Issues analysis

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~ How the economy and health care stack up leading to the May 17 election

Health
care
ups and
downs

. LET’S GO through the list. °

@ A renovated regional psychiat-.
ric unit at Mills Memorial Hospital.

M@ A first-ever six-bed dialysis -
unit at Mills Memorial Hospital.

@ A (first-ever regional adult
mental health . residential facility,
the Seven Sisters, which opened this
year. ” 2 .

@ Tenders closing this week on

_ @ project to renovate the emergency
room at Mills Memorial Hospital
. and to move the intensive care unit

to the main floor. .
@ The opening of a licensed prac-
tical nursing program at Northwest
Community College. It takes 24 stu-

THREE years ago saw the first students enroll in ‘Northwest Community College’ ‘Ss new licensed practinal
nurse training program.’Those are members of the first graduating class Terrace students Joan Papps,
Peter Gill and Kitimat student Linnea Devries. They’re seen here practicing moving patients. FILE PHOTO

dents each year.

@ The start, this fall, of a Bach- to the area.

The Northern Health Author-

The Liberals have responded by

elor of Science in Nursing program
at Northwest Community College.
Eighteen students will do their first
two years at the college and their
final two years at the University of
Northern B.C. here in Terrace.

@ Beginning next fall, a regular
rotation at Mills Memorial Hospi-
tal of student doctors frorn the just-
opened medical school at UNBC i in
Prince George.

@ Ambulance: stations in Ter-
race and elsewhere are now staffed

- around the clock...

It’s a pretty impressive list given
that it has all taken place since 2001.
It’s also an impressive list upon
which the provincial Liberals can
base an election campaign. —

There are still nursing shortages
at Mills and at other health care fa-

cilities, but. it’s hard to, say if there

will éver be enough nurses.
.The placement here of the li-

censed practical nursing program at

the college and the start of the Bach-

elor of Science in Nursing program

this fall recognize the reality. that
training northerners for northern
jobs is important... ,
It also provides a double bonus
for the Liberals — people from the
north will be trained to fill, north-
em vacancies and the infrastructure
_ needed for their education and train-
” ing will provide an economic boost

Aside from’ normal fluctuations,

“the number of doctors has remained

fairly steady over the years.

There has been a problem in find-
ing psychiatrists to live and work in
the northwest and to provide services
at the regional psych unit at Mills but
a workable solution has been found
to involve local general practitio-

ity has responded fairly well to the
challenge, It has bundled together a
system of volume buying of equip-
ment and supplies to obtain mass
discounts. It has physician and nurse

‘recruiters in each of its administra-

ners. The number of operations and _

procedures at Mills Memorial Hos-
pital has risen to the 2,500 level.
A plan crafted way back in 2002

to increase by 10 the number of acute ,

care beds at Mills Memorial has yet
to come about.

The most important change -to
health care introduced by the Liber-
als was the creation of regional au-
thorities in late 2001 to replace com-
munity-based health councils.

tive sub-regions.

The authority has also avoided
large-scale contracting out of food
and house keeping services which

’ have caused controversy elsewhere

in the province.
Where the authority did not have

‘much choice is the 15 per cent wage

cut imposed by the province on vari-
ous health care unions such as the

Hospital Employees’ Union.

__ Up here that takes the form of the —
‘Northern Health Authority which is...

“headquartered in Prince George with
smaller management units scattered
through the region. In northern terms
it’s a huge enterprise with a budget
in the $450 million range and clos-
ing in on 6,000 employees.

* The idea is to have a stand alone
authority operating with a certain
amount of freedom from the provin-
cial government to make decisions
that make sense. But it still must op-
erate within general conditions set
down by the B. C. government. ~<

{

_ That brought on a province-wide
strike last year and a brief defiance
of back to work legislation.

One of the mysteries of the wage

cut is that it included licensed prac- |
tical nurses, the .very..same.class of.

employee the system says it needs.
So don’t expect a lot of health care
workers to be terribly supportive of
the Liberals come election day May
17.
The great unknown of health care
here and elsewhere is providing beds
and services for seniors and others
who need care.

NDP leader Carole James is mak-
ing much of a failed Liberal pledge
to provide 5,000 long term care

saying there are now different lev-.
els of senior and other care, .rang-
ing from food and house keeping
services so people can stay in their
homes longer right up to high need
institutional care. A perfect example
of supported housing care is Mc-,
Connell Estates which is adjacent,

to Terraceview Lodge. Construction

; started under the NDP.

Where the overall plan will firmly»:
take root in Terrace is at Terracev-
iew Lodge. Five of the beds there are. -
no longer designated for long-term

care but are assigned for short- “Stay ;

i

patients.

These are people who normally
live.with’ family but who can stay
at Terraceview temporarily to give
their regular caregivers a break. |
Beds at Terraceview have already
been redesignated to a high level of

“Services called complex’ care.

There will inevitably be a cut in
the number of beds at Terraceview
as other services are put in place.
Those reductions have been delayed

, because of a lengthy waiting list but

that is no longer as long as it once
was. .

