Ad - The Terrace Stondard, Wednesday, September 25,2002. TERRACE: ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 WEB: www.terracestandard.com , ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. = V8G 5R2 EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.cam Your $30 million RECENT NEWS that part of the sales agree-. ment for Skeena Cellulose between the provin- cial government and its new owners, NWBC Timber and Pulp involved a $30 million contri- bution from taxpayers is a matter of concern. The money is for an environmental clean up at SCI’s Prince Rupert pulp mill. PCBs from old electrical equipment have leaked out onto the ground and asbestos must be removed. Plans are to spend the $30 million in tax money over the first five years of a lengthy project. NWBC will kick in perhaps $15 million in subsequent years as its cash flow and profit position im- prove. Enterprise minister Rick Thorpe, who handled the sales deal, defends the $30 million hand over, saying that without it, a purchase deal might not have been struck. (Reports indi- cate other potential purchasers wanted as much as $100 million). Mr. Thorpe also notes that the province ended up with the liability when the previous NDP government took over ailing SCI in 1997. He says a clean up is the environment- ally right thing to do, adding that had the mill not been purchased, the province would have ended up with the bill anyway. Mr. Thorpe is correct on all counts. And herein lies the concern. It seems there were never proper regulatory provisions made over the years for large industrial concerns to post environmental clean up bonds as a guarantee that should they go out of business, there would at least be some money for the task. Such provi- sions do exist in the. mining industry, so extend. ing’ them’ to industrial concetlig si€l as pulp companies should not be a stretch. |” : If we are now in an era of no subsidies to bu- sinesses, then it stands to reason that should also include responsibilities for environmental re- mediation. How many other potential environ- mental problems are out there for which we might end up being financially responsible? The other matter of concern with this $30 million for NWBC is that it was a very quiet arrangement. There was no mention of it when the sales agreement was announced earlier this year and word came out only in mid-August. Government officials says this wasn’t a secret deal. There was mention of environmental mea- sures in the fine print of financial information related to the $400 million-plus write off of the province’s investment in SCI in the spring. But the $30 million was included in the global amount; there was no specific listing. - That’s not the kind of thing to expect from a government which promised more openness and transparency. Indeed, the province has yet to release the full text of the sales agreement with NWBC. Does it contain any other little gems? Full disclosure will answer that question. PUBLISHER /EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel , NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman 1 2001 WINNER SEA BEERS NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang =, ‘COMPETITION FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Stacy Gyger TELEMARKETER: Stacy Gyger COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.25(+$3.94 GST)=60.19 per year; Seniors $49.50 (+$3.47 GST)=52,97; Out of Province $63.22 (+$4.43 GST)=67.65 Outside of Canada (6 months) $152.34 (+$10.66 GST)=163.00 MEMBER OF —_ B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, (? CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION AND CNA sere: B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www. beprasecouncli.org) “Tea Gateaats ced Feta” Serving the Terrace and Thomhill area. Published on Wednesday of each weak al 3210 Clinton Streat, Terrace, British Columbla, ¥8G SR2. Stories, photographs, Illustrations, dasigns and typestyles in the Tartace Slandard are the property of the copyrigh! holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd, its iustation repro sarvices and advertising agenclas. Pieproducton In whole or in part, without writen parmission, is specifically prohiblied. Authorized as sacond-class mall panding the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for thelr time and talents 0 ne a eee a nn ne oes ye @iieeo2 Size of deficit should be a worry. VICTORIA — 1 don’t want to tain on Gary Collins’ parade unnecessarily. After all, he’s a brand-new daddy, and even if you’re the finance minister, you’re entitled ta some slack. But something about his latest pronouncements seems a bit out of whack. Here’s what the esteemed Minister of Finance for the province of British Columbia said when he released the government’s first quarterly report for the fiscal year 2002-03 just recently: “The government's three- year budget and fiscal plan is on track, with spending under control, revenues climbing and B.C. leading all Canadian pro- vinces in job growth.” That’s pretty good news in- deed. I mean, who wouldn’t want the budget and fiscal plan to be on track? Who would complain about climb- ing revenues? And who could possibly argue against job growth? So what's got the fi- nance minister so excited? The economy, ‘he said, is growing faster than the Lib- erals’ forecast. Revenues, he added, are Tunning ahead of expectations, government ministries are spending less money than they ' planned, and presto, the anti- cipated deficit this year is going to be smaller that fore- cast. “The quarterly report shows clearly that our efforts to re- Store prosperity are beginning to pay off,” Collins said. What's IF UNBELTED drivers think police and public can’t tell they’re ignoring the law, they’ve not sat watching traf. fic go by. Since July, ’ve spent more time than usual in a car, as a passenger or parked, waiting. Anywhere a car meets you, passes, or turns toward you at an intersection you can clearly see whether or not the driver is testrained by a seat belt, Two recent local deaths of unbelted people falling out of a car and being pinned or rolled over, has me noticing how many Terrace drivers at- tempt a similar fate, I’ve