While all the delegates are fully aware of the low support shown the NDP in the northeastern corner of BC, where the right-wing parties constantly receive in excess of fifty per cent of the vote, the close result of the last provincial election in Peace River South is a reminder of the need to pull all the plugs because one never knows when a breakthrough will occur.

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The fact is that the more we examine the situation, the more we substantiate union members' concerns about the lack of education about unions and working people. The omission of this information means that an imbalanced view of the world is being given to our young people.

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Free trade is about a fundamental shift in the balance of power — from governments (accountable to the people), to corporations (controlled by a small number of business elites and accountable only to their shareholders).

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The newest policies and political will have allowed government to take even less responsibility for health and safety, hiding behind the façade that the two workplace parties, utilizing the internal responsibility system and a co-operative spirit (the erroneous argument has always been that health and safety is unlike collective bargaining), can effectively deal with health and safety issues, mainly without regulator involvement.

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No employee shall be discharged, penalized or disciplined for refusing to work on a job or in any workplace or to operate any equipment where he/she or a member of the Health and Safety Committee believes that it would be unsafe or unhealthy to himself/herself, an unborn child, a workmate, or the public, or where it would be contrary to the applicable federal, provincial or municipal health and safety legislation or regulations.

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