A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 14, 1994 TERRACE ~ STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188 - TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: 638-7247 Hey, Mr. Gore IT MUST BE shocking for some to hear that the pristine Tatshenshini-Alsek provincial park way up in the far northwest corner of B.C. is home to a toxic waste dump containing DDT and possib- ly Agent Orange. One of B.C.’s newest and most controversial parks, the Tat was protected at the expense of the proposed Windy Craggy copper mine, which would have brought the northwest some 500 jobs. . It may yet cost B.C. taxpayers millions of dol- lars to compensate the corporate interests for set- ting aside the area. Cast your mind back to the political maneuver- ing that preceded the park decision. U.S. Vice- President Al Gore was the leading and most in- fluential: environmentalist urging Canada to preserve the area. . Mr. Gore argued that Canada should stop the Windy Craggy proposal because the Tat flows from B.C. into Alaska, and that acid mine drainage from the site could threaten American fishing interests downstream. Now we discover that when U.S. Army engineers used the area to construct an oil pipeline, they took the liberty of burying drums of toxic waste on Canadian soil when they pulled out in the early 1970s. Granted, the toxic site is at the fringe of the park, and nowhere near the Tatshenshini River. But it does threaten the Klehini and Chilkat Rivers, as well as an eagle preserve downstream at Haines, Alaska. So far, it looks like the expense of cleaning up -the mess will fall on the shoulders of B.C.’s en- vironment ministry, ==, a “Yes, the burial. took place at the time when toxic chemicals were discarded..as casually as. picnic leavings at a roadside garbage can. But the American government should be prepared to live up to Mr. Gore’s earlier stance. So if you’re out there, Mr. Gore, we’ve got a shovel with your name on it. es | Mine shift A DIFFERENT kind of a land claim is underway in the northwest. It involves the takeover by gold giant American Barrick of Lac Minerals, the Toronto-based company which has spent more than $15 million in extensive exploration of the Red Mountain property near Stewart. Barrick is said to be primarily interested in Lac’s South American property and will likely sell off its Canadian holdings. That creates a bit of uncertainty for the future of Red Mountain. This uncertainty includes potential northwest employees at the potential mine and northwest businesses which would benefit from economic spin offs. Yet in a curious way, this change in mineral property ownership is somewhat similar to native land claims. A new landlord is set to appear on the horizon and there’s always a cloudy period until the dust settles. The big question is whether northwest citizens will take as much interest in the Red Mountain change as they are with native land claims. =) cons, GNA PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link = ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS COMMUNITY: Jeff Nagel » NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janét Viveiros, CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR; Charlene Malthews Serving the Tenace area, Published on Wednesday of each week by Caribao Press (1969} Ltd. at 4647 ' Lavelle Ava,, Tetrace, British Columbia. ae ; ; ‘Stories, pholographs,llustaliane, designs and typestyles In the Terrace Standad are the groperty of tha copyright haldars, including Cariboo Pross (1969) Ltd, i's ilustralion tepro services and advertising comAnte Roproduction in whole or in parl, wilhoul written permission, is specifically prohibited. ~~ Authorized ea becond-clats mall ponding the Post Offica Deparlment, fol payment of postage in cash. Speclal thanks to alt our contributors. and correspondents ; “for their time and talents oo 4 SEL WY Vue Ke FANN eRe ene: SS oy ‘ Mite LEED gpa TS 5 Yn SIN Y 7 hot one : NY Ph aterepcen ae 2 « SRR SS VY Wy (WHAT NOW VICTORIA £ Arcosrercertl. ll: MEF SS YC — Or MPs reer SE CoS RES Cartes = >} ON poss oe J “hee os SrA ta 4 fa a> & Lam Aa oe eed paras) ANAS AANA ‘* alla, ah seene nee, asesorenatetseat RN Aare you like to knock on the door of Haili’s military junta and demand access to the list of peaple whose death they or- dered? Thanks but no, thanks, you say, You'd rather confine you political activism to turfing out undeserving governments here in Canada. Good plan. You may not al- ways succeed, but at least your efforts won’t Jand you in the torture chamber and sub- sequently, a lime pit. . Now, we tend to make a big deal} of broken political ‘promises. Most Canadians are firmly convinced that politicians are born liars, who when they’re not kissing babies, are stealing their lol- lipops. T hate to ruin your cynicism, but that’s not true. In fact, the greatest strides in improving our political system and, there- fore, our society, began with political promises, promises that were kept. Way back, during the 1972 election campaign, David Bar- . rett promised that, if elected, his NDP would set up a Hu- man Rights Commission. It had been long overdue, but there was litile time for such esoteric ideas during the ex- pansionist times of W.A.C, Days of fuming, stewing WHERE I grew up, the coun- try bam dance was forerunner to the urban gang rumble. Young men high on testosterone gathered there like debris around a culvert. No bam dance was complete without out one or mare visits from the RCMP, A humdinger dance ended with assault charges. Occasionally a bar dance