Ad4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 3, 2001

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

PUBLISHER: ROD LINK
ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C, « VBG 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 « FAX: (250) 638-8432
EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

Another year

HISTORIANS WILL one day regard 2000 in the
northwest as the year the regional economy stabi-
lized,

After a three-year battering because of pro-
blems with the basic resource industries of the
northwest, the region, if it did not exactly prosper,
did not slip back

Despite politically-motivated caterwauling from
the south, Skeena Cellulose is alive and kicking
thanks, in part, to a healthy pulp industry. The
broad-based impact of this all-so-important eco-
nomic generator in the northwest puts money and
jobs into the region.

The forest industry overall received good news
late in 2000 with the provincial government an-
nouncing its willingness to ease up on royalty
rates for wood and to permit more log exports.

The signing of the Nisga’a treaty has intro-
duced a new stream of development money into
the northwest. Just as important is the political
stability stemming from the treaty in an otherwise
slightly chaotic land claims environment.

To the west, moves to develop the Prince Ru-
pert waterfront as a tourist attraction and a growth
in the small cruise ship industry can only mean
good news for Terrace. Indeed, ambitious plans
fo construct a docking facility for large cruise
Ships should be bolstered by all the moral support
and good wishes Terrace can muster.

That’s because if there is one thing the last three
years has taught us is that the cities and towns in
the northwest cannot act independently of one an-
other.

What happens in Prince Rupert, Kitimat, the
Nass Valley and even the Hazeltons and Smithers
has an effect on Terrace. And vice versa.

This city remains as the central goods and ser-
vices provider for the northwest. Overall, the
type, quantity and quality of services here out-
weighs what our own population could support
all by itself, It is only because we are at the cross-
roads of the northwest, depending as we are on
visitors from other places, that we enjoy and can
use what we have.

To be sure, there are problems. There’s uncer-
tainty in Kitimat over whether Methanex will ever
re-open its methanol plant. And Alcan’s determi-
nation to close one of its seven potlines because
of a hydro-power shortage is not welcome. Still,
it seems there are other agendas at work in both
these circumstances.

The northwest also welcomes the new year
with cuts in federal income tax and modest reduc-
tions in the provincial tax. At the very least, this
money will help ease the growing bill for natural
gas. .
Are we on a roll? Not quite. But we’re all still
here and that’s about as much as can be expected
as we face the challenges of the new year,

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MAYGE IF
WE ALL PuLLEp
TOGETHER...

TRIED THAT

. a
NS

OIRICE 00 ]

Tackling the tough health issues —

VICTORIA - Remember
when politicians of all stripes
assured Canadians during the
last election campaign that
“saving” the country’s health
care system was foremost on
their minds?

What they didn’t tell us
was how they would save it.
As far as I can ascertain the
federal Liberals believe that
spreading a few billion dollars
around will do the trick,

Taking their cue from Otta-
wa, the British Columbia NDP
government staged a public
relations extravaganza to show
us that they are indeed throw-
ing some more money at
health care.

And at whom specifically
did they throw it? Doctors
mosily. Does any politician
really believe that this is how

we can repair the health care. -
., System? If so, we should throw
‘ the‘ lot. out'at the earliest op-.. C!-™ ae
Vy sta Tore and more people Live

portunity,” °” ,

The answers, if there are
any, to our health care pro-
blem can only be found in an
exhaustive nation-wide de-
bate, perhaps even one of
those much-maligned Royal
Comumissions.

There is simply no way to
keep increasing budgets for
health care without first ascer-
taining how the money should
be spent.

When Tommy Douglas first

HUBERT BEYER

introduced Medicare in Sas-
katchewan, times were differ-
ent. There were no million-
dollar pieces of equipment to
diagnose a dozen different dis-
cases, And many surgical pro-
cedures we take for granted
were unknown

The result is that heart by-
pass surgery carries a price tag

of more’ than $30,000. And-

longer and will, at some time
or other, be candidates for
open-heart surgery.

As our average age in-
creases, Canadians expect
miracles from modern medical
science. We do not question
whether doctors should through
heroic efforts extend the lives
of their patients for even a
week,

Maybe they should, maybe
they shouldn’t. I’m not a-medi-
cal expert, nor am I an ethi-

cist. But I believe that we
should talk about it.

How about rationing health
care? Smokers get one bypass
operation. If they don’t quit,
they won’t qualify for another.
You don’t like it? Neither do I,
but it should be discussed.

How about a two-tiered

health care system? Nothing
gets you evicted faster from an
NDP rally than the mention of
a two-tiered health care,
’ But why shouldn’t the pri-
vate sector be able to look
after some medical proce-
dures, as long as no-one is de-
nied treatment for lack of
money?

