Message to all concerned citizens

[tmrinas]

Message to all concerned citizens
November 3, 2009

Dear concerned citizen,

Yesterday (November 2nd), the BC Liberal government introduced legislation that forces B.C.’s 3,500 ambulance paramedics “back to work” in the middle of collective bargaining. The Ambulance Services Collective Agreement Act (BILL 21), introduced by Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon, is unprecedented in Canadian labour history. This is the first time a government has forced public employees to accept a collective agreement while the union is in the middle of voting on an offer from that same government.

Falcon has used the H1N1 virus to justify this outrageous assault on collective bargaining, and he continually denies that the Olympics are driving the government‚Äôs strategy. But we now know that in September the BC Ambulance Service received a memo from VANOC demanding a guarantee of ambulance services, ‚Äúthrough either settlement or legislated ‚Äòd?©tente‚Äô for the Games.‚Äù

This only compounds the outrage of Bill 21. The government is lying about its reasons for imposing a settlement. If the Liberals had negotiated a fair collective agreement for B.C.’s hardworking ambulance paramedics, this issue would never have been raised.

This legislation is currently being debated in BC’s Provincial Legislature and could pass as early as Thursday. It is thus critical that your MLA hear from you immediately, prior to voting on it. We are asking you to e-mail your MLA with a copy to Premier Campbell and Minister Falcon.

For those of you in Liberal constituencies, please put pressure on your MLA with the message that this legislation is regressive and shameful and that, as their constituent, you demand that they oppose Bill 21 and further demand that they urge the government to allow the collective bargaining process to continue.

If you live in an NDP constituency, please thank your MLA for their opposition to Bill 21 thus far and ask them to use all means at their disposal to defeat this legislation.

For those who live in the Victoria area, we encourage you to visit the legislature tomorrow (Wednesday) from 1:30 pm until 7 pm to witness debate on the bill.

Visit http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm to find your MLA’s contact details. You can copy Premier Campbell at premier@gov.bc.ca and Minister Falcon at kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca.

Please forward this information to anyone else you feel would act upon this information immediately

[tmrinas]

Email for each of our Provinces MLA’S

kathy.corrigan.mla@leg.bc.ca; douglas.horne.mla@leg.bc.ca; harry.bains.mla@leg.bc.ca; raj.chouhan.mla@leg.bc.ca; harry.bloy.mla@leg.bc.ca; ida.chong.mla@leg.bc.ca; ben.stewart.mla@leg.bc.ca; carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca; norm.letnick.mla@leg.bc.ca; bill.barisoff.mla@leg.bc.ca; kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca; stephanie.cadieux.mla@leg.bc.ca; shane.simpson.mla@leg.bc.ca; jagrup.brar.mla@leg.bc.ca; kash.heed.mla@leg.bc.ca; gordon.campbell.mla@leg.bc.ca; rob.fleming.mla@leg.bc.ca; moira.stilwell.mla@leg.bc.ca; linda.reid.mla@leg.bc.ca; gordon.hogg.mla@leg.bc.ca; adrian.dix.mla@leg.bc.ca; sue.hammell.mla@leg.bc.ca; mable.elmore.mla@leg.bc.ca; dawn.black.mla@leg.bc.ca

john.vandongen.mla@leg.bc.ca; mike.dejong.mla@leg.bc.ca; bob.simpson.mla@leg.bc.ca; kevin.krueger.mla@leg.bc.ca; terry.lake.mla@leg.bc.ca; rob.howard.mla@leg.bc.ca; nicholas.simons.mla@leg.bc.ca; randy.hawes.mla@leg.bc.ca

norm.macdonald.mla@leg.bc.ca; katrine.conroy.mla@leg.bc.ca; george.abbott.mla@leg.bc.ca; john.horgan.mla@leg.bc.ca; marc.dalton.mla@leg.bc.ca; shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca; rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca; claire.trevena.mla@leg.bc.ca; donna.barnett.mla@leg.bc.ca; john.slater.mla@leg.bc.ca; gary.coons.mla@leg.bc.ca; joan.mcintyre.mla@leg.bc.ca; pat.pimm.mla@leg.bc.ca; michael.sather.mla@leg.bc.ca; ralph.sultan.mla@leg.bc.ca; leonard.krog.mla@leg.bc.ca; murray.coell.mla@leg.bc.ca; pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca; iain.black.mla@leg.bc.ca; guy.gentner.mla@leg.bc.ca; dave.hayer.mla@leg.bc.ca; colin.hansen.mla@leg.bc.ca; bill.routley.mla@leg.bc.ca; blair.lekstrom.mla@leg.bc.ca; diane.thorne.mla@leg.bc.ca;

john.rustad.mla@leg.bc.ca; bill.bennett.mla@leg.bc.ca; don.mcrae.mla@leg.bc.ca; spencer.herbert.mla@leg.bc.ca; richard.lee.mla@leg.bc.ca; mary.mcneil.mla@leg.bc.ca; jenny.kwan.mla@leg.bc.ca; naomi.yamamoto.mla@leg.bc.ca; vicki.huntington.mla@leg.bc.ca; ron.cantelon.mla@leg.bc.ca; eric.foster.mla@leg.bc.ca; lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca; maurine.karagianis.mla@leg.bc.ca; steve.thomson.mla@leg.bc.ca; jane.thornthwaite.mla@leg.bc.ca; mike.farnworth.mla@leg.bc.ca; douglas.routley.mla@leg.bc.ca; bruce.ralston.mla@leg.bc.ca; john.yap.mla@leg.bc.ca; mary.polak.mla@leg.bc.ca; robin.austin.mla@leg.bc.ca

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