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WEDNESDAY February 2 24, 1999

a a ee ee

By JEFF NAGEL

TOTAL RECALL — a plan to try to recall all 40 NDP MLAs and defeat the government — is real and a local or- ganization is beginning to form, says the leader of last No- vember’s unite-the-right rally.

‘ Steve Cook, spokesman for the Northwest Coalition of Dissatisfied Citizens, said total recall has a much better hance of success than the individual recall campaigns that iried but failed to remove Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht and two other NDP MLAs.

He said many local people were angry with the govern-. nent but reluctant to sign recall petitions that were seen as picking on individuals.

‘In smaller communities the personal attack is not some- thing that’s palatable ta a lot of people,”’ Cook said. “But with this you're in fact recalling the entire government, not an individual.”’

:*“There’s a difference in flavour aud there’s more sup- port for that,’” be-said.

While recall campaigns would go shead against all 40 NDP ML<As, total recall forces would need to unseat only

DEMPSEY BOB, world renowned native carver, has created two large masks for display In the Vancouver International Airpart's domestic termi-

‘STANDARD

Recallers gather for another

five of them to put the opposition in position to defeat the government in the legislature. Although all! NDP members would be targeted, Cook

said, the greatest efforts would be concentrated on a small- .

er uumber of constituencies where polling indicates there’ s the best chance of victory.

“We'll know where the focus is going to be but the government won’t,”’ he explained.

Unlike an individual recall campaign, the government would be forced to spread its defences out thinly across all NDP ridings.

Simultaneous recall campaigns against all government MLAs would also galvanize public attention province- wide, he added.

Coordinating total recall plans province-wide is the Surrey-based Concerted Citizens of B.C., which organized a unite-the-right rally in Cloverdale.

Group spokesman Kevin Falcon said the plan is to have everything in place for the six-week petition-gathering blitz to take place in late spring, before summer vacation season.

nal, The masks, made from red cedar, are the largest Bob has ever made. Images of the bear and the human being are carved on both masks.

“We're keying in on May 1st for kickoff,”’ Falcon said.

He said they hope to link up with local people in each NDP-held riding to run local recall campaigns. Most dis- cussion has so far been between cxisting unite-the-right groups fonned in Surrey, Prince George, Williams Lake and Terrace.

He said Concerned Citizens of B.C. has commissioned a firm to poll 12 NDP constituencies, including Skeena, to determine which ones are the most. vulnerable to recall and report back by mid-March...

After that the push. would be to get local organizations in

-place and then to phone canvass-every registered voter in

the largetted ridings lo gauge support for a recall campaign

93¢ PLUS-7¢ GST.

VOL, 41 'NO..46 --

Snowmobile hill climb upsets skiers using Shames

to bring down the government.

““By doing that we will have identified all of our support

in those ridings,”

Cont'd Page A2

Falcon said. ‘'The beauty of this ap- ' proach is three-quarters of the work is done before you ever file your recall ‘papers. ”

Steve Cook

New hospital overseer called tough and fair

THE PERSON hired to restore financial slability to Mills Memorial Hospital comes with a reputation as a tough but fair admin- istrator, ;

Tom Novak, who starts March 1 trom a job as chief executive officer of the health council on the Queen Charlotte Islands, is credited. with turning around. an operating deficit there of more than $600,000,

‘Tt shows you be has a very efficient |

managerial slyle,’’ said health ministry of- ficial Anne McKinnon last week, <‘He’'s obviously a good choice,”’ ,

Novak’s being billed as an .‘ ‘executive mentor’. His hiring on a 15-month contract followed a series of incetings between the Terrace and Area Health Council and the health ministry over continuing annual cp- erating deficits at Mills Memorial Hospital.

Novak originaily comes from the Prairies and has been on the Charlottes since July 1998. He arrived. there to find the health council, the creation of a recent merger of various health care sacicties, in a chaotic financial situation.

According to a July 16, 1998 story in The Qucen Charlotte Islands Observer, health

council outside auditors couldn’t be sure |

whether financial statements reflected (rue financial position. ,

They estimated the health council had spent $635,000 more than it had for the year ending March 31, 1998, —

Novak took a $5 million budget for the year ending March 31, 1998 and prepared a

budget for this year of approximately $4.8 |

million, It contains a health ministry- approved deficit of $250,000,

He cut nursing hours, saying the Queen. Charlotte City hospital was relatively over-

staffed, That lead to protests from the B.C.

