o of any agreement between beMetals and the. Tahltan Central THE TAHLTAN Central Council and beMetals Corporation are working ona participation agreement to give the former . job and economic opportunities based on the latter’s pro- posed $228 million Red Chris copper and gold mine proj- ect. . It’s based on an earlier mernorandum of understanding between the two parties but will be much broader in scope . | When. ‘completed. And just as the participation agreement - _ agreed to by the central council and another mining com- pany, NovaGold Resources for its proposed’ Galore Creek copper and gold mine, itll be put to a ratification vote by " members of thé Tahltan Nation. ~ a “[NovaGold] sets the standard,” says Tahitan Central Council president Curtis Rattray both of the idea of ratifica- tion and of the contents of the NovaGold agreement. Any agreement between the central council and bceMetals . "will first be vetted by the council executive before being put | out to a vote, said Rattray. | “We're changing to a more participatory democratic pro- - cess,” said Rattray last week of ratification voting. “When As - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 14, 2005 Tahitan, mining company > work on economic deal than a year. “T would like the voices to be heard to be from the imme- diate'area, not from anybody who lives a couple of thousand. . kilometres away,” said Smith. Rattray said Smith should not get involved in internal: Tahltan politics. “If you are a Tahitan you are the beneficiary of rights and title regardless of where you live. You don’t have rights and title based on residency,” said Rattray. The NovaGold agreement calls for preferential hiring of | Tahltan, job training, opportunities for Tahltan businesses, support payments to the Tahltan Central Council and the - creation of a Tahltan Heritage Fund. Payments to the Tahl- ‘tan would vary depending upon NovaGold’s income. _, Rattray expects the NovaGold vote results. to be released ’ by the end of this week. ; The voting day in the Tahltan villages was Nov. 30 but “mail in ballots from Tahltan who live elsewhere are still coming in to a White Rock company hired to tally ‘the re- sults, he said. ' But voting didn’t go as expected in Iskut where people we do a draft agreement with a mining company, we want to © protesting the legitmacy of the Tahltan Central: Council create a process that allows participation directly into the de- cision making. We’ re moving away from what 1 would calla managed democracy to a participatory democracy.”' > And ifa ratification vote is successful, the Tahltan will ‘become even more involved in any project when it comes to, land-use planning and impacts, Rattray added. - , The NovaGold agreement was voted..on by people of — ‘Tahltan ancestry who were more than‘16 years of age and ‘who provided the names of their parents and grandparents. ‘Tahitan didnot have to live in their traditional territory to: ‘vote or hold Indian status. The same voting eligibility will apply to the ratification” ‘Council. ' ; But beMetals Corporation president Ian Smith said that if -he.were a Tahitan in the’ area, he’d want only other Tahlitan’ living i in the immediate ‘area to vote. That’s particularly the | -ease for Tahltan now working at another gold mine in the _area, Eskay Creek, which is scheduled to close in little more AUTHENTIC MEXICAN & INTERNATIONAL FOODS gies {4529 GREIG AVE, TERRACE® 638-8218 F Bun MONDAY ALL OUR FOOD IS HOMEMADE ~ = ALL THE TIME * 4d WEEKEND DRINK SPECIALS | 3 , ‘FRIDAYS - MARGARITAS ; - SATURDAYS - BEER. ~~ Seen the full agreement,’ forced a stop to balloting Nov. 30, resulting in voting carry- ing on the next day at an off-village location. > “The Tahitan Central Council doesn’t speak for us,’ "said one of. the protestors, Rhonda Quock. She said that while the group doesn’t necessarily oppose NovaGold, it feels the central council isn’t speaking for all of the Tahitan.. Quock also said Tahltan were only able to.view a summa- “ry of the proposed N ovaGold agreement amounting to about | 20 pages and not the entire document of approximately 128 pages. ». “How can you vote on something when you don’ t have * the full agreement? People had already voted who: hadn’ t ” she said. Rattray said the 20-page summary was sufficient to give : voters the information they needed. ° : “Those other pages have all the legal language. People don’t want to read the whole legal document. They were | comfortable leaving the fine details to the experts,” he said. CityWest Your Northwest Connection “Please be advised that your new cable service provider, CityWest: Cable & Telephone, - aT “hes added TIN, the Telelatino Network to Basic Cable Service 0 on Channel 63. NETWORK For cable. inquiries, please continue to call . 1-800-442-8664 . Thank-you. aul TERRACE PROUD TO Ser a ApopT® A® PET ‘a’ Chow Chow cross. He is appoximately one year of age; a little more filling out he has to go. Skyler has been with us for some time now and is in desperate need of 'a good, kind home. Due to Skyler's ‘accommodate him fully. A patient owner with some dog training experience would be perfect for Skyler. old, spayed tabby. She was put up for adepon by her previous owners along with her buddy, Aslin. Astin, has. since She is a super nice cat with a enormous desire for a new home. She prefers the Md indoors and seems good.with other cats M too. Do you have a bit more room in your J hea‘ for that special cat? Please consider I Mora, you won't be disappointed, VIEW ANIMALS AT: www.petfinder.com Come see these animals at the Terrace Animal Shelter Skyler is handsome white hoped size he will require a large property to Mora is a 9°r eous 2 and half. year been adopted, Teaving poor Mora alone. . - Starter Kits 10-55 Gallon NOW 20% OFF . ~for C Club Pet Members! PLUS - We've got a great selection of stocking stuffer ideas now in stock! ePetianG Q tte Yo . ~ oe” - Terrace would like to thank wish you and your family the i) noe Warmest wishes | - a for the holiday. a Our ‘best wishes to everyone all over - this ‘great community at this special time of year. Your locai* Tim Hortons in for-your, support this year and - happiest of holidays. Coming Friday, | December 16th. Get your entry forms from any of our participating merchants fill in your wishes up! to a value of $500 and drop it: in the draw box located in the centre af the mall, we December 16th at 9:00 p.m ~ 4 Lucky people will win everything on their ® ‘$500 wish list. *Open until 11 pm*._ a “pus 6, 000 worth of Gift. Certificates will als be drawn, through- » out the evening Photos By . Photos By - Appetit a es ee _Appoiniment ie 1-5PM 1-5PM 16. aareniout | 17 (OPEN “TH. 1PM | Eh ] 9. LATE NIGHT, OPEN ‘Tit 9PM 21 ue nicnt | 22 aie nicHT “OPEN ‘TIL 9PM | OPEN ‘TIL 9PM. 20 ate nicur OPEN ‘TIL 9PM . me 12-4PM . _12:4PM. * F OPEN TIL T1PM | LAST MINUTE ong SHOPPING }:4'?. ° 23 "CLOSED. “: BOXING DAY. .|-- ; i -:9:30AM-6PM - l7 9:30AM-6PM 29 9:30AM-6PM.._ ae . 9:30AM-5PM. ° NEW YEAR’S EVE: “9:30AM-6PM. “| CLOSED AT SPM: I SRR REE Jticn. eA Sa ES Bs ee eR eee RES