Page A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 30, 1993 Ftegistration i 7820 Phone (604) 638-7283 {1988} Lid., it's ilustration cepro services and advertising agancies, Reproduction In whole cr In part, without written permission, fs specifically prohibied, Authorized as sacand-class mall pending the Past Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Sening tho Tarace area, Published on Wednesday of each week by Cariboo Press {1969} Ltd. at 4647 x Ayo., ) 2 British Columbia. Stolles, photographs, Illustrations, design’ ard typestyles in the Tarraos Standard ara the property of he copyright holders, Gu Cariboo Press “TERRACE STA NDAR sditcee’ deff Nagel - News/Community, Maken Beater - News Sports, Publisher/Editor:... Rose Fisher - Front Office Manager, Pam Odell - Typesatler, : | Rod Link Aulane Watts - Typesetter, Susan Credgour - Composing/Darkroam,, Special thanks to ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1968 Janet Viveires'- Advertising Consultant, Sam Collier - Advertising Consultant, ae all our Advertising Charlene Matthews - Circulation Manager 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B, C., VaG bs petal contributors and " ike L i correspondents ike L. Hamm Fax (604) 638-8432 for their time and Production Manager: VERIFAEO talents. Edouard Credgeur Caskciaban tai CONINOLLED ~ EDITORIAT __ What now? The provincial government’s decision to preserve the Tiatshenshini valley has prompted predictable celebration/gnashing of teeth. Environmentalists naturally hail the crea- lion of the park as a great victory, all the more welcome after their defeat on logging the Clayoquot. The mining sector see it as proof positive the New Democrats stiil have a hate on for their industry. And the northwest business community bemoans the loss of the economic spin-offs the Windy Craggy open-pit mine would have brought to the area, While Geddes Resources is obviously most directly affected by the decision -- it sank upwards of $50 million into its now- doomed project -- West Fraser must be wondering what it means for them. That’s because the question ‘of logging the Kitlope is is still up in the air. Natives are claiming victory following the B.C, Court of Appeals decision handed down Friday i in the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en case. Non-natives are claiming victory because of some of the decisions on fishing rights. The Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en believe they ate winners because the, appeal..court. .... judges . overtumed ..Chief Justice - Allan. McEachtfhts #71991 judgement that aboriginal rights had been extinguished by the Crown during the colonial period. But it was a “good news, bad news”? ruling. Yes, aboriginal. rights still exist and they're even protected by the Constitution of Canada, But, no, that doesn’t mean the natives can claim ownership of what they describe as West Fraser, through its Skeena Sawmills and Eurocan operations, wants to harvest a small percentage of that valley, For the environmental movement, how- ever, the Kitlope is another of those “‘pristine’’ wildernesses- that’ must be preserved for future generations. So which way is Harcourt’s cabinet going to jump on this one? Will it see the Tat’ as reward enough for’ its environmentalist supporters and use it. as justification for making a couple of calls favouring resource industries? Will it decide that, having yanked a potential financial benefit out from under the northwest, it had better do something to show it really does care about the area’s economic future? Or is the Tat’ just the first in a series of such decisions aimed at ensuring B.C, ~ leads the pack when it comes to Green’ politics? ho really won? their traditional territory -- 57,000 square -kilometres of northwestern B.C -- or its resources. And, according to the learned men of the bench, those rights do not extend to self- government. As for who won when it came to fishing disputes, the waters appear equally murky... ~ Convictions... were upheld, ‘convictions: . were overturned. All of these ‘‘historic’’ decisions take up more than 600 pages, two volumes which , will be dissected thoroughly by legions of lawyers in the weeks and months to come. And there you probably have the real winners in all this...the legal beagles . who have and will continue to make a quite comfortable living out of the seemingly { in- | terminable wrangle. Snow and Tel repairs? I can’t wait for phones that show the caller’s face to be- come standard issue. if it means by spotlighting my recalcitrant electrical ap pliance in front of the box, its scrambled.“ innards can be diagnosed long distance by a qualified repairperson. Qualified repairpersons are rare. Repairpersons both Through Bifocals by Claudette Sandecki Sy — f | O Vt iM, a - = co for good.’ qualified and available are rarer still, Luckily, my . Vancouver sewing machine usually answers: on the first ring. Then all I have to do is explain my difficulty so he can advise me ona’ solution, But that’s often easier said than done. Usually by the time I resort to’ phoning ‘him, omy shirt is glued to my back, sweat stings - my eyes, and.I’m sitting bes-. ide a tray full of set screws, flanges, and wheels. Proper vocabulary would help. IT once tried to order a re- placement ‘‘foot”’ for my electric broom:from an Ed- monton franchised dealer, After all, the part I needed ran along the floor on four. tiny plastic wheels. He insisted upon calling Ita “thead'’., How can there be a meeting of minds when such a body of difference exists be- tween viewpoints? - Terms like - thingamajig and doohickey obfuscate. :Describ- - ing a sewing machine bobbin ag... /the size of a loonie with. seven holes'?: is.