progressed smoothly until mid- night lunch with everyone tap- - ping their toes or two-stepping. All that conviviality ended with the box social. Box so- cials without fail led to hurt feclings, sharp words, and a fist in the eye, The box social was a fund raising portion of the evening when junches prepared by the women were auctioned. Whoever paid top bid for a box lunch was expected to share it with the woman who made it Men who valued harmony with their womenfolk over sol- vency made sure they carried You TOMGHT ? HEY VERN SEE PAY DAY Y'KNOW? ane —_* Poel Ay FROM:THE CAPITAL. HUBERT BEYER Bennett. Barrett won the election and promptly established British Columbia’s first Human Rights Commission. A promise kept. In the 1970s, then Liberal MLA Garde Gardom intro- duced several private mem- ber’s bills, calling for the es- tablishment of af om- budsman’s office. Like most private member’s bills, they didn’t go anywhere. But during the 1979 election campaign, then premicr Bill Bennett incorporated Gar- dom’s idea in his election plat- form. If re-elected, he promised, the government would bring in legislation to establish an ombudsman’s of- fice. The Social Credit govern- ‘THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI enough cash to outbid any rivals for their Sweetie’s box. Woe betide the man who failed to make the winning bid on his Swectic’s lunch, especially if he was outside nipping homebrew from a Mason jar when her box hit the auction block. To help men bid on the right Junch, each woman wrapped her box in a distinctive fashion so it was casily identified. A Yo! VERN! COMIN’ BY YEAH VERN, PARTY LATER AT BARB'S: mN THE LEGION?)/‘You RE \} PRETTY auent was re-elected and Ben- nett kept his promise. On Oc- tober 1, 1979, Karl Friedmann became British Columbia’s first ombudsman. During the final throes of the Vander Zalm years, conflict of : interest dominated the newspa- per headlines on an almost dai- ly basis, and it became clear that Bill Vander Zalm’s "guidelines" governing conflict of interest were inadequate. The NDP, which, for some time, had been calling for an independent commission to rule on allegations of conflict of interest, included the issue in its 1991 election platform, along with a promise to intro- duce. access-to-information legislation. Today, Ted Hughes, former judge and former depuly at- tormey general, is British Columbia's first Conflict of In- terest Commissioner, and David Flaherty the province’s first commissioner to guaran- tee access to government in- formation and protection of privacy. Mike Harcourt had kept two very important elec- lion promises. Phil Gaglardi, British Columbia’s flamboyant high- ways minister during the 1960s, thought nothing of using government airplanes for striped ribbon. A cluster of purple posies. A tea towel in place of wrapping paper. Husbands and beaux were Tehearsed in the identifying "features of the lunch they were ' to buy. Failure to purchase her ' lunch not only embarrassed the lady but left her in the compa- ny of the wrong man. As she lunched, she fumed. Her in- tended stewed. Before the musicians packed their fiddles, a brawl would erupt in the parking area. Though the initial brawl - would be between the tipsy swain and the upstart who audaciously outbid him, soon other males bored by dancing and deficient in judgment would pick sides and wade in to balance the odds and enliven the evening. Women got their first inkling of an outdoor rumble when the ranks of lone males flanking the hall entrance dwindled. One by one the dance floor emptied of males until only fe- YEAY! Fius ALCOHOLIC AND THEY ALL WANT, I'M A REFORMED private jaunts. On one occasion he flew his family on a govern- ment aircraft to some church due in the U.S. Today, cabinet ministers, backbenchers and opposition MLAs check with Hughes to make sure they steer clear of conflict of interest before they get into trouble. In one case, ail MLA asked Hughes if he could accept a fice lunch laid on by a forest company during a forestry tour. Wile sexual harassment of women by bosses was, at one time, considered to come with the territory, such activity would be ill-advised today, un- less the perpetrator is prepared to be dealt with by the Human Rights Council, pay a beavy - penalty and have his name splashed over the front pages. Meanwhile, the om- budsman’s office has proven . that you can fight city hall and win, and Flaherty makes sure that you get access to informa- tion the government has about you. All in all, I'd say that these inslitutions have brought about some profound changes in the way government deals with the public. And before you accuse politicians again of breaking promises, remember the promises that gave us these in- stitutions. oo males and the musicians remained in the hall. My parents never let me go to a barn dance, Other girls my age stayed home to “‘keep”’ younger brothers, sisters, or cousins. After every com- munity Wingding we heard stories of broken engagements, bloody fistfights, even of an ear bitten off. And that was be- fore microsurgery was avail- able. ; None of the stories men- tioned the quality of the music or the amount of money the dance raised for charity or community projects such ag building a new fence around the outdoor ice rink or replac- ing household goods for a fam-- ily whose home had burned, Invarlably the community news comespondent reported in the weekly that a good time was had by all. On this kind of scale, I wonder how the fall fair’s barn dance went? 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