ae PARLIAMEN? SUTLUINGS, VICTGRIA, b.c., VOV-1X4" temp eter pes se arp eg oo das Health study at Alcan finds methods work Members of the joint health committee are satisfied with techniques used hy UBC medical experts in the - first phase of a joint study which will assess the health of 2,000 Alcan employees. . Dr, Stefan Grzybowski and Dr. Moira Yeung have just completed a detailed study of 100 pot line workers and 100 workers in casting to establish the efficiency Health cammittee member Wiha Papenbrock said Wednesday that members of the Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers, Local 1 are satisfied with the pilot phase of the study. Papenbrock said he hopes no disease will be found among the Alcan workers and painted out that the working environment ‘at the smelter has improved greatly since 1976 when the union financed its own Alcan's chief medical officer Dr. Eric Gunn said the company is happy with the way the study is progressing. Gunn sald no results are available but the methods used by the medical team “seem to be appropriate.”’ that the study is on the right track and predicted “a scientifically valid study satisfactory to all parties.” The joint health committee responsible for planning and overseeing the study is composed of uinion, management and B,C. Workers Compensation Board representatives. The WCB financed the new study to replace the and scheduling methods for the study, - study. He said the company shared the union's satisfaction _inconclusive health study paid for by the union in 1974. f" " NG “6 > RUPERT STEEL & TERRACE-KETIMAT — _ Westend Westend SALVAGE LTD. a | Food Mart Chevron Service Open Chi 6: “1 Open Seal Cove Ra Rupert | y sam 11 pr ad Hours _— 7 | 635-5274 at 635-7228 WE BUY copper, brass, all metais, «We Satisfy Tummy & Tank batteries, etc. Call us - We are 20¢ . eEDAYS AYRAR . open Mon. through Sat., 8 a.m.-§ p.m. ) \_ Thursday, December 24, 1979 Volume 73 - No. 244 » | sea DAYS A YEAR } al Christmas visits for hostages in doubt TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s interior minister raised the possibillty of Christmas visita by the families of U.S, hostages but the students holding the embassy said they haven't decided yet. The minister, Hojatolislam Hashemi Rafsanjani, told the newspaper Bambad; “There is a possibility their families will be allowed to visit them and we would like such a thing to take place.’ ’ But a spokesman for the students who have been holding 50 U.S. citizens hostage in the embassy since Nov. 4 said Wednesday there has been “‘no decision; and such decisions are up to us,"* The students again tor- pedoed another concillatory ‘expression by Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotb- zadeh, who told the Wash- ington Post that the hostages see page 7 Quebec closer to referendum QUEBEC (CP) — The Quebec referendum on soverelgnty-association faves & major step closer’ : 0 day as the provincial government reveals the wording of the question it will ask Quebecers in the vote next spring. The long-awaited wording was to be announced by Premier Rene Levesque in the Quebec national assembly at 3 p.m. EST. Levesque told reporters two weeks ago the announce- ment would be just before the assembly ddjourns ‘for the holiday break so. the government will avoid an immediate debate, Formal debate on the question won't held until February when the mem- bers return to the assembly. The wording has the subject of long argument in Quebec, with some opinion see page 7 Rose Eide checks out the goodies avaitable in the giant Bennett blames Christmas stocking at the Northern Drugs store in the Skeena Mall. Santa Claus will be drawing a name from the numerous entries this evening, to see who Iecrane a ee ee mn ar the party VICTORIA (CP) — Premier Bill Bennett blamed the Socia] Credit party executive Wednesday for the so-called dirty tricks affair which has harassed his government for months, saying it was up to them to control the ‘political machinery." Bennett said in an in- terview that the scandal, which became public in September, and the failure of party officials to declare now $246,000 in election campaign spending was the fault of the party. Last week, Les Keen, the former party president and an unsuecesfdl candidate in last May’s provincial election, pinned the blame on Bennett, saying it was the premier who appointed the committee which started the dirty tricks affair and also the group who handled see page 7 wins the prizes inside the giant stocking. _. Photo by Greg Middleton Party leaders hit the The country’s political leaders have converged on Western Canada, anxious to impress upon voters there the importance each at- Skeena Tories look, nomination Jan. 10. By ED YUDIN Herald Staff Writer It is still unclear who will be the official candidate in Skeena for the Progressive Conservative party in the Feb. 18 federal election. Rod Cousins, the candidate In the May 22 election who garnered more than 7,000 votes, hasn't rejected the idea of taking another run at the seat and now incumbent Jim Fulton. Cousins said Wednesday “that it is clear the NDP member (Fulton) is anti- cvelopment.”’ Cousins said he wants to help ensure a candidate is elected who will create jobs and development opportunities in Skeena. approximately two at 9 p.m. set, INQUEST CALLED IN KITIMAT DEATH An inquest has been called for Jan. 9 into the death of a 13-year-old Kitimat youth who died recently in an accident at the sand hill. Darryl] Hunter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hunter, went to the sand hill on Occ »1 Cement property with his scout troop. According to Sgt. Dennis Alexander of Kitimat RCMP, Hunter climbed to the top of the hill and slid down starting a slide that buried him in Rescue workers located Hunter after a ten minute search. He was taken by ambulance to Kitimat General Hospital and pronounced dead An inquest will be held but no date has been feet of sand, Another possible can- didate is Allan Sheppard, the mayor of Port Edward. When contacted by phone on Wednesday, he indicated his interest in running and said he will make a definite decision within the next few ys, Sheppard indicated job ° and family considerations would play a key rele in his decision. While there are potential candidates emerging from Terrace and Prince Rupert, Ron Burnett, a Kitimat alderiman, indicated Wed- nesday he is not interested, Burnett tald the Herald he is “99.9per cent sure” he will not rim, despite pressure fram people in the party. The Progressive Con- servative Party will be opening its official campaign headquarters in the Skeena Mall in Terrace early in January, The nomination meeting has been tentatively set to take place in Terrace on Jan 10. Cousins, who is a riding association vice president, indicated a cabinet minister may be in attendance. West taches to the region in the campaign leading up to the Feb. 18 election. Pierre Trudeau was in Winnipeg Thuraday trying to make good on his promise to make the four western provinces more at home within the Liberal party by inaugurating his | fifth election campaign in that city. In Vancouver, Prime Minister Clark continued his western swing with a board of trade speech outling Conservative government thinking on the best way to turn over the assets of Petro- Canada, the state oil com- pany, to the private sector. Ed Broadbent, leader ot the New Democratic Party, was also due in Winnipeg to address high schoo) students, before flying on to Van- couver, Clark said Wednesday in his Alberta constituency of Yellowhead the federal government is losing its ability to manage the country's economy, necessi- taling an “urgent re-exam- ination” of federal- provincial revenue sharing arrangements. The prime minister referred specifically to the uneven distribution of resource revenues as a major cause of the prablem, His government has been locked into months of talka with oil-rich Alberta over haw to divide revenues from higher energy prices. NORTHLAND Gov’t, RivTow to take slack ‘By ED YUDIN Herald Staff Writer Both the provincial government and private industry are moving to fill the gap created by Canadian Pacific's decision to discontinue its tug, barge, and trucking transport service bet- ween Vancouver and Kitimat. Premier Bill Bennett said Wednesday the B.C. ferry, the Queen of Surrey will be put on a North coastal route to augment the service now offered by the Queen of Prince Rupert. “That will provide added service for people and freight roll on roll off and other types of freight and provide more access by water to various coastal communities," the Premier said, though he did not. say if the Queen of Surrey might dock’ in Kitiviiat or just Prince Rupert. The government took the move after Canadian Pacific announced Tuesday it was discon- tinuing its leasing of the Northland group of companies due to con- tinued heavy financial losses, Meanwhile, RivTow Straits Limited has an- nounced it will start weekly tug and barge service from Kitimat as soon as CF discontinues its service at the end of January. When contacted by the Herald, Alex Fraser, the minister of tran- sportation, said he was pleased the private sector had moved in to fill the vacancy taken when CP announced the demise of the Northland service, Fraser was not aware of Bennett's announcement concerning the Queen of Surrey at that time. Canadian Pacific is discontinuing its barge, tug, and highway trucking service due to a $750,000 loss both in 1978 and 1979, and a similar projection in 1980. Canadian Pacific agreed to lease the Northland group af companies for a three- year period, following a federal government decision to withdraw a $3 million subsidy for Northiand in 1976. It has been reported the owners of Northland — will probably sell the com- pany’s assets on an in- dividual basis. The demise of Nor- thland will result in the spokesman Don Bower said 20 CP employees would be relocated in other jobs within the Joss of 85 jobs, though CP included in the group company. Everyone upset by the pullout By ED YUDIN Herald Staff Writer Spokesmen for both Alean and Eurocan in Kitimat were critical Wednesday of the failure of Canadian Pacific to Provide proper notice for the impending can- cellation of its con- tracting of the Northland barge and tug service. Eurocan spokesman