2 Shooters on Virgina Tech Campus

Shooting incident on campus

By Larry Hincker

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16, 2007 -- Faculty and staff on the Burruss side of the Drillfield are being released and asked to go home effective immediately. Faculty and staff on the War Memorial side are asked to leave at 12:30 p.m.

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Virginia Tech has closed today Monday, April 16, 2007. On Tuesday, April 17, classes will be canceled. The university will remain open for administrative operations.

There will be an additional university statement presented today at noon.

All students, faculty, and staff are required to stay where they are until police execute a planned evacuation. A phased closing will be in effect today; further information will be forthcoming as soon as police secure the campus.

Tomorrow, there will be a university convocation/ceremony at noon at Cassell Coliseum. The Inn at Virginia Tech has been designated as the site for parents to gather and obtain information.

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In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall.

Police and EMS are on the scene.

Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.

All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice.

All entrances to campus are closed.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/04/16/
virginia-tech-070416.html#skip300x250

PostScript:
Later it was determined that there had been only one shooter.

Ontario Budget has some help for WCB Pensioners

There were some positive changes announced for injured workers the best of which are an increase in pensions by 2.5% on July 1st, then again in Jan. 08 and 09. The quote from the budget is copied below.

I want to acknowledge all the good work many of you have done to acheive these improvements for injured workers! We have finally gotten some positive changes from a sitting government.

As you read the quote below, you will see this announcement only goes part way to address our demands. There is still a long way to go. When I spoke to the Minister's staffers on Friday, I told them we must continue our campaign to pressure them to bring in full COLA and to eliminate deeming. They seemed to be saying that more pressure would help them to acheive our desired goals.

So, now is not the time to rest but to renew our efforts knowing we have won one victory and further success is certainly possible.

Ban Asbestos in Canada

We are circulating the attached Ban Asbestos Petition for immediate circulation. This petition has been prepared by NDP MP Pat Martin, who continues to lead the ban asbestos struggle in Parliament on behalf of all Canadians. The petition is properly formatted for formal presentation in the House. Pat intends to raise the issue each time another completed petition with at least 25 names is received.

The attached card can be used as background information when circulating the petition to you organizations,members, supporters, and contacts. Original signed hardcopies of the petition itself must be received by Pat's office, for them to be presented in the House. Please print this off and circulate as widely as possible. Post on your websites as well with instructions for viewers to print this off and have it signed by fellow workers and your organization's members, and members of the public. The upcoming April 28th Day of Mourning and Struggle for Workers Health & Safety is an ideal time to circulate this. For those organizations joining us please have your members and supporters send the petitions to you for centralization to Pat Martin's office. When petitions are signed and sent please let BAC know by replying to the address above.

There is a groundswell of opposition to Canada's despicable role in promoting the export of this most deadly carcinogen. A growing number of National unions, provincial labour federations, cancer prevention organizations, and environmentalists have joined the battle to stop this carnage. Yet despite the call by the World Health Organization fro all nations to immediately stop the production, use, and export of all forms of asbestos, Canada continues to shamelessly promote this dying industry.
Over 100,000 women, men , and children die each year from asbestos disease. Asbestos caused cancers accounts for 80% of the increase in Canadian worker fatalities over the past decade. 95% of Canadian asbestos is exported to developing countries where community and worker exposures are horrendous, laying the groundwork for an ongoing epidemic of cancer. Meanwhile a growing number of countries have joined the international ban in order to protect their citizens. We are calling on our governments to stop subsidizing this dying industry and to directly invest in sustainable jobs in those Quebec mining communities that have been held hostage to this industry.
We thank you for your important work and support in the global struggle to ban asbestos . We Canadians have a special duty...to stop Canada's promotion and support of the global asbestos trade.

Post card of the same topic.

Day of Mourning 2007

April 28 is the Day of Mourning.

The canary signifies the early warning system of using canaries in cages within Coal mines of England to warn of dangerous concentrations of gases. When the canary fell off its perch it was time to leave.

We do not want the worker to be the modern day canary.

CUPE originated the Day of Mourning.

Office of the Worker Advisor looks at Bill 187

OWA Analysis of Bill 187 an amendment to the WSIA

The Office of the Worker Advisor has composed this analysis of the Bill 187 a proposed act to modify the Workplace Insurance and Safety Act of 1997.

The text of Bill 187 is here.

Paralegal Regulation and WSIB Consultants

Here is some info on the regulation of paralegals. I would suggest since the Law Society is taking into account work experience and "good character" that you write letters of complaint about any scum bag consultants and hopefully that will influence whether or not some of these get regulated.

Laurie Hardwick
Director of Organization Services
Ontario Federation of Labour

-----Original Message-----

Just to confirm our conversation regarding unregulated independent paralegals.

The Law Society will be accepting grandparent applications from May to October of this year. Those applicants that meet the work experience and good character standard will be permitted to write the licensing exam in January 2008 (our target). Successful candidates will then be within the new regulatory scheme and permitted to practice. If there are complaints, they will be subject to our regulatory authority. Those individuals that do not pass and continue to practice may be prosecuted for unauthorized practice.

Directing people to our website may be quite helpful for them to keep abreast of implementation progress. www.lsuc.on.ca

As discussed,

union reps are exempt from the legislation.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
Sheena Weir
Government Relations
Law Society of Upper Canada

Muskeloskeletal Disability Prevention Guidelines for Ontario

Both parts of the Muskeloskeletal Disability Prevention Guidelines for Ontario are below as links to the two parts of the guide.

