_ We've got the idea — how about some hard information? — It’s going to take more than a. one-hour emergency debate in the B.C. legislature to answer the questions surrounding the privatization of responsibility for maintaining the province's: highways. The idea of tendering con- tracts for road repairs, snow clearance, emergency work and all the other procedures required to keep the public roads open and-in-acceptable-condition has~ made people think about what. the Ministry of Highways and Transportation actually does on a day-to-day basis. It has also made people wonder what stan- dards are going to be set, and who is going to enforce them. . Are contractors going to have - a clear understanding of what - they’re bidding on? Where are the lines of responsibility ‘going to be drawn? If maintenance contracts include correcting previous engineering mistakes, what company in it’s right mind would consider entering a bid on a disaster like the Coquihalla Highway, or even an area that contained anything resembling the Arthur Laing Bridge -be- tween Vancouver and Rich- mond, where crews had to grind down the-entire bridge surface because it was built with the CE rs Letters to the editor will be con- sidered for publication only when signed. Please include your telephone number. The editor reserves the right to condense and edit letters. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Terrace Review. . ; G@cna | Terrace | Review — Established May 1, 1985 The Terrace Review Is published each Wednesday by ; Business Services Ltd. Publisher: Mark Twyford Editor: Michae! Kelly . Staff Reporter: Tod Strachan _ Advertising Sales: Dennis Lissimore, Marj Twyford - Typesatting: Linda Copeland Production: Jim Hall, Alvin Stewart, Arlane Wand, Gurbax Gill, Harminder K. 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Human Rights Act, no advertisement will be published which discriminates against a person dua to age, race, religion, color, 96x, nationality, ancestry or place of origin. 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 Phone: 635-7840 wrong mix of concrete? If a dispute arises, what hap- pens to the public interest while the disputants are slugging ‘it out? _ , Sy, NL As residents of the Nass Valley can testify, the govern- ment cannot be held legally responsible if a motorist’s vehi-. cle sustains damage due to poor road conditions. The govern-| ment has to grant permission for ‘citizens to undertake legataction --}-- against it, and permission is . ~ granted so rarely the provision’ might as well not exist. 7 But if a private contractor takes responsibility for maintenance, can that contrac- | o wi Bi continued on page 16 Conflict of interest becoming routine If you can stand another column ‘about conflict of interest, by George, I’m willing to write it. If you’ve had it up to here with the topic, well, you can always move on to: the sports page. The latest politician to be hit in the face by the revolving cabinet door was Cliff Michael, minister, or rather former minister, of transportation and highways. _. Michael ran afoul of Premier Vander Zalm’s conflict-of-interest guidelines when -he mixed public with personal business. That he was rather blatant about it, only reinforces the premier’s conclusion that Michael exhibited a good deal of stupidity in the affair that caused his downfall. SO Here’s what happened, according to the person. who blew the Hubert Beyer in Victoria whistle.on him. Last February, Michael met with Klaus Linemayr’ who was looking for government help to reopen the Downy Street ‘sawmill’ in Revelstoke. During the conversation, Michael suggested Linemayr take a look at some property he owned at Shuswap Lake. According to Linemayr, the minister reached into his desk and brought out a brochure, extolling the virtues of the recreational lots . Michael owns. That is a clear breach of the premier’s guidelines which state ex- plicitly that cabinet ministers are not conduct ing their conduct of-public business. ‘ This was already the second allegation, A few days earlier, it was made public that Michael had tried to unload the iots on someone else, also during talks concerning government business. When the first charges came to light, Attorney General Brian Smith rejected the NDP’s call for an investigation. Hours after the second allegations became public, the premier ordered Deputy At- torney General Ted Hughes to investigate the matter. Another 30 minutes later, Michael called a press conference. Trying to salvage what was left of his political career, Michael assured reporters‘ that he had done ‘‘nothing seriously wrong’. Asked whether he agreed with the premier’s statement that he had © acted stupidly, Michael allowed as to having made an error of judg- ment. One wonders why there’s no end to these conflict-of-interest scandals. After having seen a number of their colleagues nailed on similar charges, one would expect the rest of the cabinet ministers to avoid conflicts like the plague. The problem lies with the