Harcourt rejects Alcan |
-demand for more money >

TERRACE — Premier Mike
Harcourt has rejected an Alcan
-ultimatum that itl kill the
Kemano Completion Project un-
less it gets a new power deal.
‘Alcan issued the demand last
January and again July 10 for a
renegotiation of the prices in an
existing contract and one that
“would’come into effect when
Kemano Completion comes on
line, the premier said last week.
Harcourt said the company
demanded increases that would
cost B.C. Hydro and the province
more than $350 million over the
proposed 20-year life of the new
contracts,
Alcan is saying it needs more
money: because cosis of the
- Kemano project have increased.
What was to be a $600 million
project in 1988 has now turned
into one that will cost more than
on billion
' The premier said Alcan’s: chlef
executive officer confirmed June
11 “that this proposal was the Al-
can board of directors’. ‘bottom
-. dine’ — and without the pro-
: -yince’s agreement to this new ar-

Mike Harcourt

rangement, Alcan, which made a
decision to suspend construction
two years ago, would not recom-
mence construction of KCP.””
Construction was halted in 1991
when a federal court ruled the
project should have gone through
a federal environmental review.
That ruling was overturned but
Alcan says it won't start the pro-
ject up again until a provincial

Let the people
have policy say

: TERRACE — The provincial
: government ‘should draw more.on ©
' the common sense of the people
| of. B.C. in drawing up its policies.
_. /So ‘says - Gordon ‘Campbell,

* mayor of Vancouver and front-
- munning candidate for the provin- _

cial Liberal party leadership.
Campbell was in ‘Terrace last
-. Week ‘ds part of a swing through

the northwest.

<- :4He ‘said people living in BCs
ee ‘communities knew what they .

... wanted to see happen in their arca.
- and’ their ‘views should ‘be takexi
-* “4nto account by government.

’- Maintaining ‘‘sustalnable com-

_ punities””: should be the goal, he
_ explained; “T want to see them

get. a greater say in what hap-

pens.”

+ For’ example, government
" ~ should be asking fishermen, those -

‘involved in the forest industry ~- ~

loggers, Independent contractors
or major companies -- and people
involved. in the environment
:) which of its policies were helpful

and which hurt.

- Campbell said one theme which
: had emerged in conversations
"with northwesterners was, while
~~) ‘people here were optimistic, they
“-} felt more could “be done “if

op goverament would just get out of -

- 4 ourway.””

He had ‘also mn. “tito consider- -

“able. frustration over the. New
Democrat government had creat-

! ed by its arbitrary” decision to
_y preserve the Tatshenshint, there-
y. by killing the proposed Windy
m Craggy | mine development,

In both the forest and mining :

: ‘industries,. he .said the reaction

: |: Hed been “what exactly is it there
“7 aTe doing and why are they doing . |

itt.

". sion was made,’’ he pointed out.
o 0 Was it the goverment didn’t
"Hike the labour practices of the
‘company, were there too many
environmental problems, did the

| mine offer no economic benefits, -
wor was. It “because the ‘vice.
"president of the United States —

7 : gave the’ premier a call?”

‘Tairning to-what hé would do if.

A. he found himself at the head of a
. Liberal government, Campbell

 gald-his first act. would be to in:
- troduce legislation. requiring. the
‘province. to: draw. up & balanced

budget.

ca ‘Achieving. ‘that would involve |
@:. -reducing -what ‘he called . the .
- “*hyrdaveratic bloat’, including ~

getting. rid of government bodies
-. which were there only to provide
~ patronage opportunities,

“Another step would be to set

“No-one knows why | the dec! .

9th Annual -
~ Bicycle Trek : :
» for Life & Breath

Call. the B.C, Lung Association

UNG or 731496 ‘

‘goals for each of the biggest

-spending departments, then work

‘out the most cost effective ways
‘of achieving them.
On the revenue side of the

‘equation, ‘Vicloria should recog-
nize the importance of job and -

wealth creation.

- That meant encouraging, not -

driving: away Investment,

. Pointing. out the New Demo- .

rats. tax policies were driving up
the cost of doing business in B.C.
Campbell said he’d never seen a
retailer try and drum up business
by advertising “‘higher prices
now available’,

But, he warmed, it would be
several years before B.C. felt the
effect of any lost investment.
Describing his - leadership

campaign as. “‘going weil’,
Campbell said he had visited 40
B.C. communities since declaring

" his candidacy.

review is completed.

Harcourt told the legislature Al-
can threatened legal action in Jan-
vary because it considers the pro-
vince to be in breach of a 1987
agrecment that cleared the way
for Kemano Completion.

‘It was after the receipt of ihe
first notice that I ‘authorized
government officials-to meet with
Alcan to explore what Alcan de-
scribed as ‘non-litigious’ . solu-
tions to the alleged breach,’’ Har-
court said.

‘Neither British Columbians,
nor their government are
responsible for the half billion
dollar increase in the costs of
completing KCP,'’ he said in re-

jecting the company’s demands.

“Nor should British Columbians
be expected to rewrite existing
contracts to pay for. that over-
run.”’

Harcourt released Alcan’s
demands a week after company
vice-president Bill Rich held a
press conference calling on the
province to help the company
find ways to “‘revitalize the eco-
nomics’? of the project.

Gordon Campbell

ids & Tobacco [|
it's a crimes; om ff
oe

Arbeh h

vPT fee if

*

Girl Guides
of Canada

Thank you to parents who have assisted
with unitfpack activities from the girls and
| women of Tall Totem Division, Girl Guides
S of Canada, Terrace .

~

_/

Sat Aug 7th
at Lakelse Lake Lodge

‘Music By:
Country Pride, Moonshine

Bill Hunt, 1/2 Way Hairy
| Gypsy Moth, Kyle Vaughar

For the Kids:
Evan the Magician &
Peppi the Clown

. LAKELSE LAKE LODGE

‘WILD BOAR ROAST &
_MUSIC FEST.

Starts at2:00 pm Pigout 6: s00pn J

‘Rocky top, Jason Giesbrecht .

Adults $15.00

_ Seniors and Youth (under 12) $7.00
: Tekets available at Sight & Sound in Terrace
Bares Trophy Den Kitimat Air B.C. Prince Rupert
and Keliys in Smithers

“Please enter my! name In the draw for free tickets |
and T-shirts for the Wild Boar Roast & Music Fest

*~ Donations wil be taken
for the Child
Development Centre

Name
| Address,

Phone.

Boon

Clip and return to
~ The Terrace Standard
iiadbes Lazelle Ava. “Teriop Vea 188°

“Age:

Rich denied . the .company
threatened to kill the project.

‘‘At no me have we ever said
or do we say now that we are
going to abandon or cancel the
Kemano Completion Project,”” he
said. ,

“Alcan is not going to walk
away afd abandon.a project of

this magnitude with this degree of

commitment to it.’’

“We've got 600 million very
good reasons not to walk away
from this,’’ he said of the amount
of money put into the project
prior to the 1991 shutdown.

Rich won't discuss the contract
proposals, but says he hasn't
given up on them.

“We still think those are good
ideas. But if they're not on,
they’re noton,” he said.

Rich said the company stated, in
January that It did not see how”
the public review announced then
by the ‘province could be con-
sistent with the 1987 agreement, —

The company took the same
view of the idea that there could
yet be changes to the project
stemming from the review.

**That simply isn’t provided for

in the agreement. That we've —

made clear right from January.””:

He said Alcan made it clear-at
that time that the company wasn’t
seeking a legal confrontation, but
was protecting its legal position.

“Life goes on. The. world
will face these problems and we
will solve these problems in a
business-like way.””

“We're not secking any special
deals,’ Rich added. ‘We are pul-
{lng forward something that
retains value for BC Hydro and
for Alcan It does not in any way
represent a subsidy to Alcan.’*-

According to’ B.C.

million represents a 30 to 35 per
cent increase in the cost of- the
KKemano power contracts, ~~
“It would be considembly high-
er than any benefits that would
accrue to. Hydro and we would

probably be better off. doing |

something on our ar own” I he said.

“Sugar 'n

Cheryl Parkes

5

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 21, 1993 - Page AQ

Alcan position
said inconsistent

TERRACE -— Alcan is belng
Inconsistent in its. public and

privale statements on proceed-
- ing. with the Kemano Compls-
tion Project, -premicr Mike’

Harcourt said last week.

Harcourt said the company —

had threatened to kill the
billion-dollar hydroelectric
project if the province didn’t

: agree to pay more. for ‘the.
power Alcan supplies to B.C.
_ Hydro.

But he noted the company.

. has issued . conflicting . public
statements that it remains com.

mitted to the project.

“Alcan must clarify its ine

tentions given that the pro-

vince is not prepared to rewrite
the original ] KCP contract,” he

said,

Harcourt also sald:

_.® .Moe = Siholta, minister

‘responsible for B,C, Hydra, is

to micet company officlals.

* The company is to clarify _

its intentions within 30 days.
He did not specify what the

- renegotiate the original. con-

‘Project power, But it may be

. to- significantly ‘Increase ’ the

_ power,’? said Harcourt.

province would do if Alcan
doesn’t comply.

-B.C. Hydro will not
tract for Kemano Completion

prepared to negotlaic a fair
price to convert its short-term
Alcan power contracts for ex-
{sting Kerano power into a
long-term contract “‘at a fair
price.’ as

* The start of public hearings
in the B.C. Utilities Commis-
sion. review . of the Kemano
Completion’ Project will be
pushed back another month.
‘Alcan has made clear to me
that its decision to. recom-
mence construction depends on

my acceptance ‘of its proposal
price B.C, Hydro pays for KCP

“The province will not do
so, and I expect that minisier
Sihota. will seek clarification
on the economics of KCP in
his discussions with Alcan.’”

1 Copperside | —.

C. Hydio -
spokesman Vern Pryor; the $350

; Call 638 7283

Thank You

Court Skeena #1318 of the Independent Order of

i Foresters would like to thank the following |

businesses for their contributions and support to the
pancake breakfast and garage sale in aid of the
Jeanette Burkett Trust Fund.

Daybreak Farms ..
Overwaltea

: ‘Dairyland can
K-Mart
Terrace Co-op |

Thornhill Fire Dept. Cedarland Tire Service”
Rain Coast Cranes & Equipment.

We would also like to ‘thank the ‘community {or their

-] support in making ita success,

Donations can still be made-to the Jeanette Burket |
Trust Fund at the Bank of Montreal.

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_* More than 50 Cake Tops Always in Stock!
_.- * Cake Wrapping Supplies and Service:
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~-* Bells * Streamers * Ribbon *Pom.Poms .

* Full Range of Bridal Accessories {iicluding:

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"Book Your Free Consultation Today!

"Phone: 635-2282

“Due tothe B. C, Day Long Weekend, we e wil have Reena
~~~ an early deadline for advertising and editorial :
~ copy. The deadting will be Thursday, July:29:at
00 pm forthe August 4 edition of the Terrace
‘Standard and the fe August 8 edition of the Skeena
Marketplace,

SERVING THE TERRACE AREA