Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 11, 1998 TERRACE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3214) Clinton Street Terrace, B.C, * V8G SR2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Open that door A BIG thumbs up to David Flaherty, the pro- vince’s very independent information and privacy commissioner. Flaherty has poured cold water on the provin- cial government for suggesting it might tighten the rules for use of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Victoria says it costs $21 million a year to respond to an average 7,000 information re- quests. The suggestion is that most of the re- quests come from the Liberal opposition or the media in open-ended fishing expeditions at the expense of taxpayers, What’s left unsaid is that it’s the political damage to themselves, not the price tag, that really has politicians scrambling to neuter this: legislation. In defence of information fishermen every- where, we’d point out that the government often ; only tells people what it wants them to hear. Freedom of information is a lever that allows that door to be cranked open a little wider. Last year, this newspaper’s information re-. quests into the angling licence fee debacle tevealed much that was not made public, includ- ing revelations that fishing fee increases went ahead against the advice of ministry staff. The public must know not only what the government has decided to do on any issue, but also what the government has decided not to do. This year, The Terrace Standard has made re- quests in an effort to find out some of the things that have been left unsaid during the course of the Skeena Cellulose crisis. The government has responded with a letter stating that its Skeena Cellulose file consists of an estimated 16,250 pages of documents. Along with it was a price tag of $13,122. Some of that would be. for, photocopying... but..some $8,100 worth is for 270 hours worth of ‘preparing the records for disclosure”’ That implies an awful lot of whiteout — and an awful lot of stuff the government doesn’t want you to know. Powerful drug PREMIER Glen Clark is dangling a huge block of surplus power as bait in hopes of attracting three large aluminum companies. The obvious question is just how cheaply are we offering to part with our power in order to at- tract this kind of interest. Wind the clock back SO years and recall B.C.’s offer then of incentives to encourage an aluminum smelter to come. That was successful. Alcan came and Kitimat was built, but the pro- vince then spent successive decades getting kicked for a decision that in hindsight gave one company the rights to an entire river. In 20 years time will British Columbians be turning their lights down at 9:00 every night to conserve power while cursing Glen Clark for giving away the farm back in ’98? The prospect of big industry and jobs have a more powerful effect than any drug on politicians. And given the history, caution on this front seems warranted. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jelf Nagel * NEWS SPORTS; Dave Taylor NEWS COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Sheila Sandover-Sly ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros TELEMARKETER: Patricia Schubrink . ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Kelly Jean TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunette SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.18 per year; Seniors $49.76; Out of Province $63.13 Outside of Canada (6 months) $155.15 (ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST) MEMBER OF B.C, AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION G CNA 8.0, PRESS COUNCIL Sarving (ha Terrace and Thorhill area, Published on Wednosday of each week st 3240 Clinton Streel, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G5A2,. >: Storles, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Tarrace Standard are the property of the cepyright holders," includ ing “Cariboo Press (1868) Lid,, its illustration rapro servicas and advertising agencies : laproduction i in whole or in pat, without viten pennission, is specifically prohibited. : Althorized a3 second-class mall panding'tha Pos! Offica Deparment, or paymen! at postage in cash. Special thanks to all our. contributors and correspondents ‘for thelr time and talents . YOU Be FRO NORTHERN OK! TAKE TWO ASPIRINS AND THE FIRST BUS TO ALBERTA IN THE MORNING .... Church and state don’t mix VICTORIA — Premier Glen Clark probably wanted to head off the kind of confrontation his Alberta counterpart had with Calgary’s newly- appointed Catholic archbishop when he met recently with B.C. church leaders. No sooner did Frederick Henry show up to get ac quainted with his new position, than he found himself in a great brawl with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein over the latter’s preoccupation with gambling as a source of revenue. The archbishop isn’t keen on slot machines and video termi- nals, which prompted Klein to refer to churches in general as hypocrites, since they accept government funds derived from gambling. “ The’ bishop, who evidently’ likes a good scrap, called Klein impetuous and pointed out that none of the churches in his new jurisdiction had accepted any money from slot machines and video terminals. For good measure, Henry said the premier had better get used to him because he was there to stay. When the dust had settled, it was one-nothing for the bishop. And Klein, not being accustomed to such c& FROM. THE’CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER