OPINION. Castlégar News PAGE A6, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1991 MEMBER OF THE 8.C. PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1 TWICE WEEKLY May 4, 1980 INCORPORATING THE MID. WEEK MIRROR PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 12, 1978-AUGUST 27, 1980 LV CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 15, 1973 BURT CAMPBELL, PUBLISHER EMENITUS — PUBLISHER, FEBRUARY 16. 1973-MAY 1. 1991 PUBLISHER — Dave McCullough EDITOR — Simon Birch “PLANT FOREMAN — Peter Harve: ADVERTISING MANAGER — Wayne Stolz OFFICE MANAGER — Warren Chernoft CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadley EDITORIAL MLA's idea top notch Every so often a politician comés up with a gem of an idea. Veteran Socred MLA Grace McCarthy wins top marks this week for her suggestion that funds from the Columbia River Treaty bet- ween Canada and the United States should be used to help B.C. students pay for post-secondary education. Mrs. McCarthy’s proposal, contained in a private member’s bill, suggests the money could be used to put $1,000 away each year for every kindergarten child and held in trust for 12 years so that évery person would have about $4,000 to be used for post-secondary education. If a student does not go on to post-second. ducati: Ae 2 in it Ta i LETTERS TO THE EDITOR the money would be returned to the legacy fund. The funding would last as long as the money flows in from the downstream benefits which the province starts to receive in 1999. The benefits amount to between $250 million and $1 billion a year for the following 20 years. Justice not served As concerned citizens, we are writing to your Paper to express our views in regard to the recent citizens, must ensure it is maintained in our country. Unfair justice is no justice at all. Myrna Evancic Gail Day camping out permanently at Syringa Creek? Does your newspaper intend to do any investigative journalism on the number of people who have been evicted from rental si Conf d Sa Ay i Ta By MARTIN MEYER | Recycle Advisory Group It is unfortunate that Cascade Recycling has discontinued its service to the public, The business only lasted about a mon- th, with a collection depot in the old Super Valu lot, The owner jattributes the failure to the fact that: people did not put the right ‘materials in the right place. This fact was pain- fully obvious during the short period the depot was open to the public, The facility was set up to collect paper, cardboard and ¥ sy even hi there. The recycling business is a fickle one. To be profitable, it’s important that all materials be properly separated. For example, colored glass must be separated from clear glass and plastic or metal neck rings removed. If even one colored bottle gets into a batch of clear giass, the entire load may be rejected. Different grades of paper fetch different prices. As an example, computer paper is more valuable than newspaper. If higher grades are contaminated with lower grades, then the entire batch may be devalued. Some types of paper are not recyclable at present and therefore will contaminate a bat- ch of good paper, There is ed public causes of local recycler currently no market for wax paper, fax paper, carbon paper and some types of glossy papet. In all cases, tape and labels must be removed. Foreign materials, such as plastics and metals, have no place in glass or paper recycling systems. And certainly there is no place for sticky old pizza boxes and general household garbage! To allow a commercial recycling operation to be profibable, it’s necessary materials to be separated at the source and not at the depot. If wages have to be paid to separate materials at the depot, then it is unlikely a profit can be made. A lot of Castlegar-area people are very disappointed to see the recycling depot shut down. It is an unfortunate lesson in the im- portance of knowing how to properly handle recyclable materials. On a more optimistic note, area residents are, still able to bring a variety of materials to the depot at 519 Front St. in Nelson, Another bit of good news is that the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary is working towards establishing a depot in the Trail area. With any luck at all, the dépot may be functional by early fall 1991. In Castlegar, Stanley and Associates, a consultant hired by the Regional District of Central Kootenay, is planning a public input meeting June 17 to deal with the subject of recycling. The provincial government announced last year it won’t continue to sell electricity generated under the Columbia River Treaty to its U.S. customers when the treaty begins to expire in 1998. trial of Castlegar fire chief Bob Mann. Firstly, we would like to commend the mayor, council and the many good people of Maple Ridge accommodation in this area since the mill expansion was announced? Church and the World Committee B.C. sold the so-called downstream benefits in 1964 for $254 million under three separate 30-year agreements expiring in 1998, 1999 and 2003 because the province didn’t need the electricity at the time. Admittedly, $4,000 a year for post-secondary education isn’t a lot. Ask any full-time student trying to make ends meet in Vancouver right now, with tuition fees rising every year and the wallet-busting cost of housing on the Lower Mainland. But it would be a good start and would certainly cushion the financial blow of furthering one’s education, especially if a high school graduate opted to spend his or her first two years of post- secondary education at a community college like Selkirk College, as many local students do. Mrs. McCarthy