It’s, an open question as to how
people will respond to a system
geared toward all levels of care as
opposed to the perception that fewer

‘ beds at Terraceview means a loss of

services.

beds. a

Dormant economy / Starting to revive

DAMN THAT Dan Veniez.
Had not the owner of New Skeena Forest -Prod-

ucts been so driven and so stubborn in pursuing -

his vision of recreating a lean and mean timber
and pulp company from the ashes of Skeena Cel-
_ lulose, things would be looking a lot rosier for

Skeena Liberal incumbent Roger Harris in this _

election.
Instead, Veniez took Terrace and the northwest

ona three-year single-minded roller coaster ride -

of psychological ups and downs involving battles
with unions, logging companies and municipali-
ties. It finally ended late last year when he placed
New Skeena in bankruptcy.

“If Veniez had pulled the plug a lot earlier, then

‘perhaps the threat of the Terrace sawmill being
sold off in pieces would have brought out the
local entrepenuerial juices a lot sooner. Perhaps
the Terrace Lumber Company, born in the week
leading up to the planned auction this past Febru-
ary, would have been created earlier and the mill
would have been open already.

The hammering the northwest suffered these

past years wasn’t supposed to happen.

To be sure, Liberal intentions were clear go-
ing into the 2001 election. If elected, a Liberal
government would not be in the business of being

_in business. And that mean an end to the previ-
ous NDP government’s financial propping up of
Skeena Cellulose.

That’s exactly what happened - the Liberal

government let Skeena Cellulose/New Skeena ©

find its own level in the economy in a petri dish
experiment of free enterprise tough love.

Nobody expected the Veniez and New Skeena
scenario to play out as long as it did.

And the provincial government did not take
into account the all- -encompassing position Skee-
na Cellulose/New Skeena had in the economic
and social fabric of the region.

If Premier Gordon Campbell talked about B. C.
~ becoming a have-not province under the 1990s

NDP governments, then the northwest became his
- government’s very own have-not region in this
decade as other regions began to thrive.

Jobs disappeared, stores and schools emptied,
property values plunged, savings were eaten up,
food bank lines increased and untold numbers of
people moved away while the Skeena mills re-
mained closed.

The decision to let Skeena find its own way is
in stark contrast to what the Liberal government
did recently when the movie and television indus-

iin

aus

BRYAN HALBAUER 2 parked, his: loaders in
. front of the TD Bank, protesting its decision
not to rhonour cheques from Skeena Cellu-
‘lose’s that company was granted bankruptcy

. FILE PHOTO

try on the lower mainland spoke about leaving
that region in favour of other provinces offering
greater tax. breaks.

Before you could say “action,” the provincial
government matched those tax breaks.

. The northwest economy didn’t get any favours
from the Liberals either when it began to axe civil
service jobs and facilities in 2002.

The disappearance of what were once fairly
stable and well paying jobs, when combined with

protection in 2001.

. the Skeena closures, acted as a twin-hammer blow

in the northwest.

A study released last week by the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives states the north-
west lost 142 provincial civil service jobs between
2001 and 2004, a reduction of 28 per cent. Greater
Victoria lost 1,306 jobs in the same period, a nine
per cent reduction.

That 142 jobs total is more than doubie the
amount of a one-shift operation would produce at -
the Terrace Lumber Company.

_ As was the case with New Skeena, the Liberals
probably factored in an employment gap. But that
gap between cutting back on the civil service and
the arrival of new private sector jobs i is taking far
longer than expected. .

Only this spring’are results being seen in either
direct Terrace jobs or through an indirect impact
from new employment elsewhere.

M@ Nova Gold is spending money in Terrace
to support its Galore Creek gold development up —
north.

@ The container port in Prince Rupert will

. provide jobs for people who will come to Terrace

to shop. ~ }

& Those employed in the growing cruise ship
industry in Prince Rupert will also be coming to
Terrace to shop.

@ The port project also opens up manufac-
turing and other possibilities. for enterprises who

_ need quicker. access to and from Asian markets.

@ Shell did find coal bed methane natural gas
up north but its efforts are on hold because of in-
teal Tahltan political strife.

@ A longer runway at the airport here will

prove attractive to air carriers, particularly those

which offer freight services.

@ The provincial government has turned’ over
lands surrounding the airport to the city, clearing
the way. for the city to make large parcels avail-
able for industrial users.

‘ME There’s opportunity for small scale saw-

_ millers and loggers in the area, adding a layer of

diversification to the woods industry.

@ Premier Gordon Campbell has promised to
spend $2.5 million to map out what’s needed to
build a resource road leading north and east from
Hwy37 North to ‘an area of mineral and forestry
potential.

. NDP leader Carole James likes to say high
commodity prices are driving the burgeoning pro-
vincial economy.

There’s truth to that. But there’s also truth
that businesses respond more enthusiastically to
a government philosophically tuned to their way
of thinking.

