ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. +, V8G 5R2 ° EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard. com. A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 16, 2006 St ESTABLISHED APRIL 27,.1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK _ TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 + FAX: (250) 638-8432 - WEB: www.terracestandard.com THEY’ RE TALKING big numbers down i in Vic-. ‘toria. Not money now’that the government has. wrapped up its big ticket labour contracts thanks to those pro sports-like signing bonuses for public sector employees. But people. Here’s the math. The provincial government estimates B.C." . needs to’ generate 1,000,000. workers over the: ~ next decade to fill job vacancies. It then calculates . . that B.C. can provide 650,000 new workers all by ‘itself. That leaves a shortfall of 350,000 people, a “ deficit: the provincial government says will have ' to be overcome to some extent by immigration. When this notion came up in the spring in the ‘provincial legislature, Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin v was quick on-his feet. It’s fine to talk about immigration, said Mr. Austin, but left out is the. _- Unemployment quandary in rural and remote ar- as, particularly i in native villages. ~ What was wrong, Mr. Austin continued, with ‘the idea of a full-on employment and education | ~ plan to address this issue? . For that, Mr. Austin was labelled by some “Liberal members of the provincial legislature, as ‘being. anti- -immigration. The irony’ was that Mr. . Austin delivered his comments with a distinctly : English accent courtesy of his birth’ country. He. | “then dubbed himself, as the ‘ ‘anti-immigrant im- 7 migrant.” . ° “That: anti-immigrant tag. aside, .Mr. Austin’s. idea is one well worth pursuing. Unemployment ‘Yates in tural and remote areas and among native. _ people are unacceptably. high. There’s a pool of potential labour being left untapped and not doing anything about it is a waste. ‘What’s needed at the outset is a concerted effort to improve literacy rates as reading, writing and basic math are the foundation for employment. Intensive skills training would then follow. Others have caught on. The armed forces, fac- _ ing adouble whammy of retirements and a general ‘tion training, followed by defined skills training if ramping up of numbers, actively recruits among native people here. Now it’s the turn of the province. And for that, it could turn to Northwest Community College. The college for years has been hammering home that something must be done about job prepara- | for the northwest. It has made some progress — — the college’ S$ SUC- - cessful mining employment program is but one example of how a homegrown initiative can work. But the college could do a lot more given a solid commitment on the part of the province. The college has a network of campuses and on- the-ground knowledge ready for the task. Realis- - tically; the northwest could fill just a small por- * tion of that people deficit. While small in overall terms, it would have a huge impact, here and be a “big i improvement for people i in the northwest. _ FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson PUBLISHER /EDITOR: RodLink ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur _ _ NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman — COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham _ ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband, Ellie Higginson _ AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur- SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 cna! B.C. AND YIKDN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADA COMBAT RENSPAPERS ASSOCIATION 6.0. PRESS COUNGE. (warm bcpresscoonciLorg) Sening the Terace and Thora aca Pubisted cn Were o @ - each week at 3210 Clinton Steet, Tecrace, British Coumbia, YAS S22. @) Black Press Stories, photographs, Busvrations, designs and typestyies ni Te Terace Searvard are ne orpeny of Pe coer: Tight holders, including Brack Press Lx, tS Hustration reoro services and acvertisng aperces. Reproduction in whole or in part, wincut weden permission. 's spec “cally orpnbta1. Authorized as second-ciass mai pending the Post Oifce Denertnent fr ceymert of oostage rn cast. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents attecrartres : ines Tei . Us To STAY OFF The ROADS: THAT “MOVEMENT iy ANY _ VEHICLE WILL. BE A SEROUS THREAT THE TROUBLES of the Ter- race Lumber Company have , Spawned a revival of a very old theme: a special economic ° zone for the northwest. That theme has now been : - picked up by everybody from labour unions to Roger Har- __tis and Bill Belsey who were, ““until last year’s election, the, | MLAs for Skeena and. the North Coast. | The province is not likely to ° entertain special dispensation to the northwest today any- more than it has i in the past 30° years. . Why? Because while our » seized funds - would. be ire. transition zone is unique in “many ways, so too are other. -- parts of the province with their own challenges and head- ’ aches. Is it not reasonable for them to expect special consider- ation, too? _ Special status is a policy and’, political non-starter. It would represent a policy back flip for this government and would fly in the face of the softwood deal with the US. Even if a deal is not ratified by the federal parliament this fall, the litigation would. con-— >* tinue to advance. ‘So far, Canada has been winning every ruling. that counts.” Doing anything to compromise our legal gains and jeopardize the eventual recovery of over $5 billion in DAN VENIEZ . sponsible. The region needs major new investment to the tune of $1.2. . billion for asset moderniza- tion, and on infrastructure and reforestation in the woods. While this is a large amount to finance by any standard, capital markets are always on the hunt for solid investments. ~B:C.’s forest sector is not on that radar screen. Quite the opposite. Therefore, a basic question for serious people to ponder is: What can we do to make the northwest attractive to new in- . vestment? Gordon Campbell’s S gov- ernment has made great strides ‘already through a simplified regulatory framework that is light years ahead of other provinces. It's