Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 25, 2003

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
WEB: www.terracestandard.com
EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard,com

Live with if
YOUNG PEOPLE face tougher new rules for
driving as part of the graduated licensing pro-
gram.

Sure, having different young driver rules
means that they are paying for the habits of those
who came before them, but society has to make
decisions based on that prior experience and the
numbers for young drivers are disturbing.

Those aged 15-20 account for seven per cent
of the driving population but are involved in 20.
per cent of crashes and 14 per cent of fatal.
crashes, according to information from ICBC.

Their inexperience proves out in the stats: the
later in the day young people drive, the more
likely they are to be involved in a mishap, And
the more passengers, the more likely a mishap.

As the years progress, there are new laws, new
signs introduced and drastically different vehicles
compared to those of the past.

Older drivers may have learned in a machine
with names such as Edsel and Fairmont but now
drive ones called Tiburon or Paseo, with the ca-
pacity for speeds unheard of a few decades ago.

It’s up to all drivers to ensure they understand
the changes that take place with motor vehicle
rules, but the story is different with young people
who don’t have experience behind the wheel to
handle vehicles with more power than ever be-
fore and the ability to go so much faster.
~ As driving becomes more complex so should
the process to become licensed. No one is al-
lowed to walk into a job at a mill or a restaurant
without receiving training so it makes as much
sense to ask that young people who are learning
to drive do it under certain conditions.

Tougher rules may be a pain but in no way
compare to the pain of being in a crash with a
carload of friends.

— 100 Mile House Free Press

A pox on us

SOME MONTHS it seems a curse hangs over
our northwest forests. June was one such month.

New Skeena’s operators missed another start
date despite achieving labour peace in Terrace.
They remain unable to find money to put gas in
the tank, let alone find first gear.

Then came the Eurocan strike in Kitimat,
which triggered layoffs of West Fraser’s sawmill
workers and contract truckers here.

On top of it all comes word a fungal blight is
threatening pine forests across the region.

July could turn the page on some of this.

Voters in Prince Rupert decide whether to buy
— at least temporarily - New Skeena’s pulp mill
and forest licence. Here’s hoping that initiative
works out well for our sister city — and is quickly
and efficiently executed for us all. :

EA
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Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area, Published on Wednasday of each weak al 3210 Cinton Slreel,

Tarrace, British Columbia, V8G 5A2.

Stories, photographs, ilustrations, designs and lypastyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the

copyright holders, Including Carlboo Press (1969) Lid. its iNustration repro servicas and adverlising
encles, ; .

Reproduction {rn while or in part, without written permission, Is specifically prohibited.

Aulhorized as sacond-class mall panding the Post Office Department, for paymantof postage In cast.

Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
for thelr time and talents

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(T OCCURRED To AARON MARRIAGE MAY NoT BE
ALL IT WAS CRACKED UP To BE

Charging Anenakew a mistake

VICTORIA - The Saskatche-
wan justice department's deci-
sion to lay hate crimes charg-
es against disgraced former
native leader David Ahenakew
is highly regrettable.

The law in question is sec-
tion 319 of the Criminal Code,
which makes it an offence -
punishable by a term of im-
prisonment not exceeding two
years ~ to “Incite hatred” or
“wilfully promote hatred”
against an “identifiable group”
distinguished by colour, race,
religion or ethnic origin. Simp-
ly spewing forth venom isn’t
enough to obtain a conviction.

You will recall that Ahena-
kew, the former. head of the
Federation of Saskatchewan
Indian Nations and the Assem-
bly of First Nations, publicly
called Jews a “disease” who
deserved to be “fried” by Hi-
tler,

The Jews, he said, already
owned Germany and unless
something had been done
about it, they would have

. owned the world.

In an added ironic twist,
Ahenakew is the first member
of an identifiable minority to
be charged with promoting
hatred against another identifi-
able minority.

I don’t know what is more
pathetic, Ahenakew’s racist
vitriol or his lack of historical
knowledge,

The people who “owned”

LAST week when I read the
lead paragraph on the front
page of the Terrace Stan-

' dard, I was flabbergasted.

The first tine read, “No
school district would go to a
4-day week simply to save
money because it’s just too
big a risk for students.”
B.C,'s education minister
said last week.

For 16 months B.C.’s citi-
zens have fought cutbacks
leading to school closures
and attended meetings to find
ways to educate our kids with
less as the Liberal govern-
ment chops funding.

In that time, Clark has
spoken glibly in favour of
whatever it takes to run clas-
ses on a shoestring, including
a four-day week. Now, when
boards have voted to imple-
ment the four-day week, sud-
denly Clark has a warning.
She’s in a panic to shift
blame in case it proves detri-
mental to students, And the
last thing Clark would ever
do is shoulder blame.

