‘Rolling, rolling, rolling Champion choppers

Canadian Tire has found the land.

to build a store here in
Terrace\NEWS Page A8

Picture perfect

Photos and results from this
year’s Skeena Valley Fall
Fair\COMMUNITY Bi

|The logger sports at the fall fair
once again drew a large |
crowd\SPORTS BG

me WEDNESDAY -
Ms SEPTEMBER 11, 1996

93¢ PLUS 766 GST.
VOL. 9 NO. 22°

Union forces target city hall

By JEFF NAGEL
THE NDP MACHINE that helped re-elect
MLA Helmut Giesbrecht is about to go
back into action for this fall’s municipal
election campaign.

Local New Democrat workers hope to use
their already-warmed-up election team to
blow Terrace’s right-leaning council out of
city hall,

Slates of candidates are being formed to
run for Terrace city council, Kitimat district
council, and the new amalgamated Coast
Mountain School District board of trustees,
according to Terrace and Kitimat District
Labour Council spokesman Norm Lavallee.

“We've got some individuals already, but
we just don’t have the full slate yet,’’
Lavallee said.

He said a political action committee is
working on getting the full slate in place

mw Mayor to run again, page A5
mw City’s growth could signal
changing politics, page A5

g Every vote counts, Page A5
a Amalgamation to trim num-
ber of trustees, page A5

and confirmed.

“We've got one so far for city council
and twa so far who have thrown their hats
in for school board,’* Lavallee said.

Others are considering candidacy, he said,
but those are the ones who are actually con-
firmed to rin.

“You're really going to be surprised with

who some of the candidates are,”’ he added.
Lavallee said they also have two candi-
dates confirmed for Kitimat council and

one for the Kitimat seats on the new School:

District 82 school board.

He says the group hasn't decided under
what banner the candidates will run,

Lavallee said raising money will be a big
part of the election, adding he expects there
will be a substantial war chest — in part
from jocal unions — to bankroll ihe
campaign.

“'There’s already dollars committed to
it,’’ be said. ‘We know how important it
is,’’

Lavallee said the municipal election
campaign is part of an overall strategy to

Mike Scott,

Lavallee said a major issue with the city
will be the contracting out of union jabs.

The current council steadily worked
toward privatizing many city functions, and
the proposals now being considered to
build a second sheet of ice may also in-
volve privatizing the existing arcna and
aquatic centre,

Lavallee said the present council has had
a long history of anti-union behaviour,
noting they’ve consistently refused to
honour labour-sponsored proclamations.

A significant municipal push by the left
would be intriguing because it would
harken back to the days when Mayor Jack
Talstra and Helmut Giesbrecht were in

keep the machinery warmed up for a feder-
al election next year, where the labour
groups hopes to oust Skcena’s Reform MP

Continued Page A5

M@ Take a deep breath

THE NORTHWEST BOASTS some great kayaking waters, as
John Trewhitt found out as he headed over Vetter Falls, in the
Nass Valley. He and Mike Misskey, who took thls photo, dis-
covered they had to hold their breath when they went over, That's

because their boats were totally immersed in a nine-foot-deep pool
at the botiom before they popped back up. Kayaks are sealed tight
against dunkings like this, and the air trapped inside the slender
boats propels them quickly to the surface.

Loaded gov't money truck
a problem for Giesbrecht

By MALCOLM BAXTER

FOREST RENEWAL B.C, may not be getting
value for the millions of dollars it’s been dish-
ing out lately, says Skeena NDP MLA Helmut

Giesbrecht.

He made the comments on the eve of a board
meeting of the provinclal crown corporation at
which it'll decide what to do with what is turn-

ing out to be an embarrasment of riches.

“There's a lot of money being shovelled off
that truck,”’ Giesbrecht said. As an example of
it being shovelled in questionable directions, he
pointed to the five-year, $5 million study of por-
cupines going on in the Shames Valley, west of

Terrace.

Maintaining much was already known about
the prickly creatures dining habits when it came
to young trees, Giesbrecht noted local ex-forest
industry worker Les Watmough had effectively
demolished the study idea in a recent letter to

the editor in The Terrace Standard.

For the past three years, Forest Renewal B.C.
(FRBC) has receivdd $400 million annually
from increased: stumpage paid by forest com-

panics,

Giesbrecht polnted out it had failed to spend

that amount in any of those years and, as a
result, will bave accumulated a nest egg of
about $900 million by the end of this financial
year. ‘Will it ever be able to spend it?’’ be

asked,

corporation’s surplus.

eral revenue account.

It also required FRBC money be spent on
forestry and forest Industry related projects.

Those conditions and their belng put into law
- 80 that government couldn’t arbitrarily change
the rules 10 divert the money elsewhere - was
one of the reasons the forest industry publically

supported the stumpage rate increase.

