. A6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, June 20, 1990 awash with representatives of | both sides of the land issue ‘<4 lot of people seem to think that after there’s a settlernent we’re going to come in to the communities with trucks, load up all the non-native people, put them on barges and deport them back to their homelands, Well, it isn’t going to be like that.’’ | — Kitsumkalum chief councillor Cliff Bolton. There was some blunt talk in the basement of the Terrace Inn Saturday, as‘a gathering of about 50 people spoke and listened at a day-long session in an effort to get a grip on ‘*the land ques- tion’’. It was a forum on native land claims sponsored by the City of Terrace, and although many of those who attended may have come out of it in the same state of puzzlement with which they entered, the exercise was worthwhile and worth repeating, but perhaps in a somewhat different manner. This particular meeting was awash with elected officials, bureaucrats, political figures, industrialists and lawyers from both sides of the issue. (And if you object to the term “‘sides”, it became very obvious at the meeting that there are still two very - well-defined sides to this: matter.) Conspicuously absent was the general public, members of which would certainly seem to have an interest as legitimate as anyone present at the meeting. So where were they? Probably smugly hanging on to the $30 it would have cost them to get in or buying something to take home’ with them to eat. One native leader said during a break in the proceedings that - the man on the street doesn’t really care about the land settle- ‘ment issue, and in a narrow sense he’s probably right. In a ques- tion of this complexity, most people would seem to prefer mak- ing up their minds on the basis of ill-founded opinion rather than researching the facts. The one relevant fact at this point is that there will eventually ~ be a.settlement, and without an upsurge of general interest that settlement will be made in closed negotiations with little account taken of the public at large. Members of the legal profession got _ their usual share of abuse.at the Saturday meeting for haying grown wealthy off the issue, but the lawyers and courts must at least be given credit for having laid the land question open to the public. Native leaders at the forum indicated a willingness to speak to nearly any group that is interested in hearing them. There is still time to develop understanding before ignorance guides events to the point of no return. There has been strong criticism of the manner in which the Meech Lake constitutional amendment was drafted and ap- : proved, behind closed doors while the public stood by as helpless witnesses. Meech Lake is simply an abstraction, but in the land issue we have real lakes, real people, real lives. WCNA Established May 1, 1985 The Terrace Review is published each Wednesday by Close-Up Business Services Ltd. Publisher: Mark Twyford Editor: Michael Kelly Staff Reporters: Tod Strachan, Betty Barton Advertising Manager: Marj Twyford Typesetting: Carrie Oison Production Manager: Jim Hall - Production: Charles Costello, Gurbax Gill, Karyn Kirk, Linda Mercer, ~ Ranjit Nizar Office: - Carrla Olson Accounting: " Marj Twyford, Harminder K. Dosanjh Second-class mail ragistration No. 6896. All material appearing In the Terrace Review Is protected under Canadian copyright Registra: tlon No. 362775 and cannot legally be rapro- duced for any reason without permission of the publisher. Errors and omissions. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that in the evant of typographical error, hat portlon of the advartls- ing space occupled by the erroneous item will not be charged for, but the balance of the adver- tisement will be paid tor at the applicable rate. Advertisers must assume responsibility for er- rors In any classified ad which is supplied to the Terrace Review in handwritten form, In compiiance with the 8.C. Human Rights Act, - No advertisement will be published which discriminates against a person due to age, race, religion, color, sex, nationality, ancestry of place of origin. 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G IM7 Phone: 635-7840 Fax: 635-7269 One your subscriptions: In Canada $39,00 Out of Canada $100.00. : Seniore in Terrace and District $30.00 Senlors out of Terrace and Ofairict $33.00 '- the government's new. . an eg Wath eer re OW DEAR... SOMEONES PUSONED THE PRIME “MINISTER... ANY SUSPECTS?. ~) Re VW mH ~~ we hut yhlh Teles Be yl date The view from Victoria — by John Pifer VICTORIA — Sometimes it is disturbing to see the rabid eagerness with which the news media prusue a story, or — all too often — what proves to be a non-story, which then takes on a life of its own. Case in point is the govern- ment aircraft ‘‘scandal’’ of the past two weeks, which, if it were a B-movie, might be en- titled Carol Gran — Frequent Flyer. Or The Perils of Carol. Or, much more accurately in this humble scribe’s opinion, Much Ado About Nothing. The release of the flight — records, or “‘logs’’ of the government jets for the past _ three fiscal years (along with the passenger manifests, which were not even asked for), shows that much of the media mastication was toothless and overdone, yet again. The records show that the five government Cessna Citation jets which enable Cabinet ministers to carry out their duties, as well to try to serve their own constituencies, are used regularly, and: often. So big deal. What, you want government ministers maybe to - take a bus? All 23 of them? In the 1990's of high-tech communications and instant ac- cess, surely we would expect our senior politicians to use the best available means to cover the province, provided they do not abuse the privilege? Would someone please notice the apparent hypocrisy here, in which the NDP stir up the mat-’ - ter, while gratefully accepting * guidelines which allows their leader Mike Harcourt unlimited - ; access to ¢ overnment Air Ser- ods St a ne ‘ at vices, just like a Cabinet minister? Would someone please note that the five Citations were originally purchased by the 1972-75 Barrett NDP govern- ment,:- which recognized full well the value and necessity of them? One can make a case against the Socreds’ purchase of a long-range Challenger in 1987. Yes, it is an under-used white elephant, and now the only of- fers they can get for selling it amount to peanuts. It was a- stupid error. But I disgress. Back to the logs — they show that on many Fridays since 1986, when the Legislature was sitting, one of the jets often flew from Vic- toria to Boundary Bay to Ab- botsford. And lo and behold, deplan- ing at that Fraser Valley airport . were two or three real live Cabinet ministers. Current Health Minister John Jansen (Chilliwack), and former health ‘minister Peter Dueck (Central Fraser Valley, i.e. Abbotsford) have been doing that since be- ing elected in 1986 and elevated to Cabinet. Lately (since November’s Cabinet shuffle), they’ve been joined by Ms. Gran (Langley), and Labour Minister Norm Jacobsen (Dewdney), who no doubt find it convenient, especially given that they have some government function or appearance to deal with on Fri- day night or Saturday. But now Gran, as govern- ‘ ment management services minister, is responsible for the planes, and has been in the _ flight path of an ‘‘outrag 34": ae f Opposition and a press eager for another cabinet minister’s head, which together have stir- red up a storm over whether the privilege of the planes has been abused. The fledgling Cabinet minister has added to the whole scenario with a couple of un- - wise — no, make that stupid — moves of her own. The first was in not giving the logs to Vancouver Sun columnist .. - Vaughn Palmer — if not when he first asked, surely the se- _cond or third time. Secondly, Gran’s honest but stupid answer to the NDP’s question about the matter — prompted by Palmer's column on the subject — just got her in deeper. True though it may be that an election year is a volatile time to release materials which can be — and will be — inter- preted by Opposition and media in ways to suit their own purposes, you just don’t say it. As Palmer himself put it: ‘‘It is a refreshing approach to a cover-up."’ And of course, that’s the tub. What has been covered up? Anything showing abuse of the aptly-named GAS? No. Anything akin to the heyday of Flyin’: Phil Gaglardi, Kamloops’ own Italian cowboy, who did treat govern- ment planes like he owned them? No, Like I said, much ado... And amid all this, some reports keep saying that the cost to fly from Boundary Bay to Abbotsford is $1,000 a.time, when the truth is it’s less than $125. : cont'd pg AT.