a A2 Terrace Review — of Forests should reconsider the forest licence “given the discretion- ary auihority entrusted to the Chief Forester at the time of the award”. Vander Zalm says the goverment responded io that recommendation by conducting a "comprehensive reassessment" of the decision and following that reassessment "it was confirmed by Cabinet that the Wednesday, August 22, 1990 Reg ional d istri ct _— Continued from page at responsibility lies in technical matters", and, "It is the govern- ment’s position that staff should - not be put in the position of having -to make decisions that. have major t award of the timber to Prince | George Wood Preserving/Rustad Bros. and Takla Track and Timber was in the best interests of British Columbians as a whole". He then outlines Cabinet’s ration- ale. First, because of the corporate Struciure of the successful appli- cants, particularly Takla Track and Timber, more forest companies, and therefore more communities, will benefit socially and econo- mically. Vander Zalm docs admit . that new employment created by the Sustut-Takla forest licence in Prince George as opposed to the Smithers-Hazelton area was "com- ‘parable in terms of forestry" but by awarding the contract to Prince George, he says, "the reconstruc- tion and operation of the Dease Lake (railway) extension will provide additional new employ- ment". He adds to this that awarding the contract to a Northwest logging firm would have "eliminated many existing forestry and service related jobs in the Prince George area and resulted in a widespread social and economic impact", Other points noted by Vander Zalm:-include the potential: ‘of the B.C, rail extension in “the extrac- tion of other natural resources in the Fort St. James-Dease Lake corridor"; road access from the Hazelton area would have "been - made difficult as a result of the Native land claims issue": rail as opposed to road access "was pre- ferred by the Ministries of En- vironment and Parks for environ- mental reasons"; Native participa- tion was included In the Prince George proposal; and, "The extrac- tion of the timber in the North Takla-Sustut area south is consis- tent with the Prince George Timber Supply Area Plan." Vander Zaim also suggested to Maitland that the Chief Forester is a civil servant "whose primary social and economic implications." He adds to this statement, "The Forest Act has now been changed to recognize that. However, the need for this change was recog- nized at least a year before the Takla-Sustut decision was made." "Given the above," Vander Zalm concludes, "I see no reason to rescind the award of the two forest licences and readvertise the tim- ber." He then suggests to Maitland that perhaps Hazelton and area forest companies would be better off working with the government than taking it to court. "I feel that it would be much more productive for private enter- prise and local government to work with this Goverment to explore innovative opportunities, both within and outside the forest sec- tor, that will provide long-term social and economic stability to communities in your area," writes Vander Zaim, He then offers, "In this regard, the Minister of Forests has recently awarded some value- added licences which will create new employment opportunities in the area." Two other issues addressed in Vander Zalm’s letter are the Rim Sawmill closure and a subsidized B.C. Rail extension to the Sustut- Takla region. The Rim Sawmill, according to Vander Zalm, "was very old and the company had plans to close it as early as 1986 and maintain employment levels in the Hazelton area". It's interesting to note in the 44-page, 1988, Westar Timber application for the Sustut-Takla timber licence, however, that this isn’t what they told the govern- ment at all. At the Rim site in Hazelton: "Logs for this sawmill come from Forest Licence chart areas in the Kispiox Valley and from purchases. It handles the 35 percent of log profile that is too large for the Carnaby mill. "However, the sawmill is old and equipment is outdated," according to the application, but, “We will completely rebuild this mill if we are awarded the Licence. Other- 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, Subscription Order Form [1 1 year — $39.00 Seniors in Terrace and District $30.00 . Seniors outside of Terrace and District $33.00 Out of Canada $100.00 [1] Cheque (C Money Order (© MasterCard OC Visa Please send a subscription to: Name Card No. Address Expiry Date Phone .~ Postal Code B.C, V8G 1M7 v Mail or bring this form to: 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B. C. V8G 1M7 wise, itisufficient log supplies will force us to eventually close the -mill." The application then outlines... plans for an $8.7 million recon- struction of the Rim. mill . by. - October, 1990. The application describes a simi- lar situation at their Kitwanga mill and offers a plan for an $8.9 mil- lion reconstruction project. And at the Rim site, there was even more construction in the works. A $4.2 miltion remanufacturing plant designed to cut value-added moul- ding and joinery products. This mill "will be the first of its kind in the northwest when it is completed in October, 1989," according to the Westar application. And how about that provincially subsidized rail extension? "I can assure you that this is not the case," says Vander Zalm. Accord- ing to the premier, George forest companies "will pay a surcharge over and above normal service charges to transport logs" He adds, "This surcharge will pay for the costs related to the respon- sibilities of both applicants as set out in the licence documents." Maitland didn’t buy any of this, of course. And now neither has the regional district board of directors. Maitland told the board, "Cabinet disregarded the fact that the deci- sion was made outside of the law. They had to change the legislation to make it legal." According to Maitland this means that the issue now goes far beyond just the Sustut. "The whole province is. at the hands: of.a pro« vincial government who is willing .to change legislation to make a decision feasible," she told the board. Adding, "That process should be fought. It’s not accep- table. The system is being changed to fit political whims.” The only regional director stating any real concern was Andy Burton of Stewart. According to Burton, they have no way of knowing how much a court case might cost but it would be very expensive, "I think we're committing ourselves and we don’t know what we’re getting into," Burton told the board. But Maitland responded by explaining that this her suggestion is only a first step and if court action is decided to be the right way to go, O DAV, Terrace Review the Prince ~ everyone, all northwest commu- " * nities and industries will, be asked to join in. Les Watmough agreed with Maitland. "There has to be some way," he said. "We have to resolve this. It started out as a mess and gradually got worse." Referring to an earlier meeting with then Minis- ter of Forests Dave Parker, Wat- mough told the board, "Parker was not totally honest with us at that meeting. He talked about economic and social factors, and the Om- budsman states that no study was ever done, so they are making things up in order to Support their decision." An alternate course of action was suggested by Hazelton director Gordon Sebastian. He suggested they join in on a Native court action already in progress that will use the land issue to stop the Sus- tut logging. He suggested that from -. have on his operation, but he adds, "It’s our intent to bring at least part of it to Skeena Sawmills." . Chesley said West Fraser staff now have to survey the area and draft a five-year management and working plan for the tenure. A source in the Kalum District Forest office noted that the tenure is up for a five-year review Nov. 15 and the annual cut on the. licence could be changed as a result. Under Section 50 of the Forest Act the transfer has to be approved by the Minister of Forests. The lead “agency “in’ ‘evaluating’ the proposal is the ministry’s Timber Harvesting Branch, Director Julius Juhasz said Monday he has not received a formal request but he is aware the transfer is in the works. Juhasz said the evaluation deter- mines whether the company scek- ing the licence is able to perform ali the obligations set out in the regulations and also examines the social implications of the transfer. He also noted that both parties have to be "clean... all bills paid.” The licence is covered by a standing green export permit, a cost point of view this was their best option. The board, however, didn’t accept his offer. Court action of any type may only be academic, however, By the time transportation access into the licence area-is completed, if the Prince George loggers aren’t stopped first, they may be very few trees in the Sustut of any real value. Terrace city council has asked for a meeting with Minister of Forests Claude Richmond to try to convince him he has no choice but to rescind the contract and re-issue it to the northwest. According to alderman Bob Cooper, insect infes- tation is threatening the timber ina large portion of the Sustut and the only way to harvest the trees before they are destroyed is by using road access from the Hazelton area. Tay-M —" Continued from page Al meaning that 100 percent of the logs cut are eligible for sale to offshore buyers. Tay-M owner Robert York picked up the licence after the North Kalum was removed from Tree Farm Licence 1 and divided into three. forest - licences. York has argued from the beginning that working the North Kalum timber cannot be economi- cally feasible without the high prices foreign log buyers are will- ing to pay because domestic pro- cessing plants ate too far away from the harvesting area. Juhasz said that the export permit would not normally be part of the evaluation process, but he added, "It could become a factor. We have to look at the proposal." The evaluation from the Timber Harvesting Branch and another ~ -evaluation from staff at the Prince Rupert Forest Region office in Smithers are sent to the minister, who then makes his decision on whether the transfer should be allowed, Juhasz said if the propo- sal from West Fraser contains all the necessary information the process takes about four weeks. Child dies in airport tragedy A motor vehicle accident at the Terrace/Kitimat Airport at about 7:50 p.m. last Wednesday took the life of two-year-old Michael Venus of Terrace. According to Terrace RCMP, the boy wandered behind a car backing out of a parking stall and was run over by. the vehicle. He was pronounced dead shortly after the accident at Mills Memorial Hospital. An RCMP investigation into the accident is still underway. Organizers for the B.C. Young New Democrats, the youth wing of the provincial NDP, have sche- duled two meetings at Northwest locations this week. The Friendship Centre in Kit- wana will be the site of a meeting tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday a meeting will be held in Kitimat at 235 Enterprise Ave. starting at 10 a.m. Young NDP representative Stephanie Lynn will be at both Young NDP comes to Northwest meetings and Steve High, the New Democratic Youth of Canada president from Ontario, will be at the Kitwanga meeting. A press release issued by the group’s B.C. office in Vancouver Stated that anyone under the age of 26 who is interested may attend, Further information is available from McKenna Daniels in Kit- wanga (849-5591), Doug Collierin | Kitimat (632-4221), or Stephanie Lynn in Vancouver (430-8600). .