Page 4 Cassiar Courier June 1987

OFFICE
OF THE
PREMIER

The Meech Lake Constitutional conference will
be remembered by future Canadians as the day on which
Canada truly became a united country.

Not only will our sister province of Quebec
be brought into the fold as a full member of the Canadian
family, this historic agreement re-shapes and changes
the relationships and the responsibilities of our national
and provincial governments in a manner that bodes
well for our collective future.

British Columbia and all the provinces have
been offered new rights, powers and responsibilities in
the areas of immigration, appointments to the Supreme
Court, federal spending and a range of changes and
amendments that will result in the Senate and other
national institutions becoming truly representative of
the nature of Canada.

What’s particularly pleasing about this Consti-
tutional accord is the way it was reached.

I can recall the acrimony and the bitterness
of the past, when during the debates and discussions,
there was a tendency to label and classify the partici-
pants -- the provincial governments and the national

government -- as either winners or losers or as heroes

or Villains.

It was a time when regional differences and
regional demands overshadowed and obscured our real
goal -- the urgent need for us as Canadians to once and
for all, resolve and settle our respective roles and places
within our Canadian society.

-+> ©. - ~- <2 oo oe oo oe oe

Friends of the Stikine

HIGHWAY NO. 37 LOGGING

On December 13, 1986 an order-in-council of
the British Columbia cabinet allocated the entire Cassiar
Timber Supply Area for wholesale log export. The
pre-election freeze of raw log export disappeared without
discussion or public input. The forthcoming 5 year
plan (yet another one) from the B.C. Ministry of Forests
will undoubtedly concentrate on easily accessible timber,
close to the highway, in the heart of the watershed
between Spatsizi and Edziza. Dare we suggest this could
lead to the upper Iskut-valley which in turn could lead
the way to clearcutting of the Klappan Valley and mid-
Stikine in and around B.C. Hydro’s future reservoir?

If this scenario seems ridiculous, you have not
seen what has already happened along Hwy. 37 - one
of the province’s most scenic highways has been turned
into a haul road for a massive and seemingly desperate
tree-mining operation. Last summer’s dust had barely
settled on the miles and miles of adjacent clear cuts
which now accompany the highway north, when the
way was paved for entry into the Stikine Watershed.

The. District Forestry Office feeds rumour of
impending moratorium to the local inhabitants while
500 trucks per day keep rolling into Stewart with whole
logs for export. Not only are we exporting our natural
resource, but all the economic benefits of logging along
with it as a raw commodity.

“With military-like precision, this heretofor use-
less road to nowhere has become one of the
busiest and most efficient highways in the north-
west”.

Do not hold your breath waiting for a morator-
ium. Look forward instead to the formation of yet
another committee and a concurrent increase in the
rate of cut.

LOWER RIVER LOGGING

Despite 2 public input studies on the proposed
logging of the Lower Stikine, Ministry of Forests ignored
them both and proceeded with a “test cut”. That was
several years ago, and logging continues .... with an
airstrip, base camp and heavy equipment on site. It
is interesting to note once again that most of the econo-
mic gain flows beyond B.C.’s borders - to China who
is buying the logs, and to the U.S. for supplies, and
shipping and handling of the logs.

British Columbians must bear the cost however,
with clear-cut logging of the once-scenic rafting/canoeing
section of the river. The resultant clear-cut to the bank
at the Stikine-Iskut confluence looks like groundwork
for a new Hudson’s. Bay Company Fort, except we are
supposed to be in a more advanced era. Occurring as
it does a few miles upstream from the U.S. Stikine-
LeConte Wilderness Area, and within the newly designat-
ed Recreation and Scenic Corridor, it will indeed be
interesting to see what B.C. Parks can do with it!

GRAND CANYON DAMS

In another bold move, the B.C. Wilderness Ad-
visory Council (1986) re-affirmed B.C. Hydro’s a priori
right to first use of the Stikine River. All other land
use options in the watershed remain at the mercy of
the Stikine-Iskut five dam megaproject which is currently
“back-burnered indefinitely”.

: Notwithstanding the economic and environmental
absurdity of future hydro projects, the government never

It was a time when regional differences and
regional demands overshadowed and obscured our real
goal -- the urgent need for us as Canadians to once and
for all, resolve and settle our respective roles and places
within our Canadian society.

For many, those differences seemed beyond
solution and the prospect loomed of a deepening sense
of alienation in some parts of our country.

Today we can begin to put those days of doubt
and rancor behind us because this conference produced
no losers -- instead, Canada is a winner.

