Page 4, The Herafd, Thursday, November 1, 1979

TERRACE/KITIMAT

daily herald

Ganeral Office - 435-4357 Published by Cireutation - 695-6957 Sterling Publishers

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EDITORIAL

It was a Slick move. You have to ad- mire the slelght of hand.

The regular meeting of the hospital board members os the society which governs Mitls Memorial Hospital was supposed to be Wednesday, Oct. 25. As the recently resigned administrator, John Allen, had just been charged with fraud, the meeting was delayed a week. That scheduled the meeting for Wed- nesday Oct. 31.

While we were a little puzzled that the board would agree to meet on Halloween, we thought it might be somewhat appropriate since there were rumors of skeletons in the closet. We assumed the meeting would be held as scheduled,

The meeting was held Tuesday evening, however. It was as it has been for some years now, held behind closed doors.

The chairman of hospital board, Wayne Epp, has vowed that the board meetings will not be opened to the public.

We do not feel that a public institution should be run by people who meet in secret,

VICTORIAG REPORT

by FRANK HOWARD

In the fifth edition, or translation, by Edward Fit- zgerald of the Rubaiyt of Omar Khyyam the following appears

Ah, take the cash, and let the credit go,

Nor heed the rumble of a distant drum!”

While Khyyam was referring to a philosophy about life the quotation, in my view, aptly applies to the attitude of Socreds Bob Bormer and Premier Bennett insofar as B.C. Hydro electric power is concerned.

B.C, Hydro earlier this year was criticized by the legislature’s Crown Corporation Committee for being too big, monolithic and unresponsive to public con- cerns. Nothing seems to have changed either in Hydro's structure or its attitude.

On Oct, 2 B.C. Hydro announced that it plans to apply for the necessary approvals to proceed with the development of a hydro electric project at Site C on the Peace River. That announcement caught the government by surprise on the part of government we see the fine hand of Premier Bennett pulling the strings and playing us for fools.

Point number one in the “surprise” aspect.is that energy Minister Hewitt promised uc a comprehensive statement on energy policy which he hoped to have ready before September but which was obviously nat ready at that time. So Hewitt is surprised that B.C. Hydro would go ahead with the Site C announcement before the government had identified its policy direction.

Remember that the energy policy statement was being developed according to Hewitt with B.C. Hydro as a full participating element in the team. Was it a “surprise?” T think not. m,

Point number two of the “surprise” is Premier Bennett's statement in July of this year that his government is looking at the sale of firm hydro power to the U.S. Why wouldn't B.C. Hydro want to proceed with Site C and have that firm power available to sell to the U.S.? Was Premier Bennett “surprised?” Certainly not.

Point number three Is in B.C. Hydro’s press statement of Oct. 2, Hydro tells us that the Site C project will be connected to the province-wide power grid system. This meana that the 975,000 kilowatts to be generated at Site C will be pumped into the provincial system with the distinct possibility of taking those kilowatts out of the system closer to the U.S. border and export them to the U.S. as in the words of the Premier,”"firm hydro power.”

In the jargon of the electrical energy sales business firm power means power that Is guaranteed to be delivered, In other words we won't be able to turn off the switch as we are when we export what's called interruptable power.

In applying that portion of one of Khyyam's quatrains to the current energy proposals we see that the provincial government is intent upon taking the cash (U.S.) and foregoing the credit, which we would have if we paid attention to the future generation of British Columbians.

That rumble of a distant drum is an environmental and economic rumble which the short-sighted Ben- netts and Bonners of this province are prepared to gniore.

MTA

.

quirt‘’em again’

the Heruld

OTTAWA | VIEWPOINT

\ | by JIM FULTON

atthe House of Commons is sitting regularly, it Nowe weful for me to outline what my schedule is, what works before the House, and what my activities will be.

Throughout the summer and the fall up to the opening of the House, I spent two weeks in the riding, then one week in Ottawa. This gave me the chance to keep up with events and problems in Skeena, as well as doing the required correspondence and work in Ottawa. I visited virtually every community between May 23 and October 10, from Atlin near the Yukon boundary to Sandspit on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Of particular interest to me was a week long tour through Cassiar, Dease Lake, Stewart and the Nass Valley with Dave Barretf and our new Atlin MLA, Al Passarell. Those communities are more isolated and don’t always get the attention fram the media and the

TTERGATE? ~

VA

Editors getting warier

By RON SUDLOW

VANCOUVER (CP) — Editora and publishers of British Columbia daily newspapers vow they won't be duped again by political propagandists using fic- titlous names in letters-to- the editor columns.

