oT PUBLISHER: ROD LINK WEB: www.terracestandard.com = /. THE CITY of Terrace may “be” in a terrible ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace,:-B.C. + V8G SR2 EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com conundrum about what to, do with its sportsplex/ A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 30, 2005 ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283. ° FAX: (250) 638-8432 multiplex/second sheet of ice plan but it has a . pretty good handle on outdoor recreation. — The construction of the Grand Trunk Pathway, known as the millennium trail by some, and the - Howe Creek trail system. stand as good examples _ of efficient use of public monies. _ They offer not only easily accessible outdoor recreation for city residents but add a little some- thing’ extra to the city in terms‘of making it more attractive to Potential new industries and resi-., | dents. og 7 ~~ Their, construction during some of the darkest moments in Terrace’s economic history also show. that progress is possible and good things can hap- — Pen despite all odds. All of this is a ‘good 1 foundation for the city . next outdoor recreation venture — the construction of a bike trail. on ‘Terrace Mountain for those more 7 adventurous, more trails on Ferry Island and the possible extension of the Grand Trunk Pathway westward to Frank St. -, ‘Terrace Mountain is a gem, offering all that "the outdoors can provide just minutes away from homes and residences. Ferry Island is a sanctuary for those ‘who want the benefits of fresh air and -. exercise. And more trails there will solidify the _ - benefits of the city’s campground. But the best part of the city’s ‘plan is the ex- - tension to Frank St. of the millennium pathway. The existing pathway i is heavily used by walkers, strollers, runners, joggers and: cyclists and adding . more length will only add to its enjoyment. It will also make use of flat land now the pre- serve of weéds, brush -and litter — converting something: that. offers no value now into a thing of beauty. =? _ And it can only encourage the establishment some day of the ultimate prize, a walkway that ends at the boat launch just below the Kalum Riv- er bridge. It's too bad SKEENA MLA Robin Austin may very well may be right in saying he didn’t deserve an increase in- pay to $86,580 a year. - Yet he’s also right in saying his party, the NDP, . and the governing Liberals wiped out something badly needed when they’cancelled the plan to in- " erease wages and other expenditures. - And that: was the proposal to boost by $35,000 the money MLAs receive to run their constitu- _ ency offices. The ability to represent citizens and to'work for them is the cornerstone of an MLA’s job. It’s particularly crucial for rural areas. Per- haps when things calm down, this « one item can be revisited again. ie) PUBLISHER/EDITOR: _ Rod Link -ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada . NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson _ CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham - ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: _ Bert Husband, Susan Willemen - AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur, » SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: ‘$57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; ~ Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; . Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 . CNA eee COMMUN Ty NEWSPAPERS atsoctatiown ‘3605 WINNER CCNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION AND _ B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepresscouncil.org) * Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of © each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G SR2._ = Black Press Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- right holders, including Black Press Lid., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. : Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. _ Authorized as second-class mai! pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to ali our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents We need public whistleblowers - THE ‘CONCLUSIONS: of the Gomery commission should not only. shock Ca- nadians but also propel us into action. Instead” of just asking how could this have hap- pened, we should be asking, how can we prevent it from - happening again? In addition to scrapping partisan. slush funds like sponsorships, advertising, polling and corporate wel- fare, Canada’s institutional and. bureaucratic culture needs to change. ‘Justice Gomery referred to a “culture of entitlement” that characterized the spon- sorship scandal players. ‘This attitude of arro- gance resulted in report- ing requirements skirted, guidelines sidestepped and the public trust usurped. The point is that there were rules, regulations and reporting requirements in place when the sponsorship scandal was orchestrated. There .is..always the po- tential for corruption, greed and maladministration to ferment even in democratic governments and the public service. ° .Rules, codes and guide- lines are not always en- forced and do not always act as a deterrent to such behaviour. . That is why it is critically important to offer protec- tion to civil servants, who are the public’s last line of defense, when all other sys- tems fail. Whistleblower _ protec- tion has been talked about .- ‘in Ottawa for years. It has SARA MCINTYRE been ‘studied: “reported on and recommended. Almost two-thirds of all Organization for Economic Cooperation Development — countries have some sort of protection for civil- ser-- requires that the whistle- blower first to try’to seek resolution within their own ° | “department. ‘Such a provi- sion is absolutely laugh- ‘able. For example it would have done nothing* to pro- tect the sponsorship scan- dal’s whistleblower, ‘Allan Cutler. , Cutler worked with the _infamous bureaucrat Chuck Guite in 1994.