PAGE 4, THE HERALD, Friday, June 30, 1978

EDITORIAL

With the long weekend coming up, few of our
readers will probably be in the mood for
anything “heavy” in the way of editorials.

The record run of exceptionally fine weather -
weather that, if it was any better, we probably
couldn't stand it, (as the Irish would say) - has
put most of us in the holiday frame of mind.

So it might come as a pleasant “shock” to
know there is quite a lot of good news to write
about. In the (delayed) mail, today, came a copy
of “Trade And Commerce” magazine, - (last
month’s issue of course ’ but that is better than
no mail at all.) The May issue was devoted to a
market survey of British Columbia, and in it
were special features on ‘Greater Terrace” and

‘Prince Rupert, plus a four page article on

Abacus Cities Ltd., the tax shelter type cor-
poration that is building the nine million dollar
shopping mall in Terrace.

Now the type of good news I am talking about,
of course - apart from the weather and the im-
pending holiday - is the “dollars and cents” type.
However, I didn’t spend a good portion of my life
with my head in the sand. I know, certainly, that
“money isn't everything’. All the money in the
world is not ‘good news’ to the person who has no
one to love them; or who has loved ones in the
hospital - and the door opens and the doctor
walks out of the loved one’s rcom shaking his

dim Fulton says

Stewart situation an
“Ynnecessary disaster”

“An intolerable addition to the already high
unemployment rate in Skeena,”’ was the way
Jim Fulton, federal NDP candidate for the riding
described the new move of layoffs in Stewart.

Since 1975 the Granduc mine has laid off
almost 700 workers, with. further cutbacks ex-
pected this fall.

“The town of Stewart is destined for economic
disaster as the spin-off from the mine closure
‘spells the loss of jobs to small businessmen,
service workers, teachers as well as the miners
themselves,” Fulton went on to state.

“The taxpayers will be left with an enormous

investment in schools, roads, housing, the new |;

hydro plant and the hospital.

- It's an unnecessary disaster, it’s been taking F Bs
place for over three years while the MP for p
Skeena and the federal government have done figacy

nothing to stabilize the economy of this area.”

‘The fact of the matter is that there are tons of
proven ore still in the mine, yet'the federal

government is actively promoting and:finahcing fromm...

the development of mines in Chile and
elsewhere,”

“Some of these millions should be redirected F222

into towns like Stewart for the immediate and

adequate funding of industrial diversification pix:
and nother less from the government will do,” ferns

Fulton concluded.

Boom and Bust

Between 1912 and

For Kitimat and Terrace — good news for the holiday weekend

head. All the financial prosperity here - or just
around the corner - will be meaningless to the old
age pensioner, racked with pain, gasping and
fighting for each breath through the long days
and the interminable night-times.

For the many, many, unemployed - some of
them in the apartment right next to us,
separated by a five-eighths inch sheet of
wallboard, sometimes - the fact that a 75 million
dollar grain elevator may be going up in the next
town, and a couple of hundred million dollars
worth of jobs might be created‘ovér the next ten
years at Kitimat and Prince Rupert - good as it
sounds, - is just another pipe dream.

Did I suggest I was going to concentrate on the
good things in this editorial? Hold on a moment,
we'll get to that, yet!

We, who are old, and who have watched the
shiny-smooth texture of our young bodies grow
veined, wrinkled and old; have, in despair, seen
our vision grow dimmer, heard our loyed ones
voices grow fainter and indistinct, and noticed
the stairs getting harder to climb, the hills
steeper, and many foods loose their taste, as the
years have sped by; - we, whom some of the
younger generation may feel - and tell us - have ©
been around ‘too long’’ still have treasures to
share with those who may be rich in finances -
but (as Scripture puts it) are poor in spirit.

And, at a holiday time, such as this - when the
young in heart can hardly wait to try out that
new boat, and to haul it to the lake behind that

» pe ey :

:
TOUANAL.
=

:
s
BS

1915 Stewart’s

“Think I'll go inside and get a breath of fresh air.”

new car, then don the skimpiest trunks and
bikinis while the other kids experiment with the
latest camping gear - as they listen to the latest
tapes, or plunge into the shockingly icy-cold lake
- we can draw from our storehouse of treasures,
as the days draw to a close and the nights begin,
and, in the flickering glow from the campfires of
our mind, share those riches with them.

in case the word has not gotten around yet -
Canada is a great country to live in - whether we
were born here, or had the sense to come here to

ive. ;

Never mind those who would tell us how much
better life is where ever it was they came from.
We shall not be vulgar enough to ask them why -
if things there were that great - they preferred to
leave it all behind and spend their lives with us!
The fact that they have ‘voted with their feet”
for the best country in the world, is proof enough
-no matter what their lips may suggest.

Another bit of good news. Regardless of the.
crime rate - there is still a lot of goodness, kind-
ness and love left in the world. I know this will
sound “corny’’ - but we, who have been around a
little longer than the others; we who may have
lived ina number of other lands, and been in and

oe
has
ue a

population

dropped from a growing 5,000 to only 17!

