Page 4, The Herald, Wednesday, February 16, 1901

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herald

POLITICS

This space offers your provincial and federal
elected officials a place to say their piece.
Columns are selected on the basis of
relevance, not party preference and are the
Opinions of the author not the editor or this

TALKING |

{_ Tewspaner.
- A

. By DAVE BARRETT

- Multl-billion-dollar deals often appear
dazzling simply because of the string of
zeroes in the figures. The result Is that most
people can’t relate such large numbers to
thelr everyday experience. Therefore
politicians assume they can’t analyze what’s
really happening.

: But the obvious solution, if you want to
figure things out for yourself, is to drop
enough of the zeroes so that the figures no
longer are dazzling distractions which ob-
struct your vision of what's really happening
behind the scenes.

Take Premier Bennett's northeast coal
deat, for instance. For the moment, forget
the breathless press release announcements
of hundreds of millions of dollars for this and
billlons for that.

Essentially, the deal involves the sale of a
pubilc asset. Most of us are Involved in doing
that sametime In our lives, usually In terms
of buyingor sellinga house. Think of the coal
resource as a wilderness house that the
public owns and for which the government of
the day acts as agent.

The agent has decided to sell the house
ahead of market demand. But the canny
buyers being pursued say they’re only in-
terested at a low price and with a few extra
concessions thrown in, such as bullding a
long and expensive access road to distant
civilization, bringing In hydro, telephone and
a variety of modern conveniences and so
forth. :

The buyer's conditions are steep. Let’s be
char itable and not examine whether they are
too steep to even consider. Suffice fo say that
no firm price or conditions are put Into a
contract.

Now, if it was your house, would you at
that stage of discussions co-sign a letter of
inten? to sell the house without committing
the purchaser to a price or even to the legal
obligation to buy? And would you, on that
basis, begin moving out of the house and
calling In contractors to build the access
road, tear out the surrounding vegetation
and provide all the other services out of your
own pocket before the crucial financial
aspects are settled?

Yet that’s what the current government Is
doing as agent for our interests.

In fact It Is worse because without a firm
and sound contract preceding work to ensure
the taxpayers are mot gouged, British
Columbla can be whipsawed not only into a
most serious sell-out of northeast resources
but also beaten down on future price in-
creases for southeast coal that already is
being sent to Japan.

_ No wonder the Japanese businessmen at a
ludicraus memo-signing farce staged by the
Socreds In Vancouver alluded to Corneliys
Van Horne driving the last splke of the CPR.

: When you take away all the frothy zeroes
in the figures, who Is swinging the sledge-
hammer in this deat and who fs being
spiked?

Gomer

“Don’t pay the ransom

Sir:

The District of Kitimat
has recently applied to
extend its boundaries. The
stated reason was to
control recreation and
industrial development in
the Kitimat Valley to a
point almost to Onion Lake.

‘The Skeena Protection
Coalition, a Terrace-based
group of concerned
citizens, wishes ta express
its concern with this
unacceptable application
for the following reasons:

1. Kitimat presently has
large tracts of land
available for residential,
commercial and industrial
expansion within ils
existing boundaries.

2. The Kitimat Valley,
accorting to the Forest
Service, is prime forest
growing land. Results of
soil samples prove this
region to be the most
productive tree growing
area in the Terrace
Kitimat forest district. -

3. A public hearing is
Planned for this spring by
the Forest Service into the
feasibility of establishing a
Provincial Forest in the
Kitimat Valley.

4, The forest industry
continues to be the primary
employer in Terrace arkl a
major employer in
Kitimat. The loss of the
Kitimat Valley to forest
production would be a
Staggering blow to the
future of this industry in
the Kitimat-Terrace

region.

