Feds: ‘pull out

The closing of Indian Northern
Affairs Canada office marks the
end of an era/NEWS PAGE A10

Think global

Next week is International
Development Week and there’s
lots going on/COMMUNITY B1

Rink rampage

Two local curling rinks head out of
town this weekend in hopes of -
winning big/SPORTS Ci

WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 2, 1994

By MALCOLM BAXTER
NEWS THE city has concealed
information from the library
board about the expansion project
grant application has chairman
Willy Schneider wondering about
council’s intentions,

“T have to admit that ’'m begin-.

ning to become quils. suspicious
about what’s going on at city
hall,’’ Schneider said Sunday.

Thal reaction was prompted by
the discovery the city.had known
a decision on the BC 21. provin-
cial grant application had been
postponed and had-no! passed the
information on to the board.

At the Monday, Jan. 24 council
meeting, administrator ' Bob
Hallsor said word was expected
from Victoria by last Friday, this
Monday al ihe latest.

Contacted Friday aflemoon,
Hallsor said no answer had yet
been received.

However, when told the Ter-
race Standard had Icarned of the
postponement decision, Hallsor
admitted the city had known
about it “‘for a week’.

Explaining the decision to hold
back the news of the further
delay, administrator Bob Hallsor
said, ‘We were afraid we'd scare
off the sub-trades.”’

-- Those are the sub-contractors

who will take on specific parts of
the project. Their bids are part of
the overall price tag which main

ary.

As for how long the latest delay
might be, he said BC 21 had not
givena new date.

However, Skeena MLA Helmut
Giesbrecht said he understood it
would likely be another copie of
werks,

Describing the delay as dis-

“If the city has known and we don't

know,

| have to doubt the city’s
determination. TF eneeveas

esiesseere SCHNEIDER

contractor Wayne Watson quoted
in securing the job.

Normally, a quoted price is
good for 60 days only after the
date the bids are opened. Watson
has twice extended that deadline.

’ Hallsor said the last extension

was ‘a gentlemen’s agreement”

_the price was good until the pro-

vince gave an answer on the grant

_ application, expected at that time
lo be received by the end of Janu-"

appointing, Schneider said it
simply added to the frustration
the board feels,

‘He was also concemed the city

had still not passed on the news

as of Sunday afternoon,

“If the city has known and we
don’t know, I have to doubt the
city’s determination,’ he said,
adding any other reaction would
be “naive”,

Adding io his doubts about.

Willy Schneider
council’s will to proceed with the
project was the surprise inclusion
of nearly a quarter of a million
dollars in fees and referendum
costs to the total cost of the pro-
ject.

Council introduced that figure
at a mecting with the libary board
held last month,

“We never knew about it,’
Schneider said of the addition to
the project costs.

. "We mever seem fo know
where we stand.’”

s Computer kids and keypals

INFORMATION AGE: Parksida Elementary school Grade 3
students Juss Samara, Eric Eckert and Matthew Kelly ara
part af a classroom of students who send computer mes-
sages to “keypals” across North America thraugh a com-

puter network. And there was plenty of excitement around
the computer terminals when students in Apple Valley, Cali-
fomia, sent messages describing their earthquake experi-

ences. See story, page Bt,

Natives hold up wood

CONFLICTING LAND claims
and a native call for cto-
management agreements are
holding up the advertising of
wood sales in the northwest’s
newest timber supply area, a
forestry official says.

Anyone interested in the Cran-
berry Timber Supply Area (TSA),
is going to, have to wait till later

in February for bids to open, said:

Grmeme Hynd, Prince | Rupert
Forest Regton’s timber officer.
Back in December he. forest

service said it would offer by Jen-.
uary a number of one-year timber -
sales under ‘the ‘Small’ Business’

Enterprise Program, totalling
110,000 cubic metres of wood.
That was to be followed with
bids opening for another 100,000
cubic metres on a fong-term

‘foresi licence.

But as January drew to a close
Hynd said his office has failed to
agree with three native groups on
key issues,

The Nisga’a and thé Gitanyow,

which bolli claim portions of the
cutting area, are now pressing for

forestry co-management agrees
‘ments, he said. .

“Each wants more: progress on

“those” before: ‘we advertise - the

forest licence or timber sales,’’
Hynd said.

““The message we’ve received
so far is that they would prefer
we delay.”’

The Gitwangak band, however,
favors quick resumption of log-
ging to feed its shutdown mill at
Kitwanga, Hynd added.

‘For the last four years now
Thany people have. been ‘unem-
ployed because of the non-
operation of that mill,’” Hynd
said,

‘The Cranberry TSA, formerly’
“called Tree Farm Licence 51, had
. been allocated to Westar for se

in lts Kitwanga mill until the
company pulled out more than a
year ago.

