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Native blockades of logging roads in the Kispiox area may have only begun to heat up. In fact,.in supporting these block- ades, the Village of Hazelton municipal council has suggested that if the Ministry of Forests

“continues. to allow ° increased harvesting in the area that con- trol of: forest management in the Kispiox region should be per- manently turned over to local in- terests.

by. Tod Strachan

In a letter to Minister of

Forests Claude Richmond, .

Hazelton mayor Alice Maitland says that the Village of Hazelton. will oppose any additional pulp or sawlog sales in the Kispiox

area until Native land claims

‘have been settled, an effective forest management plan has been compiled with full public

consultation, and all proposed

timber sales have been properly mapped and assessed by other Crown agencies as appropriate clearcut sites. The opposition was registered following a recent advertisement by the Ministry of Forests offering the sale of 6.52 million cubic meters of pulpwood in the Kispiox valley _to be harvested over 25 years. .. Maitland says that her council _ finds the advertisement *for the sale of surplus quota as ‘‘objec- tionable”’ because the advertised sale represents more than a 20

- percent increase fh -the annual

allowable cut in the Kispiox

‘ Timber Supply Area at a time_.

when a public planning process into managing the Kispiox forest " resource is currently only in the initial -stage. “It seems insulting

to announce. a 20 percent-plus

increase in the existing Kispiox. -

TSA .annual allowable cut before the TSA planning process is concluded,’’ Maitland wrote to Richmond. “There is enough mistrust. of the Ministry of Forests without making a mockery of yet another public advisory process.”’

‘According to Maitland, on

Nov. 30 Hazelton village staff —

requested a map indicating: the location of the 6.52 million cubic meter pulpwood sale and were told that although general logging areas could be: pointed out, no exact map existed. In ad- dition, she says, the area of the ‘sale has not been referred to the

. Ministry of Environment or any ‘other Crown agency to deter-

mine if the area in question is en-

vironmentally ‘safe for harvest. -

“Isn't it premature,” Maitland writes, ‘‘to advertise a cut volume as available when (1) you don’t know where the cut is, and (2) you haven’t vetted the proposed harvest folios with other agencies for the provincial and federal governments?”’

Maitland points out that the Gitksan-Wet’suwet'en Heredi-

tary Chiefs have instigated

blockades in the Kispiox TSA to force reduction of the harvest of local forest resources: until a Supreme Court of Canada deci- sion, expected between 1995 and 1997, ‘can be made regarding issues of aboriginal rights and ti-

tle. She adds that the B.C. Court . of Appeal upheld a Gitksan-

Wet’suwet’en application for an injunction against a new logging area north of the Babine River in

1988 and this most recent sale is

- Pulpwood sale creates problems,

apparently partially located within that same area.

“To .advertise: additional timber quotas as being available in the land claims area is an in-

_ sult to the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en and an invitation to have the Chiefs. force a complete shut- down of the Upper Skeena forest industry,’’ states Mait- land in her letter, The recent Ministry of Forests advertisement that caught ‘Maitland’s eye calls for a 25 year non-replaceable pulpwood agreement utilizing. wood ‘residues, pulp logs, pulp quality

timber stands and deciduous stands from all or part of Pulpwood Area No. 17.. A number of areas are listed, but specifically an annual cut of 250,000 cubic.meters of timber in the Kispiox TSA. Over 25 years this would total. 6.25. million cubic. meters of pulp logs. _

'. Other areas included in ‘the

advertisement are the Kalum (north) TSA: with a 100,000 cubic meter annual cut for 25 years, Kalum (south) TSA 40,000, Morice TSA 75,000, Lakes TSA ‘75,000, TFL#51

Terrace Review — Wednesday, January.3, 1990 11

director sayS

11,000 and TFL #1 72,000. Ac- cording to the advertisement the primary objectives of the pulp- wood agreement are to create employment and community. stability, and to utilize wood . fiber not currently being used by existing mills. The tender call gives a Feb. 15, 1990 deadline and states.that submissions must include a proposal for continu-

-ance, expansion or the establish-

ment of one or more new mills in the area. A public hearing on the

‘timber sale has been. scheduled

for May 9, 1990 in Smithers.

Land status change endorsed

TERRACE — The Kitimat-

Stikine Regional District board

of directors say they have no ob- jection to the removal of 5.75 hectares (14.2 acres) from the Agricultural Land Reserve to ac- commodate the newe Kalum Wood Products sawmill.

The property in question is presently owned by Skeena Cellulose and is located on the West Kalum Road about half a mile north of the Kitsumkalum Reserve boundary. Kalum Wood Products is currently employing 26 people at the site to build a log-breakdown mill, and they estimate that at least 50

. jobs will be created when they go ; into production next year.

> In a letter to the regional: district describing their project,

-Kalum ‘Wood Products: presi- * dent"R:K. Smurtliwaite says the : property in question has been “used as a’ maintenance site for

logging equipment since the ear-

ly 1980’s, He adds, though, that the site has been under-utilized since Skeena Cellulose con- tracted out their logging opera- tions two years ago.

According to Smurthwaite, Kalum Wood Products con- sidered other locations in the region, but the West Kalum site fit their requirements best; in particular, it is far enough from urban areas to minimize noise and traffic concerns. He says

that Kalum Wood Products has .

since agreed to purchase the property from Skeena Cellulose and is current]y installing equip- ment in the existing building on the property..

. What’s most exciting about this new mill, though, is the type of production proposed by Kalum Wood Products. Smurth-

‘waite’says that the new equip- ‘ment being installed is designed to extract value-added lumber

products from low grade logs in

the’area that are currently being wasted. He says that under cur- rent practices these logs are either left in the bush or turned into chips. ‘‘The log breakdown mill will enhance’ the utilization,’’ says Smurthwaite, ‘fin order to salvage a valuable resource insuring more efficient use of British Columbia’s lumber resources and addressing - proper forest management- environmental concerns.”’ Smurthwaite concludes by saying, ‘‘Kalum fully intends to work with other Terrace area businesses such as Terrace Pre- Cut to upgrade the latter’s plant facilities in order to process Kalum’s product.”’ The full im- plications of this: final statement are unknown at this time, however, because any agree- ments for other local businesses . to benefit from the Kalum Wood Products: operation have

yet to be made.

The Government of Canada recently presented to Parliament a series of amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA). The purpose

of the propose

improve existing legislation and to provide additional funds for programs — and job training in areas critical -

to Canada’s economic future. Major improvements include additional maternity/parental benefits and the extension of coverage to people who choose to work beyond age 65.

- Although passed by the House of Commons on Bill C-21 is still under consideration by the Senate and will not become law on December 31.

Under one section of the current law, workers may qualify for regular UI benefits with at least 10 to 14 weeks of work during the previous

ear. That section of the law expires

anuary 6th, 1990 and until amend- ments to the Act are adopted the following interim rule applies:

Anyone making a claim for regular

UI benefits that would have started

on or after January 7, 1990, must have worked a minimum of 14 weeks during the last year to qualify.

For more information contact your local Canada Employment Centre (CEC). There are more than 500 CECs across Canada; phone numbers are listed in the Federal Government . section of your phone book. - *

amendments ts to

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