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~ Kari and Joe

ee

"money and our resources.

“wanted kept inthe dark. .,°

" -protection of democracy. I

~ nto fishing «grounds in

Nisga‘a treaty letters

Wood, water

1
Dear Sir:

I can’t believe all of the people from Terrace and other
places that are so willing to pass judgment on the Nisga’a
tréaty,

] can understand the Terrace city council being in favour
‘of it because the extra new money will help Terrace out of
its bankrupt state,

After-all if they don’t play ball it’s not far to Kitimat or
Prince Rupert to buy new cars, etc. And that would mean
goodbye Nisga’a money. —

But some of these other people who are not directly con-

" nected to or are affected by this land claim are still praising
it as though they knew what they were talking about, It’s
not the people from Terrace who have to live under the |
agricment, it’s the people of the Nass. 7

We had several issues at the outset but we shaved them
down to just two issues which we felt were mandatory for -
ou/ survival in the future. They were a decent acceptable
place to cut firewood and watershed protection for our
vely delicate watershed.

All we were offered was some place over the Hoodoo to
cut firewood and Forest Practices Code logging in our
watershed. Neither one of these offers are any good to use.

This is not-much to ask for and it’s bard to understand
why so many people have no concern at all for the non-

’ Native people of the Nass. We need a referendum.
| Lloyd Brinson, Nass Camp, B.C.

Sad nonsense

‘Dear Sir:

_| I'd certainly like to know if the run-in between the
‘Nisga’a and the Gitanyow as described in the Aug. 26 is-
sue of The Terrace Standard is just an isolated case or fu-
ture way to come after the land claims are settled.

In my opinion it is very sad such nonsense is taking place
after so many years of coming to terms.

The story does not describe if the Nisga’a Tribal Council
sanctions such armed confrontations, Is history repeating
itself in the coming years as it used to be when native
tribes raided each other for oolichan grease and took
women and children as slaves?

‘It is very fortunate those Gitanyow mushroom pickers
made a peaceful retreat.

“What is the RCMP doing about it? They are the ones

who get paid to enforce gun laws. However, in a federal

fascist gun-law minded system, you pit the natives against
each other to wipe each other out and solve a problem.
Manfred Bader, Thornhill, B.C.

Dear Sir;

: Monna Manhas, in her letter to the editor in the Aug. 26

issue of The Terrace Standard, compares Skeena Reform
‘MP Mike Scott’s refusal to go to New Aiyansh to Skeena
‘NDP MLA Helmut Gicsbrecht’s refusal to go hear Kari
i Simpson last-year.
; As Monna Manhas says Kari Simpson was in Terrace to
speak about the “homosexual agenda.’’ There was no
| agenda in Aiyansh. The purpose was to celebrate an end to

en eR er ee ha

| years of effort to achieve a fair treaty settlement

‘Manhas compares Mr. Scott's refusing to share in the joy
of his constituents and celebrate the possible conclusion of
years of extensive negotiations and the first B.C. treaty in
more than a hundred years, to (now get this) Helmut Gies-
brecht not going to hear a two-hour rant by Kari Simpson
advocating the continued use of laws to discriminate
against gay and lesbian persons. .

Remember Kari Simpson’s views were well-known by
this time by anyone who listened to the news. Try to justi-
fy Mike Scott’s consistent write-off of an entire area of his
riding if you want, Ms. Manhas, but your comparison is
not logical. It is like comparing Kari Simpson to Joe Gos-
nell and the entire Nisga nation.
Si Vicki Fenton, Terrace, B.C.

Public has the right to know

Gov't can't
By JIM FULTON
MOST BRITISH Colum-
blans will never use Free- '
dom of - Information jaws,
federal or provincial. But
every British Columbian
should worry about
politicians -who move to
chop our right to know. And
chopping is exactly what's

going on now.

The governing New Dem-
ocrais in Victoria, with
hardly a peep from the Op-
position, are wrecking the
Fréedom of Information
(FOI) Act. Jacking up fees,
slowing down access, and a
host of other political tricks
are. all designed to keep the

public from knowing what’s
really going on with our

that the majority of the
senior scientists —that
reviewed the project op-
posed it. A small group of
politicians (who likely
wouldn’t know toxic waste
from a Big Mac) had simply
buried this critical informa-
tion, In the end, Amax was
not allowed to Keep the spe-
‘cial permit and Parliament
itself condemned the
politicians for abuse of
power.

