A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TERRACE: STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 A Division of Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd. ADDRESS: 3710 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net It’s our turn © HERE’S THE DEAL. While Avenor and Repap struggle to put scheme together that’ll please the legions of law- yers, stockholders, tax accountants and the like the future of Repap’s holdings in B.C. is in doubt. Avenor has been quite clear it won’t be here long enough to do a load of laundry in their at- tempt to sell Repap’s holdings to pay down the debt they’re taking on. Which is fair enough given that the northwest was never in the picture when it comes to the hidden corporate machina- tions of this kind. . So the challenge lies in what comes after — whether the northwest wants to sit back and let another group of corporate cowboys come in and start the music up again. The answer to that rests with legislation making it mandatory that five per cent of a forest licence revert back to the province every time it changes hands. Repap controls more than two million cubic metres of wood a year under direct licence. With a five per cent reduction when Avenor takes over and a further five per cent when Avenor sells off, the total take back will amount to more than 200,000 cubic metres of wood, That’s a lot of fibre — more than enough to make Avenor just a bit nervous. It’s already saying it just might try to convince the govern- ment to waive that take back in order to present a more attractive package to potential buyers. After all, mills are just so much iron without the wood to feed them. And this gives the province a golden op- portunity to act as an advocate for the northwest instead of its current role as a cheerleader for Avenot. . The idea of the five per cent take back is so the province can then turn it around and farm it out to smaller logging businesses to spread the wealth around a little, Why not return the five per cent to Avenor in exchange for a piéce of the action and do the same for the buyer Avenor wants to line up. Avenor and its potential buyer wouldn’t have much to lose in such a transaction. They'll be getting wood they need and gain the confidence of the northwest, allowing us to put the meat on the bones of how much large corporations say they want community involvement, understand- ing and support. | | The province would be at least creative and provide a solid example of the NDP govern- ment’s new theme of building partnerships for jobs and stability. This would seem to be right up the alley of Premier Glen Clark and his right hand man — Prince Rupert MLA Dan Miller who has a personal interest in ensuring a solid base for the northwest. He is the employment minister and would rather be that than to become known as the unemployment minister. And the northwest would win in the sense we would have a legitimate stake in our future and not be kept in the dark about our most important resource economy. a PUBLISHER/ EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Rick Passmore PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor . COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Kathleen Quigley ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveitos TELEMARKETER: Tracey Tomas ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law, Kelly Jean TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunette SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $53.50 per year; Seniors $48.15; Out of Province $60.99 Outside of Canada (6 months) $149.80 (ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST) MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION AND 6.C. PRESS COUNCIL Serving the Tenaca and Thornhill area. Published on Wednosday of each week by Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd. et 3210 Clinton Streel, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5A2. Stories, pholographs, illustrations, designs and typostyles in the Terrace Standard ara tha property of the copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1965) Lid., ifs illustration repro services and advertising Nrwsrarns aeeeectariag s Briiluk Sslembie and Tabet Roprodurcion whole orin pat, without writen pemissio, is spaciealy prohibited. Authorized es tacond-class mail pancing the Post Office Department, lor payrnent af postage In cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and carrespondents , for their time and talents Dog food is not the answer VICTORIA - The = great English lexicographer Samuel Jobnson once said society is defined by the way it treats its poor and destitute. If that is so, being Canadian might be considered a bil of a liability. T don’t wish to rain on the parade of Canadians who feel pride in knowing that this country has been repeatedly chosen by the United Nations as the best country in the world to live in, but the UN’s praise notwithstanding, there are some fairly obnoxious warts on the body Canada, Her parliamentary demo- cracy has served Canada well. . Our country is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. We have a relatively good health care system, The average Canadian’s standard of living is good. Canada may be the best country to live in, but consid- ering, some of the competition, there is more than enough room for improvement. Rather than being smug about how others see us, it might be a good idea to take a closer look in the mirror and recognize our shortcomings. I have no doubt that Canada is unsurpassed as a place to live if you have a good job, FROM:THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER eam a decent living and are healthy. And even