Mackasse MONTREAL {CP} ~- Bryce Mackasey was fired ag the $80,-000-a-year chairman of Air Canada Tuesday, but says his dis- missal came as no surprise. The former Liberal cabinet minister sald shortly after his firlng was made _ Official that he has not had LiGint iv port diiatad, ime to plot his future, “but there'll be one,” After -he heard Progressive Conservative cabinet ministera say top government posts would be filled by patronage, he said in an Interview, he knew his days at the top of the airline were numbered. LINPARY, yay-1%4 y gets sack a The Air Canada board of directors, which met Tuesday In a lengthy special seasion to decide how to deal with Mackasey, issued a terse statement in the evening, announcing Pierre Taschereau, a former chairman of the airline, had been named “interim, part- Comer. 77/78 vol - f time chairman of the board.” The statement made no reference to Mackasey’s seven-year contract as an Air Canada spokeaman said alter issuing the See story page 2 chairman of the airline, and. statement that the directors would not be elaborating on their decision, — Mackasey's replacement was also anounced in Ot- tawa by federal Transport Minister Don Mazankewski, who attended the Air Canada directors’ meeting. Earlier in the day, Mackasey said he hopes his Liberal party ties will be known as the reason for his damissal. "That doesn't stigmatize me a3 an Incompetent hack and ruin my chances of future employment,” he told the CBC Radio program As It Happens. s head of Air Canada _the Tories protested loudly over Mackaney's lack of airline experience when the previous Liberal government appointed him to & seven-year term ag chairman late last year, But Mackasey told CBC he had been a competent chair. man, ; C ’ . Fie PoP snome 14Flavors BOTTLE DEPOT ._Beer & Pop Sottles 4634 Lazelle Ave, Terrace, B,C, : Open 10 a.m.-6.p.m. dally except Sunday Fri, till 9 p.m. y, a Wednesday, September 19, 1979 TERRACE-KITIMAT daily herald 20¢ ~ la Volume 73 No. m RUPERT STEEL & SALVAGE LTD. Seal Gove Rd., Pr. Rupert 624-5639 WE BUY copper, brass, all metals, ;batteries, etc. Callus - We are open Won, through Sat., 8 a.m.-6 pan. ~ : ‘Mismanagement’ blamed for rate hikes By ED YUDIN Herald Stalf Writer Former National Ski team member Mickey Johnson is calling for an immediate inquiry into the financial operations -at)=« Kitsumkalum mountain, saying there is no way the ski hill should be operating in the red, and if they are itis due to “grogs mismanagement” “T find it incredible the conclusion of the management of the Kitsumkalum Ski Hill that they have no alternative but to raise the rates in the light of the operational deficit last year of $37,000", he. said. “I believe the deficit was caused solely by gross mismanagement and that is the area they should look = to.”’ The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine heard arguments from a Terrace ski coach, Qarence Donnelly , on the impractibility of raising season passes to $165 for days and $215 for days and evening skiing. Donnelly said the boost of $100 would be a “real jolt” to many skiers, some of whom would no longer buy passes. The Regional District directors argued the raise was necessary in view of the large (37,000) deficit incurred the previous year. According to Johnson, | RATES SAID COMPARABLE ; Ski hill manager disputes charge View from top of Kitsumkalum Mt. Photo by Don Schaffer oe) "|, By DON: SCHAFFER 4 | at the Kitsumkalum Mountain facility is unnecessary , , according to Jog Konst, the ski-hil] manager. ) operation when the facility opens, and there will be / commodate it, 1 and the difficult land this mountain is made of!'Konst ' said. “The whole mountain is made up of a swamp, ; even the top has a swamp on it, The stumps on this 4 you can goin the province, the grades are rockier, and the ground is wetter. This is a tough place to run a ski : When they complain about a rise in the rates for the » think about that.” passes, Youcan use them on any of the lifts around , Bald. Says terrain difficult here, costs higher os +s Hepald Saale Writer, ’ ‘The controversy a‘ising from the new ski-hill rates “A lot of the people who are complaining about the new rates don’t really know what they’re talking about,” Konst said. “Our rates here are comparable to any other facility in the province, maybe cheaper than most.” There are several brand-new runs being installed at the facility, including a new beginner slope and a new intermediate slope, says Konst, New T-bars will be in night skiing three nights a week. “That’s not the only reason the rates are rising "said Konst. ‘We've got to start putting away some money to replace our aid equipment. A snow compactor costs $80,000 and you don’t come up with that kind of money by lowering your rates..’ The revamped facility will be open Thursday through Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. this season, with night skiing Wednesday ,Thursday and Friday nights from 6 p.m, to 10 p.m. It will be open seven days a week during holiday periods like the Christmas holidays. If there is a demand for more then the manager says that he will expand the hours to ac- “The rates really haven't gone up all that much, when you consider all of the work we are doing here, mountain are bigger here than almost anywhere else hill, and yet people don’t take that into consideration place, Those are all cost factors, *'1i anost people don’t The day passes are not lifttickets, they are area the area ,not just the chairlift or the T-bar,"Konst FOR RATES SEE STORY PAGE 3 who operates a local ski shop and is a ski in- structor, the new T-bar on the hillis being located in the wrong area. “Tt goes below the level af good snow conditions and it will unnecessarily spread ‘out the lift facilities, adding UP $20 problems and expense to patrolling, ticket selling, and relieving lift operators,” he pointed out. “There are two or three better locations for a T-bar.” Johnsen polnts to this as one example of the “mismanagement” at Kitsumkalum and thus his conclusion that a public inquiry is needed. “If the ski hill can't be operated In the red, then the government should simply get out of the business and let: free enterprise run it,” he concluded, Gold rush arecord _ NEW YORK (AP) — The price of gold in Europe - soared by a record §20 an ounce Tuesday to a new world high of $373 — a mark that quickly fell when the precious metal closed at $376 an ounce hours later in New Mtg: very “Hbetic today,” sald George Perola, manager of.the numiamati¢ division at DeakPerera, a Manhattan coin and currency dealer. “The phones won't stop ringing.’’ The latest gold rush has seen the price of an ounce soar more than $50 in the past two weeks and $160 in the past 12 months. Twelve years ago, gold sold for $35 an ounce, Experts attribute the boom to worrles over in- flation. Gold is a traditional refuge for investors worried that the currency they are holding will shrink in value or that their other in- vestments will suffer because of adverse economic conditions. When gold is booming, the US, dollar usually slumps, But the U.S, currency slipped only slightly against foreign currencies abroad Tuesday and finished moatly higher in New ‘York after the U.8, Federal Reserve an- nounced late in the day an Increase in the discount rate to 11 per cent from 10% per cent. Meanwhile, the price of gold in New York soared by $24.25 an ounce, the most ever, ta the record $376, and - the price of September gold futures on New York's Commodity Exchange rose $22.0) to $382 an ounce. Gold closed in Zurich, Eu- Trope’s largest bullion market, at $373.50 an ounce, 8 $20.50 jump from Monday's close. In London, Europe's other major market, gold closed at $372, up $18.50 from Monday. At one point during the day, the price of gold hit a Liberals vow to vote no on mortgage plan OTTAWA (CP) — The Liberals will vote against the Conservatives’ proposed homeowner assistance plan unless the scheme le amended to give something to renters and lowincome households, party housing eritte Licoyd Axworthy said Tuesday. . Axworthy and former Libera) poatmaster-general Gilles Lamontagne charged following a day-long meeting of the party housing com- mittee that the Conservative mortgage proposal had “divided the country.” “It certainly has divided Canadians into two classes for this tax benefit,” sald Axworthy, newly-elected MP from the riding of Winnipeg- Fort Garry, “It givea a privilege to one group without = giving anything to another,” added Lamontagne. 7 Axworthy said the plan to give. tax credits to homeowners for mortgage interest and property taxes, unveiled Monday by Finance Minister John Crosbie, had made tenants “second class citizens” because it offered them nothing. It also offered Htle to those homeowners, mostly older Canadians and pen- slonera, who had already paid off their mortgages. These people would only benefit from the property tax credit. He said the party is of a working out details revised housing policy. But committee members had agreed Tuesday that three basic changes in the current proposal would be demanded as ‘‘absolutely essential’? In return for support in the Commons: —Asslatance for renters, particularly those with low omes, —Asslatance for those with low incomes who have pald off their mortgages. _ —Addition of incentives in the