Ls ee colt is i + + al a t or ala A alleles riinliet: Cn chem ee a . Sr Sa C Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 16, 1991 — ree me Se E+ Page AS. ELECTION '91_ *. ABOUT THE ISSUES We chose the five we felt ‘to be the most important and asked Social Credit -candidate Dave Parker, NDP candidate Helmut Gisebrecht and Liberal candidate Juanita Hatton for their responses. What we wanted were responses of varied areas to give readers an idea of how the candidates think and what. might be- ex- pected if their respective parties come. out on top tomorrow. _ The five issues are the state of the forest industry. and its prospect for the future, the planned public port at Kitimat which will ‘ive key issues require public monies, land claims, the plan by Orenda Forest Products to build a pulp and paper mill south of Lakelse Lake and Bill 82, the act that regulates public sector , Wages. The responses begin on this page and continue on Page A6. Helmut Giesbrecht Juanita Hatton Dave Parker | ..,. DAVE PARKER SOCIAL CREDIT NDP candidate Helmut Giesbrecht is in a conflict-of- interest aver Bill 82, accuses Skeena MLA Dave Parker. The Compensation Fairness Act requires public sector raises ’ not, exceed those of the private sector, and the act is currently blocking - pay hikes negotiated last spring for local teachers. ‘Giesbrecht — who wants Bill 82 repealed — is a teacher and former president of the local teachers’ union, Parker notes. “He's got. a conflict-of- interest. He wants Bill 82 trash- ed so he get more pay. That’s oft ct-of-interest. — pure and ‘simple. Parker saysthe.act shouldn't be dismantled. ‘Bill 82 is good meaningful ' legislation,’ he says. ‘Instead ‘zero increments or substantial layoffs -- as dther provinces have done — we'ye said let’s try to live within cur means. That's all we've said,””: ° ‘ “And some 230 public sector groups have been able to do that. But the teachers don’t want to do that. The teachers’ union are opposed. They want more pay. Helmut wants more ay,’’ ws derby Fee Sugg Vea lip of “finterest? ‘please define’ ‘SontfliGt- of-interest for me.’” JUANITA HATTON LIBERAL Ability to pay is important in determining wage levels for public sector workers, says Juanita Hatton. But she also says job perfor- mance, particularly with teachers, should be a factor in setling wage settlements. “They should be paid accor- Bill 82 BILL 82,:.the act taulégulate nublic..sector. wages,.,A00k, Jocal teachers out of their.classroams for half a day and to’a rally-in-April. ding to the product they put out, If the product they put out is superior, then they should be paid accordingly,” says Hatton. And she also advocates regular testing of teachers to determine their competency and capabilities. That comes from Hatton's belief that students graduating from high schools are often not prepared to deal with the out- side world. HELMUT GIESBRECHT NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY Ht may be called the Compen- sation Fairness Act, but Giesbrecht says Bill 82 is anything but fair. Describing it- as ‘politically motivated legislation’, he said it was based on the idea the pro- vincial government knew better than local negotiators what a fair pay settlement was. Therefore, an NDP govern- ment would move quickly to amend the “most offensive parts’’ of Bill 82 which affected more than 100,000 public sector employees. The same applied to Bill 19, a piece of legislation he said had tipped the balance of labour relations in favour of the employer. That done, the NDP would then begin the process of draw- ing up ‘fair labour legislation” based on the results of consulta- tion with both unions and business. The new legislation would see an end to the “sweeping dic- tatorial powers”’ currently held by the compensation fairness and industrial relations council commissioners, By placing the emphasis on negotiation and adjudication, the responsibility for harmony in the workplace would fall on business and labour, he added. As for critics’ claims NDP legislation would tip the balance in favour of unions, Giesbrecht said if unions and business were able to agree on what was fair, “I frankly don't care what op- ponents say.” He also dismissed Socred claims the relative industrial peace of recent yearspehowed Bill 19 was working:-{{Those SF us who have worked with it "know that's not the case,”’ said the ex-president, of the local teachers union. ee Maintaining it was necessary to look below the surface to find out what had really been happening, Giesbrecht said labour and management had been trying to avoid sections of the legislation so they could “function in relative harmony in spite of Bill 19 rather than because of it.”’ JUANITA HATTON * . LIBERAL Even if plans go ahead for two piers at Kitimat, it'll still be a small port, says Juanita Hat- ton. “Those kind of facilities at Rupert are already there and the rail, line is in,’’ she said of the federal port corporation development at Prince Rupert. - “There's. room for lots of ships in Rupert and it has facilities. for. lumber, coal and grain.’ “Pm sure Kitimat will like it but, I m nol ly sure we really have to ag all that money and baild’a new one,” said Hat- “ton. Perse] . She ‘added’ t that development of the port ‘at'Prince Rupert was vie on by the Second World r HELMUT GIESBRECHT NEW. DEMOCRATIC PARTY -:>Giesbrecht-said ‘he supports the Kitimat’ port proposal sub-. ject.to the findings of the major. Projects: review / Process on its i ae ae 7 : card you "ds for, people to rend,» Kitimat Port environmental and economic impacts. Asked if North Coast MLA — and fellow New Democrat — Dan Miller’s public opposition to the Kitimat port did not pre- sent him with a problem, Giesbrecht replied, ‘'No more of a problem than Dave Parker’s had,’’ He pointed out the Social Credit candidate in that riding, Linda Marshall-Kutz, also op- posed the Kitimat proposal.’ Giesbrecht noted NDP leader Mike Harcaurt had suggested it was “very likely” more port facilities would be needed “in Kitimat as a result of incresaed exports of pétro-chemical and wood products as well as the- possible construction of a cop-". per smelter in that city, : However, he added, Har- Rupert to Kitimal.’’ “It’s stupid for communities in the northwest to be fighting over prajects and trying to take a project from cne communily ty another. We ought to be working together to create jobs for the northwest,'’’ said Giesbrecht, That could perhaps be done by ‘‘siphoning off’* some of the port activity fram Vancouver, he said. DAVE PARKER . SOCIAL CREDIT Dave Parker remains com- mitted to the construction of a public port in Kitimat. Neither opposition from Prince Rupert city officials nor the initial rebuff the proposal received from the federal Department of Fisheries and He says the additional en- vironmental studies now re- quired for the port proposal mean federal fisheries officials will have to explain their ac- tions, Parker assembled the society made up of Terrace and Kitimat government leaders that is now the official sponsor of the pro- ject. Parker says the plan fits his vision for a total transportation network for improved roads, air travel and rail lines in the nor- thwest. He wants the port develop- ment to be the first major one coming under planned provin- cial legislation to create local port authorities. Part of the local authority’s responsibility would be taking over the Terrace-Kitimat air- port. Putting the port and airport under one authority would be combined with developing lands adjacent to each for greater im- state of forests JUANITA HATTON LIBERAL The forest service used to be much stricter in its control of logging practices, says Juanita Hatton. “Back then you couldn't cut four or five smaller trees just to get at a larger one,” she says. And Hatton feels there should be more forest service employees to check up on what forest companies are doing in the bush. But what worries her the most is what might happen if the wood supply shrinks. "It’s already starting to af- fect people, what will our young people do in the next few years,'’ said Hatton. She also wonders what is going to happen to long term forest industry workers if more milis and logging ‘eperagjonsyl ja SOCIAL CREDIT Forestry practices have im- proved enormously, says Dave Parker, a registered ‘professional forester and past forests minister. That combined with careful monitoring should ensure a sustainable harvest for the foreseeable future, he said. “The backlog in the area has been reduced substantial- ly,’ he said. ‘'Backlog reforestation includes areas that have been denuded by fire as well as by harvest.’ “Since 1987 major licensees have been responsi- ble for forest replacement,” he added. '‘We’re nol going to run out of trees.’’ One large threat to the forest industry and local jobs, however, remains that of preservation, he said. “If you reduce the produc- tive working forest land base, the impact will be a reduced cut — no question about it.'’ “The working forest con- stitules about 26 per cent of the land base,’ he said. ‘‘It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to atlack the working forest for preservation pur- poses. Especially when you consider that every time you fly fram here to Vancouver, you fly over miles and miles and miles of non-commercial forest,”’ Preservationists, Parker eect Se Oa the rich can travel to, “*Helicopters cost you $8 a © minute, $9 a minute to go somewhere,’’ he noted. ‘Most people like to jump in their car, go on. out and | recreate. And they just love logging roads. I would say a good part of my own per- sonal years has been courtesy of logging roads.”" ‘ HELMUT GIESBRECHT *. NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY Helmut Giesbrecht says there’s general agreement in the riding that “forestry is in crisis.”’ What's needed are policies to provide an accurate ‘and up-to-date inventory of forests, the creation of more silviculture jobs, reduction of waste in the woods and more value added products. brecht wants a ban on exports and those 0 cane logs that have been simply squared off. The objective should be to create as many jobs as possi- ble from the province’s trees, by government intervention if necessary,-he said. , Pointing out the Swedish forest industry employed nearly triple the number of people B.C. did on a land mass only two-thirds the size of the province, he said B.C, should be able to improve on its 85,000 figure. Although he couldn’t say how many of the new jobs would be in the forest ser- vice, Giesbrecht suggested some would be created in the private sector if people work- ing in the silvicultural field could be assured ‘‘a good livelihood’’. As for critics’ claims that banning log exports and pay- ing higher wages would drive up the cost of lumber and make B.C. products less competitive in world markets, he admitted, ‘‘We don’t know how that’s going to shake down.”' However, he suggested, having more people making a steady living and goad wages would lead to improved stan- dards of living and therefore spin-off economic benefits. Giesbrecht also wants to see an assured wood supply for smaller mills. “Government has always favoured the larger corpora- recreation over the - i! : : said, aim to set aside remote tions in. most of its court had said he did not favour. Oceans have deterred the port and export opportunities, inaccessibl dealings,’” he charged “simply transferring jobs from Skeena MLA. says Parker. mactessible areas that only _ _ a iba 7 ; . oe : _ The lady i in the photo is Lo | Elaine Johnson, The school district The money will pay for ‘She is in’ ‘charge of the voting places tomorrow, stations. « : ; “The. poll “open at 8 « Please mer. ‘got ‘They - are: called Polling’ ‘hey closevat 8pm. bring the voting - the mail. 2 wants day care. It wants day care for young moms. That will help young moms stay in school. _ But day care is expen- sive, — The school district says day care will cost $782,000. a new building. The building will be big enough to hold 24 young momis. -The school district Says - day care should not cost that much. It will find a way to” reduce the cost. - mare a halt tel ies ae ateleat baad kr Ptr gre , ee eee