Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 30, 1992 KON "TERRACE STANDAR Rod Link " ESTABLISHED APRIL 27,1988 _ Phone (604) 638-7283 lustration repro services and advertising agencies. Repraduction In whole or in part, without written permission, Is sppcilically provibited. ~ Raglstration No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C., VAG 188 Authorized as second-class mall pending the Post Otfics Department, for payment ol postage in ash. Fax (604) 638-8432 Serving the Terrace area, Published on Wednesday ‘of each week by Garitoa Prass (1969) Ltd. at 4547 Latetle Ave., Tarrace, British Columbia. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in tha Terrace Standard are the property of the copyright holders, Including Caritao Prass (1969) Lid. tls i #CNA Publisher/Edltor: Advertising Manager: Mike L. Hamm } Production Manager: Edouard Credgeur A Jeif Naget — Naws/Community, Malcolm Baxter — News/Sports Rosa Fisher — Front Office Manager, Carolyn Anderson - Typesetter ‘Arlane Walts — Typesetter, Susan Credgeur ~ Composing/Darkroam, " Janet Viveirus — Advertising Consultant, Sam Collier — Advertising Consultant, ° Charlene Matthews — Circulatton Suparvisor Pye PIE Wiig . EE ONAN KOM a, = a UNE f r) wey, Gc Ln Spe 4 LEP Areas asso ling ‘ WS earns COM ow yemipien: | ‘IACUL ATION Special thanks to all: our contributors: and correspondents for thelr time and. ~ talents. CONTROLLED _EDITORIAL, -Let’s have a vote | Port Edward mayor Don Simmons makes an excellent point in calling for referenda on land claims settlements. Specifically, Mr. Simmons is referring to the upcoming settlement of the Nisga’a Tribal Council’s. claim to land and resources centered on the Nass Valley and on the Nass River fishery. The problem, says Mr. Simmons, is that not a lot is known about the progress of the talks or what is being negotiated. They are being held behind closed doors with only the vaguest of tidbits coming out at times and opportunities convenient to the parties doing the negotiating. It is a public rela- tions campaign designed to conceal rather than to inform, . That creates an unknown climate on the part of the rest of us who live up here who will be affected by the Nisga’a and sub- sequent settlements, Keeping things quiet is a lousy foundation upon which to build public confidence and understanding Jead- ing to a final settlement. The three parties to the talks — the Nisga’a, the provincial government and the federal government — recently began run- ning radio ads- on private stations in the northwest. They are a soothing collection of words that paint a rosy picture. In this case, the impression created by the ads is incorrect. , The provincial and federal governments cannot expect their citizens to consider supporting a settlement without giving out information in return. It’s an easy formula to follow. The Nisga’a Tribal Council, for instance, holds regular meetings in the Nass Valley villages and with council lo- cals in Prince Rupert, Terrace and Van- couver to go over settlement information. That’s called building a consensus. If the _ Nisga’a can do it, so can the federal and - thing provincial governments. Gauging the kind of support needed by holding a referendum is the ultimate ex- pression of approval. It is not an entirely new or foreign concept. B.C. voters did ap- prove the idea of referenda last fall during the provincial election. And the federal — government is doing exactly the same now with the constitutional referendum. Land claims are too large an issue to be kept out of the public arena of discussion, debate and criticism. Even a politician can figure that out. Recycling woes | ' It’s a bird, it’s a-plane, it’s Superdump. Thisis: the-latest thought: to-come out, of Kitithdt “eotititll’ One~ city, Terrace ‘ahd"Thornhill. And why not. Dumps are expensive, par- ticularly when they are given the fancy tag of sanitary landfills, and land seems to be scarce. Fe . » = ts p Kitimat’s idea is that one large dump will ultimately. reduce the cost of dealing with the debris of human life. It’s not everyday duishp 10 serve ‘that | that may be cheaper in the long mn. But all of this is ironic given the financial, - and:other troubles facing the Skeena. Val éy Recycling Society. The feds have" turned down a grant application, it has quit taking glass and tin cans, the city lease on its building is running out. Surely the city and the regional district for that matter can step in and offer some kind of solution, We are responsible for what we produce and what we throw away. It’s the least we can-do to give Mother a government comes up with something Eartha bit ofa break. ~ §mall is beautiful Living in a 17 foot travel trailer means never having to ask, ‘‘Where are you?”? Un- less you're deaf as a bureaucrat or as nearsighted as a cabinet minister, you can’t is. ; ; During my five: years as a Through _Bifocals help knowing where everyone by Claudette Sandecki . . @ f campsite operator, I. envied those who ‘travelled in’ self- sufficient compact — trailers with spill-proof salt shakers and lift-up cupboard doors that ‘‘stayed’’, But now that I’ve tasted trailer living, it’s Tost - much of its attraction. Don’t get me wrong.. I’m grateful for the loan of this roof over our heads, for its cozy furnace, for its fridge that nestles peaches. in hoarfrost,. . and for its stove that sets the kettle whistling -in jig time. . Still, I look forward to the day _ when I can ‘again stretch my_ legs under: the “kitchen table without bowing them around a - Skil saw;. crawl out of bed without stunning myself on an upper bunk, and not have to squat like Dick Van Dyke pretending to ascend stairs in order to slide in under the table corner. Beds with only one acces- ‘sible side are for babies. For someone my age.to clamber. - over a snoozing mate to ans- ~ wer that mid-night bathroom . call is almost enough to make. me wear.Depend ‘didpers un-. der my “jammies, -And - why’. not? Diapers work. for. my granddaughters. During quiet hours the tractor-like ticking of our “economy clock reverberates off the panelled walls like a dislodged boulder bouncing down Copper Mountain. I prefer stocking dirty dishes all day and doing them all at once after supper. But a travel trailer has neither sufficient dishes nor sink space. A pad of paper towels takes the place of a dish drainer. On the plus side, I can adjust the furnace thermostat from my pillow; check the contents of all cupboards in one pirouette; and awl style, ob- serve traffic in all direction - from one perch. Best of all, I like the bathraom’s heel- activated toilet fiusher. Katherine Hepburn posture is a must to enter the bathroom, which rivals that of a Boeing 747 for space saving. Jimmy Durante wouldn’t fit. Because there are no parti- tions, my bed-making skills are forever on: public.display. "This doesn’t perturb me, how- “ever, Quilt lumps give ‘ise to ‘public. sympathy.