A Canadian Press sam- pling of newspapers with smal], medium and large circulations has revealed new policies aimed at authenticating authors of letters in the wake of the so- called dirty tricks letter- writing scandal perpetrated by the Social Credit party during the May 10 provincial election campalgn.

“I've got a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach that we've been had and I’m pretty mad about it," says Larry Scanlan, managing editor of the Nelson News.

“The letters-to-the-editor column is a powerful forum that reflects public opinions and we're not going to get caught again,” .

Scanlan saya a check has revealed that 12 letters from people who didn't exist were published by the News during the 1979 election campaign and four fram the 1875 B.C. election.

The tougher line on checking letters has resulted from an official Soclal Credit tape distributed to party members during the last election campaign. .

On the tape, Jack Kelly, a government caucus researcher, tells a seminar how to put other people's surnames on letters critical of opposition parties and candidatea and send them to newspapers.

An existing name and address is used but the first name or Initials are changed in an attempt to fool papers which check the author's authenticity.

Party researcher Elien MacKay Is heard to add that the names are checked

PHONEY LETTERS

rarely and that ‘it's quite a bit eater to do than you might

Kelly has resigned his government job, Misa MacKay currently is on leave from her job.

Ron Greig, former assistant to Premier Bill Bennett's communications Planning adviser, resigned two weeks ago after reports linked him to a phoney letter printed by the Victoria Colonist.

Bennett said he questioned him about the letter but Greig refused to comment.

The affair now is in the hands of police who have been asked by the attorney- general's department to examine suspected forgeries. Newipapere looking back to fast election campaign this week came up with several letters whose wrilers can’t be authenticated,

Nearly all of the letters are critical of the New Democratle Party but party president Yvonne Cocke says the NDP does not plan its own investigation.

The Colonist, which has published an apology for one letter written under someone else's name, this week asked

letter writers to include a .

phone number where they ean be reached during the day. Previously, letters were

. accepted if they were algned

and included a return ad-

dress, «

“We'll be taking a hard look at new policies in the next election campaign but I don’t know what they are yet,” saya associate editor Don Vipond.

“Now, it’s sort of a war be- tween political zealots who use the (letters) page, or part of il, for a propaganda sheet and guys like myself to see that they don't.”

Vipond says the fake letters will stand out more now that newspapers ate

more aware of them. ."

“They have made us more alert to being used and we're golng to make sure that we're not used.’ -

Scanlan says he feels the scandal has taught both newspapers and political parties a lesson,

"Even lf the long, black shadow doesn’t extend to the premiler's office they’ve still got a black eye from this, [ hope they've learned from this: I know we've learned and we'll be doing everything we can to avold te? '

John Farrington, publisher of Nanaimo Free Press which printed three of seven phoney letters written by Norman Hobson, a local Soclal Credit constituency association officer who later resigned, said authenticity checks have been intensified to include phoning writers or talking to them in person,

“Notices of reunions or letters from foreign coun- tries asking for pen pals are the only ones that will get into this paper without being checked,” he says

“lm a little disappointed in people who would use and con a paper in such a way, It may mean that some people will refrain from writing letters to the editor and I hope that will not happen."”

Publishers of amaller newspapera have said they lack the resources to check all letters they receive and Dennis Stanley, B.C, and Yukon Community Newspapers Association president, saya the political dirty tricke campaigh has undermined a basic freedom of all British Columbians.

“] think it stinks. (Members of the) Soclal Credit party are supposed to be defenders of freedom and free enterprise and here they are undermining one of the baele freedoms of free ac- cena to letters-to-the-editor.”

again,’

Y’ politicians that they deserve. There are a lot.of im- portant issues in the works in that region: uranium exploration near Atlin; the possibility of hydro dams on the Liard, Stikine and Iskut rivers; the continuing questions of Indian land claims; the Alaska gas pipeline. It was an excellent trip and I want te par- ticularly thank Dave Barrett for joining Al and myself. [should alsosay that both the fishing and local hospitality ‘were very enjoyable. includes about 100 With the House silting regularly, my schedule will munity. newepapers base be changed. I have arranged with my fellow caucus turned over to RCMP members to be absent from the House three or four suspect letters published by days every third week, so that I Hl be in the riding on a hls Arrow Lake News inNa- regular basis. Naturally, I will also try to get to kusp. : particular events that require my attendance. My “T think everybody's golng representatives in each community are keeping me’ to have to be more careful informed of riding news and are very ably handling when they're thinking of the problems and requests that come to them.

