Page A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 12, 1993 Jeff Nagel News/Community, Malcolm Baxter » News/Sparts, © ERRACE STAN DARD Publisher/Editor: Rose Fisher - Front Office Manager, Pam Odell - Typesetter, a Rod Link _ Arlene Watts - Typasatier, Susan Credgeur - Composing/Darkroom, Special thanks to | * ESTASLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ; vanel Vivelros - “Span ator san ona - Advertising Consultant, all our ™ Charlene Matthews - Circulation Manager ; oe Registration No. 7620 4647 Lazelle Ave., “Terrace, B.C., V8G “ anager | contributors and , ‘ccna 7 correspondents Phone (604) 638-7283 Fax (604) 638-8432 Mike L. Hamm 5 pg cn for their time and Sarving ihe Terrace area, Published on Wednesday of each week by Cariboo Frass (196% Lid. at 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, Gritish Columbia. oo : 3 « CNA os Stories, pholographs, illsstralions, designs and lypestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copyrighl hoWlers, including Cavihoo Press «=6-s Production Manager: oo 1a, aie S verriio talents. (1969) Lid., it's Mustralion repro services and advertising agencies. Edouard Credgeur Tre tS 855 Oe SIRGUEATION Reproduction in whole or in part, without writen permiasion, is specifically prohibited. CNA CONTROLLED Authorized as sscond-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. . EDITORIAL, -LDIDNeT.KNOW - a 'S BEEN OFF ON ANOTHER cn "SAYS HERE THE BLIMP |S CMING Time to change For tao long the Nisga’a Tribal Council has concentrated its land claims message outside of northwestern B.C. It was — and to a large extent remains — a clever plan. The tribal council realized that if it is to be victorious, it had to build support down south and back east, That’s where public opinion is formed which translates into votes needed by politicians in their search for power and that’s where large corpora- tions are most vulnerable in their attempts for a good-guy image. For the most part the Nisga’a Tribal Council has been successful. It is the only native group in Canada actively in negotia- tions with governments and one of the key groups in convincing the governments and large corporations to pursue settlements. It’s done so in a calm and rational manner which has relentlessly worn down a great deal of opposition. The effect of this. has been to build a’ highway with the Nisga’a, the govern- ments and resource companies piled into one land claims bus headed toward a final, albeit somewhat hazy, destination. All of this is why it was refreshing to hear a different side to the Nisga’a Tribal Council at its annual convention here recently, The words came from newly- elected tribal council president Joseph Gosnell. He spoke to the rest of us who live up here of the impact on the local and regional economy of the Nisga’a and other native groups. ‘The. Nisga’a Nation isn’t going to go away. We aren. "t just going to be swept une... der. the rug,’ 2:Mr:iGosnell said in estimatsi ; ing’ thatthe Nisga’a alone pump in be-"- tween $13 and $15 million a year into the community. ~ Pension plums_ Reform’ party candidate Mike Scott has laid out a juicy issue in one of his latest pronouncements. It concerns pensions for politicians. Members of Parliament, for in- stance, qualify for immediate payments if defeated or retired after just two terms and six years in office. Mr. Scott calls that kind of arrangement immoral and that he wouldn’t accept such a deal until he reaches the normal retire- challenge, It’s one we must. take, up on our In doing so, Mr, Gosnell hinted at what is going to happen once the Nisga’a have signed a land claims agreement with the province and with the federal government. Broadly speaking, the Nisga’a want to create a system of government and develop an economy that meets their needs and aspirations. The impact of this will spread to the rest of us who live up here. That’s good news for what the Nisga’a are talking about is trashing a system in which they depend upon the state in favour of one that creates and distributes wealth based in the north- west. (Basic information on this is con- tained in several recent tribal council pub- lications readily available to northwest citizens.) But Mr. Gosnell did muke one unintended error, He said the Nisga’a have | bent over backward for too