By FRANK CUTLER MY FAMILY AND I have lived in Terrace for 26 years. My wife ‘and I raised our family here in northwestern BC because we wanted to live in Terrace. We saw opportunity and we saw a safe and supportive community, We were right. We love our town. During those 26 years we have built a logging and construction business, working throughout the Smithers-Terrace-Prince | Rupert area, slowly building equity and carefully adding to our payroll. We presently employ 65 people in log- ging operations and, during the summer constuction season, anoth- er 20 building logging roads. Through the years we have felt very much a part of a growing community, and have felt a strong commitment to our excellent em- ployees and our town. This month our world siarted to come apart In.recent years, most of our con- tract work has been with Repap BC. These past five years have been troubled times for Repap BC. Repap BC management asked us to take 60, then 9D, then 120-day pay- ment terms. They told us they needed the breathing space to get their finances in order. “We pitched in with other con- tractors to help support the major employer in our community. We all took the extended payment terms. In our own business, the interest payments to our bank doubled from 1994 to 1996, Our profits went away. Our losses mounted. We still had to pay our employees, pay for our fuel and supplies, pay for our equipment. Then came the announcement last December that Avenor Inc. had © reached an agreement to acquire Repap Enterprises Inc., the owner of Repap BC Inc. We thought we could see stability looming on the HUNDREDS OF Ge families crowded the streets of Terrace fast Tuesday to protest the crisis that has struck the northwest forest industry in the wake of Repap BC's move to get protection from its creditors. Above, that's Pat Jamieson of Terrace with daughters Kim and There- sa, who took part in a parade of some 200 logging trucks. Another participant was Maurice Vandewiel of Smithers, seen at the top right. They all converged at the arena to listen to speakers, bottom right. horizon. It looked like all the litle guys wouldn’t have to keep on financing the big guys. We went into 1997 logging in tough winter conditions to get the wood to the mills so the new owners would have logs to keep operating. Or so we thought. Our January logging bill was $450,000, by the end of February there was another $750,000. March 3, 1997 there was nothing] Repap BC was no longer part of the Avenor/Repap deal. Repap BC was under court protection form its creditors. All accounts payable were frozen. Fri- day we had $1,200,000 on the books. Monday we had nothing. The next day, the Repap BC vice- president Finance, Rudy Schwartz, and anew guy — the Monitor, wha was appointed by the Courts, came to Terrace to meet with Repap’s lo- cal creditors. The monitor, David Bowra of Coppers-Lybrand, ex- plained the situation — the Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada, who are owed $480 million now own Repap BC. Another $140 million is owed, half to contractors like me. Repap BC has asked for court protection from its creditors for six months while it prepares a plan for recovery. All creditors accounts up to March 3, 1997 are frozen. Busi- ness with Repap BC from March 3rd on is basically cash and carry, that is until the Court says dif- ferent. During the meeting I look around. Some of my friends and fellow contractors are angry. Some grow quiet, looking grey and wasted. Their little businesses ate finished, Some will lose everything they have worked so hard to build, some even their homes. What happened? Well, as I figure it, Repap Enter- prise’s boss, George Petty, got too — big for his britches. Yes, we all LETTERS TO THE EDITOR welcomed him when he took aver Westar ten years ago, replaced the Terrace sawmill, improved the Prince Rupert pulp mill, and refreshed the management 4p- proach, Then, once the good old B.C. cash cow was safely - ‘in Repap’s bam, Petty milked her dry to build his empire in eastern Cana- da and the USA. The coated paper machine for Repap Wisconsin cost a billion dol- lars. Half of that — $500 million was taken from Repap BC. Then the $250 million to buy Repap Manitoba was taken from Repap BC. There has been no cash for B.C. for the past six years. Debts grew, Machinery got tired and pro- duction slowed. Then when the pulp market went in the toilet, it was all but over. : Well, us old-timers in the: busi- ness know that the forest industry is a cyclical industry. We know it plays in a world-wide marketplace. We judge accordingly. But we know we have to re-invest 10 stay efficient and competitive. We know we have to protect our trained work force. We know we have bills to pay. So we plug away while the George Pettys of the world lever their multinationals into the poor- house. Again we are supposed to pick up the pieces. Hold our little worlds together. - You know what really chokes me? George Petty who has helped alk but bankrupt Repap. BC took home a $1,443,107.00 bonus in 1996! Well, another thing us old-timers know is that George Petty has had some help in all this mess. That help is our government with its Forest Practices Code legislation and doubling of the price of timber to pay for its Forest Renewal BC. Their government have added more than a billion dollars to the cost of logs delivered to the mills in B.C. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 26, 1997 - AS Loggers abused and abandoned Up here where my crews are working, only one in three of the logs on our show is suitable for the sawmill. The rest goes for pulp. There is no market for pulp, and the forecast for the rest of 1997 doesn’t look any better. But we have to cut the whole stand - pulp logs and all, scale. it, and pay the government premium ‘prices. Premium prices aie understandable in prime timber stands of sawlogs and peelers, ‘but not in the rotten timber we work in, “The foresters tell us the forest - here is grossly over-mature. Each year, the volumes lost to decay are greater. than the volumes grown. Mother Nature. has not repeatedly burned the’ forests here, thereby ' keeping ‘them young ‘and vigorous like she has in the Interior or the soulhern Douglas fir forests. The foresters. tell us that by logging these old forests now we can grow new, high-quality ‘timber for fol- lowing generations of people like me and my family and my. friends and neighbors.. — So there we arc. Abused and abandoned by George Petty and company in their ivory. tower in Montreal who obviously could care less, and taken. by our government who just won't listen to their own peeple.. I guess the saying that the north- west: is B.C.’s best kept secret is trac, Even our own MLAs ‘don’t know. - Meantime, life has to go on, so we do what we do the best we can up here and-help each other through another set of tough times. We fig- ure to’ be part of the solution. We know that its little guys like us that have kept’ B.C. going all these years. ~~ Frank Cutler is the owner of Terrace-based K’Shian Construc- tion Lid, a major Repap logging contractor, CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD Readers respond to Repap crisis Dear Sir: Qn March 3, 1997 Repap asked for and received protection from its creditors. This court order eliminates our chances of being paid for work done and goods supplied before that date. They are protected from us, but who will pro- lect us from them? What makes them any better than us? Why should we be forced to continue supplying ibem with goods and services when they do not have to pay us the past debts? The court order says we will be paid for any work done for them now, but nothing for the past, Where is the justice in that? We had to pay our employees, Workers Compensation, fuel, machinery payments, etc., but they don’t. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I always fig- ured if you hire someone to do a job, you had better have the money to pay. Or at least make an effort. They hide behind the courts to protect their own skins, And why are they in such a mess? Our government has the stumpage rates s0 high, and Forest Practices Code so tight that it costs too much to log now. Until the govem- ment admits their mistake, and reduces the stumpage rales and relaxes then F.P.C. mules, it will never be feasible to log here. -The government must be held accountable for the predicament these logging companies are in, and Repap must be held accountable to the people who supply them. If companies are allowed to hide behind the court protection, then we are all doomed. We may as well just go sit under the trees in. all these new parks the N.D.P. have designated, and live off welfare until it runs out because there's nobody working to pay into it. Afier all, money doesn’t grow on trees — or does it? J. Rosenau Terrace, B.C. Gave at the office Dear Sir: Your paper quoted Dan Miller. as saying everyone will have to share the burden of keep- ing Repap B.C. afloat (March 5, 1997), “T think everybody in the northwest — whatever role they play — is going t o have to try to be helpful in the face of a pretty serious situation,"’ Miller said. That statement couldn’! have been too dif- ficult for Mr. Miller to utter, considering the MLAs had just been granted a $20,000/year raise, Which, incldenily, is likely the approxi- mate amount of most working women’s yearly ‘income in total. As for the contractors, when they are hit up as to how they can help, I hope they say they have already given at the office! Janet Hultkrans Prince Rupert, B.C. Proud of rally effort | Dear Sir: March 18 Repap creditors’ achieved the pur- pose of publicizing the grave concerns that the many logging contractors and suppliers have for the Repap financial crisis. And it gave politicians and the government the opportunity to respond to these concerns. This crisis will not be resolved without some kind ‘of government intervention. - ane There are also, longer erm concems with the viability of the forest industry in. this region. Only government has the power to amend the stumpage appmisal system and forest practices and regulations to enhance and promote the viability and sustainability of the industry. In its present state, the forest industry will not survive in the Norihwest. Repap BC and West Fraser, the two major forest tenure: holders: in the Northwest, have not been profitable for the last. 10 years, ‘The potential for Jong term profilability exists and can/must be justified, Over regulation will only continue to suppress profits of forest companics. a The City of Terrace, should be proud of the. fact that the demonstration showed the type of community spirit that exists in the Northwest. It showed how much people care about their fu- ture livelihood, oe “We showed: the government how much we cared, Let’s hope the: government shows the same cae, and responds quickly to our con- cers. . Justin Rigsby Terrace, B.C, The Mail Bag Space travel a waste Dear Sir: J find: it hard to believe that scientists are wasting their time and