CASTLEGAR NEWS, March 28, 1982 (SHED AUG, Manes CASTLEGAR NEWS TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 INCORPORATING INE AID-ATEEK MIRROR PUBLISHED SEPT 2, 97B-AU0.27, 1900 A.V, CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER AUG. 7, 1947-FEB, 15, 1979 Publisher — Burt Campbell nefediner tole Hu pes Advertising Menoger— Gary ¢lem Ciiculatien Monster —Linde Kostiele Office Manoger — Elaine Lee PF ” 1d, 1s vested In and belongs to Castle News Ltd.: provided, however, that copyright In that part end that part onty of roote, engravings, et inand belong to the advertiser, a _, Some ammunition An article repritited elsewhere on this page should provide some thought (if not some ammunition) for'our municipal representatives « charged with negotiating with B.C. Hydro over the effects of Murphy Creek dam construction on our community. Written by UBC professor Ralph Loffmark in the Vancouver Sun, the article points out all too vividly the terrible effect of high interest rates ondam and home construction, He points out that initial costs — while they must be an important consideration — are not the big concern in what 8.C. Hydro elec- trical users will eventually pay for their utility bills. The big cost factor is the interest paid‘on debt. Speaking on the Hat Creek project, Loffmark says interest charges at 15 per cent will probably double the project's costs. He comments: “When a house or the power dam has been com- pleted, the workers and suppliers are off the site, but the money len- der... hangs on for another 10, or 20, or 30 years, extracting tribute until the accumulated interest Is two or three times the original cost of labor and material.” Should ovr municipal leaders be too sympathetic to Hydro of- ficlals when they protest an ad- ditional $100,000 expenditure when the officials — and council members — both know it isn't the $100,000 that Hydro, but A matter of interest. B.C. Hydro's electrical project costs have soared complish by ‘manipulating interest rates and the supply of money. Of course, the lucky few with advance knowledge of these manipu- University of B.C. ond former 8.C. health nalaister. British Columbia Hydro wants to bulld three electricity-producing and says the and ‘cost of each’ Will be: Site C (Peace River), 9,000 kilowatts, $2. 7 lations are free, to take a market position which will exploit to the full any windfall profits ensuing. But such profiteering is merely a side effect and ought not to divert attention from more distressful consequences, for it is an article of faith, among those who advise that a balanced billion; Murphy Creek (Col 4,000 kW, $1.2 billion; Hat Creek (Thermal), two million kW, $5 billion, Even if the total cost of these three plants (about $9 billion) is hard to visualize, the effect on our. power bills will be easy enough to understand. But why should these dams and generators with a capacity of about 3.3 Silllon KW be'so when with budget and full employment.are mu- tually incompatible and that fiscal stability can only be achieved at the cost of high unemployment and a stagnating economy. Canadians (and Americans) find themselves saddled with high interest rates, deficit financing, inflation, shrinking. markets, and ever rising dum 'sireadybulltar_poon 80 be The best’ the additional $200,000 or $300,000 in interest that will have the major effect on electrical rates? As Mr, Loffmark asks: “What is so valuable about the money len- ders’ contribution to society that they should, over a six- to 10-year period, recelve more money than the trades, suppliers, and professional people who actually put up a house or build’ a , generating plant?” Is it news? “Is it C news,’ asked one d in If Vancouver was suffering from our economic survey last week, “to: print ‘doom and gloom’ stories about the local economy?” {'s a question that is often asked. Even U.S. President Ronald Reagan asked it this week. the and layoffs facing the Keotenays, you can bet you'd hear even more “downbeat” news than you've seen in these pages. We agree with Castlegar Devel: C 1969 Bennett Dam (Peace), 2.4 mnillion kW, $800 million; 1973 ‘Mica’ (Colum- bia), 1.8 million kW, $1 billion; 1983 Revelstoke (Columbia), 1.8 million kW, $1.6 billion. The combined capacity of Peace, Mica, and, Revelstoke’ is about aix million kW at a cost of $3.4 billion. Site C, Murphy Creek, and Hat Creek, will produce half the power at about three times the cost. Peace Canyon dam with a capacity of 700,000 kW was built for $500 million, Site C with a capacity