B.C. Pushes Nisga'a Treaty Through the NISGA'a Treaty Is Now Law in B.C
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Making the grade Good reviews Under construction Caledonia scored well in province- -A run of alternative films proved The dream of expansion at the wide rankings Of senior high more popular than the Hollywood golf course is getting close to schools\NEWS A:I.I flicks\COMMUNITY B1 reality\SPORTS B8 WEDNESDAY $1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST April 28, 1999 (51.10 plus 8¢ OST outside of the Terrace area) TANDA RD VOL. 12 NO, 3 B.C. pushes Nisga'a treaty through THE NISGA'A Treaty is now law in B.C. alter the debate spread over 29 days - the longest ever- should Gosnell said he welcomes Clark's support but would tee will be allowed to take the treaty on the road tbr NDP government invoked closure Thursday to cut off have been sufficient if the Liberals were interested in not say if he felt the prernier- or any other provincial public hearings in B.C. the longest debate in the province's history. debate, not delay. politician - acted with honour in the treaty debate. The Liberals are conmfitted to passing tile treaty and More than 31) per cent of the treaty and I I of its 22 Liberal aboriginal affairs.critic Mike de Jong said the "If Mr. Clark has used the Nisga'a Nation for his are expected to use their majority to fbrce it through. chapters remained undebated when the government government cannot claim it kept its promises to allow a advantage so has every other political party in British But even once ratification is complete, a series of moved the legislation be put to a vote over howls of full and complete debate instead eta ret~rendum. Columbia, litdemlly as well," he said. court challenges await the treaty. protest from the opposition. Even Nisga'a elder and former MLA Frank Calder The prenfier arrived in Terrace Tuesday morning They include cases launched by the B.C. Liberals All 39 New Democrats supported the bill, while 34 was uncomfortable with the use of closure and teared it amid drumming and singing at the Terrace arena and and B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition on constitutional B.C. Liberals and Independent MLA Jack Weisgerber could strengthen opposition to the treaty in Ottawa. signed the treaty document for British Columbia. grounds. Nass Valley resident Lloyd Brinson is spear- voled against iL It got royal assent on Monday. • .He said it was wrong of the government to shut down Attention now shifts to the t~deral debate in Ottawa. heading a class action suit seeking compensation for Liberal leader Gordon Catnpbell called closure a the debate for tWO months amid its political scandals The treaty is expected to be introduced in the House of non-native residents of the valley. "menacing assault on democracy" that he said was used and.then ram the treaty through. Commons ,as early ,as next week. Also up in the air is legal action brought by neigh- so Premier Glen Clark could at'rive in Ten'ace yesterday Nisga'a Tribal Council president Joe Gosnell didn't "We've made the second step," said Gosnell, who bearing Gitanyow natives who say Nisga'a treaty pro- to hand over the completed treaty to the Nisga'a at the share Calder's opinion. will carry the treaty document to the capital this week- visions alti~ct what they might get in their own lreaty. beginning of the tribal council convention underway "Our people have waited tbr over 100 years tbr this," end. "Now we move on to the third step." 'TII probably go to nly grave and still there 'will be this week. he said. "As far as we're concerned, that's when the Federal Relbrmers are expected to fight the treaty court cases pending against the Nisga'a nalion," Clark and NDP members said the 115 hours of debate began- 100 years ago." there and are hoping a Commons native affairs commit- Gosnell predicted. Chip idea hit as job Bank isn'! switching CONTRACTORS that run a chipping in chipper lbr Skeena Cellulose ~... ~ ~ ~ ,.e~ aren't happywith talk about SCI trying to reach a custom- chipping deal with West Fraser. for Skeena That idea was held out last week by Job Protection Gov't is paying all extra costs Commissioner Eric van By JEFF NAGEL Soeren as one way of keeping TJ~E PROVINCE's minority partner in Skeena Cellulose - some of the WeSt Fraser saw- the Toronto Dominion Bank - has been refusing to pay its mill workers employed who agreed share of the cost of supporting the company. still face layoffs in June when As a result," the provincial government has been stepping a federal work sharing pro- gram runs