“Who owns the forests anyway?”

FRBC’s wealth combined with the provincial
government’s budgetary woes has prompted ment.
speculation Victoria has its eye on the crown

The legislation that established FRBC puaran-
teed it would receive two thirds of the revenue
resulting from the 1993 hike in stumpage rates -
the remainder went into the government's gen-

Asked if diverting that money now might
make ihe industry feel it’s support was secured
under false pretenses, Giesbrecht retorted,

Not forest companies, he pointed out. He also

wondered what was wrong with putting that
moncy into general revenue ‘‘to benefit the
people who own the resource.”

‘There are needs out there,”’ he emphasized,
adding Victoria is having to contend with con-
tinual cost off-loading by the federal govern-

‘Things change,’’ Giesbrecht said, suggesting
some members of the FRBC board might not
have an ‘‘obsessive, possessive view’’ about
their bankroll.

While saying it was FRBC's call as to
whether it handed over some of its surplus to
Victoria, Giesbrecht noted that if it declined to
do so the government could change the legisla-
tion if it wanted to.

- As to where the money should be spent If it is
diverted from FRBC coffers, be said be would
prefer to see il go toward capital projects rather

penses.

Using it to prop up operational budgets, he
added, would simply create the problem of
trying to find similar dollars again in future
years, The FRBC board is scheduled to meet
tomorrow.

than be ‘‘frittered away’? in operational ex- .

Norm Lavallee

Tsimshian
continuing
treaty effort —

NEGOTIATORS working on the Tsimshian land claim
hope to agree on how treaty talks will take Place this
month.

They’re close to signing a framework agreement which -

sels oul how the Tsimshian and the federal and provincial,

governments will work toward an agreement in principle: Me

A tentalive framework agreement was — prepared - this:
spring and it’s now awaiting signatures of federal and
provincial senlor politicians and Tsimshian chiefs. -

The agreement in principle, when negotiated, provides
the foundation for a final settlement. |
‘Chief Tsimshian negeotiater Gerald Wesley says his
group is already working on the issues to be involved in.
the agreement in principle stage. ;

“We're waiting for the final Signatures. In the meantime
we're working on going beyond,” be said. :

Wesley and others estimate the agreement in principle
will take atleast three years and perhaps as long as four
years to negotiate.

“There are some who aormally say il’s a two year pro-

cess and we looked at that and wrestled with it and decided
it couldn’! be done in that time period,’’ said Wesley.

“The other negotiators can only meet with us once every
six weeks for two days al a time so when you look al that
over two years, that’s not a lot of days,”' he added.

That’s what happened with the Nisga’a who went into
talks with the federal and provincial governments thinking
that a short negotiation period was possible,

Their talks were extended several times until a Nisga’a
agreement in principle was finally signed earlier. this-year,

Wesley said a longer period for the Tsimshian. is
preferred as the seven individual villages involved in the
talks will need time to examine Specific issues: affecting
them.

And as the Tsimshian continue down the land claims
path, they are also working on solving boundary overlaps
with the neighbouring Nisga'a. That story Page Af2.

Fire vote set

SOME RURAL residents will vote Nov, 16 0n whether or
not to extend fire protection east and seuth of Thornhill.

Arecent fire commissioner's report indicated that fire ser-
vice was needed td protect the communities. whieh are quite
a distance from the Thornhill Fire Hall. .

Regional district officials expect wo volunteer fire halls
would be built: The exact locations have ‘yet 6 be decided.
but one will prabably’ be near Lakelse. Lake - covering the
lake and Jackpine Flats, .

The other will likely. be on Highway 16 East, protecting
homes near Copper River Kleanza Creek. Usk and, as: fur ats
Chindeniash, ;

Both halls will -be equipped with puniper: “tankers aimnilixe
to the $149,000. truck recently purchased by the Thornhill
Fire Department, ;

In addition, a-separale 2.500 gallon tanker would have tt
be purchased to shuttle water from a-water-source ta # fire.

The tire commissioner's report also suggests there bea
full-time tire chief to handle the increased department, rath-
er than the existing part-time chief position.

Thornhill RD director Peggy Julseth says that the ex pun-
sion is necessary: to adequately-serve the odilying areas, and
suggests thal the increased-tax costs to residents will be cove
ered by insurance ‘decreases. we

“What residents fiaind when Kalin Noirth caine under
‘Thornhill protection’ was that their insurance costs went
down considerably." Julseth says. "Taxes will increase, but
hopefully nat to the siime degree.”

The exact costs of the project: and cost to the’ twxpay ei are
dot yet known. However. the full finineial pichtre: wil be
iv ailable by the time of thé referendtim in November: ;

Public infortnation meetings sometime in October to. pies.

enta packape to residents,