Gov't Won't Sever SCI Workers
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Eye on the prize Trying to sell? Point of view Terrace's MacDougall Real estate prices New cedar shrubs help rink aims for a spot in have fallen so low, spruce up a view point the top three in some people can,t near a treasured land- B.C.\SPORTS BIO leave\NEWS A::I.3 mark\COMMUNITY B1 1,,. v'- O $1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST O ($1.10 plusS¢ GST O outside of the Terrace area) t.O t.O O3 ,70 . I",,. | TANDAR["Terrace h~ "1~.~. 'a "-oo~ "Foreatry Capitad'" Gov't won't sever SCI workers By JEFF NAGEL benefits, which would involve workers' "Quite frankly 1 see that as the board to comply with the terms of the MORE THAN 800 laid-off Skeena The savings here were worth nearly medical, dental, extended health and same as payroll and those amounts ei- contract." $200,000 per month, the report said. Cellulose workers should be severed to life insurance premiums. ther have or are being paid out to em- He also suggested the monitors A higher proportion of cuts came at save more than $1 million per month Enterprise minister Rick Thorpe ployees," he said. aren't aware of the full consequences the Prince Rupert pulp mill and Car- in benefits payments, court-appointed said he supports that decision but also Benefits consist of the remaining of such an action. monitors say. naby sawmill, where 50 and !1 staff warns extreme measures may yet be $500,000 per month, he estimated. "If they terminate the employment were cut respectively. "We estimate that in excess of 800 necessary as SCI cash reserves dec- Thorpe admitted the treatment of of 800 people they're obligated to pay In all SCI terminated 98 people at employees currently under 'temporary line. the hourly unionized workers is so far severance pay for 800 people," he the beginning of the month in a move layoff' status could be terminated, "One of the last things we're going different than more than 150 manage- said. "That could come into the rail- expected to save $659,000 per month. which could result in a reduction in to do is take people's health care and ment employees, who were not just lions of dollars." It leaves 59 salaried staff still work- monthly disbursements of in excess of health benefits away from their fami- laid off, but severed to save benefits. Malhotra said the company makes ing. Besides managers, they include $1 million," says the Oct. 5 report of lies," Thorpe told the Standard. "As our cash resources dwindle it its payments for the benefits around Arthur Andersen Inc., which has been secretarial, technical and other staff. "Such a major decision to do that does call for some very, very tough, the end of each month. Other austerity measures are also named to oversee company operations, would be only done by the board as a gut-wrenching decisions," he said. The monitor's report also indicates underway. "We have suggested that Skeena's last ditch effort to keep the company IWA rep Surinder Malhotra said the just over a third of managers and sal- "Skeena has reduced its silviculture management examine severing these afloat as we try to bring a deal to a idea would breach the workers' em- aried staff remain at the Terrace saw- employees to mitigate these conclusion." and road maintenance/deactivation ployment contract: mill after terminations directed by the activities to the minimum level they payments." Thorpe said half the estimated $1 "We have a signM contract with monitors. consider necessary without breaching The company's board of directors million in savings consists of $500,000 these employers," Malhotra said. Thirty staff here were cut, leaving the Forest Practices Code," the report has so far rejected the idea of cutting worth of accrued vacation pay. "They're obligated under the labour 17 of the previous 47 people working. said. ,;, ~,.:•...... '•: [•...... i( I '•:., [ , .,, , .' ~, '~..........~:~o~.,,~g~7~,:::~:~! ~i!~.~s:~'""~,:~!,~,!,~, ~, ,",',;,: Third bidder "i is from B.C. : i':: i i;i¸ i if: ! By JEFF NAGEL !i., i:i ~ A THIRD BIDDER - this time a B.C, company - is . ' ' ::[ ,i ': :: '... looking seriously at buying Skeena Cellulose. Enterprise minister Rick Thorpe refused to identify the new bidder, but said the B.C. firm has signed a con- fidentiality agreement and been given access to detailed SCI data. Thorpe said the clock is ticking down toward Nov. 5 - the date the company must next appear in court to de- fend itself from bankruptcy. "We're running against the clock, but we seem to be getting pretty accustomed to doing that," he said. i ! He said he hopes to get a solid offer from both the B.C. firm and a Montreal-based consortium that includes