Once again, the quick fix is up
on the block to tackle and create
new ecological problems.

The Ministry of Forests is
conducting a study to determine
if habitat manipulation can rid

them of a vicious pest, the

meadow vole, that, it is claimed,
ate a million dollars worth of
seedlings.

‘Being tested are herbicidal
elimination of microtine habitat,
on burned and unburned areas,
and predator repellent.

I am particularly concerned
about the herbicidal elimination
of microtine habitat proposed
by forestry.

The forests that exist today
somehow managed to survive

rodent damage, and I just don’t
believe that the herbicidal solu-

. tion is necessary or desirable,

from an integrated forest
management point of view.
Forestry claims that there is a

Privatizat

Letter

To the Editor;

Privatization has become a
philosophy of the Social Credit
Party, a philosophy not put for-
ward during the last provincial
election campaign nor was it an
issue on the minds of the elec-
torate. Now the Social Credit
government is proceeding on a
course that is void of careful
thought, analysis and examina-
tion and as if they have a man-
date to sell off our public assets.
I recall, Daye. Parker being
noticeably quiet on the issue of
privatization during his election
campaign, Is it any wonder the
political climate remains polariz-
ed in British Columbia?

Why were the Social Credit
candidates not forthright with
the people of B.C. over their
plans to sell off highways
Maintenance operations, and
their plans to sell off area liquor
stores except those in Terrace
and Prince Rupert? Why were
we not told about the plans to

sell to the profit sector our labs

that test food and dairy pro-
ducts, feed and tissue and air
and water. The list goes on. The
hidden agenda includes less em-
phasis on public education and
more support for private
schools. The tria! balloon favor-
ing hospitals for the wealthy has.
already been floated. Privatiza-

tion has been launched without a —

mandate to do so.

So where does the idea or
principle of privatization come
from? Basically the plan being

- put forward by Social Credit has

been imported from Great Bri-
tain. It began with the Conser-
vative government of Margaret

City of Terrace
Advisory Parks &

| Recreation Commission

by Jorma Jyrkkanen

population explosion this year
and it may be due to too few
predators. ,

However, the predator shor-
tage may itself be due to shor-
tage of denning areas due to

over-harvesting of snags.

A contributing factor may be
in part because the predator
population has a normal time
lag between when their food
supply, the mice, and their own
populations respond with a
numerical increase.

By eliminating .the rodents,
which incidentally provide food
for numerous species of game
and non-game animals and
which are the primary protein
source for many animals,
predator numerical response in-
crease will be prevented.

Thus, we will have locked in

- to the chemical solution if we in-

terfere in this natural cycle, and
spell destruction for populations
of numerous wildlife species.

The list is long; of bird species
that eat mice, including: short
eared owls, great horned owls,
barred owls, saw whet owls,

PaaS eee ae MT LE eee

_ Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 20, 1988 r

~ Seedling losses are part of the price

screech owls, snowy owls,
pygmy owls, great grey owls,
northern shrikes, sparrow
hawks, marsh hawks, red tailed
hawks, rough legged hawks,
great blue herons and other
birds.

Many of these birds could be
enhanced by providing nesting
boxes to replace the snags lost
during clear cutting,

Sparrow hawks and the
smaller owls are wonderful
predators of mice and they
readily take to artificial nest
boxes.

Game animals that need mice
include wolves, among whom

- the vole forms a critical portion

of their diet when other food
species are in short supply.

Bears also feed on mice and
they are a staple of foxes and
coyotes,

ion could mean lower wages

Thatcher. Strangely enough
even Thatcher, who is known as
the mother of privatization, was
not forthright in 1979 with her
people before launching the
world’s largest wholesale sell off
of public assets. She plans to in-
clude municipalities in her
scheme. The real push for
privatization did not come from
the people of Great Britain nor
from those of British Columbia.
It has its roots in the corporate
board rooms of both countries
and is being advanced by
business leaders who simply hate
the word ‘‘public’’, To them
everything , should -be..,private.
property and be dble to be
bought and sold like a commodi-
ty. They include within this prin-
ciple hospitals and schools, to
mention only two. In Great Bri-
tain, one of the big pushes for
privatization is the Adam Smith
Institute; in B.C. we have the
Fraser Institute. Membership

within the Fraser Institute in-~

cludes many well known com-
panies and wealthy individuals.
Privatization is part of their
agenda for British Columbia; an
agenda being advanced by a
handful of powerful people,
people of privilege. The Social
Credit Party is its means to im-
plement that agenda.