Now the Gitwangak, who
bought the mill in 1993, are look-
ing at the Cranberry as a much

needed wood source.
But the Nisga’a and Gitanyow
have questions about the.

sustainability of the annual allow-

. able cut in the area, Hynd said.

“There have been statements to
the effect that there. should be no
logging or forest activity ...

“Bul from our point ¢ ae view. the ©
"whole purpose of the decision on

the’ Cranberry is to provide forest

75¢ PLUS 5¢. ast
VOL. 6.NO. ccae — :

THE DEFINITION of what
council can refer to in-camera
meetings should be broadened,
says councillor David Hull

Hull raised the issue at last
week’s meeting when referring
four items to an in-camera
committee of the whole, ©

Current council policy
specifies only personnel,
property and legal matters as
qualifying for behind-closed-
doors discussion.

Hull said two of the items he
wanted referred fell within the

definition, both involving
personnel,
However, while the

remaining two did not qualify,
he said they were of a
“sensitive’’ nature and should
not be discussed publically at
this stage.

It was not uncommon, he
pointed out, for council to be

In-camera policy
review said needed

faced with issucs where open
discussion could jeopardise a
project.

He therefore suggested it was
lime council overhauled its in-
camera policy to cover such
matiers.

Last month council stepped
outside the policy when
discussing. what its position
should be on the orthopedic

surgeon question.

(This was prior to health
minister Paul Ramsey's
decision.)

At the time, mayor Jack
Talstra argued the matter had
to go in-camera because it

involved “strategy”? which
would be undermined if made
public.

Other known non-qualifying
items recently sent to in-
camera included the naming of
three city streets.

Feds sign up
for Kemano ©
review party

THE FEDERAL government. will
participate in the province’s pub-
lic review of the Kemano Com-
pletion Project.

Fisheries minister Brian Tobin
made it official last Thursday.

He promised federal officials,
including key fisheries biologists,
will be made available to testliy
at the B.C. Utilities Commission
public review.

Stage 2 technical hearings are’

taking place in Prince George this
week.
"The interest of the new
government is to ensure a full
airing of opinion on the technical
issues involved,’’ Tobin sald,

Tobin made it clear the federal -
government doesn’t intend its
participation to threaten the 1987
Nechako Settlement Agreement, -
which gave Alcan approval to.
divert more waler from the
Nechako River.

"- “We are compelled to respect

the terms of the agreement,’
Tobin sald, “‘We cannot stop the
project. The province is in the
same position and made the same
point in establishing the inquiry.’”

Alcan vice-president Bill Rich
applauded the federal decision to
join the review.

“I have maintained all along — Ramsey said Friday. “There may

that Alcan has nothing to hide in
connection with the Nechako
fisheries protection plan agreed to
by the federal and -provincial
governments,’” he said. ,

“The previous govermment’s
reluctance to participate in the
heatings in more than a limited

sale

jobs at an early date and not wait
for talks that could go on for
quite some considerable time.”

Separate meetings throughout
January with all three bands
failed to settle issues, he said.’

‘That is the basic reason for the
delay. We're hoping it will be
resolved very socom...

“Then the. decision will be
made when advertising for small
"business sales and timber sales”’
will be posted, he said.

Logging would start about five.
weeks after the smafl business li-
censes go out, and more than a

“ year after the licence is advertised.

way was not particularly helpful
to us or to the review process.’”

But Cheslatta natives, whose
reserve land and grave sites were
flooded by the original Kemano
hydroclectric development in the
1950s, said Ottawa’s action isn’t.
good enous.

Alcan ’s Bill Rich is happy
that the federal govern-
ment has agreed to become
Part of a review into the
Kemane project.

They're demanding a full judi-
cial inquiry into both the Kemano
Completion. Project and. the
original Kemano hydroelectric
development, completed in 1954, -

Health minister Paul Ramsey,
the. province’s spokesman. on
Kemano, welcomed the federal
participation but called gn them
to‘ accept responsibility to share
any costs of changing the project
to reduce damage...

“The federal "government

“should step up to the table and be

part of the solution as well as
helping identify the problenis,’” .

well be significant costs of mitiga-
tion
“This project was partly ‘aU-

thorized by the federal govern-

ment. We believe they have an
obligation to share in the costs of
that mitigation.”

“Bilked_

. A 68-YEAR-OLD man. has
. been bilked’ out of more
" than $10,000, police say.
The money ‘was. taken
from the man’s bank ac-.
count over a period of about
45 days by someone who
had access fo the tan’s
bank card and personal |:
Identification number, sald |
~ Cpl. Rob McKay, last week.
_ He sald the thief went on a
" spending spree, but that tho.
stolen’ card has now been
recovarad
~~ Police ‘are: * investigath .
» but have so. far. laid 7
| charges. ,