energy on space travel. They should just accept that we are here for a temporary reason, What are they. trying to do. Is it to find out how to es- cape any so-called future holocaust? It sure seems like. they think they can out-do the Creator’s creation. There is nothing in the ouler space and there will never be. There are things hidden from us For spiritual reasons and space travel is one of them. Things will change in the future thal have nothing lo do with how much you leam now and how much you think that there is life out there, What they need to un- derstand is not physical. We know in pari and will al- ways know in part only. Those people who succeed in going to the moon or out to space gain nothing except how great they are or they think they are, Let’s face it. All the money and their knowledge in the world is not going to save them in the end. Our lives are temporary. We are made out of flesh and blood that is not ever going to live forever. Since the carth’s environment is changing, we may start to sce how it will affect us. No one has or will live forever and that is the fact in this physical world of ours. The only way is to be aware of what we are doing here, The truth is to love and accept things for what they are and to live in harmony with the Earth Mother and to balance all living things with one’s self. It would be much better to spend all that cash on ending pollution. It would belp to stop making instant foods and to start using fresh foods once again, There are so many good ideas to use money on in- stead of wasting it on space travel that has nothing for our future. Lilac Robinson, Terrace, B.C. More on stalking Dear Sir: ; I wilh to clarify ‘Stalking push praised by local vic- tim advocate’ in your paper of March 12. Regarding the issue of victims making oral presenta- tions at national parole board hearings. It was stated that ‘‘Fee won’t be able to speak at White’s parole hearing when it comes up this May, because il’s through the national parole board.’’ The offender in my case is serving his sentence in a federal institution. Presently, only victims whose at- tackers are serving time provincially have the right to make oral presentations at the national parole board hearings. The Terrace Standard was correct in its slale- ment that I hope victims will soon be able to speak out atthe federal level as well. It was stated that ‘‘Since his (White’s) incarceration, he’s been classified as a high risk offender.’’ It isin my opinion and the opinion of many experts that White is a high risk offender. Presently, in the system the offender is viewed a violent sex offender. It is my prayer that at the national parole board hear- ing, with the other information that has been sent by the other alleged victims, this will result in him being ~ classified as a high risk offender. — I was'also quoted as saying’ that “‘there’s presently nothing (support) for victims in Terrace.”’ ] with to clarify that there is presently, to my knowledge, no spe- cialized support or centres in Terrace or B.C. for stalk- ing victims. , Terrace has many wonderful support services through the crown counsel, RCMP, sexual assault centre and many other agencies. ] would have not been able to make it through my experience without them. Tammy Fee, Terrace B.C. Definition of sin Dear Sir: I have been asked this question, what is sin? A sin is an unlawful and wrongful act that is committed by any person who has reached the age of accountability. The age of accountability could be when a person is about 4 or 5 years of age, or whatever age in which a person leams to know the difference between right and wrong. If thal person does wrong, it is a sin. OF course there are some people that are exempt, the handicapped and the uneducated, or unlearned, who don’t know the dif- ference. between their right hand and their lefl hand. Pretenders are not exempt. Some people pretend not to know what sin is, so thal they justify (show themselves to be unaccountable) when they do wrong. I] thank God that those kind of people are in the minority. Here is what is written in the King James Bible ver- sion of 1611. What is sin? James 4:17, ‘Therefore to him thal knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin,’’ We must realize that wrong is wrong even if cvery one is doing it, and right is right, even if we are the only one doing it. Joseph Chapman, Terrace B.C. WCB challenge Dear Sir: I want to challenge the Workers’ Compensation Board mission statement: ‘‘Workplace safety and health 4s our challenge. Quality rehabilitation and fair compersation is our commitment. World leadership is our goal.” I was injured in a logging accident on the Queen Charlotie Islands when two trees fell on me. After I recovered in the hospital ] went through the WCB reha- bilitation program and it didn’t work for me. The WCB won't recognize the extent of my ongoing physical and psychological problems. They’ve put me on a disability pension of $135 a month, thinking I can now find other work, but that’s not the case. WCB did send me on 4 training program to become an excavator operator bul there are no jobs. Employers want al Jeast five years experience before they’ll hire anybody. My complaint is that the WCB and its doctors work against a fair deal for injured workers. And that’s not right Paul Moreno, Terrace, B.C. The Terrace Standard welcomes let fers to the editor. Our mailing address is 3210 Clinton Si, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mall us at standard@kermode.nat