aa score fF sv ewwee Oe re on eee me ee ne ek ee eR ee me ee ee we ee a ee ee ce Ce i ae : vestment overregulated and “taxed. Mining company executive questions NDP MP’s claims Dear Sir: Skeena-Bulkley | Valley NDP. MP Nathan Cullen - continues his amisinforma- tion campaign . against the Tulsequah Chief mine proj- ect and gets his information ‘wrong — once again. His ‘recent. - published statements indicate that he is supportive of any econom- ic development “that goes through °,“meaningful con- sultation” and will not harm the environment. Then he slams Tulse-. quah, which is our project, because “ building a road in this pristine wilderness will. ' irreparably impact sensitive salmon runs and ‘effectively wipe out a caribou herd.” Clearly then Mr. Cullen could never have supported the Golden Bear gold mine which operated from 1988 ‘to 2004 using'a 155km road into. the same “pristine” wil- derness.and the same sensi- —— CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD © ~The Mail Bag |an tive salmon habitat. . He would have thrown away the hundreds of man- ‘years of jobs that mine cre- . ated and the huge benefit to — - the Tahltan First Nation. » And he obviously. has no comprehension ‘of the hun- -dreds of kilometers of public highways and forestry roads safely crossing salmon-bear-. ing fish habitat throughout his riding. lt-also. makes one won- der what he considers to be meaningful consultation. In the case of Tulsequah we are talking about seven. years of multi-jurisdictional consultation and First Na- Minister bullish Dear Sir: I would like to set the record straight on the resur- gence of mining in B.C. ‘During: the NDP_ years, we lost half the jobs, half the mines, and industry was over- Industry was living with arbitrary land use deci- sions’ that left them shaking their heads. This resulted in mining capital fleeing the province under the NDP. _ - Since this’ government was voted in, we acknowl- edged that mining is an in- - tegral part of British Colum- _ bia’s ‘economy, particularly in the northwest. Mining exploration . in- in the’ Terrace’ : area has increased under my — government. Mining invest- § -rment in the northwest over . doubled from 2003 to 2004, to over $55 million. Not so golden Dear Sir: » Tonight the school board will make its decision on the school calendar for 2005- “2006. The poor turnout at consultation meetings © is a sign of the lack of real choice. Once: again | the deci- - sion is really a question of . where to make cuts to meet an inadequate budget. The choice is either.to continue the four day week or return © to a five day week-with re- duced staffing, increased class size, reduced services, fees for bussing, cuts to sup- plies and resources, or any . number of yet to be deter- mined measures. Only when "the district can truly afford a five day week, without hav- ing to cut somewhere else, will we really ‘know what partners:.in education think about the four day week. Education was never the driver for the decision two years ago. It was not based on rigorous studies indicat- ing that students do better. No, the slim data available was mainly out of the US, who lags behind Canada in . education results, and: was mainly initiated to reduce ’ .bussing time and costs. Ed- ~ ycation is not the focus this ' year either; it is stili'money. meee we . four day week to balance the — There has been a deepen- ing unhealthy preoccupation with money. The first lens is ‘always financial. Often there is no other lens. It is remarkable that even though the district went to a budget, now even that is not enough; a projected short- fall of $206,000-$452,000 ‘remains with that “choice.” The deficit amount depends ; -on the substance of the fund- - ing announcement. indefensible that in the de- - It veloped country of Canada, in a province headed into a so-called golden decade we can not “afford” to fund five days of school in a week. Veralynn Munson, Terrace and District Teachers’ Union, Terrace, B.C. ‘is ties and jobs. ‘The Kalum: exploration project shows great promise as a new gold and possibly copper site. There was also ‘significant exploration ac- tivity on the adjacent LCR property and on the Darda- nelle prospect on the > Copper - River. There is resurgence, :in coal activity. Northeast coal ~ transported by. rail through the northwest corridor will provide business opportuni- . a tions involvement .deemed appropriate by no less than the Supreme Court of Can- | ada. That is far more extensive consultation than any mine project past or existing in ‘ British Columbia. If Tulse- ‘quah doesn’t measure up to Mr. Cullen's standards then ‘I submit there is no project , ,}° that would do so. So what's left? Ecotourism?) I eagerly await his environmental plan for all those sustainable jobs in the northwest - President, Redfern Resources Ltd. Vancouver Terry Chandler, Terry Chandler . sn mining The recently released mining plan clearly sets out the importance of positive and working relationships with communities and First Nations through support, consultation, able long-term benefits. A full recovery: of min- ing in B.C. will take time, -determination and commit- "ment on behalf of all parties involved.- but’ our plan is working and we are seeing. - an unprecedented recovery. Our days and nights -were painful. Pa inful _ because we. had.an. 1 year. - oldson who wasn't going to school or Sleeping in his own bed. ' Everyone was held hostage by ‘his fears. logon [O. and sustain- . ‘Thehistory of the NDP was bad public policy and - bad decision-making. . ' Happily that era is over. Mining is back in BC, and’ a mining industry that is a thriving, globally competi-_ tive, safe and environmen- tally responsible benefits all’ British Columbians. . Pat Bell, Minister of State for © Mining, _ Victoria, B.C, HereToHelp bec | 1-800-661-2121, or call DOUBLE BED . {fj oO The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - AZ CRIME at 56351 STOPPERS | 10 YEAR NIVERSARY. SALE APRIL 9" SPECIAL RATE FINANCING ~ SAME-DAY APPROVAL THE SALE. OF THE YEAR YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! 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