_ §an,. 6 while .those ‘at “Skeen ATTN: }UICTORIA suau ik4 Peter Monteith Fulton slams RRSP shift _ TERRACE — A fedéral infor- mation campaign. concerning registered retirement | savings plan contributions is. nothing but ‘‘smoke and mirrors,”’ says Skeena NDP MP Jim Fulton. The campaign features mail outs- informing taxpayers of - . their maximum RRSP contribu- _tion levels for this tax year. It’s based on changes brought in by LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY SPARLIANENT BLOG R.V. CARDIN BC CAM TERRACE — It’s not: just steelhead that are disappearing from the Skeena — summer-run anglers are also an endangered species. This was one of the: fi ndings of a recent survey conducted by the city of fishing licence ‘sales in 1989 and 1990. The survey shows a dramatic . decline in 1990 licence sales from the year before, says city. economic development officer Peter Monteith. ‘While 1,833 - six-day mnon- resident. ‘and alien licences were sold in local outlets in 1989, the figure was halved the following year to 914. The trend was the federal government and ap- [* © . plies to 1990 earned income... _. But the mail out fails to tell taxpayers that, depending upon heir income, the contribution levels have been cut:back. The old level, for taxpayers ff who don't have a private. pen- “sid planiy“was" "20° per'¢ ‘o " earned incometoa ‘maxim m of $7,500. The. new level ti raises ‘the n max- imum to $11,500 but cuts back -, the percentage figure to 18 per * cent. ; That means a person earning $30,000 could have contributed a-maximum $6,000 under the old level. ‘The new level reduces that level to $5,400. “The change of contribution limit, from 20 per cent to 18 per cent, has a substantial impact on middle income earners,” said Fulton. in a letter to na- tional revenue minister Otto Jelinek. “Those with large incomes, ~ such as $60,000 and more, can contribute substantially more,” said Fulton. “So while middle and. lower income earners are savaged with reductions — the wealthy get an . increased.tax holiday,” he con- tinued. "¥our tax policies are . remarkably. similar to those of _the Liberals,"’ the letter added. Fulton’s waiting for a reply ‘from Jelinek. ot Mills “TERRACE _ Christmas holidays. are turning out to be > Jonger than usual for workers at the two large mills here...” Both: Skeena Cellulose’:and Skéena Sawmills: closed down |. 3 portions | of their - mills “for “ .. Various feasons the: weekend “before: Christmas, ¢2 050) 2 Bull operations, ‘at. Skeena. oe Sawmills: are’ duéto start ‘up “Cellulose are scheduled ¢ again. Jan. Soft market conditions: i ““Skeena Sawmills partial closure, gays matiager Don Chesley. The watch sections” have: kept operating; ° oe market related and we anges in. the way. the. ‘mill operates ‘were the cause ‘of the planer; maintenance and fire. in. snows fall, he iald, "Gonna anemia? are du repeated with, chinook tags which collapsed from just short of 12,000 to tess than 6,000. Even worse were the statistics for steelhead. licerice sales to non-residents, down nearly two- thirds from 1,277 in 1989 to on- ly 448 in 1990. Less clear, however, was the reason angling tourists are stay- ; ing away. . Monteith said the city: sent surveys to 33 local motels, hotels, tackle shops and some guides. . Of the 24 who returned the . ‘-Sportsfishermen’s Coalition. falled off with 33 per cent - surveys, all said business had estimating a drop of 11-20 per cent’ for an ‘estimated loss of revenue of $442,000 last year. Just over half the businesses - ‘— 58 per cent — blamed the im- Ppsition of a $10 a day. extra licerice for driving out-of- province angling tourists away, ‘A further 25 per cent said those ~ , Higence’fees had ‘‘somewhat af- fected’” their business. "As for the 1992 season, 79 per . ‘cent believed the regulations “: : would cut business in 1992. ‘But 16 per cent of those surveyed indicated lack of fish was the main problem, a view shared by the Skeean Watershed Monteith said it was difficult to say if the extra fees or lack of t Kill employed oy his ‘waterborne counterparts. ‘Those who enioy the challenges : i¢ mouritain have created a. Series of runs designed to helghten the excitem nt: to start up Jan. 6, provided | the’ weather co-operates to ensure completion of the outdoor Work, he added. - “ Skeena Cellulose - yaanager ‘ Rand Menhinick said his mill's closing i in order to build up alog inventory ‘depleted’ because of .y.t¥dnsportation’ problems: caused - by; ‘sogey toads.) 