Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 16/05) - Yellowknife MLAs have joined city council in support of locked-out CBC workers.

Last Monday, council adopted a resolution in support of locked out CBC staff. On Thursday, Yellowknife MLAs, including Premier Joe Handley, joined the workers on the picket line, bringing with them tongs, spatulas and boxes of hamburgers, hotdogs and smokies.

Handley, who promised the workers he would press Prime Minister Paul Martin to end the lockout when he ventures to Ottawa this weekend, said he supported full-time jobs at CBC and "the stability it brings to the community."

At issue in this dispute is a plan by CBC management to fill in some permanent jobs with contract positions.

"The most important thing for me is that it's expensive to live here," said Handley while he manned the barbecue grill.

"And in order to do that you need job security."

Handley added that the lockout is hurting smaller communities in the NWT because they are having to go without regular, aboriginal language broadcasting.

Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee told workers that she has become a CBC "groupie" since the lockout began last month, pointing to several CBC radio personalities she ran into on the picket line such as Randy Henderson and Norbert Poitras.

"If I can say anything, I'd just say I called to say I love you," said Lee, quoting a Stevie Wonder hit song.

Other Yellowknife MLAs who came to barbecue for the workers were Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins and Kam Lake's Dave Ramsay.

Lockout co-ordinator Dave Miller praised the MLAs.

"We're not asking them to make political statements but we know morally they support us," said Miller.