AA - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 19, 1999
TERRACE -

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

PUBLISHER: ROD LINK

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

EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

Annual agony

IT’S SPRING and with the new growth of the
new season comes the annual hospital agony —
a seemingly incurable deficit that is always high-
er than forecast, promises of doing better and

patients.

This spring things are a bit different. There’s a
harder edge to the situation at hard-pressed Mills
Memorial Hospital. In one corner is Tom Novak,
the financial fixer hired by the Terrace and Area
Community Health Council and the provincial
government to eliminate that deficit. In the other
comer are local doctors. Normally a fairly pri-
vate lot, more and more doctors are now speak-
ing out about the continual series of cuts.

What seems to be taking shape is a battle be-
tween the health council and local doctors.
Health council chair Larisa Tarwick says patients
remain a top priority. Mr. Novak is quite blunt in
saying that costs will continue to be curtailed so
that revenue meets expenses. And the doctors
reply that cuts made already are bad enough and
that new ones just may put the hospital on life
support.

At the core of this battle is control over the hos-
pital. The provincial health ministry has long felt
that doctors have exerted too much control over
Mills when it comes to admissions, discharges
and surgeries. Mr. Novak’s arrival this spring
this year was a sign the ministry and, by exten-
sion, the health council which reports to the min-
istry, want a change. The resignation of local
surgeon Dr. Jim Dunfield as chief of staff at the
hospital was the first indication of this wish.

And change won’t come easy. For the public it
will mean listening to both sides, trying to figure
out exactly what the heck is going on, As al-

tions. If I’m sick, will I get care: If I need a bed,
will there be one. If I need a nurse, will there be
one on hand. Anything else really doesn’t count.

Confused yet?

LET’S SEE if we can get this straight. The
big. companies, said ‘no’ to Alcan and its
Kemano Completion Project, says ‘no’ to further’
assistance for Skeena Cellulose and generally
gives a thumbs down on. anything smacking of a
freebie to other large companies. .
The provincial NDP, supposedly the party of

the exactly the opposite to whatever large corpo-
ration that comes along. The latest example is a.
$75 million training grant and loan deal for
Western Star Trucks of Kelowna to secure a
couple of hundred jobs.

A bit confusing? You bet. But consider W.A.C.
Bennett, the Social Credit premier of the pro-
vince between 1952 and 1972, A free enterpriser,
he made no bones about nationalizing a ferry ser-
vice and a hydro-electric company. Which only
goes to show you that the more things change,
the more they stay the same.

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Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
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murmurs of yet more cuts and their impact on

ways, it will come down to a few essential ques-_

provincial Liberals, supposedly the party of the

the little guy and of unions, is saying and doing |

LOOK.LOOK.. THE WORLD
IT'S NOT THE SAME
ANYMORE !

MAN, HAVENT YOU HEARD
NAYNE GRETZKY RETIRED

STOO handing out Crown land

VICTORIA — Had coffee
jast Thursday with a couple of
MacMillan Bloede! execs, Bill
Cafferata, chief forester, and
Lawrence Pillon, director of
government affairs. Nice chaps,
both of them. Damn smart, too.

“So, you're going to tell me
what a rotten deal MacBlo
made when it accepted land
instead of money as compensa-
lion for losing timber cutting
rights ta the province’s parks
creation program,” I say, open-
ing the conversation.

“How did you know?” Pil-
lon says, grinning. “Years of
experience,” I say.

Next, I offer to write a
cheque for $83 million in
exchange for the land the gov-
ernment will give the company
because it didn’t have the cash.

. Well, neither do-I, but [’m hop-

ing that Bill and--Lawrence

‘don’t know that.”

They obviously have a gen-
eral idea about a columnist’s

. income, because they laugh.

But they’re hinting that. even if
I had the dough; they would
probably insist on re-evaluating
the deal. I bet they would

because it was a great-deal for:

MacBlo, right up there with the
Alaska Purchase, as land deals

go.
They understand that the

. public is skeptical about Crown

land being transferred to private
hands, fee simple yet. But they

Journa

JACKIE KENNEDY kept a
social diary to track her dinner
party guest lists and seating
arrangements; menus served;
ihe gowns, jewelry, and hair-
styles she herself wore while
hosting her. glittering’ gather-
ings.

I scoffed at it.

Until [ became grandmother

of two little girls with greater

powers of recall than B.C.’s
legislation. Their memary is
particularly keen about the ritu-
als we observe at. our various
family anniversaries.

T soon learned if I served
vanilla’ cheesecake © for
Grandpa’s birthday one year, no
less would do the following
year. Or when I gave them a
trinket for Valentine’s Day in
1997, they looked forward toa

- new baubie in 1998,

With a better memary, I’d be
able to Meet expectations with-

_. [-» out prompting, As it is, 1 must
~ -tely upon a detailed journal to

THAT'S By é

“FROM THE CAPITAL.
HUBERT BEYER

argue that because MacBlo is
poing to be under intense public
scruliny, the company will have
to make doubly sure to be a
good steward of the land.

