Ideal invention

A local man makes the

best of a tough situation

by altering work-out
-machines \SPORTS B10

Booze bounty

The number of places you
can buy hard liquor in
Terrace has just
quadrupled\NEWS A8

a

Royal memories
A Terrace woman reflects
AS on the Queen Mum,
wi buried yesterday in
§ London\COMMUNITY B1

$1.00 pLus 7¢ GST
($1.10 plus 8¢ GST
outside of the Terrace area)

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yww.terracestandard:co

Trustees blame gov’

By JENNIFER LANG
SCHOOL TRUSTEES are blaming
education minister Christy Clark for
having to reverse, at least for now,
the closure of five schools to cut
spending.

Trustees have said Clark herself
told them they could do what was nee-
ded to bring spending into line with
the budget she sent them.

But just hours before an April 3
board meeting, the first since the clo-
sures were announced March 27, the
board [earned the province hadn’t
changed the school closure policy.

That means the board has to em-
bark upon a 60-day consultation period
before making a final decision.

“School districts thought the Lib-

eral government was going to change
the rules,” Kitimat trustee Barry Pank-
hurst said the day after the board
meeting where about 200 people
learned the closures were on hold.

Education ministry officials have
made it clear school boards are expec-
ted to balance their budgets or they'll
be terminated, Pankhurst said.

“We believed it. The administration
believed il,” Pankhurst said of pro-
mises made to allow school closures
to take place quickly. “Now we're
stuck with egg all over our face. Mrs.
Clark — you’ve got to answer the ques-
tion, Why did you do this?”

Meanwhile, the board has to deliver
a balanced budget by April 27 in spite
of not being able to make a closure
decision until the end of May.

A lawyer with the B,C. School
Trustees Association (BCSTA) has
now told the board it should follow the
education ministry’s policy guidelines
on school closures ~ or face a poten-
tial legal challenge.

More inside
m@ New school ‘renamed’,
At3
M Quick school closures
called less agonizing, A13

Judith Clark, senior director of legal
and legislative services for the
BCSTA, told The Terrace Standard
courts in other jurisdictions have ruled
against school boards when the com-

munities affected by school closures
hadn’t received adequate consultation.

The B.C. education ministry’s cur-
rent policy on school closures stems
from a series of successful legal chal-
lenges against school boards in New-
foundiand. The policy recommends
school boards take at least 60 days to
consult with the public.

Under the current rules, school dis-
tricts must alsu gain the education
minister’s approval before a school
can be closed.

Pankhurst said the education mini-
sler should be held accountable for
telling districts they had the govern-
menl’s permission: to close schools
quickly and the rules would be
changed.

As of last week, the district had not

sell your ballat to anyone who will buy it. That means it's not a secret ballot and discredits the whole process, he says.

It’s easy to sell your vote in
treaty referendum, says critic

ONE LOCAL person says it’s possible to sell
the land claims referendum ballot received in
the mail last week. ;

Les Watmough says all a person has to do
is sign where asked to and fill out the required
information and hand over the unsealed refer-
endum envelopes and ballot to anybody who
want to buy it.

“This is so far away from a secret ballot it’s
incredible,” said Watmough, a New Democrat
and Kitimat-Stikine regional district director.

“This is so open to fraud it’s unbelievable.” .

“If this is sa important to the provincial

_government, then it should have been done by
a secret ballot,” said Watmough.

But Waitmough isn’t sure who would want
to buy ballots in a referendum he and others
are calling unnecessary and ill-advised,

Yet he does say the idea of selling ballots
fits in with the Liberal government’s “open for
business” philosophy.

Watmough’s stance aside, people opposed
to the land claims referendum are being asked
to hand in their ballots so they can be burned.

The plan is to bundle up the ballots, mailed
out last week, and send them south so they
can be burned in a massive protest, says Alan-
na Dams who works for thé Terrace Women’s
Resource Centre and who is a member of the
Action Coalition of Terrace, formed to oppose

government cuts to services.

“The plan is to have a large rally in Victor-
ia,” said Dams of the burning concept.

The burning plan is but one option being
promoted in opposition to the $9 million mail-
in ballot referendum now underway.

The Angtican church in B.C. announced last
week it wants its 200,000 parishioners to ¢ither
vote “no” to all eight questions on the ballot
or to not mail it back at ail.

“This is so open to fraud it's
unbelievable. If this is so impor-
tant to the provincial govern-
ment, then it should have been
done by a secret ballot.”

Other groups are suggesting the ballets be
spoiled or sent back unmarked,

All say the referendum will cause instabil-
ity and conflict.

_ . The provincial government wants to estab- _

lish what it calls principles for treaty negolia-
tions by asking voters in B.C. to answer. ‘yes’

or ‘no’ to eight.questions ranging from taxation:
-to government powers to environmental con-
‘trols, .° EE

Speaking last week, provincial altorney-
general Geoff Plant says the Liberal govern-
ment needs a clear mandate to negotiate trea-
ties tao overcome a stalled process which has
so far failed to result in a single treaty despite
spending hundreds of millions of dollars over
the last decade.