long to those ~ above mentioned third parties. That may fit the Nisga’a view but the implication is that those third parties include the ‘average northwest citizen. And that is incorrect. The rest of us who live in the-northwest haven’t been able to gét a seat on the land -¢laims bus. A lot of us don’t even have a schedule. We don’t even know where to buy a ticket. We hear that awful word con- sultation used constantly but it’s been asso- ' ciated with talks between governments, the Nisga’a and third parties. A successful conclusion to the: Nisga’ a land claim must include all of us. Mr.:Gos- nell’s words ‘about the future ‘present a “arta a sown... We; can’t depend: ‘ipon. “the feders ‘and provincial governments. Théy have' in- terests of their own to protect. Remaining uniformed and uninvolved is wrong. ment age. Of course, Mr. Scott has to be elected twice and serve those six years in the first place before we would find out if he intended to keep his promise. That alone isn’t reason enough to vote for Mr. Scott. But at least the Reformer has said s some- thing about a sore point amongst suffering taxpayers. It would be interesting to hear- what other candidates have to say. - Under the table ‘Customers: ‘who voice that aren’t asking if you prefer to be paid in paper dollars as op- posed to Visa or Master . Charge. Nor are they inquiting. Bifocals whether you’re employed by Johany, the guitar-strumming balladeer. They: want to know if you work ‘‘under the © Through by Claudette Sandecki | ol VICTORIA... ~~ Byensthe tt young, ; I'msure Vancouver table."” From a. consumer’s _stand- point, dealing. with someone who works under the table isa money saver, especially ; on high ticket’ items where PST and GST can total several hun- dred dollars, No legal risk ex- ists, not even for aiding and abetting the seller in defraud- lars. The buyer's” main’ “worry 4 is the problem he can face if his purchase proves to. be un- sound, Without a bill of sale or other written proof of payment he lacks leverage when seek-. ing adjustments, should ad- justments be called for. If the seller fails or refuses to: make satisfactory changes and :the . buyer considers taking the dis- pute to court, “he’s without: legal proof. As well, he faces disclosing to the court his part in a ‘transaction . , designed: to: evade taxes, ‘An’ ‘wncomfort= able Preller to be in: publicly. | ing the government of tax dol- customers or run the risk of disclosure. One upset customer’s tip to Revenue Canada investigators could be “enough to trigger an audit, Then watch the ants scurry for COVET, . As a customer, benefited from the cut rates of- fered: by . those willing “to bypass. taxes in exchange for cash, Whenever | weasel out of paying my. fair share of taxes, someone else has to shoulder an additional share to make up for my lack. I also ‘know I'm depriving govern- ment’ of legitimate taxes it — needs to do what] want done - for instance, more social hous- ing for our area; funding over- “night . housing. «for ‘Terrace -street people; establishment of ‘a proper: waste disposal facil. -ity; filling in potholes. . A level playing field is made ‘mash’ of: cwhen discussing the “pros and ‘cons of free trade and a NAFTA. | hee woe competi- me ve - Windsor fo have more tilt than a drunkard’s draining flask. So many work under the table it’s got to be over- crowded under there, Accom- modating everyone comfortab- ly would require a lable bigger than the Mahogany. monster that anchored the Great Hall in Castle. Waiters walked on it, feet swathed in napkins, as they set out floral - centerpieces and candelabra. Working under the table ‘hunched over to keep out of sight of Revenue Canada is too crummy for my bent. MARTEN 7 BP YOUT:- REMEMBER TAE counete MEETING, TONIGHT ? _— ' Sho? WHILE HE- — tue he 6 ; at MISSION... Don’t bank on pigs flying over Victor VICTORIA —- So you think that 4,000 people protesting the government’s tax increases pose a threat to the NDP. Right, and pigs fly. As long as the government’s extva-parliamentary opponents can’t pet more folks out than you would find ata Sunday church picnic, the NDP isn’t. ugh he looks a Mayor Gordon Campbell can remember the heady days of . protest during the former NDP --. administration. More than + 10,000 people showed up at the legislative buildings