Page 4, The Herald, Thursday, November 29, 1979

TERR ACE/KYUTIVAT

daily herald

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Sterting Publishers

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Circulation - 635-4357

GEN. MANAGER - Knox Coupland
EDITOR - Greg Middleton

CIRCULATION - TERRACE - 15-6357
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FOR
THE
RECORD

By ED YUDIN

The ramifications of the Eurocan pulp mill fire of
Nov. 1] have turned aut to be more serious than was
first generally realized. ;

It was first estimated the mill would be shut down
for a relatively short period while repairs to the
precipitator, a pollution control device, were effected.
But it didn’t turn out te be that simple.

It quickly became apparent the precipitator would
nol be in operation until March. It would take that long
to ship parts from Kitchener, Ontario, and
manufacture the other remaining components. As
company spokesman Stan Fritter put it, you can’t buy
a precipitator in a store.

The upshot of all this meant that the mill could not
operate within accepted pollution emission standards
until March. This in turn would mean up to 600 em-
ployees could be laid off for a considerable length of
time, Faced with that threat, the company and
municipality acted quickly to come up with a con-
tinquency plan. It was decided to bypass the
precipitator and apply for a relaxation of emission
standards from the pollution control branch.

That permission was granted on Monday. However,
it is still very much in the air as to what capacity the
mill can operate at without going past the relaxed
standards.

A surveillance committee has been established to
monitor the situation, Hopefully, they will do their job

‘properly ‘arid realize health considerations are more
‘dmportant‘than:short term-economic problems.

In any case, this appears to be one circumstance
where labour and management are in agreement on
an issue. Fritter said Tuesday that the favourable
reaction and co-operation of the union locals has been
a big help in getting the mill operations and sur-

veillance network established.

Hopefully, the mill will be able to operate with a
semblance of normality without, pardon the ex-
pression, creating a big stink.

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR

Anaopen letter to
The Board of Schaol
Trustees,

School District Nbr. 88,
Terrace, B.C.

Dear Sirs and Mesdames:

While attending Open
House at Thornhill Junior
Secondary School recently, I
was strack by the hazardous
physical conditions of the
portable classroom where
Mra. Peterson, the French
teacher, is expected to work.

To reach this classroom I
had to wade through a
puddle at least 3.0 cms deep.
The smell of mould was
overpowing the minute I
opened the classroom door,
The cause of the mould is
clearly evident-great gaps
in the ceillng show where the
Talnwater has leaked in
buckling the ceiling tiles,
and puddling on the carpet.
Mrs, Peterson told me the
water actually drips on to the
students who are un-
fortunate enough to sit below
these leaks. She said after
parents complained to the
school board last year, whe
did get a carpet, Now if only
you could see your way clear
to patching the roof...

When the portable was
first put into service it was
intended as a temporary
clagsrogm. But that was five
years ago, Surely in five
yeara thé school board could
recognize the need to ven-
Ulate the crawl space and
patch the leaky roof to
eliminate the drips and
resultant mould, The narrow
gap of sky between the gym
and the portable’s porch roof
means & perpetual swim-
ming pool or skating rink has

to be crossed to move from
the main school building to
the portable. (Mr. Phillips
and his studenta, too, share
this common approach
hazard. [ cannot say whether
or not his classroom suffers
the same sort of leaks and
mould.)

For a minimal aum of
building material and labour
the i0-foot gap could be
bridged by a ralsed platform.
of wood or concrete to keep
feet out of the puddle, and a
roof constructed to shelter
the crossing from rain and
anow.

Tt may be a simple choice-
a small investment of time
and material now, ‘versus a
gigantic lawsuit and a
permanently diabled child or
teacher later.

I urge the school board to
rectify these unhealthy and
dangeroua situations Im-
mediately.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Claudette Sandecki

Dear Sirs:

On behalf of the Terrace
and District Arts Council, I
would like to thank you for
your generous donation of
publicity for the recent
performance of “Jacques
Brel", held in Terrace.

We appreciate your
continuing support of our
efforla to bring outsLanding
performances to our ares,
and your assistance helped
to make this particular event
a complele success,

Yours sincerely,
(Mrs.) Joan Spencer,
Secretary.

The Herald welcomes its readers comments.
Allletters to the editor of general public interest
- will be printed. We do, however, retain the right
to refuse to print letters on grounds of possible
libel or bad taste. We may also edit letters for
style and length. All letters to be considered for
publication must be signed.

COKE mee

OTTAWA
VIEWPOINT |

by JIM FULTON
SKEENA MP. '¢

v

Howard on the hotsprings

So much has been written lately about the Lakelse
hot springs that many people Ihave spoken with want
to hear about something new. This seems natural, for
there is only so much that one can say about the hot
springs, and their potential. .

