4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, November 18, [987

nae

Editorial

Deregulation in

The only surprising element in
the deterioration of air services
to Terrace after deregulation is
the fact that anyone is surprised.

Members of the flying public
who expected the effects of de-
regulation in the United States
to be transplanted intact into the
Canadian aviation industry have
failed to account for the broad
differences in geography and
population distribution between
Canada and the U.S. The rela-
tively strict regulation in the
Canadian industry came about
decades ago, and for very good
reasons - the only way to ensure
air service to small, remote com-
munities was to allow airline
companies to move in under the
protection of a monopoly while
having tariffs subject to regula-
tory approval to prevent goug-
ing.

The loosening of regulation in
both route licensing and tariff
monitoring has to be taken as an

indication that the government .

believes the situation has chang-
ed so extensively that the travel--
ling public in most parts of the
country can be served effectively:
by allowing free market forces,
or in other words profit motives,
to find their own level.

In the case of Terrace and its
rs

Letters to the editor will be con-
‘sidered for publication only when
signed, Please include your
telephone number. The editor
reserves the right to condense and
edit letters. Opinions ‘expressed
are not necessarily those of the
Terrace Review,

errace’
Review

Established May-1, 1985

The Terrace Review Is published each
Wednesday by
Close-Up Business Services Ltd. :
Pubilsher:
Mark Twyford
Editor:
Michael Kelly
Staft Reporter:
Ted Strachan
Advertising Sales:
Dennis Lissimore

Production:

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Office:

Linda A. Capeland, Phillip Musselman

Accounting:
Mar] Twyford, Rosemary McGettigan

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registration No, 8896,

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duced for any reason without permission of tha

ublisher,
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oO! p.

4535 Greig Avenue,
Terrace, B.C,
V&G 1M7
Phone: 635-7840
ee}

_strong stands on the issues in-

market

neighboring Northwest. com-
munities, that level is a distinctly
low one. The complaints against
Canadian Airlines International
can no longer be written off as a
few isolated incidents, and even
local government bodies have

volved. -

The airline has put itself in a
rather awkward position, not
unlike Ronald Reagan in rela-
tion to the Iran-Contra scandal,
in being forced to admit either
incompetence or intentional ne-
glect. It has done neither, main-
taining that the service is ade-
quate despite an overwhelming -

continued on page 18

_ Mine industry in rocky shape —

growing awareness by governments, particularly the provincial —

The latest annual report on the mining
industry by Price Waterhouse should be re-
quired reading for every British Columbian
of voting age.

When things are bad for British Colum-
bia’s resource industries, they're bad for all
of us, and things aren’t that good, at least
notin the mining sector, ©

First the bottom line:. of 23 producing

. mines, 12 reported profits in'1986; totalling
Hubert'Beyer $91 million; the other 11 reported combin- -
in Victoria ed losses of $132 million. That’s a net los

for the industry of $41 million, .

Mining is big business. The book value of B.C.’s mining industry.

is estimated at about $5.5 billion, nearly twice as much as it was
worth in 1981. Yet, despite this increase, mainly due‘to the
Quintette operation at the northeast coal fields, the current finan-

cial state of the industry remains shaky.

Nothing tells the story of an industry better than the investment it
attracts. Last year, combined capital and exploration expenditures
amounted to a mere $207 million. That’s the lowest since (1978 and
compares very unfavorably with 1983, when capital and exploration
expenditures reached nearly $1 billion, Lo

Nor was 1983 the only good year. For three previous. years,
capital and exploration expenditures had crashed through the $800
million mark. Those were the years when Quiniette and Bullmoose
spent $1.4 billion in the northeast coal fields: another $1.3 billion
was spent in the East Kootenay area.

Employment in the mining industry has also been on the decline
for several years. In 1986, 897 jobs in the industry were eliminated,
while only 155 new jobs were created. .