We now have a formula that will bring us closer
together as members of a united country in which we
will all share a renewed sense of equality and national
purpose.

The discussions that led to this historical agree-
ment were long and detailed.

What made it all happen -- what made this con-
ference a success -- was the fact that from the time we
sat down around the table, our discussions were con-
ducted in a spirit of cooperation and compromise that
never wavered.

It proved to me that when men of goodwill
show a willingness not just to talk but to listen, not
just to argue but to agree and understand one another,
no issue is too difficult to resolve.

I know there are those who will shrug and say
the Meech Lake agreement is just another example of
the great Canadian art of compromise.

I have no disagreement with those words, rather
I view them as a compliment to the Prime Minister and
all the provincial Premiers who participated in this. his-
toric process.

Make no mistake -- the Meech Lake accord marks
a new chapter in our history, a new beginning that can-
not but help our “new” Canada to prosper, grow and

. take its place on the global stage as a nation in the best

and most meaningful s sense of the word.
> > 2 2 oe oe oo oo oe -

April 1987

gives up. Site C on the Peace River, is the power-for-
export megaproject still kept alive as a possibility. Once
Site C in on-line, a power-for-export precedent will
be set and attention will be turned to the Stikine - an
engineer’s dream. Gone will be some of the classiest
(6+) whitewater in the world, not to mention the goats
and the Grand Canyon in all its splendour.
MOUNT KLAPPAN COAL PROJECT

The Wilderness Advisory Committee avoided
any reference to the existence of this mine, washing
unit, and holding ponds at the head of the watershed
on the Spatsizi River. While these holding ponds retain
the potential to chemically unbalance the river (and
everything else downstream), Gulf Canada’s prospectus,
which remains the basis for all environmental study,
assures no threat to the fishery because salmon do not
get above the Grand Canyon of the Stikine.

Faced with a multitude of requests for a public
hearing prior to approval of the “invisible 3 year old
‘test dig’ ”, the Environment and Land Use Committee
has decided not to decide ... yet.

“,.. the Spatsizi/Tatlaui region is a world class
wildlike sanctuary and has been the object of
considerable wildlife research, much of which
has been funded by Canadian and U.S. Founda-
tions like the World Wildlife-Fund, the Richard
Ivey Foundation and the Vancouver Foundation.
Consequently, given this international interest,
decisions about the fate of the area should not
be made behind closed doors without an oppor-
tunity for significant public analysis and input”
(Letter from Monte Bassett to Hon. Jack Davis,
Min. of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources,
October 1986).

Given the failure of Crowsnest and Tumbler,
one might ask how the B.C. taxpayer can be expected
to underwrite yet one more of the same....especially
one situated on the fragile divide among the headwaters
of three major river systems, on the high plateau as yet
unrepresented in the Canadinn National Parks System,
in prime calving grounds for Osborne caribou, ostensibly
protected by the ad-jacent Spatsizi Class A Provincial
Park.

A decision is pending on whether approval-in-
principle will be granted (with or without public input)
and whether environmental impact studies will be sought
from Gulf Canada.

STIKINE RECREATION CORRIDOR

A recent article in the Vancouver Sun announced
the formation of a new recreation corridor in the Stikine
watershed. Under its new Minister, Bruce Strachan,
the B.C. Minstry of Environment and Parks has created
a 217,000 hectare recreation corridor along both sides
of the Stikine River from Telegraph Creek 250 km.
upstream to the river’s headwaters. Although exact
boundaries are not known, the recreation corridor is said
to include all of the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, and to
abutt with the boundaries of Mr. Edziza and Spatsizi
Provincial Parks.

Friends of the Stikine are cautiously optimistic
that the Government of B.C. has begun to realize the
international significance of the Stikine Watershed and
that this new corridor is a valid step toward protection
of the wilderness character inherent in the Stikine River.

LARRY GUNO, M.L.A.

(Atlin)

Who” s in charge here?

That’s a question many people are beginning
to ask themselves with the development of a disturbing
pattern in government administration in this province.

I’m referring, of course, to a recent chain of
events which suggest someone is asleep at the switch
in the Vander Zalm government.

Government ministers, it seems, are introducing
legislation to the House without reading it!

First, there was section 35 of Bill 19, which
would allow public employers to fire employees with-
out.cause. When New Democrats pointed this out,
the government seemed surprised and confused, and
said it would have to “get an opinion” on the matter.

