Say what?!?

Reform-minded Stewart
councillors vote to tear up their oe
paycheques /NEWS A3

Heart of gold

to the city’s less

Juanita v was like a fairy godmother

fortunate/COMMUNITY B1

‘The tight tack

sail/SPORTS C2

Organizers hope a meeting next
week will help a new club. set

WEDNESDAY.
JANUARY 19, 1994

Andrew Scruton

Coast
boycotts
fishery
workshop

THE TEMPERS of commercial
fishermen have calmed little since
they wrapped their nets around
the Department of Fisheries and
Oceans offices in Prince Rupert
lasisummer, -. .

The latest episode came when
commercial fishermen refused to
allend a Jan. 9 meeting with DFO
and other user groups.

The session was supposed. to
simply be a workshop to foster
“consensus-building”’ skills, ac-
cording la DFO spokesman Dave
Narver. °

“Tl was cerlainly a lot more
than that,’’ said Northern Pro-
cessors Association spokesman
Greg Taylor. .

**What they’re trying to-do: is
manipulate the process so that it
would icad to almost a CORE-
like process. Thal’s where they’re
going with this thing.”

Taylor said commercial
fishermen said they would not
participate. unless two key issucs
were on the table — the 1904
fishing plan, and steelhead enhan-
coment.

DFO and the province would -

not give a commitment that those
issues would be discussed, he
sald, and so the commercial fish-
ing sector stayed home.

Taylor said he doesn’t disagree
with moving towards consensus-
based decision making.

*We were just asking that
things relevant lo us be on the
table.’’

A DAYCARE CENTRE could be
in place for teen mothers at
Caledonia Sr. Secondary school
by September,

Victoria has given conditional
approval to spending about
$350,000 to build the daycare on
the Caledonia school grounds.

It would handle up to 24 infants
or toddlers. There would be an
adjacent classroom where. the
mothers could study while being
close enough to care for their
children.

School

trustees last week

tamed Royce Condie Associates

as the architect to begin prepara-
tion of drawings for the centre.

The board also formed a sile
planning committee last week ta
work in conjunction with the ar-
chitect.

The centre would be operated
under the auspices of the PACES
Daycare Society at no cost to the
school board. Social assistance
would pay opcrating costs.

The PACES society has been
operating a 12-space daycare in
temporary quarters at the
Pentecostal Church since Decem-
ber.

A move to permanent quarters
at Caledonia would fulfill the vi-
sion of the original Young
Moms’ program, set up three

years ago. :

The goal was to encourage teen
mothers to finish high school by
giving them a transitional educa-
tion program where they would
study with other young mothers
in close proximity to their babies.

‘The Young Moms program first
opened a classroom in office
space on Lazelle Ave. before
changing its name to the PACES
program (Parents and Childrens’
Education Society).

The name change was made be-
cause the. program now has a
young dad enrolled, says school
district special instruction direc-

~ tor Andrew Scruton, and the fa-

thers in other cases often take an
active role in parenting.

The response since the pro-
gram’s inception has surprised
school board officials.

There are now 50 teen parents
or pregnant teens enrolled in the
program, up from 29 last year.

Scruton said those numbers are
more than just a function of the
high teen birth rate in the Terrace
area. :

**We also have a very success-
ful program and people want to
come,’’ he said, crediting the
teachers involved.

The money for construction of
the daycare will come from the

RD =

15¢ PLUS 5¢ ést
VOL. 6 5. NO, 40"

school-based childcare program
of the ministry of women *s equal-
ity.

Also approved | is. a. similar
$230,000 - daycare centre in
Hazelton. ot

That centre is to be run by the
Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en Education
Society (GWrS), ironically the
Same organization that last week
occupied the old Hazelton
Secondary School.

‘*Whatever the differences they
may have with the school ‘district
in other areas, I won't allow it —
on my part at Jeast — to influence
our negotiations in this area,’’
Scruton said.

Seed money

will get

show

off the ground

DARRYL LAURENT was back
in council chambers again last
week, but this time asking for a
grant rather than deciding

whether to approve one, . ..

Hi Not so tough

WHAT'S SO difficult about skating? Nothing at all, as the youngster shove found out. All you
neadis a frame, a pair of experianced legs to provide the propulsion, and away you go, gliding
across the surface with a smile on your face. Public skating sessions at the arena are a big
draw for familles and people using the lunch break to get their dally exercise,

_ demonstration,

Forest Code word said close

FORESTS MINISTER Andrew
Petter is expected to announce
soon a plan to put more of his
ministry’s employees into the
field.

Such a move is regarded as
crucial if the — provincial
government is to be able. to
enforce its new Forest Practices
Code.

The code calls for tougher
enforcement of logging practices
but critics have wondered how it
is going to work without hiring
more people.

“We are looking at proposals to .

create grealer efficiencies for a
betler allocation of staff,’ said
Petter last week,

He acknowledged there is a
perception ‘thai too much time is
spent by people bebind. desks. in
offices,

“Much of what we’re trying to
do initially is get people from out
behind those desks,’ -
continued.