But he said the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses to
the questions will give the province guidance
only in negotiations and won’t be binding
when it comes to establishing a mandate.

Native groups in particular oppose Question
6: “Aboriginal self-government should have
the characteristics of local government, with
powers delegated from Canada and British Co-
lumbia.”

They say the Canadian constitution already
provides for self-government powers separate.
from those of Canada and British Columbia.

Ballots have to be returned by May 15 and
filling them out involves seven steps and three
envelopes.

Elections B.C.,
which runs provincial elections, is running the
mail-in referendum.
question as well as ballots which are rejected.
- Dams said those who want their ballot
burned should turn them-over to band offices,

the women’s centre or to union shop stewards.

the. non-partisan. agency

It'll report ‘yes’ and ‘no’ yotes.on every

City

Wednesday, April 10, 2002

t for chaos

been able to contact the education
minister for clarification.

The board is now anxious to arrange
a meeting with Skeena MLA Roger to
express frustration with events.

“All school boards in the province
were caught,” Pankhurst added. “The
B.C. School Trustees Association law-
yers informed us we could not do what
we were doing. Other school districts
were looking at the same procedures.”

The Terrace Standard attempted to
contact the education minister last
week, but she did not respond.

“The Liberal government hasn’t
thought ovt what they’re doing.
They're just flying by the seat of their
pants,” said school board vice-chair
Peter King. “The kids and parents are
paying for it.”

voted ‘no’

to get better

SCI

sale deal

By JEFF NAGEL

MAYOR JACK Talstra says he and council tried to
block the sale of Skeena Cellulose to NWBC Timber
and Pulp because they didn’t like the deal or the pres- °
sure put on them to vote for it.

Creditors approved the sale by a huge margin April 2,
but Terrace came-close to defeating it.

The vote of
cent of them in
value of the $13

unsecured creditors passed with 85 per
favour, representing 92 per cent of the
.8 million in registered claims,

Had either Prince Rupert or Port Edward ~ which both
vated ‘yes’ — joined Terrace in voting ‘no’, the deal
would have been defeated and SCI would have gone into
immediate bankruptcy. Each class of creditors had to ap-

prove the sale,

Talstra said the towns were angered by a last minute

amendment to t
and penalty cha
For Terrace that

he plan that deprived them of interest
Tges on the back taxes they are owed.
amounted to $57,000 but it was more

than $4 million for Prince Rupert,
The towns were then forced to vote quickly, he said,

given only two
court-appointed

minutes to discuss their options as the
monitor circled them, counting out the

number of seconds left.

“It was disgusting,” Talstra said. “We didn’t feel we
should have to vote with a gun to our head. So we en-
tered a ‘no’ vote.”

The mayor said he believes if enough towns were pre-
pared to vote ‘no’ to defeat the deal, Veniez would have .
agreed to include the interest and penalty charges.

“Negotiations

are lough and you have to take those

negoliations to the eleventh hour,” he said. “And you

have lo sametim

es make a stand at the very last minute

in hopes that something better comes out.”

Had the deal

collapsed and the operations fallen into

bankruptcy, he predicted rival suitor Forest Capital Ltd.

would then have
the operations.

joined NWBC in wide-open bidding for

That may have then resulted in a sale to the best-fi-

nanced company
ning the operatio

— the one with the best chance of run- |
ns for the long term, he said.

Concer that NWBC doesn’t have enough money has
dogged its bid and Veniez refused to disclose details of

his financing to t
“Terrace has

he towns.
always wanted to see a level playing

field and we were prepared to take that principle to the
ultimate limit,” Talstra said.
Pushing for the no vote were mayor Talstra and Ter-

race councillors

David Hull, Marylin Davies, Ron Van-

derlee and Lynne Christiansen.
While NWBEC will spread out repayment of property
taxes over nine years, Forest Capital, which repeatedly

lobbied northwes
faster repayment

t towns to vote down the deal, promised
of property taxes.

Talstra said its plan looked promising and it gave a
slightly clearer picture of its finances, '
But councillor Val George, who along with Rich Mc-

Daniel opposed

council’s decision to vote ‘no’, said he

was no more comfortable with Forest Capital.
He said NWBC had the best understanding of the is-

And George

“Sues and the best chance of going forward.

said voting against the sale may have

caused a breakup of the operations in bankruptcy,

“T think it wa

8 a huge risk to take,” he said.

Talstra said the. situation came down to a judgment

call,

“Tt was a crapshoot,” he said.

Veniez denou

nced Terrace council for its opposition.

“It was the height of irresponsibility,” he said. “I’m

voting this way."
“Terrace was

. very disappointed at Jack, very disappointed at council

clearly supporting Larry Bontje. Clearly

they were swayed by a guy coming in at the last minute

offering the moo

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