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SKYLINK 070:
THE FINDINGS — A&

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 1990
Vol. 6, Issue No. 26

Phone 635-7840
Fax 635-7269

Pro-Life nurse
gets reprimand

by Pam Whitaker

Terrace registered nurse
Isobel ‘Brophy received a fax
from her lawyer on Thursday,
June 21 informing her of the

-decision of the Registered

Nurses Association of British

_ Columbia professional conduct

committee. —

; She had appeared before the
committee in a recent hearing in
Vancouver, having-been charged
with unethical behavior -in
counselling : ‘patients,..to .recon-
 to- haye

“The result of the hearing ¥ was

that’ ‘Brophy wien fépri-

mand without any further dis-
ciplinary action.

The reprimand was ‘‘in order
to impress upon her that her
behavior does not meet the
ethical standards of the profes-
-sion of nursing, and therefore is
unacceptable,’? the decision
read. “‘The behavior of Isobel
Brophy was serious in that it
threatened the psychological
safety of all patients who
testified and aiso the physical
safety of (mame witheld), The
woman named by the committee
had to postpone her abortion for
two weeks as the nurses had not
found it acceptable to do any-
thing but essential surgery dur-
ing the strike due to Brophy’s
actions.

The decision stated, ‘‘In-
deciding to reprimand, the Pro- -
fessional Conduct Committee.

recognizes Isobel Brophy’s
lengthy career in this province
during which time she has been
described as a competent and
caring nurse... The Professional
Conduct Committee imposes no
further disciplinary action as it is
optimistic that the: unethical
conduct will not recur.”

Usk at odds
with ferries

For nearly a year the residents of
the tiny community of Usk who
live on the west side of the Skeena
River have been complaining about

— Continued on page A3

In being asked how she felt
about the committee’s decision,
Brophy said that although there
have been no restrictions put on
her nursing career, not being
completely exhonerated has un-
fortunately left her with a
‘record’’. However, she. does
not at this point feel that she will
appeal the decision.

‘‘T am saddened that it did not
address the right of the woman to
be fully informed,’? Brophy
said. ‘‘Also, in the area of
ethical questions there seems to
be an unwillingness to acknowl-

edge. differences in deeply-held

beliefs of nurses.

Nurses have a right to have
their viewpoints sought out and
taken seriously by the medical
community. ‘“We are not just
puppets of an institution or
hand maidens of physicians,”
she said. ‘“We are professionals
with our own body of know-
ledge, expert skills and moral
codes.’”

Saturday night was quite an evening for Inn of the West owner Rod Verstrate: after being
named Business Executive of the Year by the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce,
he got to kise inn manager Debbie Spearn, who delivered a puppet and a poem from his
grandson to mark the occasion. Story on page A2.

Massive development scheme unveiled

Skeena MLA Dave Parker
announced the formation of the
Kitimat/Terrace Port Committee
during a Kitimat Chamber of Com-
merce luncheon on Monday. In
Parker’s vision this could be the
biggest single development in our
area since Alcan moved into Kiti-
mat in the early. 1950's.

Although the term "Port Comm-
ittec" creates an image of nothing
more than a few freighters and
cruise ships, the idea as described
by Parker is much bigger than
that. The concept, he says,
involves a provincially-regulated
port facility that encompasses not

‘only the Kitimat port but also the

Teirace/Kitimat airport, industrial
lands surrounding the airport, and
rail and highway links between the
Kitimat port and the Skeena Vall-
ey.

At the moment, of course, this is
only a vision. But according to
Parker, the mechanism to make it
a reality is already in palce. He
told members of the Kitimat

Chamber of Commerce on Monday
that studies by the-District of Kiti-
mat indicate that port development
there would offer considerable
benefits to Terrace, Kitimat and
much of northern B.C, He says the
idea calls for more examination.
The first step in that examination,
he said, was putting together the
seven-member Kitimat/Terrace

‘ Port Committee of which he is the

chairman. Other members include
mayor Jack Talstra of Terrace,
mayor Rick Wozney of Kitimat,
Kitimaat chief councillor Gerald
Amos, Kitselas chief councillor
Mel: Bevan, Kitsumkalum chief
councillor Cliff Bolton, and Al-
can’s works manager Eric Sykes.

According to Parker, Phase I of

the committee’s study will deter-
mine whether the proposal is con-

sistent with provincial port policy,
the feasibility and options of port
development, and ways to ensure
local and regional input in devel-
opment decisions. He said this
phase would be concluded by the

end of this summer and the results
would be released sometime in the
fall.

If Phase I comes up with a posi-
tive report and is approved by
cabinet, Phase II will then develop
a more detailed engineering study
and examine various socio-econo-
mic and environmental considera-
tions, says Parker. He adds that the
province has committed about
$400,000 to the study and, "This
financial commitment shows that
we are taking the port proposal
seriously."

In a separate interview, Parker
explained what this commitice and
its feasibility studies might mean
to the Terrace/Kitimat corridor if
they bear fruit. The port, airport
and industrial lands would fall
under the same locally-based auth-
ority. These key points would then
be linked by a major highway and
railway system to the continental

transportation network, making the .

Terrace/Kitimat corridor a major
import/export focal point.

With all these systems working
together, it would mean that
imports and exports as well: as
Canadian and provincial cargoes
could connect with any combifa-

tion of air, sea and land transpofte-

tion systems. Containers or bulk
products, for example, could be
moved directly from rail to-ship
for Pacific Rim destinations. Ads
available industrial lands near
Kitimat and the airport and you
have a combination that, in Par-
ker’s mind, could become the
northwest coastal focal point for
the Canadian economy and indust-
ry.

This concept isn’t entirely new,
says Parker, but it’s rare. Most

regions don’t have the same oppor-
tunities afforded the Terrace/Kit-
imat corridor where a port, airport,
highway and rail links and indus-
trial tand can be packaged 98 a
singte unit.

One example of a success story.

that is described by Parker is the.
— Continued on page AS

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