Nurses’ Union, says another story in The Observer. Administration services: were also streamlined, -

Caro!-Aine Pasemko, health services manager . for. the Charlottes health council, said she’s ‘Sorry to see Novak £0.

“‘He’s very: financially responsible. and ' knowledgeable, ”* she said, adding Novak's style is to make workers responsible for the budgets they develop.

The Charlottes health council runs two hospitals, one in Queen Charlotte City and the other-in Masset, as well as several com- munity clinics..

The Queen Charlotte City hospital is soon to be replaced by a new one containing 14 acute care.and cight long term care beds.

There was some controversy over the

location of the new facility with some

health council members saying they wanted to re-apen debate over where it should go. In a Sept. 17, 1998 article in The OB- server, Novak is quoted as saying, ‘‘I have been through this in the past in Alberta and I wasn’t as stern with the board, and we lost a $17 million project. It’s either go for what you want or delay it and risk losing it.” The Charlottes health council budget is a

-liltle Jess than one-third of the one for the

local health council.

Charlottes bealth council chair Barry Pages said Novak was able to.reduce costs - without affecting overall health services.

There was opposition fram nurses over cuts and that continues, he added.

‘But Tom stood firm. He was slong in that area,” said Pages,

Pages did note that the departure. of, Novak puts his health council, for the short term, itt a tricky siluation given he had just begun to set right the council’s finances.

Auxiliaries return |

THEY’RE DISAPPOINTED but 13 local auxiliary RCMP officers will be back on the streels without their weapons this weck;

“We owe it to the people,” said auxiliary officer Jim [ppel Feb. 20 following a mect- ing and vote of the auxiliaries.

He said everyone from city council to the general public has supported them.

Many valunteer officers will now wait and see how their service changes before considering leaving the program. :

“Weve been told we can‘do anything we could do before,’’ he said, They just can’t carry guus while they’re doing it.

Only one officer indicated she wanted to quit for safety reasons, And two more aux- iliaries are out of town and haven't been

abl: lo voice their concerns.

Terrace auxiliaries, as did their counter- parts across the country, stopped volunteer- ing last April when Atlarney Genes Ujjal Dosanjh pulled their firearms.

Dosanjh agreed late last year to arin aux- iliary officers but added the final decision rested with RCMP Assistant Commissioner Murray Johnston. He decided Feb. 10 that auxiliaries shouldn’t be in enough danger to warrant carrying firearms.

Uniforms will stay the same until cnough moncy is raised ta pay for new ones. To Ip- pel, the longer that takes the beller.

“If we bad different uniforms, we could stand out and become a target,"’ he said.

THERE [S MORE than just great powder on the minds of some Shames season ticket holders.

Skiers and stiowboarders are circulating a petilion asking Shames Mountain to ban events ‘such as the March 6-7 snowmobile hill climb until after the regular ski season ends,

The petitioners are upset skiers and snowboar- ders weren't asked for their opinion.

‘Holding this event prior to season-end dis- plays an uncaring attitude towards people who

support the ski corporation all season, every

: season,’’ reads the petition. : Tania Millen, a regular skier at Shames, feels

the run snowmobiles will.climb is one of Shames’* best. She said ruts left by the machines will make the AOT run harder to'ski and its snow will melt faster.

Betty Barton, a Shames representative, said mountain officials realize the main run used. for the snowmobile race will deteriorate afterwards,

But, she said, another major snowfall could .

fix that problem. And, she sald, there’s a lot of misinformation surrounding the-eveut.- Only two: runs, AOT and Borderline. will

‘close. Hangover, which’ runs out. into the ‘hill. climb spectator area, could close If Shames em-

ployces can’t direct skiers away.

Barton said Shames may hire a bus ta shuttle people to lower parking areas, where snow- nlobilers are set to park.

She: hopes ‘regular hill users will view the evetit as a spectator sport. “IE skiers don’l want to waich, they have.the whole rest of the © mountain to ski on,” she said.

Shames managers will. meet after “the bill climb to decide whether it will be held during ;

tlie ski season-again.

Bartoti said mountain users are welcome to forwarc ‘heir comments lo the corporation. -