Then there were the amendments to the Finan-
cial Administration Act, hidden on the last page of
Bill 19, which would have given the government author-
ity to override spending decisions of locally elected.
school boards and city councils. When we pointed this
out, the premier said, “I don’t know how that got in
there.”

Then, Municipal Affairs Minister Rita Johnston
may have jeopardized the results of a civic byelection
in Delta by enacting changes in the Municipal Act be-
tween the time of the advance poll and election day.
The minister said no one in cabinet realized there was
an election in progress when the changes were made.
Yet the aldermanic seat being filled had belonged to
John Savage, a member of cabinet.

But perhaps the most glaring example was when
Finance Minister Mel Couvelier apologized to the House
for not explaining that hidden in a package of “house-
keeping” amendments to bills was one which would
give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service access
to your tax files. His excuse? He hadn’t read the Bill!

These four examples epitomize the Vander Zalm
government’s approach to public policy. Ministers in-
troduce legislation without reading it. Measures are
brought in without consideration of the timing or their
effect on other legislation or other groups.

Is anyone in charge? I guess not.

Opposition
Leader fat
aS

MIKE HARCOURT

May 7, 1987

Through legislation like Bill 20, the Social Credit
government is breaking its trust with the people of B.C.

“During the election, the premier went around
promising peace and co-operation in this province. Only
a few months later, he’s abusing the trust many people
had placed in him by introducing legislation like Bills
19 and 20,” said Harcourt (Vancouver Centre).

Harcourt also says the government’s education
Bill doesn’t address the real problems in B.C.’s school
system.

“This legislation isn’t going to make the problems
of over-crowded classrooms and below standard learning
conditions go away.”

Instead of supporting the school system, Harcourt
says, the government has brought in legislation which
attacks it.

“The government had a chance to do some major
repair work - a chance to heal the wounds in a seriously
demoralized system.

“But the premier blew that chance by choosing
instead to attack the teachers of B.C., and by doing that,
inflicting even more damage on our students” learning
conditions.” :

Harcourt adds the Bill doesn’t represent the
action of good government.

“Good government would be fair and consulta-
tive. But it’s clear already this government is using the
Legislature t to purines in vindictive legislation.”

THANK YOU

. The Cassiar Lions Club would like to
§ thank everyone who attended the Mother’s
§ Day brunch.

We would also, at this time, apologize

g for running out of food. Over the past three

g years the turn out has doubled and we did not

» count on serving 107 brunches this year. %

Once again we would like to express -¥
our thanks to all local residents who attended
and supported our Bursary Fund.

. a _ SPRING - atime for babies!
Is

TYSON ANDREAS TRAVNIK

sof KEVIN WILLIAM STORIE

‘AT
FATHERS
OF TODAY

by Lorraine Lanteigne
A father is defined as a man who has begotten

a child - but this definition is very basic. Fatherhood
and its demands have greater implications than being
the procreator of a child.

The changing roles of fatherhood in our cul-
ture seem to make “‘Father’s Day” all the more important
as we head towards the year 2000. In my mind, fathering
a child does not make a man a father.

The care and maintenence of the child (or child-
ren) that a man has responsibility for is more important
than many may realize.

In todays world fathers are diaper changers,
clothes, floors and dish washers, furniture polishers,
cooks and bed makers. As well as earning a living out-
side the family structure, they are’ actively involved
with the business of family. For the most part, fathers
of today are no longer distant patriarchal bread winners.
They are men who are emotionally involved with the
joys and frustrations of playing an active role in their
childrens lives.

You still see them as baseball, hockey and foot-
ball coaches, spending their weekends with their own
and other’s children, but you will also see them involved
with piano recitals, ballet performances, and chauffering
the kids to and from swimming lessons, figure skating
and Judo.

Todays fathers are mixing baby formula, creating
nutritious meals, bandaging knees and playing arcade
games with the kids on a Saturday afternoon. There
seem to be some traditional feelings that go along with
being a father, that don’t change.

They still hope their sons will become men that
they can be proud of and fathers still are a bit unsure
and apprehensive as their little girls turn into young
women.

However, one fact remains, with the development
of more open communication, and direct access into
the lives of the children that they have “begotten”,
sharing “Father’s Day” with their children is a special
family occasion.

ab i ee Me Me ot et eo oe ee ee Ss See ae OF Ree he ee ae Pa

TRAVNIK

Danny & Christel Travnik are happy and proud to an-
nounce the birth of their son, Tyson Andreas.. Tyson
made his first appearance on April 5, 1987 at 9:34 a.m.
at the Devon Civic Hospital in Devon, Alberta tipping
the scale at 9lbs. 9 1/2 oz. and measuring 21 1/4 inches.
He is a big, strong, healthy boy. Christel says he’s a
good baby which will make full-time motherhood a
real pleasure. Tyson is the first grandchild for his ma-
ternal grandparents, Oskar and Erna Daum of Chilliwack,
B.C. and the seventh grandchild for his paternal grand-
mother Ljudmila Travnik of Jesenice, Yugoslavia.

