‘Rolling, rolling, rolling Champion choppers

Canadian Tire has found the land.

to build a store here in Terrace\NEWS Page A8

Picture perfect

Photos and results from this year’s Skeena Valley Fall Fair\COMMUNITY Bi

|The logger sports at the fall fair once again drew a large | crowd\SPORTS BG

me WEDNESDAY - Ms SEPTEMBER 11, 1996

93¢ PLUS 766 GST. VOL. 9 NO. 22°

Union forces target city hall

By JEFF NAGEL THE NDP MACHINE that helped re-elect MLA Helmut Giesbrecht is about to go back into action for this fall’s municipal election campaign.

Local New Democrat workers hope to use their already-warmed-up election team to blow Terrace’s right-leaning council out of city hall,

Slates of candidates are being formed to run for Terrace city council, Kitimat district council, and the new amalgamated Coast Mountain School District board of trustees, according to Terrace and Kitimat District Labour Council spokesman Norm Lavallee.

“We've got some individuals already, but we just don’t have the full slate yet,’’ Lavallee said.

He said a political action committee is working on getting the full slate in place

mw Mayor to run again, page A5 mw City’s growth could signal changing politics, page A5

g Every vote counts, Page A5 a Amalgamation to trim num- ber of trustees, page A5

and confirmed.

“We've got one so far for city council and twa so far who have thrown their hats in for school board,’* Lavallee said.

Others are considering candidacy, he said, but those are the ones who are actually con- firmed to rin.

“You're really going to be surprised with

who some of the candidates are,”’ he added. Lavallee said they also have two candi- dates confirmed for Kitimat council and

one for the Kitimat seats on the new School:

District 82 school board.

He says the group hasn't decided under what banner the candidates will run,

Lavallee said raising money will be a big part of the election, adding he expects there will be a substantial war chest — in part from jocal unions — to bankroll ihe campaign.

“'There’s already dollars committed to it,’’ be said. ‘We know how important it is,’’

Lavallee said the municipal election campaign is part of an overall strategy to

Mike Scott,

Lavallee said a major issue with the city will be the contracting out of union jabs.

The current council steadily worked toward privatizing many city functions, and the proposals now being considered to build a second sheet of ice may also in- volve privatizing the existing arcna and aquatic centre,

Lavallee said the present council has had a long history of anti-union behaviour, noting they’ve consistently refused to honour labour-sponsored proclamations.

A significant municipal push by the left would be intriguing because it would harken back to the days when Mayor Jack Talstra and Helmut Giesbrecht were in

keep the machinery warmed up for a feder- al election next year, where the labour groups hopes to oust Skcena’s Reform MP

Continued Page A5

M@ Take a deep breath

THE NORTHWEST BOASTS some great kayaking waters, as John Trewhitt found out as he headed over Vetter Falls, in the Nass Valley. He and Mike Misskey, who took thls photo, dis- covered they had to hold their breath when they went over, That's

because their boats were totally immersed in a nine-foot-deep pool at the botiom before they popped back up. Kayaks are sealed tight against dunkings like this, and the air trapped inside the slender boats propels them quickly to the surface.

Loaded gov't money truck a problem for Giesbrecht

By MALCOLM BAXTER

FOREST RENEWAL B.C, may not be getting value for the millions of dollars it’s been dish- ing out lately, says Skeena NDP MLA Helmut

Giesbrecht.

He made the comments on the eve of a board meeting of the provinclal crown corporation at which it'll decide what to do with what is turn-

ing out to be an embarrasment of riches.

“There's a lot of money being shovelled off that truck,”’ Giesbrecht said. As an example of it being shovelled in questionable directions, he pointed to the five-year, $5 million study of por- cupines going on in the Shames Valley, west of

Terrace.

Maintaining much was already known about the prickly creatures dining habits when it came to young trees, Giesbrecht noted local ex-forest industry worker Les Watmough had effectively demolished the study idea in a recent letter to

the editor in The Terrace Standard.

For the past three years, Forest Renewal B.C. (FRBC) has receivdd $400 million annually from increased: stumpage paid by forest com-

panics,

Giesbrecht polnted out it had failed to spend

that amount in any of those years and, as a result, will bave accumulated a nest egg of about $900 million by the end of this financial year. ‘Will it ever be able to spend it?’’ be

asked,

corporation’s surplus.

eral revenue account.

It also required FRBC money be spent on forestry and forest Industry related projects.

Those conditions and their belng put into law - 80 that government couldn’t arbitrarily change the rules 10 divert the money elsewhere - was one of the reasons the forest industry publically

supported the stumpage rate increase.

