AG - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 30, 1997 a cs CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD ~The Mail Bag NDP said not interested in helping the economy Dear Sir: For many weeks I have been bothered by the loss of jobs and closure of Skeena Cellulose. Although I am not 4 forest or sawnuill worker, I realize that most of the ccona- my of our community is generated by the forest industry. Certainly there are other jobs, however they are spin-offs to the forest industry with the exception of all the govern- ment employment which in large part is a false economy that generates no appreciable end product. The New Democrat government, which I blame for a great deal of our loss of jobs and waste of tax revenue, is hopefully although doubtfully regretting what it has done to the true workers and taxpayers of British Columbia. The Windy Craggy mine, Kemano Two and Cassiar are just some of the many large employment possibilities gone, As well we must remember al] of the parks created by the NDP which now are essentially useless dormant land. Now the NDP is finger pointing at the major banks and saying they are the bad guys and could have helped keep people working. These banks operate internationally and in countries that have thriving economies. The common denominators are these countries have the major banks but they don’t have an NDP government. Premier Clark just like his predecessor, Mike Harcourt, has the nerve to say their government is not in the business of giving grants and loans to companies. Why then, I ask, did Mr. Clark so quickly fly to Texas to assist Canadian. Airlines with financing when it was threatening to close : down with massive job loss. I seem to recall the NDP also giving Canadian some very ‘good tax breaks on fuel, which essentially works out to a grant. So it would seem that il is not so important about which company is going broke as to where the economy is being affected. You know, of course, that although the government will not invest any monies into private industry, which is what creates an economy through sales of products such as wood, fish, minerals, etc., this‘ same government is at- tempting to create a false economy. The NDP pumps mega dollars into government ‘bureaucracies. Take for instance the forest service. For the Let’s not have culture clash ...- Dear Sir: I’ve read about Mr, Gill’s intention to expand Punjabi language classes in school. Does he intend to teach the English language and Cana- - dian culture to people who now can only speak the Punjabi ‘language? Or does he want to teach Punjabi. to English/French spcaking Canadians? Or does he want to ‘teach Punjabi to people who already know the Punjabi lan- | guage? Or does he want to teach Punjabi to anyone who will listen just as long as the pay is good? Expanding a person’s knowledge is a good thing. Tf an individual intended to go to a Punjabi speaking country it ‘ would be very useful to be able to speak and understand - the Punjabi language. Of course a person would naturally expect to pay for these lessons themselves and not expect the lax paying population to pay for such individual bene- fits, I think anyone coming into a country, regardless of ‘which one, should do everything possible to harmonize "with the culture of that country and not attempt to un- _ i dennine it with their own culture. , At some point, some person in the respective appropriate " office is going to have to get up the courage to put the let- * ters N-O together and make one meaningful word. ' If you don’t think an entire culture and way of life can be undermined and changed in a comparatively short time just ask your native Indian neighbour. Lloyd Brinson, Nass Camp, B.C. ‘Language class sets precedent An open letter to: ' School District $2 1 ‘ J ' ' t wn ee ‘ Dear Sirs: ' In these days of educational cut backs ‘and fiscal - restraint, it was with interest that I read of plans-to expand » Punjabi language studies. , | The only G§ure quoted as to costs is $2,500 for supplies. ‘ This is at the present time. Knowing how theses things ‘ evolve, I am sure that ifand when Punjabi becomes part of ‘ the time table, with qualified teachers, the costs will be ‘ many times higher. | If this precedent is set, should any group of 20 or more ‘ students desiring courses in any language other than ' English or French, will they also be accommodated? It ‘ would seem that legally they would have to be. We have in Canada two official languages. These of course have to be propagated, along with special consider- ation for First Nalions languages. No other group should expect to have their language and customs propagated at public expense. If they desire to have their Janguage taught, they should be prepared to do it completely on their own. Certainly there is precedent for this. When Japanese im- ' ‘ 3 I + ' t i 4 i i ‘ 1] ’ ' ' ' children were required to attend regular school by day, and ‘Japanese school during evenings and week-ends. There - they learned the customs and language of Japan. - For this service the Japanese community neither asked - for nor received one penny from the public purse, They did ‘ it completely on their own. For this they should be com- + mended, : . "ALK. Innes, Prince Rupert B.C, aene ‘migrants came to Canada in substantial numbers, thelr — pas! few months you may have noliced all the fancy new trucks driving around town. : These trucks all have government forest service decals on the dours. I personally looked one over — a four-wheel drive, diesel-powered truck with fancy chrome wheels all around, aluminum bullboard, etc. I have witnessed one of these vehicles parked at soccer games at Christy Park on a number of evenings, How can the government justify this type of waste of tax revenue when so many of us who used to be workers are now living on Iines of credit, credit cards, etc, ' How can a government allow fancy vehicles for bush trucks and allow government workers who are making steady pay checks to use these vehicles and fuel for recrea- tional time, while those of us who are unemployed, pay for this. The Windy Craggy mine, Kemano Two and Cassiar are just some of the many large employment possibilities gone. As well we must remember all of the parks created by the NDP which now are essen- tially useless dormant land. Recently an older fellow from Thornhill was apparently fined $100 for infraction of a bylaw, this bylaw being it is illegal to scrounge, al the Thornhill refuse site. It would seem that if a man has come down to scrounging at the garbage dump for recyclables, he needs more government assistance, not a $100 fine. Where have our provincial and regional governments taken us — from times of prosperity and employment to scrounging refuse sites for an income, and then creating laws to fine you for doing so, What comes next? [f this man can't pay his fine, will they put him in jail? It would mean the government is will- ing to imprison people for being poor. Kind of reminiscent of the era prior to the Fresich Revolution, wouldn’t you say. Allan Grier, Terrace B.C. Do your homework. Dear Sir: Please tell Ms. Sandecki to either get a sense of humour or a lifetime supply of Valium. Further advise her to watch noth- ing but the news, read only non-fiction, and by no means take the grandkiddies to such incredibly unreal movies like Bat- man and Robin or Jurassic Park. Crime fighting super heroes in tight black rubber outfits and capes, combating a power-mad villain calling himself Mr. Freeze, and a villainies named Poison Ivy who literally kisses men deadly? And dinosaurs. resurrected via DNA strands centrifuged from blood drawn from the butt ofa fossilized mosquito?! Oh please! By its very nature, Ms. Sandecki, fiction calls for the willing suspension of dis- belief. Add a generous dollop of poetic licence, and you have RNs the world over collectively snickering pityingly at the two transgressions of professional be- haviour in Father of the Bride I. Ahem - the movie is not only a comedy, it’s a Steve Martin comedy! What do you ex- pect? There will always be movies and books that rely heavily on plot twists; ever notice that those movies/books don’t get nominated for Oscars and Governor Gen- eral Awards? But before you pillory fiction in general and the screenwriting profession in partic- ular, Ms. Sandecki, at least make an effort to understand the immense work involved in writing both, Then criticize to your heart’s content. Susan Andrews, Terrace, B.C, ~ Fax: (250) 387-2208 ms COLA ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OFFICE "PUBLIC INVITED TO COMMENT ON THE DRAFT PROJECT REPORT SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TELKWA COAL PROJECT While the public comment period on the draft project report specifications ends on August 8, 1997, all comments received by August 15, 1997 will be considered as part of the review. All submissions will be available to the general public through the project registry as originally submitted and required by the Environmental Assessment Act. If your submission does not indicate that you wish your address to be treated in confidence, your name and address will be filed in full, on the registry. Comments on the Telkwa Coal draft project report specifications should be forwarded by August 15, 1997 to: Norm Ringstad, Project Committee Chair Environmental Assessment Office 2nd Floor, 836 Yates Street Victoria, British Columbia V8V 1X4 Telephone: (250) 356-7481 oOWwN PAYMENT $4,000 52,000 *3,000 psshrn Se are 368 MONTH SMARTLEASE, TOTAL OBLIGATION IS $10, 044* SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER FROM YOUR BRITISH COLUMBIA PONTIAC DEALERS McEWAN GM 635-4941 .... You should know thls: *Basad on a 36 month SMARTLEASE for Sunfire Coupe 1SA equipped as deseribed. Annual kilometer limit 20,000 km, $0.08 per excess kilomater. Daler may salVleasa for lass. OAC. Otfer appiles to 1997 new of demonstrator modals. 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