On June 30, the Granduc copper’ mine at
Stewart will close; a closure due to continued
depression in world copper prices -- currently at
59 cents per pound (U.S.). The company
estimates a price of over 70 cents per pound is
necessary for the mine to break even, and they
would need over $1.00 per pound to justify any
further long-term investments.

Of the 340 Granduc employees when the
decision to close the mine was announced in ~

February, close to 100 have since left Stewart to
take other jobs, in places including Lynn Lake,
Yellowknife, Trail and Tungsten. 121 people will
be laid off on June 30, with the remaining 100
leaving at varying times between then and
October. ;

At its peak, Granduc had 900 employees, but
500 were laid off in 1974 as a result of declining
copper prices, incréased operating costs, and the
mining taxation policies of the NDP provincial
government,

To assist in finding jobs for laid-off employees
the Canada Employment Commission (Man-
power) has entered into a special $560,000 em-
ployee relocation contract with the company,
and is sending a team of officials to Stewart next
week to aid in the relocation process, In ad-

TERRACE/KITIMAT °

daily herald

General Office - 635-4357.
Clreulation - 635-6357

PUBLISHER... Laurie Mallett
MANAGING EDITOR...Ernest Senlor
REPORTERS...Donna Vailleres (Terrace-Tharnhill)

KITIMAT OFFICE,,.Pat, Zelinskl - 632-2747
Published every weekday a? 3212 Kalum St., Terrace,
B.C, Amember of Varifled Circulation. Authorized as
secondclass mall, Registration number 1201. Postage
pald In cash, return postage guaranteed.

NOTE OF COPYRIGHT

Published by
Sterling Publishers

The Herald retains full, complete and sole copyright
tn any advertisement produced andor any editorial or
forest content published In the Herald.

eproduction Is not permitted without the written
rmission of tha Publisher.

pPomode)

dition, residents of Stewart affected by the
shutdown, but not direct employees of Granduc,
are eligible for the standard C.E.C. employment
mobility assistance,

To aid Stewart's efforts to diversify its
economy, the federal-provincial Industria]
Development Committee has undertaken a

$106,000 timber inventory and mill feasibility

study, which should be completed this summer.

Granduc’s closure is not the first time Stewart
has received such a setback. At one point it went
in three years from a population of 5,000 (1912) to
only 17 (1915). The history of Canada’s north is
filled with examples of the tragic, boom and bust
cycle of isolated, single resource communites
(Alice Arm, Atlin, Dawson City, to name just
three). coe

“My objective’, says Skeena M.P. Iona
Campagnolo, “and as the first ever northern
Cabinet Minister, has heen to break this cycle,
diversify our northern economy,.,.and create
broader-based communities with legs reliance on

ee
MORNING MAILBAG

The number of. Canada’s poor is steadily |

decreasing,.Statistics Canada reports that as of
1976, 10.5 per cent of our population lived below
the poverty line, down from 19.8 per cent in 1967.

103 west coast fishermen, due to be retired
from the salmon industry at the end of the year
when their “B" category licences expire, have
been given another five years to fish. Fisheries
Minister Romeo LeBlanc has, after consultation
with the industry, granted the extensions to
persons who were involuntarily given ‘“B”
licences (which expire after a 10 year period)
under the 1948 Salmon Vessel Management

Program, Other, voluntary ‘“B” licence holders:

are not affected by this extension.

1978 figures released by the International
Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Developmentshow that Canada’s per capita
income is $8,410, ahead of the U.S.’s $7,910.

In an innovative project, combining funds
from the federal Department of Fisheries and
Young Canada Works, a high school class in
Prince Rupert is conducting their own Salmonid
Enhancement project. They are building and

“long-distance decision-making.”

A major step toward this, she adds, was
designation of northern B.C. last year for
‘assistance under the Regional Development
Incentives Act, which aids businesses in-
troducing ‘‘value-added” industry to our area.
In the past month 3 RDIA grants, worth $808,000
have created 97 new northern jobs, including 60
in Prince Rupert. — .

‘Also important in‘ this respect:-has been the
$15,000,000 put forward by Ottawa to upgrade the
Stewart-Cassiar Highway. Already this has paid
off, with Cassiar Asbestos’ decision to ship its
product through Stewart (instead of Alaska),
thus creating 75 new jobs.

Other federal government assistance to.

Stewart in recent years includes airstrip
upgrading ($70,000), a new customs office
-($27,000), wharf improvements ($390,000), and

$80,000 in Canada Works and similar job creation

programs,

managing a fish-rearing pond on Hays Creek,

and hope to greatly increase the number of fish .
- gecount, but stated the money was transferred to

in the creek’s spawning cycle.
Legislation has been introduced in Parliament

revising the Canada Student Loans Act. Major .

changes are an increase in loan limits, lowering
of eligible course length, and tougher penalties
for abusers of the Student Loan plan.

