Knock on wood

Cash crazy

Two years after the first bad
forestry news hit town, we're
hanging in there\NEWS A10

Be aware

There's plenty of info available
this week on drug and alcohol
abuse\COMMUNITY B1.

More teams than ever turned out
for the annual cash bonspiel
here\SPORTS B6

WEDNESDAY:
NOVEMBER 18, 1998

93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST
VOL. 11. NO. 32.

Docs want more than $1 million

a

Michael Leisinger

LOCAL DOCTORS want to be paid more than $1 million
a year for the times when they aren’t working but are on
standby in case of emergencies.

The money, $40 an hour, would be over and above that
which would be paid for services performed if the doctors
were called on during those times.

It would apply to being on-call at night and to emergency
coverage on weekends,

The demand covering general
specialists was considered by the Terrace and Area Com-
munity Health Council last week.

It stems from a settlement struck between rural doctors in
the central part of the province and the provincial govern-
ment earlier this year.

Those general practitioners had said they needed more
money as compensation because they. often were on
“standby every second or third night and on weekends,

They also said that because of the small areas in which
they work, they aren’t called out as much for emergencies

practitioners and

a First of the season

Debbie Bowen shows off handmade Christmas gifts at the Mis-
Sionaries of the Poor's craft sale Nov. 14 at Veritas School, The
Missionaries of the Poor are a Roman Catholic Religious Con-

gregation of nuns from Brazil who came to Canada In 1995. All
proceeds from the craft sale will go toward building a small group
of homes for the elderly In Terrace.

so the money they did receive from fees didn’t adequately
reflect the hours they spent on call,

The agreement reached offers different options in com-
munities where there are less than nine general prac-
titioners.

It doesn’t cover cities the size of Terrace which has 16
general practitioners (GPs) nar does it cover specialists in
rural areas. '

But local GPs have argued the natural of their practices
here and the way they have divided up on-call duties
means they actually fall within the limits of the agreement.

two or three nights and on weekends in addition to their

normal duties.
The problem facing the community health council is that
it docsn’t have the more than $1 million wanted by doctors

and that the issue is really between the government and the —

doctors.
“We just can’t afford to be drawn into an argument be-

Liquor, food on menu
to finance multiplex

EVERYTHING FROM liquor to food to
Sports equipment might be sold at the city’s
Planned $11.4 million multiplex to earn
money to offset operating costs.

City council gave the go ahead to its staff
last week to prepare requests for proposals
for various commercial services that might
be part of the complex.

:- Foremost among them is space for a li-
censed lounge that could be leased out to a
private operator and bring the city an
estimated $30,000 in annual revenue,
estimates Johnston Sport Architecture, the
consultants hired by the city to help design
the multiplex.

: Recreation superintendent Steve Scott
also identifies possible catering operations,
Up to 1,900 square feet of space for a full-
Service restaurant, and vending machines.

" The city might also choose to have pri-
vate operators run other components —
such as weight room facilities, childmind-
ing services, squash court/climbing wall
facilities, and a sports equipment shop, a
Teport by Scott says.

- It would alf add up to increased revenue
for the city, decreasing the degree to which
the cily subsidizes the recreation facilities,

: “Some public sentiment leans towards no
or very limited private enterprise, while

other opinions suggest that the private sec--

tor should be actively sought for participa-
tion in the project,’* Scott notes, .

He thinks food and beverage services
shauld be provided privately, but weight
room services should only be privatized if
the current weight room is expanded.

The number of visitors to the multiplex is
what the city hopes will make it an appeal-
ing market to business. The existing swim-
ming pool and arena generate some
300,000 visits a year, Scott says, but he
projects the expanded operations would:
boost that to at least 500,000 a year.