Roger Harris’s re-election hinges on voters
forgetting about the past lost years in the expec-
tation that his government’s business-friendly at-
mosphere will bring tangible returns to the north- -
west.

ah dia’ shat i

able vote.

/

, 4
The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - A5

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD
roe
The Mail Bag
Teach, don’t preach

Dear Sir:

The NDP seems to pride itself on supporting things
like pro-choice, tolerance for different living and lifestyle
choices but these seem to be lost on parts of the local

_ teacher’s association. .

Why is part or maybe all of the local teacher’s, asso-
ciation telling their students who their parents must vote
for? Is this the NDP showing their true colours? It seems
to be that the students are not being taught how to think —

‘at all only brainwashed into thinking the party’ line. It is

very irresponsible to tell a student what to think not how
to think.

_ Stop fooling around teachers. Telling students what to
think did-not work in the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germa-

ny, or even in recent Iran.
Bill Braam, Terrace, B. Cc.

Support independents
Dear Sir:
As a member of Veritas school council, lam concerned
about the upcoming provincial election. -
Gordon Campbell of the B.C. Liberals has stated firmly
that his government intends to uphold the current funding
formula to B.C. independent schools. On the other hand,

oy

the NDP has provided no indication as to what their intent -

is regarding independent schools.

We have reason to believe that the NDP is‘actually
' considering the prospect of phasing out the funding that is

critical to independent schools like Veritas. -

I urge all supporters of independent schools to consider:
this critical issue when they go to the polls. ”

- Gord Schuss, Terrace, B B.C.

nae)

Who are these guys?

Dear Sir:

Who is this Carole James woman who is running as
leader of the NDP? And what does Robin Austin have to
do with this nonsense? Come to think of it, didn’t Roger

- Harris,win the seat for Skeena in the last provincial shoot-’

out? What'has he been doing for the past four years? Is he

running this time round? .

About the only region of B.C. that appears to be pros-

pering is the Lower Mainland, which has been promised.
‘the 2010-Olympics as a large carrot on a small stick. I
' have to hand it to Mayor Jack Talstra. He and the council’ ”
are the only responsible politicians around this area. Their .

leadership brought about a good buyout of the mill and
a startup date that shows more promise than any of the
vacuum attempts of previous provincial governments; the
sucking sound going south ~ to the Lower Mainland.
They proved that even.a province like B.C., which
lurches from one junta to another and back again, there

” are responsible ways of doing business i in towns like Ter-
"race,

* Brian Gregg, Terrace, B. Cc.

Notable absence

Dear Sir:

‘| attended-the Terrace all-candidates meeting, and ;the:
education all-candidates forum. What stood out was ‘the’
political polarization of the former. The education all can-
didates meeting was sponsored by a broad cross-section
of educators and the prospect of airing educational con-
cerns prior to the election seemed timely and valuable.

The evening was marred, however, by Roger Harris’s
decision not to attend. This brings to mind another memo-
rable town hall meeting in 2001 in which Roger’s absence
was similarly conspicuous.

Roger’s refusal to attend these meeting indicates. an
unwillingness to dialogue with his constituents on issues
where he may receive flack. I suppose he thinks that going

_ to town hall meetings and education forums won’t net any —
new votes so why bother to attend a potentially unpleas-

ant event.

I believe that an elected representative should be will-
ing to engage in dialogue and consider: the views of all
constituents — not just those who. are likely to cast a favor-

Homework needed

Dear Sir:

NDP candidate Robin Austin, at the April 27 educa-_
tion forum, claimed the B.C. Liberal government has °
embarked on a mission to disturb public education to the
point where the private sector would provide educational
services. for profit. One must wonder what this is based
on.. Even more puzzling is how a community schools co-

ordinator could be so out of touch with reality surround-

ing education.

In the 2605 budget, the province increased per-student
funding to $7,097, a record high. That’s $881 more per.
student since the Liberals took office in 2001, even though
enrolment across the province has dropped by roughly
29,000 in that period.

The NDP platform promises to allow to teachers to

_ strike and deny students access to an essential service.
During the 1990s, over four million student days were

lost due to labour disputes. Before making ridiculous
statements, Mr. Austin should do his homework. It is be-
haviour like this which demonstrates the NDP’s lack of |
credibility.

Donald van Dyk, Terrace, B.C.

Be transparent
Dear Sir: —

In the last election the people were promised improved
education, and health care. The result was closed schools
and hospitals. \We have one party supported by big: busi-
ness, with a deep purse, and the other party supported by
unions and the people. Our current government said they
will not sell of Crown assets, but only god knows what
this government sold off. Maybe the time has come where
anew government comes into power and wheh they write
a contract on what there agenda is and be transparent to
the people. And above all; be honest.

David Badge, Terrace, B.C,

About the Mail Bag

- Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our
Terrace, B.C. V8G S5R2.

The
address is 3210 Clinton St.,

You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at
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Name, address and phone number required for verification.

Ian MacLean, Terrace, B.C.

GS