QUOTE... B.C. miners supporting the NDP
makes as much sense as chickens voting for
Colonel Sanders... UNQUOTE. B.C, Liberal
Leader and MLA Gordon Gibson.

At the request*of a coalition group concerned
with South Africa, the Kitimat, Terrace &
District Labour Council withdrew its account
with the Bank of Nova Scotia this week because
the bank was reportedly investing in South
Africa, — i .

Paul Johnston, a spokesman for the’ labour
council, said the council met with the coalition
two weeks ago and learned that the Bank of Nova
Scotia was one of several banks who lend money
to corporations investing in South Africa.

human, no matter how degenerate - there is a
capability for. good, and a capacity for love.

And, - joy of joys, there is SO much beauty left
to see, to feel, - and to, experience.

Drive along the Skeena in the morning - return
along the Skeena at night. The scenery - the
combination of cloud, mist, light and shadow,
colour tones - will never be twicethe same. Each
journey can be an exciting kaleidoscope of sight
and sound and silence, storing up memories in
our brain-bank that we can draw from when we
need them, or when we are lonely or scared.

Those times when we suffer the greatest ad-
versity - when we feel we cannot take another
day of living in this ‘‘rat race’”’ - we still can, on
nights such as we are experiencing during this
balmy spell of weather look up, through the dark,
at the panonly of the amazing sky above us - and

_reach out to the stars in the heavenly firmament

that is free for all of us who have vision, to
equally share. Then, no matter how dark the
night of our soul may be; no matter how deep the
depression that would seek to smother us,
somewhere - through it all, will be heard that
still, small voice, assuring us:

God is Great. God is Good. To which, in
reverence, we will find ourselves giving silent

__ assent, Or - as some would say - Amen!

- Happy Holiday.

Ottawa Offbeat
by Richard Jackson

Ottawa,- Conservative Leader Joe Clark is
keeping his head down.

Nobody has to tell him that he’s the target the
Liberals have to bull’s-eye to'win re-election.

So he’s giving them as little to shoot at.as
possible.

Others along the Conservative benches -- front,
middle and back — are taking the leadoff in the
Daily Question Periad.

Joe lets the troops test the floor of the Com-
mons each day for political land mines that could
be exploded by some ill-considered Conservative
question.

So far, while it doesn’t exactly make for bold

fA and fiery leadership, it has been working.

And it bothers the poll-worried Liberals. ©
At the same time, Pierre Trudeau, a

8 strongman who looks like a strongman, talks like

a strongman, and sometimes acts like a

‘3 strongman, still remains their trump card in the

re-election game.
Trudeau sounds.like a.leader. 0 =~
‘Arid'although many. of the very things he says
arid doés now'+"'as he has been'saying ‘and doing
through 10 years of power - account for the
damaging backlash, that. charismatic quality of
leadership is what so obviously sets him apart
from Joe Clark. . ;

So Clark is careful, seldom colorful.

His leadership has a quiet quality.
_ Lacking any real power, he’s realistic enough
to avoid going head to head with Trudeau if he
isn’t reasonably sure he'll come out of it looking

- good, or at least even.

Clark does no posing.

He is what he is -— a young challenger
measuring the champion while keeping well out
of reach. :

If he says little, Trudeau can’t shoot him down

’ for something he didn’t say.

If he offers only broad. generalities in
presenting policies of the alternative govern-
ment he hopes to head -- being careful to avoid
specifics -- he deprives Trudeau of a target.

- No government can stand on its record for the
very practical reason that the voters tend to
forget the credits but usually remember the

ebits.

So to ask the electors to look back is to invite
defeat. ~

“Getting” the Opposition leader is fair game,
and election after election has shown how deadly
Liberal marksmanship can be.

- But with Joe Clark — keeping his head down -

and his mouth shut — what’s to shoot at?
The best the Liberals so far have been able to

do is admit with a ‘self-deprecating shrug that,

sure, they’re awful, but just think how much
-worde the Conservatives would he.
But where's the proof?
Clark’s giving them no evidence for their lame
joke. Nothing to go on, ;

Liberal, Labour and Socred | 7

Johnston refused to disclose the amount of
money the council had deposited in the bank

another local financial Institution. ‘

Labour and other groups across the country .

are withdrawing money from banks who are
involved in South African interests, —

Best tata bat tO betitathitet titetetatell
he
a
est

a

Letters.

To the Editor _ Tesident, it seems as though
Sire: this resident has a monopoly
» Recently a road job was onallfillinthe area. -
done on the Thornhill Road. The Dept, fo highways
As there was considerable expcaplated a right of way
fill to dispose of, 1 felt that 1 across my property known
should geta share, as I sure 8 Millaras Roadfor which I
a8 hell need it, never received a penny, so I
Instead, it was hauled onto figure they owe me,
ther property of.a local .P. Dunphy

ruanents