4 ‘All is revealed The first three chapters of the final Nisga’a land claims treaty are released\NEWS A8 On her toes A local students is off to one of the top ballet schools in the country\COMMUNITY B1 Nass champions Greenville hauls in medals from Indigenous Games in | Victoria\SPORTS BS WEDNESDAY Union, banks begin negoti Critical meeting today could decide fate of Skeena Cel By JEFF NAGEL UNION LEADERS are refusing to budge on key issues in a counter-proposal to the banks that own Skeena Cellulose. . The Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada local 4 meet today in Prince Rupert with representatives of the Royal and Toronto Dominion banks, as well as court-appointed monitors. But the union’s proposal comes up short of what the banks want on two fronts. The union is only agreeing to a three-year extension of the existing collective agree- ment, rather than the four-year extension August 20, 1997 . : And major concessions demanded that would allow “full flexibility” and contra- cting out by the company are just mot on, say union leaders. Representatives of the banks and the court-appointed monitors refused to com- ment on the union package prior fo today’s meeting. But Martin Hyatt, of Coopers and Lybrand, predicted northwesterners will soon know the fate of Skeena Cellulose. “The unlon, to its credit, is trying to come at it from a different way lo achieve the same ends,” he said. “Whether that will lead to a meeting of the minds, we'll find out very shortly.” “A resolution one way or the other is very close.” Union officials characterized their offer as one that would transform the way the ineffi- mw Group offers way of get- ting info, Page A12. ing to a more cooperative and productive future. “We're basically going into a new era here in the way we do business in Prince Rupert,” said Frank Di Bartolo, PPWC local 4 first vice-president. “We have to create a new type of work environment. It is imperative that we make these changes, that the company gets profit ability, and that we take home a paycheque.” The union’s counter-proposal agrees to the full range of job cuts demanded by the banks — 2 tolal of up to 219 jobs slashed the full modernization proposed. But rather than full flexibility and contra- cting, out, the union maintains its members will embrace the principle of workers being prepared to do all the jobs they’re qualified for, instead of being limited to narrow job categories. That partial flexibility option, contained in the existing contract, can work, said PPWC officials. In fact they’re predicting their proposal will reduce the mill’s cost of producing a tonne of pulp by more than would the com- pany’s proposals on full flexibility and con- tracting out. Di Bartolo said most of the increased efficiency comes by better use of the workforce. “The mill is terribly, terribly wasteful with respect to material use,” he said. “We don’t salvage a lot of stuff that we could 936 PLUS 7¢ GST. ‘VOL. 10NO. 19° ations salvage. And a lot of material is brought in that is never used in time and is wasted.” He said poor planning by management in the past has also contributed to the efficien- cy problems. Unionized employees would strive ta ; work more closely with management to ° eliminate those problems, he said. He said the existing agreement has provi- - sions never used by the company that pro- vide for “group leaders” who take a more active role in planning projects. He said the union will also sit on a restructuring steering committee and do what it can there to make the restructuring of the company a success. The other area of difference is the term of ° the contract. The union has proposed a three-year extension of the existing collec- Continued Page A2 requested by the company. cient Prince Rupert pulp mill operates, lead- °V¢! three years if the company carries out oh tow aloe . Low fish returns &§ horrify the experis g happy with that move and staged a protest | fishery two weeks ago under the guise of a i Native food fishery. | oe But Jim Culp of the Sports Fish Advisory i Board points out the commercial fleet has alrcady had a decent year and doesn’t need anymore openings. He says that the commercial catch of some 800,000 fish is right in the middle of the past 12-year average. And Steelhead Society vice president Bnuce Hill says the closure of the last com- mercial opening was too little too late, | “Tt should have been closed much | ne sooner,’”? Hill says. ‘“They (DFO) have to (I _ | THINGS JUST couldn't be worse for Skeena summer stecihead and coho. Retums of the popular sport salmon are at their lowest numbers ever recorded. The crisis has sportsfishing representa- tives calling for a selective commercial fishery and biologists crossing their fingers in hopes the runs are late. “Tf the back half is the same as the front we are in deep trouble,” says provincial senior fish biologist Bob Hooton. “Deeper than ever before.’’ Hooton says this year's record lows are likely the combination of poor cscapement years and overfishing by the Alaskan fect. Every summer the Alaskan seine fleet heavily fishes off Noyes Island, near Prince of Wales Island. That’s where hundreds of thousands of sockeye, steelhead, coho and chum salmon converge before heading south to spawn in the Skeena system. This year the Alaskans caught about threc times more fish than normal there —- about 870,000 sockeye. Hooton says since steelhead swim with sockeye, it’s reasonable to also assume the Alaskan fleet caught three times more stecl- head than normal as well, Numbers are so low the Department of Fisheries and Oceans cancelled the last commercial gillnet opening, scheduled to have taken place Aug, 3-4. start investigating selective fisheries and they are reluctant to do so. It’s very ir- responsible.”’ Hill says that a glut of salmon on the world market is what's hurting commercial ‘lee fishermen. He argues that the only way to | compete is to supply a higher-quality pro- cea duct — something gillnets can’t provide. | oa “Have you ever seen a fish caught in a ae gillnet?” he asks. ‘“They’re a mess, all cut up and bruised.” And Hill takes issue with DFO norlhcoast a fisheries chief David Einarson’s claim that | . socially, B.C, isn't ready to for a selective commercial fishery. “Socially it will never ig be ready,”’ Hill says. ‘“But socially, are we ready to have runs go extinct? Because i Many commercial gillnet fishers were not that’s what we're looking at,’ Police search for local man’s killer By DAVID TAYLOR TERRACE RCMP continue their search for a killer who gunned down a local man on the Copper River forestry road last week, Daniel James Fagan, 34, was shot to death at the road’s 5 km mark at about 7:15 p.m. : u eee i eal ia nr tele : e oa : anim ‘ Thursday. ae ee sath apes : . ee 6 pleasing few tails about the crime. | |M Market opens tonigh ‘man with Fagan said they were oul on the forestry road -when they were approached by a third man, driving a light-coloured vehicle, possi- bly a Chevrolet. The witness told police that the third man pulled out a rifle and shot at them before speeding away. The witness drove the injured Fagan to Mills Memorial Hospital. Passersby say he was seen shouting out the window for people to call 911 because a man had been shot. The rear window of the car had been completely blown plans to bring raspberries, apples, plums and zuchinnis to the market, as well as some crafts, See story, page Ba. VIRGINIA CARPINO is one of many farmer's market vendors who are looking forward to having the market open on Wednesday evenings. Carpine Nass dust complaints aired DUST LEVELS along the Nisga’a Highway are so bad that it’s causing a threat to both drivers and the fragile ecosystem of the lava bed. Those were complaints raised by Nass Valley director Harry Nyce at Saturday’s regional district board meeting. Nyce says the dusty road is a discomfort and danger for drivers. And he points out that the huge amounts of airborne dust eventu- istry, complaining about the poor condition of the Nisga’a Highway and requesting tbat it be paved. But Nyce was not pleased with the reply letter from highways regional director Dirk Nyland, saying that paving the Nisga’a Highway was not a priority, “tm really disappointed,” he says. “The resources that come oul of the valley far exceed any costs of the highway. And the ally settles on the lava, encouraging the growth of plant life. maintenance standards that apply to the rest of highways don’! out by gunfire. ; “It’s very much changed the landscape up there,” Nyce says, seem to apply to the Nisga’a Highway.” ; Fagan was pronounced dead i é ; “This is a fragile ecosystem that could be lost forever. And it's ‘The board decided to send yet another letter to the highways at the hospital. re oe ‘supposed to be a protected ministry and one to parks, pointing out how the dust is changing Police have sofarfollowed MURDER SITE: RCMP officers probe for clues to area. | ‘The regional district had recently written to the highwnys wsle- the unusuul landscape in the Nass. Continued Pg.A2 = Danny Fagan's murder on the Copper River road.