Squish on the —

slopes of Slidvik

In which Herby Squish lays a
Swedish template over Beetle
Mountain and gets ready to
check the fit. -

s we learned last week,
a chance encounter at a

Vancouver convention

led to a long and lasting friend-
ship between two professional
foresters, Herby Squish from
Terrace and Sven Svenson from
Sweden. Eventually, that friend-
ship led Squish to Sweden to see’
for himself. Is there a Swedish
solution applicable to B.C.’s
forest problems? Or is that a
myth? . |

A number of things in Sweden
surprised Squish. And as he
worked his way to the top of
Beetle Mountain he reflected on
that excursion. |

On his arrival in Stockholm, he
had hailed a cab and his first
stop was the Swedish govern-

ment offices in the old section |

of town. He wanted to talk to a
member of the Green Party. If
there were any environmental
conflicts or concerns, that would
be the place to find out.

A neatly dressed secretary had
referred him to a Mr..Bjornson...
Down the hall and to the right.
Following name swapping and a
handshake, Squish got straight to

. his point. "What kinds of prob-
lems are you dealing with in the
forest industry here Mr. Bjorn-
son?"

Bjornson had looked confused.

"Problems?" he said. "Every-
thing in life has problems. But I
don’t quite understand the point
of your question."

"You know. Things like envi-
ronmental concerns.”

"Environmental concerns?"

For a moment, Bjornson pon-
dered the hustle of Swedish
commerce outside his window.
Then, with his gaze returning to
his Canadian visitor: "Well...
There are a few things we’re
working on. Very, very few. But
generally, everyone accepts
proven fact as truth... And there
is a universal commitment to
doing this right. So we are nor-
mally very proud of the way we
treat our forests in Sweden,"

"You mean there are’ no ques-
tions? The Swedish people fully
trust the laws and the govern-
ment here?" It was Herby’s turn
to be confused. "Why?" he
asked.

"I think it’s a historical point,"
Bjornson replied. "Swedes are
law-abiding people and they
have trust that Swedish officials
really try to do good jobs...
Instead of going doing bad jobs.
I think there’s a general feeling
of trust towards government and
the parliamentarians in Sweden."

"Why?" Squish repeated.

"I don’t think we will lose our

forests because of the practices |

of the companies. If we’re going
to lose trees in Sweden, it will
‘be because of the pollution and
the increase in acidity. You

_ Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 29, 1992 7

by Tod Strachan, in consultation with Rod Amold and Doug Davies

know... Acid rain,"

The conversation carried on in
a similar tone for about a half
hour. And ‘when Squish left
Bjornson’s office, he was shak-
ing his head. He couldn’t believe
it. The Green Party was known
for it’s environmental concerns.
And with forestry, they appar-
ently had none. .

"What kind of crazy country is
this,". he wondered, Environ-
mentalists, forest companies,
politicians and loggers...
Friends?

Squish boarded a train for his
two hour ride north to his
intended destination. The small
town of Slidvik. A town named
after Slidvik Hill... Or was it the
other way around? Squish could
never remember.

At any rate, it didn’t really
matter. Svenson worked in Slid-
vik for a large wood manufactur-
ing company called Svenland
and Sons, and Squish was far
more interested in Swedish for-
est practices than the names of
Swedish towns.

As the train slowed, Squish

took in the passing scenery with
keen interest. It was a pretty
little town, he decided, sitting at
the base of Slidvik Hill. Bor-

Highways awaits word from
Victoria on capital budget

The change in the provincial
government and grim rumblings
coming from the office of the
new finance minister appear
likely to have an effect on capi-
tal projects planned for high-
ways in the Northwest. The

extent of that effect is still not.

clear.

In May 1990 the ministry
announced a series of capital
projects for the Skeena region
proposed for building over sev-
eral years. On Dec. 23, 1991,
however, the new minister of
transportation and highways, Art
Charbonneau, said his ministry
was reviewing the status of all
capital projects. "If cutbacks
become a reality, our ministry
will be in a strong position to
revise our project list according
to priorities set now," he said.

. About half the projects pro-
posed in the May 1990 program
are already complete and many
of the other half are under way
to some extent, regional high-
ways manager Jon Buckle said
last weck. He expects the long
term projects that would run
over five or seven years, like the

rebuilding plan for Highway 37,
to suffer the effects of capital
funding cutbacks by the govern-
ment if cutbacks occur,

Major projects that have been
completed include the Shames
Mountain access road and over-
head rail crossings at Esker (20
kilometres west of Terrace),
Carnaby (at Kitsegeucla) and
Dumont (50. kilometres west of
Terrace). Projects that are par-
tially completed include paving
of the Nisga’a Highway.