The public must be al-
lowed to hold government.
accountable, And that in-
cludes the right of the public
to know what deals the
Loyal Opposition is making,
too.

Many documents that I.
obtained over the years that
revealed deals made by
politicians from both sides,

I was a Member of Parlia-

~ ment for 15 years and know |
from. first-hand experience -
how valuable Freedom of |

atissue here —

Pe Ce

NISGA'A ELDERS ride in a canoe-type vehicle to the Aug. 4 initialing of the
Nisga’'a treaty held in New Aiyansh. It was a day of celebration for the crowd who
attended. But others have their own opinions of the treaty,

Pe

There's no way to compare the rally held by Kari Simpson (pictured here) last’
year with the Nisga’a treaty initialing last month in New Aiyansh, says writer.

gut freedom law

cess to those files that hold
key evidence about projects.

It might be secret evidence
about the spread of disease
from salmon farms to wild
salmon, it might be about
special deals for Six Mile
Ranch, it might be about the
health effects of a chemical
plant where you work.

The David Suzuki Foun-
dation makes use of FOI to
find out what government is
really doing to conserve and
protect the environment. We
often find that government
does the opposite of what
they say they are doing. And
we're not alone in ovr find-
ings,

+ The Sierra Club of B.C.
- obtained under FO] the.
. study of the impacts of
clearcut logging on Van-
couver Island’s San Juan

- Information laws are for the

uncovered dozens of
“scandals by legally ‘‘free-°
‘ing”’ letters, documents, and

studies that government |

have already paid fo
documents that are

“Let’s not forget that we, the public,
fthe studies and the -

sought under Free-.

dom of Information legisiation.”

“For example, | remember,
when, Canada and B.C. -
prot al permit for:
ines one of the largest the balance of evidence sup-
“mining companics in the’, ports a decision, but FOI
world),to dump 100 million ensures that the public can
fiétric.tons of toxic waste “review political decisions.

“into 15 What B.C. _ politicians’

cndrihern B.C. seem to be doing is chop-

One might expect this where

River. No wonder the
, government and the forest
industry § wanted this
$60,000 —publicly-funded

, study buried. It concluded.

that © clearcut, logging
destroys salmon habilat.

: -"""Yader FOL, 1 discovered . ping off our right to get ac- , Some of the top stories of

1997

Jim Fulton

were —sresearched
‘through FOI requests. FOI
requests by journalists un-
covered widespread physi-,

approval of
questionable persons to
work with children (includ-
ing those convicted of sex
crimes with children), and
elder abuse in nursing
homes, The public interest
is served by journalists ex-
posing problems hidden by
goverment. |

The government wants to
raise the fees for answering
information requests, It’s al-
teady @ complicated pro-
cess, loaded with stalling,

costly fees, and loopholes
because politicians like to
hide controversial decisions.
We need the FOI Act to get
the truth.

Let’s not forget that we,
ihe public, have already
paid for the studies and the
documents that are sought
under FOL For that very
reason, Freedom of In-
formation should be open,
uncomplicated, and in-
expensive. ;
Democracy is better pro-
tected when the public
knows what our govem-
ment, our . opposition
politicians, and our
bureaucrals are doing.
Shame on those that
would try to restrict our
right to know, Shame on
these on the Opposition
benches that are so lame
about fighting to protect a
fundamental tool of the Op-

’ cal and sexual abuse in day . position and the public,
_ care centres, government ,, Politicians hate FOI, Only

with pressure from the pub-
lic and the free press will we
keep our right to know,

Jim Fukon is Executive .

Director of the David
Suzuld Foundation and a
served as the NDP Member:
of Parliament for, Skeena
Jrom 1979 to 1993.

He wrote this as part of
an effort by community
groups atid journalists to
preserve and enhance Free-
dont of Information legisla-
don.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 2, 1998 - A5
LIL TSE

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERAACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

5 . a .
It’s a ski paradise here
Dear Sir:

Regarding the recent story about filming skling in
Stewart, local skiers and snowboarders have known for
years about Stewart's, and all of northwest B.C.’s,
great snow and terrain.

Witness the dedication of Prince Rupert skiers who
do their annual summer pilgrimage to Stewart, just to
get in more skiing fun in preparation for next winter,

Free skiing, or whatever iabel the marketers want io
put on it, is just a different level of what is a pretty fine
way of having fun in the snow, And the best part of it,
in our area, is that there’s something in skiing and
boarding for everyone.

