LRU TTGE _ . Columbia’s campus and course offering here is: —A4a- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 24, 2005 _ TERRACE TANDARD ' ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ) » PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ‘ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B. C. + V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250). 638-7283 - FAX: (250) 638- 8432 ‘WEB: www.terracestandard. com . EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com A step forwa rd “ CITY COUNCIL needs to take a bold step in how Terrace defines itself as the northwest’s centre for _trade, commerce, Health care and education. We already call ourselves the hub of the north- west — and for good reason. Our highways radi- ate south to the industrial powerhouse of Kitimat, | west to the growing port potential of Prince Ru- pert, north to the promise of increased mining and east to the rest of B.C. and the country. We have the largest hospital in the northwest, the largest collection of medical specialists in the region and will be the home. of not one but two. nursing programs beginning next month. We are the:-home city of Northwest Community College and. ‘the University, of Northern British growing. Our shopping and services sector is the _~ largest in the region. City ‘council now needs to build on all of the above by establishing a closer relationship with | its neighbouring First Nations governments. __. There’s a growing economic presence by native - peoples. Witness the forestry agreements now in 4 place for the Tsimshian villages of Kitsumkalum | . and Kitselas. which bookend the city. Just as im- ' portant is the purchase by the Lax Kw’alaam on - _ the north coast of Tree Farm Licence Number 1 ~~ and the negotiations now underway to purchase _.. some of that wood for processing’ at the Terrace 7 _Lumber Company sawmill here. The Nisga’a, | - now in the fifth year of their land claims agree- 7 ‘ment, are building an economic base. . The native economic fact will continue to grow as more and more development opportunities arise affecting the city and area, Native govern- ments are now on a par with municipal: ones (and, in SOme cases, hold greater sway) whieh it comes to being involved in key decision making. At the very least, Terrace city council should host quarterly sessions between it, other munici-. palities and native governments to compare notes and hammer out common goals of benefit to all. A more solid step forward would be to fill the local. government | void between Kitsumkalum, Kitselas and the city. And that would be to ask. the two villages to each name one village council- lor who would then become an honourary Terrace councillor. ‘They would not have voting powers on city business, but be able to take part in de- bates on issues that reach past city boundaries. . The city is already represented on the Kitimat- Stikine regional district. Having honourary coun- cillors from Kitsumkalum -and Kitselas on city council would expand on that model. Certainly these positions would viewed as sym- bolic, But they would send a strong signal. It is far _ better to be ahead of the curve than to be behind, especially on issues affecting us all. — Sy) PUBLISHER/EDITOR: | . - RodLink ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman _ COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada " NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson - CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: — . Bert Husband, Susan Willemen S00S WINNER AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik ~ SEM SER DEES PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: ' $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; ~ Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; ~ Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Ouse of Canada (6 months) $156. ONTO. 98 GST)=167. 89 : ’ MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, ; CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION AND _B.C, PRESS COUNCIL (www.bcpresscouncil.org) Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. = Black Press Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyies in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- tight holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents COMPETITION (AMBER. LERT..missine SOCKEYE | : | j [ SIVER SE ITHIS BiG S _LAST..SEEN..4.. YEARS. AGO. "MEANWHILE, THe DFO SPRINGS: INTO ACTION 7 The economy is looking up — a ‘IN THE summer of 2004, the [- Canada West Foundation enti- | -tled its BC profile and forecast _ Out of the Ashes — a tribute to an economy that had suffered a few years of economic mal- aise. | - . . But British Columbia’s economy came. roaring back _ to life in 2004 with real GDP growth of 3.9 per.cent — the strongest growth in the coun- try. . . Credit for the solid expan- _ sion. in 2004 is due largely to. a return of strong prices for natural: resource - commodi- ties, particularly natural : gas, - base metals, lumber, and coal. As well, recent changes to the _ regulatory environment have certainly helped boost private . sector investment and produc- tion in the mining sector. Con-, struction activity also led to the ‘recovery: ' This summer’s ‘Canada West Foundation economic update for British Columbia — is entitled The New Economic . Engine, as BC’s economy con- tinues to gain traction in 2005. Growth in employment is outpacing the national aver- age, and is even well ahead of Alberta’s robust economy. As of May 2005, employment stands 4.1 per cent above. the level of jobs in May 2004. Growth nationally was only 1.3 per cent. As a result of the strong employment picture, | interprovincial . in-migration has reversed the outflow that characterized the province in . the early part’ of this decade. British Columbia is once again a net recipient of interprovin- ” cial migrants. \ TODD HIRSCH: ‘The economy ‘should con- tinue to perform very well in 2005 and 2006. Continued © strong commodity prices, red- hot nonresidential construc- tion activity, robust gains in employment and in-migration, _ and a burgeoning transpor- -- - tation sector will propel’ the - economy ahead. Areas of concern for the province of British Colum- bia include the mountain pine beetle infestation (which will initially boost the volume of timber harvested, but lead to sharp curtailment in the long- run). As well, there is some con- ‘cern about a looming shortage - of skilled labour in the prov- ince, particularly in the