the reason why . . the B. C. industry is in ‘better shape today relative to > others in Canada. But we must go further. ‘A fibre tenure system in this province that provides fibre security to investors is a must. In the pulp business there’s a need for certainty around chip volumes and pricing, where >the stability of fibre * pricing ' and supply is central to attract- - ing investment dollars. The, province should now focus on fundamental tenure reform. Doing so, would fur-| ther erode the main argument of the .U. S. lumber lobby that - we are: unfairly ‘subsidizing | ‘our industry. ° * More to the point, it would allow for the removal of a ma- jor uncertainty that has inhib- ited the flow of investment to modernize ‘the industry, not only in the northwest, but in the rest of B.C., too. The politics of undertaking such dramatic policy shift are as risky as they are complex _~ for any government. But do- ing so would be a hugely sig- - nificant and positive signal to capital markets, and that would greatly help the northwest. In our region, we have other obstacles that need to be over- come that include the high cost of trees, First Nation land _Cclaims, and a very onerous property tax structure. Individually, these are, big sesues. Together, they are :deal- killers. ‘The region has to come. . together: to construct a pack- age of serious incentives that. will be seen as the investment . ‘equivalent of the ‘welcome © wagon. Once it has done that, lead- . ers in the northwest and else- a where should press the prov- | ince should step-up efforts at. fundamental tenure reform. Doing so would further. | erode the, main argument of ..” the US.lumber lobby that we * |] are unfairly subsidizing our: - industry. ae ‘Some in Terrace have as- sumed: that you could have ~ a vibrant lumber industry in the northwest without a viable pulp mill in Prince Rupert... That is a very dangerous. ‘fallacy. The two are tightly i in- ter-connected. For that reason, when we | think about the future of the. forest economy. a regional outlook is unavoidable, and in fact desirable. So, forget about special sta- tus. That won’t happen. I’ve _ got the scars to prove it. o Focus instead on getting ~ your own house in order. Then - help the government drive major policy change that will help the province as a whole, and therefore help you. . Dan Veniez was the CEO of New Skeena Forest Products. _ IN A New Yorker cartoon, as a helmet-wearing apartment dweller. pushes his bike past ~ the fireplace on his way to the front door, his wife —standing with one hand: on a hip, the other resting on the back of an ‘overstuffed living room chair -- says. “Take some identifi- cation with you in case you die.” . _ That's good advice for: any- . _one who bikes or walks alone. .as I do. I've often considered carrying some identification -- at the very least my name and phone number written with black felt tip marker inside my helmet or-on a folded note, to speed identification and para- “medic treatment if I were smashed by a truck aimed by an inattentive or impaired © driver. I try to bike or walk daily staying within two miles of home. Still, that radius ‘takes in a lot.of streets where no one . would know me if I needed rescue. _ » Neighbours and’ others afield are no doubt familiar with my passing presence. A few know where I live. Some might know my name. Most, though, would have no idea who I am if they were called upon to summon police. an my upon the circumstances when THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI ambulance, or Nechako North- coast for a roadkill cleanup. Before setting out, I always tell my husband whether I'm going out for a bike ride or a walk (alone or with the dogs), my intended route. and when I ~ expect to return. If I will be visiting our daughter's family, the time of return varies depending I arrive there: They may be _ gone: they could have visitors. _ Or we could chat longer than -usual. In that case, my hus- - band often phones while I'm there to be sure I’m okay and to remind me 8 p.m. coffee . ime has come and gone. Before leaving home, I check my pockets for Chap- stick and tissues, essentials. If I’m headed for a convenience store to buy a Vancouver daily paper, a quart of milk, or a small whipping cream. I take along sufficient cash. But _ identification has never been a priority with me. though [ve often thought it would be a _ sensible precaution. On cooler days when I wear my weatherproof jacket. because its pockets are deep and keep things safe. I carry a packet of business cards from my: pre-rétirement days. If I were sideswiped and flung into the ditch. checking my pock- ets would tum up my name, address, and previous phone number. The phone number now rings in my son-in-law’s shop and home. On 70 degree days I might wear a light jacket with pock- ets designed more for style than for usefulness. I tuck tissues and Chapstick in my” slacks pockets. I may stuff my money inside my sock rather than risk having it escape shal- low pockets. I carry no iden- tification. So what would the scenario be if I had a heart attack or a stroke six blocks from home? At that distance, I wouldn't Would they know who you are? expect anyone to know who I _Was, or how to reach my fam- ily. Would anyone bother to stop and see if | needed as- sistance. or would they speed past. swinging wide to avoid denting me further. One thing | know for sure. — within 15 minutes of my be- ing late returning, my husband ° would phone our daughter to ask if I was-with her. if she'd seen me. or What else she might know about my tardiness. Supposing my husband Went so far as to phone police to report my absence, and as-- suming they acted immediate- ly, that time lapse could spell the difference between recov- ery and death. In cases of heart attacks. three hours is the time in which administration of a -_ clot-busting drug is effective: after three hours. your chances of recovery drop to zero. Even if I. suffered a high- way. accident in front of the home of someone who knows me. identifying a person sadly mangled might not be so easy. Certainly. no. one would Volunteer for the job. Which leaves police or first respond- ers — none of whom would know me — to tag my remains. Carrying identification makes sense.