A4 - The Terrace Slandard, Wednesday, August 3, 1994

TERRACE

STANDARD:

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 4647 Lazclle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 158
TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432
MODEM: 638-7247

Fix needed

“HEAD OUT on the highway. Looking for ad-
venture in whatever comes our way.”’

Those lines from Steppenwolf’s ‘‘Born to be
Wild’’ are as close to an accurate description as
possible of what it’s like to maneuver down
Hwy16 as it passes through the city.

We’re trapped in a vicious cycle. The mare
businesses that locate on the strip, the more traf-
fic they generate, The more the city and Thorn-
hill grow, the more vehicles there are on the
road, That old joke about having rush minutes, as
opposed to rush hours, is out of date.

In some ways, the situation on Terrace’s section
of Hwy16 was destined to be trouble from the
start. Railway tracks on the main city side limit
the chances of parallel. access roads. Businesses
in good faith years ago developed there without
having a solid highway policy in place from the
highways ministry or from the city. Once a
precedent has been set in absence of a policy, it
automatically becomes accepted as the thing to
do.

Still, a lot of what is happening now would
have been difficult to predict a decade or two
ago when the traffic arteries we drive on now
were conceived. The growth surge of the last
five or so years still has local experts a bit
puzzled as to its reasons.

By now the majority of us realize that the cur-
rent situation is only going to result in more traf-
fic congestion. The highways ministry plan is for
some kind of alternate route to run parallel to the
highway on the southside to bleed off existing
and predicted traffic. The city has no philosophi-
cal problem with that but doesn’t want the minis-
try to forget about the existing route, particularly
between the Dudley Little Bridge and the Sande
Overpass.

All this means there remains a lot of talking to
be done before something does occur. And when
it does, it’ll cost money — big money. But, in
the end, something done today will be less ex-
pensive than having to do something tomorrow.

Happy miners

THERE ARE a growing number of miaing com-
panies expressing their satisfaction with the
treatment they’re getting from the provincial
government.

The most recent example comes from an offi-
cial of the company which owns the Golden Bear
mine near Dease Lake. Just awhile ago, the de-
velopers of the Eskay Creek mine patted the
NDP on the back. Both companies were happy
that the pace of having mine developments ap-
proved has greatly picked up.

Of course, the companies are already happy
they have active gold projects. Extending that
feeling to the provincial government, upon
which the companies depend for development
approval, is natural. And the government has
responded in kind with a long list of exploration
and other mining grants.

The trick for the NDP is to translate that into
voter support. Everything little thing will help as
planning begins for the next provincial election.

ne) .
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CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Charlene Matthews

Serving the Terace atea. Publishad an Wednesday of each week by Cariboo Press (1969) Ld, al 464,
Lazelle Ave,, Terrace, British Columbia. ;

Stories, photographs, lllusttations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of ihe
copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1959) Ltd. ('s illustration repro services and advertising
agencies. +

Reproduction in whole or in pact, without writen permission, 8 specifically prohibited.

Authorized as second-dass rtail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage In cash.

COMES

Special thanks to all our contributor and correspondents
“> "“forthelrtime and talents. -

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Glimpse of

VICTORIA — If you’re look-
ing for some heavy summer
teading, have I got the book
for you: Plan B — The Future
of the Rest of Canada by Gor-
don Gibson, published by the
Fraser Institute,

If the very thought of living
in one of the most favoured na-
tions on earth makes you feel
warm all over, this book will
ruin your day, but it should be
required reading, nevertheless,
for any Canadian who is the

‘slightest bit concerned about

the Future of the country.
Gibson, former Liberal MLA
in the B.C. Legislature and
leader of the provincial Liberal
Party from 1975 to 1979, takes
a hard look at the possible
separation of Quebec, and lays

~ gut a number of courses the

rest oF Canada can chart.

Plan B is a disturbing book
because it forces the reader to
take off the blinkers and start
thinking about the unthinkable.
Gibson makes it very clear that
while military intervention to
prevent Quebec from leaving
Canada would be disastrous,
only a fool would deny that it
could happen.

“Proponents of military
solutions might want to con-
sider the following line of
thought, If we can make a deal
with Quebec that does protect
minorities and then Quebec

FROM THE CAPITAL. .
HUBERT BEYER

reneges, maybe that is the very ©

earliest time to consider the
military option, and then only
under United Nations rules,”
says Gibson.

The scenario of separation is

very real. With the Quebec”

élection scheduled for Septem-
ber 12, and Parti Quebecois
leader Jacques Parizeau ex-
pected to win, Quebecers will
almost certainly be voting on a
sovereignty referendum within
a year. It’s not too early to ask:
what happens if the
referendum passes?.

Gibson also deals with the
possibility that after Quebec’s
separation, the rest of the

country might fall apart. He

cails it Plan B, with Plan A
being the status quo. The At-
lantic provinces, he says, may
wonder if they will have to

ep We

Be

ll

WE ‘7 “con i 4
ay

Oy my

join the United States, once the
money stops coming from Ot-
tawa, and if, indeed, they
would be allowed to.

Already, he says, there are
voices in Newfoundland, the
youngest member of confeder-
ation, speaking “‘more wistful
than anything’’ about being in-
dependent again. No such lak,
however, in Ontario. “‘It is dif-
ficult to think of being in any
way separate from Canada
when deep inside you know
that you are Canada,’” he ob-
serves with some sarcasm.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan
would have a rough time of it
if Canada broke up completely,
according to Gibson. The two
provinces would be looking
both west and east for possible
alliances.

The only provinces that
would have nothing to worry
about, economically speaking,
that is, are Alberta and British
Columbia, particularly British
Columbia. ,

‘With about 12 per cent of
Canada’s population and a bit
more than that in Gross
Domestic Producl, a more
diversified economy, geog-
raphical membership in the
Cascadia concept (from
Oregon north through Alaska),
direct access to tidewater, a
growing magnet for Asian in-
vesiment, B.C. really does

new country

have it ail,’? he says.

Having made clear to readers
that Plan A, the status quo, fs
shaky at best, and Plan B nota
very pretty option, Gibson

brings on Plan C, a Canada'yet =

to be devised, but a Canada, ~
nevertheless, albeit without
Quebec,

Gibson’s Plan C would see
Ottawa as little more than a
glorified — central
agency, run by the three richest
provinces — British Columbia,
Alberta and Ontario. Ottawa, . -
he says, will still be useful, —
since part of what it does. no-
“*must be done by someone.”’

The glue that will hoid the
rest of Canada together, Git-
son says, will be common in-
terests such as international
perception, the continuity of °
law, €& common market, . -
customs and immigration,
security and defence, the dol-.
lar, external relations, and the

delivery of minimum collec-

tive or central services.

Agree with Gibson or not,
the -time has come for Cana-
dians to seriously assess the fu-
ture. Plan C will point them in —
the general direction. The book
is available from the Fraser In-
stitute for $19,95 plus shipping
an handling and, of course,
GST. Conlact Beverly Horan
at (604) 688-0221, Ext. 316.
Have a good read.

Food undoes a blockage

WRITING IS fattening. The
closer to deadline, the more 1
eat. If I begin drafting a

column four days before dead- -

line, I can write without a
calorie crutch. But let me put
off the task and T’ll stuff
myself with more food than an
in-camp logger.

I begin writing with a half
cup of hot coffee; that allows
for a hot refill later. At the first
hint of trouble - such as what
topic should I choose - I’m off
to the kitchen. A bowlful of
grapes or cherries is fine,
These I pop into my mouth
like a Detroit robot setling
bolts.

Fruit expands my waistline
though not always my. im-
agination. Could a fruit nappy
or potato chips nudge my
mind? Ritz crackers? Ten
cashews? Half a dazen pret-
zels? A handful of peanuts? By

‘the time the column is written

my goodie shelf. has been
rotated more times than a sel

of tires. ;
Peanuts take time to shell.

[S Dow)!

THROUGH BIFOCALS’
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

Woz NEED SOMETH!
NEw Te STIMULATE
S OUR ECONOMY !

Ali the better. Removing the
Shell, munching the nut gives
my brain cells a chance to col-
lide, perhaps strike a spark of
inspiration. Maybe not.

If none of the above treats
dislodge writer's block, I go on
lo comfort food ~~ a slice of
raisin bread, toasicd, spread
with creamy peanut butter.

By then thirst drives me to
fetch a glass of water. Thorn-
hill’s reservoir produces icy
water on tap. It takes scarcely

any time at all to run a frosty
glass.

By now my coffee is gone. I
refill the mug halfway with
sicaming brew, add a drop of
milk from the cation in the
fridge, and settle once more at
the desk, more dislanced than
ever from my work,

It's eleven o’clock. My hus-
band is in bed reading a
mystery. The fridge hums. The
coffeemaker heats. My ab-
domen bulges. I long for rest.

But ] must have two double-
spaced pages. So far I’ve got
far less, sprinkled with cros-
souls, false starts and underlin-
ings awaiting exact words or
names that have yet to come to
mind,

A banana might jolt that
vagueness so I can produce a
brilliant column. After - all,
cach banana has only one hun-
dred calories. Where’s the
harm, considering my caloric
intake in the past ninety

minutes?
Brilliant or not, I necd words
on paper or the editor will be

JOURISM, MINING , ABoMINABLE Ti
CONSTRUCTION, FISH SNOWM AN 2
STOCKS , EVERYTHING

| Ive GOT iT! MEET
| TommoRRaw

left with a space where my
column belongs. I rattle away, |
thankful ¥ learned to type well
fram a correspondence course,
When I pause to order my:
thoughts, I hear the digital
clack climbing toward. mid-»
night. oo
Finally I’ve typed two pages.
I.read them over,. rearranging. -
phrases with long tortured ar- ,
tows, scissoring paragraphs .
apart and gluing them into a:
new artangement. The final *
draft will wait until moming. |
I fail into bed on my back. IE
I turned on my tummy, ‘I’'é -
rock like a Bentwood. But
slecp eludes me; the clock’s

luminous hands inch toward “°°

dawn, ;
In desperation I uncork the. ~ .
cherry liqueur, munch a wedge” -

of cheddar, and stare at.an, 0. ls

Amen rerun, ;

A week later, I'll do it all.’ -:
again, © me
I must give up writing or.
procrastinating. Cee

MEAT GIRCH SWAMP
MIGHT !

-—— = are

service