eS ea Se heer eck cir Ne Ss “SEVIS AMON ABER TTR Re ia aa’ Aa zee ee ag aaeeeoasa” va - OPPOSITION . -a Significant difference to —_ a~ od i . . ‘ TERRACE STANDARD Business REVIEW Opposition grows for axing of GST rebate against a federal Conservative plan to stop giving GST rebates to foreigners’ vacationing . in Canada is growing. - The GST Visitor Rebate ‘Program offers tax rebates to tourists on selected goods and services including short term: accommodation and tours. A full rebate. is avail- able in some cases and in’ _ the case of tours, visitors are eligible to claim back half of the GST paid. - . ‘But. the federal - ‘govern- _ ment plans to turf the rebate : program effective “ April 2007. and that could have an effect on. tourism to this: region. "While the rebate may not - amount to a huge figure for visitors coming here for a short road trip, it does make travellers taking advantage: _ of high end guided tours, says George Clark, a Terrace based travel agency owner. - “Tt’s the high end people, the people that would come to lodges up here and people ‘taking guiding activities — .the impact there is going to be quite severe,” Clark says. John Forrest, general manager of Terrace’s North, ern Escape. agrees. “It is a huge impact for sure,’ ’ ‘says Forrest, adding most of his clients are from . the United States. A one-week trip for four people at the local lodge runs $60,000 — clients can count on getting an $1,800: rebate when they go home. A semi-private week for eight people costs $108,000 giving that group a $2,160" ” rebate. Tf the client’ can t get. that Heli-Skiing . rebate it all adds up to an ex- tra cost for the visitor, says Forrest. | “The. big thing will be for our guests who have come to ski with us before and know about it and for them it will be a dramatic increase,” he says. ° Skeena-Bulkley Vailley MP Nathan Cullen says the move doesn’t make.. sense for a country trying to pro- ‘mote tourism. “It’s idiotic,” says Cullen. “At a time when Canadian tourism has seen blow after blow from SARS to 9/11.” A high Canadian dollar coupled with higher gasoline costs has also contributed to ‘a decline in American tour- ists and Cullen says the fed- _ eral government should be finding ways to draw tourists here, not give them another reason’ to stay away. Open. pit r mine development considered north of here THE WORLDWIDE. demand .for metals © has another exploration company getting. . ‘ready to ask the provincial government for environmental approval to develop a property north of here. Junior Western ‘Keltic Mines Ltd., based . in Vancouver, is now drilling on its Kutcho '. property: 100km east of Dease Lake which is _ horth of here on Hwy37. It’s been Working the property for several years and estimates there’s potential to start with an open pit mine based on copper, zinc and silver deposits. Information from the company indicates an open pit mine would - be followed up by an underground operation to take full advantage of the deposits. The drilling to proye up the deposit esti- “mate began last month as part of a pre: ~fea- sibility study. « Western Keltic is also holding a series of open -houses, including one in. Terrace to- “night, to provide information on the project _and to gather public opinion... ; The company purchased the property “from gold mining company giant Barrick Gold in 2003 and it’s been the subject of ex- ploration by other companies dating back to’ - the late 1970s. - As with other mineral exploration com- panies with properties in the northwest, Western Keltic would need a proper r road to. - the site as well as power. ‘ There’s: already an exploration camp at © | the location and that is right beside an exist- _ ing airstrip used by Western Keltic to fly up supplies and people from Smithers. - The work now being done. by. Western .. Keltic is part of what’s needed should it de- cide to formally enter the provincial 180- “day. environmental approval process. “Tt’s in the pre-application stage of the re- view and there’s no time limit on that,” says Carie Hardie of the provincial environmen- ; tal assessment office. . Every eight years, the electoral district .We’re noiiowing the | boundaries of “"" BC’s electoral districts. Tell us where to draw the line. _ Besides population, what factors should oe _the commission consider? (For example, ared Pacific Northwest Music Festival ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Scheduled for November 21, 2006 has been changed to DECEMBER 12, 2006: Time: 7:00 p.m: Location: Terrace Academy of Music