eS The confirmation, if any was actually needed, that the road into the Iskut River valley will be built over the Next two summers is only the latest in numerous omens that the gerieral economic geography of the Northwest is changing. Is Terrace moving to adapt? And more critic- ally, can the community survive in its present form if it doesn’t adapt? . | | We are fond of heralding ourselves as the regional supply and service center, a place with an economy made healthy and resilient by diversity and a favored position at the crossroads of transportation. A million gas station owners have said the same thing, and there are derelict pumps and abandoned garages standing at every bypassed crossroad on the continent as mute testimony to the consequences of failure to adapt to change. Terrace has been reaping the benefits of mining activity in the Golden Triangle since the exploration boom began several years ago, and nearly all of the goods and ser- vices purchased went through the airport. A road into the ~ area, accessible only by air up to this point, is going to change that flow significantly. The goods going in and out of the Iskut will seek the shortest distance from tidewater, which could very well be Stewart. The picture is changing here. Stewart is facing a growth situation with the possibility of a pulp mill, increased shipping and port development. Kitimat appears to be on the same course, with Alcan already active in industrial expansion in Kemano, further port development a distinct possibility, a copper smelter a somewhat less distinct possibility, and the inevitable move set for Skeena Saw- mills from Terrace within the next five years. Where industrial development and the resulting increase in employment go, expansion in the retail goods and services sector is certain to follow. Strong retail develop- ments in Stewart and Kitimat would siphon off a con- siderable volume of. trade. that is currently captive here, and we have to wonder if anyone is thinking about con- tingency plans. The people in the Nass Valley have fig- ured they drop about $12 million a year in Terrace cash registers. Are there any figures for defecting shoppers from Kitimat? For long-distance commuting spenders from Iskut, Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake? Because we’ve been at the drainage point of a large economic basin, we’ve gotten the region’s business large- ly by default up to now. Are we ready for the bypasses coming up in the next decade? vlempnace - VICTORIA — Yes, I know: Second-class mail Established May 1, 1985 registration No. 6896. 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Human Rights Act, Staff Reporters: Tod Strachan, Betty Barton Advertising Manager: Mar] Twyford 0 advertisement vl be publishad which a timinaies aga , It eee leon 8 liglon, color, cox, all cnality, an SoBty Or place Produc a 4535 Greig Avenue, Production: . eG iM?” _ Charles Costello, Gurbax Gill, Phone: 635-7840 ~ Karyn Kirk, Linda Mercer, a ye Ranjit Nizar Fax: 635-7269 Office: — Om yareuheation. ‘on ne ir subscript a: _ Carrie Olson in Canada $24.00 Accounting: Gut of Canada $50.00 __ Senlors in Terrace and District $12.00 Seniors out of Terrace and District $15.00 Mar] Twyford, Harminder K. DosanJh The view from Victoria — by John Pifer you are all ‘‘Meeched out’’, dear readers, but bear with me just this once, O.K.? Although local and regional issues are important to you, especially how provincial politics impact on them, this is one time that a national issue is becoming the number-one topic everywhere. . Suppose I suggest that Quebec has a point when it says the Meech Lake Accord should have been passed without amendment? After all, did not all of the provincial premiers and the prime minister of Canada sign their names to the document? Are they not reneging on the deal? Can anything any of them ever sign or announce from here on, ever be trusted? Has Quebec not been betrayed as well as misunderstood? Well, yes and no to all of the above. . The imperfect system that is democracy has brought about considerable change in at least three provinces, and a deluge of doubt in several others since the accord was first struck more than three years ago. The popular logic on both sides is that either Quebec or the other provinces will want more after Meech and neither can be trusted. If you are looking for one individual at whose doorstep to lay the blame for the absolute American, has proved to be in- - capable of dealing with the flood of second thoughts over Meech and the future of our country. This prime minister, who browbeat the 10 premiers into signing the pact in a marathon 19-hour session three years ago, now finds little support within his own party’s Quebec caucus, or among the premiers for what he has wrought. No doubt there will be a first ministers’ meeting any day now, after Lyin’ Brian’s series of mano-y-mano meetings with the premiers individually. And no doubt he'll try to use his wily, oleaginous lawyer- slick powers as a negotiator to emerge with another deal which apparently pleases, or at least appeases, all. | But the national navel-gazing prompted by the prolonged Meech impasse means that whatever the outcome, Canada will never be the same again. Where do we go from here, you ask? Well, I lay no claim to being Professor Pifer, but I would not be surprised to see Premier Bill Vander Zalm and his motley crew in B.C, revive a version of the ‘‘Fair Share’’ project (if they have not done so already). Fair Share was the scary pro- posal which surfaced in the ear- ly months of the Zalm’s tenure as Socred Boss, to set up an balls-up in brinkmanship that is advisory council to look at Meech today, try Mr. Brian Mulroney at 24 Sussex Drive, 7 = - Ottawa. (And by the way, a: postage is free; I believe). This alleged great negotiator, who is an avowed admirer of A the United States and all things whether B.C.’s involvement in Confederation was worth conti- nuing, That project got so far as to prepare legislation, the Con- _ federation Equity Act, but mer- " ‘cifully, it never saw the light of ‘day. - But when Finance Minister Mel Couvelier started talking last month about the province handling .all of its own finances, setting up its own in- come tax, and achieving some independence from Ottawa, it sounded suspiciously close to the Fair Share plan. Now, I don’t want British Columbia to be separate from Canada any more than I want Quebec to be separate. I may be a British Columbian, but I am first and foremost a Cana- dian. And I believe many Quebecers see themselves as Canadians, too, despite the political agitation within for separatism. So it is unsettling in the ex- treme to learn that our leading provincial politicians may be agitating for a United States of B.C., whilst at the same time, our federal leader is so cack- handedly dealing with the dangers to national unity. Keeping Canada as a free, strong, valued nation must take . precedence over any petty political ambitions of small- minded men. And I include Mr, Vander Zalm’s Monday night TV “performance” as part of that petty grandstan- ding designed solely to boost his popularity in the ever- important polls, regardless of how he may dispute that. I wish that every Canadian would read the Meech Lake ar- ticle in the June issue of Satur- day Night. Writer Andrew Cohen goes behind closed doors at the Quebec retreat to provide the most fascinating account to — — Continued on page A7