Log choppers
Loggers’ Sports
competition tests local -
athletes’ saw skills and
axe abilities\SPORTS B4

Picked on

Mushroom pickers

say this patch should be
protected from .~
logging\NEWS A13.

Fali Fair finale

. We've got the lowdown . .
on livestock events and

_ exhibition winners\

te COMMUNITY B1

$1.00 plus 7¢ GST
($1.10 plus 8¢ GST -
outside of the Terrace area)

STA

NDARD

"Terrace is B. c. "4S 2.001 Forestry Capital”

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ednesday, September-12, 2004

Police warned about speaking out

By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN
RCMP officers here have been told
their job futures could be at risk if they
speak out about the decision to dis-
miss local constable Jason MacDo-
nald.

The warning came Aug. 2 after a
story ran in The Terrace Standard
about local RCMP officers and resi-
dents starting a petition to save Mac-
Donald’s job.

The constable had been ordered to
resign from the force. July 19 after a
two-day internal disciplinary hearing.
He admitted to tipping off a jocal gar-
age about an impending Employment
Insurance records search.

MacDonald appealed the decision
that same day. The appeal is still in

The written warning from ‘Terrace
Staff Sergeant Tom Forster came by
way of an Aug, 2 e-mail, a copy of
which was obtained by The Terrace
Standard.

It was addressed to everybody at
the Terrace detachment:

“Since there is an appeal under-
way, any public comments from serv-
ing members could affect the outcome
of the appeal while at the same time
jeopardizing career aspirations, post-
ings and assignments of duties of the
member making the comment,” read
the e-mail.

Forster issued the warning after re-
ceiving an e-mail himself on Aug. 2,
from Staff Sergeant Hugh Stewart, a
senior RCMP administrator in Van-
couver.

Stewart’s e-mail! said the members
involved with the petilion could be in
contravention of the RCMP Act and
the force's Code of Conduct.

Stewart told Forster the members
should not be petitioning RCMP Com-
missioner Giuliano Zaccardelli or
speaking publicly. Zaccardelli will ul-
timately decide on MacDonald’ s fu-
ture with the RCMP.

“On behalf of the Commanding Of-
ficer, | would ask that you take im-
mediate action to draw this to their at-
tention and provide the appropriate
direction ta each of them that they
cease such inappropriate activity
forthwith,” he wrote to Forster.

In an interview with The Terrace
Standard, Stewart said to the best of
his knowledge, a petition like this has

never been organized before.

“It’s not normal for our members to
be circulating a petition in regards to a
code of conduct issue,” he said. “It
has been taken very seriously.”

He said the members involved with
the petition could be in violation of
Section 41 of the RCMP Act.

That section says members “shall

._ not publicly criticize, ridicule, petition

or complain about the administration,
operation, objectives or policies of the
Force.”

Since Zaccardelli will be the final
judge as to MacDonald's future with
the RCMP, the petition could taint his
impartiality, said Stewart.

“When you attempt to influence a
person — as a police officer or anyone
— who is sitting as a judge or an adju-

dicator, you bring disrepute to that
process,” Stewart said. ,

“They are speaking to him, quite
frankly, outside of his role,” he said.
“His role is very specific and it cer-
tainly doesn’t involve receiving peti-
tions from our members when he has
ihe difficult task of reviewing a case
of this magnitude.”

Forster’s e-mail informed officers of
the section in the RCMP Act and said
if any member is found to be in viola-
lion of the RCMP Act, punishment
would be meted out quickly.

“Some of you may not know that
proving a violation of the RCMP Act
only requires proof on a balance of
probabilities and is therefore easier to
convict and more subjective than the

Cont'd Page A2

process.

Bankers
broke
deal on
SCI pay:
Thorpe

Gets bankruptcy

protection again
By JEFF NAGEL

ENTERPRISE minister Rick
Thorpe said he had no choice
but to place Skeena Cellulose
under protection from its cre-
ditors last Wednesday.

B.C. Supreme Court gran-
ted SCI 30 days shelter from
creditors Sept. 5 under the

Companies Creditors Arran-
gements Act (CCAA) — the
second time that has hap-
pened in five years.

The move came after the TD

Mayor
warns
gov't of
its duty

By JEFF NAGEL
THE PROVINCIAL gov-
ernment must not abandon
the northwest in its drive
to sell off Skeena Cellu-
lose, Terrace mayor Jack
Talstra says. ,

The new Liberal gov-
ernment may not like its
position as owner of SCI
and it might nat have cho-

-sen to bail out the compa-

ny as the NDP did, Talstra
said, but it must continue
what its predecessor star-
ted.

“Once the previous

PETER DEMEDEIROS, a forklift operator ‘at Skeena Cellulose's s Terrace sawmill, was one of the 5 workers who had difficulty.
cashing pay cheques last week, After the TD Bank refused ta honour SCI cheques, the company reissued its payroll for the
sawmill here on Royal Bank cheques. After initially refusing to honour them, the Royal branch here began cashing the pay
cheques Thursday afternoon. SCI officials said the bank was merely nervous and needed to be reassured. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO

government chose to po
that route I think il now

-- behooves this government
nat to simply walk away,”
Talstra said.

Bank stopped honouring Skeena
Cellulose cheques and deman-
ded immediate payment of $350
million in loans to. SCI.

Once workers’ pay cheques

tors and suppliers
owed tens and hun-
dreds of thousands of
dollars — are in the §

oem cure further coopera-
tion from the bank.

Thorpe had Flown to
Toronto Aug. 28 tane- 11.

vince was already making pre-
parations in August to file for
creditor protection around Sept.

That date, court documents

day period,” Thorpe said.

