Aa - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 23, 1994 TERRACE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, L988 ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C, * V8G 188 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: 638-7247 Blockade THE RECENT blockade by residents of a Nass Valley village of a logging company owned by another Nass Valley village should be comfort- ing news to the rest of northwestern B.C. It helped cut through the fog that too often sut- rounds native politics and aspirations, particular- ly now that land claims have become the major issue in the northwest. For too long the reaction to native land claims by the rest of us who live up here has been generated by fear. It’s fear of the unknown, of unfamiliarity, and of not having a good handle on, as a lot of us like to ask, ‘‘Just what do the natives want anyway?”’ The blockade was put up by residents of New Aiyansh who didn’t want Sim Gan Forest Pro- ducts, owned by the village of Gitwinksihlkw, cutting on an area they considered part of their traditional lands. It also had as much to do with control of land as it did with economics. One of the Key issues seemed to follow the simple premise that if somebody takes something from somebody else, payment should be made. And there, in a strong sense, is the comfort level for the rest of us. What we apparently have witnessed is something that goes on elsewhere every day of the week. Natives and their organi- zations function as we do. We all want a measure of respect, a measure of economic security and a chance to improve our lot for the benefit of our- selves and of our families, By stripping away the mystique that we have let surround native issues, we can approach land claims settlements in a more reasonable and ma- ture fashion. One the other hand, the blockade had the poten- tial to be an extremely embarrassing situation for the Nisga’a Tribal Council. It’s been negotiating aland claims setilement with the provincial and federal..governments for. three. years..and now says it is ever so close to signing off on the self government portion of the overalldeal. | Self government carries with it a lot of prestige. So the prospect of having a native-owned log- ging company obtaining a Supreme Court order so it can have white police officers arrest fellow natives would have been a public relations dis- aster. It’s the last thing the tribal council needs or wants. What’s intriguing is that the serious blockade action took place when tribal council and village leaders were out of town for land claims negotia- tions, Again, this shows the native community is made of diverse interests. And again it puts a hu- man face on native issues, making it easier for the rest of us to reach a level of understanding. NDP gamble THE NDP government is playing a tricky game in its decision to bring in province-wide teacher contract bargaining. It’s banking that teachers won't be so angry as to consider supporting an- other party. At the same time it’s hoping the get tough stand will lure back to the fold sufficient numbers of voters now upset with the state of government affairs. Yet there is an interesting irony behind all of this. Who would have predicted that a party bill- ing itself as a friend of the working person would take away local bargaining. Even more ironic is that local teacher contract bargaining was intro- duced by the former Social Credit government. Then again, the hallmark of socialist planning is central control. = Ccona CNA PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link Sy ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur Coat AM LD NEWS COMMUNITY: Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter OFFICE MANAGER: Rosc Fisher COMPOSING: Pam Odell DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: ’ Sam Collier, Janct Viveiros, Howie Oram CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Charlene Malthews Serving the Tetraca ates. Published on Wednesday of each woek by Cariboo Press (1969) Lid. at 4547 Lazaile Ave,, Tertace, British Columbia, : Storles, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property af the copyright hokjers, Including Gariboo Press (1969) Ltd, i's illustration repro satvices and advertising agencies, . Reproduction in whole or in part, wihout written permission, Is specifically prohibited, Authorized aa sacond-cass mall pending the Post Office Deparment, for payment of postage in cash. Speclal thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents ~—-SETYQU CAN'T CHANGE. “COLORS AS FASTAS By iY, a t SGERBER AND THE OTHERS CAN... wn hy ‘4 a py, , ‘Ce ull le . ad \ | AOE NDP very happy with this VICTORIA — An already small Social Credit Party ex- ploded into even tinier Frag- ments this week, leaving the once invincible party, that gov- emed British Columbia almost continuously for 40 years, with oily three sitting members in the provincial legislature, It was a doctor-assisted suicide with Jack Weisgerber, Richard Neufeld and Len Fox effectively shutting down So- cial Credit’s ilfe support sys- tems by joining the Reform Party of British Columbia. Anyone who has still nursed hopes that the Socreds could Stage a comeback might as well forget it Cliff Serwa, Harry de Jong and Lyall Hanson, the last three Socreds, aren't likely to revive the cCOTpse. This latest, if nat last chapter in the 42-year history of the Social Credit Party, gives new meaning to the old winds-of- change cliché. Who would have thought seven years ago, when Bill Vander Zalm led the Socreds to an incredible vic- tory, that this powerful party would go cul, not even with a bang but a whimper in 1994. As a result, British Columbia has