5. Air inversions — which
even now with present
industry, often preclude
regular air service in and
out of the Terrace Kitimat
Airport — would be further
bolstered and thickened in
content by more industrial
development. The District
of Kitimat may cite as its
reason for boundary ex-
pansion its wish to control
recreation but the Skeena
Protection Coalition is
convinced that further
industrialization with its
atiendant Increase ina tax
base for Kitimat is the real

Pee,

—- | managed to

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR

Teason for Kitimat's ap-
plication for expansion.

6. Fisheries production is
a Major economic con-
sideration in this area and
would be jeopardized if
Kitimat controlled the
valley and promoted heavy
industry.

7. Lakelse Hotsprings, —

using government funding
{our money), is slated for
major development as a
tourist attraction. This
facility is only a few
kilometres from the
proposed extended
boundaries. It is also the
only warm water’ lake in
the area. :

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eshcape.”

ODD, isn’t it? _

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Carrie Teél, 57,'and Jobim” ”
Schenk, 68, waited three decades to fall in love and
travelled across country to marry in the Arizona
sun. .

So they weren't about to let the “Out to Lunch”
greeting they found at the judge's office pul a
damper on their elopement.

“They weren't leaving here until they got
martied,” said Pima County Superior Court Bailiff
Edward Ryan.

The Lambertville, N.J., couple refused to budge
from Judge James Carruth's office Tuesday until he
returned to preside over the “I do's’’ almost two
hours later.

“T don’t think we'll be seeing them back in the
divorce court,” said a court worker as they walked
away.

“It feels good to be able to do something nice once
in awhile,” Carruth said. .

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — The scramble is
on over who gets to keep $22,250 in bills found in a
Bloomington motel room.

Kathryn Swarson, a maid, said the money was in
$10, $20, $50 and $100 bills when she found it in a
brown leather briefcase while cleaning a room that
had been rented by Michael Bunker of St. Cloud.

Swanson filed a claim for the cash.

But Bunker, who retumed for the money the day
afler he discovered it missing, told Bloomington
police he had found the money five days earlier in a
paper bag near a parked car in north Minneapolis.

The situation became even more complicated
when police, who had some doubts about Bunker's
story, nolified the Internal Revenue Service. The
IRS says Bunker owes Uncle Sam §93,963 in back.
taxes.

The city has custody of the money but says the
courts should resolve the question of ownership end
has filed suit to that effect.

Nohearing date for the suit has been set.

(

OTTAWA |
VIEWPOINT

by JIM FULTON |
SKEENA M.P.

formation iaws.

8 The Kitimat-Terrace
orridor, a narrow valley
with a prevailing wind
toward Terrace for eight
months of the year is an
integral part of the
recreational amenities
available to local residents.
It isalso a drawing card for
professionals from outside
thearea who come because
of the outdoor facilities
adjacent to where they
dispense their professional
service.

9. The flailands in the
Kitimat Valley, the
availability of cheap hydro-
power, and the proximity
to transportation facilities
‘make the Terrace-Kitimat
corridor a choice location
for exploitation by profit
seekers who care nothing
for the residents of the
area. The valley is a
priceless region which
‘peeds to be protected from.
heavy industrialization.

The Skeena Protection
Coalition believes that
jurisdiction over the region
should be in the hands of
those who care about
stewardship for future
generations and not in the
control of those who sell it

. out to the highest bidder.

11. Based om past ex:

perience the Skeena ©
/ Protection Coalition has

absolutely no confidence in
the ability of the Kitimat
Council to plan future
development of the Kitimat
Valley. The obvious bias in
favor, of beavy industrial
expansion at any cost to the
environment or future
welfare of local residents
rules out any rational
consideration on their part
of the facts as stated above.

We earnestly urge the
Ministry of Municipal
Affairs and its minister,

Terrace must be left as a
forest producing area.

Skeena Protection

Coalition

P.O, Box 066

WELL MR. HANSON T HAD A
TALK WtTH MYSON ABour HIS
| SEX EDUCATION COURSE.

DID IT Go WELL’?