Stan Fritter said his company was “quite dramatically concerned” Nith the, decision to . terminate the service within six weeks. “To cancel with just six weeks notice seems to us to be a particularly ‘irresponsible move to be made,” he said, though Fritter made his com- ments before Premier Bennett and RivTow Straits Ltd, announced plans to try and fill the void created by Nor- thland's demise, Eurocan, while it has its own wharf facilities, uses Northland = ex- tensively in shipping mill supplies and products to and from Vancouver, David Dunsmuir, a spokesman for Alcan in Kitimat echoed similar sentiments. “It seems a regrettably short notice,” he said. Dunsmuir speculated the termination of the transport service might have an effect on Kemano, While Alcan uses its own shipping service as in the case of Eurocan, it also makes extensive use of Northland to ship certain required com- modities. Dunsmuir said it would be difficult for Alcan to take up the slack itself, in that shipping schedules for its wharf facilities is quite tight. It would be particularly difficult to make sup- plimentary arrangements on short notice, Both Alcan and Eurocan did say they were seeking other routes now that Northland has been terminated, Rod Cox, the president of Terrace's Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday the termination of the Northland service would. make things more dif- ficult and more ex- pensive, particularly for the small businessmen, Not all companies would be affected by the lowering of the services, Bob Davis, the manager of Northern operations for Canadian Cellulose, Said Tuesday his com- pany no longer used Northland because they had found the service unreliable and wasn’t meeting the company’s requirements. - It remains to be geen If the alternatives offered by the provincial government and RivTow Straits fill the gap created in the Northwest by the termination of the commodity . shipment a a MLA Graham Lea (NDP-Prince Rupert) said Wednesday the shipping problems caused by the impending demise of the Northland group of companies was caused by a “comedy of errors’’ on the part of the govern- ment. When. reached in his office in Victoria, Lea said the problems with Northland started when the federal government decided to cancel ils $3 million subsidy to the company in 1976 He blamed that development on former Liberal cabinet ministers Jona Cam- pagnollo and Otto Lang. Lea also held the provincial accountable. “It (northern = tran- sporlation), will continue to go downhill until some kind of regular service goes in," he remarked. Lea suggested a B.C. merchant marine fleet be constructed to service the needs of the coastal areas. He said the fleet government _ LEA, FULTON BLAME BOTH GRITS, SOCREDS service of Northland. could be part of the B.C. Ferry Corporation which is owned and operated by the provincial govern- ment. The Prince Rupert MLA would like to see the {feet consisting of new ships to be built especially for this pur- pose. Lea accused the provincial government cf not funneling federal grants into northern transporation as it should have. “They grabbed the money and have not accepted the respon- ‘sibility of supplying the service," he added. MP Jim Fulton (NDP- Skeena said in Terrace Tuesday thatit is the joint responsibility of the federal and provincial governments to “see a comprehensive service gets to the Northwest,” He said the two levels of government have nat been living up to their responsibilities in this area. Chimney makers meet new guides PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (CP) — Manufacturers of metal chimneys have made three commitments to rchasera after warnings rom the provincial fire commissioner. that their products might be unsafe. The action, which also in- cludes safety guidelines, tame after fire com- missloner Gordon Anderson withdrew his approval of the chimneya if they are used for solid-fuel fires such as wood or coal, Anderson said he was con: cerned the type A metal chimneys would not stand up to solid fue) flrea because of see page 7 Tips on your Xmas tree Cliff Best, the Terrace chief, is suggesting citizens take a number of precautionary steps te ensure this Christmas is a safe one. Fire hazards can be minimized if proper safety measures are taken when plans are made for a Christmas tree. , First, it is advisable to select a tree that is still green and has not dried out. The tree should be kept outdoors until the time it is actually used. The bottom of the tree should be cut go aa to allow a large surface area for the absorption of moisture, and the tree should be kept in water at all times while in the home. This extends the life of the tree; and prevents it from drying out ‘oo rapidly, The Christmas tree shouldn't be loceted near cur- tains, fireplaces or heaters, and it should be discarded when it becomes dry and brittle. There should be a careful selection of tree lights and decorations. Old damaged lights and decorations that are combustible are no-nos. Only lights with CSA or UL certification should be used, When everyone goes to sleep in .he evening, or leaves the house, remember to turn off the tree lights,