Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 12, 2000

TERRACE

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

PUBLISHER: ROD LINK
ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Strect Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 ¢ FAX: (250) 638-8432
EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

Trail talk

‘SLOWLY BUT surely Terrace is adding to its
‘quality of life by increasing the amount of recrea-
tional green space. This not only makes it an at-
‘tractive place for current residents, but also pro-
vides the kind of magnet to attract more people
“and more businesses.
Most recent examples are the linear park along-
side Highway 16, the newly-seeded area adjacent
“to Terraceview Lodge and Heritage Park on the
bench and the trail system that runs along the bot-
‘tom of the bench.

It’s now time for the next step and that is to se-
‘cure public access to our most precious resource
‘~ the Skeena River. Unless you fish or have a
“boat, the river remains elusive. We can see it

driving across bridges, but it’s darn tough to
enjoy its majestic attributes.

So that’s why a trail system along its banks is
$0 tantalizing. Suitable for pedestrians, cyclists
‘and other recreational users, it would open up a
“vista for locals and tourists.

Elements of a trail were explored several years
“ago along the southside and deserve to be re-
_vived. And projected development rules for the

“two pieces of land north and south of the new
bridge offer a glimmer of what might be possible
_ in that area.
- To not use our best efforts to improve access to
the river would not only be tragic. It would also
. be bad business if we we accept the premise that
the river is a public resource.

A good thing

“FOR THOSE who would continually accuse the
NDP government of wild spending, consider

‘ this. Not so long ago Surrey was on the list of
. possible Canadian locations for a $3 billion com-
‘puter chip plant a Taiwanese firm called Mosel

Vitelic wants to build.
With it would have come thousands of jobs in
" a sector of the economy that shows no signs of
. slowing down.

_ The challenge was that Mosel was shopping for
- the best deal possible elsewhere in Canada and
‘ around the world. Its incentive was the jobs and

stability the plant would provide. What it wanted

"in return was a government to help finance the
"cost.

But that price tag was simply too high and the

. favoured location is now Quebec. That province

~ js dangling the possibility of buying up to a 49

~ per cent stake in the plant. It also has competition

» from Germany which is also willing to pony up
with some financial help.

Yes, a plant in B.C, would have provided nee-

. ded jobs. But it would have come at an extremely
. high cost. If the idea is to wean corporations off
" of government assistance, this is a good start.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur

NEWS Jeff Nagel « NEWS/SPORTS: Keith Freeman
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ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL:
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* CNA

Aa} 2000
_ BLUE:

RIBBON

MEMBER OF
BA Ron con HEN SPAERE ASSOCIATION,
c TY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION
AND @CNA
B.C, PRESS COUNCIL

Sarving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each waak al 3210 Clinton Streal,
Terrace, British Cotumbia, Y8G SR,

Storles, photographs, Illustrations, designs and lypestyles in tha Terrace Standard ata the property of the
copyright holdars, Including Carlboo Press (1969) Ltd.; Its illustration repro services and acverllsing
agencias,

Reprodvellon in whole or in part, without wriltan permission, is spacifically prohibited.

Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Citice Department, for paymant of postage In cash.

Special thanka to all our contributors and correspondents
‘ for their time and talents

Balanced budget law a bit late

VICTORIA - As legislation
goes, the Balanced Budget
Act isn’t half bad, but if Pre-
mier Ujjal Dosanjh hopes that
it will give the NDP another
shot at government in the next
election, he’s being a tad opti-
mistic,

The best that can be said
for the act is that shows the
government at long last reai-
izes that it can’t do whatever
the hell it feels like. And to
that effect it has brought in le-
gislation requiring it to do
what it should have done all
along.

Here’s what the act calls
for:

A statutory requirement to
meet or exceed progressively
lower deficit targets and bal-
ance the budget in 2004 and
every year thereafter.

_ A 20-per-cent cul:in pay for
12 months for the premier and
all cabinet ministers if legisla-
ted targets are not met.

Pay cuts for ministers take
effect the first time a quarterly
report or other public state-
ment indicates that legislated
tarpets may not be met in a
fiscal year. In the two other
provinces with ministerial pe-
nalties, pay cuts only occur
once the public accounts for
the fiscal year are released.

FROM THE CAPITAL

HUBERT BEYER

Like every other provincial
balanced budget law, the bal-
anced budget act sets out con-
ditions where the legislated
targets may be waived for a
fiscal year.

But the B.C law requires

the goverment.to recall the
Jlegistature and allow’ for. de-

bate on the | emergency or re-
venue decline before the gov-
emment is released from ils
statutory deficit.

Changes in accounting po-
licies and their impact must
be fully disclosed and cannot
be used to meet legislated tar-
gets.

