Nerve centre keeps RCMP forces wired By CHRISTIANA WIENS ‘ELECTRONICS IS never so interesting -as when it’s organized by the RCMP. . From radios to computers and tiny elec- stronic circuit boards, the telecommunica- tions branch is cloaked in secrecy. « The building manager Kim Olfert works “in has no public access, no sign on the front « “door and the three department white Sub- - vurban trucks are unmarked, : Olfert and his two co-workers, Gene Viel- ‘voye and Brian Sayewich, don’t even wear ' ‘RCMP uniforms, Inside the trio assemble, organize, and fix a ‘variety of audio, video, and computer equip- ' -ment for the RCMP. Bullet-pioof filing cabinets ‘contain top secret files and come with inch- “thick padlocks. » The secrecy, says Olfert is partly because -they’re an administrative division of ihe RCMP -and partly for security reasons. - “We virtually don’t exist,” said Olfert, who “manages telecommunications for the North Dis- -tict. Part of Olfert’s job is to make sure officers in ° remote communitics can talk to other com- munities via radio, That’s done through a series of 36 mountain- top repeater sites that cover 400,800 square kilometres of land from Beila Coola to Allin. If one link in the chain goes down — officers in Dease Lake could be on their own for how- ever long it takes to get the equipment back up. | And that, says Olfert is a serious security risk. So Olfert and his staff are on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day, just in case a link goes ‘down. It wasn’t uncommon, he said, to work 70 hours a week to put out electronic fires. But now, union rules and upgraded equipment mean the group rarely has to go out on weekends, ’ whale POLICE GADGETRY that gets busted often ends up being fixed by Gene Vielvoye or other members of tha RCMP's telecommunications branch. Vielvoye uses a $28,000 stereo microscope to diagnose trouble with microchips and tiny circuit boards. But that means lots of travel time to maintain and upgrade sites during the week. And when they’re in town, Olfert’s crew is in- ‘volved in providing radio equipment for search and rescue and emergency response teams. “We'll provide everything from voice- privacy repeaters to pround radios fast,”’ he said. But technology is changing, and in Olfert’s 15 years of service he’s seen electronics get a Jot smaller. ‘Some things are so miniaturized now, they’re hard to service,”’ he said. To help out with newer tiny circuit boards, the division has its own stereo microscope worth about $28,000. But some madels are now so small and glued together that the entire model needs to be re- placed at cost. A cost says Olfert, that keeps local RCMP from upgrading their 40-year-old radio system to digitally encrypted communications that can’t be scanned or interrupted, **We can’t afford to hook everyone up to thal right now.”’ But the equipment is available on a case-by- case basis like sensitive drug raids, Other equipment Clfert said divisions are looking into are satelite communications - but that won’t do for the northwest’s mountainous terrain where coverage holes can leave officers in the dark. Olfert’s most memorable moments stem from remate Lyell Island logging protest in the late "80s when officers spent 50 days in the woods with heated environmentalists and loggers. , And if there’s royalty or political leaders in the northwest, you can bet Olfert knows about . it, He remembers protecting Prince Philip on his trip to the Queen Charlottes, Joe Carter and even former premier Bill Bennett on local fish- ing trips. Fairness a theme at treaty forum TAXATION, democratic rights, governments of — non-Nisga’a environmentally sensitive land in agement area set out in the treaty. hunting and planning issues domi- nated a public forum on the Nisga’a treaty at Northwest Community College last week. Terrace resident Jim Culp told the fewer than 50 people there his pri- mary concern about the treaty is that non-Nisga’a residents in the Nass valley won’t be able to vote or rin for the elected bodics that will govern the area. “Nisga’a people who live in a community such as Terrace can run for city council,’ Culp said. ‘‘The same principle should apply in the Nass Valley.’’ Treaty negotiator Richard Inglis said there’s ne taxation by Nisga’a citizens, but he said it’s possible non-Nisga’a people there could eventually become Nisga’a citizens with voting rights — and tax- paying responsibilties. Meziadin area resident Rose Smith took aim at turning over small chunks of land at Meziadin Junction and at the south end of Meziadin Lake. Those are part of the fee simple sites the Nisga’a will get outside of their core lands. Many of them cor- _reSpond to former Indian reserves, ‘but ‘others were selected for eco- nomic development potential. Smith said the site at Meziadin Junction was deemed hazardous, previous planning processes, and the soulh end of the lake has been tumed down as too sensitive even for use as a provincial park. IT can’t see how economic devel- opment can proceed in those areas,’’ she said, Nisga’a Tribal Council executive director Nelson Leeson said the Nisga’a don’t plan any develop- _ ment that would jeopardize the area. He said the Nisga’a were more interested in gaining the lands to prevent others from damaging them. Smith also wanted to know whether Nisga’a hunters could hunt anywhere within the wildlife man- Negotiators said managers will determine specific areas where hunting will take place, based on the number of animals available for both the native bunt and recrea- tional hunt, “It is not a blanket right to hunt anywhere in the wildlife area,’’ In- glis added. Abariginal affairs minister Dale Lovick said the treaty is a recipe for ‘tan economic shot in the arm we probably haven't witnessed since the 1950s,”’ “We have an opportunity to do something in this generation that has eluded every other genera- tion,’’ he added. News In Brief Project considered here TERRACE and more than 80 other B.C. communities will’ fave until January to submit a community proposal to the forests ministry. If selected, Terrace’s proposal could be one of three pilot projects selected by Forests Minister David Zirn- heJt carly next year to be implemented under new legis- lation passed on July 30. Terrace’s economic development officer Ken Veld- man submitted an expression of interest in the project carlier this year and said the city would--submit a proposal if it was called to do so, “Community interests aren't always the same as the core portion of timber supplicrs,’’ Veldman said Fri- day. ‘This would give us a lot bigger say on how that avenue operates, rather than just sitting on the sidelines.” ‘| Coroner’s report coming A REPORT which details circumstances surrounding the death of Arlene Moloney won’t be released for months says Kitimat coroner Paul Monaghan. Moloney died at the Kitimat Airpark in June while the ambulance ber husband called was sent to the Ter- race Kitimat Airport rather than the Kitimat Airpark. Her death sparked concern by residents and district representatives about the need for localized ambulance dispatch in northern communities. Monaghan’s report will be approved by Prince George before Vancouver lawyers examine the report’s legal Janguage. Only then can the report be publically released, he said, Treaty vote opposed A B.C. COURT of Appeal Justice is arguing a referendum on the Nisga’a treaty wouldn’t be a good idea. “There is a political process under way at the mo- ment to decide whether the treaty should be the subject of a referendum in British Columbia,’’ Justice Douglas Lambert said in a paper lo the Internationa] Bar Associ- ation convention in Vancouver. ‘I cerlainly hope that it won’t be.” Lambert, wha sat on appeal cases on aboriginal rights cases including the Gitxsan land claim, wrote that the result of a referendum defeat of the Ireaty would be an “outburst of litigation’’ that would last decades, ‘end- ing up, in my opinion... with something very like what has been achieved in the treaty.’’ Skeena Tories to vote EACH PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE party member in Skeena will get to vote to select a new leader next month. 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