“ for our plight) Parked as we now are along- side a construction project, I feel like a superintendent on a job site. The sawbuck-sized floor is carpeted in The Pro- ‘vince ta sop up dribbles from rain-soaked outerwear and mud from gumboots, Pve turned the nook into an office, bridging from table to backrest with a ten inch wide strip of plywood, raised level at the back end on a canister and a box of Q-tips. A roll of toilet tissue makes a pencil holder. I couldn’t imagine a more compact home. Travel trailers adda new dimension to » could a someting 30 re) ° iced #4 CaN Re _ 2 SS ie SF . Rd ie a . RS [a “ NOs cS Fos ee f I: \\ WN you diagnose und ollars &... that's all Igot on me... r > TODAY'S SPEOAL -{ BLOOD TESTS ony $25. _ a. a : ie VICTORIA — Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for permitting me to introduce the opponents of the Charlot- tetown Accord, a truly astounding coalition with a mission. ~ . First and foremost, meet afe Mair, the bombastic megalomania. Rafe wasn’t too enthusiastic about the unity deal from the start, but for the past week or so, he’s shifted into overdrive, “T'm not a Messiah,”’ says Rafe, even though nobody had accused him of it, bringing to mind Tricky Dickey Niton’s assertion of “I’m nota crook,”’ Rafe has big problems. He told his listeners he had it on good authority that Prime Minister Mulroney has declared him ‘public enemy | number one.” The very least he said he ex- pected as the prime minister’s . wrath came upon him was a visit from the tax man. ; “Frankly, I’m a little scared.”” Without a doubt the most vo- cal of opponents to the unity deal in British Columbia, Rafe _ has become a mite shrill and hysterical, which makes his claim that the yes-side is ‘on a crusade’’ a little comical. And here’s another eminent British Columbian who says the accord should be defeated - Bill Vander Zalm. He says the deal doesn’t incorporate any family values. O.K., Bill, we'll get right on it. In the next round we'll make sure that immoral and destructive things such as premarital sex and philander- - ing are out. The old leader of the dis- credited Sacred Party is joined by the new leader, Jack Weis- gerber, in his opposition to the deal. That’s what I call an or- ‘derly transition. Next I want you to meeta ubert uncovers — e forces of evil - From the Capital .. by Hubert Beyer who appear to have some problems with the Charlot- tetown Accord, but for dif- ferent reasons. First there is Gorde Hunter, whom I have always suspected of having been Ghengis _ Khan’s press agent in a pre- vious life. Garde writes a column for the Victoria daily. ‘His favourite colour is white and he’s always had trouble accepting French, turbans and the GST as facts of life in Brit- ish Columbia. Brian Kieran, columnist for The Province, is a horse of a different colour. He feels a bit uneasy about stuff like the gender-equal Senate which Premier Harcourt hinted he would unleash on this pro- vince. T must say, I’ve counselled Brian extensively, and there’s still hope he may swing to the -yes-side, particularly after he takes a closer look at the com- pany he’s keeping. ; Liberal leader Gordon Wil- son opposes the deal because he’s got a constitutional fetish. Nothing but perfection will satisfy him. Some of his caucus members, however, don’t share his views, support- ing the accord instead. Last but not least, I’ve got to recognize Preston Manning. I know he’s not a British ; Columbian, but he has brought his no-campaign here, and judging from some of the crowds, who even paid money to hear him, he seems to have a following. Manning has been crafting his speeches very carefully lately, taking great pains not to MARKE UNE ? ADVERTISING: NOPE. L'M IN TRAPP! NG, \ ?@ SKINNING, FLESHING- He AND DRYING!/ — STRETCH) (A SUDDEN BRUSH WITH THE REAL WORLD I! sound racist, but whenever I hear Manning speak, I can’t help thinking of a few other political leaders, thoroughly discredited by history, who started their ascent to power with the same clamor for law and order that has become his hallmark. oe, And these, ladies and gentle- men, are the folks leading the no-vote in British Columbia. - With the exception of Man- ning, I have nothing personal against any of them, but I’d rather eat the paper this column is printed on than align myself with them. - I didn’t come to Canada in 1957 to see the country fall apart some 40 years later. I didn’t become a Canadian citizen in 1967 to endup . living in the western part of the remnants of what used to be Canada. And while I admit that re- jecting the Charlottetown Ac- cord will not necessarily result in the breakup of Canada, the - mere possibility is enough to give me the creeps. In the final analysis, I be- — lieve that the risks of defeating the referendum are far greater than those of approving it, So what if the accord is flawed. Any compromise is. = Talso hope that we never put an end to constitutional wran- gling. Why would we want to bind our children and grand- - children to the compromise our leaders have reached in Charlottetown. The constitution will always be evolving to reflect new. Tealities, It is not written tin - stone and never will be. secede aieaccasapcae ee Serena a RN eas areegrceerrentansentir id