IT SURE DID; I LEARNED A LOT f

q

The House of Commons has begun debate
on Bill C-43, An Act to Implement the
Access to Information Act and to amend
other Acts that relate to the avallabillty of
government information. This legislation Is
more commonly referred to as freedom of
information legisfation. .

The need for such legislation in Canada
became very evident when two NDP MPs,
Terry Sargeant (Selkirk-Interlake) and

\.

Simon de Jong (Regina East) released In- |

formation that the American army had
fested deadly chemicals, such as agent
orange, in New Brunswick. The chemicals.

were being tested to determine their use in -

the war in Vietnam. The information on this
testing was made available from the United
States where there are freedom of in-
In fact, the Canadian
government knew about the tests for some
ilme and still did not Inform the public.
Canadians have a right to information
about how their government operates. By
having information we are able to fully
exercise our rights, such as freedom to vote,

freedom to be candidates, and freedom of the .

press. A major concern of mine Is that people

have all the Information on government .

plans for development projects that may
affect people's lives. Many of you know the
time | have spent trying to get information
from the government on varlous projects in
the Skeena area and information regarding
environmental matters across the country.

The Bill, which was debated In the Hause
on January 29, Is now In committee ‘stage.
During committee debate, the NDP will be
proposing a number of: amendments to
improve the legislation. Some changes are
the need: to extend the legislation fo all
government departments and have -those
which are exempted specifically identifled
by the government. There must be quick
access to the Information and any fees for
Obialning information must not be aut of
reach of the average person.

Provisions for environmental and product
testing information must be opened up.
There have been too. many cases In the past

where product testing has.shown.a.certain:

good should not be sold, yet they stayed: on
the shelves.

Transboundary flow of information, Social
insurance Number use, and the use of
personal records must be reviewed closely.
_ The NDP welcomes the Introduction of the
tegislation and will be pressing for changes
that will improve this very Important law.

spray together,
stay together.

SURREY, B.C. (CP) — Tom May’s new spray
eliminates pesky political pollution.

It'l dissipate those fusty smells Canadian politics
leave in the carpet, walls and furniture of your
house.

May, president of Precision Laboratories Ltd,
has come up with an air freshener called Canadian
Unity Spray. .

“It smells like a forest,” May says. “Like walking
into a green forest.”

It has its own slogan — “People that spray
together, stay together” — and its own logo — two
arms shaking hands under a maple teaf.

“A couple of friends were over for dinner a few
weeks ago and we were discussing the Western
separatist problem,” says May, a firm believer in
Confederation.

“They said, ‘Gee, Tom, it's too bad you can’t
market a product that could get rid of this Western
separatism problem.’ And we started joking about
itand making up ailly slogans. So, 1 approached my
brokers and they thought it was a good idea and,
within 10 days, we had a product ready for them.”

He has sold 7,200 bottles at $2.98 a shot in three |

weeks. It's been such a success he's started
distribution in Alberta and has contracted a
packager for Quebec and the other Eastern

provinces,

It comes with. instructions:

For the West, epray Liberally; For the East,
spray Conservatively; before all federal meetings, .
spray Liberally and Conservatively, spray for pro-
vinclal contro! of natural resources; separatists
must spray twice as much; spray for Western rights
to wear “seersucker suits with white sneakers” (an *
altusion to Trudeau's attire during his recent visit to
Brazil).

On the back of the botile and in his ad-
vertisements, May has printed a “spray survey"
where buyers can mark their preference for: (a)
united Canada or (b) Western separatism, and mail
their choice back to his firm in this municipality
southeast of Vancouver.

Of the eight bottles that have been mailed back,
seven have been for a united Canada and one for
Western separatism. But of the seven ads that have
been returned, four have been for Western
separatism and three for Canadian unity. ;

May is working on another product called Instant
Passion Spray.

**t's beautiful," hesays.“There'll bea little bit of
cll of love in it, It’s. a love potion. But, just between
you and me, ¢h, it's actually just a room freshener.”

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