“Who owns the forests anyway?”

FRBC’s wealth combined with the provincial government’s budgetary woes has prompted ment. speculation Victoria has its eye on the crown

The legislation that established FRBC puaran- teed it would receive two thirds of the revenue resulting from the 1993 hike in stumpage rates - the remainder went into the government's gen-

Asked if diverting that money now might make ihe industry feel it’s support was secured under false pretenses, Giesbrecht retorted,

Not forest companies, he pointed out. He also

wondered what was wrong with putting that moncy into general revenue ‘‘to benefit the people who own the resource.”

‘There are needs out there,”’ he emphasized, adding Victoria is having to contend with con- tinual cost off-loading by the federal govern-

‘Things change,’’ Giesbrecht said, suggesting some members of the FRBC board might not have an ‘‘obsessive, possessive view’’ about their bankroll.

While saying it was FRBC's call as to whether it handed over some of its surplus to Victoria, Giesbrecht noted that if it declined to do so the government could change the legisla- tion if it wanted to.

- As to where the money should be spent If it is diverted from FRBC coffers, be said be would prefer to see il go toward capital projects rather

penses.

Using it to prop up operational budgets, he added, would simply create the problem of trying to find similar dollars again in future years, The FRBC board is scheduled to meet tomorrow.

than be ‘‘frittered away’? in operational ex- .

Norm Lavallee

Tsimshian continuing treaty effort —

NEGOTIATORS working on the Tsimshian land claim hope to agree on how treaty talks will take Place this month.

They’re close to signing a framework agreement which -

sels oul how the Tsimshian and the federal and provincial,

governments will work toward an agreement in principle: Me

A tentalive framework agreement was — prepared - this: spring and it’s now awaiting signatures of federal and provincial senlor politicians and Tsimshian chiefs. -

The agreement in principle, when negotiated, provides the foundation for a final settlement. | ‘Chief Tsimshian negeotiater Gerald Wesley says his group is already working on the issues to be involved in. the agreement in principle stage. ;

“We're waiting for the final Signatures. In the meantime we're working on going beyond,” be said. :

Wesley and others estimate the agreement in principle will take atleast three years and perhaps as long as four years to negotiate.

“There are some who aormally say il’s a two year pro-

cess and we looked at that and wrestled with it and decided it couldn’! be done in that time period,’’ said Wesley.

“The other negotiators can only meet with us once every six weeks for two days al a time so when you look al that over two years, that’s not a lot of days,”' he added.

That’s what happened with the Nisga’a who went into talks with the federal and provincial governments thinking that a short negotiation period was possible,

Their talks were extended several times until a Nisga’a agreement in principle was finally signed earlier. this-year,

Wesley said a longer period for the Tsimshian. is preferred as the seven individual villages involved in the talks will need time to examine Specific issues: affecting them.

And as the Tsimshian continue down the land claims path, they are also working on solving boundary overlaps with the neighbouring Nisga'a. That story Page Af2.

Fire vote set

SOME RURAL residents will vote Nov, 16 0n whether or not to extend fire protection east and seuth of Thornhill.

Arecent fire commissioner's report indicated that fire ser- vice was needed td protect the communities. whieh are quite a distance from the Thornhill Fire Hall. .

Regional district officials expect wo volunteer fire halls would be built: The exact locations have ‘yet 6 be decided. but one will prabably’ be near Lakelse. Lake - covering the lake and Jackpine Flats, .

The other will likely. be on Highway 16 East, protecting homes near Copper River Kleanza Creek. Usk and, as: fur ats Chindeniash, ;

Both halls will -be equipped with puniper: “tankers aimnilixe to the $149,000. truck recently purchased by the Thornhill Fire Department, ;

In addition, a-separale 2.500 gallon tanker would have tt be purchased to shuttle water from a-water-source ta # fire.

The tire commissioner's report also suggests there bea full-time tire chief to handle the increased department, rath- er than the existing part-time chief position.

Thornhill RD director Peggy Julseth says that the ex pun- sion is necessary: to adequately-serve the odilying areas, and suggests thal the increased-tax costs to residents will be cove ered by insurance ‘decreases. we

“What residents fiaind when Kalin Noirth caine under ‘Thornhill protection’ was that their insurance costs went down considerably." Julseth says. "Taxes will increase, but hopefully nat to the siime degree.”

The exact costs of the project: and cost to the’ twxpay ei are dot yet known. However. the full finineial pichtre: wil be iv ailable by the time of thé referendtim in November: ;

Public infortnation meetings sometime in October to. pies.

enta packape to residents,