Canada’s most fractured legislature in Canada. Oppos- ‘FROM THE CA PITAL. HUBERT BEYER ing the 5Sl-member NDP government are 15 Liberals, three Socreds, two Democratic Alliance members, as in.Gordon Wilson and Judy Tyabji, and independent David Mitchell, three Progressive Reformers, The very last chapter has, of course, not yet been written, For starters, expect Hanson ta jump into the Reform camp in the near future, Grilled by reporters about his decision to remain with Hanson’s response wasn’t an enthusiastic endorsement of his party. the Socreds, There is a remarkable aspect lo the demise of the Social Credit Party. In terms of mem- bership — Grace McCarthy claims it stands at 56,000 — Social Credit is still a powerful political instrument. The Reform Party doesn’t like to talk about membership numbers, but [’'d be surprised if it was more than a few hun- dred. Why then would Weisgerber, Neufeld and Fox leave 2 party with a solid membership foun- dation for a fledgling party that could held a convention in a phone bocth? For the same reason Weisgerber didn’t go for the Socred leadership. Weisgerber believed then and he belicves now that the Social Credit Party is bogged down by too much baggage, Bill Vander Zalm made -too -thorough.a job of destroying the party’s credibility. «2°. : Within hours of announcing that they would sit as Reformers, Weisperber, Neufeld and Fox drew sniper fire, not from their former col- leagues, but from — Preston Manning, leader of the Reform Party of Canada. In a lersely-worded press telease, Manning stressed that there is no affiliation between the federal and provincial Reform parties. “The Reform Party of B.C, under its current leadership has been trying to ride on our coat tails for some time now. This Tequires us to place notices and advertisements explaining the differences, but it is still con- fusing lo the media and voters,’ Manning said. With all this political chaos going on, you'd think il would _ be difficult to find anyone who's happy, Not so, The NDP is very happy, deliriously happy. For the NDP, the worst- case scenario is a united right. Liberal leader Gordon Camp- — beli has failed, so far, to pull ihe opposition forces together. He might have had a chance to gel one or two of the former Socreds to come over to the Liberals, but he blew it by being flippant and arrogant; . Insiead of extending a cor-. dial invitation to the’ Socreds ° and maybe sweetening the pot a bit with a promise of two of fulure appointments, he said he had better and more important things to do than worry about tho. demise of Social Credit. Big mistake, Gordo, one you may live to regret. The Social Credit Party may be dead; but for the Liberals, the road to: government is still strewn with obstacles, And it’s tag — you're it EACH JANUARY TB Vets sends us a plastic key tag bear- ing @ secret number matched to our truck licence. Both num- bers are filed on computer in TB Vet’s Vancouver head- quarters. Fine print on the tag’s reverse side reads, ‘'Finder deposit in mailbox. TB Vets 530 West Broadway, Van. B.C, V5Z1E9,” I decided to check the truth of TB Veis’ promise to return lost keys. I needed a subject for this column, Not having any castoff keys of my own, I borrowed my granddaughter’s ignition key from her red plastic ride-on firetruck, This key with its plain leather fob I dropped into Tertace’s main postal box. Then I set about awailing results, I had expectations of the key wedging in adark comer of the mailbox; being set aside on a THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI y L FULLY SUPPORT YouR me PROJECT AND WILLE ARRANGE FoR FUNDING.; shelf by a harried postal sorter; or arriving in Vancouver to find my secret number had been accidentally crased from the computer file. Results came quickly. The key returned in my mail March 14, postmarked Van- couver March 9, packaged first in a small brown envelope with just the secre! number for iden- SUPPORT | HOW PIP We GET THAT 2! GOVERNMENT. -. SOT WIND UP ANSWERING MY OWN LETTER! tification, that in lurn protected by a padded envelope also bearing the secret number as well as our address. The accompanying form Iet- ter reads: “‘Look what turned up! Surprised? We’re nol, be- cause thousands of keys are sent to us every year. Keys that have been found and dropped into the mailbox because they had a Secret Key Tag altached, Yours is the 137882 set of keys that we have been able to restore = tas their = rightful owner.’’ Thanks to TB Vets, keys have been relurning like boomerangs since 1946. TH Vets are a perfect example of a small enlerprise that found a niche and perfected supplying that need. - Think of lhe savings to key owners, An average key chain has from three to a dazen keys, Cost (nol to mention time and hassle) of replacing so many SEE? THELP YOU \ /AnND (T GETS MAKE A GOOD SENT DOWN FROPOSAL TO THE / | THE LINE VATIL SOMEBODY CAN RESPOND TO iT INTELLIGENTLY! keys adds up. Keys found and dropped into - mailboxes are packaged by the post office in envelopes and - addressed to TB Vets, who pay postage both ways, Retum _ postage alone for my grand- daughter’s: firetruck key was 86 cenis. Donations TB Vets teccive in exchange for the secret tags are given to various hospitals throughout the province for the ~ purchase of respiratory equip- ment for diagnostic and re- _ search usc. And individuals Teceive a gencrous supply of personal address labels. I feel better knowing TB Vets’ advertising lives up to ils —. promise and, like McDonald’s, ° they even keep count of the customers they scrve. - I'm also happy to learn the post office does a meticulous job of emptying mailboxes, J?" [$0 wHY Po WE Elect ALL THOSE OTHER GUYS? !!