Thatcher’s Conservative ad-
visors on privatization are also
in liaison with the Social Credit
cabinet of British Columbia.
These advisors believe public
services and assets should be

-privately owned. So far the
British military and the courts

have been exempted, as no one
has been able to develop a plan
to include them. Conferences
have been held in Canada and
B.C, to develop strategies on
how best to sell off our public

pe

APPOINTMENT

The City of Terrece is requesting persons to serve on the Terrace Ad-
visory Parks & Recreation Commission. The Commission is a voluntary

Council appointed agency, whose function Is to advise Council regarding
the provision of Parks and Recreation services in Terrace. Appointments

are for two-

r terms. The Commission meets once per month.

if further Infermation Is required regarding the role of the Commission,
please confoct E.R. Hallsor, Clerk-Administrator, City of Terrace by
telephoning 635-6311. Letters of Interest must be recelved by the City by
February 12, 1908, at the following address:

E.R. Halleor,
Clerk-Administrator
City of Terrace,

3215 Eby Street, Terrace, B.C. V8G 2X8

1/20

_ services.

British Columbia has for
decades been developing public
services and crown corporations
to build its economy and to take
over where the private profit sec-
tor failed. Social Credit has been
the creator of most of B.C.’s
crown corporations. W.A.C.
Bennett created B.C. Hydro,
B.C. Rail and B.C. Ferries out
of need. The finest highways
maintenance operation was built
over the decades to serve the
public. The present Social Credit
government is demonstrating ut-
ter contempt for such vital
public services. Even I.C.B,C, js

rumored to be on the auction.

block, one of North America’s
most cost effective insurance
companies. It is our company.

Goris

Northwest
Community College

The liquor sales operation is ex-
tremely cost effective from a
business perspective. Further-
more, these public corporations

and services provide decent

wages and benefits to the
workers and their families.
Social Credit draws com-
parisons for ‘its privatization
scheme from the N.D.P. govern-
ment of Manitoba where that
government plans to sell the
Flyer Bus Company and a pulp
mill. What we are not being told
is that the Manitoba government
requires the buyers to retain the
current employees and their

wages. and benefits., The, .B.C,,

privatization scheme includes no
such assurances. Bill 19 was

~ continued on page 16

INTERNAL EVALUATION

‘DATE: February 1, 1988
TIME: 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.
PLACE: Northwest Community College Cafeteria

Everyone is Invited to
Come and Participate

* Is Northwest Community College successfully
serving the Communities?
* Are there programs/services we should
be offering?
* Are we offering programs that no longer suit the
Educational needs of the Regions we serve?
* Should we be held more accountable for
what we do?

_- Bring Your Ideas, Constructive
Criticism and Compliments with you!

Furbearers that prey on mice —
include wolverines, fishers,
marten, weasels of several kinds,
and mink.

By enlisting the help of trap-
pers, weasels and fox could
perhaps be left in a temporary
moratorium in those areas
hardest hit by voles, thus helping
solve the problem.

There are many other possible
postivie solutions to. this pro-
blem that do not require the
chemical mentality being ad-
vocated by MOF.

I suggest that the sociological
and long term ecological and
economical costs of preventing
these species from numerical
response to a healthy microtine
population will far outweigh the
normal Joss of seedlings ex-
perienced due to voles.

Zooltogists tell us that we are
today in a period of global rapid
extinction of species precipitated
in large measure by human ac-
tivities that are destroying
habitats of other s>ecies.

This suggests that for our
part, we need to become more
responsible in protection of
habitats and populations and
preservation and encouragement
of species other than ourselves,
if we are to do our bit as respon-
sible global citizens.

I suggest that instead of in-
creasing the killing of all these
other species as a management
tool to satisfy the short-term-
quick-fix-interference mentality,
as responsible global citizens we
look ‘towards’ increasing preda-
tors and accept some seedling
loss as part of the cost of reaping
the timber harvest.

1/20c