guidelines themselves. As the name im- plies, they are only guidelines, open to all sorts of personal inter-. pretation. What may appear as a conflict to one minister, may look perfectly all right to another, Although in Michael’s case, there is no ambiguity. Trying to sell something to a person who was negotiating with him for possible government assistance is a very crude attempt at arm twisting. - The circumstances that landed Stan Hagen, minister of advanced education, in trouble, on the other hand, were very ambiguous. He was accused of still being president of a company which was doing business with the University of British Columbia. ; On the surface, it looked damaging, but as it turned out, Hagen had resigned from his position with the company. It was his lawyer who had failed to process the necessary documents. In the case of Stephen Rogers, the conflict turned out to be more perceived than real, but the premier moved him to a different port- folio anyway, stating that perception is every bit as important as Teality. co _ Back to Michael. Unless he himself forgot to tell the media about details that would make his trangressions appear in a different light, he definitely deserved to be sacked. Even the most generous inter- private business dur-. pretation of the conflict guidetines doesn’t allow for his actions.’ - Michael won’t be the last cabinet minister to become embroiled in - a conflict-of-interest scandal. Being the champion of free enter- prise, the Social Credit Party attracts well-to-do business: people. None of the cabinet ministers are poor, some are, indeed, very wealthy. Conflicts will continue to arise. = SS The’ only way to curb the entrepreneurial enthusiasm of some cabinet ministers is to introduce legislation governing conflict-of- interest. . - ve . oo ee . There. must be clear laws, setting out precise consequences. for engaging in conduct unbecoming cabinet ministers. What’s needed is a deterrence. Guidelines have not and will not produce the desired results, oo het : . ~ Conflict Guidelines for Bureaucrats | ; Speaking of conflict of interest, having had little success keeping the politicians out of trouble, the government is now trying its luck with public servants..A brochure detailing “Standards of Conduct for Public Servants’” has been widely distributed to. government workers, oo an Always keen on putting things into perspective, the NDP observ- ed that the guidelines for bureaucrats were actually a whole lot: stricter than those for politicans. That isn’t so.. On the matter of ‘‘Outside Remuneration’’, the pamphlet says’ that government employees may hold second jobs, run their own businesses, and do just about anything, as long as “‘it does not represent a conflict of interest’’ or ‘‘bring the government into disrepute’’. The pamphlet doesn’t say whether the latter includes moonlighting jobs with opposition parties. . The little folder leaves no doubt, however, about the conse- - quences of engaging in a conflict of interest. Dismissal from the public service is the ultimate punishment, a One of the finer points of the brochure, and one that will not be lost on public servants, is that it’s issued by Stephen Rogers, the very same minister who had to resign over a conflict of interest and was reinstated in a different portfolio. , . There’s Something Fishy Here . _ Fish farming isn’t just an aquatic version of the old homestead operation, not according to Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, an not according to people who live nearby fish farms. By allowing fish farm operators to continue going about their business without restrictions, the government has given the industry the green light ‘‘to turn the Pacific Ocean into a giant cess pool.’’ Those are the fighting words of NDP fisheries critic Larry Guno. Hundreds of fish farms have sprung up on the coast and a lot of people are upset over the huge amounts of effluent they spew into. . our coastal waters. It isn’t only the environmentalists who are lam- ~ basting the government for its failure to deal with the problem.-A lot of people with no stake in the matter, other than a residence near a fish farm, are mighty angry. oe What takes the cake, according to Guno, is that many of the fish farms are owned by Norwegians who have set up shop in B.C. because regulations back home are too strict. a The Duchy of Nechako It came as no surprise to Jack Kempf that the first person hired in the ‘‘new Duchy of Nechako” was a former president of the Skeena | Social Credit Constituency Association. — Barrie Carter, who owns a jewellery store in Smithers, has been appointed regional development liaison officer for the area under Premier Vander Zalm’s new decentralization scheme. Kempf, who should consider going into business selling gun trained on the government, says the regionalization program will result in yet another layer of government, create more red tape, open up more opportunities for patronage and increase the overall cost of government, — oe oS ce :