in Victoria to tell the Dave Bar- - rett government that they -' didn’t like the Agricultural ‘Land Act. ‘And Campbell certainly: should be able to remember the Solidarity protests. About 35,000 angry people moved in on the Parliament Buildings, venting their anger and frus- tration with Bill Bennett’s _ restraint program. Those were protests. . But what the heck, if you have aspirations of becoming Liberal leader and eventually premier, of course, any protest will have to do. So; Cainpbell moved to the head of the pa- rade, telling about 4,000 folks at an anti-budget rally in Van- couver that ‘this is not about politics, this is about people.”’ Right, and the pigs are still flying, - Not that the NDP can’t be defeated. In any two-way race, the New Democrats are toast, because the popular NDP vote rarely exceeds 40 per cent, What ] am saying is that - public dissatisfaction with the NDP policies has, so far, not translated into massive protest meetings. And as long as the majority confines itself to grumbling, the government is relatively safe. ‘The only real threat to the NDP lies in a coalition of- right-wing forces, Only if the _ Socreds and the Liberals join DAMN! x WAS 4 COUN FIXMY 1B SLEPAT VIC‘S WORKEP ON 418 seipool scl shont:to'shake in its’boots: 1 NDR: Andhthat’s sulong.way From the Capital by Hubert Beyer hands,. can, they, defeat. the. ,. off: The Socreds I know have no love for Liberal policies. It would be.far easier for any . Liberal sitting in the legisla- ture now to become a Socred than it would be for the six - Socreds to become Liberals, Jack Weisgerber may be talking about the need for a ~ coalition, but is he willing to - become a Liberal to achieve that aim? I think not. The same goes for the other Socred ~ Which leaves the other op- tion — join the two parties un- der some new name, but put a Socred stamp on the new crea- tion: And that, I assume, is what the big boys who'are be- hind Campbell have in mind. Whatever name a new coali- tion party will assume, its character will be inspired by the old Social Credit Party, which poses an interesting dilemma. All the people who voted Liberal in the last election did so because they wanted.to turf the Socreds out, but couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the NDP. Gordon Wilson’s performance during the public debate gave them an op- portunity to avoid voting for either of the two traditional parties. - I wonder how those people will feel when the party they voted for will be hijacked by special interest groups who. represent the old Social Credit Party in every way. Will they — feel betrayed? ' And what of the Liberals. ~ who were sent io Victoria with the clear mandate of offering policies that differ from both «fie NDP-and the Sodial'Ciedit t Paity? Will they feel like’ * traitors when they allow the special interest groups to give them new marching orders that were never approved by — the people who voted for- . them? Where exactly do the. loyalties of someone like Gary Farrell-Collins lie? Sent to Victoria as a Liberal,-he should, by now, have found out enough about politics to know that a Liberal Party un-' der the leadership of Campbell and his business backers will no longer be a Liberal Party. But then, Farrell-Collins is. the guy who faxed a ‘‘joke’’ to his caucus that could easily be inlerpreted as racist. The fax message purported to be from the Sihota Mort- gage Corporation. It asked the recipients whether they have “unusual cultural business practices’’ or are ‘‘in business with your father?”’ Judi Tyabji, who is Indo- Canadian, was not amused by the fax. Nor am I. Farrell- : Collins is a name to remember and not to vote for in the next election. But I stray. Back to the coalition, . . Here itisin a nutshell: Yes, the NDP can be defeated by a coalition of the Socreds and the Liberals, but anyone with’. truc Liberal convictions had better be aware that their views will hot be represented by the coalition, -. All the peopte who didn’ te want to vole for either the Socreds or the NDP in'the last election will find themselves: disenfranchised in the next . election, if the only choice is NDP or coalition. yp BETTER GET EDDY AT NY $0, 2 BET You RE ALL mm THE BAR AND ALICE. _ Wy WT) Yi; WY a hl i KEEN 70 GET INTO g THESE BYLAWS! Cee oeepareg it oe ‘ eee Ahi ee oe