You'll see people at Shames and Smithers from three

to eighty-three years old, soaking up the blast of the.
sports. Our two local areas offer different terrain, snow
conditions, and atmosphere, all more than enough to
keep all the family members coming back for more.

There’s always more to challenge yourself, be it
cruisers, bumps, powder, tree skiing, racing or air.

But the draw for RAP’s film producers in Stewart,
and the draw for many of us, is the backcountry. This
comer of the province has terrain that rivals anywhere,
Explore it on skis or snowboard. (Snowmobilers, you
already know what we’ve got here.)

There’s lots of touring, you can be guided or go with
a club, and now there’s heli-skiing, too. If you think
you’ve skied the lifts for long enough, and you want a
little variety, it’s here in our own backyard. Always has
been. The rest of the world just didn’t notice.

Rod Gee, Terrace, B.C.
_ {received via e-mail

He'll take a cruise
Dear Sir:

We all got them. Six of one, a half a dozen of the
other MasterCard applications in the mail. Being on a
fixed income I chucked my first half dozen in the gar-
bage until one day I snorted, “What! Again!’ Yes,
they keep coming.

I decided to fill out one, asking for $99,999.99 on a
$50,000 limit. My only SIN was not giving mine. I
don’t have an employer because I’m on disability so I
put MHR down instead at $250/month. My financial
institution is the Last National Bank of Canada.

My co-applicant was a 95-year-old youth worker
from the City of Kitimat — who’d been employed by
the city for 75 years. I assumed they wouldn't realize
Kitimat was only built in the 1950s.

Several weeks fater I got a Capital One reply in the .
mail thanking me for my interest but suggesting my
recent request for credit privileges lacked on main. in-
gredient: a job! As a result my application ‘“‘failed to
meet ane or more important factors, and we are not
able to issue you a card at this time.”

This letter arrived the same day I received another
application form in the mail from MasterCard, which I
promptly filled out and returned.

I’ve always maintained that if they send me a card I
insist on immediately taking a world cruise.

Brian Gregg, Terrace, B.C.

«. Airport future crucial’
aa Ho
Dear Sir: °
A while ago, one of the elected kindly wrote to the
newspaper outlining the Terrace-Kitimat airport situa-
tion and the responsibilities of the airport society.
Two newspaper articles have been published since. It
seems that the airport takeover has disappeared again.
I beg of the city council, the group of seven, to set up
a referendum to decide the Terrace-Kitimat airport
question. Beforehand, every effort should be made to
enlighten and inform the 700 or more voters as to
whether or not the Terrace-Kitimat airport will stay on
its own two fect financially, after the funding from Ot-
tawa has dried up.
This forecast should include 10 years hence. Plainly
speaking, the group of seven would act as purchasing
agents on behalf of the property owners and would
most certainly require their permission legally and in
writing to proceed with this many sided and far reach- .
ing undertaking.
Let us not decide in haste and regret at our leisure.

Ma

ds

Gerald Duffus, Terrace, B.C..
Should do his homework
Dear Sir: a

I’ve been noticing letters from Mr. Kent Glowinski,
who ran as the Progressive Conservalive candidate in
Skeena in 1997. t

I am rather inclined to suspect that he has anaive and
simplistic view of politics. Responsible opposition is
more than just taking the opposite view and calling the
‘other’ a few derogatory names.

To accuse Mr. Scott of converting a region where
‘natives and non-natives lived in harmony’’ into an
“us against them’? territory is certainly a pretty reck-
less piece of rewriting Canadian history.

Maybe he bas not noticed that there has been a very
high stakes native claims process going on, based on
politics of collective guilt which has led to a great deal
of divisiveness; you may have your views as to the
legitimacy of those claims, but to accuse Mr. Scott (or
for that matter the Reform Party of Canada) of instigat-
ing the polarization is a bit rich.

To find fault with Mr. Scott’s (and most of the rest of
our) aspiration for equality {at law) for all Canadians
seems to me rather silly and politically ill-advised.

God knows we need more people — and particularly
young people -— to take an active interest in politics if
democracy is to continue to serve us well. But maybe
the young man should take some time out to grow up
and appreciate ihe tremendously serious issucs at hand,
learn sound reasoning and really study history before
aspiring to senior candidacy.

‘ Hans Wagner, Prince George, B.C.

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters to the editor.
Our deadline is noon Friday for the following Wed-
nesday's issue. Our mailing address is 3210 Clinton
St, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. Our fax numberjis 250.
638-8432. We particularly welcome letters via e-mail.
Our e-mail address is
standard@kermode.net

More letters, Page A6