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Wednesday, May 1, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Taking their show on the road Sacred Heart Elementary School’s Kindergarten class waits at the Four Seasons Pool bus stop for a bus up to UNBC to participate in the annual P.G. Speech Arts and Drama Festival. The class was in choric drama category performing Explained by AA Milne.

Province looks to City considering public change labour laws washrooms downtown Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

Rob SHAW Vancouver Sun B.C.’s New Democrat government has introduced changes to labour law that scrap measures from the previous Liberal regime and meet recommendations from the province’s top unions. Labour Minister Harry Bains said the proposed legal changes “supports our government’s commitment to update employment standards and ensure they are applied evenly and enforced.” The legislation would “broadly raise the age a child may work from 12 to 16,” according to Bains’ ministry, while allowing exemptions for 14 and 15 year olds to do light work like stocking shelves at a grocery store or working on a family farm. Previously, children as young as 12 could work with special permission from parents and the government. Bains said there are examples of children as young as 12 in B.C. working in hazardous sectors like construction and mining, and that B.C. paid out $5 million in worker’s compensation due to injuries to young children in recent years. The change will bring B.C. into line with international standards on child labour, said Bains. Exactly what duties 14 and 15 year olds can perform will be set by later cabinet regulations. The government legislation also proposes to expand unpaid job-protected leaves up to 10 days for workers escaping domestic violence, as well as the option for 15 weeks of consecutive unpaid leave and up to 36 weeks for a worker who needs to care for a critically ill child. Tips at restaurants will also be pooled and regulated to be shared fairly, so that employers can’t withhold them or deduct them, according to the legislation. The recovery period would expand to 12 months from the current six months. B.C. is copying Ontario’s model to regulate tips and gratuities. The Employment Standards Branch would also be modernized, and penalties increased, as part of “a more effective compliance and enforcement program,” said Bains. The changes were recommended by the B.C. Federation of Labour, an umbrella group for many of the province’s largest unions, which has been heavily lobbying

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BAINS NDP and Green MLAs to roll back labour code changes made by the previous Liberal government in the early 2000s. Green leader Andrew Weaver has called for a more moderate approach instead of an extreme policy lurch. Some of the changes Monday were also supported by the B.C. Law Institute. The legislation follows a governmentcommissioned review last year by a threeperson panel that represented employers and unions. Their report contained 26 recommendations on changing the labour code, including removing education from essential service designation that limits strikes, reducing certification votes from 10 to five days, boosting fines, expanding successorship rules to building cleaning, security, bus transportation and healthcare sectors, and restricting employer communications to “a statement of fact or opinion reasonably held” that would prevent anti-union campaigns. A majority of the review panel recommended maintaining B.C.’s current system of secret ballots for union certification in workplaces, which employers have said protects employees from intimidation in a union drive. However, unions have said the process makes it harder to certify and have called for the return of a system called card check, where a majority of employees must sign cards to certify. Green leader Weaver had warned the NDP against pursuing the secret ballot, saying he would refuse to support it. Union certification rules were not part of the legislation introduced Monday.

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The possibility of public washrooms in the city’s downtown remains in play. City council voted unanimously Monday night to direct staff to come back with a report on the item following an extended conversation at the end of a presentation on initiatives in store for the downtown. Noting it was an issue during the election, Coun. Cori Ramsay asked if staff has given the idea consideration. In response, social planning manager Chris Bone said public washrooms were given some thought when the Wood Innovation Square was in the early planning stages but then dropped over concern they would become “unsafe injection sites” and be out of service more often than not. She said the conclusion was reached after conducting an “incredible amount of research with other municipalities who were struggling with similar issues that we are in our downtown.” However, Bone said there appears to have been some success in communities where a social agency take on supervision and maintenance. Coun. Murry Krause said the idea dates back to at least the mid-1990s and

added the facilities would not be just for “downtown, street-involved people” but for everyone. Mothers with children have had trouble finding a bathroom if they weren’t shopping or going to a restaurant, he noted. He also suggested the facilities would have to be supervised around the clock or at least during the hours they’re open. Coun. Terri McConnachie also spoke in favour, saying the library effectively houses the only public washroom in the downtown. Ramsay said a small segment is hindering realization of a community need. “I’m really hoping it’s something that we can get past,” she added. During the presentation, council was told BC Housing, the city and two social agencies will provide options to street people for storing their belongings on a pilot program basis to see if it will reduce the amount of outdoor sheltering. And once Wood Innovation Square is completed, Foodie Fridays will be moved to the spot. Coun. Brian Skakun said needles, shoplifting and a fear for personal safety remain issues for downtown businesses and their employees. Other councillors agreed but added progress is being made.

Tax rate bylaw going to final reading Citizen staff A bylaw setting the rates households and businesses will pay for property taxes this year was passed through three readings during a city council meeting on Monday. Pending final approval in two weeks time, owners of residential property will pay $7.34 per $1,000 of assessed value. Although down from $7.60 last year, the owner of a typical home, valued at $300,680 will pay an extra $91 – pushing the bill up to $2,207 – to reflect the 4.3-per-cent increase in the tax levy. Add on the city’s share of taxes for the Fraser-Fort George Regional District and the bill rises a further $315, compared to

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$252 last year. Those with homes valued below that level will see a smaller increase while those with homes above that level will see larger increases. Businesses would pay $17.17 to the city and $2.59 to the FFGRD, major industry $53.32 and $3.59, and light industry would pay $27.62 and $3.59, with them accounting for 28.67, 2.82 and 13.2 per cent of the levy respectively. Residential properties account for 67.3 per cent of the city’s total assessed value. Business makes up 26.6, major industry 2.46 and light industry 0.97 per cent. The total levy stands at just under $110 million.

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