- Minister calls for.

-DFO’s demise

‘TERRACE — A solution to the

problem of the commercial
fleet’s incidental catch of
steelhead must be found and the
first step should be to take
fishery matters out of federal
hands, says the province’s en-
vironment minister,

“B.C, should have control
over its own fishery,’’ John
Reynolds said during a recent
cabinet visit to Terrace. “We
don’t need a federal fisheries
department.”

Under the present system,
jurisdiction over the fishery is
split between the B.C, Fish and
Wildlife branch and the federal
Department of Fisheries and
Oceans (DFO). The branch is
responsible: for ‘regulating the
inland fishery while the DFO
controls what happens in
coastal waters.

That division, of responsiblity
has long been the source of fric-
tion between the two bodies,
particularly in the case of
steelhead. Although fish and

John Reynolds

wildlife staff have. consistently

maintained changes in commer- .

cial fishery activity are needed
to protect declining steelhead
stocks, Reynolds said the pro-
vince had made little progress
with the DFO on the issue.
‘These are stupid fights and

it’s just so obvious ‘what ‘we
should be doing,” Reynolds
said, Noting steelhead were a

‘major tourism draw and

brought a lot of money into the
province, he added, ‘‘I believe
commercial fishermen unders-
tand that,’’ .

Pointing to ‘‘the mess they’ve
got in the Maritimes’’ as an ex-

- ample of the results of DFO

management policies, he said
‘f¥ou don’t have to be a rocket

“selentist to know they haven’t

been too successful.’’

* However, he emphasized, his
criticism was not directed at the
individuals working for the
DFO in B.C. and suggested
staff based here were only ‘‘do-
ing what they’re told or not told
by Ottawa:'?"

. Réynolds said they should be
transferred to a new body which
would oversee all aspects of the
province’s fishery. That, in
turn, would, allow B.C. to get
on with solving | its own pro-
blems.

Housing proponents
seek cabinet support

TERRACE — The Terrace
Health Care Society is pro-
viding yet more information on
its proposal to build a new kind
of housing.

The concept is called suppor-

tive housing and is designed for

people who may only need a
certain amount of care.

Nearly five acres of land ad-
jacent to Terraceview Lodge has
already been set aside for the
development, giving residents
of the supportive housing units
access to the services of the
lodge.

Its first phase will be 40
condominum-style units and is

estimated to cost $2.75.million.

Health care society ;chief ex-
ecutive officer Michael Leis-

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inger said the new information
follows a meeting last week with
several cabinet ministers, in-
cluding Premier Bill Vander
Zalm.

“The proposat still doesn’t fit
a (government) program. They
are still looking at it,'’ he said.

Although that statement has
been made several times by
government officials since the
society first made the proposal
earlier this year, Leisinger said
he isn’t worried.

‘People are hesitant to break
new ground, They've got to be
convinced they have a winner,”
he said of: the, -Ininisters’ reac:
tioris last week. aan

“We'll keep responding to
their questions and particular

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concerns they have,’’ Leisinger
added in predicting the health
care society will have its pro-
posal accepted.

One factor is a change in
social services and housing
ministers since the proposal was
first submitted so the new
minister, Norm Jacobsen, has
to be briefed on the particulars,
he said.

Government officials do want
assurances the $2.75 million
cost figure is accurate, Leisinger
added.

One selling point of the pro-
posal is that it is less expensive
than extended care. “It. would
also: mean a delay i in providing
the more expensive extended
care facilities.

Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 3, 1990 — Page AJ

ANGRY LOGGERS from Wedeene River Contracting, a Prince Rupert sawmill in receivership, blasted
the premier and cabinet at last week's townhall meeting for refusing to relax restrictions on log exports
for the beleaguered company. In the end they applauded cabinet's decision to take a second look at
the company’ s financial problems.

Mill woes re- -examined

TERRACE — An independent
consultant will be appointed by
the forests ministry to examine
the financial shape of a sawmill
that went into receivership last
week, says a mill spokesman.

Kelly Williams of Wedeene
River Contracting, owners of
the Prince Rupert operation,
said the decision was made after
he gave a presentation to the
provincial cabinet.

That Sept. 26 presentation to
cabinet in Kitimat followed
ones made by Williams and a
number of Wedeene employees
at a town hall meeting with
Premier Bill Vander Zalm and
the cabinet, held in Terrace the
previous evening.

Williams said the mill needs
to export logs — its permit was
cancelled this year as part of a
provincial policy to do away
with shipping whale logs
overseas — in order to survive.

“We went over our present
situation, our financial situa-
tion and we suggested some
solutions,” said Williams after
meeting with the cabinet.

He said the sawmill has lost
$3 million since its permit 10 ex-
port ended.

‘The mill wag é aporting logs
of more than 30 inches «in
diameter because it doesn’t have

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the machinery to mill them.

Money from the export sales
was used to offset losses in pulp
wood the company cuts and to
buy additional logs to feed its
mill, said Williams.

“We're. only getting half of
what we used to get because we
have to sell them on the
southern log market. And
there’s an oversupply on that
market,”’ he said.

That export amounted to
about 10 per cent of what the
company cuts each year, said
Williams,

While unable to confirm the
appointment of an outside con-
sultant to examine the com-
pany’s affairs, Forests ministry
regional manager Bob Friesen
said the situation was ‘‘certainly
under review by the govern-
ment, there is absolutely no
question about that.’’

However, although every
possible solution to Wedeene’s
problems would be explored, he
cautioned the idea of permitting
log. exports was ‘‘very un-
palatable. [t would be hard to
take that measure given the sen-
timepts of, the, _ broyince, about...

log exports,”? he said, “adding all.:

other avenues would likely be
looked at first.
Williams maintained We-

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deene would only need to export
logs for one year in order to im-
prove its financial position and
then attract an investor to
finance the machinery necessary
to mill the larger logs.

He said a recent possibility of
West Fraser putting money into
Wedeene failed because of. the
latter’s financial position since
exporis were cut off and
because of a general downturn
in the woods industry, he said.

“What company would want
to put money into a mill that is
in trouble? If this was .a year
ago, people would be knocking
at our door,” said Williams,

“Our problem is that we
don’t have enough money right
now to pay back our creditors,””
Williams said.

“We should have shut down
the mill months ago. Every day
we operate now, we’re losing
money,’ he added.

Williams said the a cabinet
decision must take place within
the next two weeks before
creditors take action. ,

Friesen said he could not say
how long the government would
take. to complete it’s review. but
agreed, given the company was
already in receivership, ‘‘It’s all
going to have to come together
in days, not weeks.’”

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