Still, the mining industry remains an important employer, putting
bread and butter on the tables of 14,000 workers and their families.
With a multiplier factor of 1.5, the industry was responsible for the

.indirect employment of another 21,000 people in B.C. and a further

21,000 elsewhere. The total payroll last year was $591 million in
salaries and $81 million in benefits. ,

Not that the mining industry is about to fade into the Canadian
sunset,. There is still hope. According to the report by Price
Waterhouse, there were “‘signs of improved financial performance”
last year, Despite low world prices for almost all mineral com-
modities, increased productivity and slightly lower government
charges resulted in a better cash-flow position. i

Tom Waterland, president of the Mining Association of B.C.,

puts things in perspective by pointing.out that the industry con-_

tinues to be the province’s second-largest producer of goods.
‘The industry makes a significant contribution to the economic

‘well being of British Columbia, and with further and continued co-

operation with government, the industry will continue to make this
contribution,’’ Waterland says.

Waterland should know what he’s talking about. He is a mining
engineer by profession. He also served as cabinet minister in the Bill
Bennett government, including a stint as minister of energy and
mines, In fact, Waterland never thought of entering politics until.
the NDP government slapped a super-royalty on mining industry

back in the mid-seventies. Premier Vander Zalm could do worse

than listen to Waterland’s advice.

Waterland says the industry needs help from the government to
survive the continuing world slump in mineral commodities, As
long as cash-starved governments put the make on an equally cash-
starved industry, the latter is bound to be in bad financial shape.

Last year, three levels of government collected $388 million from
the mining industry. That’s already an improvement over 1985

when the industry shelled out $415 million, The decrease is due to a

government, that the mining industry needs help. To that end, pro-

perty taxes, the provincial sales tax and taxes related to employment

were reduced last year.

More assistance is needed, however. The choice is simple. Either .

government makes do with less revenue from the mining industry
now and assures its survival, which amounts to a guarantee of
future revenues, or it lets the industry go down the tube and gets

nothing later,

~Waterland has never’ been known to cry- wolf, He’s an eminently

reasonable man who knows a problem when he sees it. The question
is: will Vander Zalm believe him and take the steps necessary to

assistance? |

Insult to injury —
; package of 20 peanuts. To top . .
off this charade the staff on

Letter

An open letter to Canadian
Airlines International;

Iam writing you regarding the
atrocious service your airline
provides the Terrace, Smithers,
Prince Rupert area. This letter is
based on my personal experience
and not hearsay.

On Oct. 31, 1987 we were
booked on flight 627 from Ter-
race to Vancouver via Smithers
scheduled to leave at 10:25 a.m.
We were notified that the flight
would be a half hour late, due to
a shortage of aircraft. It arrived
approximately one hour late.

After we boarded the plane we
were advised that there would be

a further delay due to a load’

problem that had to be corrected
by moving baggage to balance

the aircraft. We left for Smithers -

at approximately 12:30 p.m. .
‘While on. the tarmac at

Smithers we were advised that

due to weather conditions in

Vancouver it was necessary to.

load additional fuel to ensure we
could reach another airport,
should the need arise; however,

this meant (so we were told) that

our luggage would have to be
left behind for another flight
that would arrive Vancouver
Airport at 10:45 p.m.

We finally took off from
Smithers at about 2 p.m. and we
were then advised that ‘‘some-
one’’ had forgotten to load the
hot meals that were supposed to
be provided on this flight. In
place thereof we had a choice of
coffee, tea or a soft drink and a

keep the mining industry afloat ‘until it swims again without

board didn’t have the courtesy

. to provide us with a magazine
_which would have helped us to

forget how hungry we were after
a light breakfast of coffee and
toast six hours previously.

This was my first flight since -.

the amalgamation of. C.P.A.

and P.W.A. and it will be my:

last with your. airline if I have a
choice in the future. I find ‘it
practically impossible to believe

that a level-of service (based on:
CP Air) could deteriorate to its ,

present totally. unacceptable low
level in such a short time.

For every inconvenience we
experienced we received an
apology but if the following is
closer to the truth perhaps we
should have been told: (1) You
didn’t forget to load our lunch
(which we paid for in our fare).
You had no intention of pro-
viding us with a meal. (2) You
didn’t take on extra gas at

Smithers; you loaded freight in -

place of our luggage. (3) As your
staff didn’t have to serve us a
meal, surely they could have

distributed some reading mater-
ial; or are they putting in such -

long hours they can’t even think
straight? (4) The weather when
we arrived in Vancouver was ex-
cellent. It seems apparent to me
that the freight you loaded
received much more considera-

tion than our luggage and the in-.

convenience this. caused your

‘customers.
Our luggage arrived at the
hotel approximately 1:45 a.m..

continued on page.§

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