A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 13, 1995

TERRACE

‘STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188
TELEPHONE: (60-4) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432
MODEM: (604) 638-7247

Shake it out

NOW THAT negotiators on the Nispa’ a land
claim are making great progress on an agreement

in principle for a treaty, pressure is building on |

what to do next.

As far as the public is concerned, it involves a
thorough examination of the agreement in princi-
ple. With that in mind, here’s some advice.

As soon as the agreement is signed, the negotia-
tors should run to the nearest photocopying ma-
chine and start running off copies. Throw those
copies from the rooftops. Nail them to every
phone pole in the area. Don’t let the federal and
provincial negotiators 1 near the airport until they
do so.

The public must have the immediate ri ght to ac-
cess, Let them turn the thing upside down. Shake
it out. See what’s inside. Take it for a test drive.
Kick the tires. Stuff it in the washing machine.
Cram it into the dryer. See if it’s wrinkle free.

Anything short of complete, full and immediate
access to the terms of the agreement in principle
will only fuel fears that there’s something nasty
going on. Any hint that the agreement will be
held up pending some sort of mucky-muck look-
see by the politicians in Victoria and Ottawa will
only confirm the feeling that the years of all-too-
secret talks means bad news for the people of the
northwest,

If we are to truly buy into the concept that land
claims treaties are necessary, that they will lead
to a new era, that things will be different then the
provincial and federal governments must outline
their plans on how the agreement in principle
will be examined.

We're told that the agreement in principle will

take, the. forrii “of legislation ‘in; Victotia and, Ore...

Bwdpa FR

tawa, In the;normal. course of ‘things, legislation
is gone over by! various committees and debated
along the way to becoming law. ;

That’s fine as far as it goes but this will fail un-
less there is the opportunity for northwesterners
to have a say. Public confidence in the abilities
of: the federal and provincial governments: to
deliver affordable and rational treaties is para-
mount.

All of this is vitally important for the Nisga’a
treaty will be the first of its kind. A failure now
for full disclosure places everything j in jeopardy.

From the heart to Matthew |

VICTORIA — God, it’s dif-
ficult to find the right words,
What do I tell you, a little boy
who knew nothing but pain
and suffering in his short life?
How I wish I could have
done something for you when
- there was still time. I showed

your picture to my wife. You-

looked so much Sike our kids
when they were little. Had you
been our little boy, we’ would
have loved you, cared for you,
seen you grow into a man and
sadly but proudly have let go
of you to make your own way
in the world.

Instead, yours was a brief life
of horror. You cried out for
love and affection, even when
you were screamed at, beaten

‘and kicked. You needed some-,.

_ One. to hug you, tell you they

~ love you, sit by. your bed at.
_ night and read youa story,

You never knew the wonder-
ful feeling of growing up in a
caring family. No camping
trips in summer for you, no ski
tips in winter, No-one to kiss
a little hurt better. Just pain, a
lot of pain.

I wish I could tell you why
none of the grown-ups who are
supposed to know whea a little
boy like you needs help, didn't
help you. Its not that they are

‘bad people, Matthew. Some

were confused about what their
job should be, others maybe
were reluctant to get involved.

“FROM THE CAPITAL ..
HUBERT BEYER

: amnlist. have ‘hurt.

And so you continued to suf-
fer. How often, I wonder, did
you cry yourself to sleep. How
often did you wish someone
wauld dake you into their arms
: |; just hold, you? ‘How

‘“You'see, Matthew, there are”
a lot of good people in the
world. Most parents love their
children. They would rather
die themselves than hurt their
children. And these past few
days, I saw a lot of good
people cry because they
wished they could have helped
you.

I hope, Matthew, that you
can see and feel the love and
tears of so many people who
wish they could bring you back
and show you how wonderful
life can be.

Much of the outpouring of

love ‘for you, Matthew, is be-
cause of the man who was told

_ to find out why a little boy had
to die, in spite of all the help

he could have had.

Judge Tom Grove wrote an
800-page book about what he
found out. He called it Mat-
thew’s Story, your story.

And when the people read

| the book, they were horrified
‘to learn that you were not the

only child who was let down
by the people who were sup-
posed to help you. The judge
said that in the last 10 years,
264 children died like you did.
And like you, none of these
children would have died if the

, adults had done their job.

And even though your

mother abused you horribly,
You. desperately wanted : ae
“Jove you. Every child “does,”

But you should have been
taken from your mother and
given into the care of people
whe love-children, who would
have loved you,

For some reason, the people
who could have-~done that
didn’t. Instead, they did every-
thing they could to keep you
with your mother, hoping that
she would change. She didn’t,
and you had to pay with your
life for that mistake.

But I promise you Matthew,
things will change. Judge
Grove has awakened us and
made us realize that something

went terribly wrong. You see,
Matthew, the big people have

always said that our little boys

and girls are our hope for the a

future. And they areright. 22.0"
The world is far from a per- -

fect place, as you well know,”

but if we are good to our chile) |. =:

dren, nurture them and give. °°

them the love they need, they 0°":

will grow up to be good people -

who then can make the world a"

better place.