The provincial government has taken a small step in

the direction of developing the springs and now the

concern will not be so much “What?” as it will be
“When, and What else?”’

In the When and What Else areas it might be wer-
thwhile to list some of the things expressed in the
Update on the hot springs which was released by
Lands Minister Chabot in Terrace recently.
Remember that the author of the Update was careful
only to include therein opinions expressed by local
residents. The author also wrote a covering letter to
Mr. Chabot but that letter, which presumably con-
tained recommendations and opinions, was not
available.

In any event, let's look at some of the material in the
Update of August, 1979,

‘+. development should now be heavily directed
toward a destination-type resort capable of drawing
visitors from outside the region, and for that matter,
outside the country.”

That seems to fit in with the massive plans
established by one of the earlier owners of the hot
springs, plans which never got into operation.

Another quotation from the Update is: ‘Seen as
important for development of this recreation business
is coastal ferry service into Kitimat...”

That, of course, isa point which has been made lime

and time again by many people. But, the attitude of -

the provincial government was opposed to a ferry
terminal at Kitimat. Perhaps this Update will have
changed their minds about it. In any event, the
reference in the Update can be used as additional
ammunition either to get the province to change its
mind or to advance the change if it has already taken
place.

The many

OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Pierre Trudeau is still
the best act on the national stage.

Yet without peer in national politics — although
technically playing only second lead to Conservative
Prime Minister Joe Clark — he remains the con-
summate scene-stealer.

And his timing for the dramatic is as dead on as ever
— even more So.

In his declaration of war on the Conservatives the
other night he did two things:

- Made it elear that he was “‘in”' for the next election
as Liberal Leader, killing any question that he might
fall or be pushed out by the party’s disheartened and
disenchanted troops in Parliament,

- Rallied the faltering ranks with his macho, elec- .

trifying declaration that he would lead the charge at
the first opportunity to dispatch Prime Minister Clark
and the Conservatives to the opposition side of the
Commons “where they so long have roosted, and
where they belong.”

With his call to arms he stole the headlines and ihe
lead minutes in airtime news from the government,
not an easy thing to do for any opposition.

The very manner of his doing it was old-time
showman Trudeau.

He went out to Ottawa West, a suburban riding in the
National Capital where neither he nor former Liberal
Leader and Prime Minister Lester Pearson had ever
before ventured.

It wasn't just that it was Ottawa West, il was more
that il was a riding where the former Liberal MP
Lloyd Francis — beaten in the iast election -- had

REPORT

by FRANK HOWARD
Skeena MLA

Another quotation states something I knew about
earlier but had hoped was changed. The Update says,

with respect to the idea of greenhouses, ‘'The Ministry -

of Agriculture has not studied the possibilities for
commercial horticulture from these hot springs.”
Isn’t that sad, especially inasmuch as it was the
Minister of Agriculture who effected the return of the
hot springs in the first place.

An orderiy and economically viable development of
the hot springs will be of benefit to Kitimat, to
Smithers and to all the places in between ‘and
surrounding us. Orderly and economic development
can take place either by the provincial government
alone or with the financial assistance of the federal

‘povernment.

In that regard ] received a call from a Mr. Marshall
who is Director-General for B.C. of DREE, a federal
agency. Mr. Marshall tells me that even the $50,000
initial study announced by Mr. Chabot could be partly
funded by DREE. He also told me that there is a
permanent federal-provincial committee in Victoria
which looks at such matters on a continuing basis. All
they need to get going is a simple phone call from the
Minister of Lands, Parks and Housing.

The big news in Ottawa this week is, of course, the
resignation of Pierre Trudeau. While the timing came
as a bit of a surprise, the departure itself is not very
surprising. Mr. Trudeau had demonstrated very little
enthusiasm for his new position since the election May §

we a Canadian whose formative years were within
Trudeau’s term as Prime Minister, I definitely want to

y tribute to his efforts on behalf of the country.
While I clearly disagree with some actions undertaken
by the Liberal government, his efforts were directed
towards the public good as he saw it. History will
judge whether the public good was served in the long
term. ;

A review of the Trudeau years brings back events
and policies both good and bad. On the one hand, we
saw a renewed effort to bring English and French
Canadians together. We also saw the election of aP.Q.
government in the same period. We saw the un-
necessary use of the War Measures Act and
systematic abuse of our police and justice systems.

‘We saw an extension of certain progressive

programmes in health and labout fields; some
recognition of the special problems of women and
native citizens; and a greater effort to develop
Canadian independence. ; ;

Unfortunately, almost every progressive move by
the Trudeau Liberals was reversed after 1972. We saw
far too much patronage; too many scandals; and
Trudeau was, at limes, arrogant and isolated. The
minority government brought some results under
NDP pressure such as Petrocan, but we have seen
little of the earlier Trudeau “liberalism” since 1972.

