ed q feared ees Cassiar Courier hoe aie McEachen Replies — The following is a letter Bill ond Cecile Pratt received from Mt. McEachen, Minister of Finance, in reply to a query they for- warded to him regarding ta able northern benefits . Mc & Mrs W Pratt, P.O Ba 43, Cassiar, BC , VOC 1EO _ Dear Mr & Mrs Pratt: Thank you for your recent communication containing sug- gestions relating to the taxation of northern benefits | am sure you will understand that consideration of budget secrecy pre- vented an earlier reply. | have noted your remarks and am pleased to inform you that the current ta exemption of northern benefits provided ' under the remission order has been ex tended for one more year until the end of 1982,However, the tax relief will be confined to those benefits that are granted under employer-employee agreements reached prior to November 13, 1981 The current relief provided through the remission order re- sults in anomalous treatment of individuals living in isolated re- gions , Inequities arise in the ta treatment between individuals working for different employers, temporary and permanent residents, and high and low income individuals Moreover, | believe that the federal tax system should apply uniformly to ~ all Canadians across the country. In view of these factors, it has become increasingly difficult to justify this tx eemption. The budget decision of a one-year extension of this provision is mainly to allow adequate time to review the need for, and means of, providing special assistance to employees at such locations. Nevertheless, -all the benefits will become taxable as income from employment effective .Anuary 1, 1983, As noted in my budget, government assistance to employees in such locations after this date would have to take the form of a direct support program rather than a deduction or eemption from ta able income. My ‘colleagues and | are now considering the nature and scope of such a program. Again, thank you for contacting me on this important matter. Yours sincerely, Allan J.McEachen RAC HE I ea MES: GRIM OUTLOOK Continued from Page 2 Of course the asbestos industry has been hit, not only by the general economic recession but by the popular environmental scare that, although it seems to have abated in Canada, is still having a profound effect on the United States market, and just as much so in western Europe. Northern mining companies are even harder hit than those in the south. The reason for this is the high overhead because of benefits which these companies give employees in order to attract and retain them in a relative- ly isolated area with less than ideal weather conditions. The Federal government certainly hasn't helped the position with its attitude to the taxation of northern benefits, and the ultimate decision of what will happen here is still no closer to * being resolved than it was 2 years ago. The high cost of pro- duction in the north halted the completion of the new Venus mine and many other likely looking prospects have been put into cold storage to await increasing mineral prices and an overall better economic climate. It is unlikely that, with the exception of the Polaris project at Cominco we will see any significant new metal mines being given the go ahead in the north for the next year or two. Even the gold producers have been hit hard. Gold was forecast to stay around the $500 U.S. mark through 1982 however, it shows little sign so far, of moving very much past the $400 mark. The recent failure of our local Plaza Mining operation and the number of bankrupt com- panies in the Dawson City placer area only serve to underline the plight of the small companies in today’s economic climate. Our only advice to people in 1982 is to tighten your belts and hope for the best. - In British Columbia, most mining companies have the lowest establishments they have had for a number -of years. In the asbestos industry, only one major producer in eastern Canada did not have lay-offs over the Christmas period. In fact one of the largest producers between November and January were down for 50% of that: period, Asbestos inventory levels are the highest they have been for a great number of years and - this is inspite of lay-offs, cuts in production and shutdowns. WSTYV License Approved Ottawa, 31 December 1981 Decision CRTC 81 - 933 Werner Schneeberger © Cassiar and McDame, British Columbia - 811094200 Following a public hearing in Hull on 28 August 1981, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission “announces that it approves the application by Werner Schnee- berger for a licence to carry on a broadcasting receiving under- taking to serve Cassiar and McDame by distributing the signals of the Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. {(CANCOM) net- work and other broad-casting services. The Commission will issue a licence expiring 30 September 1985, subject to condi- tions to be specified in it. The boundaries of the service area will - also be specified in the licence. . In addition to the priority services required to be carried by reg- ulation, the Commission approves the carriage of the following optional services: CHAN-TV Vancouver, CHCH-TV Hamilton, CITV-TV Edmonton, CIRK-FM Edmonton, CFMI-FM Vancou- ver, and CKO-FIM-2 Toronto, to be received Via satellite from the Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM) net- work, The Commission notes that this applicant has not applied to dis- tribute the French-language television service (TCTV) available from CANCOM. The Commission-encourages the applicant to undertake a survey of the community during the first year of Operation, to determine the need for this