": grumbled about being overtax-
~ ed. Yet, given a chance to blow
. ‘the ‘whistle: on government
Waste, how many of us would

~ Page Ad = Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 951981

. ._ hestation repro services ind advertising agencies. - Ege
Reproduction in wile of in part, without written ion, 1s

_Regraton No. 7020" “A847 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, E BC, “ves 188 (604) 638-7283

, Serving ‘the Tonia atea, Putian on Wednesday ot ech week by Banoo Piass 11968) t00. " er Lacon Ave, Jerace, British Cokumbia.
~ Stories, photographs, Ihustratiens, designs and fypestylas in the Tewace Standard we the meme al the a

2 Autharized aS Secqnd- Glass: Mai Pending tha Pos! Ottide Dapatment, tor payiont at postage it cash.

Mats, Inebuding Cariboo Press 41969) Lid., its a-

Editon
Rod Link ~*~

Production Manager:
-Edouard Credgeur.

Jonna Duncan — ~ Typesatter, Rose Fishar —
arclyn” Anderson — Typesotier, Susan Credgeur —
“aim Coulter = "Advertising Manager, Janet Vivelras — Advertising Consuitant

Sam Collier “ Mario C Consultant me Tomy Miller —

“Front Oflica Manager

“ Camposing!Darkroom

~ Circulation Supervisor”

pe anks to all
‘our contributors and. |
‘correspondents for we opes

Aid time and:

and claims remains ‘as ‘elusive. as try-

~-ing:to pin. down.a pile of jello by ham-~

mering ‘a. nail through the middle. .

‘Its a perplexing situation given that, -

the | ‘province is now happily beavering
away. as a participant: in ‘land claims.

_-négotiations with the federal government:

and the Nisga’a Tribal Council.
To date, there have been two meetings .

between the two parties and a third is

planned later: this month in. Prince
Rupert. After each of the two sessions,
cheerful press releases were issued saying
progress was being made. But, progress
in what areas?

- Granted, the province is now par- -

ticipating and that’s a. big change

"because it once denied the existence of

land claims. Yet what the’ province will
negotiate and what it won’t-remains a
mystery.
About all we know is that the province
-won’t negotiate separate, sovereign
‘government arrangements. No surprise
‘there. And we've been told by native af-
-fairs minister Jack Weisgerber- that it
‘doesn’t want privately held land, com-
monly held under fee simple title, af-
fected. Big deal. The Gitksan and
-Wet’suwet’en said as much seven years

‘ago when they first filed suit against the .

‘province for 54,000 square kilometres of
northwestern B.C.

slqos ft

yep ioe

° Dsést Wanna buy a port? Prospects |
: ‘for. the provincial government to develop.

“expanded port facilities at Kitimat took
an interesting turn last week when
Kitimat: ‘mayor Rick Wozney introduced

‘the’ p’ ‘word into the equation,

‘The ““p’ word is  politics.. Mayor
Wozney seems to suggest that since the
port is: being backed by the Social Credit
-government and since the Socreds aren't
“popular, an election defeat might not see

‘the development. greeted favourably. by.
_-an NDP administration.

~ Even before the GST, we

Stormy port

,

negotiate . what; it calls fair ‘settlements
* for’ ‘finality. and. certainty, Some of that

-) may come from a sense of. ‘social justice.

- More: realistically, it comes from. prod-
~~ ding by major, resource corporations and
the need to take action before the courts
order it to.
nice warm: issue with which to go to the -
polls.

The. province’ § terms for dealing with
land claims is principles for negotiation.
They were promised in the summer, then °
in early fall, then in late fall, then in ear-
ly winter, then before 1990 ran out. Now |
we're told perhaps, they’ ll be released
later this month.

-.That’s little comfort for residents in
areas where land claims settlements will
have an effect. These missing principles

are very important for‘the northwest —

because of the _ pending
Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en court decision
and of the negotiations on the Nisga’a
claim.

The meeting between the Nisga’a and
the two governments in Prince Rupert
later this month could be one of the last
before they sign what’s called a
framework agreement upon which to
negotiate a settlement.

- It would be nice to know. what is going
on before it’s a done deal.”

