Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 11, 1990 - ; , O- ERRACE STAN DA Publeher: ae ” sim Coulter att Naga — Spats Mao Baxtor ~ News, Special: thanks to all — : “.* RBTABUSHED APRIL 27, 1988 _ eo : _ Can atte Bryhn Rose Fisher — Front hatte Mareoer |Our contributors and : Editor: * = ‘a Coulter ~ Advertsing tnoger, Janet. w= — Advertising Cong | correspondents for “Regietration No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ave, Terrace, B.C., V8G 188 (604) 638-7283 Rod Dok. = qe = Ty | thelr time and . Serving Taraca an. the on Wecetdy tech mak by Caton Press (1988) LA st 404? Laue Ave, Tara, ach coun op: Sam Collier ~ Aart osu oy er ~ act Sip : talents. - ok seed mcepRs, Bistros, etn and ypeseain he Trce Staci a property of sgh kn, Cartan Prt (180) Ls, tts Production Manager: Petr I cio part ito! writen permiasin, Ix pectialy ponte. Gu * ~Edouard Credgeu aye Avibortred a5 sicond class mail pening the Past Cie Department. for payment of pestage In cash. WEARS a al Anchors aweigh | ‘Dave Parker is the MLA for Skeena. He’s also the minister responsible for northern development, The first is primarily political and the second works on policy and administration. Because _ Of, there is one big problem. For unlike private industry which can make decisions based solely on business sense, every action of a government is tied to its meed to succeed politically. Good politics is supposed to come from good business. Every dollar Dave Parker brings to the riding theoretically also means More votes. Consider the $400,000 the provincial government is spending for a port development study at Kitimat. It may eventually make good sense but the reac- tion two weeks ago to Parker’s an- nouncement of the study would suggest otherwise. Kitimat has long been interested in its . own port development and has spent the money and commissioned its own studies to back up its plan. That’s why it wasn’t entirely happy with Parker’s announte- ment that a port development would take place under the supervision of a provincial agency. Kitimat saw that asa threat because it wants a port all to itself. In fact, said Kitimat politicians, their studies are fine. All they need is the ft eens For years the regional tourism in- dustry has looked for a way to entice travellers to spend more time in the nor- thwest. The longer they stay, the more money they'll spend. The one effective method has been here all the time — highway construc- tion. Its season starts at the same time as | the first travellers appear in the area. So what's needed is an innovative ap- ‘money. A private investor is already in- terested and what Kitimat wanted was . government money for road access to: - dockside. On the surface this is bad news for Mr. o Parker. The very community he is trying to help effectively told him to stuff it. It | follows then that politically, Mr. Parker did not gain anything. And that could make things dicey given how close the province is to an election, One measure of how Mr. . Parker reacted to the Kitimat criticism is a letter he released several days after the initial announcement. It justified the $400,000 study by pointing out that no matter who might build a port, such studies are necessary for environmental impact assessments. It also gently suggested’ Kitimat had a case of tunnel vision by not thinking of what the port means for. the northwest economy. In a business sense, the provincial study has possibilities. It goes beyond a port at Kitimat to include the Terrace- Kitimat airport under the premise that export and import potential for the area: is best served by combining sea and air transportation. The challenge for Mr. Parker now is to seek the best combination of politics and business. It won’t be easy but that’ S life in the big time. “Tourism boost | proach. There’s great potential for mobile refreshment stands, poised to set up whenever traffic is halted. If enough information on highways projects is available before hand, pamphlets in- dicating where they are and what kind of sites and activities are nearby would be helpful, as a result, Valuable Security companies could pests make a fortune renting mos- quitoes as intruder alarms. The revelation came to me Through ¢ Canada Day weekend when we Bifocals went for a drive and got out of at the.truck intending to walk over by Claudette Sandeck' to the river bank. “Instantly we were smothered by. ravenous Sikorsky-sized skeeters elbowing for a landing pad. Once they'd siphoned our - life blood, they airlifted us back to the highway, ' Seems to me mosquitoes would be the perfect solution to guarding outdoor property: parking compounds, country homes, and heavy duty equip- ment left at remote work sites, Or anywhere that lacks electrici- ty or telephones. Besides their relentless search for trespassers, mosquitoes never nap, unlike gun-toting security personnel who tend to doze on quiet: shifts. Their al- tention can’t ‘be diverted by biishrabbits or bribes; they per- form independent of a com. munication link with the nearest Police department. ‘They also ‘display the ideal employee attitude, cheerfully working lunch hours, overtime, ‘atid holidays: Best of all, they ‘ can be relied upon to patrol their assigned territory day and “night, without a supervisor checking on them, ~Rattlers, wasps, and mos- quitoes ‘are born to bite. Even ‘midget Mosquitoes with their slow-release venom send large dnimats packing in a frenzy, Think ‘what’ ‘an’ effect. Our: monster models could have on unsuspecting intruders. It’s that peculiar attribute which sets mosquitoes apart as watchmen, For until they come within striking range, they're in- visible, Besides giving them the advantage of surprise, they can’t be tallied by B and E ar- tists casing the premises for a hit, While caretakers demand wages, posh living accommoda- tions, and regular days off, mosquitoes seek out their own rewards, are happy under ail working conditions, and. wouldn’t- consider taking time off. Why, they even bring in ex- tra troops for holidays. The subject of