tax system to encourage more energy conservation by homeowners. “We will gee how they re- Bpond to these suggestions once we get into the House,"’ Axworthy said. Parliament opens Oct. 9. The proposal released by Crosbie Monday would tring The minority Conservative government, with 135 seats, is seven short of the 142 seats needed for a majority. But they could survive with support from the aix Social Credit members. The Liberals have 112 seats and the New Democratic Party has 26 for a combined strength of 130. NDP finance critic Bob Rae, from the Toronto riding of Broadview-Greenwood, Said Monday his party had hot yet decided whether it would vote agains! the proposal. Soclal Credit leader Fabien Roy has indicated he favors the plan. ; in over four years beginning this year a tax credit of up to $1,500 to offset mortgage interest payments and aperty taxes, e tax credit, essentially 8 reduction in federal in- come tax payable, would not affect provincial {ncome taxes. In 1979 the maximum benefit would be $375. This would rlae to $750 next year, to $1,125 in 1981 and would hit the maximum level of $1,500 in 1982. The maximum tax credit for morigage Interest would be $1,-250 and would vary with the size of the mor- tgage. All homeowners would receive the Mat $250 property tax credit regard: less of the amount of property taxes paid. The mortgage tax credit would be 25 per cent of mort- gage inierest payments up to $5,000, A homeowners paying $5,000 in intereat would recelve the maximum tax credit — 25 per cent of $5,000, or $1,250. A homeowner paying $3,000 in interest would receive a tax credit of 25 per cent of that ammount or $750. Those who do not earn enough to pay federal in- come tax would not receive the benefit. record $376.25 in London, But it settled back at the cloge. In Washington, the federal government’ auctioned off 750,000 ounces of gold Tuenday. ; B.C. GETTING OFFSHORE RIGHTS - OTTAWA (CP) — Prime Minister Clark plans to offer British Columbia same full control over offshore resources that he recently arranged with New- foundland and Nova Scotia. A Clark aide said Tuesda the offer is ‘‘a logical ex- tension of long-standing Conservative party polley.’’ Clark is to discuss the deal . Saturday night in a private meeting with B.C, : Bill Betett B.C. Premiat A Progressive servative election cam platform to give total control af offshore resource management and profits to Con- ¥Y provincial governments led this fall to agreements in principle between the federal government and Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Most favor the new plan for Terrace By ED YUDIN Herald Staff Writer While a number of concerns were expressed, the first draft of the Terrace Community Plan appeared to meet with approval from moat of the 45 local residents attending Tuesday night's public meeting at the Terrace arena banquet room. Emmett McCamn of Terrace says he's “very happy with the plan,” despite what he termed the “very generalized’ manner in which it was presented. “Twas mainly here for the agriculture end of it,” he said. I was very happy with the proposal to keep the south Graham Street area free for agriculture, 1 agree wi Aad Tom Knox, another citizen concerned with preserving the good agricultural land said he was surprised by the plan and was pleased “‘at how much work they obviously put inte it,” The Terrace Community Plan was outlined in brief by planning committee member John } :Nairnay The audience then asked questions of the panel con- sisting of planners McNairnay Norma Kirby and most members of Terrace Council, including Terrace Mayor Dave Maroney. The questions ranged from sewer construction plans in the bench area to problems of dogs killing livestock, There were also questions concerning the proposed public transportation system and residential ex- pansion plans. One member of the audience, Lilly Nielsen wondered if the Thornhill amalgamation question wasn’t neglected. “I was really concerned by the talk of amalgamation and boundary extension, Nielson said, “T can't understand why this wasn’t mentioned in the developemnt plan.“‘she explained. Maroney appeared satisfied with the public’s response to the first draft. Alderman Alan Soutar was disappointed by the small turnout, though he felt the comments made were “constructive.” “What all this means is that we're ona constructive track, that the committee is planning the town as most people see it.” he said. Terrace Alderman DavidPease agreed with Soutar noting, “it appears most people are relatively content with the plan.” McNaimay indicated there would be at least one more public meeting, probably held sometime early next year.