Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 15, 1992 TERRACE STANDARD) Rod Link ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1998 . Tevbiia No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C, V8G1S8. Phone (604) 638-7283 Fax (604) 638-8432 Secving tha Terrace area. Published on Wednesday of each week by Carioco Piess (1969) Lid. at 4647 Lazelle Ave. Terrace, Oritish Columbia, Stores, photographs, ittus trations, designs and typestyles in the Tatrace Standard are the property of the copylight holders, Including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid., its tte lustation fapta Services and advertising agencies Repioduction If whole or in part, without wtitten permnission, is specifically prombited. Avthorized as Second class (hail pending the Post Office Depanmant, for payment of postage in cash. Gu Publisher/Editor: Advertising Manager Marlee Paterson Production Manager: Edouard Credgeur . Jett Nagel — = sports Malcolm Baxter — Naws, Arlena Watts — Typasetter, Rosa Fisher — Front Office Manager, Carolyn Anderson ~ Typeselter, - |- Susan Cradgaur — Cornposing/Darkroom, \Janet Yi Vivelros — Advertising Consultant, Sam Colfer — Advertising Consultant, - Charlaen Matthews — Circulation Suparvisor roe, Special thanks to ail our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents, EDITORIAT, Taxing times The new year has barely begun to stretch its limbs and already govern- ments are nibbling on our incomes. Two examples show that while we stumble through life, others slide their fingers ir in- to our pockets, First up is the average 1.64 per cent rate increase wanted by B.C. Hydro. The amount may not seem significant but the reason is. It comes from an increase in the tax charged by the provincial govern- ment to water users.-All B.C. Hydro is doing is passing along the increase to its consumers. The tax was introduced by Bill Bennett ~ in the early 1980s and frozen for the past seven years. During last fall’s provincial — election, Mike Harcourt said he wouldn’t create new taxes. After the election, he fuzzed the issue by saying that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be in- . creases of existing taxes. The increased . water tax is a perfect example of this kind of slick action. Thanks, Mr. Har- court. Second on the list are changes to In the _ Things are looking up at city hall, at igditiifeyou thave'control-over its purse strings: “There’s" a: surplus of at least $750,000, That aniount is sure to grow because snow clearing costs in December weren’t anywhere near the budgeted amount. . The obvious question then is what will council do with the money? It is of course prudent to have an amount tuck- ed away in case something awful should happen. It’s also nice to have an amount gathering interest of some sort to ease the necessity of raising taxes. But 750,000 big ones is a lot of cash. Does the city need‘to have this amount in the bank? Does it know what is a pru- Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) in which people can tuck away money and shelter its growth from in- come taxes, For years the limit, for those without pension plans, has been 20 per ~ cent of a person’s income to a maximum _ $7,500, whichever comes first. The federal government has changed that, effective the 1991 taxation year on 1990 earnings, to 18 per cent of a person’s income or $11,500. Sounds pretty decent until you look at the numbers. A person earning $30,000 could have contributed a maximum $6,000 under the old level. The new level reduces that amount to $5,400. Yet a $60,000 earner can increase a contribution from $7,500 to $10,800. This may be kind of academic anyway given that not many people can afford to maximize their RRSP contributions. Yet it does point out that the federal govern- ment’s pledge to be the party of the mid- dle class is so much baloney. bank dent amount to have on hand for emergencies? Perhaps council is using a mathematical formula tied to potholes. The formula requires that the surplus. should grow according to the number and size of the potholes. A cruise around town can point to the validity of the for- mula. This doesn’t mean those potholes will ever be filled. We’re talking math -here, not driving convenience or safety. Or perhaps council is building up a political war chest leading to the 1993 municipal elections. If that’s the case, you can expect the surplus to grow this year to be followed by nifty projects be- ing announced in late 1992 or early 1993, Lure of the wild Hope — not fish stock levels . — keeps fishermen casting out and reeling in, Watch the average fisherman once he’s submerged his hock at the end of a 70 foot cast. He hunkers down on a cold rock, props up his rod freeing his hands, and lights a cigarette. Through Bifocals | by Claudette Sandecki iE | | , he PA ED IF | CAN * p fale WAN EY“ EP DYING ON US so | oa (BigP gf oc From then until his rod dips, you'll see more animation after lunch in the TV room at Ter- raceview Lodge, ‘So what if our prime rivers are fished out. No one should balk at paying a $10 premium to fish them. The only visible dif- ference between fishing salmon- infested waters of the Skeena is the number of fish taken home at the end of the day. Until — something nibbles the bait, fishing is exactly the same either place. Why don’t we hush up about our dwindling salmon stocks; let fishermen be happy. Fishing license sales and tourist visits can be buoyed to their 1999 levels if tackle shops and resorts emphasize our rivers’ potential. Tourists should be easy to sell on the advantages of fishing where there’s:a gamble. Even choosy fly fishermen ought to grab the bait. Surely they don’t enjoy throwing everything back? ~We can remind tourists how much they can save when they . don’t have to replace lost lures, _ ripped Aine, and Pinelired in- flatables, en Without the excitement of br- inging in a whopper, pacemaker wearers wouldn't suffer a heart attack just as they're slipping a net under a twenty-pounder. They would be spared the fee of an ambulance ride, emergen- cy treatment, and prescription medications. They would even avoid a tongue