A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 30, 1997 : STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 . PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Butt out WHATEVER NORTHWESTERNERS think of the complicated machinations surrounding the Skeena Cellulose situation, what we don’t need is people from down south giving their opinion. This is particularly true of those who have never visited this area, have no idea of how the. economy here works and for southern politicians looking for an angle to promote their own causes. | There was veritable horror, shock and indigna- tion from down south at the news the govern- ment took over Skeena Cellulose. Southerners quickly fixated on the sum of $250 million in. provincial cash and loan guarantees, saying it. was far too much money to safeguard a couple of thousand jobs in tiny towns located in the north- ern hinterland of the province. Well, excuse us. Those comfy urbanities have’ forgotten -— heck, they don’t even know — that the backbone of the province remains in its, resource industries. And that those resource revenues flow from the hinterland to the urban wasteland of the lower mainland. They also forgot to do the math — the body count from an equivalent job loss in the lower mainland would approach 100,000. What really sticks in the northern craw was the caterwauling that went on down south when X- Files star David Duchovny said he wanted to move the series to Los Angeles because it rained too much in Vancouver. When a northerner suggested that Duchovny should a) buy a hat or b) pack up and leave, southerners wailed that jobs and revenue would be lost as a result. , So while the south would be more than willing to cut the northwest loose and let it drift out to sea, there was no way-they could stomach losing some‘flash Hollywood production.“At, feast: we: bs know: what planet we live on. Down south? Way beyond Pluto. Safety first THAT NEAR-DEADLY aircraft crash two weeks ago in Fredericton should be the first thing on the minds of those who'll negotiate the takeover of our airport. In Fredericton, passengers were fortunate to have emergency services at the airport to respond as quickly as possible to the injured. Un- til recently we had that same level of service un- til yet another federal budget cut removed that sense of security. As the situation stands now, one more level of service is being threatened at the airport — the flight services station which collects and gives out information on the weather. This is to come up for review sometime in the new year. But as we all know in the 1990s, the word ‘review’ in government-speak is simply another way of saying ‘good-bye.’ What could happen is the loss of two services at the airport in less than a year. They say bad luck comes in threes — but we don’t want to think about what the third example could be. RS PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor NEWS COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Sheila Sandover-Sly ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros TELEMARKETER: Patricia Schubrink ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Kelly Jean TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunette 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 8.C, AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION G@CN A Sarving the Terrace and Thomhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Streel, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G SA2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copytight holders, including Cariboo Press (1869) Ltd, its Illustration repra services and advertising agencies. .- : : : Reproduction in whois of in part, without written permission, is spacifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail panding the Post Office Department, for payment of pastage In cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents 7 for their time and talents AND B.C. PAESS COUNCIL ne TGOD BOY. -. Sir! GooPBoy geop Boy “Az, BIT! Go00 Boy: S17 G00 GOV a SIT! eg *n 1 p00 BOY” axt’.: g oot” %, ot" sit! , COOP BOY: , gat" Sir! C00 Boy, OT ote a0 t i) n 02 7 sO leon as rs $XSir! ne an ot 57 $1! GOOD Boy, . oO od: ad ey Sol fie — a, SIT. GOOD Boy Sp aT: ast eet oo? ago gir’ Goo . a, TUS! ; o Good Boy 2a. , ‘T, COap e ate’ Sir! Ccop 5600p feo yo STBon Boy |” 1 @, seri ms , St GooP &O fog GIT: & - : Sir. { \ ; a ‘ \T. ' T6000 p, git <., i gir. GooD B¥"" cw: reo? ae . f . S,., 7 Geed BOF 9 siTt. S1t! Scop Boy, . sir! 2000 / Simp 217 GOOD Boy, x on SIT! IT-Ga Bip Gerr” Seny ey, Pa, git git! GOOD Boy... 57! Seep Oy oe ir 6iT! \ g000% Siri Coy, (CH git. GOO? Sit (Good BOY sit grr Goo? aie \ aK 5 Sir! a, Sip) YD, * Goon aos oo trl ser . oY “¢ ge" 16000 © a Nccorte SPO et ext . ; ’ as $c ae Sir! Coop S1T- Goo Bow. “AN ey 61! 60OP poy 5), str! yy Geen , So, ‘a y S ! °2., uy fi ) i {T. ©OP ay, er, or , ' SIT: Bop Bo - Sr! %, wr, Eyr! G000 BOY: - " C LR sit! coop BOY aN) Papas -_ This deal is much too secret VICTORIA — The world’s most sweeping free-trade proposal, discussed behind closed doors in Paris for more than a year now, is beginning to run into serious roadblocks. