eres a | “E i mt 3B “The B, C. government \ was ina a self-zongratulatory mood a few -days ago, announcing that at some point there will be a road built into the Iskut River gold fields. Now the dicey part begins. as two levels of government and a whole host of resource com- panies begin trying to figure out who's going to pay for-it. — That road, when it goes in, is going to change the frame of behavior for the mine servicing industry in this region. Develop-_ ing mines will be far less dependent on expensive air shipping of equipment and materials into their field operations. Transporta- tion ‘routes will redraw themselves, and new opportunities are 80- ing to. spring up. Terrace in particular and the B. Cc. government in general has not had what could be called a very pro-active history in going after those opportunities. As indicated in this newspaper for the _, past two years, we’ve been beaten like gongs by the Alaskans on _what should be our own turf at every turn in development. When . Johnny Mountain, the first producing gold mine in the 1980's — ‘Northwest gold rush, officially opened its mill last year there was _no one from any level of Canadian government except one lone "local representative present at the ceremonies. By contrast, it seemed like half the Alaskan government and business communi- -ty flew in. That embarrassment is still fresh as we observe the: . continuing development in those mountains and try to find ways - of cashing in on it and to fit it into the long-term health of the -local and regional economy. It’s going to take a bit more effort than has been exerted in the - past. While the government was trying to figure out what to do -about.the situation at the Bob Quinn Lake airstrip, the.cargo - transfer business for the mines sought another outlet and. found it . ‘at Wrangell; and that’s still where most of it is, although the road is going to change that. Another indication that we’re per- forming at the low end of the scale when it comes to enterprising | pursuit of business came last week, when we got figures down to the last aircraft movement from Wrangell’s (former) economic development officer — the annual figures lately indicate $15 ~ million annually into that community from B.C. mine servicing... We contacted local governments and the local chamber of .com- ‘merce here to find out what. it’s. worth: to Terrace, and. nobody, aegis vac sale te seems to know. . . Mining i is a volatile business: at the best times, and governments and business are understandably reluctant to commit large in- ‘vestments in roads, bridges, new equipment and facilities to ser- _vice-an industry that could pull up stakes on short notice due to ‘some unpredictable and ungovernable change in global markets. The average life of a gold mine in the Northwest may only be . five years, but many analysts in the mineral field are forecasting that the 1990’s will be the decade that base metals take off. In the midst of drilling results circulated frequently by ‘companies - - exploring: the Northwest, promising figures for metals like copper. . and zinc are often listed with the gold and silver assays. - "Those mines could be producing for a long time, and the " Alaskans are also talking about road access. ony VERIO bu LAC Barras: Second-class mall ‘Established May 1, 1985 registration No. 6896. The Terrace Review is published each Wednesday by All material appearing in the Terrace Review is Close-Up Business Services Ltd. protected unger Canadian copyright Fegiatre duced a for any reason without permission of the Publisher: .. En 2 omiesione, Adtvertiving is accepted-+ Li ft ,,. , Mark Revtord Boater ana nllborn ne en po: Michael Kelly ~ nat Deoh on bur but the balance of the advar- i. Staff Reporter: Me way asalme responsiblity for 8 an Ted Strachan fore in any classitied ad which la supplied to the - "> Advertising Manager: In compliance with ihe B.C. Human Rights Act, Mar] Twyford fo 8 advertisement wit be published whict which = Typesetting: rlgion, colo, es, nana, nearyor pice a Production § Manager: 4536 Grelg Avenue, : errace, B.C. Production: 1 ‘Guebax GIN, Faniit Niz «Phone: 635-7840 ‘Gurbax Gilt, Ran} ar Fane 695-7260 a -foceunting on Canede 0 Out of Canada $60.00 Harminder Dosanjh Seniors in Terrace and Sietrot $12.00. Seniors out of Terrace and District $15.00 ; ‘sas Sees "ages daa! faa gt weg bale menet) rag lenee = idee NA a a - Sts 