Page A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 7, 1993

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_EDITORIAL, —

End of it?

So the local retail market's ““Big Four”
-- K-Mart, - Overwaitea, Safeway and
Woolworth -: have plead guilty to operat-
ing their businesses on a holiday.

And been duly punished, if that’s the best
description of fines of $500 for each of
their 1992 Canada Day and Thanksgiving
openings.

Tt seems reasonable to suppose those
fines hardly put a dent in their revenue for
each of those days. .

The legal fees probably hurt their pocket
books a lot more than the wrath of the

But then, as defence lawyer Dave Warmer
pointed out, these were first offences so
perhaps the apparent leniency should have
been expected.

The message that the courts are prepared
to prosecute. and fine offending stores
seemed to have had the desired effect, as
far as opponents of holiday and Sunday
shopping are concerned. os

While the province, indeed the world’s
attention’ has .been focused on major

resource issues like the Clayoquot and Tat- |
shenshini decisions, another drama has

been quietly unfolding up north.

At the centre of the row is the lowly, but.

wld ly. maqre|: mushroom... een Serpe
ree ig eae 4 PES es Pe ia te

the’ imdit !
site of a forest fire last summer,

However, those. mushrooms are growing ..
in. a designated recreation area, meaning. .

harvesting is an. absoluteno-no..

‘Iskut band chief councillor. Louis-Louie ‘s

irate over the picking ban, describing it as.
crazy, ns

He points out if the mushrooms are. left:
untouched; they’lisimply rot. we
Louie ‘also emphasizes the employment —

g(he-same old.question... ...

None of the four stores opened this past
Canada Day.

But is that the end of it or just a brief
tespite while the company lawyers try to
work out a new strategy?

As prosecutor Henry Waldock pointed
out, the issue could be resolved once’ and
for all by legislators, including Terrace
council. - .

“It’s a political decision that ought to be
made by political authorities,’’ he said.

But those political authorities, be they
municipal or provincial, have been careful

~ to try and keep clear of this particular mine

field. .

It will be interesting to see what the Big
Four’s next step will be.

Will it include a renewal of lobbying ef-
forts aimed at persuading council to give
holiday shopping the go-ahead?

In an election year, opening that particu-
lar Pandora’s box would likely not be too

_ welcome.

change

opportuntinities, albeit short-term,
people would derive from the harvest.
_ It.ail sound remarkably familiar, doesn’t
it?

Copper ore, timber or the humble
mushroom, we’re still: butting up against

his

pk Rts, A

_A coherent land use policy may well
emerge from the innumerable commis-

sions, «tasks forces and “‘facilitating”’
’ bodies. that have.become a familiar part of

the province’s.landscape. ©

But it’s hard ta dispel the nagging feeling
that, somewhere down the road, it could all

80 easily go down the tubes-in response to
» the pressing needs brought about by adif-
ferent set of economic circumstances. -

If. you enjoy observing |
people, matching ‘wits, and. —
predicting outcomes, © you

Court can be appealing

qualify as a couri-watcher,

Many court routines are
tedious, steeped in tradition
until they creak like a cow-
boy’s saddle. Take the official
title of the clerk who escoris
the judge into the courtroom, '
calls the cases, and tracks ex-
hibits and other paperwork for
the judge during a tries,

| Through -
, Bifocals:
- by Claudette Sandecki

‘Anithe probability'is this Glash-ovet-ob>"
~ fectives won’t go away...ever.

She’s referred to as Madam.

Court. ’

But interspersed between
drawn out, sometimes confus-
ing explanations of legal is-

sues are moments of uninten-

tional humour.
Such as the young father
presenting his evidence for
seeking damages after a fall in
a parking lot that kept him off
work for a month. oo
He photographed the offend-
ing icy pavement to. illustrate
the cause of his pain and suf-

feting. Unfortunately, his two-.
year-old daughter got hold of .
the camera and exposed the.

film, 2

comfortable surtourdings, and
take: rest
commercials. ..--

Although triais

for. similar

complaints may resemble each
other,” unlike. TV ° programs.
every-tdal is unscripted, :and - -

outcomes are‘far less‘ predict-

able than any sitcom or. mur-

even itt

So why-don

ee ee ey

reaks in-place of

and street people keep warm
during cold weather by sitting
in an open courtroom? So long
as they are quiet, and rise
whenever. ihe Judge enters or
leaves the courtroom, they can
relax for hours. on.an uphol-
Stered bench.

Aside from the benefit of a
comfortable place to bide their
time and free entertainment,
they would be doing'a public
service,

- For justice, to be done, must
be seen to be done...

_ Currently, too many. trials,

_ have few if any witnesses, Un-
- Jess you happen to know. or be

es eS ROOT | 5 (1 | cipant.-; nVE-T
Jnst as in television. viewing, © a trial participant, you have no
you pay no entrance. fee, sit-in -

inkling a trail is scheduled. :
: Whichisashame. ~. -

_ But’ courts. - like. school.

~ boards, city councils, ~ and.
regional districis - take no.
steps to. publicize — their

agendas. They, too,. prefer to’

. toil in obscurity.

“Mothers Against Drunk

Driving have a roster of

volunteers who observe trials

>) of drivers charged with drunk
driving... offenses.’ These-
volunteers. make ‘it their busi-

ness 10 report the outcomes of

trials. ,

For only by knowing what
decisions courts hand down
can :the public pressure
politicians to change or chink
dangerous loopholes in our
laws. ° Lo.