off-season maintenance never arises with mosquitoes, As winter ap- proaches, there’s no need for: lag- off. hotices, unemployment - insurance, or even winter's SUP: ‘ply of Ken-L-Ration, Nor is there a ‘hook-up or disconnec- tion fee, When spring temperatures | melt the show filling ponds and ditches, -with stagnant water, a . fresh't ‘crop of genetically-trained . sentries hatch, keen to defend: their habitat — plus a few extra. hectares — from interlopers. : Reforé-a. ‘German Shepherd; will guard, he must be confined to the area like a prison guard in a maximum security peniten- tiary. But mosquitoes take naturally to their respon- sibilities, eager to remain on the alert without coersion of walls, fencing, or an employment con- tract, Only two shortcomings restrict mosquitoes’ ability to ward off vandals and other undesirables. First, they- are helpless to exercise their per- suasive techniques on anyone operating from a closed in cab. ~. Second, insect repellants disable their radar. ‘But those are minor drawbacks to their effec- tiveness. a I know. ANTLER SMES Are. DESTZOYING OUR LA D WITH OVERHARVEST IA VICTORIA —Iknowa scandal when I see one, and the B.C, -; government aircraft saga doesn’t qualify by a long shot, but that doesn’t mean the story isn’t hurting the Socreds. The controversy over the use or misuse of government air- craft by cabinet ministers at the expense of the goverriinent's air ambulance service had been hurting the Socreds for more than two weeks when fresh salt was rubbed into the wounds. Ironically it was a govern- ment report that kept the con- troversy going, just when it looked as if it had run its course and the Socreds could breathe more easily.. The cost of chartering private aircraft to fly, mercy missions - was ‘up by $1.2 million for a Not only would the traveller be UF $e helped, but more money would be spent total of $6.7 million last year, according to the Emergency Health Services Commission’s annual report, tabled in the legislature last week. And one of the reasons for that increase, the report says, was the “inability of Govern- ment Air. Services to provide sufficient flight hours.”’ Wait a minute, Isn’t that the outfit used by cabinet ministers to fly all over this province? It is, indeed, And that’s what gave the NDP renewed vigor to keep embarrassing the government. ‘To be fair about this, the in- ability of Government Air Ser- vices to provide sufficient flight hours wasn't the only reason the - report gave for the rising cost of pressing chartered aircraft into ambulance service, + Other reasons included higher fuel prices and increased charter rates. It is also important to note-that government aircraft aren't. always suitable for a specific mercy mission; nor are they -always in the right place, even if they don’t happen to be used by cabinet ministers. Still; the commission's report implied that less use of the government fleet by politicians might keep down the cost of the air ambulance service, . Meanwhile, rather than tak- ing their lumps and admitting SO MUCH TOR DARING. | | AFERRY CAPTAIN 10 MAKE YOU SMOKE HEAT WASTAGE OUTSIDE!... Capital — by Hubert Beyer that the government fleet could perhaps be utilized more effi- ciently, in favor of the air am- bulance service, cabinet ministers continued. to insist that their own use of the aircraft tock second priority to am- bulanice requirements. The opposition called that claim ‘“‘bizarre,”’ pointing out that, according to the commis- sion’s report, the actual hours government aircraft were used for ambulance service went down to 1,800 last year from 2,800 the year before. Health minister John Jansen said the report’s reference to in- ability to provide air ambulance flights meant only that the right type of aircraft wasn’t always available. i*m sure that’s true in ‘part, but doesn’t account for the entire $1.2 million-increase in the cost of chartering private aircraft for ambulance services. Airborne Socreds cause a problem questions ‘to. the: best: of thelr ability. The more: co-operative they are, the better their chances for an early approval of their estimates. Gran is not a seasoned politi- cian, a fact that became painful- ly obvious during the debate of her estimates, Rather than giv- ing straight-forward replies to questions, her answers were - dripping with contempt for the opposition, which retaliated by keeping the pot boiling. Mind you, the opposition isn’t the only one Gran is mad at these days, An earlier column I wrote on the government air- craft controversy prompted the Minister to write a rather angry letter to the editors of newspapers which ran ihe col- umn. I just want you to know that 1 fully co-operated with | the minister. When her office called Cabinet ministers continued to insist that their own use, of aircraft took second priority to am-.. bulance requirernents. What ‘also "dragged out the debate over whether or nat too many cabinet ministers were us- ing too many government air- craft too often was government services minister Carol Gran's behavior in the legislature. - Gran is the minister responsi- ble for the fleet of government aircraft. She’s also the minister © whose” ministry’s budget estimates were debated in the legislature last week, That gave the NDP ample opportunity to grill her aver the use or misuse of government planes. Seasoned cabinet ministers know how to handle themselves. during: budget estimates, They iry to answer the opposition’s $0 Sue ~ ME SUCKER Sa PPE PEF ry a me to ask whether they could’ have a list of papers | write for, I complied, without becoming contemptuous. As I said at the outset, a scan- dal it isn’t but it also doesn't ex- actly enhance the Socreds' im-_ ‘age. The sooner the government can put the government aircraft controversy behind it, the bet- ter. : One way to achieve that goal ; is to learn-a ‘lesson from the’ Emergency Health Services Commission’s. annual report. and find a ‘way of cutting cabinet ministers’ use of government aircraft, rather. than ‘reducing, air ambulance hours, a mARieN. oh SORE ;