“What makes this interesting is the pro: -
spect that some kinds of ‘development
are tied to political fortunes. If you’ve

‘got the right kind of guys on your side,

you: can do things you might otherwise »
not be able to accomplish.

' Then again, governments are suppos-

-ed.to make decisions, especially those -

that involve tax money, for the benefit
‘of all. Good business is also good.
politics. But, is good politics also good

. business?

overriment waste happens

Through

Bifocals
by Claudette Sandeckl

‘Keeping on track

hen’ everyone “goes along”’.
‘ake the case of the Terrace

To. its credit the province wants ‘to |

here’ § also the need for a -

. legislature during last year’s

cheol bus that rambled some
0: km every:noon fetching one
indergarten student from
osswood.’

A. few weeks into the school
ear,
mother moved to Terrace. Still,
or more than a. month after-

trip.
lassengerless,

EF it hadn't been for perplex-
yed. Rosswood ‘residents repor-
“sting. the phantom bus to school
istrict officials, this redundant
oute. might never have” been
ancelled. .

sk?

rom Rosswood to Terrace, the
hool should have been told of
er. new address; Suppose her
hild had needed urgent medical
ttention.: How would. the
chool have reached her?

: Principals ‘know’ which bus

dress) a chai surely the pri
: auld’ have: had. it

“Also; any: bis driver able ta

the student . and- her

- -“ward;-the school bus continued:
Jato make: the daily

" How is ‘that possible, you 7

‘When the mother. “hoved

elementary age) seems a mite

outes their, students. take. Had
he ‘school:been notified of the»

: _dnavigate the Katumt Lake road,

the paucity of passengers on his
overtime run — if not the first
week, certainly during ensuing
days. Or was he accustomed to

‘making the run for nothing

because the bus company
wasn’t notified when the child
was sick. or otherwise not in

need of'a ride 10 school?

Kindergarteners (now called
Year One students under the

“ Year 2000 curriculum must at-’

tend. school. Similarly, . the.

. school district is obliged to sup-.

ply: student transportation,

“though it may choose how to
‘provide it. :

In turn,- the bus contractor

“decides which size bus to.assign .
each route. A.48-passenger bus — .-

(or ?72-passenger, if the kids are’

oversized for one'5-year-old. In-
surance, safety; regulations “or
union constraints may dictate
using'a vehicle with dimensions.
Fre] disproportionate . to its load, ' 7
‘School; District. 88"pays -
“about $1.45 per kilometer’* |

‘roughly the - same

secretary-treasurer. Both must’
have been painfully. aware: of”
this expensive route with its lone
passenger. They had to know
the public would react badly if it
learned so much budget was be-

ing: spent on one hapless ‘child.,

As luck would-.have jit, at
time: -the
parent moved, so did. the
maintenance superintendent |—-

lo Hazelton. No doubt it- would
have. taken ithe: incoming,
maintenance. superintendent
some. time. to ‘become familiar
with all aspects of the bus run.

- Luckily for him.— and tax-

payers —. the bus contractor .

shouldered responsibility,

apologized for the superfluous. :
trips,”

“and refunded mileage
charges.

for busing::So each Rosswood
cost. taxpayers: about ».
$72. 50, or SI, $00 . for ‘five’:

VICTORIA — Fora couple of

*

weeks now, members of the
B.C. Legislature have been
subject to a new Jaw governing
conflicts of interest which
although better than what we

had before, is sijll only a half-.
“measure. -

es a:

From the
Capital

by Hubert Beyer

The Members Conflict fe Ins
terest Act, introduced by'tl ',
_ government and passed by the”

session, replaces the so-called
conflict of interest guidelines
laid down by Premier Vander
Zalm shortly after he took of-
‘fice in 1986... 0

_ The guidelines were a monu-
ment to political naivete, a
manifest of the premier’s belief
that with a little bit of
guidance and goodwill,
“everything will turn out just
fine, a piece of cake, as it ~
were. ~
One of the fatal flaws of the .
guidelines was that the premier
himself and only the premier
decided what was a conflict of
interest, what wasn't and what
to do about it. When it came
to alleged conflicts of interest,

the premier:was judge, jury

and executioner.

