*4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 30, 2002 TERRACE - STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27. 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. « V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 WEB: www,terracestandard.com EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com Carrot power ABOUT 55 years ago the provincial govern- ment dangled a massive juicy carrot in front of Alcan. You can dam the Nechako River, flood a reservoir and use it to generate cheap power. In return for accepting the carrot, Alcan had to develop Kitimat and build an aluminum smelter. Its critics in Kitimat say Alcan has lately begun testing how far Victoria would let it go in selling power outside Kitimat — contrary to the spirit of the 1950 agreement, which says power can only be sold for industrial purposes “in the vicinity of the works.” That has fuelled fears Alcan will sell more and more power if it can get away with it, while employing fewer and fewer people smelting aluminum in Kitimat. In essence, Kitimat officials say, the carrot (the cheap power Kemano generates) and any- one who wants to eat it has to stay in Kitimat. Since Alcan has lately been trying to slice off bits of the carrot and sell them elsewhere to other buyers, Kitimat officials want the pro- vince to take a hard line. Their solution, essentially, is to build a big fence around Kitimat to keep the carrot trapped there, and post guards with big sticks to beat on anyone who tries to take it outside the town. Enter Skeena MLA Roger Harris. Take down the fence and invite anyone to come and use the carrots, he says. But impose a transmission fee making it attractive to make carrot juice or cake in Terrace or in Prince Rupert yet adding costs should the same be tried in Prince George or, heaven forbid, Los Angeles. Se The idea will excite some people here and in Prince Rupert, who would for the first time get a chance to use Alcan power to attract new jobs and industry. And it’s sure to horrify the guar- dians of the carrot in Kitimat, who feel it’s theirs and theirs alone. Alcan is too adept at wriggling out of the contracts it’s already involved in, they say. And they’ll constantly look for a way to sneak the carrot out of the region and sell it more profit- ably elsewhere. Mr. Harris’ idea is a new wrinkle that shows imagination and vision for the future. It is be- guilingly attractive. And it’s one that will deep- ly test Terrace’s loyalty to Kitimat. Yet it is also fraught with risk and uncertain- ty. The Nechako reservoir was flooded for all time — it must in perpetuity benefit northern B.C., not some company’s bottom line. Such a scheme should not be rejected out of hand. But if this is the path Victoria wants to follow, the province should provide money for a detailed study — one that can take a critical look at the idea from all angles to the satisfac- tion of the northwest. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman 2002 WINNER NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang CCNA BETTER FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay NEWSPAPERS CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon ~ COMPETITION ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: ~~ Bert Husband & Stacy Gyger TELEMARKETER: Stacy Gyger COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.25(+$3,94 GST)=60.19 per year; Seniors $49.50 (+$3.47 GST)=52.97; Out of Province $63.22 (+$4.43 GST)=67,65 Outside of Canada (6 months) $152.34 (+$10.66 GST)=163.00 MEMBER OF (f 8.C. ANDO YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION Me AN @ CN AL gears D B,C, PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepreascouncll.org) Teak Eabdia oad Wes Serving the Terace and Thomhifl area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Steel, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G SR2. Slories, pholagiaphs, iRustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copyright holders, including Cariboo Prasé (1869) Lid,, its Wustration repro servicas and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole of in pari, wilhout written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending tha Post Office Depariment, lor payment of postage in cash, Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents , ior their timeand talents Be NATIVE LAND CLA _/ WOW IS IT A PUBLIC Dy PEFERENDUM WAS OKAY FOR THE IMS TREATY BUT NOT FOR THE OLYMPICS? CAMPBELLS IN FAVOUR OF THE OLYMPICS. Be careful about fixing health care VICTORIA — For years, Cana- dians have been told that their health care system is on life support. They have been told so by every two-bit politician, re- sponding to the latest poll, in which folks told the pollsters that the system is broke. This after having been told by the same politicians that it is, indeed, broke. And unfailingly, the mass media rush into print and on the air, telling Canadians that, according to the latest poll, and the politicians’ reaction thereto, the health care system is broke. It’s a cycle that repeats it- self until every last Canadian is convinced, often his or her own experience to the con- trary, that, yes, it’s broke. Enter the self-proclaimed fixers. They would be the poli- ticians, editors and columnists whose answer is privatization or a two-tier health care sys- tem, one public and one pri- vate. That these fixers usually have a right-wing bent to them is no surprise. 1 quote from the National Post of Oct. 18, 2002. “80% OF CANADIANS REJECT ‘STATUS QUO,’ POLL FINDS.” There's that poll again, ac- cording to which “eight in ten ‘FROM THE CAPITAL. HUBERT BEYER Canadians say they want sig- nificant reforms to the coun- tr ‘alth care Syswin, und yes, they would support user fees. Why am I not surprised? Because, as I said earlier, Ca- nadians have been told that reforms are necessary to save the system. They have been told ad infinitum that user fees, speak privatized health care, are necessary.