU
meeting notices
on page 12
niarski were searching for evidence, including film, notes and scripts, relating to the Restrictive Trade Practices Commission hearings which opened in Vancouver December 6.
The hearings, before which UFAWU officers Homer Stevens and Jack Nichol, and B.C. Federation of Labor secretary Len Guy were to appear, were picketed by unionists demanding that all proceedings be open to the public.
Unable to hold secret hearings, commission officials called an indefinite adjournment two days later.
Although there has been little doubt as to the purpose of the newsroom searches — continued See PROBERS —page 8
• Flanked by an unspoiled wilderness, the McGregor River with its tributaries could add up to 71,000 spring salmon spawners to the Fraser system annually if B.C. Hydro plans to divert its waters
north into the Parsnip-Peace system are thwarted. Opponents of the plan, including the UFAWU, met recently in Prince George to plot strategy in their continuing fight to save the river.