The vote on the act puts the
Liberal opposition in a bind.
Balanced budget legislation is
very much part of the Liberal
platform, but not if it comes

from the NDP. So, all they can
do is gripe that it doesn’t go
far enough. But just how far
can and should such legisla-
tive constraints go?

Ideally, a government
should balance every budget,
which would render legislation
making balanced budgets
superfluous.

The next-best thing would
be an act that will result in a
balanced budget next year, but
given the current deficit, that’s
impossible. So, the NDP gov-
ernment gives itself four years
to achieve what it hasn’t in the
past nine — balance the budget
by the year 2004.

It is that long stretch of de-
ficit budgets — count ‘em, nine
- that will keep British Co-
lumbians from having any con-
fidence in this legislation.

* And that means it will be
the Liberals who have to live
with that legislation, because
another NDP victory just isn’t
in the cards, in spite of the
premier’s assurance that the
Balanced Budget Act will set
a new fiscal course for is gov-
emment,

“Il am determined to change
the way taxpayers’ dollars are
managed,” he said.

“The balanced budget act is
the third step my government

is taking to reach that goal for
British Columbians.”

The other two pieces of le-
gislation he was referring to are
the Budget Transparency and
Accountability Act and the
Tax-On-Income Act, introduced
last March. And for good mea-
sure, the povernment has also
introduced amendments to the -
Financia! Administration Act
and the Financial Information
Act.

Finance minister Paul Ram-
sey also patted the premier and
himself on the back, praising
the Balanced Budget Act.

“The premier has been clear
in setting out his new direction
for fiscal reform in this
province,”

“We are taking action by
requiring this government in
law to open the books on its
budget; balance the budget ‘and
administer a more open and
fair tax system,” he said.

All these acts are steps in
the right direction, but they
would have gone a lot further,
had they been brought in eight
Or nine years ago,

Still, better late than never.

Beyer can be reached at:

E - m a i !
hubert@coolcam.com; Tel
(250) 381-6900; Web

http://www. hubertheyer.com

It's time to end the picketing

IF A heart patient was denied
surgery because of a hospital
picket line we'd be outraged.
Yet we’re silent as a handful
of picketers outside the north-
west’s only recovery residen-
tial facility keep 20 teenagers
waiting for counselling to kick
their drug habits.

Waiting for heart surgery
can prove fatal; failure to treat
drug addicted youth can have
equally long-term conse-
quences.

Think of the 16-year-old
who suffered a gunshot to the
face two weekends ago.
“Alcohol may have been a
factor,” the news said.

So the kid goes through life
with a shot-up face and Medi-
care pays big hospital costs to
restore his anatomy and life to
as normal as possible.

While E can sympathize
with picketers who feel ig-
nored in the planning of this
facility - an announcement
addressed to ‘Occupant’ falls

JANUARY 1, 2000!)
BIGGEST HANGOVER
_ OF THE CENTURY!

THROUGH.BIFOCALS "
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

short of heartfelt consultation
before the site was chosen —
our precious tax dollars should
not drain away paying 13
weeks of salaries for specia-
lized staff on duty 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, while
they wait for neighbours to
cease picketing. Only then can
clients be treated and staff

earn their pay.

An interim operating li-
cence for two of the six beds
was issued June 20 and a full
license is expected on July 19,
according to children and fa-
milies minister Gretchen Bre-
win.

Picketing delayed such
work as installing a sprinkler
system. Now staff - hired to
hang on to them — are doing
little more than develop pro-
gram ideas and paint walls.

Having specially trained,
well paid counsellors painting
ceilings, is an inappropriate use
of scarce drug treatment dol-
lars.

Skills erode while thumbs
twiddle, The Health Watch
Group has heard over and over
how intensive care nurses
especially have moved away

_ in search of full time work to

maintain their prized skills.
These counsellors are precious.

Public consultation before
decisions are made does. slow
the process and test organi-

THEIR PLUG -ins |!

zers’ diplomacy. At the same
time, consultation saves
money, saves face, and unfurls
the welcome mat.

The children and families
ministry should have learned
the value of public consultation
after the Workers’ Compensa-
tion Board had its non-smoking
law slapped down by the courts
for lack of widespread consul-
tation. Going public — early
would have let neighbours vent
their feelings while alterations
were feasible without capitula-
tion.

This lone northwest youth
treatment centre might not
have ticked off neighbours had
they been in on the planning

‘all along. But three months of

their picketing has made us
look like bigots who cry for a
treatment centre, then spurn it.

Picketers have made their
narrow views knows. It's time
to bow to the will of the major-

ity and treat our drug-addicted

youth.

EVERIONE FoRGOT

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