If I were retired, with free
time, and living within easy
distance of a courthouse, I’d
attend court several days a
week. | ’

At least 1’d have new topics
of conversation, amusing
anecdotes to relate, and plenty
‘of excuses for writing letters
to an editor.

“Best of all, you cannot snack and use it 10. “feed sland’. |

“during court-watching, remanufacturitig facilities - quietly advising the, small,

a. WELL, ETL Soon STREET) ravine Wo
' BE SUMMER, TovaISTS SOMALIA... ,

_ Another

GUIDING, CONSTRUCTION, §:
Z'M BORED! VERY
VERY BORED!

Uitte Pee f
ALITTLE LAGGED Z

ELELLEP EDEL

I
+ SS,

ww NA
RS
N

OENNY
FOR YOUR |
THOUGHTS oJ

Missing page's content |
scary for forest

VICTORIA -- The political
sleeper of the year could well
turn out to be the recent report
by. a legislative all-party
committee on tlie future of
British Columbia’s lumber
‘remanufacturing industry.

The report was endorsed
unanimously by all members
of the committee which
consisted of NDP, Liberal and
Social Credit MLAs,

It contained a total of 14
wecommendations .which, if
‘impletheritéd;-would give 'thes
remanufacturing sector” a
fighting chance to thrive. ©

One of the oddities of the
final «report, tabled in: the

legislature, was ‘that page 30

was missing. Where'd it go? —
Down the tube and, if my

_ sources aren’t misleading me,
the page was deleted from the ©

Teport at the specific request of.
the Council. of _ Forest
Industries (COFT), a powerful
organization comprising the
major players in B.C.’s forest
industry.

Corky Evans, chaitman of
the all-party committee, would
only. say that. an . interim
version of the report contained

 "throw-away"

recommendations, items that
were. deleted in the final
version after . internal

 coramittee discussions.

I obtained a copy ‘of the

migsing page, and I’m not .
, surprised that the .industry
mi majors went ballistic when
- they read them.

There were ss seven
recommendations on page 30,
and their impact on COFI
musi have been akin to waving
ared flag in front of a bull. . -

- One was. to enact the

recommendations of the Forest

Resources Commission and -

reduce timber allocated fo

licensees to 50 per cent, of its:

presentleveh =
other “urged the:
government to create a Crown
corporation to sell timber, and

“make social considerations a . :
“eo. fecommendations that were:

function of sale." >”

Recommendation number

. thrée asked the government {o' -

buy a major forest company

tes

RADIATION IN
RUSSIAN ARCTIC...
AIDS IN AFRICA...
RUTS nn RATISTAN..

From the
Capital

by Hubert Beyer

around the province."
Recommendation four said
the government‘should-place-
“day Oa Cte ekporttye ‘1ow-
quality lumber (which could
be used by remanufacturers).

_ The fifth recommendation |

. asked the government to place
inspectors in pulp’ mills and
sawmills to “stop usable solid
wood from being chipped,"
~ Next came. a
recommendation to create a
lumber export council of
permit holders, set minimum
prices for all. lumber
commodities and allow

anyone meeting that price in

British Columbia to have first.

right of refusal.
And finally,
recommendation number

seven on the missing page
urged the govemment to
"make it an offence for any
-broker-of wood. to. refuse io
sell unsold inventory 10 a
legitimate buyer for cash."
Wow. Small wonder the

forestry majors didn’t want

that page to appear in the final
version of the report.
Those | . seven
recommendations would strip
them forever of their
monopoly on the province's
forest resources. They would
bring to an end the em of
absolute power wielded by
COFT in our forests. ‘
I’m not trying to belittle the

- importance of what remained

in. the report. The 14
recommendations ‘that
survived aren’t minor ones,
but they’re nothing compared
with -- the - - seven

scuttled,

--My sources also tell me that
the major companies on
Vancouver Island. have been

(

independent remanufacturing
firms not to support the all-
party report, , lest they... find

their. supply .of,wood dry;ap

completely. an
Blackmail? Let’s call.” it
intimidation. ne
Meanwhile, _ British

Columbia’s only hope of job:
creation in the forest industry —
lies with the remanufacturing |

sector. :

All the big companies can do

is protect their shareholders. ©

According to s recent study |

by Savage & Associates, an
independent firm’
consultants, the velume of

industry —

of

timber to support each job in-

the primary forest industry in

the Cariboo Forest Region has’ | |
increased by 35 per cent from: ~
966 cubic metres in-1980 to

1,300 cubic metres in 1993.

In sawmilling and plywood
construction, 48 per cent more
timber volume is required to

support a job today than in:

1980. Most of those jobs were:
lost to automation. And theres

no sign that this trend: will:

stop.

in silviculture in the: Cariboo
Forest Region grew by 205 per
cen{ during the same period,-

By comparison, employment |

pushing the number of jobs to-

532 from 181. :
Value-added or.
remanufacturing

grew by 180 per cent, bringing.
the number of. jobs, to: 485.
from 173. ae

There can be no doubt: the ~
future of British Columbia’s
industry isin.
_Temanufacturing, - not

forest

primary industry, ©: -

A gutsy government

AZ

——_—_—

ai

u
f
ov

. ——

AY aaa as

‘operations - " ee

in, the
would:
take another. look ..at. the:
missing page and implement: ._
the seven recommendations «.
that have spooked’ COFL’»

RED BUT GRATEFUL ' :
RY, VERY GRATEFUL