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When the companies‘ plan _ to â€" unite _ was announced last December, it was predicted the partnerâ€" ship could come at the expense of approximately 1,500 jobs between them. But Nick Thomas, Clariâ€" ca‘s media relations managâ€" er, said local employees Shareholders voted 72 per cent in favour of the Waterlooâ€"based insurance company‘s $6.9â€"billion merger with Sun Life Finanâ€" cial â€" making Clarica a whollyâ€"owned subsidiary of Sun Life â€" during a meeting in Toronto last week. Yet, the question of how the corporate marriage will affect job security for Clariâ€" ca employees has yet to be he Clarica Life Insurâ€" Tance Co. has taken a giant step toward becoming part of one of Canada‘s largest financial institutions. Clarica job security uncertain Looking For a New or Preâ€"owned BMW Twelveâ€"yeagold Zach Lankveld got some instruction from certified rescue diver Bruce Paleczny during the annual Dave Nicholson Memorial Police Scubathon. The event, in support of the Children‘s Wish Foundation, was held Saturday and Sunday at Breithaupt Centre. Zach and his 10â€"yearâ€"old sister Alicia raised more than $150 in pledges for the event. By Anprea Bamey Chronicle Staff www.bâ€"kmotors.com Combined, Clarica and Sun Life employ 8,600 peoâ€" ple. Even then, he said, there is no guarantee action taken will mimic what‘s been preâ€" dicted. "Maybe it won‘t be those numbers," he said. "And people have to remember, those figures apply to both organizations." "But I think the majority of our employees have come to terms with the potential of this combination. A numâ€" ber of them are relieved that we can now move toward our transition phase." Thomas stressed no perâ€" sonnel decisions will be made until at least the end of June, after anticipated final approval of the merger comes from the Minister of Finance in midâ€"May. "The mood has been euphoric around here," he said. "We recognize there is always some anxiety around a (situation) like this. don‘t seem overly concerned about the future. Taking a dip Some shareholders seem to believe the break fee nixed the potential for other purchase options; however, Thomas said their concerns likely have little to do with the itself, and more to do with a simple dislike for the breakâ€"fee process. Thomas said the $310 million break fee was intended to compensate Sun Life in the event Clarica had accepted an offer from another corporation. One of those lows comes in the form of criticism surâ€" rounding what‘s become a controversial break fee in the agreement. But Thomas said the company chooses to reflect on the highs of the deal, rather than the lows. Thomas also said normal attrition could be a key facâ€" tor in future decisions. "I know Clarica sees about a 20â€"perâ€"cent attrition rate on an annual basis," he said. "That could play a sigâ€" nificant role." "The issue was likely PAGE 3 CHRONICLI "There will be great benâ€" efits, not just for our stakeâ€" holders, but for our shareâ€" holders, and Canada in genâ€" eral. It will give our conâ€" sumers more choice and better choice. And it will enable us to compete effecâ€" tively on a global level, which is very important." "The fact Clarica‘s Canaâ€" dian operations will still be based in Waterloo speaks strongly about the large role Clgrica plays in this merger," Thomas said. Under the terms of the contract, Clarica shareholdâ€" ers will exchange each Clariâ€" ca share for 1.5135 common shares of Sun Life Financial. Clarica will maintain the its name for at least the next two years, and the comâ€" bined operation, worth more than $20 billion, will be based in Waterloo. highlighted because it existâ€" ed," Thomas said. "They are probably opposed to the concept of break fees, so it didn‘t matter how high or how low it was." DEBORAH CRANDALL PHOTO When they got a late call that the facility was open for business, the club execuâ€" tives learned that much of Paul Pavan, the executive director of the club for the last seven years, said he originally thought the Tigers were on the city‘s negotiaâ€" tion list for gymnasium time for the new facility before it was officially opened last fall. However, no one conâ€" tacted the club about gymâ€" nasium provisions or whether the Tigers were interested in signing on. The club is making do currently with gym time at the local public and sepaâ€" rate school boards. But with funding pressures continuâ€" ing on both local boards, the Tigers were looking for other places to play. That means most of the afternoon school time durâ€" ing the week, which the Tigers could use to run its programming, is dominated by a single club. More importantly, Saturday, a prime tournament day and revenue generator for the club, is also locked up in the contract with the city. _ Representatives of the Waterloo Tigers volleyball club, a local nonâ€"profit minor sports group, said accessibility to RIM Park‘s new â€" gymnasium â€" has become an issue because much of the primeâ€"time court schedule is locked up in an exclusive contract between the city and a forâ€" profit sports group, the Waterloo Wildhawks basketâ€" ball club. local minor sports Af)roup claims RIM ark isn‘t quite the people‘s park the City of Waterloo professes it to be after having trouble securâ€" ing gymnasium time at a reasonable price. RIM Park is not for everyone, local sports group claims By Bos VrBanac Chronicle Staff The cost of renting the facility was also described as "outrageous" and out of whack with the rest of the local facility rentals market charges, with an hour of halfâ€"court time costing $36, and the whole gymnasium costing $144 per hour. It seems to Pavan the Wildâ€" hawks club is getting a "sweetheart" deal, with the forâ€"profit club paying far less than what the nonâ€" profit group could get. "They priced us out," said the longâ€"time local volâ€" leyball coach, who recently won a WCSSAA senior girls volleyball title with Forest Heights secondary school. "And the pricing doesn‘t seem to be consistent for everyone." What also upsets Pavan is the fact the facility time is locked up for another two years, with the Wildhawks having an exclusive threeâ€" year deal with the city. The prices he was being quoted for the facility also seemed to be different. "When I went to try to see if we could book some gym time for practices, first of all there wasn‘t any gym time because one organizaâ€" tion had basically booked the thing from Monday to Thursday, and every Saturâ€" day," said Pavan. "They priced us out. And the pricing doesn‘t seem to be consistent for everyone." â€"Paul Pavan Waterloo Tigers volleyball club executive director the prime time was already taken. Continued on page 4