fective opposition, withdrew from the fray, licking his wounds. If nothing else, our premier is a quick study. No way was he going to get into a public:. . spat with an. archbishop or any other church ‘leader, not after, Klein’s ill-fated ¢rusade. So, if you can’t intimidate them into silence, co-opt them. Encouraged by ithe good publicity he received from meeting with business leaders, whom he asked for help in jump-starting an ailing B.C. economy, Clark ventured forth into the religious arena, con- vening a meeting with 40 church leaders to discuss ways to deal with poverty. Now, that’s a nice touch. A lot of church officials have been Jambasting the Clark govemment for what they per- ceive to be a reckless expan- sion of gaming in B.C, What better way to silence them than by refocusing their attention to poverly, a subject dear to the heart of any religious leader. The gambling question was raised, but it took second place to concerns over child poverty, soup kitchens and other manifestations of dis- enfranchisement and injustice. For the moment, Clark’s challenge to religious leaders to take a more active role in addressing sociely’s —in- equalities appears to be a good move, Politics can use an in- jection of ethics, Darekees bate On the other hand; “Clark: would ‘be’ “well-advised" ‘to ‘te- member that the separation of church and state is based on solid reasons. One of them is that politics, no matter how well-intentioned, cannot al- ways incorporate the pure ethics churches advocate. Religious principles cannol and should not be com- promised, whereas politics is the art of compromise. The two often don’t mix. The Globe and Mail alsa painted out rightly in a recent editorial] that positions taken by the churches aren’t neces- sarily reflective of the ““bollom-up, democrati¢ views’’ of their memberships. “Their position on issues often comes from higher up — much higher up — than the lower ranks of their religion.”’ Also a word of caution to church leaders: if you want to play politics, be prepared for the rough-and-tumble that goes with it. Archbishop Henry of Calgary is clearly qualified to play in the political arena. Whether the religious leaders who attended the premiers Ineeting are, remains to be scell. Canvassing society’s diverse institutions — churches, busi- diess, labor unions — to get a - “'sense of Whal these institutions expect from government and, more imporiant, what they can contribute, is a worthwhile endeavor, as long as all the participants realize government cannot and should not be all things to all people - alk the time. Beyer can be reached at: Tel; (250) 920-9300; Fax: (250) 385-6783; E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com Healthy priorities all wrong | I BELIEVE in donating my organs... when 1’m through using them, Watching three adult sisters on TV news pleading for a heart — right now -— lo save their 30-year-old sister sudden- ly stricken with a debilitating infection, I could feel the skin along my jaw line shrinking in abhorrence, Did they expect me to clob- ber someone near and dear to me with an iron bar to free up a heart for immediate transplantation into the chest of their fading sister? Tearful pleas on television work. Private cilizens donate in minutes what governments won't fund after years of com- miltee hearings, polls, and election campaigns promising that very thing. Before the news hour ended, the sisters had a heart. Then I’m reminded of the sorry state of our province’s CLAUDETTE SANDECKI health care: Doctors from Burns Lake north on strike, refusing to answer anything but dire emergencies. Whole hospital wards closed off duc to shortage of money. Our has- pital canceling two weeks of surgery to meet a budget deficit. Soon, a shortage of anesthetists at Mills Memorial Hospltal. I have the uneasy feeling FROSTY ONE /! BI GREAT RV GRAMPS | FETCH ME ANOTHER OKAY YOU AO* MAKE MY DaAy!! }I- ata soon we'll skip the hospital and go direcly to the funeral home. Already I have no faith the health system is ready to care for me if I suddenly suffer a stroke, a heart attack, or a serious injury. But our new minister of health scems as unperturbed as her predecessor by the doctors from Burns Lake northward withdrawing their services. While paticnts drive several hours to Prince George, the minister relaxes in Mexico. Priorilies. No unionized worker would stand by all weekend without being well paid for his in- convenience. And if that worker was called to work — even for half an hour — he'd expect four hours pay. Why, then, do we expect sinall town doctors to be on call around the clock and col- lect nothing more than a pit- tance if someone needs a hang- nail clipped? Mechanics don’t do their , best repairs when they’re tired, Why do we think doctors are at their best after hours and hours without rest or sleep? If our health system con- linues underfunded as it is, we'll need advice from families in Irag —- or Russia — on how to care for our own family members while they’re in hospital. How to make their beds, give them baths, what sorts of meals to cook for them... This month doctors will close their offices for three that - i ee a ae days to cut back on billing -- costs, splendid. But at least our government? 5 heart is in the right place. Despite funding shortfalls everywhere, the government managed to pay a two or three hundred thousand dolar Splendid, | Simply. severance package to a fired. : hospital administrator. L SAID SToP!! GODDAMMIT I! FLAG LADY FANTASIES /!