BE A piece of history

WORKERS WERE busy dismantiing the old Canadian National Railways
freight shed on Railway Ave. last week. The large structure hasn’t been used
for years. It was built in the 1940's and was a telling reminder of Terrace’s early
dependence on the iron horse to obtain goads from the outside world when the
city was just a small outpost in the northwestern wilderness.

More
are out
of work

THE UNEMPLOYMENT
rate in the northwest rose to
9.9 per cent in October.

That’s the highest rate in
the province and it’s the
highest three-month average
recorded in this region in
about 18 months.

Federal employment
analyst James Gilham
blamed the northwest’s
“triple whammy’’ of the
Skeena Cellulose shutdown,
a poor commercial fishing
season and tourism slow-
downs because of the
suspension of Alaskan ferry
service.

The number for this region
is up two full percentage
points from a year ago, he
added,

Gilham says the statistics
also show significantly
more people in the work-
force than 18 months ago.

More than 62,000 people
are now working or looking
for work, he said, compared
to 56,000 in June of 1995,
when the northwest last hit
10 per cent unemployment.

The participation rate —
which is the proportion of
people either working or
locking for work — is up
from 72.9 per cent in June,
1995 to 76.1 per cent now.

The explanation, says Gil-
ham, is that the uncertainty
of the Skcena Cellulose
crisis has driven more
single-earner families to
send both pariners out for
work,

‘‘Many people have de- -
cided the currently non-
working spouse should start
looking for work,’? Gilham
said,

Because the area has
grown both in population
and labour force, Gilham
says the effects of a higher
jobless rate aren’t as severe
on the northwestern ccono-
my.

Where the unemployment
rate heads next depends
heavily on whether a deal to
save Skeena.- Cellulose
hangs together.

‘We may reach 11 point
something if this mess stays
a real mess,” he said,

Gilham said the situatton
is somewhat easier for Ter- =e =
race to bear than Prince
Rupert.

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Who did what on garbage
issue remains a mystery

DID cily administrators is-
sue the call for bids to
privatize residential garbage
collection without city
council's approval?

Or are some city council-
lors trying to duck responsi-
bility for a touchy decision
by denying they knew any-
thing about it?

_ Those questions remain
unanswered after the issue
was raised once again ata
commitice meeting Friday.

Council had a week earlier
decided not to contract out
trash pick-up because the
proposals submitted would
not have meant a significant
saving over the city’s pres-

ent cost of $200,000 a year.

But = councillor —-Vall
George, emphasizing he
wanted to clarify the situa-
tion, said newspaper reports
last weck that minutes re-
corded council as approving
the call for proposals were
incorrect.

The minutes of the Sept.
29 closed-door meeting
read: “‘It was recommended
that administration be av-
thorized to investigate all
pertinent aspects associated
with contracting residential
garbatge collection in com-
parison with in-house ser-
vice delivery and report
back to the Committee for
further review and consider-
ation.’”

George said city staff may
have imerpreted a call for
proposal as being the only
way to gather firm estimates
of what it might cost to con-
tract out the service.

‘*There was no authoriza-
tion by council that we go
out for bid proposals at that
time,’ George said,

City administrator Bob

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Hallser responded angrily,
saying he and other city
staff would ‘“‘let council
have its political day if it
wants to make political gain
on the backs of administra-
tion’’ but that he would not
comment publicly on the
matter.

The committee quickly
agreed to discuss the matter
at a future closed-door

meeting.

An internal memo Sept.
26 «from director = of
engineering Stew

Christensen states ‘‘we
recommend that the city
prepare a formal tender or
call for proposals.”

George says that’s not

B.C.

what was decided, however,
and that the recommenda-
tion in the minutes is what
council approved.

‘I'm not criticizing the
administration,”’ said
George. “My only concem
was the way it came out in
the paper. It made us look
pretty silly.”’

George said the issue was
sensitive because it causes
considerable concern among
unionized workers,

Mayor Jack Talstra said
the matter appears to be one
of miscommunication.

‘It’s probably semantics
because to find out true
costs you almost have to go
to tender anyway,” he said.

Val George

COERTAVABE aM!

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