Al6 Terrace Review — Wednesday. May I, 1991

Regional district chairman’s role called into question over Kitimat port issue_

by Tod Strachan

- Conflicting views on the Kitimat port development proposal have

‘become a problem for the smooth.

operation of the regional district ‘board of directors.

The problem first surfaced at the opening .of the. Apiil 20. board meeting when director Les Wat- mough asked that a resolution passed. at their March meeting be

brought back to the table for re- consideration. The motion in ques- .

tion offered support in principle for a:Kitimat marine terminal and was opposed by directors Wat- mough, Alice Maitland and Sandy Sandhals. :

At the April 20 meeting, how-.

ever, Watmough sald the support offered in that motion should be questioned in-view of the lack of information forthcoming from proponents of the project. One of those proponents is in fact the board chairman, Jack Talstra, and Watmough wanted to know Tal- stra’s position on the board if faced with a lobby from the Kiti- mat-Terrace Port Society.

Talstra suggested, however, that the minutes of their March meeting had been circulated for at least a week, giving Watmough sufficient opportunity to submit his objection to the motion in writing. He also noted that no one at the table was offering vocal support for Wat-

mough’s request, and with that

declined to reopen discussion on the motion, Kitimat director Ray Brady then moved that the minutes

‘be ratified, and his motion was carried without opposition.

The port issue resurfaced later on the agenda with a report from the board’s Economic Committee, but ‘Talstra had that report moved to the end of the agenda. When the time. came to deal with the report,

Talstra noted Watmough’s con-

cer, turned the chair over to Brady, and left the meeting before the discussion began.

Following some debate, _ the.

board tumed to a second motion

made during the March meeting: that the board establish a consen- sus opinion to be presented to the

Major Project Review Process in

Vancouver on May 7. A position statement drafted earlier by admin- istration was finally accepted with asmall addition, That addition will note that the position paper only represents the board’s view on the technical aspects of the port, and that more will be said at a later date on the Major Project Review Process and the formation of a Kitimat-Terrace Port Society.

In brief, then, this is the official position of the Regional district of Kitimat-Stikine: The board sup- ports an “approval-in-principle" decision on the proposal... "The. benefits of this project are expected to outweigh possible negative aspects and remaining issues and information require- ments should be manageable dur- ing the permitting phase of this project."

At the same time, the statement also notes that any impact on

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THE RESULTS PEOPLE.

cach office is independently owned aad operated

municipal services, although expected to be small, will be Kiti-

mat’s problem and it is therefore

not appropriate for. the regional board to comment. Also, any prob-

traffic, when considering the con-

dition and quality of highways 16.

and 37, would be something for the: Ministry of Highways to worry about. The same stand is taken on

the impact of the development on.

fisheries habitat.

The position paper then addresses the matter of large-scale industrial development in the Kitimat-Ter- race corridor. Following this note,

“Cumulative impacts should be

manageable,” the report lists a few possible developments, including a CNR upgrade and a copper smelter/refinery complex.

On the economic side of things, the paper is critical of the diver-

TERRACE

sion of goods and jobs from Prince:

Rupert to Kitimat and the fact that

although the development requires ‘ a public subsidy, little information

is offered on revenue sources, the

_ distribution of revenues, and the profitability of the port proposal.

The position paper does acknow!1- edge, however, that economic benefits could -be created by a Kitimat port development. Listed

are transportation cost savings making manufacturers and supp-

liers along the Highway 16 corti- dor more economically viable. Competition between Prince Rupert and Kitimat ports would encourage efficiency and offer an alternative

if service at one port was dis-

rupted. And the construction of a port could attract further industrial development in the Kitimat-Terrace corridor. There are some, though, who are not convinced that more

industrial. development is what we need,

The’ greatest criticism of the Kitimat port proposal, however, comes in the closing paragraph of the paper. There are "strong mis- givings", according to the report, over the prospect of an appointed authority | acquiring jurisdiction over land in the Kitimat-Terrace

' corridor.

"In part, trepidation is a conse- quence of not knowing the final manifestations of a port authority and a provincial ports policy, but creation of an entity which may not be answerable to the local community is a source of anxiety," the paper concludes.

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