campfires. ‘campfire should ensure that the drought conditions. _ this is not the case in the Kalum _ More meetings gs planned Two “Two task forces of the North- coast Economic Development Committee, under Minister of - State. Dave Parker, met in Ter- race recently to discuss native ~-Jand claims and health and med- ical services, Following two or- ganizational meetings in Kitimat and Prince Rupert to establish. priorities and organize these two task forces, the group says these meetings signify the first step in searching for solutions to ‘the Northwest’s most pressing pro- blems. . by Tod Strachan According to Northcoast. _ Regional Development Officer Bob Thompson, the task force on "on native land claims was basically an information meet- ing to begin discussion and es- tablish exactly what: claims”? mean, He said there were. several presentations given by the native. community regarding the land claim question, as well as a Nisga’a information package which addressed the issue and outlined native concerns related to the Nass River fishery. Thompson said the main thrust of these presentations was to try to get everyone present to understand the native point of view and to define the relation- ship between natives and the province. He said their basic Forest Service braced for fire season by Erle Holt Although it may not seem like it with last week’s cold, wet, unstable weather, the 1988 Fire ' Season officially started April 15. With the commencement of Fire Season, the Forest Service would like to remind the public that burning permits are re- quired as of April 15. Burning permits in the Kalum Forest District can be obtained from the District Office in Terrace or the Field Office in Stewart. People living within the munici- palities of Terrace, Kitimat or Stewart should obtain their per- mits through - their respective . municipal offices or fire depart- ments. Burning permits are an impor- tant administrative tool that is. _ ‘used by both Forest Service and Fire. Departments. Burning per- “Mits enable the. Forest Service ‘arid Fire Departments to. keep» “track of where fires are burning, thus avoiding unnecessary ‘re- . “sponses to unknown fires, Burn- ‘ing permits also give Forest Ser- vice and Fire Departments an opportunity to put in written ‘conditions and give verbal ad- vice to permittees on how they can safely carry out their burn- ing. In addition, it should -be noted that if burning is carried ‘out in accordance with the con- ‘ditions of the permit, then the ' ‘permittee is only liable for the | . conditions of the permit. If a fire starts as a result from burn- ing without a permit, the person lighting the fire can be held . responsible for all costs resulting from the fire. Permits are not required for Anyone lighting a fire is located a reasonable distance from trees or other in- flammable material. Also it is important to have a container of water or a shovel handy so that a .campfire can be quickly con- trolled or extinguished if it threatens to escape. Please en- gure your campfire is OUT when you are finished with it. Aban- doned campfires are one of the leading causes of man-caused . fires. Many regions in British Col- ‘umbia have had very little . precipitation over the winter months and are experiencing However, District. Precipitation since last _ September is approximately 200 _'. tnillimeters more than normal ~ aecording to measurements from the Terrace/Kitimat Air- | port. oe t The Forest Service cautions that although our spring has been cool and wet, a few sunny, windy days can create a fire danger, particularly in - grass. Grass fires commonly occur at this time of year when old dead grass and leaves have not been overgrown with new green vege- tation, As in.the past, the Forest Ser- vice would like to solicit the sup- port of the public in reporting fires. Early reporting and ag- gressive initial attack is the key to ‘successfully fighting forest fires. Anyone seeing a forest fire can report it by calling the Operator and asking for Zenith 5555. “and message is that they wish to ‘maintain their relationship with,, and continue to be, citizens of B.C. and Canada’. -. Thompson said the task force consisted of Nisga’a Tribal Council representatives James Gosnell, Rod Robinson, .and Harry Nyce, as well as chief band councillors Nelson Leason ‘of Greenville, Percy Tait of New Aiyansh and Glen’ Williams of Kitwanga.. Representing the non-native community were Nancy Wilson of the Prince Rupert Chamber ‘of Commerce, Mike Scott of the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Bragan, Vice Chairman of the. Queen Charlotte School Board, and Val Napoleon, Chair of School District 88. From the government side . were Parker and his parliamen- tary secretary Graham Bruce, Regional Development Officer - Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 20, 1988 5 Bob Thompson, Besional De- velopment Liaison Officer El- mer Derrick, and Assistant Dep- uty Minister of Native Affairs Eric Denhoff, Thompson said their next | meeting is scheduled to take place in Kitwanga,. probably in mid-May, and is intended to go into the land claims issue in more depth, Discussions by the task force on health and medical services, said Thompson, centered on two main concerns: youth services in - general, and the recruitment.and training of a qualified medical staff in the Northwest. He said the determination of that meeting was that more detailed information on the ex- act Magnitude of the youth ser- vices problem should be provid- ed by the Ministry of Health so the group will have more con- crete information at their next - Northcoast group mulls health care, land claims meeting. . Thompson said the health and medical services task force con- sists of Roy Beduz from the Queen Charlotte Islands, Reg Percival from the Nishga Valley. Health Administration, Robert . Myers, Administrator for the Prince Rupert District Hospital, Barry Taylor, a member of the Kitimat General Hospital Board, and Fred Hislop, Chair- man of: the Mills Memorial Hospital Board. He said the group was assisted by Skeeaa Health Unit Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Bowering, Bill Anderson from | the Ministry of Social Services — ‘and. Housing in Terrace, and Parker’s executive assistant in Terrace, Chris Shaffer. This group apparently hopes to meet again in Terrace Sometime in May. Local committees still have role in economic development ' Graham Bruce, Parliamentary Secretary to North Coast Min- ister of State Dave Parker, was in Terrace last weekend, and during an interview he described the committee structure and ad- dressed some of the main issues and concerns that have been ex- pressed in regard to the North Coast Economic Development Region, - by Tod Strachan “I think there’s a real role for this form of decentralization of the government,”’ said Bruce, Tax relief for some : Terrace city treasurer Keith ‘Norman thinks there may be some relief for small industry this year after the huge tax in- creases Of 1987. He says the pro- vincial government has provided a new classification for taxation — major industrial — and this could be the financial salvation for many small businesses. He explained that he was con- cerned in 1987 when the provin- cial government took away the right for municipalities to assess city taxes on industrial machinery, The end result, he said, was that city council compromised ‘May 6 - Y Development Genk Everything You Wanted to Know about FRANCHISES A WORKSHOP AND SEMINAR Inn of the West, Terrace, B.C. Cost: $50.00 includes meal and Materials. Application available from: City Hall, 3215 Eby Street. or F.B.D.B., 4641 Lazelle Ave. ‘CO-SPONSORED | a and raised industrial taxes five percent, But he said this had the. devastating effect of raising taxes for small industrial opera- tions without machinery by 30 to 35 percent. Now the government has separated the industrial category into two levels of taxation, and council can take this into con- sideration when they finalize their 1988 budget. Norman explained that this could mean a tax increase to ma- jor industrial concerns like Skeena Cellulose and West Fraser Timber — but much needed relief to small industry. 7, 1988 S/d noting that Parker has already taken concerns over the GATT ruling and the redistribution of CBC Radio as outlined by Northwest residents to govern- ments in both Victoria and Ot- tawa. ‘‘And I think that’s a role the decentralization process can play,”’ he said. He admitted that the provin- cial government hadn’t done *‘the greatest job”’ in explaining — the process to the general public, but he added that when the re- sults are in they will speak for themselves. ‘‘It’s going to have to be done by example,”’ he said. According to Bruce, the de- centralization process provides the first opportunity ever for the Northwest to identify their col- ‘lective areas of concern and have them ‘‘placed on the cabinet agenda and into the budget’’. “This happened with the Stewart hydro grid,’’ Bruce said. He acknowledged that commun- ities in the Northwest had work- ed hard and lobbied for the ex- tension through the Regional District Economic Development Committee. ‘‘But it didn’t do any harm to have, at the tail end of that, the Minister of State process in place so that he could really carry the can and push it home on behalf of everybody here.”’ Bruce also pointed out that there is still room for this type of process, and all economic devel- Opment bodies which existed before decentralization still play an important role. “*Those types of committees shouldn’t discontinue, pack — their bags, and say, ‘There’s no role for us’,’’ said Bruce. “‘There’s a greater role today than there ever has been in the -past and a greater opportunity to effect the change that they see as being necessary within their own particular area.”’ He said this is particularly true in an area as diverse as the Northwest. ‘Even though it’s a large geographic area and there may be some diverse interests from one end to the other, put- ting people around the table, and talking about all the issues and what’s before us — I think helps to make a system that has a broadening view,’ he conclud- ed. | Phil Hort Project ttanager Busi n ess Development ® and You Need Advice? ® Planning A New Ask About Our Very Reasonably Priced “IN HOUSE" Business Start-Up Counselling Another Product of CASE Business Services 4641 Lazeile Avenue, Terrace BACKING INDEPENDENT BUSINESS Federal Business § Banque fédéra Development Bank de developement Paul Williams, 635-4951 Canada