AB - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 3, 2003 ' TERRACE STANDARD Business REVIEW Out & About Meeting to find fixes THE CITY is swiftly orga- nizing a conference to find ways to revitalize the for- est industry. It’s set for Sept. 15-16 here and will lock at var- ious prablems and changes in the woods — and came up with recommendations of what te do next. The gathering will ex- amine harvesting, milling, Temanufacturing, salvaging and ideas that are “outside of the box,” ministrator Ron Poole. “We need (o get some- thing going,” he said, no- ting Skeena Cellulose has been shut for two years. “Is there life after SCI? We want to get some ideas out there and get some direction from these groups and individuals.” The conference will produce a report that city council can take to the Union of B.C. Municipali- ties convention the follow- ing week and begin im- mediate lobbying of pro- vincial cabinet ministers. Building blasts up CONSTRUCTION started so far this year in Terrace has shot up to just shy of $10 million. The increase is thanks to the $5 million building permit issued in July for the new Wal-Mart store. Year-to-date construc- tion to the end of July still trails 2002, when $10.6 million in permits had been approved thanks in large part to the replace- ment of Skeena Jr, Sec- ondary school, This year's building season is somewhat more diversified than last year. There are three single family house starts this year ~ compared to zero last year - plus one $275,000 duplex just ap- proved, There's also been 35 residential additions or renovations totalling near- ly $500,000. New head THE CITY has named Marvin Kwiatkowski to re- place the departing David Trawin as director of deve- lopment services, Kwiatkowski continues his previous duties heading up the city’s engineering services department, The city is now looking for a new planner to take over Trawin’s planning du- ties under Kwiatkowski’s direction. Trawin becomes development services dir- ector in Kamloops. said city ad- . Northwest paralyzed by strike Some workers accept offer By JEFF NAGEL THE EUROCAN pulp mill strike is crippling efforts to get the northwest forest industry restarted even on a modest scale, Skeena MLA Roger Harris says. Workers at West Fraser's Kitimat pulp mill are enter- ing their fourth month on strike. : “The Eurocan strike has been absolutely devastat-— ing,” Harris said. “It's just brought absolutely everything to a standstill:” ae ce The shutdown has had a chain reaction effect. West Fraser shut its Terrace sawmill, which had no- where to send its chips because of the strike. The sawmill closure has in turn’ squeezed out some : independent loggers, who needed a local buyer of low-grade sawlogs to make export log trade viable. ; Harris had hoped extra timber put up for sale this summer at reduced stum- page rates would have helped. But he says many loggers now say that pro- gram would have been great — six months earlier. “This strike is having a huge impact,” . he said. “The. people that work in that Harris mill need to take a good look at what happened in Prince Rupert, what hap- pened to Skeena Cellulose.” uo West Fraser has offered workers what's called “the Norske pattern” ~— an agreement providing 11 per cent pay increases over five ° years. It’s been accepted by other mills and is ts . named after the Van- Every single local couver Island pulp giant. of every single union Harris said it’s en- at every single pulp couraging that more millin the province of than a quarter of Euro- British Columbia has can workers have now accepted the Norske’ agreed to il. : They work in the pa- patiern. I’m pretty per plant at Eurocan and disappointed.” belang to a separate lo- cal of the Communica- . lions Energy and Paperworkers union than those in the pulp portion of the miil. Last week they voted 98 per cent last week to_take the deal. But striking workers at CEP local 298 have been de- manding a 14 per cent wage increase over two years. Last week’s vote leaves those workers isolated even in their own mill, Harris said, “It’s impossible to offer half the plant one deal and the other half another,” he noted, “Every single local of every single union at every single pulp mill in the province of British Columbia has accepted the Norske pattern,” Harris added. “I’m pretty. disappointed.” The ‘union wants more taiks but West Fraser indicates there's little to talk about beyond acceptance of Norske. “Here: we are again in the northwest with a facility that struggles to find ways to operate,” Harris said, “It's a terrible visual when you’re tatking to investars about coming into the region,” he said. “They need to look into the region and have a sense that it’s a stable place to operate.” Our 5-year Best Rate Mortgages: It's never been easier. 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