ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R?2 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

Ad - The Terrace Standard, ecescey March 13, 2002 ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 « FAX: (250) 638-8432

. PUBLISHER: ROD LINK WEB: www.terracestandard.com UNLESS THE federal Liberals change their

minds soon, it’s going to become more expen-|

sive to fly to and from Terrace. That’s because of a $12 one-way tax ($24 for a round trip). The proceeds are allegedly going toward paying for increased security measures stemming from last Sept. 11. It is to start April 1.

Consider this tax a form of preventative main- tenance — we’re paying to keep something from happening. But this kind of preventative mainte- nance makes sense only when there is a measur- able chance of something actually happening. It becomes a form of an insurance policy. The chances of an incident justifying the paying of $12 to fly in and out of Terrace are low. Instead, this tax is simply a federal revenue grab.

What might make sense is a tax based on dis- tance travelled. Flights from the north down south would then justifiably be placed in a cate- gory where a lower levy is imposed.

This tax is particularly ludicrous for Hawkair passengers. Hawkair flies in and out of the south terminal at the Vancouver airport. There is no se- curity at south terminal because of the domestic nature of its traffic. Because there is no security there, Hawkair passengers leaving Terrace don’t have to go through security at the airport here.

So even though there is no security requirement here and no security requirement at the south ter- minal, Hawkair passengers must still pay that $12 one-way tax.

That firewood

“PHONE UP ex-MLA Helmut ‘Giesbrecht and ask him what single issue. got him the most criti- cism when he was in office. Chances are it’ll be the decision — soon reversed by the NDP — 1998 to do away with free firewood in provincial parks. The usually calm Mr. Giesbrecht went to the mat with then-environment minister Cathy McGregor to correct the injustice.

Now it is the turn of the Liberals to eradicate free firewood in the exact same mean-spirited, penny-pinching, city-slicker kind of move.

One of the few pleasures left in the world is setting up camp at a spot at one of our beautiful provincial parks, lighting a fire and getting all smokey. Axing firewood is only the start. Camp- ground closures, fee increases and commerciali- zation will follow. All will combine to eradicate what is an affordable and enjoyable experience for the average person.

The Liberals, while in opposition, constantly criticized Mr. Giesbrecht, saying he was subser- vient and that he wouldn’t speak for the north.

He proved them wrong on firewood. Now it’s time for the new MLA, Roger Harris, to prove his critics wrong on the same subject. If there was ever a tailor-made northern issue, this is it,

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach ‘PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur

NEWS: Jett Nage! NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang

FRONT OFFICE: Dariene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Stacy Gyger TELEMARKETER: Stacy Gyger COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik

SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.25(+$3.94 GST)=60.19 per year; Seniors $49.50 (+$3.47 GST)=52,97; Out of Province $63.22 (+$4.43 GST)=67,65 Outside of Canada (6 months) $152.34 (+$10.66 GST)=163.00

MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS eocianow CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIAT AND @ CNA suer

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2001 WINNER CCNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION

Komuauearry WI 0 abiaeratiog Pabea

“pith Guten tie wat

Serving tha Terace and Thornhill ares. Published on Wadnasday of each weak al 3210 Clinton Street, Tertace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2,

Stories, pholographs, illustrations, designs and typastyles In tha Terrace Standard are the proparty o! the copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid., Its illustration rapro services and adverlising agencies,

Reptoducion in whole of in part, wilhoul written parmission, is spacilically prohibited,

Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash.

Special thanks to all our contributors ard correspondents for their time and talents .

OIRICE 02

Women

VICTORIA — I want there to be no doubt: I am in complete agreement with Lynn Ste- phens, the Liberal MLA for Langley and Minister of State for Women’s Equality who said in so many words that women this day and age in Canada have the same oppor- tunities as men.

In an interview in the Lan- gley Advance News, Stephens said the disparity between men's and women's average pay exists because women want to work part-time, “That's a choice they have made,” she said.

“People make choices. This government is not about to say you can do this, but can’t do that. From choices flows everything else. You are free to work where you wish, for whatever you wish; you are free to live where you want.”

You can quibble with her chaice of words, but the gist is

true. Women today have - the ::; -. same opportunities’ a8- mens

Some, would argue that the |

scales are tilted in women’s —

favour.

No sooner did Stephens re- marks hit the news, than women’s groups joined in a shrill chorus, attacking her and demanding her resignation.

Jane Bouey, a member of the national executive for the National Action Committee for the Status of Women, said the comments had left her

are bett

LOST CAUSES er off nowadays

Ww

‘FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER

speechless (we should be so lucky), and called for Ms. Ste- phens to leave her post.

Give me a break.

Allow me to first mention a couple of examples from my own immediate experience. My wife did her master’s de- gree in her late 30s, when we had still four kids at home. She did so in evening courses t-the -University,.of,,. ‘ictoria, hile'holding, eaten ttime.! Jobe T looked after:the skids.

Our daughter” Tuns”a_ suc- cessful business and she bris- tles at suggestions that women have fewer opportunities than men. Our sons agree with her. But there are statistics, more reliable than my personal fa- mily observations.

College-educated women, age 27 fo 33, who have never had a child, earn close to 97 per cent of men in their demo-

graphic, In the past decade, the number of female exec- utive vice-presidents has more than doubled and the number of female senior vice-presi- dents has increased by 75 per cent. .

