, Ottawa Viewpoint Jim Fulton MP PHONE CHANGES ON THE WAY ‘Local Measured Service,’ ‘Rate Re-balancing,’ ‘Deregulation’ - these are the latest buzzwords in the drive to introduce major changes to our national tele- phone system. Behind the buzzwords, however, is a formula for less service and higher costs. In October of 1986, Ottawa issued a major report on the telephone system. The Brian Mulroney govern- ment has closely watched the Reagan experiment with telephone deregulation and it is no secret they would like the same thing for Canada. Problem is the Reagan. experiment has been a disaster for consumers; especially seniors, the poor, the disabled and residents of smaller communities. All claims to the contrary, the telephone monopoly in the United States has not been broken up. The U.S. phone industry is as concentrated as ever. Deregulation has only meant de-servicing. The complaints flowing from south of the border can also be expected to be heard here. Reports across my desk tell of complicated and often inaccurate bills with price increases of 40% or more, a six week wait for homeowners and small businesses for a phone, and repair costs that have rocketed while service has dropped off. It is still not to late to make a fuss. Ottawa’s regulatory agency, the CRTC, will take a serious look OFFICE OF THE PREMIER by Bill Vander Zalm A family disturbs burglars ransacking their home and in the ensuing scuffle, a family member is badly hurt while the thieves make off with valuable possessions. A young woman coming home from work is beaten and sexually assaulted. An elderly woman is bilked of her life savings by a fast-talking con artist who persuades her to invest in a phoney financial trans- action. “ What do these people all have in common? They're all victims of crimes. In 1985 in British Columbia, there were more than 225,000 crime victims. All suffered varying degrees of physical, emotional or financial harm. For many, the experience will leave long-lasting scars. Here in our province, we're working hard to help heal those scars by providing a full range of support services though our Victim Assistance Program, an initia- tive designed to make sure that the criminal justice system -- the police, prosecutors and the courts -- give full consideration to the needs of victims in the overall justice process. As the too often-forgotten parties, crime victims not only undergo a traumatic experience, they often also find themselves caught up in a lengthy and some- times confusing series of events that involves interviews with police, court hearings and appearances, and even- tually, a courtroom trial or some other disposition of their case. = EXCURSIONS Scenic River Trips On 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 Cassiar, B.C.. VOC1EQ . at a request for ‘rate re-balancing’ in October. With ‘ate re-balancing,’ companies claim long-distance calls get cheaper. The hook is local calls will cost more, lots more, and threaten to end our universal telephone ser- vice. A look at two Skeena communities tells the story. In Oona River, the cost of installing a telephone service amounted to $56,000 and it cost $6,000 more per year to operate it than is earned through regulated toll charges to users. In remote Greenville the cost of providing a telephone service to each subcriber is $18,640. The shortfall between annual revenues and the yearly cost to operate is $157,000 per year. These are expensive examples but they illustrate the need for some subsidization from profitable services in large urban centres, and also from the lucrative long- distance market. This principle is the building block of our national phone system. Another example of de-servicing disguised as deregulation is in the proposal for “Local Measured Service.’ It means that everytime you make a local call - whether it be across the street or across town - you'll be charged for each call. In our province, BC Tel have budgeted $144,000 for 1989 and $2.87 million in 1991 to conduct LMS trials. The Mulroney government in its own report acknowledges the heavy toll to Canadians if the Reagan telephone experiment is imported and put into place. A leaked Cabinet document estimates that local rates could jump 90% over five years and make phones un- affordable for 37,000 Canadians. As has all too frequently become the case with this government, those who can least afford it are hit the hardest: seniors on fixed incomes, the unemployed calling for a possible job, those in the disabled network and residents of northern communities. We will all pay the price of Mulroney’s gift to the telephone monop- olies should the cruel policies behind the buzzwords be implemented. j Something to think about before they ‘re-balance the rates’. In June, we announced grants totalling close to $225,000 to existing Victim Assistance Programs and we released a discussion paper designed to get public input into ways and means of expanding and developing a comprehensive program that will be effective right across the province. The discussion paper proposes a number of steps to ensure that the victims get the right kind of help, assistance and counsel so that they aren’t doubly vic- timized by the system. We're proposing, for example, that a toll-free information line be set up so crime victims can get general information and a referral to local victim assistance programs. And we’re moving in other areas such as police- based programs that will keep victims up to date on where their case stands as well as the provision of support services for witnesses and special support services for victims of highly traumatic crimes. We also think there should be programs developed that would see offenders compensate their victims and the establishment of training courses, materials and other ways to help develop programs for victims at the local level. These kinds of initiatives will bring a new degree of fairness into the justice system and redress a situation that up until recent times, hasn’t really been very bal- anced. While society has come a long way in terms of rehabilitation programs for convicted criminals, there’s been too little attention paid to the people who’ve been victimized by lawbreakers. If our justice system is to work and be respected, and if it’s important to ensure that people accused of criminal acts get a fair hearing and a fair trial -- and we all want that ~ it’s equally if not more important to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the people on the receiving end of unlawful acts, get fair treatment too. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY CASSIAR CO-OP PLAYGROUP Cassiar Co-op Playgroup will require. a Teacher for the 1987/88 school term. The position requires a mature individual interested in working with three and four year olds in a group situation. The successful f applicant must be a self-starter, able to # organize a pre-school program with little supervision. Early childhood education § would be a definite asset. j This is a part-time position (approx- j imately 17 hours per week) and salary is i negotiable depending on experience. ; Submit resumes to: Cassiar Co-op Playgroup P.O. Box 64 Cassiar, B.C. VOC 1E0 Interviews will be arranged in mid- September, 1987. , Ce — > 4 eee LARRY GUNO, M.L.A. (Atlin) PRIVATIZATION MUST PROCEED PRUDENTLY Leap before you look. That seems to be the motto of the current government of B.C. Whether the issue is labour law, education, or _ seniors’ user fees, the Social Credit government has refused to consider the implications of its actions be- fore trying to rush them through. Privatization is the latest example. Few would disagree that if selling off a particular crown corpora- tion can benefit British Columbians, without harm to economy or needed services, then we should seriously look at it. Unfortunately, Bill Vander Zalm doesn’t seem to agree. He and his government appear to be taking an ideological approach to the whole question, rather than using common sense to examine each issue on a case-by-case basis. Take our publicly run ambulance service, for instance. Before the New Democrats brought in the public system in 1974, British Columbians had to deal with private. ambulances, with no uniform standards for vehicles. There are eyen cases where the attendants demanded payment from the injured before they would take them to a hospital. Today, our service is widely recognized as one of the finest in North America, even by the Minister of Health, yet the government has refused to rule out breaking it up and selling it off to the highest bidders. British Columbia needs a public ambulance sys- tem. We can’t afford to gamble with human lives. Priva- tization here is not an option. So why won’t the govern- ment say so? The apparent reason why we do not get those assurances is just this: The government’s narrow ideology tells it public ownership is bad, while privatization is good. End of story. Never mind that a public ambulance service is the only option in a province like British Colum- bia and makes economic and medical sense; it doesn’t make ideological sense to this government. What we need to do is look at publicly-owned enterprises on a case-by-case, a reasoned, and a practical basis. If the facts show it might benefit British Colum- bians to sell off some of our public assets, then let’s have a serious look at it. If, however, as in the case of our ambulance service, the selling would harm average British Columbians, it would not be considered and we should say so. Above all, we. should let the public good rather than narrow ideology be our guide. And let us look before we leap. KEMPF TELLS WHY by Jack J. Kempf, M.L.A. There are some, looking back at the events of the past three months, who would criticize my actions insofar as my leaving government and the Social Credit Caucus. It is for these people that I write this particular column. Over the years, my representation of the people of Omineca has been governed by my strong feelings for the democratic system. That sense of loyalty to those who have elected me has not always been an easy ‘row to hoe. Speaking out against government policy, that of my own government, has marked my career and given me many names, such as Maverick, Wolfman, etc. But the one which appeals to me the most is that of ‘Populist’. I truly believe that elected people are there for the sole purpose of echoing the views of their constitu- ents. That very philosophy kept me out of Cabinet for years, and has now seen my demise from that same esteemed group. On assuming the position of Minister of Forests & Lands back on August 14, 1986, I truly believed that under the leadership’ of our new Premier, my lifelong goal, and more importantly that of ‘the majority of the citizeris of Omineca - to clean up a mess which has existed in the forest industry in British Colum- bia - could be attained. When I found it could not be done from inside government, swift action was neéessary. The only direction left for me, if I were to attempt to see justice done, was to sit where I could speak my mind. That is where I am now. The forest industry of this province is short changing you, the people, by an estimated $1 B yearly. That is not the way it should be as I’m sure even the most skeptic about my actions would agree. Whether or not I ever return to the present government | don’t know at this time. Much depends on the actions of its leader. I haven’t left the party, within which | still defend my right to be a ‘Populist? member. One thing for sure. Wherever I might be, I will still maintain my responsibility to represent the views of those in Omineca, unless at the polls they see fit to choose that I do otherwise. I can be reached by writing c/o Parliament Build. ins, Victoria, or by phoning 387: 3038. * ~~ We feature in this issue Christel Travnik. Christel whose maiden name is Daum, was born on December 9 1955 in Cassiar. Christel is part of the generation bf Canadian children born to parents from other countries. As I _ sat with Christel; husband Danny, and son Tyson, I learned Christel was born in a bunkhouse here in Cassiar! The hospital had burned down and the company had turned half of a bunkhouse into a temporary hospital! A very unique beginning to a Cassiar born