Gay Tolerance Splits Churches
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Religion or culture? Thumbs up Softball stars Fired teacher's assistant wonders First-ever dry grad called awesome Terrace hosts the province's best if native religion is being taught in by grade 12 Caledonia in weekend softball schools\NEWS A9 students\COMMUNITY B3 championships \SPORTS B4 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST ,WEDNESDAY VOL. 10 NO. 13 JULY 9, 1997 DARD Gay tolerance splits churches By CRIS LEYKAUF instruction in schools, fall into that disenfranchised category, "We would be inclined to be in favour and deep concen for the cry of suffering A CRUSADE against teaching tolerance "This simplysendsthewrongmeasage because they face discrimination in of it," he said. that has been sent out by the homosexual of homosexuality in schools is dividing as to what the church and Christianity is terms of physical violence as well as He said the issue is a difficult one, ad- community." local churches. all about," Simonson said of Simpson finding jobs and housing. ding not everyone in his congregation Supporting churches include the Cath- Notices for a forum next Wednesday who is a founding director of the Hare was first to go public "with state- will see it the same way. olic Church's Sacred Heart Parish and featuring an activist who opposes such Citizen's Research Institute. ments his church isn't endorsing the ral- "Some will attend the rally, some the Terrace Full Gospel Christian Fel- plans, say "leaders of all major religious Simonson tackled the issue head-on in ly. won't," Hare said. lowship. faiths" have been invited. last Sunday's sermon to his Lutheran The United Church of Canada has been Gordon Schuss, one of ,the key Ministers with those churches brought But three of the city's mainline congregation, the most direct in taking on homosexual organizers of the rally, said some church copies of a family rights declaration to Protestant churches are going out of their "I said this is not what we are about, rights issues in the past. leaders haven't been invited to the forum the Terrace Ministerial Association way to make it clear they are not con- This is not how we understand the Chris- The church went through a major because "their offical stance on meeting last month. The organization, nected to the rally against teaching gay tian faith," he said. debate in 1988 before deciding to ordain homosexuality would prob¢!~ly cause which represents local churches, has not tolerance. "I don't think the appropriate role for homosexual ministers. them not to want to be there." taken a stand. Knox United Church Rev. Michael Christians is to go around being in judg- And Hare said the church actively He said in those cases, an invitation The declaration is for parents to tell Hare, Lutheran Church of Christ pastor ment of other people, trying to control campaigns for human rights legislation would be inappropriate. However, he schools they don't want their children Terry Simonson, and St. Matthew's the political agenda and call the shots." proh~iting discrimination against gays added all pastors, no matter what their taking part in classes which portray Anglican Church rector Dean Houghton "We are called to bring the good news and lesbians. views, are welcome to attend. homosexuality as something which is all say they have not been invited and of God's love to people and be servants The United Church hasn't specifically Of the churches'supporting the Kari nonnal. that their churches will not endorse and in particular to be on the side o[ addressed the issue of teaching tolerance Simpson forum, Schuss says he has Langley-based activist Kari Simpson's those who are disenfranchised." of gays in schools, but Hare predicts the "witnessed only an outpouring of love Cont'd Page A6 rally or her stance against gay tolerance Simonson says he believes gay people church would support the idea. Fishing fee uproar was anticipated Documents show staff urged .............. officials to delay increases By DAVID TAYLOR TOP ENVIRONMENT ministry bureaucrats ordered fish- ing licence fees to be hiked earlier this year against the ad- vice of senior ministry staff, including the Director of Fisheries. Documents obtained by the Standard under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that Harvey Andrusak, then Director of Fisheries, advised top level administrators to hold offwith licence fee increases until stakeholders had a chance to comment. That advice was not followed and it was the final straw for Andrusak, who left his ministry in disgust. It has been without a Director of Fisheries ever since. "IfI can't give good advice or they won't accept it then what's the point of me being there?" Andrusak told the Standard last week. "I might as well leave." At issue were the decisions to increase guide fees from $1 per rod day to $11 per day and to hike non resident licence fees in classified waters to $40 per day, on top of annual licence fees which were also raised. The new fees came into effect April 1, then were rolled- back after weeks of protest from guides and those involved in tourism businesses, especially those in the Terrace area. AFTER A long trip from Hazelton, canoeists were greeted with Their goal Is to raise money for a drug and alcohol ~'ecovery Continued Page A8 songs at Kitsumkalum last Thursday. It was the first stop of their centre. Standing at the back of the canoe, Tsimshlan artist Roy month long voyage to the Victoria inner harbour In time for the Henry Vickers asks the elders for permission to come ashore. opening of the North American Indigenous Games by August 3. Vickers is organizing the journey along with the RCMP. i Local recycler Waiting gam e now underway defies the law A THORNHILL resident says he'll continue tO recycle Union statements fuel opttmlsm for settlement of Skeena Cellulose crisis junk at the dump there, in spite of a bylaw preventing carried out in 1995. it. Lionel Sears was recently ticketed and fined $100 PLAYERS in the Skeena Cellulose crisis say they The firm helped orchestrate successful employee for recycling pop boules and cans at the Thomhill are now in a waiting game while the demands of the buy-ins at Algoma Steel and St. Mary's paper, both 'They don't want to be seen to be doing someth- ing now that they took a strike over," he said. 'dump. banks are analyzed. in Ontario. But he says that's not going to stop him from going The union's choice of Keilin has fuelled specula- Although the Terrace sawmill shuts down Friday, The TorontoDominion'and Royal banks want the in and helping himself, others and the environment by province to inject more than $100 million io help tion that an employee buy-in plan might now be a Schwartz says planer mill operations and office staff prime option for the restructuring of Skeena will remain until the remaining lumber is cut up and recycling other people's garbage. modernize the Prince Rupert pulp mill, and they "It's one of the oldest sayings around," Sears says. want unionized workers there to agree to cut 250 Cellulose. sold. Job Protection Commissioner Doug Kerley is one That's expected to last until about the second "One person's junk is another person's treasure." jobs. Sears was ticketed by regional district bylaw enforce- The prospect of a deal with the Pulp, Paper and of those left wondering if the union is now open to week of August, he said. Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) local 4 look that idea. Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) ment officer Don Oldham on March 19 of this year. He brighter after union statements last week that it Kerley put the possibility to the union about two officials are exploring the option of work sharing to fought the ticket in court two weeks ago, but lost. could cut close to 190 jobs there without stripping months ago but met a cool response. spread the remaining planer jobs around to cover "The judge was sympathetic," Sears says. "He took the collective agreement. About 175 of the cuts "They were quite emphatic that they weren't the rest of the mill workers. nearly an hour to deliberate before deciding the law would come through technological change interested in that," he said Monday. If successful, that could mean most mill workers had been written by duly elected people." provisions. Kerley said he is encouraged that the union "has here would stay on the job at least a couple of days a But Sears says it's pure bunk that he and others That reduces to 46 the number of members who publicly recognized the reality of job loss." week until all operations end in August. should be prevented from recycling by a regional dis- would lose their jobs iftbe union agrees to addition- Workers would get employment insurance for the trict bylaw. al concessions. , , "They don't want to be seen days they don't have work. "On the day I was fined, I had collected 186 cans Both the province and the union a~e having con- HRDC spokesman Shirley Kimery said there are a and 276 bottles," he says. "Why should they just be sultants review the banks' proposals. to be doing something now series of complications, including a requirement buried? It just doesn t make sense." The report to the province is expected near the end that they took a strike over." that the situation be a temporary one, andwas not Sears says he collects all sorts of stuff flora the dump certain a work shareprogram could be put in place, of July.