A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 2, 1997 ‘TERRAICE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 A Division of Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd. ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * VBG 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Fish folly THIS IS A story about the big one that got ' away. Effective April 1st — and with about two | weeks’ notice — angling licence fees for non- residents and fees for angling guides and lodges went through the roof. A couple from Alberta coming here to fish for two weeks expecting to pay the $400 in fees they coughed up last year will this time be surprised by a bill for $1,300. One lodge operator will see angling guide licence fees that amounted to $1,127 in 1996 skyrocket to an astonishing $12,637 in 1997. Some will eat the licence fee increases for their customers as well rather than risk cancellations or a damaged reputation. One lodge owner anticipates that will cost him $50,000 this year — basically his entire year’s profit. These fee increases are in some cases as much as 1,100 per cent. Put together they amount to an A-bomb dropped on the sportfishing industry, which brings more than $16 million a year in to the northwest economy. ; Locals can be excused for thinking it’s an April Fools’ prank. But unfortunately this is no joke. They could also be excused for thinking it’s a deliberate act of sabotage on the part of the provincial government. But that’s not true either. There’s no malice or humour involved here. What there is, however, is a dangerous blend of greed, short-sightedness and desperation. Clinging to a promise of no tax increases as forestry revenues sink like a stone, the province is hunting for any fee that can be increased. The bean counters of the finance ministry evi- dently zeroed in on non-resident angling licences as one area they thought they could milk without enraging B.C. residents. Jack the fees for those tich fishermen from Germany, was their logic. Most of the waters in the Terrace area are clas- sified — and thereby incur the extra $42.80 per day fee. In fact two-thirds of all the classified rivers in B.C. are in the Terrace/Smithers area. The families from Alberta that travel west every summer will not stop in Terrace and camp along the banks of the Skeena this year. They’ll either turn south at the four-way stop and go to Kitimat — where they can fish the non-classified waters of the Kitimat River at a fraction of the cost — or they’Jl continue on to Alaska. In Germany, fishermen who have planned for years to come here are faced with a last-minute complication for the second year in a row. Last year many cancelled their trips after feder- al officials made it sound like they wouldn’t be allowed to catch and keep chinook salmon here. Now Victoria has brought in astronomical fee increases at the last minute. Word of the B.C. fee increases is beginning to spread in European fishing magazines and operators here are once again bracing for cancellations. In future years will these well-heeled tourists even bother booking trips to B.C.? This decision is not only catastrophic to the Skeena area and unfair to its tourism operators, it will backfire and result in less revenue — not more — coming to the province. A PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Rick Passmore PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jcff Nagel « NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Kathleen Quigley ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros TELEMARKETER: Tracey Tomas ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law, Kelly. Jean TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunetle SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $53.50 per year; Seniors $48.15; Out of Province $60.99 _ Outside of Canada (6 months) $149.80 (ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST) MEMBER OF B,C, AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION — AND fj B.C. PRESS COUNCIL sz C Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area, Published on Wednesday of each weak by Caribao Press (1969) Ltd, at 3210 Clinton Street, Terraca, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestylas in tha Terrace Standard are the propery of the copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1989) Ltd., ils illustration rapro services and advertising agericles. Reproduction In whol of in pari, without written permission, Is specifically prohibited, Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage incash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents =~ Aaeeetatian Ged Comedy ane behew Hore wedont collect... Here we deliver...” - bet 7 Sihota gets off on technicality VICTORIA =~ Moe Sihota was not in a conflict of interest when he accepted an offer from his long-time friend Herb Dhaliwal to cosign for a mort- gage, and the fatter was sub- sequently appointed to the B.C. Hydro board of directors. That’s the ruling Conflict of Interest Commissioner Ted Hughes brought down this week. But timing is every- thing, as the report shows, Had the Conflict of Interest Act not been amended between Dhaliwal’s initial appointment and his reappointment a year later, Sihota would have been on the hook. Hughes ruled that Sihota wasn’t in an actual conflict of interest when he “participated”? in Dhaliwal’s original appointment. Even though Sihota played a role in attracting Dhaliwal as a poten- tial appointment, the order was actually signed by then premier Mike Harcourt. Hughes further ruled that Sihota was neither in an actual nor an apparent conflict of in- terest when he participated in Dhaliwal’s reappointment to the Hydro board. Sihota signed that order. But Hughes adds that if the current definition of apparent conflict of interest had been in force at the time of Dhaliwal’s Old-timers face new barbarism ESKIMOS had the right idea, harsh