counted seven drivers in a tow without seat belt in ‘use. Last Saturday, the fore- noon tally was roughly 50 per cent of drivers belted, half un- belted. Do these drivers he- lieve Saturdays have a charm making them safer than any other day of the week? Males lead the number of unbelted drivers. I’m more dis- turbed, though, by the number of females driving unbelted. Children tend to be chauf- feured by mothers. If mothers FROM ‘THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER By April 1, 2004, the bud- get, he ventured, will show a $93 million surplus. Why, that’s a small surplus, but hey, better than a deficit. And speaking of deficits, there is a bit of a hitch. This year, the budget deficit is going to be in the neighbour- hood of $4.02 billion, roughly 40 times as much as the “modest” surplus Collins is ' predicting for April 2004..:. No economist, let alone “an airplane pilot, not even one imbued with the happiness and confidence that comes with new fatherhood, could possibly predict such a minuscule bud- get item. It needs mentioning that this deficit will be a re- cord in British Columbia his- — tory. And it could get worse. There are a number of “uncertainties,” he said that just might make his confiden- ce-inspiring $4 billion-plus de- ficit a wishful thinking. The economy is still reeling from shock of the U.S. tariff on softwood lumber, Collins said. The American economy could dip back into recession. The tax cuts are not paying for themselves. Money collec- ted from income tax is running $50 million behind even the fi- nance ministry's pessimistic forecasts. Much of the minister’s re- marks smacked badly of the drivel the previous NDP gov- ernment served up to tell us bad news with a good-news take by spin doctors. “We are doing a better job of controlling health-care costs, while keeping other costs in line. We’ve also seen major job growth. For many people, that has meant new opportunities to re-enter the workforce, regain self-suffi- ciency and contribute to B.C.'s economic health.” And speaking of spin-doc- tors, take a.look at the govern- ment site (www.pov.bc.ca). It's bad enough to make you sick. “One year into its term, the government has now comple- ted or begun work on more than 6f) per cent of its New Era commitments, with over 130 priorities fulfilled or under- way,” crows one headline. “The government has im- plemented strong, scientific regulations that will allow sus- tainable growth of the aqua- culture industry, creating new jobs in coastal communities,” says another, That would refer to the lif- ting of the moratorium in fish farms. Scientific regulations, in- deed. Pressure from the aqua- culture lobby is more like it. With all due respect to Gordon - Campbell, the Premier, trust David Suzuki more than the Fraser Institute types when it comes to the dangers of fish farming. But I digress. At hand is a wildly weird claim that a $4. billion-plus deficit is proof of - British Columbia's economic: recovery. You want to find out about? the province's recovery? Ask the nurses whose contract was: torn up. Ask the women who. were victims of rape and who. sought solace at crisis centres that had to close down because of funding cuts. Ask the public servants who lost their, jobs. Ask. the mer- chants|invevery, city, :town and! hamlet: of B.C. whose business has declined because” people’ are afraid to commit them- selves to major purchases. I’m afraid my idea of a new era of prosperity is based on a little more than political clap- trap, double-speak and the joys of new fatherhood. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: Inbert@coolcom.com; Tel (250) 381-6900; Web hitp://www.hubertbeyer.com up with the unbelted? THROUGH BIFOCALS' CLAUDETTE SANDECKI don’t value their own safety, how much care are they taking of their own children and other underage passengers? [ve heard drivers’ excuses for not clicking. Too busy. Can’t be bothered. They drive defensively. They might need to jump free if their car or truck ends up in a lake. Tell it to the undertaker. Ao unbelted driver would be shocked to know my thoughts. “Another idiot. Does driving unbelted make him MM 700 GET SWARED You RE SusT fg BECAUSE YOOALUIAYS IT CREATURES ay USE THE SAMETRANS! JI] OF HABIT! , Vv feel superior? Is he too lazy to take care of a details simple as clicking a belt? What other odds and ends in his life are left undone. Does he really be- lieve police and neighbours can’t tell he’s sitting there free as a streaker?” Don’t fall for that Arnold Schwarzenegger stuff where he and his glamourous hostage leap into a midget sports con- vertible and without reaching for a seat belt, race for ten minutes through wet city streets until a dead end looms. A concrete wall halts their getaway with only a faint jerk- ing of their heads back and forth. In real life that instant stop would smash Arnold ta mush and catapult him from the ve- hicle like jello from a sling- shot. Splat! Wise parents promote the double value of always praper- ly restraining their kids. First, wearing a seat belt becomes a safe habit. Secondly, kids in seat belts can't block the dri- vers’ view. They also argue less among themselves during Nol WERE Nor! WERE CREATURES OF RABBIT H GO AHEAD! KILL THEM EL long rides. It disturbs me to see, in the car ahead, a kid moving from side window to side window, or leaning out an open window with elbows on the door. ] figure any driver who ig- nores his seat belt thinks only of himself. He doesn’t mind- leaving his wife to raise the kids alone, to make his funeral arrangements, and to explain the circumstances of his sud- den death to grieving relatives and inquisitive neighbours, The fine for driving unbelted is $114 for a first offence. It goes up from there. If for no other reason than to save $114, I'd click my belt before turning the ignition key. A fine that Size would fund several best sellers. I click because I learned firsthand the value of a seat belt. Police can devote pre- cious time stopping cars: to check for seat belt compliance, but as long as drivers stockpile their common sense the num- ber of deaths due to being crushed or pinned outside an accident vehicle will rise.