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A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 21, 2002
ESTABLISHED APRIL 27. 1988
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 » FAX: (250) 638-8432

SKEENA CELLULOSE CEO Dan Veniez’s

campaign for “fresh start” labour agreements to
Start up his company’s closed mills has opened
the door for a new kind of way in which the
corporation should operate.

And that is for the company to appoint a
northwest citizen or two on its board of direc-
tors.

The key to this rests with one of the bedrock
principles of the “fresh start” plan — the surren-
der of wages in return for the chance to earn
the money back in the form of profit sharing.

Mr. Veniez is fixated on this principle for
two reasons. One is that it will lower his costs,
allowing him to better present a financing pack-
age to investors. The second is it will rid Skeena
Cellulose of what Mr. Veniez calls “the culture
of entitlement.” Workers will no longer be able
to depend on merely earning a wage. Instead,
they'll be expected to participate in the efficient
running of the operation in exchange for a
share of the profits. It may not be worker de-
mocracy, but it will put more onus on workers
to act in a business-like fashion.

Mr, Veniez has even gone as far as telling his
workers he’ll pay for the services of an auditor
of their choosing to go through his company’s
books to ensure they will receive their fair
share.

Along the way, Mr. Veniez has conducted a
masterful public relations campaign, seeking to
enrol northwest political and business leaders in
his “fresh start” efforts. Parallel to this, Mr.

Veniez has taken extraordinary steps to speak

directly to his workers. In Terrace, that resul-
ted in a slap on the wrist from the Labour Rela-
tions Board for seeking worker approval of a
$5,000 advance against profit sharing without
first presenting it to the IWA’s plant committee.

So now that we've all been asked — worker
and other northwest citizens alike ~ to hitch our
wagon to Mr. Veniez’s corporate train, it only
makes sense to continue along in this vein.

Appointing northwest citizens on the compa-
ny’s boards will further cement the company’s
position as the engine that drives the northwest
economy.

It was a suggestion Skeena Cellulose’s former
owners, the old NDP government, failed to act
upon. If there had been northwest involvement
on the board all during this time of trial and
tribulation, we might have been spared some of
the grinding psychological damage that oc-
curred.

Northwestern directors will be the key to the
company truly being a part of the northwest.
We’ll have an open communications channel for
two-way information flow. Mr. Veniez has
nothing to lose and we all will gain. A “fresh
start” works both ways.

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Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
‘for their time and talents

ANP BAD
ACTORS"

BUSH 1S ADYOCATING
ARMED CONFLICT AGAINST
"NATIONS THAT HAVE PROVEN
THEMSELVES To BE BAD
NEIGHBOURS

WELL

CHOICE...

[GUESS THAT
LEAVES US NO

Next time you‘re in Scotland ....

EDINBURGH - It was about
9:30 a.m. I was standing on the
Royal Mile on Old Town,
leading up to Edinburgh Cas-
tle. The sign above the door
said The Scotch Whisky Her-
itage Centre. Somewhere else,
a sign proclaimed that with
each tour you get a free sam-
ple of whisky.

T must have looked a bit
undecided. Not that ] mind a
good Scotch. In the contrary,
but whisky and early morning
had until then been mutually
exclusive ideas. I decided to
wait just a bit and visit the
Scotch Whisky Heritage
Centre’s restaurant first,

While I sat, enjoying a cof-
fee and scone with thick
cream and jam, | overheard a
young woman advising a cus-
tomer on the subtle differences

between various brands. | was |

mightily impressed with her
product knowledge. a
Truth be told,-I-didn’t have>

a clue what she was. talking |

about, but the chap she spoke
with nodded his head repeat-
edly, indicating great under-
standing.

A few minutes tater, she
walked by my table, flashing a
friendly smile, and | asked if
she would mind answering a
few questions.

She would be delighted,
she said. Her name was Sarah
C. Jones. She’s an events as-
sistant at the centre. Where on

The joy

VOLUNTEERING IS no longer
a spontaneous response to a
need since the risk of preda-
tors makes RCMP background
checks mandatory for almost
everything.

You must first apply and
submit to a fingerprint check
to rule out any past history of
lawbreaking. The background
check makes for considerable
delay as well as a $20 charge.

I've always envied those
who feel at ease volunteering
to serve in hospitals or homes.
1 would feel like an interloper.

So when I had a chance to
volunteer to walk dogs at the
local dog pound, ] knew | had
found my niche. | have years
of experience walking our own
two mutts, and a flawless
safety record.

No one asked me to fill out
an application, questioned me
as to my credentials or prefer-
ences, or sent me to visil the

RCMP to have my fingertips ©

rolled across an ink pad.

As an introduction, | was
invited into the cat room
where | gol to cuddle a ball of
multicoloured fur that purred
as though | were the greatest

NICE SKIRT! You
DESIGNED IT YourRSELF?

FROM. THE CAPITAL
HUBERT BEYER

earth, I asked, did she obtain
her detailed knowledge about
Scotch whiskey.

Turns out that to get a job
at the heritage centre, appli-
cants undergo an extensive
course wilh equally extensive
whisky-tasting. What a job.