lashing from a hervous spouse, no small borlus. Deprived of fish to clean or to keep cool, they can. dispense with buying ice, sharpening knives, and toting an ice chest. That’ leaves uninterrupted in- terludes for relaxing in the sun, Upping: the hat over the eyes, _and napping. With both hands free to swat mosquitoes. Gradually clothing will lose its ‘fishy odour, ” Real fish demand accurate measurements; fantasy fish in- vite elastic dimensions, Depen- _ ding upon the tale-telling com- petition, the fish-that-never-was can grow to rival Bjossa without fear of contradiction, Any fisherman-who gives up ainsing bait: like a racoon and ‘settles for casting one tine a day ‘s’soon, ‘hooked. on- comfort — no shoulder bursitis: no tennis elbow; no wrist tendinitis. Fossil imprinting of the hind end, sure. Some things never change, When we moved here 24 years ago, any time my husband fail- ed to catch even a minnow, he was told, ‘You should: have been here last: year.?? You can - hear the same excuse today. Some things never change. As a game warden said to a fisherman caught without 2 -licence, ‘'There’s no such thing as practice fishing. Hither you're fishing, or you ain’t," is a ND FE RRAGE (S FLEARLY MARKED “Keeping private a public matter VICTORIA — The new NDP government appears determin- ed not to repeat the mistakes of the Dave Barrett ad- ministration which came roar- ing in like a lion in 1972, sear- ing the living daylights out of British Columbians, The votes had barely been coutned back then, when the new government took us on a wild roller-coaster ride, spook- ing not, only the business com- = munity, but the population in general. | Three and a half years later, Barrett found out that you can’t do too much tao fast, His government was unceremoniously turfed out of office, The born-again, pinstriped NDP government seems to have learned from the past. Premier Harcourt is pro- ceeding very cautiously, too cautiously, in the eyes of some observers. Lest this caution continue at the expense of some badly- needed changes, I would like to remind our new premier of one promise in particular he should keep — the promise to bring in some real sunshine legislation, When the B.C. Legislature _meets again this spring, British Columbians have a right to ex- pect the new government to br- ing in a comprehensive Freedom of Information Act. After all, that’s what Harcourt said he would do. **I can assure you that within the first session we will bring in a freedom-of- information law, not an access to information law,’’ he said in his response to the 1991 throne speech. I think that shows the dif- ference between New Democrats and Social Credit. They talk about access, and it’s almost a grudging word, : They may give access to citizens; we believe in freedom of information. It’s your infor- mation, the citizens’ informa- tion. It’s not our information,’’ he added. I’m not the only one expec- ting Harcourt to make good . From the Capital by Hubert Beyer on that promise, and do’it quickly. The: Freedom of In. : formation and’ Privacy: 7! te ~ Association (FIPA) expects “*"’ some action on that score early onin the next session, In.a recent newsletter, the organization said experience around the world has shown that the best chance of achiev- ing effective freedom of infor- ‘mation and privacy protection legislation is during the first six months of a new govern- ment’s mandate. - “To put it in the frankest terms, a virgin government has nothing to hide, and every reason to want to keep it that way. Revelations about past government misdeeds cannot harm them, and they have — we hope — an undiminished sense of accountability to the people who elected them,’ the newsletter stated. The Socred government’s proposed legislation, -which died along with the previous government, was seriously flawed, according to the group. The problem. with the proposal was that it wasn’t - weighed in favor of the public’s right to know. FIPA. says that in contrast to the previous government, the NDP administration has quite a number of members who are deeply committed to the concept of freedom of in- formation, including Barry Jones, Tom Perry, Darlene Marzari, Moe Sihota, Andrew Petter and, of course, Har- court. FIPA says it is eager and willing to help the new govern- ment develop effective freedom of information legislation, I think the government should take them up on that offer. in a comprehensive report - ‘last year, FIPA said that governmerits gather, use and disseminate enormous amounts of infosiniation:$ inchiaing: 1 polltiéal? economic\ social’ wid? environmental, Few people will! disagree that everyone should have access to this informa- tion. ‘ Information of a personal nature, on the other hand, should be protected from il- legal or unwelcome snooping. Thus the need for both access ° to and protection of informa- tion, Just how important it is to protect society from govern- ment abuse of information ; became clear after the changes _ in eastern Europe, where governments had. amassed in- credible amounts of informa- tion about their citizens, none of it for benevolent reasons, I don’t wish to make any comparisons between the autocratic governments that were toppled in eastern Europe and our own democratic in- stitutions, except to say that the more control we have over the information our govern- ments gather, the better, FEPA boils down its sugges- tions to the following points. Access to information legisla- tion, it says, should contain a clear statement providing the general right of access to infor- mation held or controlled by government. Exemptions should be few and specific. » Privacy protection legisla- tion, FIPA says, should pro- tect the privacy of personal in- formation about individuals collected, used or held by government institutions, and _ provide individuals with a right to have access to and correct ‘their personal information. There you go, premier, The ball is in your park, Let's see you keep your promise, Ts A SPECIALLY LIMBED SPRUCE THE. GEST MARKER (N THE BUSH II? STEAM LE AEE trae a 1-47 THE Gx PORTAGE iS NoW CLEARLY MARRED WITH ORANGE TAPE!)