Mae Oo, 7 - Dear Sir: The softwood lumber " agreement put forward by. ’ the Harper government will be an, unmitigated’ disaster : for the forest industry i in this : country. — vt - 1. It does not remove the a tariffs, it just renames them * and raises them. West Fra- ~ ser, Skeena Operations goes . ’ from a four per cent tariff'to - a 15 per cent export tax (and’ ‘until all litigation ends, the - tariff remains as well fora nineteen percent effective tariff/tax). ° 2. It leaves over a billion _ dollars of Canadian money ' south of. the border. ft pays ‘the costs of the American lumber lobby, plus funds ‘their next specious chal" are responsible for their own legal costs (over a hundred million dollars as of July 2006). It amounts to nothing ‘more than paying proceeds from trade crime. 3. It gives the American oversight, - and an effective veto of any. administration new legislation concerning _ forestry proposed by Cana- dian legislators. B.C. would not‘be allowed to place any restrictions on log exports. 4, It does not provide sta- to invest. The Harper gov- ernment claims this is a nine ~ year deal that is renewable. But in fact there is a clause that allows the Americans ' lenge. Canadian producers . “bility for the forest industry to: give 12 months notice, . - Canada unified by new coins | ‘Dear Sir: The 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver are only three, ” years away. | How about a change i in coins for the | games and have a’ different image: ‘engraved on each of the quarters and/or loo- ‘nies, to embrace the 10 provinces and three territories? . ‘Have a contest in each province and territory to come up. . with what each would like to see on their quarter and/or loo- ' nie and unify all of Canada with the 2010 Winter Games. . Then produce the coins and have them all ready to be available’at the start of the 2010 Winter Games in’ Vancou-_ ver and have those sovereigns to bring home for all who at- tend the games. _:,. Those not attending can buy them at the bank. To start to add those new commemorative coins to their collection. | ~ Both young and old would like to have this new set to col- “lect and add and revive coin collecting once more. Our official neighbours to the south are working on such © _ a venture with the 50 states each having a coin made up for. > each and every one of the 50 states. Such a grand idea, that we in Canada, could do and the timing is perfect. . _. This is for us a huge deal and all preparations are well.” ‘on their way and we are putting our best foot forward and ~ making sure all our T’s-are crossed and the city is ‘spit and . polished and ready for the event. This commemorative coin would be | just pair of the win- ter games planning to have there. - Having all-10 provinces and three territories taking part” and having a coin being presented ¥ would unify all of Can- ada. Barb Barker, . Terrace, B.C. 5 oO AG - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Softwood deal a ‘disaster’ for C anada “reasons to say not to this | CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD 18 months after the agree- ment comes into effect. The reality is that this agreement can end in'30 months, half. the duration: of the illegal’ tariffs. As well with the quotas | limiting the need for more production, productivity. in- vestments will no longer be necessary, in fact they will be an impairment to the bot- 2) tom line. ~ _ §. Canada will erase all of - our hard fought wins reached - in this trade war up to this point.. The W.T.O., NAFTA, and the'U.S. courts have all: agreed that the tariffs were ‘illegal, and that the Ameri- . can administration must start paying back the money” it iHegally collected. » The Harper government, he Mail Bag | “has cravenly sided with the American lumber lobby to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and effectively agreed that we were guilty. The Conservatives .have signed a deal that leaves . Canadians open to endless litigation, without the protec- tion of chapter 19 of NAFTA which this deal will nullify. These are just five of the - agreement, there are many more. Any: one of these should be more than ample cause to say no to this agree- ment and get. back to the courts. This is not a good deal for the forest industry, its work- ers, or the communities that ...depend on them. It makes a mockery of free trade. No deal is better than a deal that rewards the: guilty with the assets of the inno- while removing the’ democratic rights of a sov- cent, ereign nation. Mr. Harper promised “to stand up for Canada”. In his ‘first real test, the best he could do was grovel. Allan Chesterman Allan Chesterman, - Terrace, B.C, SE LIGHTWEIGHT IT COMES WITH. ITS CWN BUILT-IN CARRYING HANDLE. : uf HAVE A FEW Aili ‘and we.are practically st prices ever. Can Lowes giving them away: si be beat. Going — ~e 0 DOWN, NO PAYMENTS FOR 6 MONTHS | © CHOICE OF: 2 YEAR WARRANTY OR UP TO $600