His report indicates alcohol is already
served about 40 times a year at the arena
and the banquet room through special occa-
sion permits and beer garden licences,

Councillor David Hull says the affor-
dability of the complex has to be closely
scrutinized. ‘‘] am very, very cautious

about this whole project,’’ he said, “At the
end of the day this thing is going to be $15
million no matter how you slice it — that’s
the nature of construction projects,

Whatever that figure ends up at will seem
like a lot of money, Hull said, but still
won’t be as big a cost to the clty as the op-
erating costs measured over the long term,

The city now spends about $800,000
more than comes in on the pool and arena,
he said. “Double, triple or quadruple that
space and what are you looking at?’’ he
said, adding the operating subsidy could
easily rise by $1 million a year — over and
above capital costs,

TEAMWORK: Terrace firefighters got a chance to
hone their skills the evening of Nov. 10 when they
burned an abandoned house to the ground at the
corner of Eby and Walsh. Bullt in 1936, the house
was judged to be structurally beyond repalr.

tween our doctors the government,”’ said Michael

Leisinger, the chief executive o

fficer of the health council,

“What we have said is we support and value our
physicians and we’ve asked the health ministry to resolve

this,’’ he said.

Leisinger did warn that it may be difficult to hire and
keep doctors here should other health councils be able to

pay for on-call services,
And he said the province has

opened the door to provide

money now that has reached an agreement with physicians

» in other rural and northern communities.
And local specialists say they can be on-call one of every *

“It becomes an issue of fairness and natural justice,”’

said Leisinger,

Estimates prepared by the health council suggest the GP
portion of the on-call demand could amount to $122,000 a

year and $1.1 million a year for
The money wanted by local

Specialists,
doctors is over and above

on-call options set out by the government and recom-
mendations of the B.C. Medical Association.

Huge c

rowd

anticipated .
for rally here

ORGANIZERS OF a
“Unite the Right” rally
here tomorrow night are
predicting there'll be an
overflow crowd at the 700-
seat R.E.M. Lee Theatre,

So they’re setting up
speakers and video screens
in the theatre lobby and out-
side.

“The response has been
tremendous,’ said chief
organizer Steve Cook of the
rally which will be the sec-
ond of its kind in B.C.

**We’re saying we have to
have an alternative to the
Glen Clark government and
that is to tell the other
parties they must draw to-
gether.”

Cook says a bus will be
bringing in people from
Smithers and that residents
from Kitimat and Prince
Rupert will also be coming.

Those attending will be
warmed up by a Prince
George rock band that has
changed lyrics of some
songs to reflect the intent of
the rally.

And Cook says he’s espe-
cially pleased that Jackie
Pement, a Burns Lake resi-
dent and former cabinet
Minister under the Mike

Harcourt NDP government, - .

will speak. .
“She will have some
things to say. She knew
Glen Clark when he was fi-

‘mance minister under Mike |

Harcourt,’’ said Cook.

Also featured at the rally
will be a slide show outlin-
ing the economic situation
in B.C. when compared to‘.
other parts of the country,

‘“What we're saying to
people is they need to make
a decision, a life-changing
decision, about the future of

Steve Cook

the province,’’ said Cook.

“People do have an in-
fluence so that’s why we
need as many people out as
possible. People do have a
say.and it’s time to stand up
and be counted,”?

The object of the rally,
said Cook, is to tell the free
enterprise parties that if they
continue to be divided,

‘there's a chance the NDP

will be re-elected.

“In the last clection: the
free enterprise parties split
62 per cent of ihe vote and
the party that got 38 per cent
wor,’’ said Cook.

This rally follows a large
one held in Prince George in
September’ and comes a
week before a third one
planned for Cloverdale Nov,
26. "

“ Cook said the BCTV

Newshour, which is touring
the northwest this week, is
working on covering the ral-
ly during its newscast from
Kitimat the night of the ral-
ly.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m,
and the rally begins at 7
pm.

MLA slams rally

A RALLY slated for Thursday

night is just another attempt by

anti-NDP forces to (ry to topple the government, says Skeena

MLA Helmut Giesbrecht.

Giesbrecht said the unite-the-right campaigners behind the

rally have never accepted their de

feat in the 1996 election,

“A year ago, the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation came up
north, and tried and failed to remove Paul Ramsey and me with
recail campaigns,” Giesbrecht said.

“Now these people are back with a rally which attacks the
NDP government, supposedly over lost jobs in the forest indus-
try, underfunded hospitals, and lack of education funding.” :

Rather than improving those services, Ciesbrecht said, the
opposition would carry out Mike Harris-style cuts.

He also noted right-wing parties condemned the NDP's deci-
sion to save Skeena Cellulose to protect jabs in the northwest,

“Will those who attend the rally also support, the Shutdown of
Skeena Cellulose?” he demanded, “Will they be honest and say
so in Terrace?”

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