• Ontario Muskeloskeletal Disability Prevention Guideline 1
  
  
• Resource Manual Muskeloskeletal Disability Prevention Guideline 2
  

OFL Calls on McGuinty Government to Reject ‘Free Trade’ Agreements

“The Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) that Alberta and British Columbia signed comes in full force and effect on April 1, 2007.
“Here in Ontario we should totally reject these ‘free trade’
deals,” said OFL president Wayne Samuelson at a Queen’s Park news
conference. “These deals are nothing but trouble for the working people
of our province and a pot of gold for corporations.” ...

The complete story and more in the new issue of Focus!

Download a PDF:
http://ofl.ca/uploads/publications/focus/FOCUS_MARCH07.pdf

or read the issue online:
http://ofl.ca/index.php/publications/issue/focus_march_2007/

Radio Labourstart Interview of CUPE Webmaster

An interview with Chris Lawson is now available by podcast on Radio
LabourStart. CUPE has twice won the Labour Website of the Year award.

To subscribe to this podcast go to iTunes and search on LabourStart, or
paste this URL into your podcast software:

http://www.labourstart.org/radio/podcast/podcast.rss

You can listen to this one episode without subscribing at:

http://radio.labourstart.org/

Construction Notice No. 2 – Archives Project

Forwarded on behalf of Mike Markicevic, Assistant Vice President, Campus Services & Business Operations


Construction Notice No. 2 – Archives Project

To all members of the York University community, please be advised that site preparation activities on the Archives Project site will commence over the remainder of this week, and into the week of April 16 as follows (see attached diagram):

• Site hoarding will commence immediately. There will be covered hoarding on the east and south frontages of the development site (at the VIVA transit stops, and along the north side of the Common), while the north and west site edges will have uncovered hoarding;
  
• Following hoarding, the site will be stripped of topsoil and leveled, after which the drilling of foundation caissons will begin (the week of April 23);

The Vanier Parking lot will be taken out of service and will not be available to the community after Friday, April 13, as it will be used by the contractor as a trailer compound and construction staging area for the duration of the project (March 2009). The lot will be fenced-in to maintain safe and secure conditions for community members and the contractor.

There should be minimal disruption to the community during this initial construction stage. The contractor has been directed to maintain reasonable hours of operation at the site, and will not start daily activities before 7:00 a.m. In order to maintain schedules, certain aspects of site preparation (e.g. hoarding and fence installation) may occur during the weekend.

Heavier construction will proceed following the completion of examinations at the end of April. Once construction peaks, pedestrian and traffic flows around the project site will be affected. The contractor for the project will take all necessary precautions to ensure community members are safe at all times. Precautionary measures include posting warning signs, use of flag persons to direct pedestrians and traffic, and scheduling certain activities at off-peak times.

Please circulate this email widely within your department. Additional notifications will be circulated as required.

York University Development Corporation is managing this construction project on behalf of the University. Please forward any feedback and questions directly to yudc@yorku.ca

Your patience and cooperation are greatly appreciated as this exciting change to the York campus proceeds.

Advocate's Gateway March 2007

Please find attached the new issue of the Advocate's Gateway. If you should know anyone on your contact list who would enjoy this newsletter please forward it along.

We have an article in the newsletter regarding the conference that we are hosting on May 10th. The registration deadline has been extended. If you would like to attend or know anyone who is interested, please contact us or go to our web site (below) to register.

Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sheila Patterson
Administrative Assistant
OHCOW Inc. Sudbury
www.ohcow.on.ca/clinics/sudbury

New Construction Notice - Archives of Ontario/York Research Building

CSBO New Construction Notice - Archives of Ontario/York Research Building
Notification on behalf of Mike Markicevic, Assistant Vice-President, Campus Services & Business Operations

New Construction Notice – Archives of Ontario/York Research Building

This is to notify York University members that construction of the new Archives of Ontario/York University Building is about to begin on the vacant parcel of land between the east end of York Lanes and Ian Macdonald Blvd. When complete in March 2009, the complex will house the main public facility of the Archives of Ontario (100,000 square feet), as well as about 120,000 square feet of new research and administrative space for York. A second phase of the building will provide future access to the proposed York University station on the extended Spadina Subway line, and will be connected internally to the York Lanes retail mall.

Commencing in early April 2007, the following activities will be happening at the site:

• Trees within the pedestrian area at the south end of the site will be removed and replanted elsewhere on the Keele campus;
  
• Covered hoarding will be placed along the east and south frontages of the site (i.e. at the VIVA transit stops, and along the north side of the Common. The north and west frontages of the site will have uncovered hoarding;
  
• Following hoarding, the site will be stripped of topsoil and leveled, after which the drilling of foundation caissons will begin.

There should be minimal disruption to the community during this initial stage. Heavier construction will proceed following the completion of classes at the end of April. Once construction peaks, pedestrian and traffic flows around the project site will be affected. The contractor for the project will take all necessary precautions to ensure community members are safe at all times, include posting of warning signs, use of flag persons to direct pedestrians and traffic, and scheduling certain activities at off-peak times.

York University Development Corporation is managing this construction project on behalf of the University.