A2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 1, 2003 Chip glut, strike threat keeps sawmill down By JEFF NAGEL THERE ARE no immediate plans to re-open West Fraser's Terrace saw- milf now that it and mills up and down the coast are under strike threat. Sawmill manager Lou Poulin, however, said the primary reason for the uncertainty is lumber prices and a glut of chips waiting to reach the company’s Kitimat pulp mill-— not the labour dispute with the IWA “We've got huge inventories of chips all over the province,” he said, explaining starting the Terrace mill early would just compound that pro- blem. “The Smithers mill has a huge Breat pile of chips,” he added. “We've got to get that knocked down He said tumber prices has been improving but now appear to have hit a top and are subsiding again. Poulin had previously suggested the Skeena Sawmills operation here could reapen as early as Oct. 1, But that was just as Eurocan workers were voling to ratify an agreement ending their strike in Ki- timat — and before the TWA conduc- ted its own strike vote to back coast- wide negotiations. Poulin admitted it ‘would be “disastrous” if the company restarted the Terrace sawmill only to see it immediately closed by a strike. “T really don’t have an answer at this time,” he said. “The looming thing is what’s the IWA going to do? We're just not sure what’s going to happen.” The IWA was in strike position coast-wide as of Thursday following the issuance of 72-hour strike notice Sept. 22, Both the employers group and the union were expected to return to the bargaining table after the producers offered to meet. The offer from Forest Industrial Relations came after the Labour Re- lations Board rejected its appeal to have the strike notice declared void. Hi Bridge checkup KALEV TEDER, a surveyor for Kitimat’s Lapointe Engineering, works onthe Old Skeena Bridge: The ‘bridge was closed last week'to evaluate its structural integrity. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO RODE REDD BURR OR ER eee Royal LePage Terrace congratulates Dim Duffy on obtaining the National Royal LePage “President's Gold Award” for September 2003. 8 MOOD zene ROYAL LEPAGE ES VERTU RTD ERIQMUELECEE All Reattors at Royal LePage contribute to the RLP Shelter foundation. 635-2404 ct TLE More & more people are coming to Royal LePage rd sae ES wi CLP eee ES Bee From front Veniez praises city’s forest push applauding the conclusions of the Communities in Cri- sis conference organized by the City of Terrace. It urged putting more timber up for sale here and the creation of a special economic zone in the northwest delivering differ- ent forestry rules, stump- age relief and a possible property tax holiday for new producers. “The guys are right,” Veniez said of the conclu- sions. “There’s a deep and wide consensus in the northwest on what needs to be done and Victoria sim- ply isn’t acting on it.” “This thing has been studied ad nauseum,” he said. “We are a ‘nau The Terrace som is now www.lerracestandard.com distinct and different re- gion and these guys need to get off the dime and make it happen.” He said he hopes the city-led lobbying push will prompt Victoria to take an aclivist role, Veniez said he fears some in the forests mini- stry are prepared to say if the northwest is unecono- mic so be it —let the capi- tal and companies go to where it makes sense. “If you accept that pro- position then you have to accept that the northwest forest industry has to shut down,” he said. “We could have a, viable forest econ- omy right now - if com- mon sense prevailed.” Check’out our slte or call 638-7293 for advertising infarmation Val : ; “iH for a tiga ime at participa on Fle JOIN now POs 03 Weight Wa tchers Intern! a : 1C. 4lé SeIGHTWATC AND SAVE Sze S.CA Knox Uniled Church (Terrace) 4907 Lazelle Tuesday 9:30 am © Tuesday 5:30 pm, 7:00 pm etings or Online subsciiptign 5 prota, rence All rights Feserved, ducts, Afghe hanistan Project” working with women and children and is backed by Samaritan’s Purse Canada. At the R.E.M. Lee Theatre in Terrace Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. There will be slides. There is no admission. Sponsored by 5 YEARS AGO The province’ s effort to regulate the pine mush- § B room industry is the latest casualty of budget cuts in B the ministry of forests. Legislation was being drafted that would have li- censed mushroom buyers in an effort to gather more information about the industry so it could be man- aged and regulated further if necessary. But it was one of the projects that fell by the wayside as a result of years of belt-tightening at the a ministry, IIS “We don’t see that there's going to be any ag- a gressive movement towards licensing and regula- tion,” said Nelly de Geus, the research officer who § had spearheaded the project. Sept. 30, 1998 10 YEARS AGO. A mediator could soon be appointed’ to help re- solve the land claim dispute between the Nisga’a a and the Gitanyow. The Nisga’a and Gilanyow were examining a pro- J posal from the B.C. Treaty Commissioner to bring J outside help into the stalled talks. Nearly two-thirds of the 25,000 square kilometres Nisga’a land claim, centred on the Nass valley, is j also claimed by the Gitanyow. The two groups have been meeting for more than [0 years in attempts to settle the issue, Sept. 29, 1993. 15 YEARS AGO The Skeena Social Credit Party constituency as- J sociation executive unanimously supports the pre- mier, says the president of the association. Marylin Davies said directors feel premier Bill Bf Vander Zalm was elected leader in 1986 in the big- gest, most democratic race ever. B 8 §=6The local executive would not take any unilateral f action to question his leadership, she added. Vander Zalm is scheduled for a full day of activi- ties in his visit to Terrace Sept. 29. f=. Chief among those is attending the official open- Zing of Repap’s Skeena Cellulose sawmill and a # town hall meeting in the evening at Caledonia Sr. S Secondary. Sept. 28, 1988. 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