Stanley, whoee association

running a letter to the editor M ; F ' y duties, over and above representing Skeena and think that’s rather constituency, include sitting as the NDP represen-

tative on two House committees: Northern Pipelines Citizen editor, has foundtwo and Natural Resources, and acting as our party’s polltically-sensitive letters spokesman on mining and small business. The Con- whose authors cannot be seryativeshave promised to expand the role of the all- confirmed. He also plans - party commiltees. ] expect both of my committees to more thorough checking cf he yery active with a large number of important lellor writers, Sun and questions coming before us: the oil and gas lines from Proviwe were on strike Alaska, energy self-sufficiency, the prices of energy, during the election cam- tC. Took forward tethis work a great deal as we must paign but the Sun published a clearly start developing alternative energy policies. fake letter in August that The House of Commons sits every day and during © was criticlal of an appoint- the evening on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. As ment by the former NDP well, the committees sit frequentiy during the week to government. consider legislation, examine witnesses, and

Tony Skae, Prince George

- ‘The Sun apologized for the scrutinize the budget requirements of government

letter and publisher Clark. departments. The procedure is not easy to grasp at Davey believes this will give first, but veteran MP's such as Stanley Knowles have greater credibility to its been very helpful to me and I'm now feeling more letters pages. comfortable in dealing with House rules.

peer ole will say lthey've Question period, now televised, has been the most don't. want to be bitten active part of most day’s business, I have directed a again.’ Leece H ‘Humber of questions ‘to the Prime Minister and the Both he.and Provinceypub- . Minister of the Environment about the movement of lisher Paddy Sherman say Alaska oil near our shores or through our territory. As the curr ent letter-writing we are restricted to only four or five questions each scandal wl | die down ut day (based on a party’s number of seats and at- tenaifying Pore to verity tendance in the House), our members take turns as the identities of authors, the issues and opportunities present themselves. With Sherman says letter. committee work, my portfolios, question period, and writing campaigns by the on-going riding concerns, I find my days (and politica! parties are not new nights) quite full. pat the dirty ticks deter «ic AS 1 mentioned, my representative in Terrace is normal process... . they're a ‘always available to you at 638-1818 in.order to solve forgery, period.” - problems, provide information, forward requests to And phoney lettera aren't me in Ottawa, and arrange for local appointments or restricted to politics, says meetings. Please do not hesitate to call or you can Sherman who recalled a write me directly in care of House of Commons, Ot- celebrated case where his tawa paper's letters colurnns were : used by two writera to attack each other, A subsequent check revealed both names were

phoney.

"We were gonna soap the guys windows, when he gave it to us!"

The smiling face of Evan Wolfe announced Monday that once again the provincial government has run up ‘a surplus. ; .

The government acts as though making money was the purpose of government. They seem to think that making $200 million a year is something to be proud of.

Well, it isn't. Not when you do it by cutting back on services to the people you are elected to serve.

It is a businessman's function in society to make money. That is what businesses are for. If they don't make money, they fail.

Governments appear to operate on the same basis in this country nowadays.

The Socreds in B.C, run up a $188 million budget

surplus by cutting back money services such as debt councellors in Terrace.

The Lougheed government in Alberta threatens the unity of the country of which they are a part by telling the other provinces that oil prices will rise to world levels, whether they have to or not, and if the rest don’t like it, they can go somewhere else for oil and

gas.

Whatever happened to government for the le? What do the people of B.C, gain when servicesvare cut back in order to create budget surpluses?

What do the people of Canada galn when Lougheed’s Tories raise the prices of ofl to pad the Heritage Fund further and further into the billions of dollane? ‘

And what do the people of Canada gain when their

business resources are materpriser sacrificed on the altar of ‘free It gives one to wonder what our elected officials are really doing. We all know they want to get re-elected. ° In their recent efforts to do so, they are hurting us. Perhaps we should look beyond the dollars and cents next time elections roll around, and concentrate on what we really want from government. & if itt is good government, let's have it, If it’s fancy figures an charts on easels, well, then we already

It sure isn't my idea of government, though,