-nowhete ‘as accurate’ as part . #500701. mechanic - Parts catalogues and instruc- tion booklets are a starting point. Directions by phone are hard to give: and hard to - receive, Never mind the lorig distance “phone charges tallying with _ the speed of a filling station pump. Or that you need a Mulroney chin to clamp the phone on your shoulder so both hands are free to gesticulate or carry out orders, Last winter Morningside’. Ss Peter Gzowski tackled some dying skills coached: by ex-— perts at the other end of micro- _Phones provinces away. A warrant officer told him the proper way to iron-a shirt. A housewife explained the in- tricacies of darning a sock. And a knitter taught him the rudiments of knitting. _ While no expert, I know how to iron, damm and knit, But 1 would have been all thumbs trying to follow: their. sugges- tions,’ Demonitration -teaches quicker. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, One thing, you have to ap- preciate the abilities of nurses and doctors is isolated north- Tae) ct Ricco mained ernie Ie et Ta a] em health clinics, They are sometimes called upon to carry out complicated, life-saving procedures new to them. ‘Yet they operate aS a surgeon in Vancouver or Toronto talks them through the operation, step-by-step, by radiophone. As: long as mechanically challenged folk like me exist, there will be ample employ- ment opportunities for grads trained as repair technicians, whether they specialize in sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, or refrigerators. But please, hold those calls. Make it house calls. Tatshenshini decision - was courageous one VICTORIA -- On June 16, Geddes Resources announced the resulis of a public opinion survey, according to which 64 per cent of those surveyed supported the development of a mine at Windy Craggy. The company might as well have saved itself the cost of the survey and that of spread- ~ ing the news of the results be- cause a weck later, the B.C. government sank the Project “The "entire ‘Tatshénshini- Alsek region in northwest British. Columbia will be permanently protected as a Class A provincial park. and nominated as a Warld Heritage Site. With that announcement, not ‘only will British Columbia create-a million-hectare park, twice the size of the Grand Canyon, but the world will probably witness the emer- gence of the planet’s largest international protected wilder- ness area, approximately 85 . million hectares.in size, strad- dling the borders of B. Cc, the Yukon and Alaska, It would be easy and tempt- ing to not take a position on the issue, now that a decision has been made, but I happen to’ have championed the cause.of preservation in this case, and I'm not letting the opportunity pass without congratulating the government for its courage. and foresight. And believe me, the govern- ment needs all the moral sup- port it can get on this one. - The two opposition parties certainly didn’t waste any time attacking the government. “"NDP Government Kills B.C. Mining Industry" crowed a Liberal press release. ' Socred leader Jack Weisger- . ber asked whether the NDP didn’t care about the jobs. and revenue lost by scuttling the ‘Windy Craggy Mine. We're. talking about 500 _ jobs, but only for 20 years. We're talking about $720 “million in provincial revenue, including corporate and per-. From the Capital by Hubert Beyer 20-year life of the mine. Tt ‘sounds like‘ a Iot, but with” all due respect it’s not: ‘The 20-year revenue wouldn’t even cover half of this year’s deficit. I have viewed with consider- able amusement ‘the .compa- ny’s attempts to describe the proposal as just another mine in the middle of nowhere. [ have admired the compa- ny’s “brazen claims that mineral tailings can be safely stored under. water, on a glacier, behind a dam. All along, I have remained unconvinced that the compa- hy, any company, could not deliver on these claims. The waste rock would have to remain undisturbed-on the glacier, under water, behind a man-made dam not just for the next 10 or 20 years, but pretty well forever. Tf ever the dam broke, as a result of an earthquake or Other natural event, the ecological results could be dis- astrous. The industry’s attempts to downplay the ecological risks of this particular’ mine proposal reminded me of: the chemical industry’s public re- lations theme some years back, according to which "life itself is chemistry." The reality is that the same indusiry is creating new chemical compounds at a rate of 6,000 a week, many of which are highly toxic. Bopal certainly wasn’t a manifestation of life itself, The Tatshenshini region is too valuable to be disturbed by a mining operation, leave alone one that poses such a sonal income taxes, mining, potential environmental ‘fuel and sales taxes over the hazard. OKAY! GOT MY ROOFING SCREWS ,F] [CHALK LE, LeveL HAMMER , CHISEL DRILL, TIN SNiPS../ || CROW BAR... TAPE. MEASURE ,. — 1h a V , ee — \\" ae | a") sil } / aly, ds RE) WI The Tegion includes snow- coveréd ’’ massifs; ‘ice’ fields;* endangeréd’ wildlife -and™ ‘td! of the last rivers on earth ‘that: run from their source to the. sea through an untouched wildemess., Supporters of the- mine — proposal have advanced the - argument that very few people: will have the opportunity to visit the area. Wouldn’t it have made more _ sense {0 protect arcas closer to civilization? That argument doesn’ t wash. - What about 50 years from now, 500 years from now?) Areas that are inaccessible to all but a few fortunate wilder-. - ness enthusiasts today, are. bound to be within much. | closer proximity of civilization : in the future. One of the problems of mod- em socicty is that most. governments look no further’ than the next election and will- ry everything to avoid deci-. sions that could get them into political trouble. I’m glad the Harcourt: government bit the bullet: and told the mining industry that the Talshenshini is not up: for grabs.. I would like to tell the mini: ng industry, the Liberals and~ the .Socreds that the decision. doesn’t mean the government. a is against mining. I’m not against mining, but L support the government’s de. ~ cision. If the only, way British Columbia’s mining industry. a can survive is to place in jeop- ardy’ the incredible natural: value of the Tatshenshini, then. ~ perhaps it was doomed to be a’ : sunset industry a long time a . ago.