admitted her private member’s bill is unlikely to go far but said it might spur the government to come up with a similar idea. Let’s hope she’s right. Castlegar who believed in Mr. Mann’s innocence unless proven guilty. We would be proud to say we are citizens of Castlegar. Our second observation deals with the judicial system. It seems that our judicial system, which is here to protect our rights, engaged in laying charges based on the unsubstantiated Statements of a teenager, without sufficient evidence to support such action. Furthermore, authorities insist on releasing the name of the accused which in itself serves no good purpose except to cause him and his family irreparable harm. It seems high time that our judicial system is made responsible to compensate the person so unfairly charged when he is absolutely and completely found not guilty of the allegations. If the government permits the Crown council to be VIEWPOINT Tax hikes hurt more than help By LARRY WELSH Millions of Canadians don’t need a new study to conclude they’re over- taxed They're already driving to the United States and coming back loaded with bargains. “Cross-border shopping is a tax revolt,”” said Catherine Swift, chief economist at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Even the federal government's own chief tax collector, Revenue 1989 than when the Tories came to power in 1984. Add provincial and municipal tax increases and you end up with a lot of angry Canadians trying to make ends meet in tough economic times. “Any politician who doesn’t un- derstand that is deaf, dumb and blind,”’ said Bill Neville, president of the Canadian Tobacco Manufac- turers Council and a Tory adviser. The council has launched a $2- million campaign against high taxes Minister Otto Jelinek, conceded last week. that the federal government may have moved too far, too fast in raising taxes to fight the budget deficit Said Swift: ‘‘The ultimate answer is lower taxes, but I'm not holding my breath, at least at the moment.”’ A new study by Patrick Grady of Global Economics Ltd. concluded this week that an average middle-in- come family paid $1,530 more in taxes to the federal government in on tobacco products, including prin- ting $0 million forms inside cigarette packages that can be mailed to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Swift believes combined gover- nment tax grabs at federal, provin- cial and local levels are pushing small companies out of business, throwing Canadians out of work and making the recession worse. A study by the federation found a small Buffalo retailer was paying please see TAX page A7 this ir have to pay to fund such court cases. We would thank you for printing this letter in the interest of national justice, Avhich we, as in laying charges, then it should be prepared to compensate those who have been unjustly charged as was done in the Marshall case in Nova Scotia. Possibly the accuser should be made responsible in some way to pay back the debt to the accused plus what we the taxpayers housing here. accommodation. rent increases. Renters want answers We were interested to read both your April 20 article and last week’s update, on the proposed construction Camp at the new mill site. Your April article began, ‘‘Setti camp won't be as easy as pitching a couple of tents.’” Yet if the present housing crisis continues that is precisely what some Castlegar citizens will be doing in the absence of any affordable rental A great deal of excitement is being generated by news of the impending camp but we hear nothing about plans for people who live in this community who are being squeezed out of rental, The Celgar expansion and its impact on this city has been before city council for a long time. It is not difficult to forecast a housing shortage. As soon as house prices rise and the demand for houses goés up, rental units are either sold or the What are the City of Castlegar’s contingency plans for people who cannot find alternative housing? Will trailer courts be allowed to develop? Will Castlegar be the new ‘‘Cardboard City of the Kootenays’’ or will former renters be ing up this United Church, Castlegar Ann Godderis, Caria Miscavitch Bev Poole, Bruce Wilson and Sally Williams Please address all letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor, Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at 197 Columbia Ave. in Castlegar. Letters should be typewritten, double- spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in exceptional published without Nevertheless, telephone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor The Castiegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. cases will letters be the writer's name. the name, address and Recovery lacks hard evidence By CLYDE GRAHAM OTTAWA (CP) — don’t die of old age. But their life expectancy is generally about a year. Recessions Philip Cross, director of current analysis at Statistics Canada, says maybe that is why so many economists expect an end to the current economic slump is around the corner. The recession, which began in April 1990, has already celebrated its first birthday “It’s normal for people to begin to look for signs of a recovery,” said Cross, While things were looking up a bit this spring and the worst is probably over, Cross sees no hard evidence a recovery has started. Cross said since the Great Depression, most have lasted a year or less. The major exception was the deep 1981-82 recession that ran on for a year and a half and is still considered worse than the current slump. On Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the economy