“ If you're told the same thing over and over again, you inevitably come to believe it. That was as true for the 1930s and 40s, when J was told, over and over again by the Nazi propaganda machine, that France was Germany’s arch enemy and that therefore ] had to hate the French, as it is for today’s unrelenting mantra that our health care system is near collapse. Now, if the 3,300 Cana- dians and about 2,000 health professionals that participated in the above-mentioned poll (accurate to within 2.2 per- centage points 19 times out of 20) say the system is in crisis, L can either believe it, or I can poll myself and find out what my opinion is. Here then is what that poll {accurate to within 100 per cent all the time) revealed: Hubert Beyer does not be- lieve that the health care sys- tem is broke. He does not sup- port user fers Asked whether he had any recent personal experience with the health care system, Beyer replied in the affirma- tive. His granddaughter had to attend the emergency ward at Victoria General Hospital. The ambulance showed up with minutes. A nurse saw her ‘within less than five minutes and doctor after about 15 min- utes. There were about 25 comfortable seats in the wait- ing room, two of which were eccupied. That was on a Satur- day night. Beyer himself needed a catscan, according to his doc- tor and got one within a week. Not signs of a system about to go broke. Of course, there are waiting lists for surgery. They are often trotted out as clear evidence that we desperately need to privatize the system. I don’t buy it. Some 15 years ago, British — Columbia had a fairly long waiting list for open-heart surg- ery. The government quickly eliminated the backup by con- tracting out 200 surgeries to four Seattle area hospitals at a cost lower than here at home. Rather than waste time on debating whether or not to pri- vatize the health care system, the government acted quickly to eliminate the problem. Roy Romanow, who has been heading a one-man Royal Commission on Medicare is . expected to say in his report later this year that, no, the sys- tem is far from broke, but needs some infusion of money. For his efforts, Romanow is being vilified by the right-wing | media before he even. submits. his report. For what it’s worth, I have a little more faith in Romanow than the National Post editorial board. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com, Tel (250) 381-6900; Web Attp://www. hubertbeyer,.cam And where are you going? A 21-YEAR-OLD unemployed Coquitlam man took a phone call before walking out of his family’s home and disappear- ing. For days afterward a search involving 50 firefight- ers, police officers and search and rescue volunteers combed Coquitlam by air, ground and water. they found no sign of him. On Oct. 19 Calgary police contacted the young man’s fa- mily with news they had found him walking down an alley. When they ran his name through the computer, they realized he had been reported missing. He had taken a bus to Cal- gary, had found a job, and was staying in a hostel. But he hadn’t phoned, writen, or emailed his parents to let them know where he was. He didn’t know anyone was look- ing for him. Don’t you find that odd? Why wouldn’t he expect his parents or brother to look for him? And did he not have ac- cess to radio or TV news? He’s far from alone in his thinking and behaviour. On Oct. 9 a 26-year-old Terrace CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ARE THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF mae WEATHERING AND STRESS ae THAT OVER ALONG TIME | CAN ERODE AND WEAKEN A HEALTHY SYSTEM !! THROUGH BIFOCALS: CLAUDETTE SANDECKI woman was reported missing after she blked toward the air- port a day earlier to pick mushrooms and didn’t return. Police and volunteers sear- ched two days for her. At 3 p.m. October 11 she was loca- ted at a friend’s residence in Hazelton. Why do these people move about without letting family or friends know where they are going and when they expect to return? Whenever I drive to an ad- dress to do a repair, or visit my dentist, [ must leave the Do You UNDERSTAND | MEAT ALL? address and phone number of my destination on my desk in case my husband needs to reach me. If ] am delayed, he knows where to start checking. In July I worked every after- noon at a customer’s home. He is retired, but manages a busi- ness. His wife’s commitments have her coming and going. Regardless of their adult sta- tus, each time he left | heard him tell his wife when he'd be back. One day she left while he wasn't home. “I’m going downtown,” she told me, “I'll be back in an hour.” He returned before she did. Right away he asked me, “Did my wife say where she was going, ar when she'd be back?” 1 was able to fill him in, thanks to his wife's thoughtfulness. But so many women seem to wander off from home with no word about their itinerary or expected arrival times. It’s as though their families dan’t de- serve or don’t care to know where they are. Two weeks ago Vancouver hosted a con- ference to discuss the problem of women missing in Canada. SSS SY: ‘ ) Some 500 women have gone missing countrywide. Lamented , one organizer, “But nobody cares.” I find it hatd to care when people set themselves up to be missing, and ignore the anguish and public expense that goes into searching for them. Victoria police will seek an atrest warrant for theft and mis- chief against a young man who rented a five metre runabout for an hour of fishing, but never re- turned. He was presumed drowned. A search invalved four Coast Guard vessels, one with a full crew on overtime, a Buf- falo aircraft from Comox with an overtime crew, Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard helicop- ters, U.S. and B.C. police. The boat was found tied up but ap- patently abandoned at an Orcas Island dock. If people take no respons- ibility for themselves and go missing, don’t try to make me feel blame, guilt or remorse. Even Columbus would have called home if the phone had been invented, ARE You KIDDING 7!