of 900,000 kW will probably cost $2.7 billion (five times the cost of Peace Canyon). Have labor and material costs gone up that much, or is there some other reason for these increases? __ The fact is that the high priests of economic theory have us in thrall, and the spirit of Keynes, like Banquo'’s ghost, stalks the corridors of political power. These theorists are locked in the belief that all shortcomings and deficiencies in the system can be put right by controlling credit, which, as everyone knows, they attempt to ac- Society's legitimate expectations are being frustrated on all sides. Useful work is not easily to be found, and hope of owning a home has. ‘become a crue! illusion. Politicians, especially those with little perception of the common lot, . Predictably attack wage and salary earners as the cause of the malaise. Buzz words abound: we are told that the economy is overheating; wage demands are inflationary; a cooling-off period is the order of the day; labor must restrain its demand; times are difficult; all must pull together, share the burden. But are wage demands the cause, or the effect, of inflation? Two examples will answer the question, A young couple buys a house for $125,000: $25,000 down, and the balance mortgaged at 18 per cent for a period of years. For the sake of simplicity assume that mortgage pay- ments are made yearly. (The principle illustrated is not much altered where payments are made monthly or quar- terly). The arithmetic is easily fol- lowed. At the end of the sixth year the couple will have paid out as interest Year Principal ‘18% interest «payable 85,691 81,115 101,115 14,601 18,716 13,629 129,345 Interest at 15% 10 ‘ Total tohere zE ” & aBESSEEES $5,211 M 782 $2,918 M $101,115 (an amount equal to mortgage principal) and at the end of the eighth year $129,345 (more than the original cost of their home). : Take another example such as a thermal generating plant at Hat Creek. Within 10 years of the start of construction on a project like Hat Creek, the accumulated interest will probably be as much as the actual outlay for labor and material. Put another way, interest charges at 15 per cent will probably double the cost of a Hat Creek project. But those are not the only interest charges. The workers on the job and the material suppliers will have had to pay interest to carry inventories, and the like. Ifthat is the case, what is so valuable about the money lenders’ money at. about 15 per ‘cent and interest during the construction period will be charged to the capital cost of the project. Here is how the cost of Hat Creek would probably: work out, assuming construction goes ons over nine years. When the house or the power dam has been completed, the workers and suppliers are off the site, but. the money lender like a lamprey hangs on for another 10, or 20, or 30 years, extracting tribute until the accumu- lated interest is two or three times the original cost of labor and material. A country cannot long sustain a stable economy when interest rates rise to 15 per cent and 18 per cent. It is equally clear that neither labor nor business ina to society that they should, over a six-to 10-year period, receive more money than the trades, and market is the root cause of inflation. In inecrte high interest rates are inflation, in fact professional people who actually put up a house or build a generating plant? The cost is estimated to be $5 billion. Hydro will probably have to borrow they fuel i spiral and are | as an inducement for investors who are fast losing confidence in the value of money. “Is it news that some felta out in South has just been laid off, that he should be interviewed nationwide?” the ‘president asked, complaining that “downbeat” news can contribute hol: lly to the woes. the pessimism to today’s economic news with stories of local firms that are managing to ride out the tough times. We think that we try to balance y Richard Maddocks when he says Castlegar residents are some of the most optimistic he’s ever seen.