a a ———— a Page 2 yee Courier Januasy gel Ta eats Ottawa Viewpoint Jim Fulton MP WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR POST OFFICE? According to Canada Post President Don Lan- der, there will be no reduction in mail delivery, “only a change or a new type of service”. It is this type of baffle- gab that is being used to sugar-coat one of the most mas- sive reductions in postal service this country has ever witnessed, A year ago the Marchment Committee, empow- ered to investigate the operation of Canada Post, gave the Corporation a five vear period in which to break even. The Mulroney government then ordered Canada Post to do this in only three years. In response, the upper man- agement of Canada Post have scrambled around and come up with a new corporate plan. Of greatest concern to northwest residents is the proposed shutdown of the 1,700 small rural post offices in Canada. Instead we will have “supermailboxes” placed at central locations often miles from local residents He I HI IH IDE IIE IIE IIIS DIE IA IAA SIA AAD ASD AAS AS ASS ASSACSSCN These new boxes have become a source of con- troversy in their own right. Not only are they easily pried open with a bar, parcels are placed in. a common bin acces- sible to all other key holders. 1, for one, find it alarming that our private mail will be so readily at risk to thieves. In an effort to cut costs, discussion has also in- cluded the elimination of over 7,000 Canada Post em- ployees, increasing delivery time, and an increase in postal rates to 41 cents for a first class letter. There are other ways to cut costs, maintain jobs and actually increase service, however. We can begin by looking at the continued losses incurred by the Post Office over its handling of ‘‘flyers” and similar mail from large chainstores and mail order outfits. Low postage rates in this area act as a subsidy toa select group of com- mercial users. Another area where Canada Post could cut its losses is by involving itself in the new field of electronic mail. The Mulroney government has so far discouraged this type of competition to the telecommunications mon- opoly. As a result, taxpayers are being asked to pay for a Post Office that operates in only the most unprofitable areas. The Canada Post deficit is less than $10 per Canadian. That’s not a great deal, but under a Conserva- tive agenda, increasingly the burden will fall on rural and northern residents, those who live in new suburbs, and small businesses that depend upon the mail for the de- livery of goods. It is unfair and I will be continuing to tell Ottawa just how important our postal service is. SURVIVAL MINE RESCUE Afternoon Class: L to R, Back Row: D. Hiltz, 11. Cormier, A. Chatelaine, R. Empereale, Front Row: J. VanDamme, N. Lapointe, K. Nye, C. French . A Survival Mine Rescue course was offered at the end of October and conducted at-the Erickson Mine- site. Instructor was Mr. Jim Loustrom of Smithers. The course, approximately 32 hours in dura- tion, consisted of theory on principles of rescue. The rules of mine rescue are: 1. Safety of the Team. 2. Rescue of trapped or injured men. 3. Prevention of further damage to the mine. 4. Rehabilitating the mine. Mine Rescue Teams are usually called in when a poisonous or other very hazardous condition exists in a mine where the rescue personnel must go in under oxy- gen due to the normal air being contaminated by natural gases such as methane or gases introduced in the mine by fire explosion, etc. The Mine Rescue Team must be knowledgeable in the recognition and detection of gases and other life threatening situations. PONT TTCE TESST CCECTETULESESEUUETTCCSUCE CST TOSS E TO THE EDITOR One of the more unfortunate side effects of recent “ban the loggers” hassles such as Meares Island, South Moresby, Kutzeymateen, and now the Seven Sisters has been the persistent efforts by environmentalists to portray the logging community in the worst possible light. - Being-employed in that sector of the economy, 1 was aghast at reports, especially from Eastern Canada media, where we are being presented as some kinds of un- controllable monsters, something like Atilla the Hun’s hordes at their peak performance of pillage and rapine, September 10, 1986 ~ and I would like to offer a: few words of defence. Usually we are-accused of carrying out ‘our deprad- ations out of blind profit motives, except that-some times. when we are close to actually beginning our harvest on contested territory, that accusation is reversed. Then the public is suddenly told that research has shown:there is no way we could possibly show a profit in that particular piece of disputed forest, and they don’t know why we would want to go in there. This presents the incredible spectre of us crazed loggers supposedly cutting down trees with wild abandon, all the while losing money from some mythical, inexhaustable source, just to see them hit the ground, or to spite our environmentalist friends. 1 don’t think I need to elaborate on the latter scen- ario, but I do have to confess to the profit motive. Yes, wa are: guilty. . patuallys us owe Gut £0 Ch that .f a eer a EL SS ¢+ kind of stone age existance. #- “f= De eae 2 The course that was given is the primary build- ing block. of creating a mine rescue team. It consisted mainly of theory and a bit of practical work as far as knowing and working with the basic breathing apparatus such as the Draeger Oxy SR 45 and the BG 174 which is a self-contained breathing apparatus. Much more work and practice are required to make up.a “Mine Rescue Team” and that will come in the future. The following personnel attended and all comp- leted the course successfully: From Total Erickson Resources: J. Lanteigne, J. Hebert, H. Cormier, A. Chatelaine, D. Hiltz, N. LaPointe, C. French, J. Hearty, T. Brown, R. Empereale, M. Ball, D. Desjardins and K. Nye. From Cassiar Mining Corporation: J. VanDamme and G. Becket. P. McRae, B. Carter, 4 dnstructor cin Loustrom profession to make money, and having made it, maniacs that we are, we squander it on the usual frivolities such as clothing, groceries, our children, medicine, houses and of course on taxes, which keep a lot of environmentalists supplied with the wherewithal to carry on their quest to make sure all trees die of old age and to deprive the world of wood products. What are the results of our depredations?? Well, stumps of course. and then after a year or two green ground cover and new trees and an ever growing vigorous young forest, which will provide the same amenities we require and enjoy, for our children and -grandchildren. And we do produce some useful products through our destructive efforts, such as the bed you were born in, the crib in which you spent your first year, the pampers you and your children dirtied by the hundreds, the school books and papers you used to receive your education, the table you eat from, the chair you sit on, the paper you are now reading, even the coffin you will occupy when you depart from this vale of destruction. From cradle to grave, we will be surrounded by products made from wood, which is one of the few totally renewable raw materials available to man.. Even when you lock yourself in the privacy of your bathroom and reach for that indis- pensable roll, you are, in some metaphoric way, shaking the hand of a logger or wood processor, without whom our standard of living would be little better than some P, Weber, iNew Havelion. “ . . “ ~ Baty ae ‘ a Ms Ga. ae : ~ Pe Qe ee ES Si asi hn a Lt ; CG ES 4 del A : “Y Party such a great success.’ > ~~ © © © © << <2 ow oo oo oo ee oe eo oe eo oe oil ev Ree ae ee ———