Well, as it turned out, the
guidelines were spectacularly
unsuccessful in keeping MLAs
on the straight and narrow, -
and it became obvious that,
“sooner or later, the govern-. -
ment would have to replace
them with something better:

The best way to deal with
politicians’ conflicts of interest
would be-to refer them to the
_courts,-Let’a real judge decide —
what's right or wrong. Unfor-
junately, the government |
didn’ t go-quite that far.
| -The new. law defines stan- --.
dards. of official conduct for.
Meinbers‘of the Legislative :;
Assembly, and provides a
mechanism for the early Iden-
tification and ‘resolution of.
potential conflicts of interest.

The law also provides a.

t

framework for investigating -

alleged conflicts of interest and

“gequires MLAs to-disclose their .
“financial: interests,

WIS You GUS.
J CLEAN. YOUR).
OWN YARDS! ee

40 USE SHaVeLS®

. criminal activity,.

Listen! ‘WUSKIES. EVOLVED To:
Bun AND PULL! HUMANS Evolved

USE A SHOVEL; pL ‘Bo ri:

The new act is, of course, |

_ hot the only law governing the
x conduct of elected officials.
~The Financial Disclosure Act

requires all candidates running

-in provincial elections to .

disclose their assets.
"The Constitution Act pro-

“hibits MLAs from receiving
- money other than their normal
salaries and stipetids, while the

Criminal Code cf Canada pret-
ty well covers ali other

-

The legislation prohibits

members of the legislature

from furthering their private .
interests: by ‘using information. .
gained in the execution of

- public office, unless that infor-.

mation is:also available to the
general public.

‘ According the the new law,
the term “private interest”
isn’t restricted to the MLAs; it

~ can include spouses, minor

children and relatives,
Because they are In a unique

- position to. acquire information

and influence, not’available to

‘other MLAs, let‘'alone the

general public, cabinet
ministers are subject to

. especially stringent regulation.

Cabinet ministers are, for in-
stance prohibited under the
act, from carrying ona.
busiriess, ‘engage in employ-

" ment, practice a profession or
- - hold an office or directorship

where any bf. those activities
are likely:to‘confllct with’
public duties. Social clubs,

_ Teligious ¢ organizations and

political parties are exempted

. from this rule.
MILAs aren't allowed to ac.

cept gifts, The only exceptions
“are gifts and benefits received.
as a result of Protocol or of-:

EY,IFL could)

are ee _ aata
ficial duties. That might in- .

clude plaques or lapel pins. At
any. rate, it sounds close to the

rule most reporters live by: if
you can eat it or drinkitin
two hours, it’s not a bribe,

The whole thing is watched,

_ over by Ted Hughes, former '”

deputy altorney general. The.

-act calls for a conflict of In-.».

terest commissioner, and after
retiring from his former posi--.

tion.as-chief. law enforcement::’
officer of the province,
~ Hughes agreed to serve as the.
conflict of interest watchdog. ":: .
I said at the outset that it".

would be preferable if the ©.
courts dealt with conflicts of
interest, but failing that,
Hughes would have been’ my
next choice, too.

- Hughes is a former judge,
but equally important, he's -

’ distinguished himself as a man ~ °°

of utmost integrity. When the:

justice system was under. siege * _ . |
during the Bill Reid-Bud- 2. :
_ Smith-Moe Sihota scandal,

‘ “budsman and the auditor.

_ of the. legislature ‘and doesn’t
. answer to the government i

1 ACTUALLY. wumaus ONLY
‘EVOLVED 10 OUTSMART:

OTHER ANIMALS J
AA AAA LALA

Hughes held things together:
And if the system survived the
onslaught rather unharmed, it -
was largely thanks to Ted.
Hughes. on :
‘Hughes will now ride herd
on our MLAs, Like the om

general, the conflict of: interest. _
commissioner is an employ:

When the’ ‘commissioner,
finds that ai MLA has‘co
travened the act, he can’
recommend a penalty to’
Legislature. Possible j
~ include a reprimand,
sion fora certain period of
time, a fine up to $5,000
declaring a member's

he sp-aiduter crt sewers eens