-We share that op- timism. But by the same token our economic troubles are certainly news — not surprisingly, news most people are talking about. If you didn’t see it in the paper, you'd hear it on the street. s - FRED MERRIMAN Someb: be spared the full text. Bringing back the good old days ody asked me what I thought about the economy. The rep! lasted 20 moinutes: Since I type much 1 am pleased that the days of “eat, drink and make merry” are slower than | talk, my readers will finally passing. Sales people will co longer use their famous closing which went t like this: “You had better buy today, because the price will be higher tomorrow". They were usually correct in masiog that statement — even if it was a velled threat. and make’ a terrific d All this austerity talk reminds me of the good old days. We didn't buy onvthing unless we had cash. Credit was a.terrible word. The ine terest rate at any price was nota factor: We spent more time playing baseball and soccer. We took perhaps three trips a year in the family car and that was only out past Thetis Lake to pick flowers for Easter, or out to Cadbora Bay for a day at the beach. tlk Lake, maybe six miles from town was a major outing. We were happy in those days — before people started flashing money ground. We stayed home, visited more and did a lot of walking. 1 wholeheartedly support Gerald Bou: uey and his high interest rates. It is a serious deterrent to uncontrolled use of credit. I strongly support Reagan and his shrinking government philosophy. If we must y for that brand of economics with layoffs and temporary bread fines — then so be it. itis nota good. alternative but ‘it is nevertheless far to and a h that would show us buying bread with Irbent far alec eh of worthless currency or worse yet — becoming totally dependent upon a welfare state which provides for our basic needs from cradle to grave. Those who clamor for services are seldom gble to see that somebody has to pay for those services. If they do see the necessity for somebody to poy. they are always able to place that responsibility on “the other g The main jemy — inflation — is being whipped. It takes time to change society's wide attitude. We will start asking for quality, ac- countability, lustitication. and fulfillment dates. | commend our leaders who have faced the problem head on and have the courage to do the unpopular, The turnaround will come. In fact, the positive fenults ore already showing. Inflation in the U.S. has dropped below eight per ' cent. Canada is always six months behind the U.S. so it might be late 1982 before we ex ponence the same positive results here in Canada, Fat, glut and gr: pang cut back to manageable proportions. Companies ore phat looking at more efficient methods. The party Is over ond 1 think it is about time. We must empty the ash trays, gather up the dead soldiers, open the windows and let some fresh air blow in the room which just pours before housed people who were sayi ng. “to hell with it... let's ha before it's too late”. There is a tomorrow. after the hangover has gone, as long as we premise each other to ease back on the stick a bit. y old grand; “Moderations in all things.” The present difficult times will When we change our attitude. The spring-like signs show that we are doing so. people are saying: "1 " think will wait until things bottom out, wt y, LETTERS. TO THE EDITOR School celebrates anniversary Editor, Castl News: Cormorant Elementary School in Kitimat is celebrating its 26th anni- versary this year during the week of May 17-22. We would likeall ‘former students, teachers and parents to join us at our reunion. If you can’t“ come we'd like to hear:from you, what you are doing and what year you were here. Perhaps you could send a phote- graph of yourself, to — Mrs. W. Leuze, Cormorant School, Kitimat, B.C. V8C 1R8. Enclose a stamped, addressed long envelope, and we'll’ send back information about your classmates, Karen Melanie Nyco Scheel - vac cc ce TO THE EDITOR ZN Belongs i Editor, Cashes I'm not si whether you intend Fred Funnyman's column of’ Sunday (CasNews March 21 page A4) to be taken seriously; you placed it on the editorial page with the serious ‘Col- leges should pay own way’ headline, but didn’t proof-read it any more care- fully than the author did. Fred claims he went to college, but the research in comic and, ur capacity, more life. If Fred, in his’ funny way, wants a real free- enterprise socioty, let him have it, Go to the States, Fred, and get ill: you and you alone will pay about $1,300 a day for hospital care, every sheet of toilet paper itemized on the bill. Or stay hore and bring the free-enterprise revolu- tion! Pay the real costs of your sewer lines or of your automobile fuel — no section — like Fred, you see, not a semi- iterate — who somehow has the money to pay this lawyer $100 an hour to settle his ‘thousands to millions of dol- lars’ estate. God grant me the same prosperous semi-illiteracy, Fred, I'll settle for the thousands and leave the millions to you and let the lawyer