A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 4, 1996
TERRACE.

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432
‘MODEM: (250) 638-7247

Dangerous

EVERY BRITISH Columbian has to feel just a
little ‘bit sorry for Forest Renewal B.C. The
provincial crown corporation had a spectacular
birth courtesy of its proud parents the forestry in-
dustry and the provincial government.

The provincial government told us in no un-
cerlain times that FRBC was to have a mag-
nificent hope chest and that nobody but nobody
was going to be able to raid the family silver be-
fore its time. | |

Yet from the start there were fears FRBC would
become a parallel forest service, environment
ministry and parks branch all rolled into one.
Nonsense, said FRBC’s backers. FRBC was cre-
ated, they said, to provide something new and
extra to the future of B.C.’s forests and the forest
industry.

The unfortunate way things have turned out it
seems the above has happened. FRBC appears to
be bankrolling anything and everything that has
to do with trees, Should a government ministry
not have the dollars, a grant from FRBC for sil-
viculture, trail building or stream rehabilitation
was just around the corner. To the more suspi-
cious out there, FRBC is acting as the financier
for a government that has ever declining general
government revenues and needs to offload ex-
penditures.

And now there’s a hint something else is afoot
—~ a gradual increase in the size of FRBC’s own
payroll, This wasn’t supposed to happen either as
the idea was to keep FRBC a lean, mean,
forestry machine. The problem here is, as any-
body who has ever worked for a large organiza-
tion knows, growth is inevitable.

The growth here could very well come in the
form of laid off provincial economic develop-
ment people who have built up a fair bit of
knowledge about FRBC. Rather than lose that
experience, FRBC would hire them as direct em-
ployees.

While no one should take joy in having people
lose their jobs, is it really the job of FRBC to act
as another kind of civil service? Are we not risk-
ing FRBC becoming a direct tool of a govern-
ment’s political machinations rather than a non-
partisan agency directed at salvaging the pro-
vince’s greatest natural resource?

|
Good news

WITH ALL the bad news facing health care in
B.C., here’s something good. Plans are well ad-
vanced for a new kind of housing project to go in
next to the Terraceview Lodge extended care fa-
cility on the bench. .

It’! be for senior citizens and others who can
live independently but who may need the oc-
casional kind of service that can be provided by
Terraceview,

The idea is to provide comfortable accommoda-
tion without the kind of expense that goes along
with more institutionalized versions of health
care.

Those promoting the project plan on it being
financially self supporting, save for a guarantee
by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corpo-
ration.

In these days of dimming public sector ex-
penditures, the project deserves approval and
wishes for success.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Rick Passmore
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur
NEWS Jcll Nagel » NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor
COMMUNITY: Cris Leykaul
OFFICE MANAGER: Kathicen Quigley
‘ ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:

Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Karen Dietrich
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law, Kelly Jean, Shannon Cooper

TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman _—
DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur
CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunette

Comm

UT
Aseociati en
Hiitht Celembis aod Pohaw

, * MEMBER OF B.C. PRESS COUNCIL
Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area, Rublished on Wednesday of each week by Cariboo Press (1969)
Ltd, al 3210 Ctinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, VBG 5A2: vrs ‘
Stories, photographs, illustrations, dasigns and typestyles in the Tartace Standard are the property of ihe
copyright haldars, Including Cariboo. Press (1969) Lid,, its itustration repro services and advertising
agencies, «- . . a WE Pa aD
Reproduction in whole or in part, without weitten permission, is specifically prohibited,
Authorized as second-class mail ponding the Post Office Oeparment, for payment of postage in cash,

Special thanks io wii our contributors and correspondents
for their time and talents —

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Big money for big problem

VICTORIA — ‘Canada is a
test case for a grand notion -
the notion that dissimilar
peoples can share lands,
resources, power and dreams
while respecting and sustaining
their differences.

‘The story of Canada is the
story of many such peoples,
trying and failing and trying
again, to live together in peace
and harmony.’’ — Excerpt
from the Royal Commission
Report on Aboriginal Peoples.

Ovid Mercredi, Grand Chief
of the Assembly of First Na-
tions, called the report
“Canada’s last chance" to heal
the wounds of its aboriginal
peoples, wounds inflicted dur-
ing 150 years of paternalism
and injustice at the hands of
the white majority. a

The wounds are decp, They
tange from the scars. left by
sexual and physical abuse at
Canada’s infamous residential
schools, to having been robbed
of their culture and tradilions,
to the loss of self esteem pro-
duced by generations: of
reliance cn welfare handouts.

Healing those wounds won't
come cheap either. The com-
mission recommends that Can-
ada spend an extra $30 billion
over the next 15 years lo ad-
dress the problems that need
resolving, including setilement
of land claims.

FROM THE-CAPITAL
HUBERT BEYER

The additional infusion of
funds would be used to im-
prove aboriginal housing,
health and employment op-
portunities,

The © massive  five-volume
report recommends that natives
be given land, resources,
respect and real self-
government with jurisdiction
over social programs, cduca-
tion and, to a lesser degree,
judicial matters.