tough it was. Feeble old folk were left alone on barren ice to await death by starvation if not by hypothermia. Releasing family of the old person’s care freed the younger members to travel in their hunt for food. When food was found, each survivor got to eat a Jarger portion. The dif- ference could save the lives of children. We find Eskimo practices barbaric, yet Terraceview Lodge is so short of beds, would-be patents are being shipped out of town to other care facilities, far from family. Imagine the depression of an old age pensioner who has lived in Terrace for forty years, waking up in Prince Rupert or Surrey. They may be separated from their spouse, children, grandchildren, friends and neighbours. Even the view from their window is foreign, Those dependent upon some- IT NEXT FALL: FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER original appointment, Sihota would have been in trouble. **I would have had no hesita- tion in concluding that Sihota’s Participation in that appoint- ment constituted an apparent conflict of interest,’ Hughes Says in his report. Sihota, the original survivor has, therefore, escaped again - by the skin of his teeth, al- though Hughes notes on several occasion that at no time would a reasonably informed person have come to the con- - clusion that Sihota was at any time in a real or actual conflict of interest. Hughes interviewed 11 people during the course of his investigation, including Sihota Dhaliwal and Harcourt. And he points out that he carefully THROUGH BIFOCALS- CLAUDETTE SANDECKI one else for every comfort sud- - denly find themselves at the mercy of total strangers. Staff may take excellent physical . care of them, giving them daily - baths, meals on time, and medication at reliable inter-. vals, but staff know nothing of patients’ personal histories, likes, or worries. And their hugs aren’t the heartiest, ei- ther. weighed the reasons that might have led Dhaliwal to cosign for Sibota’s morigage. “There can be no doubt that B.C, Hydro was one of the most, if not the most, impor- - tant of the Crown corporations ‘and that appointment to the Hydro board of directors would be a matter of sig- ‘nificant prestige’? Hughes says, “On the other hand, the long-standing friendship be- tween Dhaliwal and Sihota also provides some explanation ‘as to why Dhaliwal would help Sihota in the way he did, Hughes concludes that there ‘was no evidence of any quid- pro-quo arrangement, and that *Dhaliwal’s -co-signature was ‘offered solely as a sign of ' friendship. ' Hughes also says that Har- court, during his interview, made it clear he wanted broader ethnic and regional representation on all provincial boards and Dhaliwal, according to Har- court, was a perfect candidate whose appointment he enthusiastically supported. The question now is whether Sibota, having been cleared of this particular allegation, will be welcomed back in cabinet. I wouldn’t hald my breath, for a number ofreasons. First off, ['m not so sure wo The older we get, the more we look forward to little pleasures — sitting in our favourite chair, watching a half hour of TV with our spouse, reading a book with a grand- child, swapping gossip with a friend. But even these simple, or- dinary treats are denied if an old-timer is warehoused miles from his circle of family and friends. Where, then is the joy - in prolonging life? No doubt much Ter- _ raceview’s bed shortage is due to funding shortages; otherwise an extra wing would have been built on long age. Still health officials seem to have difficulty estimating fu- ture long-term care needs though many of these oc- . Sogenarians have resided in or around Terrace for decades. The school distict — with only a four year lead time — usually estimates closely how ‘many students to expect each ARTEN: LOOK. You MEAN THEY [opsr | THEY MiGRATE. eR EN CEA HAVE ‘To FIND AROUND ALL F CARIBOU ANTLER! THEIR OLD ONES HE THE 7! | EVERY YEAR?! LEAVE IT. of SOME Bult eRe: WHY Will B 0 YOU THINK.. LOOKING FoR, commissions, ” * Premier Glen Clark felt com- fortable with Sihota’s legendary ability to dominate . the headlines and steal his thunder. Which he did on more than one occasion. ; But more important, there could well be another com- plaint to Hughes waiting in the wings if Sihota is appointed to - a cabinet post, And that one may be tougher to fight than the Dhaliwal issue, which wes put before Hughes by Literat MLA Mike de Jong. That time bomb involves Sihota’s interference last year with the Motor Cartier Com- mission during the applications process for a taxi licence. So far, the opposition has only ac- cused Sihota of having been very rude during some phone . calis to the commission. As long as Sihota is on the back bench, the Liberals will probably let it go at that. If Clark brings him back into the cabinet, however, the opposi- tion is bound to refrain its guns on Sihota. After all, it’s more produc- tive to go after a cabinet minis- ter, especially one with Sihota’s high profile and cocky attitude, than a back bencher. © Beyer can be reached at Tel: 920-9300; Fax: 385-6783; E- Mad: hubert@coolcom.com September, Perhaps the school district could give Terraceview some actuarial pointers. Regardless of why Ter- raceview is too smal] to ac- commodate our aging popula- tion, it’s regrettable. In- humane, Inconvenient. In- tolerable, It’s incompretensible why we'll spend a million dollars to save a life born several months prematurely with extensive physical deformitics that may — require expensive, heroic medical interventions for years .. but we don’t have a local bed to comfort the final days of a 75-year-old who’s worked all his life paying taxes to help provide those life-saving measures, Isolation from family and friends creates a limbo — not quite life, not quite death — that can exist [or years. Exposure and hypothermia kill within hours. So who’s barbaric? EVERY NORTHERNER (S ALLOWED ONE A YEAR!