Grown-up people have a° os

habit of looking for some pur-

pose in death, something that. -
tells them a person didn’t die.
in vain. If you can find solace. ° |
in that thought, Matthew, then ~

you did not dic in vain.
You. achieved

able to help you in life, are re

membering you with love: ‘and
sorrow. And they are. demand- :
ing that never again a child dle -

like you did.

I keep looking at you picture 2
and it breaks my heart. Despite a

the horrors you must ‘have.

endured, you smile. Even ina:
life of pain and sorrow, I.
guess, there are some good

moments,

Goodbye Matthew, We love
you.

Beyer can be reached ‘at:
Fei:(604) 360-6442;
Fax:(604) 381- 6922;E-Mail:
hbeyer@direct.ca

. . a.

Brian Mulroney
IN THE high stakes world of those at the top,
Brian Mulroney is doing the right thing. His $50
million lawsuit is a sign that if anybody is going
to mess with the former Prime Minister, they’re
going to pay the price.

But the message being transmitted to those of
us at the bottom is quite different. Better that Mr.
Mulroney should have asked for the token sum
of $1 in the suit to clear his name of any hint of
wrongdoing relating to the Airbus purchase. Mr..

Mulroney can stil] make his point and we just |
might be more sympathetic to his cause.

eaw5 PUBLISHER /EDITOR: Rod Link
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur
. NEWS Jeff Nagel » NEWS SPORTS:
_ COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf
» OFFICE MANAGER: Audra Creek
“ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:
Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas
~ ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law
DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur COMPOSITOR: Kelly Jean
| CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette.

“a
vorpal

CnCULATIAN
CONTROLLEE

MENBEA OF B.C, PRESS COUNCIL °
Serving the Terraca and Thomhill area. Published on Wednesday al each week by. Cariboo Press (1989)
Ud. at 4647 Lazelle Ave, Terrace, British Columbia, --
Stories, photographs, ilustralions, designs and typesiyles in the Terrace ‘Standard ag tha property of the
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- Special thanks to all our contribt ors ‘and serrespondants
for thelr time and talents’. ;

Hospital? What

MILLS MEMORIAL Hospital
could ease its budget woes
with innovative ways of in-
creasing revenue or decreasing
costs.

To decrease costs, patient use

must drop, As a regional hos-'

pital, Mills provides 1300
patient. days of use for every
1000 people in its area. But the

hospital is funded for only ©

1000 days,

Ta lop 300 patient days, we
must decimate the regional
population. That we can do by
deliberately creating. a local

economic downturn, leading .

swifily to bankruptcies,
layoffs, and in the end, im-
- migration.
Discourage tourism.

For the Jong haul, lower the |

birthrate by pushing the
moming-after pill,
Hire only rude, lazy admis-

sions clerks. If lackadaisical

staff can discourage shoppers,
surely sick people can he
deterred, .

T HATE THIS
LOCAL HIRE
Podicy?!

THROUGH BIFOCALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI:

We must also shorten hospi-
tal stays for everyone, not just
for. ‘maternity patients.
McDonald’s and drive-thru
banks can advise us on ways to
hasten discharges, ‘Have your
ailment and symptoms ready,’””
Award air miles for going
home early,

To increase fevenue, let's’
modernize our view of hospi-
tals. Quit thinking of a hospital

T CONTRACTED You TO
PROMOTE A TOWN MEETIAG-
ANP YouR ONLY EXPENSES
ARE. LUNCH AT THE CAFE ANP
AAUGE BAR Bill! wHeees THE
RAPIO CLIB, NEWSPAPER ADS ,
. POSTERS , FAX MEMOS 7°

a \ ? 2

as a respite for the injured and
ill. See it as an enterprise for
lifting the financial burden
from Victoria.

Diversify, Rent beds and
empty rooms, by the week or
by the month, to those in dire
need of rental accommoda-
tions, Contract the kitchen to
cater weddings and airlines
meals, Passengers won't know
the difference.

Got an empty floor? Tum off

| ils heat, sandbag its doorways,

flood the main hall. Voila. A
marrow second sheet of ‘ice.

Skaters will rejoice. Feed them -

from a concession counter mun
out of the nurses’ station.

Like a transition house, hide
the hospital. Flummox the
community; let only RCMP
and ambulance drivers know

the © bospital’s whereabouts.

Remove those giveaway grecn
H route signs. Replace Mills
Memorial Hospital’s sign with
a red herring reading Corpus
Repair Shop.

CONSULTANT ’
ARE You ??

Scare away walk-in vatients:. :
post a notice at the froat door,”

“‘Patient cligibility is decided

by a utilization’ committee
comprised of board members
and representatives of four ™.:

Jabor unions.”’

If prospective patients inter-

pret the sign lo. mean practising |
medicine without a licence,.no

matter. Although there may be.- -
some logic in having computer:

Operators decide who should

gct neurologic surgery or:

plumbers voting on ~ the
cligibility of urologic patients...
These measures aren’t revo«

lutionary. Already Toronto’s.
Hospital for Sick Children has
a hospital-owned Tim Horton’ So

franchise.
It's contemplating an ‘Iee-,

cream shop, a photo processing

lab, and a cafe,
Ontario’ 8 deputy minister of:

health, Margaret Mottershead;

is encouraging Ontario hospi-

tals, to scare up extra cash, So .

should Mills,

“something .
wonderful. Hundreds of thou- __
‘sands of people who wer