94.9 CHRW News - Tuesday September 28, 2010

presented by Ashley Bushfield




Top stories -
Western Faculty and Staff Unions Vote on Strike Mandate
Landlord Licensing Challenged
New Support For Mustangs Squash

Western Faculty and Staff Unions Vote on Strike Mandate
After four months of negotiations, both the faculty and staff unions of Western will be holding strike votes. UWOFA voted last week to hold a strike vote which will be taking place Wednesday through Friday of this week. UWOSA will be holding its vote on Tuesday October 5th. The contracts for both faculty and staff at Western expired on June 30th of this year. Both organizations have held strike votes during previous collective bargaining with few resulting in a strike. A strike mandate does however offer further bargaining power with the university. For more information, you can visit the Faculty union website at uwofa dot ca and the Staff union site at uwosa dot ca.


First Municipal Election Debates
First debates of the municipal election are tonight. Starting at 4pm the Pillar Nonprofit Network is hosting an all-candidates debate in the Stevenson and Hunt Room at the Central Branch of the London Public Library. Following this event is the mayor's debate at 7 pm in the Wolf Performance Hall.

Landlord Licensing Challenged
London's landlord licensing bylaw is coming under fire. The London Property Management Association has applied to the Ontario Superior Court to quash the by-law, which was put into place in March, on the grounds that it can discriminate against applicants. The licensing policy was put in place as an attempt to thwart slum lords but the association is claiming that it will target the housing most likely to be rented by students, single parents, and people living on social assistance. The concern, they say, is that many affordable housing properties will have to be taken off the market with the tenants facing undue eviction. Tenant advocacy groups will be seeking an intervenor status on the case to defend the by-law.


Court to Decide on Prostitution Laws Today
Prostitution laws may have a new fate today. An Ontario court will rule on a case brought forward by three sex workers who have asked for the invalidation of several prostitution laws. Specifically, the laws that govern communicating for the purpose of prostitution, operating a bawdy house, and living off the avails of prostitution. All acts which are currently illegal while prostitution itself is not. The laws, originally passed in 1985, were intended to corrale streetwalkers and lend more power to prosecuting pimps. However, Sex Professionals of Canada and the sex workers involved with the case say these laws compromise the safety of sex workers barring them from screening clients and operating in a safe and clean location. The case has been before the court since October of last year.


Florida 3 Year-Old Brings 20 Grams of Pot to Pre-School
Three-year old from Jacksonville Florida has been suspended from pre-school after bringing in 20 grams of pot. The incident occurred yesterday and a search of the boys home found no other illegal drugs. His mother says the drugs are not from her. Police are now investigating the possibility that the marijuana belonged to a family friend or the boys' father. And although he was asked to leave the day-care for the rest of the day after a classmate tattled on him, no charges have been laid against the boy.

New Support for Mustangs Squash
The Mustangs squash team have formed a beneficial relationship. Thanks to the London Squash Racquets club, the men's and women's squash team will have space to play as well as coaching support. The announcement was made last night at the opening of the Nash Cup, an annual squash tournament that features high-level teams including the Western Men's squash team. Currently Western's teams are ranked 8th in the country.