con- ~ struction trades. While there is no evidence of widespread shortages or rising wages yet, it could become a problem in the long term as projects relat- ed to the 2010 Winter Olym- pics get underway. Overall, British Columbia’s economy is likely to post growth‘ of 3.5 per cent in 2005 and 3.0 per cent in 2006. GDP growth will continue to out- . perform the national average: _ and may even surpass the rate _ of expansion in neighbouring Alberta. Despite an on-going trade dispute with the US on soft- wood. lumber exports and a much stronger. Canadian dol- , lar, many- producers in BC’s forestry sector have been. do- ing quite well. "Producers i in the Interior are: very’ cost-competitive,. having rationalized much of their old- ~ er.and less efficient mills over the past several years. Coastal producers, however, are not as competitive and many are fac- ing severe difficulties. Lower volume supply to the US and strong housing activ- ity on both sides of the bor- der ‘have’ kept lumber ‘prices ~ steady. ° ; Exporters have been gain- ing in terms of higher value, rather than greater volume, of lumber exports. The value of lumber exports had fallen ev- ery year since 2000 to a low of $5.4 billion in 2003. However, the total value-of exports shot up dramatically i in 2004 to nearly $7 billion . It appears that the value. of _ lumber exports is continuing to increase in 2005. During the first four months of 2005, BC’s lumber exports to'international markets increased by 6.8 per * cent over the same time period in 2004. Exports of lumber to the US alone increased in val- ue. by 16.8 per cent. A major issue for BC’s lum- ber producers is the infestation of the mountain pine beetle, ' which kills standing piné by. laying. eggs under the bark. ’ The interior of British Colum-, bia has experienced’, several’! consecutive mild. winters and’ drought-like summers. Beetle populations in many: . | parts of the Interior — especial-i ly to the southwest of Prince’ “George — have increased to epidemic levels as a result. The revised projection of the total volume of timber that 5" will be lost due to the mountain ‘pine beetle is now at 90 million i cubic metres. This ‘compares * _with the annual allowable! | -province-wide timber harvest . 7 in a typical year of around 70 * million cubic metres. To counteract the infesta: ’ tion and as a means of recov- - ering the greatest value of. the affected timber, the provincial; “government. has‘ increased: the allowable ‘harvest in heavily: affected areas. Moe "These temporary increases . have resulted in a surge in_ harvesting activity and timber ‘ supply. However, significant ; reductions to allowable annual © cuts aré inevitable. as timber , supplies decline and the beetle infestation completes its cycle. In the short-term, production - and supply of BC timber will: increase, followed by a sharp’ ‘curtailment over the next five ‘to. ten years. Todd Hirsch is the chief’ economist for the Canada. West Foundation, an indepen- , dent, non-partisan, non-profit’ public policy research. insti- tute dedicated to. introducing: western perspectives into cur- ° rent Canadian policy debates. Jury trials could be done faster ‘WHETHER OR not we know ; it, Canadian jurors have the | right to ask a witness ques- tions. Lawyers and judges just don’t tell jurors they can ask questions “for fear of some- |. _ body «saying, for example, ‘Isn’t the accused going to __ testify? or ‘Does'he have a re- -cord?,’” says B.C.’s Attorney- General Wally Oppal. Imagine how lively and entertaining a snail pace trial could become if a nosy ju- ror popped a question here or : there, monkey wrenching an attorney’s carefully choreo- graphed prosecution or de- fence. Oppal, who was a Supreme Court judge for 18 years, says the biggest expense of a jury trial is the cost of sequestering a jury in a hotel during delib- erations. A jury may take up to a week, or longer, to reach’ a decision.. Even if the 12 ju-. - rors and any alternates are put up two to a room, as Edith Bunker was, room and meals would soon add up at taxpay- ers’ expense. Paying jurors is the smallest | THROUGH BIFOCALS ‘CLAUDETTE SANDECKI part of the cost of a jury trial ‘although a juror’s pay in long trials has risen substantially. .. _ Jurors are paid $20 per day for the first 10 days of a trial, $60 per day to Day 49, then $100 per day for Day 50 on to the end of the trial. One way to shorten jury tri- als. would be to have judges follow a process known: as “pattern jury instructions”. This is a templated, read-aloud instruction to the jury. The template jury charge “leads to fewer appeals. And wouldn’t that be novel! Today defence lawyers seem to have their appeal papers ready to go when the jury files in with a decision. . “According to a report in The Province, “whenever Cana- dian superior trial court judges had the opportunity to: vote ~ for or against a pattern jury instructional system, they ap- proved of it overwhelmingly.” » ' “Only appellate court judg- _es and federal government of- ‘ficials seem cool to the idea. On the ‘other hand, lawyers and trial judges like pattern instructions precisely because they cut down on appeals.” Everyone summoned to court has the right to choose trial by judge or jury. Peter Wilson, a high profile B.C. defence lawyer, says, “I don’t care how fair-minded or bright a judge is, 12 heads are better than one.” The result of the Air India trial, with a single judge sit- ting in judgment, sure proves Wilson’s point. The judge, in my view, chose to ignore criti- cal testimony. We could. shorten trials,’ according to Supreme Court justice Beverley McLaugh-: lin, if more Jawyers would do: . pro bono work so that poorer members of society didn’t have to defend themselves in. court. McLaughlin | says judges: waste a lot of court time in-’ structing ordinary citizens. in, the ways of the court, time that. should be spent in moving the: _case forward. _ Unfortunately, » improving, our justice system is.an uphill. fight, what with out glacial! parliament, and jurors not al-i lowed to give us their advice’ - ON ways to improve our sys- tem. Jurors are not permitted to, speak about what goes on in, the jury room and how that process could be enhanced. . Thank goodness so’ far we have not copied. American, courts in using juror consul-, tants like Dr. Phil who: study. the psychological rhakeup of . prospective jurors to: ‘select those most likely to favour their client. ett te er Sc or oO eC ne oe) ay ee Lp ae ee a - ttt