Some of these women will inevitably go on to CEO jobs. In 1994, women earned more associate, bachelor's and mas- ter's degrees than men. Women have outnumbered men in graduate school since the mid-1980s.

This is not to denigrate the role women’s advocates have played over the past three de- cades. In fact, it is fair to say that without them, women wouldn’t be where they are today in modern North-Ameri- can society.

Thirty years ago, in my job, it was unheard of that a women would cover the legis- lative beat. It was my collea- gue Nancy Brown who broke

» that. barrier, when Fred Barnes, the. managing ‘editor,’ assignéd |

‘her to the legislature and. re-

fused to cave in to pressure ~

from the press gallery that she be replaced by a man.

I also vividly recall a story I did for the Winnipeg Free Press in the mid-1960s, which involved a single mother who had applied for a mortgage to purchase a house. She was a lawyer.

The bank’s mortgage per- son, a man, of course, tald her

in sc many words that she was a bad risk for the bank, but if she could provide a doctor’s certificate that she had had a hysterectomy done, weli, the bank might just look favourably on her application.

The. disparity, indeed the outright discrimination against women in the workforce was blatant in those years, and women’s groups deserve full credit far setting things right.

But somewhere along the line, they ought to realize that the war is won, though some battles remain to be fought.

What Stephens said is ba- sically correct. Women in the workforce today are not discri- minated against. They do enjoy the same rights as men. To call for Stephens, Tesignation for her comments is nothing short of harassment.

Discrimination against women is making them wear full-body veils when they don’t want to. Discrimination against ‘waitin is forbidding ‘thérh''to

«leave their home without being

accompanied by a man. Discri- mination is forbidding them to teach or be doctors or even go to school.

What the shrill voices of women's groups are saying about Stephens is utter non- sense.

Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com; Tel (250) 381-6900; Web hittp:/iwww.hubertbeyer.com

Who'll notice if | take it home?

A WIDE selection of up-to- date magazines in the wailing room isn’t a sound benchmark for choosing a doctor or a no- tary public, but exploring cur- rent magazines shortens any wail and takes your mind off what lies ahead.

My first dentist subscribed to Field and Stream, manual of big game hunters and trophy fishermen. | was neither, My present dentist takes Time, Macleans, People, Reader's Digest and even kids publica- tions, but his wall rack is in full view (and hearing) of other patients and two office staff, Tearing out even an ad from one of his magazines is unthinkable,

Along with limited choice, ancient copies, and magazines of no interest to me, a big fail- ure of waiting room reading shows up, or rather fails to show up, when people tear out items they can’t resist — re- cipes, knee slapping cartoons, instructions for knitting Christ-

mas tree decorations.

If professional offices of- fered to photocopy a page or two for a nominal fee, their

Te (eet) Se

THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

waiting room magazines wouldn't resemble a Sears ca- talogue after toddlers with scissors are tired of it on a rainy day.

Instead of tearing a cookie recipe from a Canadian Living undercover of a trumped up coughing fit, we could add to our cooking scrapbook without cannibalizing the magazine We could ask the receptionist lo make a photocopy, and pay 20 cents,

So far I've never snitched a page from a waiting room ma-

gazine, but I’ve wanted to. Once, at an optometrist's, a woman’s magazine index pro- mised How to Get Along With Your Adult Daughter, page 64. I have two, sweet girls I'm proud of, but which mather hasn*t searched for the hairline no man’s-land between support and interference?

Thinking [ might at last have found the road map to harmony, I flipped to page 64. Missing. Gone, too were pages 65, 66, and 67. The entire arti- cle had been lifted. If that par- ent could have paid 80 cents, or some other nominal charge, and had the four pages photo- copied, maybe they would have been there to guide me.

While I've never snitched a page, [| have contemplated sneaking out with a complete magazine. It happened only days ago on an impromptu visit to a new office. The ma- gazine is American, available only through subscriplionand this was the most recent istue.

The magazine has 68 pages of colour photos and reader written mini articles about people's everyday lives. [ sal-

QUNO\THE TouRBuST x] we woN'TGeT Any

(S DUEIN Town AT §] MORE GARDENING,

ANY MINUTE! DONETHAT'SWHAT-/ GARDEN IN } TS HERE ANY NIHE ARCT!

DID KNOW) (DO YoU HAVE ANY THEY COULD )(FROST FREE MoNTAS?.

ivated over its pages, noting the tractor swap section my brother-in-law could put to use; ] compared to the cover to Nor- man Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post paintings; and gave it several trial fittings in the outer pocket of my hand- bag.

I weighted the pros and cons of thieving it. The magazine is intended to entertain all visit- ors, not just me. Taking it, even for ten days, would be theft, albeit petty theft, Return- ing it might be awkward, em- barrassing, and far from as- sured; a follow-up visit wasn't likely. I could mail it back in a plain brown envelope. ,

If the issue had been tat- tered, out-of-date, and stripped of pages, ] could have said, “It may be dumped in the garbage any minute anyhow.” Burt no, It's cover shone bright and glossy. | Waiting room magazines don’t define the quatity of care

" you can expect fram the pro-

fessional, but cannibalized ma- gazines point out long waits.

ARE THERE ANY

3 S THAT AY EARTHWORMS a FOLD JTS FAR NORTH? J Ve . fa eat, Za GN

mane

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