@ (EFT HAND
1 GLOVES !|

FROM THE CAPITAL
HUBERT BEYER

Germany in the 1920s and
1930s were the powerful in-
dustrialists like Krupp, Thys-
sen and I.G. Farben. The Jews
played only a minor role in
pre-war Germany’s economy.
But perhaps Ahenakew was
referring to the Jews’ influence
in other fields. Jewish compes-
ers like Gustaf Mahler, Men-
delssohn and others had,

indeed, conquered -not-only.the.- ..

hearts of German music lovers
but those of the world. The im-
pertinence of it all.

Jews had left a huge mark
on Germany’s artistic and in-
tellectual life, Leo Strauss
(1899-1973, a German Jew
and philosopher, had the au-
dacity to call liberal democra-
ey the only socio-political sys-
tem worthy of support, Not ex-

peed

THROUGH BIFOCALS.
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

Throughout her entire tenure
as educulion minister she’s
shifted blame to others.

Clark makes me think of a
recent Jerry Seinfeld comic
routine on the Jay Leno
show. Seinfeld was talking
about parenthood and sharing
his life with a two-year-old
who poops her pants while
gazing steadily into his eyes.

As her diaper droops, she
looks at him as if to say,
“Somebody pooped their
pants? Not me! Just because
T had one hand on the coffee
table for 30 seconds, grunt-

GEE! MARTEN! SOUNDS
PRETTY WEIRPTOME
BUT LLL MAKE SME CALS! T

actly your power-hungry
would-be world domination
seeker.

And then I would have liked
Ahenakew to meet the dozens
of Jews, proverbial little guys,
who made their living in our
neighbourhood, along with my
grandfather, who counted them
all among his friends.

They were shoemakers, bak-
ers, small-shop owners. They
were proud Germans, eking out
a living for their families just
like my grandfather and my fa-
ther did, until they were round-
ed up and sent to the extermi-
nation camps. Being bionde
and blue-eyed Aryan, we were
of course spared that fate.

The little shops and work-
shops around us were suddenly
empty, which Ahenakew
would probably have wel-
comed, as the threat of Jewish
world domination was re-
moved.

So much for Ahenakew’s
skewed and distorted world
view, Not only did he reveal
himself to be an utterly. con-.
temptible racists, but a stupid
one at that. Now, why
shouldn’t he be prosecuted for
having publicly expressed his
hatred for Jews?

There are several reasons,
One I mentioned above. Can-
victions are difficult to obtain
and a not-guilty verdict won't
look particularly good.

The more important reason

Minister

ing, while my eyes watered?
It wasn’t me. F don’t know
anything about anybody
pooping their pants.” Clark
has the same “Not me!” atti-
tude.

Clark is a year late sound-
ing the alarm about four-day
week risks. All along she’s
been keen to cut comers, stu-
dents be damned. She can't
even lay the blame on the
NDP. With the Liberals over-
whelming majority, whatever
happens in their mandate is
solely their responsibility.
Does Clark suppose school
districts are shrinking to a
four-day week to stress stu-
dents, like perennials and
make them blossom?

Terrace trustees said they
settled on the short week so-
lely to meet the budget short-
fall. Yet even now the mini-
ster would like us to think her
government has nothing ta do
with crowding boards into a
financial corner. Clark is fond
of repeating, “I gave school
boards the tools to gavern

is that we shouldn't have the
hate crime laws in the first
place. As has been clearly
shown, Ahenakew has already
been tried and convicted by
public opinion,

His putrid views have been
denounced so thoroughly in the
court of public opinion that no
guilty verdict could possibly
add to his shame.

The best defence against
those who spread hateful mes-
sages is sunshine, A public air-
ing of their views will invari-
ably rouse public indignation
and condemnation. It is not
necessary for the courts to sit
in judgment of racists.

During the Weimar Repub-
lic, Germany also had hate
laws. They didn’t prevent the
looming disaster because Ger-
many’s population was totally
unfamiliar with the concepts of
democracy. it was, therefore,
relatively easy for Hitler to as-
sume unlimited power.

Canada is a healthy democ-
racy. We do not need: Parlia-

-ment. to decide . what’ goes

beyond the limits of free
speech and we don't need the
courts to decide who is guilty
or not guilty of transgressing
those limits.

You and I, the public, are
fully capable of safe-guarding
identifiable minority groups
against the sort of reprehensi-
ble attacks by the likes of Ahe-
nakew.

their districts in the way they
see fit.”

She fails to mention she
gave teachers raises while
withholding essential finan-
cing to meet teacher’s payroll.
Our district is adopting a short
week with little research to
support it. Parents, though,
have warned of potential pit-
falls. In addition, the mini-
stry’s own foundation skills
assessment shows one third
of students are failing to meet
expectations for their grade
when it comes to reading, wri-
ting and arithmetic. I’m baf-
fled to learn school! bus dri-
vers and maintenance staff
have had their hours lopped
while administrative staff will
continue to work five days a
week at full pay.

If Clark adopted U.S, pre-
sident Dwight D. Eisenhow-
er’s motto, “The buck stops
here,” or former New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s
watchword, “I’m respons-
ible.” What a better school
system we would have.

nd
*