How about eliminating
health care premiums and
automatically insuring every
Canadian? The money it costs
to collect the premiums isn’t
that much less than what it
collects... pote

How. about farming‘ “out:
medical : procedures ‘to’ other’

jurisdictions? About 12 years

ago, [ had open-heart surgery

in Seattle because the waiting
lists here were more than 12
months, The price tag was
lower than it would have been
here in B.C.

There are super-modermn
hospitals in Thailand with
equipment our hospitals can
only dream of, where outstand-
ing surgeons perform a bypass
operation at a cost of $1,500

Can. _
You may not like the topics

T have listed for possible inelu- ‘ .

sion in a public debate on
health care. I may not care for
some of them myself, but that
doesn’t mean we should stick
our collective head in the sand
and pretend that all will be
well, as long as we shovel
more money in the direction of
health care. ;

For years, the opposition
parties have urged the Liberal
government to instruct. the
House of Commons standing
committee on health to initiate
a comprehensive study on how
the health care system could
be saved.

What we've pot instead
from the government are warn-
ings on cigarette packages that

will as of now include graphic -

pictures of diseased lungs,
Pm sorry, but | expect more

“i from--my ‘federal government”
‘than’ pandering to the’ ‘antie!

smoking lobby.

These people were elected
to lead us, and that’s. what 1
expect the government to do.
The debate. on health care
should start right now. And
when the results are in, the
government should take ap-
propriate remedial action -

Beyer can be reached at: .

E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com; «|

Tel (250) 381-6900; Web
Attp:/iwww.hubertbeyer.com . :

Think about the students first.

“DO IT or your ass is grass.”

Words spoken by a threa-.
tening Bruce Willis in his lat-
est special effects movie?
Clint Eastwood in a re-run of
Dirty Harry? Not even close.

Those words are the school
board chair's interpretation of
a motion made at the Decem-
-ber meeting of Coast Moun-
tain No. 82, a motion calling
for measures to improve stu-
_ dents reading skills.

Results from the education
Ministry’s province-wide
checkup of basic reading, wri-
ting and math skills show 30
per cent of Coast Mountain's
Grade 7 students aren't meet:

ing expectations. By Grade 10,
*. 28 per cent are reading below

standards set for their grade

level, according to the 2000
.. Foundation Skills Assessment.

Hazelton trustee Peter
Weeber confirmed, “Our kids

can’t read. Low reading scores |

ed

fom
cal het

OKAY: So MORE FIREPLACES
fT GO AND THIS GNVERNMENT
Bam CONTRACT IS OVER...CUT..cUT

fi GRAZE ..CUT...COT.. BRAZE..

Pp

7
we ove he
Lae ore ee

THROUGH BIFOCALS:
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

are the top concern across the
district.” Another trustee
added, “If a child can’t tead,
he can’t succeed”.

Concerned by these under-
achievements, one trustee pro-
posed measures. be taken to

-improve students’ reading, Ap-

parently the motion could

T NEED THe WoRK..Cur
uCUTe. BRAZE ANP
LT Oon'T MIND THE
REPETITION: CuT..
CUT es BRAZE te

have expressed the trustee’s
intention more tactfully. The
news report fails te quote the
offending motion which made
the recently hired superinten-
dent feel degraded and insul-
ted.

So what happened with the
motion? Instead of suggesting
wording kinder to the sensibili-
ties of administrators, the chair
faces about like a muskox to
deflect criticism of the dis-
trict’s shortcomings. -

The news reported a lengthy
debate followed, centered on
the tenor of the motion which
seems to have ruffled the fea-
thers of administrators, The de-
bate seems to have skimmed
the issue of students’ inability
to read. _

Once again, as so often in.

years: past, the needs of stu-
dents were elbowed aside

- while the feelings of six-figure .

administrators preoccupied the

hese,

Got Bored! ee

mecting. ;
No doubt parents and. stu
dents themselves must ‘share
responsibility for poor. reading
skills. Teachers can do only so
much. It’s up to parents to en-
courage . reading, . toa _make
books and other age-appropri-
ate reading material available
h the home and to model the
joys of reading.
The chair’s succinct inter-

pretation of the motion caught -

my altention not only because [
had never heard the expression
before, but because it. was so
inappropriate to the venue and
her office, The expression is far
better suited to someone who
sells farm fertilizers.

For the chief role model for
the district's tenchers and stu-
dents to use such earthy terms
baffles me. But'I’m more’ dis-
tressed whenever a school
board favours administrators
over students,

hy

+