starve. He Poses us a question: ‘Why the = and writing skills he was to develop have taken awfully shallow root, Fred seems to think — a radical notion shared by too many, includi no ing con- grants, no t. let the corporations pay their way. Put your kids to work to pay for their some members of the College Board — that an institution of learning is in some way a business, with its highest ideal a dollar profit. Now, we all are owners of the College; but do we expect a dollar profit from all our holdings? From our library book read- ings or our flower patch, from our long silent afternoons in the mountains, from our streot-corner conversations with neighbors or from our church choirs? ‘Colleges are supposed to do more than simply teach skills — they are there to give us,.to the limits of their — why should they get it free? And if you get ill — tough luck, who can afford to train a doctor? Just what will be left in our valley beside the Ootischenia dump, covered with starying pickers? Follow Fred back to the caves, everyone! Too bad the mammoths are gone, but perhaps we can eat babies instead. And his facts! ‘John Grad,’ our newly-fledged lawyer in Fred’s little tale, emerges from ‘subsidized’ law Tecan cnly eeply that no university- trained employees I have ever known go about regurgitating. Mind you, when they read a column of this sort, the reflex seems perfectly natural. And ‘secondary’ — that’s high schools, Fred, not Colleges and Universities, which are ‘post-secondary.’ Are you trying to convince ‘us or put us on? No, in the end one must simply shake one’s head sadly and cast Fred's Funny - aside, wondering why it wasn't put in with the other comics. Colleges should be managed carefully and should not school and ly,.mind you, no articling, no sweating as a junior, no midnight brief-bashing ~— is besieged by Fred’s ‘semi-illiterate’ Reply is ‘perplexing’ Editor, Castlegar News: An open letter to Kootenay West MP Lyle Kristiansen. On the Jack Webster BCTV program of March 16 you made a comment that I find most perplexing. To be precise it was your answer to Mr. Webster's question, “Do you want CAIMAW to get a vote?” Your answer was, “They are not entitled to vote by the ruling of the Labor Relations Board. I read that ruling and it made a lot of sense.” Well doesn't that beat all, a New Democrat commenting that wording the greatest democratic tool we have, the ballot box, makes sense. No wonder you and your NDP colleagues get along so well with Mr. Trudeau. You believe, as he does, that political ambitions take the labor cause that you would have realized very early in the game that the issue is whether a vote should be taken or not. There is no question in my mind that the decision by the LRB to evade the issue by hiding behind the 90-day clause will only bring about further conflict and prolong the issue. Why not. let the workers at Cominco decide for" themselves and be done with it, Management people have long ago awakened to the fact that by improving communications with their employees and allowing them to participate in the decision process, avoid confrontation. When will the politician get the message and remove antagonistic legislation that for all intents and -There isa fi issue at stake only serves to justify the the involved here and it has nothing to do with whether you support the USWA or AW. Ew uid have thor that. pe moat acdeatarae® of with its implementation. Phil Brooks, President or, Rossland Trail. 2" Sbcial Credit Party? presume upon the taxpayer's gener- osity — and God knows our local. college has gone upon short commons for quite a few years now. But the purpose of colleges is’ not simply to pour information into the skull through television screens, as Fred, drawing no doubt upon his highest art form, would have us do. The college system is there to introduce young students and older ones — even. Fred,. who is seen at Selkirk sometimes even though he despises the place — to greater chances of understanding of all kinds. The profit of colleges is not simply to be counted up in dollars of interest or clipped coupons. Colleges were never meant to compete as businesses be- CASTLEGAR NEWS, Mareh 28, 1962 Too much gloom Editor, Castlegar News: T just wish to comment in regards to the front page headline on your paper of March 21. “Recession Takes Its Toll.” Immediately I expected the worst and all kinds of “funerals.” However, as I read the article, it seemed to say something quite differ- ent, with both businesses and labor having many positive