out. in and paying the lull amounts required to keep the conlpany But Don Hull and Sons operating for close to a year now. Contracting Ltd.'s Lloyd Hull finder the restructuring agreement reached early in 1998, says such a deal would really the province holds 52.5 per cent of shares, while the bank has amount to taking jobs from 27.5 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent flow over time to his employees and giving pulp mill employees in exchange for wage reductions. them to workers at Skeena The deal called tbr the province to pay 70 per cent of Sawmills. futm'e costs of the company, with the TD Bank paying 30 per "If Skeena Sawmills gets cent. the chipping job, we lay off The bank did pay its share of an immediate increase in the same number of people the company's operating line of credit from $100 million to they'll hire," Hull said. "This $12(.) million. is stealing jobs from one side But since then it has of the street and putting them rejected provincial requests on the other, not creating to contribute further, said i~ore Oll Sell jobs." employment and investment He said a long-term chip- ministry spokesrnan Don [] NW mayors send ping agreement would also Zadravec. letters, page A16 raise big questions about West "At one point the bank [] Still no board of Fraser's future plans for its made it clear they weren't directors, page A16 sawmill here. going to go beyond what "They must have no inten- %, •.... ..... .. , ~[ they originally approved," tion of ever being a two or ',. he said. three shift sawmill operation again," Hull said. // Last July, he said, the province went ahead without the He said he thinks the chip- bank and paid the entire $15 nfillion required to raise the ping talks were more about operating guarantee to $135 million. marshalling union support for And it did the satne thing again last December to bring the raw log export plan the operating line to $150 million. approved two weeks ago. "Clearly the needs were there in terms of the operating "They must have no inten- line and the province tatTled through on the commitments it tion of ever patting those peo- had made previously," Zadravec said. ple back to work," he added. Those amounts, however, are small compared to thi~ "It sounds like they're shut- nearly $95 million the company now wants to finance its ting down to rile. If they're capital improvements, including nmjor work on the pulp mill. going to shut down, shut That money would take capital expenditures front about down and get the hell out of $15 nfilliou released to date to the final total of$ ! 10 million. the area, don't screw us up :Ill Zadravec noted cost cutting by SC1 president Bill Steele while they're doing it." has trimmed the capital plans down by more than a third West Fraser manager Lea Continued Page A2 Poulin said the negotiations with SCI are still up in the air, but suggested the deal could mean work tbr 35 sawmill It $20,000 bat! set employees. He said a chipping deal makes sense for West Fraser for ex-auxillary because it only plans to run -,Nice putt! one shift in the sawtnill tiffs A FORMER Terrace resident and auxiliary RCMP offi- THE GOLF LOOKS GREAT: Club manager Bruce cer charged with 40 crimes including sexual assault was yetw and possibly next year. the greens are dry and primed. He's shifted a few released on $20,(XX) bail here April 22. "We've got a plant sitting Carruthers attempts a shot at the Skeena Valley holes during construction of nine more holes that "rhe 64-year-old man, now living in Burnaby, appeared here doing nothing, We Golf and Country Club April 20. Carruthers says will be ready to play by summer's end. in Terrace provincial court. He is accused of assauhing six should utilize it." people sexually in Terrace, Kitin'rat, Kamloops and Vancouver between 1966 and 1975. An assault involving a seventh person was also filed. Hospitals slices estimate of Y2K price tag Other charges involve assault causing bodily harm and weapons. MILLS MEMORIAL Hospital has But that's now been cut to . "The area they are giving prior- while a cost sharing split between More than halt' of the alleged offences occurred in drastically cut back its estimate of $300,000, says Tom Novak from the ity to is equipment necessary lot the hospitals and the province may be Terrace and Kitintat, said Terrace RCMP Cast, Ltz l)ouglas, how much it'll cost so its various Terrace and Area community Health safety of human life," said Novak. used for computerized equiprnent not She said tile sexual assaults relate to nudes and females of" computerized equipnlent doesn't Council.