service. Should such interest be expressed, the applicant will be expected to apply accordingly. Members of the community may also wish to advise the Commission of their interest. fae Ti The applicant is required to file with the Commission a execut- ed copy of its affiliation agreement with CANCOM. The Commission also approves the distribution of an educational programming service. The Commission notes that the applicant proposes to allocate a channel for community programming and encourages the applicant to promote community interest in, and access to, that channel for the development of local programming. The Commission approves the proposed maximum monthly sub- scriber fee of $20.00 and a maximum installation fee of $30.00. The licence is subject to the condition that the licensee own and Operate, as a minimum, the local head-end, the amplifiers and the subscriber service drops. It isa condition of licence that the authority granted herein be implemented within twelve months of the date of this decision or such further period as the Commission may, upon receipt of a request for extenson before the expiry of the said twelve months, deem appropriate under the circumstances, J. G, Patenaude Secretary General M.L.A. REPORT Al Passarell “Speaking at Al Passarell’s nominating meeting at Cassiar on January 8, 1982, provincial transportation . critic, Don Lockstead, promised that a re-election of the N.D.P. government would bring major improve- ments to the highway system in northern British Col- umbia. Mr. Lockstead, who is the M.L.A. for Mackenzie (maintand coast;another neglected area in the province) denounced the Socred government for their failure to provide adequate transportation and other services to the people who live and work in the area producing the resource wealth of B.C. ‘‘The one promise | can make you,” said Lockstead ‘‘is that this will change with an N.D.P. government’’ On .Anuary 8, an NDP nominating meeting was held in Cassiar at the Recreation Centre, with approximately 35 Cas- siar residents attending. While the meeting was advertised as an “Open Meeting” it appears that it wes a nominating meeting, according to Mr Passarell’s article in this issue of the Courier Tony Penikett, Don Lockstead, Dave Brocklebank, Al Passarell. ' Guest speakers at the meeting were Mr Don Lockstead, MLA for Mackenzie, and Mr Tony Penikett, National President of the.N.D.P party and leader of the opposition in the Yukon Mr Lockstead, the N.D,P critic for the Dept. of Highways and Transportation, spoke mainly on issues pertaining to transport- Mr. Lock stead was joined on Mr. Passarell’s plat- form by national N.D.P. president and Yukon oppos- ition leader, Tony Penikett, who talked about com- munity development in company towns and the need for the New Democratic Party to act as a medium be- tween Native Indian and primary resource communities in the North. Both Lockstead and Penikett praised the untiring work of Mr. Passarell in Victoria on behalf of his Atlin constituents and urged that. party members. work. very ~~hard for the re- -election. of both Passarell and Skeena M.P. Jim Fulton. Following speeches by the three politicians, a lengthy and wide ranging question and answer period followed. During the question period Chief Taku Jack eloquently addressed the extremely low. Jevel of government services provided to the taxpayers in the area. Al Passarell, N.D.P. M.L.A. for the Atlin district “since 1979, was nominated unopposed for the’ next election. NDP VISITORS TO CASSIAR ation, Mr Penikett dealt with problems associated with com- pany towns and also the need for more communication between major industrial centres and traditional Indian communities in the North, He also spoke on the state of the NDP party across the country, not just provincially, and how the party as a whole was gaining popularity, Both speakers made mention of the work Mk Passarell has done so far in his capacity as MLA for Atlin. Mr. Passarell also made a speech, caine primarily with B.C. Hydro, the CP Air schedule change, any lack oF air service to Whitehorse. Following the speeches, a question and answer period took ¥ place. Questions addressed to the platform concerned northern ~ tax benefits, Stikine/Iskut dam, the opening up of land to the public, the lack of paved highways in the area dike whether or not Cassiar will become incorporated. On the whole, the meeting, including the question period, was quite uninspiring, with the answers to the questions being the same as had been heard at previous meetings, Hee Ae aeokaeok kaka COURIER STAFF - Lee Coran, Kerry Jones, Pat Riddle Deadline for articles for the March issue of the Cassiar Courier is Februay 7th. Please try to get your articles in early. —> CASSIAR Bits & Pieces Stowaways sitting on mobile toilets do not hear well of them- selves, do they Bettey C and Betty C? BONSPIEL TIDBITS — We hear that Dany Demitri’s bed shrunk over the bonspiel weekend: Seems that Tish spent Saturday night tied up at the Quring Rink — do you need lessons in roping and hog-tying, Tish? The latest. technique in learning ballroom dancing ts lying on the dance floor looking at your partner's feet — isn’t that the truth, Brian? Vonue’s new toy at the Curling Bonspiel was played with so much it fell off!! Overheard - “Are you having trouble with my zipper, Peter?” What was that all about, Pat B.? What was said to make Frank B. raise his eyebrows? Owen says “a little bit is okay but this is bloody ridiculous!” What could he be referring to??? Yes, Pat, the spare tire is usually on the front of the truck and Peter should have known better. Sandy’s biggest thrill in the