As for what I point out is a

‘dangerous precedent, ..namely .
- placing. Crown land on the auc-- -

tion block, both - Bill “and

Lawrence admit that [ have a

good point.

This. may not be the first
transfer of Crown land to the
ptivate sector, mor is it likely
going to be the last, but it’s cer-
tainly the biggest to date. —

In exchange for the loss of -

$83 million worth of timber
cutting rights, MacMillan
Bloedel will teceive 32,000
hectares of Crown land, mostly
on Vancouver Island.

Nothing wrong with the $83
million, at léast not as far as I’m

is a su

THROUGH BIFOCALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

uer's
yoNty 344° as

which I can refer twelve
months later,
After cach annual event,

even one so superficially cele- |

brated as Halloween, I write a
delailed report, noting even
inconsequential exchanges - or

_ decorations.

Always I note the time of
day ( any celebration less than
Christmas or Easter must be

BT THAT'S
THE F500
vic GAVE

AND I GOT

aie
foe ep! NoBopy's
POs Sed counted

concerned.

The figure was arrived at
following some pretty tough
negotiations, involving some
equally tough negotiators on
both sides.

But there’s everything
wrong with using Crown land
for barter, Bad enough that
we're deeper in debt than ever
before, bad enough that we
haven’t seen a balanced budget
in years, to be so broke that we
can’t pay MacBlo $83 million
and have to sell off our heritage
instead, adds insult to injury.

Maybe it’s a one-shot deal,
an exception, you say. I wish it
were. Other companies are
waiting in the wings, salivating
at the prospect of getting some
of the land you and I own.

The Sierra Club of British

Columbia has been informed

" pensation deals currently being
negotiated or under considera-
tion between the provincial

_ government and several log-

. ging companies.

Most haven’t reached the
point where land is being dis-
cussed, but the MacMillan
Bloedel deal is considered to be
the model for all of them.

“Both Premier Glen Clark
and Minister of Forests David
Zirnhelt have claimed that pri-
vatization of BC’s public
forests is not the policy of this
government. Yet not only is the

vival tool —

juggled around two work
schedules ‘and the kids’
classes); whether the party took
place at our house or at our
daughter’s; a course-by-course
accounting of the menu served
and a star rating of each food's
popularity.

By gradually eliminating or
replacing unpopular dishes, our
Christmas dinner has evolved
until it no longer includes sweet
potatoes. We’ve narrowed our
vegetables to fresh lettuce,
tomato, and cucumber salad,
and added oven baked potato
chips . for. those averse to
mashed potatoes,

Gilts, if exchanged, demand
enough itemization to relive the
entire occasion on the memory
screen. Were Hallmark cards
presented? Did the kids favour
us with ‘one-of-a-kind hand-
painted drawings?

Our choice of dining room is
limited to two: Ours or theirs.
Seating is fixed, like desks in

iLL GAVE GooP Gop!! ARE YOU SAYING
‘You MEAN NoRIHERNERS ARE.
AStuFID CHEATERS * ? a

that there are another.12- ‘com:

MacMillan Bloedel deal pro- *
ceeding, but 12 more deals are’
in the works,” said ‘Lisa-
Matthans of the Sierra Club of '
British Columbia. .
Three of the deals under’
negotiation are related to parks ‘
created by the Lower Mainland '
Protected Areas Strategy and ’
land use plans in Kamloops and *
the Cariboo-Chilcotin. The |
remaining 9 potential claims |
are related to land transfers pro- |
posed under the Nisga’a treaty. ;
The claims for compensation :
relate mainly to Tree Farm
Licenses and Forest Licenses,
held by these companies, under,;
which the licensee owns neither.,
the trees nor the land. te
Some of the compensation.
may also relate to so-called:
improvements: - investments

., fnade by, licensees in bridges or=
-, toads that are now within park .

boundaries. —

It appears that the MacMil-«
lan Bloede! deal has opened ta*
flood gates to what might
become the wholesale transfer~
of publicly-owned land to the:
private sector. And I don’t like °
it one bit.

Bill and Lawrence are nice’
guys, but [ wouldn’t want my”
forests to marry them.

Beyer can be reached at—- ~

Tel: (250) 920-9300; e-mail: |

hubert@ccolcom.com; web:.
http://www.hubertbeyer.com/ © +

x

ne a)

the house of parliament. sunless '
a child. is feeling: ‘tearful, in |
which case they’re free” to lap ,
hop,

Unlike Jackie, keeping track .
of my gowns and jewelry uses |
few words. At formal dos 1:
wear sneakers. Casual get- !
togethers, I stay in my slippers.

Mother’s Day 1 failed to
review my journal ahead of
time. As a result, [ disappointed
both kids. They looked forward
to lemon cake and Cool Whip
topping. All I had was freshly ,
baked cinnamon rolls we had .
made together before
lunchtime.

But [| won't be caught out :
next year. From now on, jour: '
nalling will be as important as
cleaning up the kitchen, And’
reviewing last year’s entry will '
be as much of the preparations -
as unfolding the special table-
cloth.

I scoff at Jackie's social
diary no mare,