The commission further
recommends the establishment
of a Native Parliament, the
House of First Peoples which,
along with the House of Com-
mons and the Senate, would
conslitute the Parliament of
Canada,

The latter will probably scare
the hell out of a lot of Cana-
dians because it would drasti-

cally alter our system of
government, Such fears, how-
ever, are unfounded, Sysiems
of government evolve con-
slantly to reflect changes in
society.

Even though Canada's sys-
tem of parliamentary demo-
cracy was closely modelied
alter the British system, subtle
and not so subtle changes over
the years, have produced a sys-
tem that is in many ways dif-
ferent from the original British
model,

Given the fact that Canada’s
aboriginal peoples were never
conquered but rather forced
into assimilation, which turned
out to be a horrible failure,
they have every right to self-
government, And Canada has
the uniqué opportunity to be a.
role model to the world. We
can prove. that different
peoples can, indeed, pursue a
common dream,

The report says that accord-
ing to some native leaders,
‘violence is in the wind,” if
Canada fails to act on the
report’s recommendations, a
waming that should be heeded.

A century and a half of colo-
nial rule. over Canada’s
aboriginal peoples have pro-
duced some shameful results:
Close to 50 per cent of natives
living on reserves are on wel-
fare; fewer than half of native

people in Canada finish high
school; as a result of sub-
slandard housing and other
manifestations of poverty, na-
lives are 17 limes more likely
to contract tuberculosis than
other Canadians, and life ex-
pectancy is 10 ycars shorter for
natives.

Against this background, it is
almost certain that the young
generation of natives may see
violence as the only option to
voice their grievances and
demands. We have seen the
seeds of violence sown at Oka,
at Gustafson Lake, at the road
into Apex ski resort, and at Ip-
perwash, Ontaric.

Lamentably, Prime Minister
Jean Chretien’s initial reaction
io the royal commission's
report was very. discouraging.
So was Indian affairs minister.
Ron Irving’s, who said there is
ho chance the federal govern-
ment will spend more money
on aboriginal issues than it al-
ready is.

As sure as God made little
green apples, thal attitude will
lead to disaster. It will prompt
later generations to say that
Canada missed ‘its last chance
to. make peace with its
aboriginal peoples because it
cost too much.

Beyer can be reached at Tet:
920-9300; Fax; 385-6783; E+
Mail: hubert@cooleom.com

Honesty is the best policy

IF OUR public schools are as
good as the minister of educa-
tion says, surely his own chil-
dren should attend one.

But in Moe Sihota’s case, his

Grade 1 son attends public |
older —

school, while his
daughter goes to private
school. Her tuition —

estimated lo be between $5000
and $7000 annually — is paid
by her maternal grandparents
“so long as she keeps her
grades up high.’

Now, I don’t know Moe
Sihola, his family, or his in-
laws. And so far as I’m con+
cemed, where he sends his
children to school is none of
my business.

Sihota’s only goof was beat-
ing about the bush when the
media. raised the subject.
Seems at first he said the tui-
lion was covered by a bur-
sary..el, a scholarship...uh, an
endowment. He should have

. THROUGH BIFOCALS

CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

admitted, ‘‘Her grandparents
are paying her tuition.’’

Case closed. The media
would have had to hunt up an-
olher bone,

Some say Sihota should have
declared the tuition as a gift to
the conflicl commissioner,
Why? Unless one of the grand-
parents is a big wheel in a cor-
poration looking to gain favour

T DONT BELIEVE iT! JusT BECAUSE
WE CUT DOWN THE TREES’ DAMMED THE

with the government.

From my own almost six
years experience, I can say
grandparents enjoy giving their
grandchildren liltle favours
their own kids had to do
without when money was
scarce even for necessitics.
The joy of giving is com-
pounded when parents —gra-
ciously accept.

Sihota’s daughter may be al-
tending St. Margaret’s private
school for mundane reasons, It
could be the school is close to
where the grandparents live.
After school, Grandpa escorts
the child to his home for a
snack of Grandma’s home
baked cookics, and supervision
until ber Mom picks her up be-
fore supper.

She’s al less risk of abduc-
tion in a private school. At
least she was, until the media
made her whereabouts head-
line news.

“THAT WE Da

\ bly

me TT OULANAN Je
writ vy yy

You RE DEMANDING

MATION 21! a5 Ase
RECLA ye a

She’s too delicate a child for
the hurly burly of public
school hallways.

Her grandparents are pushy
people, Rather than chance a
family rift, Moe Jet his in-laws
pay his daughter’s tuition lo a
school thal fit their high stan-
dards,

St. Margaret's offers special
classes, such as ballet,

Paying private school tuition
is the grandparents’ subtle way
of telling Moc he’s not keeping
his family in the manner to
which they should ~be ac-
customed, ,

The grandparents save on in-
come lax.

The grandparents are to be
congratulated for rewarding
their granddaughter’s academ-
ic achievements. .

Sihota himself attended a pri-
vale school. Too bad he didn’t -
learn honesty is the best
policy.

GE! © vagedaer

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