A study of congestion and
traffic flows in the Terrace high-
way corridor was also part of the
1990 long range capital program.
The study was completed but no
action has been taken on it.

"One of the nice things about
this is that we developed the
program priorities with consulta-
tion, based on the collective
interests of the region. Those
prioritics are standing the test of
time quite well. We're feeling
very comfortable about that,"
Buckle remarked.

He also noted the distinction
between capital projects — new
construction — and rehabilita-

tion projects, which are im-
provements to existing roads and

Structures. Charbonneau’s Dec.

23 statement indicated that the
ministry’s:
when revised, will be centred on
safety and congestion problems
in urban areas. "It appears the
focus will be on Vancouver and
southern Vancouver Island;
that’s where the majority of the
bucks will go. We’re banking on
the rehab side," Buckle said.

The rehab projects, he said, are
backed by substantial technical
arguments and should not be in
danger from the possible cut-
backs to capital funding.

In view of Charbonneau’s
inclination to concentrate capital
money on the lower mainland,
cutbacks would probably spell
doom for radical improvements
to access for Usk. Buckle said
the $3 million bridge proposal to
teplace the community ferry
would unquestionably fall under
the category of capital improve-
ments. oe

Buckle expects to have a
clearer idea of the region’s
budget in February.

-week stay,

dered on the south by Slidvik
Lake. — .

"Slidvik?" His curiosity resur-
faced. Fellow passengers eyed
him curiously as he asked his
transparent reflection in the
window of the passenger car...
"Where is the imagination in this
town?"

Squish felt their curious stares.

But he didn’t care. Instead, he
decided he would ask Svenson
for the name of the mayor... "It
has to be Slidvik." More stares,

The train jerked to a halt and
Squish headed for the rear of the
coach. As he stepped onto the
platform he saw Svenson headed
his way with a broad smile and
outstretched hand. Squish didn’t
feel like a stranger here. He
knew he would enjoy his two

The next morning, Svenson

took Squish to the plant to show
him around. The first stop was

at Otto Svenland’s office. As is
the case with many small towns _

in B.C., he soon discovered,. the
town of Slidvik relied almost
entirely on Sveniand’s operation.

Sveniand wasn’t your typical

B.C. manager. As the president

of the company, he had spent

more time in the academic world

than in a corporate board room.

He knew exactly what forestry

in Sweden meant to the econ- -

omy. And he fully understood
his role in maintaining . tha
economy. ; wee

A brief tour of Svenland’s
operation. Some: casual conver-
sation. And it was time to leave.
To really understand, Squish had
to see the forest. And Svenson

had scheduled the necessary time

to accommodate him.

capital ' priorities, .

The Provincial Emergency Program has determined that relief for”
flood-stricken residents of the Nass: Valley during October 1991.
required the largest airlift in PEP’s history. The emergency aid:
involved 14 flights by two helicopters to take $25,000 worth of
food and other necessities to stranded residents of Greenville,
Canyon City, Aiyansh and Nass Camp. The flooding occurred °
during a provincial election, and PEP also delivered ballots by.
helicopter for people demanding to vote in spite of the emergency.

Telegraph Creek now has a shelter for women and children in
crisis. The four-bedroom shelter was built by the Tahltan Band
Council with the help of a $180,000 forgiveable loan from Canada
Mortgage and Housing. It will be operated with $208,290 in
funding annually from the Department of Indian and Northen
Affairs. .

It is not known at this point if PetroCanada gas stations in the
Northwest will be affected by a nationwide reduction in the
number of the company’s retail operations. A public affairs
spokesman for PetroCanada in Calgary said Monday they intend to
close about 30 percent of their retail outlets over the next three
years, with a site-by-site review being launched immediately.
Rocco Ciancio said the company has been taking heavy losses
from cross-border gasoline Shopping and a general decline in the
use of gasoline. Consumption of gasoline in Canada dropped seven
percent last year and 2.7 percent the year before.

There are two PetroCanada stations in the Terrace area.

. Several schools in the Terrace area received grants from the

Ministry of Health for substance abuse prevention projects,
Gitanyow Elementary School got $1,660 for a community youth
forum, Hazelton Senior Secondary got $1,550 for peer counselling, «
a school CounterAttack program and work on the anti-smoking
project Flame Out, Stewart secondary received $500 to stage a
theatre production, and Nisga’a Elementary-Secondary in New
Aiyansh got $2,000 for the Dragon Project, a theatre production
to mark National Addicion Awareness Week.

Applications are now being taken for $500,000 in Green Gold
grants. The money comes from FRDA HI, the second provincial-
federal Forest Resources Development Agreement, and is intended
for financing of public awareness and education projects about
forestry by non-profit organizations. Further information is.
available from the Kalum District Forest Service office in Terrace.

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