past three years — a new typewniter!! Anyone heard of “Mono flu’’? Vonnie always gets it when she’s out. Denyse says “If you don’t have a wooden heart, buy a cabbage?” Milan was simply delighted: with his birthday present — the “How To Liberate Milan” kit, consisting of apron, cookbook, rubber gloves, pot scourer and hand lotion. Is Adolph telling what his office staff gave him for Xmas? Stan & Carol-Deyo had Danny home for Xmas. By the way, Stan some people will do almost anything to get a pre-Christmas shop- ping trip to Whitehorse, won if they? Good Luck to. Joe Chan, who is leaving in early February to relocate in southern B.C Congratulations to Ed and Ina Hudson on their recent marriage. Hope Verna Collett brings some of that sunshine back from Hawaii when she returns early in Febraury. Maurice and Helen Pain & family returned to -40C temperatures after their vacation in New Zealand. The airlines favored them~ by losing the piece of luggage containing all their warm WUES, gear. Laurie Malcolm has left to travel extensively through the South Pacific and north-east Asia. Happy landings, Laurie! Seems Bill Nymeyer’s biggest worry when he left on holidays recently was if he could find a barber before catching his flight to Amsterdam. What is Frank looking for up Gerry’s leg?? Whatever it is, Lucy’s waiting for it! It seems two. young ladies went to Ed T’s house and ate his whole pie. He is furious and looking for someone to make him a lemon pie — Ed said the ladies won't eat this one — they will wear it! It’s a good thing we don’t have a bakery here. Watch the next issue for further chapters of this drama. Condolences to: Bob McCauley. and ies on the passing of his father... . ‘ 5 he Sirett, oe aH ee away oS in Bee Fred Cousins and Family on the passing of his mother. Tt was nice to see Suzette Pinto back in town for a visit with her family. Bailey. Departmental Bonspiel even though the Survey Crew are taking the credit for this as they say they let us win our first game. Speaking of bonspiels, was that really medicine you were pre- scribing, Dr. Bruce? : WELCOME TO: Gordon and Shirley Dennis Yves and Nicole Roger and:children Jonathan and Veronique. Congratulations to new Canadians — Steve Hanley and Bernie ee the “Dress Gane” didn't ’t do too badly in the Inter- Philip Hansman and Rae McGregor Fernand and Florence Cote and daughter Anne, from Quesnel. We are also pleased to welcome the following , families into Cassiar from United Hearne — Dave Chapman and his fanily, Keith and Beth Ninty and Mel Brown and family. BIST staes CA waedstS opsS Cassiar Courier February 1982 Page 3 The hospital staff Christmas party was held ‘on Dec. 13th in “the hospital staff room. The ladies each brought a food dish and as a result of their good efforts everyone started their holiday season off with the usual “I’m too full” moans. The doctor's contributed to the punch bowl and with Martha doing the stirring the refresh- ments went down pretty easy as well. Santa came to see us at the party and in between warming up his knee he passed out some pretty nice gifts. We don’t know yet if Juanita has given up Blitzen and gotten on with the dinner!! After this we had just enough room to squeeze in some Pavlova and Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. s - Following this we tried a few brain testers, We have to congratulate the winner of the first quiz for her knowledge of the staff (even if she did think the best dog in town was a Labrador - nobody’s perfect). Second and third games were a split between the two groups and the first team was awarded some holiday cheer while the second received an alarm clock guaranteed to wake even the deepest of sleepers. We have a few of them here. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening, expertly hosted by Nirmal and everyones efforts were appreciated. Katherine is off to Ontario for Christmas and then on to Europe for the remainder of her vacation. We hope your holiday was just super Katherine and that you have a great time travelling. : Vonnie spent the Christmas holiday in Logan Lake visiting with ex-Cassiarites Arlene and Alf Lehmann. She also got to visit some very good friends of ours, Laurie and Joe Fitzsimmons. We don’t have to hope Vonnie had a good time, we know she did, despite the extra costs incurred in taxi fares. SMILES TO: - Chris Tates for cleaning our walkway. - All the holiday greetings sent our way. - Cassiar Resources for the lovely gifts. ; - Hospital decoration crew for the outstanding effort. - - Jim Doucet and crew for the best looking tree in town. IT's BABY month BORNTO: Paule and Snezana Jovanovic, a son Vlada, 6 lbs. 9% oz. on January 5, 1982. Al and Vickie Cappis, a daughter Maria Louise, 7 lbs. 14% oz. on December 9, 1981 in Lacombe, Alberta. Mike and Pat Pinter, a daughter Heidi Elizabeth, 6 Ibs. 7 oz. . on December 17, 1981 in the Joseph Brand Hospital, Burlington, Ontario. Bemie and Lynn. Rauch, a daughter Shana Gail, 7 Ibs. 10 oz. on January 15, 1982 in the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria. Bob and Denise Clark, a son James Drew, on January 17, 1982 in Edson, Alberta. Hospital Takeover Update _ With regard to the take-over of the Cassiar Private Hospital by a Hospital Society, with financing from the Government, after a long period of dormancy, things appear to be progressing again. We understand that Brinco and the Society have. been discussing pro- posed contracts between the Society, the Government and Brinco. Although at the present time there is still no definite time for takeover some progress has been made in talks between the parties concerned. art. en gee 23