factors to con- sider, and not quite as devastating as the headlines indicated. Was your staff caught up against the sensationalism \ tudes? I suspect so. If we feel pessimistic and negative, that is how we're going to act — rogardless of the facts. In other words, what I'm trying to say is that a fair amount of the “depression” we're in can be blamed on our attitudes, and not reality. Let us look up and make the best of every day instead of fueling the cause of problems, as well as being honest and true in our newspaper ee GROCETERIA & LAUNDROMAT We Are Open’ 364 Doysa Year - and the euphoria of negatives atti: “writing and headlining. Dirk “inner - Monday - Saturday Castlegar _/ |. 8:30 - 10:30 p.m. Labor force grows stEwsaction TORONTO (CP) — The construction industry says weakenirg demand and a rapidly-growing labor force means one third more of its Canadian workers will be out of work this year compared with 1981. A report released by the Canadian Construction Asso- ciation says an average 16 per cent of the construction labor force across Canada — about 125,000 people — is likely to be unemployed dur- ing 1982, the highest unem- ployment rate for the indus- try since 1978. While employment in the industry grew faster than its labor force last year, the pat- tern.:is expected to be re- versed this year. The report says industry unemployment in Newfound- land could jump. to 44 per cent, the highest to date in the province, from about 35 per cent in the last two years. , The prodictee drop in em- cause they never were they are expressions of the creative power of our society, and particularly of the love of learning, beauty and wisdom dear to very many of us. Of course, if only dollars are dear to you, I have no more to say. One might as well invest profitably in munitions. You do have a choice, and so devoted a pursuit of profit could leave us with no problems at all, ever. On the other hand, Fred could clean up his act — get. his facts straight — think his recom. mendations right through — and we t back ,to:somethin; us. 3 ee eats 2! workers in that province fol- lows a 15-per-cent drop in 1981, Only four provinces are expected to increase con- struction employment this year, with the largest growth predicted for Quebec, where a 10-per-cent increase is ex- pected, following nine-per- cent growth in 1981, The Inaustey in’ rete Columbia expecting, .a sharp Qiprdafound Bs fo! struction somes drops Education i isn't a business. - Editor, Castlegar News: Tam ‘writing in regard to.an article in your paper entitled “Colleges should pay own way”, by Fred been at ridiculous levels for 10 years and when young people line up at Gomines and Celgar gates just dying these paid for, through taxes, by the people who work at Kalesnikoff ‘Lumber, ° Atco, Cominco and BC Timber. Mr. that people take their education by the number of suicides that take place on campus. . Mr. Merriman, who was seen using the facilities at Selkirk College the day beforé his column appeared in your paper, states that he is “pleased to see the cutbacks” that are drastically reducing the effectiveness of Selkirk College and making it impossible for our children, our brothers and sisters, and ourselves to get the re- necessary to find jobs when places like Cominco modernize their plants and lay us off. - Mr. Merriman should take a tour of the modern facilities at Celgar and Cominco. These places, with ‘their modern machinery and processes need ee means that Canadians will be on unemployment or in low paying jobs instead of getting on with the job of building up the country as they should. As for getting “on with the modern ways of the future which are full upon us” (nice rhetoric Mr. Merriman), maybe Mr. Merriman should check out the statistics of the Knowledge Net- work of the West (KNOW), a recent attempt by the Ministry of Education to use TV for a Ji h for suicide should be made more exp would mean that no one from these places would be able to use it. Is that fair? Cutbacks at Selkirk College of the magnitude suggested by Mr. Merriman would mean that only the sons ‘and daughters of doctors and lawyers, and Cominco and Celgar executives would. be able to get the education that is necessary. I suggest t that Mr. Merriman would There is at present an 85 per cent drop out rate from Dr. McGeer’s “toy tele- vision education”. For correspondence courses in general only 1.6 per cent of the more people with an — not vless. In the next three years we will have to import 20,000 trades-people (carpen- ters, electricians, instrument mechan- fes, etc.) because we don't have the capabilities to train them ourselves. There is already a drastic shortage of nurses and 2,000 jobs already exist for engineers that gtill need to be trained. This at a time when unemployment has. ever The modern ways of the future are the community colleges which we are just now coming on stream. Selkirk College is only 16 years old and the East Kootenay Community College is just opening this year. Should we shut it down before it has ever trained a soul? ‘Whatever the educational system puts into place, you can bet {t will be © be more in taking out his bitterness at having to pay doctors’ and lawyers’ bills on those “professions rather than making education their. private preserve. B.C. would be a lot better off if we invested money in retraining some of the thousands of laid off B.C. workers. When the current recession is over it would be nice if we could move forward instead of merely trying to get back to where we were before the recession started. In one.of the more ludicrous sections of Mr. Merriman’s column he suggests that we could measure how seriously ; While the UBC campus has by far the highest suicide rate of any community in B.C., I don't think suicide is a trend that we should encourage by placing even heavier financial burdens and worries on students, as Mr. Merriman suggests, On the whole, the comment by Mr. Merriman was poorly written, poorly. researched, ned shothe out, and in places unint I don’t think thot such comment should be on your well-written, well laid out and importantcnew -¢ditorial comme should properly be. placed on .the comics page where they belong. Bichard Bell Castlegar More letters page AS ‘ ~ Whyai these women such a valuable Canadian resource? lanada is rich in resources. But our most |. Cmer resource is our skilled workers. Right now, there are Jobs i in Canada which - can't be filled because we're short of people with the right skills in the trades and new technologies. More and more, finding the right person for.a job. means finding the man or woman with the right training. aaitt Employment and Immigration we're? + creating a:new National Training Program to assist in on-thejob.and-classroom training in the,skills Canadian industry. needs now, and in the future. Part of our program provides training for women in non-traditional jobs. The rewards are great because training in priority skills is a key to job security in the “ 1980's. And more women are entering the trades each year. Last year over 22,000 women took part in on-the-job training. Thousands more benefitted from-training in the techno- logies and:other career areas. hat’s ah investment in Canada's skilled work force, It’s an investment in Canadian Helping Canada Work. Canada work. industry. And it’s an investment that helps we write: “CHAI NAME: For a copy of the booklet Ontawan Sitario K1A0I9 ADDRESS: Sunday & Holidays 9- 10:30 p.m. 1038 Columbia 365-6534 ermeremnenmes RASPBERRY IRRIGATION DISTRICT Annual General Meeting Sunday, April 4 Tp.m. at A. P. Verigins Place a forecast two per: cent, . compared with the 21 per cent gain recorded last year. At the same time, the labor force is expected to increase, so the unemployment rate might rise to 16 per cent this year — the highest level in the province's history — from the 10 per cent recorded in 1981. For Your Convenience We're. OPEN MONDAY | CASTLEGAR TAB Columbia Ave... eeeseeeeeee reece HAIR STYLISTS CONVENIENCE STORES JOHNNY'S GROCERY EGAS 2593 Broodwater, Robson. |GENERAL STORE Roba DEPARTMENT STORES PLUMBING BARTLEA GIBSON ZIT -OIAVO.seccseeeseeerssesseey RESTAURANTS MOUNTAIN SKI & SPORTS | Castleaird Plaza... STATIONERS TAX SERVICE KOKANEE TAX SERVICE 27BColumbia Ave ..... FIREPLACES FISHING TACKLE TRAVEL AGENCIES TOTEM TRAVEL 1438 Columbia Ave... UPHOLSTERY TUPHOLSI 650+ 23rd St . woop wo pTLE-CRAFT WOODWORKS Aue oth Ave 365-3117 NELSON HARDWARE THUNOERSIED ELECTRIC a PLUMBING SUPPLY }OOD VALLAI HEALTH Foops LADIES’ APPARELL OARAPYTENAUA 80 455 WordSt.. apne! pees S51 Ward Steevesseeeeestereseeseeeseeen ++-352-2523 352-3412 CARPET CARE Emploi et Immigration Canada ° Lloyd Axworthy, Ministre Empioyment and Immigration Canada Uoyd Axworthy, Minister Vv iw Canadit TAP Bay AVE sesseesecescseeeeneeenees SMOP BEARS 1196 PineSt...., To List Your bara This Dise ++-964-0112 364-1914 368-5115 21 B6M 1744 TRAIL setts Nrol Heteon Bdge... aia . + OFFICE PRODUCTS 1150 Lokeside Dr WNCOME TAX Henson 1-967 Spokone 51... LADIES’ APPAREL COUACE! Phone 365: 5210