GUNNING

Born to Dave and Brenda Gunning on April 13, 1987
at Richmond General Hospital. Lesley weighed 8 lbs.
7 oz. at birth. She is a welcomed sister for Krista.

MICHELLE LEEANN WURTAK

Peggy Wurtak is happy to announce the safe arrival
of Michelle LeeAnn Wurtak. Michelle was born on
April 25, 1987 in Whitehorse and weighed 7 Ib. 8 oz.
A lovely little sister for Jonathon, Samantha and William.

LANDRY/MANSON

Carole Landry and Lorne Manson are pleased to announce
the birth of Jonathan Nicholas, born at Mills Memorial
Hospital in Terrace, B.C. Baby Jonathan arrived as.
Carole and Lorne were moving into their new house
on April 25th, 1987. Melanie’s little brother weighed
8 Ibs. 5 oz. and is a most welcome addition to the family.

STORIE

Beverly and Robert Storie are happy to announce the
arrival of a son, Kevin William Storie. Kevin was born
in Watson Lake on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10th,
1987. This little guy weighed 8 Ibs. 4 oz. and Jenny-
Marie and Bobbi-Gail are thrilled with their brother.

BURGESS/HASSELL

Bor to Christine Burgess and Kelly Hassell on March
24, 1987 in Terrace. This little beauty weighed 8 Ibs.
5 oz. and is a welcome addition to the Hassell house-
hold.

FOR SALE

LIGHT PLANT ALTERNATOR
7. 5KW - 120/208 Volt - 3 phase
or 120/240 Volt - single phase
Master Alternator
Without engine.

ROTOTILLER
Craftsman - 7 H.P. motor

RADIAL ARM SAW
Craftsman 10” - 2 H.P. motor

5TH WHEEL TRAILER & PICKUP
1978 Chev 4x4 3/4 ton and front hubs
400 automatic transmission - 350 Engine

Trailer - 8x16 foot flat deck with pockets
tandem axles, 7 - 15 x 5 - 8 ply tires

CALL 604 - 778-7389 AFTER 5:30 P.M.

EXSURSIONS
Scenic River Trips

the Stikine River

LEAVING FROM TELEGRAPH CREEK, 3.C.
TO WRANGELL, ALASKA

Charter & Commercial Trips

Formore information call:
(604) 778-7316 Cassiar, B.C.
(604) 235-3161 Telegraph Creek, B.C.

Owned and Operated By:
Francis H. Gleason
Box 96

aes B.C. VOC 1E0

- Project:

Cassiar Courier June 1987 Page 5

LESLEY ANNE SUNN

CHRISANDRA LEA HASSELL _

Thank you all contributors
The deadline for next month’s issue
is June 16th
Pauline Woodrow, Lorraine Lanteigne,
Leslie Johnston

Province of
British Columbia

MINISTRY OF
TRANSPORTATION & HIGHWAYS

INVITATION TO TENDER

Electoral District: Atlin
Highway District: Dease Lake

No. CM 53C, Cold Mix in Stockpile at
Aeroplane Pit

THE TENDER SUM FOR THIS PROJECT IS TO
INCLUDE APPLICABLE FEDERAL AND PRO-
VINCIAL SALES TAX.

Tender documents with envelope, plans, specifica-
tions and conditions of tender are available free
of charge only from Dease Lake Highways District
Office, Stikine and Commercial Ave., Dease Lake,
B.C., or Ministry of Highways, Paving Branch, 4837
Keith Ave., Terrace, B.C. between the hours of
8:30 and 4:30 pm. Monday to Friday, except
holidays, Phone: 771-4511 in Dease Lake.

Pre-Tender meeting will be held at Dease Lake
District Office, corner of Stikine and Commercial
Ave., Dease Lake, B.C. on June Ist, 1987 at 2:00
p.m.

Tenders will be opened at Dease Lake Ministry of
Transportation, corner of Commercial and Stikine
Ave. in Dease Lake, June 2, 1987 at 2:00 p.m.

L.M. Kelly, P. Eng.
District Highways Manager
Dease Lake, B.C. VOC 1L0