and raised girl. Christel’s parents who both originated from Germany had lived in a tent (where the tailings pile ‘is now) for a year. Christel’s dad, Oscar, had told his fiance, Erna, before leaving Germany, that if it was nice in Canada he would call for her. “My mom left a lovely home in Germany to come to a tent in Cassiar. She wondered what was so nice, but she stayed!” says Christel. “The early years in Cassiar were memorable,” remembers Christel. ‘There weren’t a lot of children, so all ages played together. We had a lot of freedom. There were few cars and the major concern of parents was the possibility of us getting lost. I mean lost in the bush!” Playing equally with girls and boys, Christel says, “I was a tomboy, it was the only way to go. There were only three girls in the group!” One early childhood memory is of making “fibreballs” out of the wet fibre that was used instead of gravel to smooth out the drive- ways. She described molding the fibre into balls which were then thrown, hitting the target with a good smuk! When it was time to go to school, Christel’s friends went. But she still had to wait a year. Being the determined little girl she was, she decided to follow them. “I followed Kathleen and Laurie Henly to school but the teacher sent me home!” remembers Christel. However, when the boys went to cubs she recalls going too. She says the girls sat on the steps and watched the boys making knots! Growing up through the’ late fifties and sixties Christel feels Cassiar was a good place to be raised. The community had a lot of spirit and an outlook of hope. “Everyone helped each other build their houses. There was a mood of doing things together,” says Christel. | SERVICE IS OUR BUSINESS Friday: noon to 6:00 pm sessseeClosed: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday So ae DEN Kits m Shopping Experience - ER CANE Sta Wednesday - 1956 - Christel (in the sleigh) Herbert and their babysitter on Kennedy Street Christel and her brother Herbert, who is a year older than she, didn’t have television to occupy their . time. This led to a lot more time spent together with the family, As far as she is concerned this is still a very good idea! As a teenager in Cassiar there were times when Christel found life a little boring. ‘Once the skating rink, lounge and the Curling Club attained a liquor license, we (the teenagers) couldn’t socialize with the adults as we used to, at hockey or curling games. I was an avid fan of both sports and missed being a part of it.” said Christel, She believed life is what you make it and took up handicrafts. Macrame and embroidery became two hobbies which she became very good at and still enjoys. Attending school in Cassiar up to grade ten, Christel completed her education at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Vancouver. It was an all girl’s school and adapting to life in the city was difficult. “tI felt as if I were a shadow in a crowd. I was as positive in my attitude as much as possibie, but I always felt if I were to fall down on the street, there would be no one to help pick me up!”’ Christel felt that in the city a person has no identity and that they are “nameless individuals”. She remembers smiling or saying hello with a nod to passerbys - FERGUS STUDENTS RETURN HOME The pouring rain did little to dampen the spirits of the students from Fergus, Ontari| as they prepared to head back home. EO) had spent eight glorious days in the Cassi —~ a ra ay rived tee = a _ by Lorraine Lanteigne on Granville Street and getting such strange looks from people. “I was used to Cassiar, where everyone knew everyone, where people cared. I remember my dad working to clear the ski hill even though he never skiied and my mother baking for the Curling Club when she didn’t curl. “I guess my heart is here. In fact, I would guess that most of the people born here have their hearts here. We learned by example from our parents as we watched them help one another build their homes and establish life in Cassiar.”’ says Christel. But city kids tried to make fun of the “hicks” as they called us, I was from a small mining town in northern B.C. and had travelled extensively, was fluent in both English and German, I didn’t feel like a hick!” Christel continued her education at Alberta College in Edmonton where she became a legal secret- ary. She was seriously thinking of going ahead with a law degree but returned to Cassiar to visit with her family and instead found herself taking a job as recep- tionist at the main office for Cassiar. Two years later (1977) she transferred to the lab, where she remained working until the present. With a good job and friends, social life in Cassiar was enjoyable. In 1963, the Daums’ travelled back to Celle, a city close to Hannover in Germany. Being fluent in German Christel had little problem getting to know her relatives. She remembers this first major trip as being a real “family reunion”! Afterwards, still deter- mined as ever she taught herself to read and write in German. A firm believer in “keeping in touch” she has, with all of the family in Germany (as well as many friends along the way). “My address book is something to behold!” laughs Christel. Working in the Rec Centre, at the pool and the snack bar, Christel saved enough money to return to Germany in 1972, For eight wonderful weeks she travel- led with a cousin not only through Germany but also Austria, France and along the border of Switzerland, “I cried when it was time for me to leave.” She came back to Canada thinking it would be great to go into the travel business. Cassiar was always transient. As the years went by there were dance lessons and skating lessons. Excent Con’t on Page 19 Steelworkers Scholarship - $600 Troy Wanner Cassiar Lion’s Club Bursary - $650 Troy Wanner Bursary - $500 Troy Wanner Deborah Hardy Governor General’s Academic Medal Troy Wanner “Wy Saturday - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm . Phone: 778-7668 RET EET CE : Cassiar Courier July 1987 Page 7 Cassiar Mining Corporation Leadership Troy Wanner Cassiar Mining Corp. Scholarship - $500 School District No. 87 Award - $500 an