A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 3, 1993

TERRACE

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 « FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: 638-7247

"YUP YP wa % Jy

A 35 BILLION DEBT... AND \T'S ALL MINE..

Jim Fulton |

LAST WEEK’S third place showing of the New Democratic Party in Skeena stands as a testa- ment to the achievements of now-retired Mem- ber of Parliament Jim Fulton.

For four elections, Mr. Fulton forged a unique coalition of people in the northwest. They may not have been New Democrats for the most part but they did recognize the abilities of man able to both represent a wide and diverse riding and

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to highlight issues of national interest.

Without the glue that Mr. Fulton provided, the coalition fell apart. Many people who did vote New Democrat before stayed home. Others drifted to other parties and individuals they felt best suited their personal goals and feelings.

Nobody could fill a room as did Mr. Fulton. Very few could match Mr. Fulton’s responses whenever a constituent had a question. There are literally thousands of people out there who, after writing or contacting Mr. Fulton, received via return mail packages of information.

Not many Members of Parliament equalled the efforts of Mr. Fulton during the lead up to the Charlottetown Accord referendum of last fall. Despite Mr. Fulton’s personal feelings, he pounded up and down the constituency holding meetings to provide information and then answer questions on the Accord.

To be sure, Mr. Fulton had his goofy moments. Slapping that dead salmon on the House of Com- mons desk of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

comes to mind as did his private member’s bill -

to decriminalize marijuana. But both did get a message across — the policies of the federal government which allowed salmon to go to waste and the hypocrisy of the law when applied to the use of marijuana. gee as

eilive FON

If any. group misses Mr. Fultoi the iiost it ‘will ~

be the native community. He was — and is — a sympathizer to the native wish for more control over their lives. But he also realized that native aspirations can only exist within the greater con- text of Canadian law and society,

Mr. Fulton hasn’t denied a return to public life someday. For those who enjoy a flair for the dramatic, it will be a welcome event.

- Asleeper

AS THE profile of.the municipal election slowly prows, one sleeper issue could be the fate of the library expansion. Conceived five years ago, the expansion is now held up because of cost. Tax- payers approved borrowing $1.2 imillion but that isn’t enough.

_ The plan all along was for the difference to be.

made up by a GO BC lottery grant. That program was killed when: the New Democrats were elected in 1991.:They now have their own grant program and a new application has been made.

There are some.who believe that the city’s abortive attempt to build a civic centre in 1991 —

and its own requirement for a GO BC grant put it in. direct conflict with the library expansion plan. It was highly doubtful if a city the sizeof Ter-

race would have qualified for two major GO BC

infusions. : -

The civic centre plan was soon abandoned but not before the proposal, as some suspect, fatally wounded the library plan. Any

can only help those existing council members

who wish to be re-elected.

SS ES A a , PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link

Gon ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm

- PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur Malia NEWS. COMMUNITY: Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter

OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher COMPOSING: Pam Odell * TYPESETTER: Tricia Walker 7 ' |’ DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Charlene Matthews

Bening the Trace area, Pubkshed on Wecnesday of each waok by Cariboo Press (1965) Lid. af G47

Lacie Ave, Terrace, Bitish Columbia.

Stoles, photigtaphs, Hustratons, dasigns and typestyle inthe Terrace Standard are the property of the sonnigh bekees, nekdrg Carina Press (i 0) Ui, We Mlustration 16p0 mains and advertising

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" Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents Joe doe thelr time ahd talenta 60 ee

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VICTORIA — If ever Premier Harcourt had an op- portunity to show British Columbians that he is. in charge, it was just recently. Unfortunately, he missed it by a mile. . When. four of his cabinet ministers and one backbencher broke ranks and sent a letter to their constituents, blaming the courts for turfing more than 60 Clayoquot Sound protesters into prison, he should have fired the four ministers on the spot and made it clear that the backbencher had better forget about ever getting into cabinet. What Moe Sihota, Elizabeth Cull, Andrew Peiter, Robin Blencoe and Gretchen Brewin

‘did Was inexcusable; “!"*"

‘ Not only did they hang the premier and the government

~ out to dry by calling into ques-

tion the decision to allow limited logging in the Clayo- quot Sound, they called. the courts into disrepute, a shock- ing action, especially consider- ing that two of the five, Sihota and Petter, are lawyers.”

And don’t take my word for it, Take it from W. A.-Esson, chief justice of the Supreme

. Court of British Columbia,

who felt compelled to make a

‘FROM THE CAPITAL. HUBERT BEYER

public statement regarding the matter, something reserved for very unusual circumstances, Mr.: Justice Esson’s letter was a blistering ‘indicimént’ of anyone who ‘has been heaping abuse on the courts in general for what they believe to be tao harsh sentences for the protesters." But his _ special scorn was reserved for'the five NDP MLAs. Read on: “Throughout our history, but with increasing frequency in recent years, there have been periods of a surge in incidents

of public disorder, At such.

times, there is frequent recourse to injunctions and to

_ ,contempt proceedings,

** Through it all, the judges of *

the court must continue to do their best to hold an even hand, often in circumstances of ex- traordinary stress. We would tather be doing other things.

