_ Kemano decision called “opportunism” _ Mayors rip Liberal leader By JEFF NAGEL TERRACE AND Kitimat "Mayors have attacked Liberal leader -Gordon Campbell for pledging to scrap the billion- dollar Kemano Completion Pro- ject if he’s elected premier. . ,-Terrace mayor Jack Talstra and Kitimat's Rick Wozney — both longtime northwest Liberals and among the party’s most likely potential: candidates here — showed . lite mercy for their party leader. - "7 think it’s a crass political de- cision thal he made without look- ing at‘all the issucs involved,’’ Talstra said last week, ‘‘It’s op- portunism, pure and simple. I ' think we're dealing with a man with no backbone oa this issue,”’ . “He knows this is a very ac- ceptable ‘decision to make in the Lower Mainland and southern British Columbia,’’ Talstra : said. But he’s left us out high and dry and out to lunch as it were,”’ Talstra slammed Campbell for not showing ‘‘basic courtesy’’ to the hundreds of people who ap- peared this year before the B.C. ‘Utilities Commission bearings and waiting for the commission's report. "The responsible thing to have done in this case would have been ‘to wait for the BCUC recom- mendations,”’ he said, adding he understands the report is to be _téleased in the next few weeks. That criticism was echoed not — only by Wozney but also by Al- can vice-president Bill Rich and ~ NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht. -. “The first thing anybody would do if they wanted to take an in- telligent, rational approach. is to wait for the recommendations of .the. commission,’’ Giesbrecht said, Both mayors said the announce- ment came as a complete sur- prise, and said Campbell did not consult them. TV didn’t expecte the B.C, Lib- érals to come up with that sort of a drastic stance regarding KCP,”’ Wozney said, ‘‘The people who have written (the Liberal) report ‘May not totally understand what the situation is ‘outside the Lower Mainland. “7 don’t know if the Liberals ate writing off Skeena,”’ Wozney added. ‘‘I’d like to think that if ~. the Liberal party is going to form He'd pay Alcan ‘A PROVINCIAL LIBERAL goverament would begin immedi- ate negotiations to compensate Alcan for the cancellation of the > Kemano Completion Project, says leader Gordon Campbell. Campbell announced last week that if elected premier he will break the province’s agreements with Alcan and scrap the half- . built, $1.4 billion hydroclectric project. “:He cited potential damage to - fhe Nechako River and its [ish stocks because of lower water levels as his reason for coming ‘out against the project. “YT don’t think in British ' Columbia . people believe our rivers belong to private corproa- tions,’’ Campbell said last week. \ "The days of massive water diversion projects in B.C, are - over”? - Campbell said Liberal research- ’ ers have been studying the project for more than a year. ... "There is no guarantee of eco- . nomic benefits coming from this project to the northwest,” he said, ‘When we looked at the benefit side of this, it just didn’t - look like it was a very good eco- nomic. development project for B.C. or the northwest.” “He said he can’t justify 800 or “so temporary construction jobs in the northwest at the expense of ‘ bundreds of fisheries jobs and. . hundreds of millions of dollars. :He sald there are other power alternatives available to B.C, that _. don’t require construction of ei- -- ther Kemano Completion or an- other dam on the Peace River. . ..The-decision goes against what ‘the NDP government’s consul- ~ fant, Murray Rankin, advised ear- ly in 1993, “-His-study found that the 1987 agreement giving Alcan the go- ahead is legally binding and that breaking: the deal would be too expensive. Gordon Campbell the next government in B.C., they would see some merit in having as many ridings in government as possible, and that would include Skeena.”’ Talstra said he feels compelled to speak out because the issue cuts deeper than party politics. *“T’m the mayor of Terrace, I have to look afler this town,”’ he said. ‘‘Mr. Wozney’s the mayor of Kitimat. He’s trying to look after his town. That's what we’re trying to do.” . Campbell defended bis position and said he has to take a clear Stand on the issue. “We understand the frustration some people will feel in Kitimat and Terrace,”’ he told the Stan- dard, ‘‘But we feel we have to be upfront and honest about this,”’ "We think it’s important to es- tablish what our values are as British Columbians,’? he said. “*We can’t keep on saying a litle more damage is OK; a litte more damage is OK.” A Liberal provincial govern- meni would shelve the project and begin negotiations with Al- can to compensate the corpora- lion for its losses, Campbell said last week. Alcan’s Bill Rich called Camp- bell” $ announcement “irresponsible,” ‘We are surprised and astounded that he would take this position at this stage of the game,” Rich said. “B.C. is on the eve of gelting the bencfit of nine months of re- search into the project by the B.C. Utilities Commission.” ‘Very substantial amounts of public money went into a public review,’’ Rich said. ‘‘Here we are al the eleventh hour and one of the major important voices in the province. makes up its mind without the benefit of the report on that process.” MLA Helmut Giesbrecht called the Liberal annoucement yet an- "You don't believe me do you? You think I'm having another breakdown...” -I'll Be Back Before Midnight SPECIAL The best deals of the best ca F-SERIES| other example of Campbell play- ing for the votes of Lower Main- land residents. “They're trying to ride a wave of public sentiment that’s pre- dominantly in the Vancouver area that’s opposed to the project and to gamer some support there,” Giesbrecht said. 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