Editorial The

The party is over and in the wake of the
finale lie memories that some might wish
could live on as a continued reality.

The Expo extravaganza on False Creek in
Vancouver is now being dismantled and sites
that became familiar as old haunts to
visitors will disappear from the black-
topped horizon. |

Expo 86 rolled into being and exited with
a variety of impressions expressed regarding
the production.

Some view the expected $3 million debt
load, resulting from the fair, as too big a
price to pay while others felt the display was

well worth the promotional effort.

Whatever the array of opinions concern-
ing the exhibition, some witness its demise
with melancholy regret. ‘‘I’m going to miss

party is over

Expo,’ said one northwest resident who

visited the site for three days this summer.

Blue-sky days, stretched over a panorama
of spectacular proportions, remain locked in

his memory. Faces from stations over the

globe, together on an ever-changing prome-
nade along the Expo site, propelled this nor-
thwest resident onto a world screen of action
in the midst of an enlightening and enter-
prising development scene.

People watching people, the night lights,

entertaining sights and festive atmosphere

could not help but brighten the summer of
86 for many who chose to attend the
world’s fair. Simply put, Expo was fun and
as with any good time, it never seems right
that a fine party has to end.

Dave Parker, Social Credit
candidate for Skeena.

. William Hayes,

B.C. Liberty
Party candidate for Skeena.

‘Lettars to the editor will be

considered for publication
only when signed. Please
include your phone
number. The editor
reserves the right to
condense and edit Jatters.
Opinions expressed are
not necessarily those of
the Terrace Review.

Terrace
Review

Established May 1, 1985

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Gordon Sebastian, indepen-
dent candidate for Skeena.

New
Democratic Party candidate

Frank Howard,

Skeena Candidates: continued trom page 1

ly, despite the fact that
various negotiations
have been proceeding

‘between the Canadian

government and the
Nishga since 1973, the
Tsimshian since 1984,
and other tribal councils

and Indian bands across -

B.C. for a number of
years. Independent can-
didate Gordon Sebas-
tian, a native Indian
lawyer from the Hazel-
ton area, stated at the
forum, ‘‘Not only In-
dians but also many
others are involved here;
all people must be con-
sidered in the negotia-
tions, a settlement must
not be imposed on any-
one.”?’ NDP incumbent
Frank Howard has said
that the negotiations
must be ‘‘tripartite’’,
with the provincial
government taking an
active role, and he stated
at the forum, ‘‘It’s not a
question of winning or
losing, we must recog-
nize aboriginal title and
we have a legal’ obliga-
tion to do so under the
Consitution.’’ NDP
leader Bob Skelly has in-
dicated during the cam-
paign that the extent of
land claims has been
greatly exaggerated, but
the 54,000 square

kilometer Gitksan-Wet’-
suwet’an land claim, like
a spectral and trembling
volcano, continues to fill
the horizons of land use
policy in every visible
direction.

Questions about the
future of the forest in-
dustry in the northwest
have been answered with
a number of promissory
statements. The NDP
has used a series of
analyses by forest
economist Peter Pearse
to arrive at a figure of
$300 million per year for
reforestation purposes.
Jack Kempf, Social
Credit MLA for Omi-
neca and _ current
Minister of Forests and
Lands, recently pledged
$18 million for an aerial-
ly applied fertilization
program; at the forum
Skeena Socred candidate

Dave Parker said that ©

the export of raw
materials, such as dimen-
sion lumber and logs, is
decreed by the world
market force, an in-
fluence that is ‘‘bigger
than Skeena.”” Liberal
Bill Hayes has spoken in
favor of better use of the
trees that we’ve got and
proposed iow-technol-
ogy innovations in forest
management such as the

for Skeena.

use of grazing and
browsing animals for
vegetation control in
reforested areas. Gordon
Sebastian argued that
local control of resources
would allow commmuni-
ty enterprises to flourish.
With respect to en-
vironmental issues, the
candidates agreed that
there should be a more
generalized public, héar-
ing process for effluent
discharge applications.
Bill Hayes contended
that the onus of proof
regarding the safety of
pesticides and other
chemicals with broadcast
applications should rest
strictly and stringently
upon the manufacturers
of the products.
Education came up at
the forum when a ques-
tioner asked for posi-

tions on a recent state-

ment by Russ Fraser,
Minister of Post-
Secondary Education.
Fraser stated in a widely-
covered interview that
students in B.C. who
cannot afford the cost of
college or university
should abandon or
postpone their educa-
tional ambitions. Dave
Parker distanced himself
from his fellow Socred’s

continued on page 12

Hubert
Beyer

Terrace Review
Victoria Correspondent |

Thanks for a non campaign ©

Who would have thought that the weird and
wonderful world of B.C. politics could become even
weirder and more wonderful?

I’ve covered many an election campaign both
federal and provincial since moving to British Col-
umbia some 17 years ago. All of them were fought

“with a vehemence that was reminiscent of armed

combat.

Who could forget W.A.C. Bennett’s battle cry in-
voking a higher ordr to crush the godless socialists
who were storming the gates, determined to poison
forever the wholesome air of free enterprise?

And I fondly remember the succession of firebrand
NDP leaders whose holy mission in life was to free us
from the clutches of capitalism.

Left and right were locked in a struggle that seem-
ed to forever repeat itself, no quarter given, none
asked. .

It was the very stuff B.C. politics was made of. We
would never stop complaining about it, We professed
to long for sweetness and light, but all the time, we
loved to hate the knock-’em-down, drag-’em’out
politics that was exclusively ours.

Enter Bill Vander Zalm and Bob Skelly, the latest
custodians of their respective parties, neither of
whom showed any respect for our traditions. They
both made this campaign look more like a contest for
class spokesman than the political battle it ought to
have been.

This campaign was without a doubt the dullest and
most lacklustre of them all. In one corner, we had a
man who dazzled the voters by saying absolutely
nothing, while his opponent in the other corner had
all kinds of things to say, but didn’t get the words
out.

If the Socreds had an election platform, other than
Vander Zalm’s call for ‘‘a new beginning”’, I didn’t
see it. Aside from promising to be a good boy and
lead by example, Vander Zalm confined his cam-
paign to smiling. a

The NDP, on the other hand, had a lumber yard
full of planks but was unable to explain any of them
without confusing the voters.

And.the media were as confused as everybody else.
You try to make sense of Vander Zalm’s 24-hour
smile and Skelly’s herculean efforts at explaining his
party's position and falling on his face doing so.

And if you think I’m badmouthing Skelly, try to
find his picture and name in local NDP brochures.
No such luck. It got so bad that when the Skelly cam-
paign bus came rumbling into town on three flat
tires, the local NDP candidates would wave him on
to the next town. .

The Socreds, on the other hand, couldn’t get
enough of their smiling man. Never mind that he
didn’t say anything, He didn’t have to. He just work-
ed his charm.

Skelly may as well slice himself into neat ribbons
for export to Nicaragua. If he doesn't, his party will
do it for him.

As for the Socreds, they should seriously look into
the possibility of marketing their man with
toothpaste companies. These guys pay well for happy
smiles, The proceeds could be used to reduce the pro-
vincial deficit.

If my ramblings lead you to conclude that I’m
angry, you’re right. I’m fit to be tied.

Like most politically-minded British Columbians,
[ had been looking forward to a real election cam-
-paign, one in which pressing issues would be
forcefully debated. I had also been looking forward
to a contest in which the leaders of the two major
parties would be evenly matched, giving voters the
opportunity to choose on the basis of performance,
as well as substance.

Instead, we were treated to one leader with

continued on page 19