-They both handled ~ advertising and ‘public opinion research in the federal Public Works Canada department. — . Guite-» who © allegedly had the vanity license plate “gravy” — began to interfere. with .some files and con- tracts. Cutler noted several con- tracting irregularities and refused to sign off on them. ment and/or bureaucracy. Canada, despite having a whole host of examples to demonstrate why we need such protection, has yet to adopt a similar law. The federal. government has drafted a bill aimed at © protecting whistleblowers but it has been rightly criti- cized as inadequate. . ‘It is currently awaiting ‘the Senate’s rubber stamp of approval. One of the fatal flaws in the proposed bill is that it Cutler was demoted while Guite continued to move up and eventually headed what we now know as the spon- ‘sorship program, The federal government’ Ss civil. servants’ * with the public interest. It is nothing more than a ‘paper tiger. And that’s not "good enough. , There are plenty. of inter- national models of whistle- ‘blower protection to choose .from and although a well crafted bill may prove em- barrassing: for any sitting government, must remember they are there to represent and safe-- concerned. legislators , guard the public’s interest - — not their own. ‘Model legislation would . include: more .than one reporting “avenue, an independent in- vestigation branch and. a separate — ‘mechanism that handles complaints against employer reprisals. Critics have shallowly argued that such protection would result in disgruntled employees making false or ' self-serving claims. vants who. He sub- expose ille- - ,mitted his gal, wrong- “There is always concerns doing, the potential for to both his maladmin- ¢grruption, greed and department istration, maladministration.” ‘supervisor waste or and to the "fraud with- _ internal au- in govern- dit branch. bill would have done noth- — ing to protect Allan Cutler who did report problems to his department head only to be punished with a demo-— tion. ‘The. proposed legislation will do nothing. to change the current culture in Ottawa. : and it will not protect those There are plenty of ways to mitigate illegitimate claims. In Australia for ex- ample, it is a punishable offence to purposefully make false claims. There are lots of mod- els to choose from and countless reasons to in- stitute. whistleblower protection. It remains to be seen, however, if this scandal and its fall-out will finally create the political will to make it happen. Sara ‘MacIntyre is the British Columbia director . of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and is based in Victori. la. New Moms do deserve a break — PRIVACY AND g giving birth have’ never shared the same space, From the time an expectant mother bellies up to the recep- tion desk until she’s pushed across the. parking lot in a wheelchair with a nurse trot- ting along carrying her baby, hospital staff converge around her like earthquake victims greeting DART. In between she hosts a pa- rade: anesthetist, obstetrician, lab technician, housekeeping staff. And those are just the strangers paid. to,.look after her. Then there’ s her fam- ily:: husband, Mom and Dad, sisters; aunties, grandparents. Any free floorspace is apt to be filled by co-workers, play- ground parents, and pastors. ' December 1 Calgary hospi- tals will begin limiting visitors on to the maternity floor. Hos- pitals aim to keep new moth- ers in a restful environment without the constant presence of family or well-meaning . friends. Calgary’s hospitals began testing the new restrictions _ in March. Most. women wel- THROUGH BIFOCALSE CLAUDETTE SANDECKI comed the change. “I just can’t say to my family: Go away,” said one Mom. “You can come in.. You can’t.” . ican understand new Moms welcoming the restrictions. Giving birth exhausts a wom- an..All any new mother craves after delivering a healthy tax deduction is rest shielded from an adoring public by a dedi- cated warden, and a steak. _ Fathers and one other per- son will still be allowed into maternity wards day or night. Grandparents and the baby’s siblings can visit between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Everyone else will be ex- pected to visit the mother in the cafeteria or the lounge. ' Having mothers hold court in the cafeteria may be the: hospital’s subtle way of trim- ming its grocery bill. New mothers have a healthy appe- tite if they are anything like I - was when my girls were born. (My ward buddy, a smoker, took one look at the breakfast tray meant for me and reached for the buzzer. She was con- vinced behind another curtain must lie a logger. ) Seated in proximity even to hospital food, no mother would refuse a snack. Calgary’s new rules ‘are likely to cause in-law con- flict, however, stress neither new parent deserves more of. Besides the father, who will © - ‘be designated the second per- son allowed to visit any time? One of the grandmothers? A favoured aunt? Mom’s best friend? - And how will the sorting be done? By a.draw? No mat- ter who is chosen for second ‘place, feelings are bound to be hurt. whistleblower Favouritism will beclaimed. - Any rift could linger for years. Not.a good start to a time when extended family become im- portant as impromptu babysit- ters and later, when the baby is. six and threatens to run away from home. 7 For years medical opinion has disapproved of. letting - _ healthy new mothers lie abed. They’re evicted from the hos- pital before Dad can stack the. Sink with dishes. Not so when my Mom gave birth. The doc- . tor refused to sign her out in. less than five days. By her final delivery, Mom counted on the doctor to give her a lengthy break from daily chores. I would even suspect — mothers of a houseful looked forward to one* more child precisely because they were guaranteed five days off. That treat soothed the anguish of delivery. © The wonder is it took any hospital so long to recognize mothers need fewer visitors and more rest after hours of hard labour. Now, about pri- vacy...