A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 26, 1997

TERRAGE STANDARD

Business REVIEW

Reps to bird-dog

northern

ministry

Conference aimed to bridge area differences

EIGHT PEOPLE representing the north-
west will try to make sure this region is
well represented in the new northern body
Premier Glen Clark has pledged to create,

That’s the plan of action that came out of
the Nov. 14-15 Teamwork conference in
Terrace.

Clark announced plans for some sort of
Ministry of northern affairs or agency to
ensure northemers get better treatment from
government at last month's Premier’s Sum-
mit on Northem Jobs and Development in
Prince George.

But the premier’s commitment was vague
and area reps want to make sure he follows
through.

There’s also a fear that in the same way
the University of Northern B.C. ended up a
primarily Prince George institution, so will
Clark’s northem creation.

“If that mechanism is only coming out of
Prince George, then we’re still 800 kilo-
metres down the road,” said conference
coordinator Joanne Thomson.

The final report is to be complete by Dec.
5, when it will go to the Premier’s Summit
planning group, which is figuring out how
to deliver on Clark’s promise.

Thomson said the conference participants
want the agency made of of people from
the north — not bureaucrats or people from
the south.

“They did not want bureaucrats and they
did not want government-appointed
people,’’ she said.

Nearly 85 people from the Queen Char-
loties to Vanderhoof attended the confer-
ence in Terrace.

The two-day event was organized by
16/37 Community Futures, which hired
Thomson to coordinate it.

It cost nearly $50,000 to hold the confer-
ence, said 16/37’s Mary Ann Skill, adding
most of the money financing it consisted of
a $30,000 grant from Human Resources
Development Canada.

The group ultimately wants to draw up
what will be a regional strategic plan.

Conference organizers had originally
identified a xange of specific issues, from
sport and commercial fishing troubles to
forest industry problems, :to deteriorating

highways.

But Thomson said the issue-oriented ap-
proach was quickly abandoned in favour of
discussion of what participants saw as the
underlying causes of those problems.

The root problems identified included
rivalries between communities, overwhelm-
ing regulation and bureaucracy, lack of ed-
ucation and training/adapting to technologi-
cal change, uncertainty of tenure and in-
vestment envirooment, transportation infra-
structure, lack of local contro] over decision
making, and lack of a regional vision.

The problems of fee increases in the
sportfishing business, for example, was cat-
egorized as a problem of the north not hav-
ing an adequate voice in government.

Another idea that came from the confer-
ence, said Skill, was that a northem invest-
ment fund or mutual fund could be created
so northerners could have their investment
money working in the north.

Thomson said there was a tremendous
desire in the conference to work together as
a region. ‘‘I was absolutely astonished at
the degree of commitment that came out of
this,’’ Thomson added.

But the group was unable to agree on an
exact geographical definition of the region.

Rather than set fixed boundaries on the
area they're talking about, Thomson said
the group decided to accept an elastic inter-
pretation of the region, with boundaries that
change depending on the issue.

“There’s not a clear name for what the
parlicipants want to call the region,”
Thomson said, ‘‘But people didn't think the
lack of a rigid boundary was a problem.”’

Notably absent from the conference were
forest industry representatives.

Thomson said the participants want to
hold another conference in six months time
to follow up on the work of this onc.

A task force of eight conference members
was struck at the end of the conference to
continue the work in the weeks ahead. They
are Charlie Meek (Terrace), Diane Hewlett
(Kitimat), Terry Carty (Queen Charlotte Is-
lands), Alison Ho-Rewcastle (Prince
Rupert), Bert Mercer (Nass Valley), Billie
Belcher (Stewart), Gerry Cariou (Smithers),
Gail MacDonald (Hazeltons).

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TERRACE CO-OP

West Fraser shakeup

WEST FRASER TIMBER is transferring northwest
operations manager Bruce MacNicol tc to the company *s
head office in Quesnel. i ;

MacNicol will become the com- §
| pany’s chief forester for B.C.
when he makes the move in late
January.

Trevor Formeaux, presently
the plant manager of West
Fraser's North Coast Timber in
Prince Rupert, will take over
MacNicol’s position as the com-
pany’s senior manager in the
northwest. : ror

‘It’s been a pleasure to be here MacNicol
the last two years,” MacNicol said last week.

MAUREEN WOROBEY and Lovina Tyler have
teamed up to open a gift store for Christmas.

Open for Christmas

LOVINA TYLER took just one day off from the
Volunteer Bureau before opening her new store.

Tyler's Place opened Nov. 22 selling knitwear from
the Shetland Islands and Ireland, jewellery from Nor-
way and linen house coats, runners and table cloths
from Lreland.

Local artists Randy Penner and Maureen Worobey
feature paintings and crafts at the store, and Vi Tim-
merman’s photos are also for sale.

Tyler plans to keep the store, which is at 4639
Lazelle, open till at Icast the end of December.

replace
partner

By DERRICK PENNER
KITIMAT Pac-Rim
LNG officials say their
plans for a $1.1 billion lig-
uid natural gas project in
Kitimat are still alive
despite the pull out of major
partner Phillips Petroleum.

Pac Rim needs to sign on
a new financial partner to
replace the 35 per cent stake
Phillips gave up last month.

Pac-Rim spokesman
Wayne Stanley said the pull
out had been expected since
early summer. Phillips said
they had other projects they
saw as providing a better
return on equity.

Stanley added while it’s
an embarrassment to have a
parmer as big as Phillips
drop out, they don’t consid-
er it a major setback. He
said they’re talking to an-
other Canadian company to
replace Phillips’ stake and
possibly take more.

“The Canadian group
we're talking to now is
probably a bigger company,
and | think if it comes in it
will make a better match,’’
Stanley said.

Pac-Rim and its backers
have a 20 per cent stake in
the project, another partner
has 25 per cent, Bechtel
Enginecring has 10 per cent,
and the Korea Gas Corpora-
tion — the intended buyer
~~ holds 10 per cent

Paperwork to finalize the
sales contract with Korea
Gas continues.

Pac-Rim is also still lining
up possible gas suppliers.

Stanley had hoped to have
a gas supply scenario fin-
ished a month ago to present
to the buyer in the process
of setting the price for gas.
They now hope to be abje to
get back to Korea with that
In early December.

Price is the key issue out-
standing In finalizing the
sales contract.

q;

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Thursday, November 27
Friday, November 28
Saturday, November 29 |

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