~ Water,

National News

FE

B.C. Cuts Take Toll On Environment

By Anna King, Environment
Bureau

VANCOUVER (CUP) —
The B.C. government's
recently announced restruc-
turing plan includes a dramat-
ic cut to the ministries
responsible for environmental
protection and resource regu-
lation. Five provincial min-
istries, including the Ministry
of Forests and the Ministry of
Land and Air
Protection, will!-lose_approxi-
mately 35 per cent of their
budgets over the next three
years as well as one-third of
their staff.

Running throughout the
plan is a shift toward simplify-
ing regulatory processes for
industry and increased pri-
vate-sector responsibility. "It’s
not self-regulation," Water,
Land and Air Protection
Minister Joyce Murray said.
"We're still going to. establish
environmental standards. But
we're not going to continue

telling industry how to do
what they do."

"In the past, there were
prescriptive rules and lots of
checking up," Murray said.
"Now, companies will be
expected to monitor results
themselves and post them."

Environmental groups,
however, are worried that
less monitoring, fewer staff
and a slated elimination of
one-third of government reg-
ulations will mean lower envi-
ronmental standards. . Dale
Marshall, a policy analyst
with think-tank the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives,
says the government has
changed its role from that of a
watchdog to a_ service
provider for industry. "The
words used [in the ministries’
service plans] are entirely
business-oriented.. The plans
talk of ending constraints to
economic development and
giving certainty to industry,"
Marshall said.

The Minist

of Energy and

Mines will change from a
multi-agency permitting
process to a single-window
regime that hopes to double
oil and gas production by
2008. And the Ministry of
Sustainable Resource
Management has committed
to "providing faster approvals
and greater access to Crown
land."

This combination, Marshall
says, will mean potential min-
ing and oil and gas projects
will get pushed through with-
out adequate environmental
assessment.

Mike Hogan, director of
communications for the
Ministry of Forests, said the
Forest Practices Code will
change to a "results-based"

rather than "process-based"

system. This means govern-
ment will not monitor every
step of a logging operation,
but rather look at the end
product to see that standards
are met.

Tim Howard, a lawyer with

the Sierra Legal Defense
Fund, says the government's
failure to adequately super-
vise logging could lead to
lawsuits for environmental
and health hazards like land-
slides and drinking-water
contamination. "Eighty-five
per cent of B.C.’s drinking
water comes from surface
water," Howard said. "These
cuts indicate the Liberals are
highly unlikely to protect the
watersheds our water comes
from." Howard is the author of
a recent report that highlights
the potential public health
costs to budget slashing. The
report points to events like
the Walkerton, Ontario drink-
ing-water contamination dis-
aster-as the result of budget
and staff cutbacks and dereg-
ulation. Howard also says he
doesn't think the government
will follow the recommenda-
tions of the drinking-water
review panel that issued its
interim report recently.

The _ review panel recom-

mends the creation of a drink-
ing-water protection agency
and a clear statement that the
Drinking-Water Protection Act
will prevail over any other
acts, such as the Forest
Practices Code. Murray, how-
ever, says the cuts will not
affect drinking water and
points out that her ministry is
allocating an extra $1.5 mil-
lion to drinking water

protection. Along with cut-
ting 1,400 jobs, the Ministry
of Forests will decommission
many logging roads, close
forest service offices and
transfer maintenance for
many recreation sites to other
agencies. Other changes
include a rise in camping fees
and commercial partnerships
in parks. Ministry staff will
also no longer respond to
reports of "low-risk" haz-
ardous waste spills.

Cuts To Regressive Tax Rejected In Budget

By Mark Greenan, Ottawa
Bureau Chief, Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA (CUP) — In last
December’s budget, despite
the support of two House of
Commons committees, the
federal government rejected
a proposal that would have
benefited part-time workers
and low-income Canadians.
Both the Commons finance
and human resources com-
mittees had endorsed the
institution of yearly basic
exemption (YBE) for the
employment insurance pro-
gram. Under the proposal,
— the first $3,000 of an individ-
ual’s annual income would
not be subject to El premi-
ums.

Joyce Reynolds, senior
vice-president of government
affairs at the Canadian
Restaurant and Foodservices
Association (CRFA),
expressed surprise that the
proposal was not included in
the budget. "We're looking at
an uncertain economy and
the last thing we want to do is
tax those industries that pro-

vide jobs," she said, adding
that a cut in payroll taxes
would encourage employers
in labour-intensive industries,
such as the food service
industry, to create jobs.

According to the CRFA,
restaurants shoulder a partic-
ularly high payroll tax burden.
Payroll taxes comprise 40 per
cent of the average full-ser-
vice restaurant's tax bill, com-
pared to 29 per cent. for the
average corporation. The
CRFA is only one of a coali-
tion of groups, including busi-
ness organizations, unions
and anti-poverty groups,
pushing for the reform.
Reynolds explained the all-
party appeal of the proposal.
"There, is tremendous pres-
sure for government to
reduce payroll taxes in some
form and this is certainly a
good way to do that because
it gives relief to those most
penalized by payroll taxes,"
she said.

Under the current system,
a worker who - makes
$200,000 a year pays 0.4 per
cent of their salary in El pre-

miums, while someone mak-
ing $11,000 sees 2.25 per
cent of their earnings going to
the El fund. The YBE propos-
al would make El premiums
less regressive.

As Reynolds noted, the
proposal had garnered the
support of parliamentarians
from all parties. "I think it’s
progressive and it’s good
for students and part-time
employees. It also helps
small businesses and is a
little bit of help for them,"
said NDP finance critic
Lorne Nystrom, adding that
80 per cent of new jobs are
created by small business-
es.

Nystrom said the propos-
al was strong and that it
would likely be implement-
ed in the future. Scott
Brison, Tory-DRC finance
critic, endorsed the propos-
al and highlighted the effect
a YBE would have on job
creation. "Payroll taxes are
a cancer on jobs," Brison
said, noting that the
December budget was cau-
tious. "All the budget did

was address security issues
and did nothing to provide
stimulus, particularly tax-dri-
ven stimulus."

Liberal MP and member of
the finance committee Roy
Cullen said security issues
may have pushed YBE off the

THE CAMBIE |

INTERNATIONAL. Ostet

budget radar. “It’s something
whose time is coming," he
said. "Close this year, but
with the security agenda and
the economic slowdown,
there just wasn’t the fiscal
room to do that."

VANCOUVER

vt ISLAND

bel Winter Deals! : Mi
Rete SMe saNO Fiz *#

a ae ae

GASTOWN |
Free muffin with coffee or tea daily 4
Best grill / pub / bakery inthe city =“ 9 ger ‘
dn the heart of the funky part of town %
300 CAMBIE ST. (604)684-6466
TOLL FREE 1-877-395-5335

Quiet focation near business district. Kitchen:
Obi. Rooms. Free muffin with coffee or tea daily *

“OWN cor

515 SEYMOUR ST. (604}684-7757

NANAIMO - vancouver
Free hot breakfast with check-in. Private bathrooms.
Kitchens. Funky grill / pub / bakery on-site.
63 VICTORIA CRESCENT 1-877-754-5323

VISIT US ON THE WEB AT www.cambiehostels.com