if you’re poor, if you don’t know where your next meal comes from, Canada is preferable to many other. couttries,’ but the benefits of calling Canada your home don't look that good anymore, The National Council of Welfare recently reported that Canadians on social assistance have fallen deeper into poverty in every province and territory, except New Brunswick. The Slide is attributed to cuts and freezes in spending that has been fiercely embraced by every government in this coun- try. And even though British Columbia comes off looking slightly better than the majori- ty of other Canadian jurisdic- tions, the picture is depressing. Hardest hit by government cutbacks in spending were welfare recipients in Prince Edward Island, whose incomes sank by 23 per cent in 1995, followed by Ontario whose poor had to do with 21.6 per cent less. By comparison, welfare recipients in British Columbia saw their incomes reduced by only 1.7 per cent, a figure shared by several other pro- vinces, , The figures of what welfare recipients receive differs wide- ly from province to province. A single employable person in British Columbia got $6,837 in 1995. That figure was $3,295 - in’ New Brunswick “‘and’ $11,600 in the Northwest Ter- titories, For a single parent with one child, the figures were $13,699 in British Columbia, $11,151 in’ New Brunswick and $14,848 in the NWT respec- tively. These figures include basic social assistance, additional benefits, child tax benefits, provincial child benefits, GST credits and provincial tax credits, not all of which are available in every province and territory. The last time I wrote about the problems welfare recipients have making ends meet, I bad a call from a reader who said he never has accepted govern- ment handouts and makes do with less than social assistance provides. He told me he doesn’t spend money on furniture, he sleeps on a blanket, doesn’t need heat, occasionally eats dog or cat food, which he said is nutritious, and is all-round self sufficient. Welfare recipients, he said, could live as cheaply as he does. Well, I don’t think I’m going to argue with him. If he wants to eat dog food, that’s his choice, but I don’t think any Canadian should be compelled ‘by ‘poverty"to'share the man’s dtrap sere peculiar lifestyle. There is something very wrong when the country con- sidered the best in the world to live in reports a rise in demand on food banks of 50 per cent last year. We've got a ways to go be- fore we measure up to Samuel Johnson’s assessment of what constitutes a self-respecting society. Beyer can be reached at Tel: 920-9300; Fax: 385-6783; E- mail: hubert@coolcom.com Another victim, no solutions VICTORIA - ‘‘Known to the ministry’? is a phrase more ominous than ‘“You’re HIV positive’? or ‘You're being audited.’ “Known to the ministry’” clangs with finality. Just last week a 25 year old Kelowna mother allegedly strangled her five-year-old daughter Kala to death. Fifleen mouths earlier social services had worked with the family. Things apparently improved; the ministry withdrew. Too soon, we know now. Kala’s strangulation bears an eerie resemblance to the death of five-year-old Matthew Vaudrevil by his mother’s hands, Matthew's death sparked a lengthy inquiry by Judge Gove into social ser- vices’ handling of children at risk. Gove's inquiry took months, cost B.C, taxpayers thousands, and finally recommended eigh- ty ways to improve the system. As a result, the ministry was re-coufigured. It was given a PAP? WHAT 1S THE MEANING OF LIFE? WHAT WAS TL PuT HERE To Po 2? ‘THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI new name, a wider scope. A new minister, Penny Priddy - herself an adoptee - was put in charge. New policies and guidelines were written up. And 300 more social workers were hired. But down at the childrens’ level, litde seems to have im- proved, Yesterday a 9 year old Abbotsford boy - known to the ministry « was found hanging in bis closet. Whenever government ser- vice is to be improved, office Space is re-assigned, new stationery is printed, and extra staff are hired. All at great ex- ense. But litde funding or services dribble down to assist intended recipients. Think of the B.C. Forest Renewal Fund. It hired eighty bureaucrats before it spent a penny helping out of work log- gers or their communities. How can we safeguard chil- dren better than we’re doing? Several years ago Halifax hospitals began a program which so far has reduced the number of babies abused, as each mother and her newborn is discharged, they are paired with an experienced mother, The experienced mother acts as a confidant, a mentor, some- one the new mother can look to for advice and reassurance in coping with her un- accustomed role of parent. With luck the match will lead to a long-standing partnership, Every parent kuows how demanding and stressful child raising can be. For single parents, especially, the job can become a relentless 24 hours a day grind that intensifies when the child or parent is sick, That’s when the family needs friends or family who can step in for an hour or two to take the pressure off, provide some space to cooled down, Matthew Vaudreuil's mother testified she asked the ministry to take her son into temporary custody until she felt capable of looking after bim. Instead the ministry deemed her fit to cope and ‘eft Matthew in her care, Unfortunately. Under turrent law, snyone who has even a suspicion a child might be at risk is legally bound to report it. But what good is reporting if the minis- try can’t keep kids safe? Until we find a solution, “known to the ministry” will be a signal to brush off the black suit, practice a few hymns, and keep two pennies handy.