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), details of which have been negotiated by 29 members of the World Trade Organization, including Canada, the U.S. and the Euro- pean Community, in utter secrecy, would confer unprece- dented powers on multina- tional corporations. Proponents, in the main politicians, say the agreement would result in the virtual elimination of trade barriezs, which, in tum, would create a global economic climate con- ducive to job creation and prosperity. " Critles say that, if approved, the agreement would allow in- vestment to flow freely across borders and strip governments of member signatories of much of their political autonomy. Environmental standards, they say, would be reduced to the lowest common denominator, labour laws over- ruled by global financial inter- ests and, in the case of Canada, provincial authority all but eradicated. The truth may well lie in be- Acclamation is unwelcome RECENTLY THE School Dis- trict 82 board vacancy Jeft by George Neumann’s’ resigna- tion in Kitimat was filled by acclamation. How come? Prior to last November’s election, everyone clamored for more stakeholder involve- ment, greater parent participa- tion. Folks demanded an ad- visory commiltee made up of citizens to advise the board on every issue. That committee is now sparsely attended. Was all that 1996 pre- election democracy just hot air? Talk? An excuse to appear on Channel 10 TV? Maybe notification of Neumann’s resignation and the official election call were so quielly handled no ome noticed? Or it was covered up by pte-Christmas sales? Have parents and voters lost interest in 12 months? Has the job of trustee be- come so constricted by budget- NOGAS FOR 200 MILES! ? /FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER tween, but even then, some politicians are now spooked by the scope of the MAI. In the U.S., Congress recent- _ly stopped cold an attempt by President Clinton to fast-track MAI negotiations, When Clinton found out that he wouldn’t get the mecessary votes from his own party, he withdrew his request for fast- tracking, In Europe, public debate about the pros and cons of the agreement is in full swing, In Germany, lobby groups on both sides of the issue have taken their positions and are giving the matter sufficient publicity to inform the public. Meanwhile, in Canada, we don’t hear much from our politicians. On the urging of | THROUGH BIFOCALS. CLAUDETTE SANDECKI ing shortfalls no one has the heart to take it on? Is there too much travel and time involved with board meetings moving from Kitimat to Terrace to the hinterlands like Joseph and Mary search- ing for an inn? Has voter apathy choked the democratic process in Kitimat? Or was everyone so busy with Christmas plans they had no time to file nomination Alliance leader Gordon Wil- son, the matter was briefly dis- cussed in the B.C, Legislature earlier this year, but Prime Minister Chretien has said nothing to allay the fears of the critics. In fact, he has said nothing at all about the MAI. Most Canadian interest groups opposed to the MAI have, so far, fought their batile on the Internet, but as of late, the publicity generated on the Net is spilling over into the tra- ditional public domain. People have begun writing letters to their Members of Par- liament, demanding details of the proposed agreement. My guess is it won’t be long before Ottawa will have ta come clean with Canadians. Meanwhile, world-wide op- position is mounting. While heads of state and ministers from many nations will meet in Geneva in February for the second Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organiza- tion (WTO) to celebrate the SOth anniversary of the multi- lateral trade system, another event is scheduled to take place in the same city a few days later. Representatives of anti-MAI groups from all continents will meet in Geneva to launch a worldwide coordination of papers? Unfortunately, acclamation cheats both the acclaimed trustee (A.T.)} and voters. How? The A.T. has no proof more than one voter believes he’s fit for the job. And with the job so difficult, voter support is a comfort. Imagine taking on the task uncertain whether anyone else thinks you have the credentials. Voters are cheated from find- ing out if the A.T. has the right stuff. We've not had a chance to see the ALT. in debate, Can he debate? Does he marshall logical reasons for his stance? Does he understand the issues? Has he a personal position or will he bend to every lobby group? And if he has a firm personal position on touchy is- sues — multiculturalism, na- tive and sex education, the arts, computer acquisitions —- what is it? The newest A.T, ran in a 200 Neer Vapors “7? Lip. ORGUAART OSCE REE ES eS ee ype Lo ee ey tas ter Le LNRM Oe ED PRET (PO) Then, PH rh! f) DAARUEATA TH Ry i oti aii 4 2 me SOAST!/ resistance against the global market, a new alliance of struggle and mutual support called the Peoples’ Global Ac- tion against Free Trade in gen- eral and the World Trade Or- ganization in particular. If the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment is as good an idea as the proponents would have as believe, why are no details of the proposal made public? Why the sectecy? If at the end of the negotia- tions, Ottawa is convinced that it’s a good deal for Canada to be part of the agreement, the best the public can hope for is a few days of debate in Parlia- ment. Aud that isn’t goad enough by a Jong shot. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney fought an election on the North American Free Trade Agreement, and to this day, Canadians don’t know whether they got a good deal. Many economists say much of eastem Canada’s manufactur- ing industry was killed by NAFTA. It’s time the public got some answers from Ottawa. Cana- dians shouldn’t have to buy an- other pig in a poke. ‘ Beyer can be reached at: Tel: (250) 920-9300; Fax: (250) 385-6783; E-mail: hubernt@coolcom.com prior Kitimat election, Kitimatians with good memories may recall his per- formance at all-candidates debates. However, Terrace Hazelton and Stewart voters may not have seen him in ac- tion before. We have no clic how he may choose to spend our inadequate education dol- lars. And news media have no overwhelming interest in profiling an acclaimed politician. Sidestepping a by-election has saved the district money. A bonus on the balance sheet. But is shortchanging demo- cracy a saving in the long run? A by-election would have given the school district a report card on the first third of this board’s mandate, Instead, the board will claim this ac- clamation shows voters are satisfied with their stew- ardship. And-who can argue? POPULATION 2:5 MILLION P! TYPICAL. - + St SOUTHERN \ Pepua tite a ra ar a i ae ed