Petter declined to give details of

ee

Pat of the

Petter ©

_

his plan, saying an announcement
will be made shortly.

The minister also said he’s
asking for more money to hire
more people in the budget year
beginning April 1.

“We arc looking at some

additlonal resources. but I must
add that is subject to approval by
ihe Treasury Board,’’ said Petter.
“We must also prove. to the
Treasury Board,
public, that we are being efficient
with what we already have,’’ he
added.
provincial
government’s enforcement plan
Involves .. using’ conservation
officers ‘from the environment
ministry. 7
““I?s not a matter of having

new. environmental police ot

something Hke that, but there are
people. now. who are’ well

.. equipped ‘to do the job,” sald. ;
Péter. :
"Before they may not have tad

the: ratory to > act but nc now. they”

and ‘to: the-

will,” he said.

All of this is-keyed to the new
code becoming legislation
sometime this year.

The proposed code was released
in late 1993 with the end of that
year set as a deadline for public
comment | -

Government officials have said
they expect the code to be the
first. order of business in the
legislature this spring, once the
1994-95 provincial budget is
introduced and passed.

The new code is to raise
maximum fines from the present
$2,000 to $1 million.

- Meanwhile, © Petter and
Environment minister Moe Sihota
released a report outlining
estimates of ‘the . cost of
implementing the new Code,
Prepared by H & W Saunders

Associates,’ it puts costs to the

forest industry at $75 million in
the first year, dropping to $39

million per annum after 15 years.

Goverment Program: costs to

mcatei> mcufhet mmmti mmm . tll mamites muitos cme _ uml nets meh nmin mem © mies ccm ms mimi clam. mais safle onal uo uci . coll meme sli, me, om | tk mm

Andrew Petter

reach the proposed siandards are
set at $18 milliion a year.
However, the report warns the
estimates are “frankly poor’’,
‘Noting there is. little data
available, it describes the figures
as ‘educated guesses, In mally
inlances™, ae

The ex-councillor was making a
presentation on behalf of the
Terrace-Kitimat- Air Show
society. ,

The society .wants a one-time

- grant of $2,500 as seed money for

what it hopes will become a bi-

» annual event.

Kitimat council and the regional

” district board will be receiving

the'same request, Laurent added.
The air show will take place
Tuesday, May 3 to coincide with
the official opening ceremony for
the expanded terminal building,
. Confirming the Snowbirds dis-
play team was already booked for
the event, he said the society was

trying to. get other military craft,

both Canadian and American to
attend, -

Also on the. wish list are a
Forest Service water, bomber
a display -by
Search and Rescue and participe-
tion by private aircraft from the
air show circuit.

Although the-total cost of the
show will depend on its size,
Laurent estimated the bill could
mun to $35,000.

Darry! Laurent’

However, the grants plus ad-
mission revenue were expected to
cover all cosis and leave enough
money to organize the next show
in 1996.. :

The: air show would last up to
two and a half hours: with the
Snowbirds providing ‘the finale at
about 6:30 p.m. -: “

- That schedule, . Laurent ex-
plained, would allow. people. get-
ling off work time to catch their
display.

The opening ceremonies’: wil
include the unveiling of a plaque
by Royal Canadian Legion mem-
bers commemorating the alrport's
origin as a wartime field.

Alcan cut back —

'to hit part timers

THE CLOSURE OF a potline
at Alcan’s Kitimat. sluminum
smelter is poing to result in Jess
work for temporary and part
time employees,

That's because the. approxt-
mately 25 potilne workers af-
fected by the closure will be
doing the work once done by
those temporary and part time
employees,

Alcaa announced the closure
lest week of Line 7 as part of a
company-wide plan to cut
aluminum production,

**We plan not to have any im-
pact on permanent employees.
But there will be less hours for
temporary and part time
people,” said Kitimat Alcan
spokesman Alan Hewitson last
week,

Alcan has heen trimming
costs, staffing levels and produc-
tlon over the past several years
to deal with a world wide over-
supply of aluminum,

The Kitimat closure amounts

to 30,000 tonnes a year, Compa- -

ny wide, the closures amount to
156,000 tonnes a year,

- Alcan spokesman Alan Hewit-

‘son said the Kitimat closure

works ont to roughly 12 per
cent of the plant’s smelting ca-
pacity,

‘Closing Line 7 also has an en-
vironmental advantage because
it has an older scrubbing sys-
tem, Hewiison added.

That isn’t as efficient’ as
newer oncs meaning that there
are more emissions into the air,
he continued,

This isn't the frst time Alcan
has closed down a potline ‘at
Kitimat. —

It shut down production of
half a potline during the last
major aluminum downtown in
1981. Production didn’t resume
until 1983,

Although the Kitimat smelier
does have an advantage because
its power costs are .cheaper
than those of others smelters, it
does employ mare people be-
cause lis technology is older. . °

The closure means Alcan will
have more electricity to sell but
there’s no word yet on n potential
customers, ood

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