former Repap officials. Thorpe's also looking for a revamped offer from Swiss-based Mercer International. "We have to get Something firm on the table this time," Thorpe said. "Our cash resources are getting very thin." Both Mercer and the Montreal group were offering less than $20 million for SCI, court documents show. The Oct. 5 report of court-appointed monitors says both proposed to pay less than the $20 to $25 million es- timated realizable value of SCI's working capital assets at Sept. 30. That's what the monitor predicts could realistically be raised from the liquidation sale of SCI's unsold lumber and pulp, raw materials, supplies and other inventory. Both Mercer and the Montreal group also want the province to relax forest practices requirements in the re- gion, the report says. They also insist on indemnities from the province for certain potential liabilities. Thorpe won't say what that involves, but large future == Answering the call bills would likely include environmental liability for any PEE WEE rep players Kelly McColl, Dana Young and Kenny week. Teams are selling potatoes to support travel expenses, pollution at the pulp mill and SCI's requirement to re- McColl hoist three 50-pound bags of potatoes to deliver them Many people have opted to donate their purchase this year. plant trees in areas it has logged. to the food bank. In all. Terrace Minor Hockey donated 1.500 The food bank recently urged local residents to help restock "We will only deal with those issues when they be- pounds of potatoes to the Terrace Churches Food Bank last the shelves to meet demand. JENNIFER LANG PHOTO come issues, when we have a firm offer on the table." He noted the new government has sworn to reject cor- porate subsidies. Kidney dialysis confirmed for here Cont'd Page A2 NORTHWESTERNERS places where the service is storage. And they're in contact is a potential for 12 pa- Scientists named to needing kidney dialysis available. Cozac said the dialysis with B.C. Buildings Cor- tients a day. will soon be able to stay in It's meant dislocating equipment itself won't be poration officials as that "Right now we don't probe offshore oil the area. lives and separated fami- bought until a firm opening Crown company has the have 12 patients," said A SCIENTIFIC review panel has been named by Health care officials are lies. date has been set. responsibility of provincial Cozac in adding that the Victoria to determine whether offshore oil and gas confirming that a six-sta- Some people are, how- "What we want is the construction works. unit's placement in the reserves can be safely extracted. tion dialysis unit will be in ever, able to stay in the latest and the best," she "We each have our own northwesl is also based on The appointment of the panel adds further mo- place at Mills Memorial area thanks to home dialy- said. piece to do," said Cozac the anticipated need as the mentum to the province's move toward lifting its Hospital by next spring. , sis. As for the renovations of the number of people population gradually ages. moratorium on offshore drilling, It marks the end of sev- The unit will be going to the unit space itself, involved. Cozac isn't anticipating It comes as a group of northern MLAs plans eral years of planning and into a section of the sec- other Northern Interior Each station can handle a problem in finding quali- public forums in several towns including Terrace. recognizes the growing ond floor at Mills that has Health Board officials are two patients over the fied nurses to work at the Panel members are: need for the service in the never been used, save for having estimates checked. course of one day, so there unit. [] Chairman David Strong, former president of northwest, says Jeanne the University of Victoria and a professor 'of earth Cozac who runs the main and ocean sciences there. regional dialysis program Modest health care increase given [] Derek Muggeridge, Okanagan University through the Northern Inter- LOCAL HEALTH officials are busy figuring out if their the health council's ability to spend new monies on College's dean of science and associate vice-pre- ior Health Board in Prince new budget from the health ministry fully covers wage health care improvements, said Manhas. "That would sident of research. George. increases given to their employees this year. lead to another series of decisions," he said. [] Patricia Gallaugher, director of Simon Fraser "It's good for patient On the surface, the $17.268 million given this yeai for The health council also received a capital allocation University's Centre for Coastal Studies and direc- care and it's good for the operating costs for Mills Memorial Hospital and Terra- of $201,500.