He said the government also
had to be prepared for the poss-
ibility other creditors might soon
petition SCI into bankruptcy,

“That would be a dere-
liction of their responsibi-
lities and purposeful neg-
lect af this area.”

Talstra said he doesn’t
think Victoria will aban-

'don the northwest, but said

same plight they § gotiate directly with
megan to bounce, oor said, were in 1997 when the bankers and he and
puon. SCI last feil into [ his officials continued

Protection fram creditors puts
the bank’s ability to push SCI
into bankruptcy on pause.

That guarantees the $900,000
in SCI payroll cheques will be
honoured, Thorpe said, and cre-

tion.

bankruptey protec-

In that restructur- |
ing they were forced {
to accept 10 cents on |
the dollar for their |

lo have talks with the
bank through the La-
bour Day weekend.

“The bank did demand
tepayment on Aug. 31
but we were continuing

More Skeena Cellulose on A5
Bi Loggers brace for a bleak winter here
@ Luck, timing was against Skeena Cellulose
B Gov't bears part of blame for crisis, trucker says

it’s important to put the

‘ government on notice of
its “continuing responsibil-
ily to the people of the
northwest.”

have to do their very best

“They should know they .

ditors owed up to $1,000 will gel
their money.

“There was no way on my
watch this company was going
to be carried on the backs of the
employees and the small credi-
tors,” Thorpe said,

unpaid bills,

Right up to Aug,
31 — when an already extended
expiry date on SCI's operating
line of credit was to run out ~

‘there was no indication whether

or not the government could se-

Rick Thorpe

honoured,” he said Sept. 5. “As
it turned out the bank decided to
not honour payroll cheques ef-
fective today.”

Court filings indicate the pro-

to have discussions on
payroll cheques being

show, was expected to allow vir-
tually all outstanding cheques
issued by the company to the
end of August to clear,

“We knew if the bank called
the loan we would have to try to
do something within a 10 or 11-

The company also faced a
Sept. 24 tax sale on its Prince
Rupert pulp mill for $12.1 mil-
lion in unpaid property taxes
awed to the City of Prince Ru-
pert.

Continued Pg. A5

to ensure there’s continued
employment up here for
the wellbeing of all of us,”
he said.

Taistra made the com-
ments as he announced

Continued Pg. A5

But larger creditors — contrac-

Burton returns to Alliance fold

SAYING HE’S made his paint, Skeena MP
Andy Burton is going back to the Canadian
Alliance caucus.

Burton was one of 13 Canadian Alliance
MPs to leave the caucus over the leadership of
Stockwell Day and form their own group, the
Democratic Representative caucus,

But Burton now says he’s returning so he
can be an active participant in the Alliance
leadership race which culminates next March
in a vote,

The MP conceded his return to a caucus
lead by a man he wants defeated may seem
odd.

“Let's be clear. I don’t support him. That’s

why ] left,” said Burton. :“But now I can work.

on the inside,”
In any event, Burton noted that Day has

promised to quit the party: leadership 90. days. ,
They’ said they would support whatever deci-
‘sion 1 would. make;"* Burton said.

before the vote. ~

That makes it December and ‘that's. ‘only -

three months from now,.said Burton...

“In three months he’s gone and if be 8 doesn te

run for the leadership, he’s gone in six,” Bur-
ton added.

Although Burton was front and centre with
the formation of the Democratic Representa-
tive caucus, he kept his distance from any
conversations about joining together with the
federal Progressive Conservative Party and
having it become the front-running alternative
to the ruling federal Liberal. party,

“I was never comfortable with that,” said
Burton. “Definitely not-the Tories.”

Burton's comments came over the weekend
after several days of listening and speaking
with a variety of people, including the exec-
ulive of his constituency association,

The’ MP acknowledged that not all mem-
bers of the executive were comfortable about

- his return to the Alliance. caucus,

“In the end they didn’t say don’ t go back.

He. said. that -if he were Stockwell Day, he

: woulda’ t welcome back many of the MPs who

ieft.

“He just wanted one back - just one or
more,” said Burton, That's because 12 is the
magic number for political parties to achieve
official recognition and money in Parliament.

“T think the last thing -he wants is all 12 of
us back.”

Burlon’s return came ahead of a deadline to
do so or face expulsion from the Alliance cau-
cus.

That's harsher than the suspension he re-
ceived for speaking out about Day and by join-
ing with the Democratic Representative cali-
cus.

The return of MPs to the Alliance caucus is
contingent: upon them agreeing to a number of
lermns,

Burton has trouble with only one of them -
and that is ‘to accept the results af the leader-,
ship race,

“What if he wins?” asked Burton, “PIL have .
to Work really, really hard to make “guire he

doesn't.

Davies takes
city byelection

MARYLIN DAVIES is Terrace’s
newest city councillor.

She emerged the winner of
Saturday’s city council byelection,
taking the seat vacated in June by Olga Power, Davies
received 286 votes or 37 per cent of the popular vate.

Second was former school board chairman Roger
Leclere with 195 votes or 25 per cent.

Retired city director of engineering Stew Christensen
was third with 145 votes, or 18 per cent.

Retired nurse Betty Campbell received 103 votes and
Bob Erb, a B.C. Marijuana Party candidate in the
recent provincial election, wailed with 31 votes.

Davies, who worked on the recent B.C. Liberal pro-
vincial election campaign here, ran a well-organized
byelection campaign.

A network of local volunteers acted as scrutineers and
telephone canvassers for her. A retired music teacher
with an extensive volunteer history , Davies will serve
aterm of just over ane year.

‘A-general city council election will take place in
November of 2002.

arylin Davies: