A12 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 21, i996 $27 million pledged for Digby bridge Frustrated Terrace councillors watch gravy train roll into Rupert THE PROVINCE is pledging to put $27 million towards an ambitious plan to build a $108 million series of bridges from Prince Rupert to Digby Island and the Tsimshian peninsula. That commitment, from transportation minister Lois Boone, indicates Victoria is prepared to be a partner in a four-way split of the cost of the bridge from Prince Rupert to its airport. Loe The plan would divide the full price lag between the province, the city of Prince Rupert, the federal government, and the *‘beneficiaries”’ of the project, Those beneficiaries aren’t defined by Boone, but would likely include the na- live villages of Port Simpson and Met- lakalla, and perhaps logging companies and the future airport authority. The federal government has made no move to embrace the idea — and trans- portation minister David Anderson to some degree poured cold water on the Terrace city councillor David Hull said he’s frustrated that the province is prepared to spend that kind of money on a bridge that would help rescue the Prince Rupert airport, but won’t tum over land to secure the Terrace airport. “It’s absolutely bloody frightening that bureaucrats, politicians and anybody with common sense would consider building a $100 million-plus bridge to a litle swampy island,” Hull said. ‘We can’t get the stupid land ministry to give us 1,000 acres of scruffy old land. Maybe they'll have their bridge built before we've got the land for our airport.” City council here sees the land — which could become a light industrial pazk and much needed tax base to sup- port the airport — as being as vital to this airport’s long term survival as the bridge is to Prince Rupert’s. ‘Without that land, the possibility of a “We can’t get the stupid Jand ministry to give us 1,000 acres of scruffy old land. Maybe they'll have their bridge built before we've got the land for our airport.” sustained airport in Terrace will be ex- tremely difficult if not impossible,’ Hull Said, Assisting the Terrace airport by turning over the land won't cost anything, he added. “Tt will not cost the province one thin idime,”’ he said, ‘‘I defy anyone to think of a really strong reason why this land shouldn't be transferred to the city.”’ While some worry the Digby Bridge will give the Prince Rupert airport a competitive advantage that will someday harm the Terrace airport, Terrace eco- nomic development officer Ken Veld- man says he’s not overly concerned. “T know there are a lot of people here freaking out about it, but I don’t think it’s a big deal,’’ he said. , Veldman says the bridge would im- prove the*norihwest transportation’ cor- ridor as a whole. He said the province had already made it clear it supports the project, and that last week’s written commitment merely fleshes that out. The only significant change, he said, is Victoria's call for a four-way split. Ad- ding one more partuer — or group of partners — will make the project more difficult to achieve. “I's a long, long ways from being done,”’ he said. A federal decision on whether to be- come involved in the bridge project could be part of the recommendations that come from the Northwest Trans- portatlon Corridor Task Force. That task force is expected to report to Andezson by Dec, 1. The 920-metre, three-span fixed link from Prince Rupert to Digby Island and the city’s airport. The structure would tival the Alex Fraser bridge in the Lower Mainland. Hull speculated that Prince Rupert's MLA ~— deputy premier Dan Miller — has a lot to do with the concept’s suc- cess, and joked that Terrace would be better off if it got fumped into the North Coast riding in the next round of elec- tora] boundary drawing. “Tf we had the Miller finger come and swoop into Terrace it might be beneficial to us. It seems to work for Rupert,”” “We wouldn’t mind getting on the bandwagon.” concept this spring, Rail tax break to cost city $150,000 IT WILL, COST local taxpayers $150,000 to give a mas- sive tax break to the province's railways. That’s the price tag of changes to laws relating to utility assessments that came down last weck. The province agreed last year to what amounts to a 50 per cent property tax break to CN and CP Rail after the railways threatened to ship goods through lines south of the border, For the cily of Terrace, the new rules mean a loss of $150,000 from city tax rolls. About $138,000 of that consists of money that CN Rail would have paid into city coffers, says treasurer Keith Norman, The rest is money that would have been paid by other utililies — like B.C, Tel, Pacific Northern Gas and Okanagan Skeena Group. Part of the arrangement freezes tax rates for all utilities at 25 times the tax rate for the business class to prevent municipalities from simply doubling the utility class tax rale, Union of B.C. Municipalities president Joanne Monaghan said the UBCM has tried to fight the tax break, but notes the province made the agreement with the rail- ways before even consulting the municipalities. “Right now it looks like we're stuck with it,”’ she said. Province-wide, the tax breaks mean $20 million for CN and CP. The railways claimed they could not remain competitive without a provincial subsidy to replace federal budget cuts to rail subsidies, FROM FRONT MP Scott to” lead drive for treaty vote He said those groups include the B.C. Fisheries Survivat Coalition, B.C, FIRE, the B.C, Wildlife Fedraion, Share B.C,, the B.C. Forest Alliance, the B.C, Cattlemen’s Asso- ciation, the B.C. Mining Association, and the Council of Forest Judustries, Scott said rules prohibit an initiative campaign from paying canvassers to collect signatures, and he also says it wouldn’t be appropriate for organizers to use Reform Party membership lists as a starting point. , An Nisga’s treaty referendum would be the fifth time an iniliative has been attempted. The first three either failed at the petition stage or were withdrawn. A fourth petition is planned to try to force the province to ban bear hunting. Scott will take his plan to the B.C. wing of the federal Reform caucus in September for their endorsement, He said he'll proceed whether he gets that endorsement or not, but says he expects most B.C. Reform MPs to lend their support to the project. Scott discounts the province's select standing committee on aboriginal affairs — which is charged with touring the province to gain input into fand claims policy — as a “cynical exercise” by aboriginal affairs minister John Cashore, “I'm flabbergasted that Cashore embarks on this initia- live now after the agreement in principle’s been signed. It would have been much more useful for the government to do this two years ago,.”’ “Why bother asking people their views when you've al- ready signed a deal??? Last March’s agreement-in-principle would give the Nisga’a $200 million, 2,000 square kilometres of land, resources, self-government, and fishing rights. Talks between the Nisga’a, federal and provincial negoti- alors are to resume this week to work towards the final text ne nar : ein a “ ; “ = ia /. Pay: é . 1 ao : og . \, _ le ° a Zz) a oe van See a wildfire this summer catl 1¢800+¢663e«5555 © Pa om meg ™= ys coe es cco , iB * tm ad ool , ae pa »&, oe 7 wT. a aR . 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