Once hired, staff attend

cumeelings every: Wednesday
“mormingy-at- which they -taste:-

three different whiskies and
are instructed in their differ-
ences in taste, bouquet, colour
etc. | know people who would
kill for a job like that, nat me,
of course.

When I mentioned that I
was a newspaperman from Ca-
nada, Sarah asked if 1] wanted
lo take a complimentary tour, |
would, indeed.

The Edinburgh Scotch
Whisky Heritage Centre was
launched in 1987, when 19 in-

dividual whisky companies
jointly invested close to $5
million in the venture.

The purpose was to create a
permanent exhibition featuring
the history and development of
Scotch whisky. The centre’s
mission statement is after a
whisky connoisseur’s heart.

“It is the mission of the
Scotch Whisky Heritage
Centre to promote the enjoy-
ment of Scotch Whisky by
providing a world-class, com-
mercially profitable visitor at-
traction which will give visit-
ors from all over the world an
excellent appreciation of
Scotch Whisky in an enter-
taining and informative way.”

I must say that T truly ap-
preciated Scotch whisky be-
fore | visited the heritage
centre, but after having taken
the tour and tasted a wee dram
at about 10 a.m., my apprecia-
tion rose by several degrees.

«-The- Scotch Whisky: Herit-

age Centre takes ils national
drink seriously. To promote
product knowledge among re-
lailers selling Scotch whisky,
the centre offers a one-day
course at the end of which par-
ticipants get a Certificate of
Expertise in the Sales and Ser-
vice of Scotch Whisky.

For about $350, you get a
tour of the centre, instruction
in the art of blending, malt and
grain whisky production, an in-
troduction to the history and

development of Scotch whisky,
and are taught about sensory
perception, comparative tasting
and selling and serving.

All in all, it sounds like a

very good course to me. If one

of my papers is willing to foot
the bill, 1’m game.

The entertaining tour which
takes you in a whisky barrel,
Disney-like fashion, through
various displays, featuring the
major milestones in the history —
of Scotch whisky, that goes
back some 300 years, is well
worth the money.

Staff, like Sarah, are mnre
than willing and certainly able
to answer any question. By the
way, did I] mention what a
great job she’s got?

And if you want to buy a
bottle of two of the precious li-
quid, the centre’s gift shop has
a choice of more than 270 dif-
ferent brands in stock. For
those .with expensive: taste,

“there’s even a‘bottle: that wilk -

set you back about $22,000,
but you'll have to give 24 hours
notice, because it’s not on the
shelf.

I still feel a bit guilty having
had a stiff drink at 10 in the
morming. Then again, at that
time, it was well past noon in
Moscow.

Beyer can be reacted at:
E-mail: hibert@coolcam.com;
Tel (250) 381-6900; Web
http://www. hubertbeyer.com

of going for walkies

THROUGH BIFOCALS

CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

joy to come her way since
chow poured into her dish that
morning.

Meaning to chew my car
keys, hooked on my index
finger, she instead pierced half
way through my finger with
her needle teeth. How discri-
minating could I expect an
cight-week-old kitten to he?

Our animal shelter is so
overpopulated with cats and
kittens it’s akin to visiting a
Rumanian orphanage. You
wish you could rescue every
one but all you can do. is

No. (5S A PATTERN FROM
“GLACIAL SuB -ALPINE
NIVEAN REGIMES INAXERIC
HABITAT MOPIFIED BY 37°
SLOPE AND A NORTH BY
NORTHWEST EXPOSURE -

brighten their day for a few
minutes,

I was given the choice of
six dogs to walk. One was
boarding. One locked like a
drug dealer's guard dog.

1 led out a female golden
retriever with energy reserves
and a take-off modelied on a
slingshot. She drapped me half
a block before treating me to
my first experience stooping
and scooping. Following a
thorough sifting of scents, she
spun about, barking and biting
at the leash,

The second candidate was
at least’ shorter, a dachshund
cross. He displayed equal
amounts of good manners and
intelligence, although I ques-
tioned his judgment when he
proved eager to return to his
cage. I took that as a sign of
humane treatment by pound
handlers. He was scheduled to
go to a new home next morn-
ing.

‘The third animal, an eager
young Husky, was a feather on
her leash. The slightest touch
and she responded. Shedding
handfuls, her scruffy coat be-

geed for a vigorous brushing.
But by that time I had to leave.

I haven’t had a chance to
Teturn as a volunteer to the ani-
mal sheller. But 1 recommend
it for anyone who likes dags,
enjoys walking, and hasn’t got
a pooch of their own. To make
up for the lack of personal at-
tachment, you don’t have to
pay for pet food, vaccinations,
or vet fees. Some dogs are im-
pounded long enough to give
you an almost family Feeling if
you appear daily to spend time
exercising them.

For kids who long for a dog
of their own but can’t have
one, whether their home is too
small, an apartment, the child
is too young to be responsible
for a dog’s care, or a Family
member is allergic to dog dan-
der, lime spent walking a shel-
ter dog brings happiness for 0
short time to both the kid and
the animal.

As for kittens, how difficult
is it to pet a purring kitten,
Anyone can qualify for the
task, even sameone wheelchair
bound.

/

yy,

DvRAMHART