0°. “. “We're just - short. of logs. There's s been lots of rain and no : salaried | employees will: remain ~ of the job and the mill's logging | operations may increase if frost the: roads, : eh Menhinick add * "Ideally, mils. build ap thelr “top, ‘Inventory _ after: front. hits and” ‘befare : are keeping a Ghose ¢ eye on ‘poor markets for « their products, ° eh: don't think. any: industry can stand the markets we're fac- Ang. if. It was Teal ‘one ‘term. _ surprise It's as simple ag that," he A : ‘Maintenance - ‘workers and We're going on the premise there will be an improvement ‘somewhere around the end of the first quarter {of 1992),’’ said Chesley. wa News ofthe closures didn't IWA-Canada Local 171. representative Surinder taking time off Malhotra, “We were expecting something since the two-week closure on Labour Day,” he said -of the short layoff ex- perienced by Skeena Cellulose workers earlier this year. ers fading fish played the bigger role in the angler number drop. “Perhaps if someone was paying $10 a day and there were fish around, they could justify it to themselves,” he said, Given the average fishermen would baulk at paying a premium just to watch their line all day, Monteith suspects both factors came into ‘play. He's suggesting the city bring. . sports fishing interests together for solutions-to hale the decline. of angling tourists. The city could then take the ° solutions proposed by the united front to ‘the provincial government for action, Monteith said, | went on sale last December. Music TERRACE —The' chamber. of commerce still has’ some Music ’91 banners left... --"; And for $20 they would make a nifty birthday present or other kind of gift. ; The banners have: never: been used and are just like the ones that hung on: the. new Skeena bridge. this past. year as part of the‘province’s music showcase. Chamber manager Bobbie: Phillips reports that ‘nearly 30 remain of the batch that: Ways to ease ICBC rocket TERRACE — Although car owners face a sharp jump in their car insurance premiums next year, and ICBC spokesman Ken Hardie says there may be ways to ease the pain. As of Feb. 1, 1992, owners will be able to buy insurance three months at a time as oppos- ed to the old six-month minimum, ~ ICBC has also lowered the surcharge for short term in- surance from four per cent of the annual premium to three per - cent. Hardie. also. fecommended people spend mote’ time going’ over their insurance with their i broker when renewing. Apart from checking whether they qualified for the new and cheaper short commute rate, he also said they should ensure “the rest of the coverage is what they really need, particularly the deductibles.’* Suggesting many owners should switch to a $500 deducti- ble, he pointed out the higher deductible would reduce the premium payable. There was also little sense in an owner entitled to the 40 per cent safe driving discount in making a claim where he was at fault and the damage was any less than $500 because losing the discount would cost him a lot more, said Hardie. ; For example, the discount- entitled owner of a 1987 Honda Civic hatchback would have paid $740 for insurance. One accident claim this year would drive the premium up to $1,245, even at the short commute rate. The effect would be magnified because it would take a few years to requalify for the full 40 per cent. And during those years, ICBC premiums were likely to keep rising if the current claims trend did not change. If there ‘was no change, Hardie pointed out, ICBC had calculated it would need a further 14 per cent increase in 1993 and nine per cent in cach year 1994-96, Although the provicnial government had taken a wait- and-see attitude to those future - hikes, ‘‘Those increases are sit- ting out there lurking,’® he Ken Hardie warned. Given the above, Hardie said, motorists involved in fender- benders and at fauit might well be better off paying for the damage ‘out of their own pocket. ‘We'll do all the adjusting, estimating and paperwork, then, once the vehicle is repaired, the person can reim- burse JCBC and not lose the dis- count,’’ Hardie continued, Anyone cheosing that alter- native should iell the adjustor when first making the claim, he said. % cs Page AS. _ Bankruptcies hold Nortt S “PRINCE RUPERT - — A clty > alderman wants to-know If ; om at: the federal port . “Joba Kut bas azked the cl : jhere’s a tature for container. ys: ebouoinie ico a te Somimett to ot t SMITHERS — A gold mine north ‘OF bere is. Inyiag, off. more Ahan, half. of. its Cheal Gold in the Toodog- 7 Wants to build a new. fire hall a pyran: two oor and © gone’ biames: Jesa-than- com ‘TELKW LKWA. — ‘The. village. oopmans sald the’new © recture is. needed because: