4 A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 4, 2005 = TERRACE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ‘PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. - V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 - FAX: (250) 638-8432 WEB: www.terracestandard.com EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com "Missing: issue ROD ROBINSON, the Ni isga’a leader who passed away last year, ‘called it “the land question. ” Oth- "ers called it “unfinished business.” | . By that Mr. Robinson and the others meant the unresolved issue of native rights and title over tra- ditional territory involving control over resource * development and of self government. ‘It was the absolute hot button political topic of the 1990s in the northwest and during the crucial . years of the final stages of the Nisga’a treaty ne- 7 - gotiations, consumed the province and the coun- try. ‘Umpteen gallons of ink was splashed across _ newspaper pages and countless miles of TV news an videotape was recorded in cataloguing the hopes | _ and fears of aboriginal people and others. An this current provincial election, both of the: main parties, the Liberals and the NDP, appear.to “2 "be soft-pedalling the i issue of land claims treaties - - and self. government. : .. It’s the last: point mentioned on the one page . of the Liberal campaign platform devoted to ab- originals: “Negotiate workable, affordable treaty settlements under the B.C. Treaty Commission process.” a 7 The NDP platform i is more: expansive on n land a claims, criticizing the Liberal government for its | all-but-forgotten mail-in referendum on the topic on that was conducted in 2002. . _.. Yet onthe matter of treaties, it is s also the last -. point mentioned in the NDP aboriginal platform: 7 “When it comes to: governance of First Nations ~ lands, self-government agreements will be nego- tiated within treaties.” Instead, in both platforms, the idea of land See matter, ‘tucked. ‘underneath te, broad heading of - economic development. The Liberal aboriginal platform i is weighty with mention of revenue sharing from forestry and oil and gas royalties, specific forestry agreements ' (three of which have been concluded in this area), and other economic development agreements. Along with the above are measures to improve education, health care and social services for ab- original people. . _ The NDP platform does talk about aboriginal . certainty but within the context of having that cer- _ tainty being necessary to attract investment. It’s a fairly clear message from both parties ~ ‘grow the economy and you grow jobs and servic- ~ es to people. Underneath it is the subtext — forget about the politics for-now. If there is. some subtle and unstated agreement : ~ from both the Liberals and the NDP to avoid the. divisive and emotional aspects of land claims, it is to the credit to both parties. uo ; It certainly marks a welcome approach to poli- tics and to governing in B.C. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: , Rod Link _ ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur _ NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman “COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs FRONT OFFICE:' Darlene Keeping CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband, Susan Willemen AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik _ PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; ‘Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; 4 Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156. 91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 MEMBER OF NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION B.C, AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, Mr. CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION ¥CN A. Mo AND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www: bepresscounell. org) wolfe 4 tet Ate eee Rrsttah Colomdte oad Fobon Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- . Tight holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents an _ 2005 WINNER - — _ ‘ : , CCNA BETTER / IN THIS SCENE, NoTE HOW HE CIRCLES THE MORTALLY WOUNDED VicTIM PERIODICALLY DARTING IN To TEAR AWAY WE ARE MUTE WITNESSES To NATURE'S CRUELTY, “\ WE CAN ONLY WATCH { HELPLESSLY AND WAIT | FOR THE DEATH THROES MORE FUESH a RSC on Martin isn’ ‘t helping Campbell VICTORIA - Poor old Paul Martin, reduced to asking us _all to cut him some slack in an ‘sad‘and uninspired TV sort-of _ address to the nation, strug- gling to keep his government together. And’ poor Gordon Camp- | bell, wondering how the fall-. out from all this will affect his campaign for a new mandate, Martin’s televised address, 7 was a touch pathetic, the un- kindest description of. all. -Many voters will conclude ; that he was either . inatten- : tive. as finance minister and senior Quebec ‘politico while ° the Sponsorship scandal was unfolding, or willfully ‘blind to events around him. Neither interpretation is appealing, or "inspiring. The official _ provincial Liberal position is that vot- ers know that. the federal and provincial parties —. despite the same name —.are chalk and ' cheese. The public perception is dif- ferent. The Strategic Counsel. poll released last week found that 37 per cent of voters said — the sordid reports from the Gomery inquiry are causing them to question the wisdom of voting for the Campbell Liberals on May 17. That is a large block of potentially dis- affected voters, in a Volatile campaign. Martin took to, television, to plead for his government, but not that convincingly. He promised an election within 30 days of the report from the Gomery inquiry, a move in- tended to head off an election within the next two months. ever you travel in the two provinces, from cities to the _smailest town, the welcome mat will be out inviting you to share all manner of activities to showcase the event. , For its. part, _Saskatoon’s weekly farm newspaper, The Western Producer, plans a special early August issue crammed with photos taken by ordinary residents through the -one hundred years. The Producer seeks “photos | that illustrate the spirit and grit of prairie people, especially of. _ those people who helped grow these two provinces.” Photos will show them in action or in places held dear, participating in agricultural and community activities, - farming operations, historical events and all manner of times and activities old and new. _ The paper plans to publish as many photos as possible in a single issue. Over flow _ photos will be posted on the newspaper’s website for all to « enjoy. FROM THE CAPITAL PAUL WILLCOCKS - But neither opposition par- ‘ties nor Canadians will likely — . be prepared to. wait until De- cember, when the report is -. due, to force an election. Par- liament does not appear to be accomplishing anything now. Why wait? It is all bad news. for the provincial Liberals. ’Partly, there is simply the “risk that voters get grumpy at all governing parties, and pun- ish them without regard for their’sins. _ >» That would be unfair. There are lots of criticisms you can make about the Campbell team, but these are not people interested in feathering their own nests. They, like almost . all. the candidates I’ve met from other parties, ran for of- .. fice to make life in B.C. better. But angry voters may not be so reasonable in their judgments. Pragmatically, Martin’s failure to rally support makes an early federal election more likely. THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI The editor asks that con- tributors identify their photos including as much information as you can supply about the dates they were taken and the people and events depicted. A good way: to put your name on the back of a photo- graph without damaging it is to apply a gummed address Jabel near the bottom of the photo. Please include a self-ad- dressed, stamped envelope to And that is a problem for the provincial Liberals. Camp- bell has pulled together a co- alition, including pale pinkish - federal Liberals and blood red Conservatives. © They are frequently po- litical enemies federally. The supporters of Stephen ,Harper and Paul Martin share one be- lief in common, that the other guys represent the forces of ' darkness. But they manage to bury those differences, mostly, when it comes to provincial . . ing just how remote Martin’s; Politics i in B.C.. That truce will now be test- ed. The people who have been. working shoulder to shoulder : _to elect provincial Liberal can- _ didates have already begun looking to a June — or earlier — federal election. And their provincial allies will be their federal rivals within weeks. It is not a reality that fosters teamwork or commitment: In a couple of weeks these people will be competitors, slagging. each other’s candidates and’ competing for everything from big donations to campaign workers to media attention. (In ' fact, some are already drifting away from the realities of the provincial campaign, wonder- ing where they can stick those federal lawn signs.) It will be hard for them to put those con- siderations aside as the likeli- hood of a federal election in- ‘creases. Meanwhile the New Demo- crats, and Greens, will be smil- ing. Two elections, one NDP worker observed, just means we can drop off federal and * provincial party leaflets with make it easier (and cheaper) ‘for your photos to be returned . to you. - Mail photos to WP Centen- nial Project, Box 2500, Saska- toon, SK, S7K 2C4. Include your phone number incase the editor wishes to reach you to clarify any points. : Deadline - for submissions is June’ 10, 2005. I can see families busy al- ready searching through shoe- box collections of faded sepia photos, and albums with 2x4 inch pictures anchored by cor- ner triangles. Thanks to lower costs and popularity of cameras, the last 50 years: will be overly repre- sented, the 1920s to 1940s less so. Cameras were a rarity; film and» developing were . rela- tively expensive. Families counted pennies, not pixels. Our home had a box camera, brought down from the shelf over Mom and Dad’s bedroom door for a click or two on spe- cial occasions, such as a visit - from a distant aunt or uncle. Otherwise our picture was taken when we were dressed Ao A SCAVENGER HE.IS: A CREATURE OF OPPORTUNITY. NoT POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TAKE DOWN HIS OWN PREY HE FEEDS OFF THE WEAK BuT (T WOULD BE UNFAIR TO BLAME MR. HARPER FOR DOING WHAT COMes © NATURALLY. HE CAN'T HELP BEING AN OPPORTUNISTIC Rous one trip... - ‘It is too early to figure out what it all means. But the provincial Liberals: ; have been running a massively. controlled campaign — .even the events a few hours ahead, are a secret. The Martin TV, speech, the likely federal elec-. tion, they were never part of ¥ the plan. © . ~ . And now it looks much like- “a June federal election, and a whole new batch of headaches. for the Campbell team. — : Footnote: It was strik- TV pitch seemed from life in,. B.C. Our ad agencies didn’t: get the money, our concerns’. and grievances weren’t at the: heart of the issue. We are just here, the patient audience for. the drama. The next step will be decided by Stephen Harper, who has to decide how Cana- dians would. feel about. a Jung, vote. - 7 And there’s another fasci: nating poll, which showed that British Columbians will likely re-elect the provincial Liber-, als even though they think the, - province needs a change of, government. The Strategic Counsel poll. fits with others recent surveys. - in its tally of party support,: with the Liberals at 46. per- cent, the NDP. at 38 per cent and the Greens at 13 per cent. ” But 58 per cent of those sur-. . veyed told the pollster it was. time for a change of govern: -ment. The only: explanation i 1S that voters are saying - again: - that they don’t really like the: Liberals, but don’t see an al- ternative. : wn an Wanted: Prairie shutterbugs - - BOTH “SASKATCHEWAN -and Alberta celebrate their ’ centennial this summer. Wher- for an occasion — the annual’ , fall fair, my baby brother’s. ' June birthday (photos need; ed good sunlight), Mom on Mother’s Day dwarfed by a hedge of blooming lilacs. — ., One film produced perhaps. eight photos. Even then, it, might take a year before’ the film was used up and ready. for developing. We mailed the film.200 miles to Saskatoon. - Dad had no chance to per= fect his photographing skills.’ Unlike with a Polaroid or digi- tal camera, he had no oppor-. tunity to critique one pose and try for a better one. Often someone in back would be hidden by someone taller in front, a child bored, .: : positioning for a group shot would. be caught picking his’ nose, and the photographer’s shadow filled the photo’s fore~ ground. . By the time the film becamé prints, we had little idea what, to expect in the envelope fron, Saskatoon. _ The WP editor will be exe pecting most of the photos she’s sure to receive.