“We accept with such forti- tude as we can muster the sometimes vigorous, often ill- informed criticism of our deci- sions and procedures which come from people caught up in the emotions of the day,’’ Mr. Justice Esson said. And then he flogged the five NDP MLAs:

**But we are entitled to ex- pect better from political lead- ers and lawyers and are dis- tressed to see some of them joining in critical comments ‘pelatihg to" proceedings Which are ongoing.” " mS

The question must be asked: why didn’t Harcourt act decisively and dismiss the cab- inet ministers on the spot? The ‘consensus jis that he knew about the letter in advance, even though he may not have - known its exact contents. That’s the impression the premier himself left, and if that’ were the case, he would, of

course, have been unable to —

fire the four.

Thave, however, good reason —

Legal letter nails politicians |

to believe that Harcourt had no

. idea the letter was belng sent

out, and that he decided to pro- tect the four rather than feed them to the lions, But before the four cabinet ministers start feeling too com- fortable in their jobs, I’d like to point out that they aren't out of the woods yet. If one reads the letisr they sent to their con- stituenis and Mr. Justice Es- son's public statement careful- ‘ly, one cannot escape lhe con- clusion that the wayward MLAs may still find them- selves in court on contempt charges. The chief judge was certainly not amused by the criticism of ithe: court proceedings by min-

Pree be

‘dsters of the Crown.-‘And- if

“bet you dollars to doughnuts” that as more protesters’ are being dealt with in the weeks to come, defence lawyers will wave the constituent letter be- fore the judges like a red cloth. - Thope Mr. Justice Esson will forgive me for commenting on the proceedings, but I firmly believe what’s good. enough

‘for the protesters should be good enough for cabinet minis- ters and. MLAs. The five should be hauled before the courts on charges of contempt.

Rip roaring high fashion —

A FEW years ago New Yorkers fueled a fad of paying big bucks for cast-off blue jeans and jean jackets that had been worn out by working cowboys. The more worn, torn

‘and faded the garment, the _ frendier.

In fact, each garment. came with.a ‘‘pedigree’’ naming its

former wearer, the kind of ~

work he did where, and map- ping every rip and stain. The pedigree was ammunition for

' cocktail: battles of oneup-

manship. . Now’ you can buy ready-

‘ripped jeans from Sears. “The

finishing touch for that strect- wise look — ripped at the - knees and back of the leg. Reg- ular $34.99. On sale $24,99.”’

. According to Webster, street-

“wise is “‘possessing the skills

and ‘attitude necessary. to-sur- vive in an often violent urban environment.’ What's violent

"about riding in a truck with

velour seatcovers, punching

"+ Bumbers in an automatic teller, ‘| or selecting books at the public . library? These are past times

WHEN Witt T EVER BE A: NORTHERNER ?

ro Siri REXALL | ie ER

THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

where ripped jeans are often the fashion of choice.

Where did. this trend of blatant slovenliness originate? I first encountered revered rips

in 1965 living in Missoula, -

Montana. A chemical engineer and his family, home on vaca- tion from Libya where. he worked for a petroleum com- pany, invited us to dine out.

They were living at the time in’.

an expensive. motel, ‘driving rented four-by-fours, and send-

MEAT AND TEA NOT

| WHEN YoU CARRY DRY

FREEZE -DRIED GEEF

ing alt their laundry including socks to a professional cleaner.

Though his blue jeans had creases sharp enough to per-

form cataract surgery, both

knees gaped from side seam to side seam, allowing his bony kncecaps to. protrude with every flex of the joint. The frayed gaps were all the more incongruous with his polished cowboy boots, fitted Western shirt, and string tie. I needed an snug leash on my cyeballs:

to keep from staring at his fad

fashion.

When I was growing up, any gaping seam exposed not only your anaiomy but your mother’s housekeeping. Rips, however tiny, were promptly repaired as inconspicuously as possible. Rips. of Sears’. size sidelined the garment to the

_ Mending heap unt! Mom hed time to lift the lid on the treadle Singer. .

Carpenters, loggers and labourers you'd. expect might wear tattered pants, given the ruggedness of their work

UJ wien THE SCENERY A |S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ‘YOUR CLOTHES

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‘wa =

WHEN You DON'T PRIWE PAST 100 MILES oF BUSH |

hazard. Why, then, are ripped jeans so appealing to the desk set? , ’ Is there status in the size, raggedness, and position of the tips? Is a tear on the back of the left lez worth two on the tight front? . Could be. Tears seldom oc- cur ‘naturally on the rear leg ‘because that fabric gots less wear, is stronger. Usually we encounter ripping hazards from the front. ; Aud how does a factory tip jeans — by.machine, or care- fully by hand? The fact these jeans are all ripped at the knees and back of the back left leg suggests a revolving mechani- cal monster. Ripped jeans are suitable to _ wear while cleaning scrap tum- ber from the backyard, when applying for welfare, or during a divorce settlement. How bet- ter to argue alimony - pay- ments? : ae _Maybe divorce is _ the violence that’s clevating ripped jeans to fashionelegance.

WLLILAA, TOUGHER THAN

FAWHEN You 4 & THOUGHT !!

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