The cuts in services to people, the breakdown in
government management, the failure and inequity of
wage controls, the unprecedented years of inflation
and unemployment, and the further growth of foreign
ownership are the legacy of the last liberal govern-
ment. ;

So what does all this mean now, for the present
Parliament and for the couritry? In my view, it un-
derlines the very precarious state of the Liberal party

’ as a national! party. They have had_no direction since

May 22. They have attacked the policies of the Clark
government at every opportunity but have failed to
state that those policies, for the most ‘part, were
Liberal policies. They have left the real job of con-
structive opposition to the NDP. Within the Liberal
caucus, there is no sense of direction, no real will to
propose the alternatives that Canada needs so badly.

The Liberal’s dilemma is not limited to just the
federal Parliament. They have just one provincial
seat in the four western provinces. They do not have
just one provincial seat in the four western provinces.
They do not-have a single provincial government. in
Canada. In the west, they have a total of three MP's:
one in B.C. (elected by less than one hundred votes)
and two in Manitoba. In many B.C. ridings, May 22
saw the Liberals finish in third place. Clearly, in B.C.
and throughout western Canada, they are a spent
force. The Quebec block remains, as do certain
bastions in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.

Any Liberal leader who follows Trudeau must
seriously examine these facts. The previous in-
sensitivity to the needs of western and northern
Canadians will not be tolerated again and any choice
of Liberal leader must reflect that if he or she expects
to speak for all Canadians.

The instability of the present minority government
is bound to be increased by the vacuum in the Liberal
party. At this point, we cannot predict exactly what
this will mean in terms of Parliament's work. As a
member of the NDP caucus, I can assure you that we
will continue to press in a constructive manner for
positive policies. We need serious action to deal with
frowing economic problems such as prices, interest
rates, and continuing unemployment.

We will continue to provide the constructive op-
posilion role that a productive Parliament requires,
with or without a useful Liberal presence. How the
Clark government reacts is a question only time can
answer. The by-election results in Prince Albert.
where the NDP won Mr. Diefenbaker's seat, indicate
that the Clark government would be wise to listen to

. the NDP suggestions to deal with our problems.

I remind all Terrace residents that my represen-
tative can be reached at 638-1818 in order to get in-
formation or to get assistance. Or, you can write to me
directly care of the House of Commons, Ottawa,
Ontario, KYA 0X2 (no postage required).

Pierre Trudeau faces

OTTAWA OFFBEAT

BY RICHARD JACKSON

carried on a vigorous underground anti-Trudeau’

campaign within the party.

Lloyd Francis was never a Trudeau supporter even
while silting in the Commons asa Liberal MP.

He was anti-bilingualism, anti-Quebec, anti-
decentralization, and more and more emerged in
public and in the House of Commons, too, as anti-
Trudeau. ,

He blamed Trudeau for his defeat in Ottawa West
and for the party's loss of national power.

So in going out to Ottawa West for the annual
meeting of Lioyd Francis and the Liberals of that
riding Trudeau publicly displayed a new readiness to
accept ~- even invite. — criticism and perhaps op-
position in the party ranks — and a willingness to try
healing any breach that threatens Liberal unity.

He told them that from now on he would seize any
opportunity to bring on another election if only to
preverit Joe Clark from “further ruining of the
country.”

He has the numbers — they are there in the Com-
mons, only to be allied — for toppling the Tories from
their vulnerable minority position.

He picked not only the place for his declaration of
war, but the time,

Up to then it had been his position — indicating t)
some of his discouraged troops a disinterest in
carrying on as leader — that Clark's Conservatives
should be given “a chance to govern.”

Now he struck at the psychological time with the
Tories boxed in by high interest rates, rising oil prices,
unemployment, inflation and a failing dollar.

This was yet another “new Trudeau.

Serious, aggressive, down-to-earth, strictly
business, and most of all Trudeau the revitalized
leader.

There have been so many Pierre Trudeaus.

_ The first — it seems too long ago — the gay bachelor
in jong leather coat, flashing across the scene in a low,
silver Mercedes.

Then the casual, who-cares, with-the-world-by-the-
tail Trudeau of the sandals, slacks, open-throat car-
aigans and long hair over the collar — in short, the

Came then the “tormented Trudeau,” his attention
torn and his concentration on business shattered by
the —_unpredictably damaging Margaret.

Finally, before. defeat last spring, the ‘High Noon
Trudeau," facing defeat defiantly with his thumbs
tucked in his belt, palms pointing down, alert for the
quick, draw and the shootout-at-the-pariiamentary

Now the “Warrior Trudeau," on the warpath in

fighting physical trim and business-like blue-grey