3 ET mre eet ok mermemerrnety it Prema gore cara: oak Lot MARES APOga Tuas VICTORIA — Religion. . It’s a topic which smoulders just beneath the surface in B.C. politics these days, especially when discussing Social Credit and its enigmatic leader, Bill Vander Zalm. And at the Socreds’ annual convention at the end of this - month, religion could hit the headlines as the latest conten- _tious issue within the divided party, Some years ago, the Socreds. got rid of a reference in their constitution to ‘‘a party found- _ ed on Christian principles or values’’. That was designed to reflect British Columbia’s growth as a multi-cultural province which welcomes all. races, creeds and colors. ~~ Now, however, Vander Zalm’s Richmond running mate, Nick “The Puppet” Loenen, has introduced a rec- © ommiendation for the conven- tion to reinstate the Christian- principle clause. . If it gets to the open floor of the convention at Vancouver's posh Pan-Pacific Hotel Oct, 26. to 28, all hell will break loose — if you'll excuse the expres- siont Some of the staunch Socred . delegates who happen to be of the Jewish or Sikh persuasion are ‘prepared to rise up and raise Cain over the issue. They believe Loenen:and those who favor a reference to Christian values are lurching backward rather than striding forward when it comes to accepting other beliefs, and to realizing that Social Credit is not an elitist, all-white, Christians-only domain. - Given Mr. Vander Zalm’s The view from Victoria — byd John Piter oe oho penchant for pushing his beliefs as the only “‘right’’ ones — politically and religiously — I _ find it hard not.to believe that the premier was involved in ‘Nick the Loon’s action. Remember, too, that Mr. ‘Vander. Zalm gave general sup- - port to Loenen’s proposal, tell- ing reporters that the idea of Christian values is more wide- ~ ranging than just that religion. .Nice try, Bill, but it won't sell. _ The latest on the issue is that there apparently will be an at- tempt to table the outrageous resolution, and several others, at the convention, in a bid to derail further angst and criticism of the premier. Among the many fascinating | scenarious developing for the annual Socred bunfight, that could be the most intriguing of all. Stay tuned. Socred caucus chairman . ‘Carol Gran, the erstwhile ‘Langley MLA, is facing attacks - provincial scene to sucha. _on two fronts — from the | media and within her own con- stituency — as she tries to keep the raucous caucus together, whilst fighting off an ambitious local politician in her own con- _ Stituency. Several of my media cok leagues have blasted Gran for mishandling the timing of the caucus meeting in the wake of the Socreds’ humiliating defeat _ in the Cariboo last month. You will recall that Gran | booked the session for Oct. 25, the day before the convention, but nearly five weeks after the by-election loss, Although only. four of five concerned MLAs phoned her to have the meeting eatlier, and Grace McCarthy was publicly calling for a ses- sion sooner, Gran-tried to stick to her guns. Then came the . four defections, which promp- . ted Cabinet to agree to the emergency caucus meeting held on Oct. 6. ' The Oct, 25th plan wasa mistake, an unwise political er- ror, and she’s suffering the slings and arrows of outraged columnists and fellow MLAs because of it. But it’s hardly a devastating, long-term blow for the forthright woman who has guided the caucus through two. of its most tumultuous years ever. Watch for Gran to be in- cluded in the Zalm’s new Cabinet — the long-overdue shuffle is likely to happen within a few weeks. But be - very careful if you accuse her of supporting Vander Zalm just to get a Cabinet post... I truly: . believe that she doesn’t work or think that way, and you'll get a blast back, believe me. With Gran involved on the degree, the home. fires have | been perhaps less weil tended than usual, So it isn’t sur- . prising to find a self-righteous, anti-abortionist named John Scholiens, a Langley Township alderman, signing up members to prepare to take on Gran or running mate Dan Peterson for one of the Socred nominations for MLAs in the two new ridings. There are reports of members being signed up in churches, especially those publicly condemning abortion... Although such shenanigans ap- pear to be a local problem, 1 mention it here because it raises suspicions that the on¢-issué | continued on. page §