declined by an annual rate of six per cent in the first six months of 1991. That’s a slump that rivals the wor- st days of the bitter 1981-82 recession. But will it last as long? Because the latest numbers only cover March, it’s possible the recovery is already on. recessions The bulls — stock market jargon for an optimist — include George Vasic of DRI-McGraw Hill Canada and John Clinkard at Canadian Im- perial Bank of Commerce. They argue that a rebound in April’s housing ‘starts and higher employment are signs the recession is already over And there was another hopeful sign Friday. The United States chief economic forecasting gauge rose 0.6 per cent in April — the third straight monthly advance. But in a recent article, John Ken- neth Galbraith, the noted Canadian- born economist at Harvard Univer- sity, said there are two kinds of economists who are predicting an early end to the slump throughout North America. “They are divided between those who don’t know and those who don’t know they don't know.”” Also on the bearish — pessimist — side is Doug Peters, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank. He ex- pects a meager recovery will only begin in late summer Peters said the policies of Bank of Canada governor Crowe are to blame for the depth of the recession early this year. High interest rates and a strong dollar that reached a nine-month high of 87.37 cents U.S. on Thur- sday have crippled Canadian manufacturing companies “You can congratulate Mr. Crow for a six per cent decline in the economy,”’ said Peters. Statistics Canada’s Cross says it is possible the recession may end sooner than later. But he cautions: Recoveries begin for a reason. He plans to wait to see the hard data before he declares this recession is over. Clyde Graham writes for ‘Canadian Press. The Tax continued from page Aé only 50 to 70 per cent of taxes paid by a similar store in Toronto. ‘Ontario retailers . . . must make up the difference in higher prices,’’ the study concluded. Swift understands government arguments that Canadian taxes provide real benefits like more affor- dable day care and better health care, pensions and unemployment in- surance. “But the guy in Toronto still has to compete with the guy in Buffalo,” Swift said. Of course, the federal government has its own studies. The Finance Department points to international survey results which “‘indicate that Canada’s tax system is more itive than is Still, studies make poor substitutes for savings, which is what cross- border shoppers are loading into their car trunks. David Perry, senior research associate at the Canadian Tax Foun- dation, believes the issue is more complex than whether taxes are too high. “When you go down there, you are usually evading the GST and Provincial sales taxes as well. That’s not an issue of tax burden, it’s an issue of tax compliance.’” And the entire tax question would be irrelevant if the Canadian dollar fell sharply. “If we had the Canadian dollar turn around from 87 cents US down to 77 cents or 78 cents, that would make a tremendous difference in cross-border shopping,’’ Perry said. Larry Welsh writes for The Canadian Press. Show targets drop-outs The Stanley Humphries secondary school Parent Advisory Council is coordinating a program entitled FACTS (Families, Awareness and C : recognized.”* An average production worker in Canada with two children and a spouse who didn’t work had a lower tax rate in 1989 than ‘a similar worker in 18 other industrial countries, in- cluding the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. That comparison by the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development was made after accounting for social security contributions. ion with Teens in Society): Dropping Out II. It will be broadcast live June 10 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Shaw Cable 10, then recorded and rebroadcst on June 12, 14 and 15. The live program will be simulcast on QR 760 radio. Dropping Out I was broadcast in May and the audience was left wan- ting more information so the Parent Advisory Council was requested to develop another program as a follow-up, Shaw Cable says in a news release. The panel will consist of moderator Terry Rogers, Fred Mon- din of Social Services, Dave Lang of Canada Employment, SHSS teacher John Duncan and a youth, Susan Yocom. The program will consist of a panel discussion, a video, Options, followed by a phone-in question period. The panel discussion will be aimed at increasing awareness and under- standing of the drop-out problems, as well as informing the public what support services are available, Shaw Cable said. History continued from page Aé members of newly forming local chapters of the ECA who paid a minimum $5 membership fee towards a Please recycle The NEWS Make a Move!! without Vélame Wan. Our Hostess’ Gifts and In- formation are the Key to Your New Community Heather at 365-5490 or Ginny at 365-5549 June 6, 1991 Qa? eo We're out to meet you! 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Woodcraft Solid Color and Semi- $249 Made in Western Canada for Western Canada! Commission hearings into the sale in the late fall and winter of 1986-87. The campaign by. Abele — who soon moved his business to Nelson while concurrently touring the WKP service area as ECA general manager — was based on the idea of offering a Canadian alternative to the sale, in a proposal that was grounded in both business and economic nationalism. Some members favored local control of the utility, others merely Canadian ownership. Abele himself proposed an outright consumer:purchase of the power company and the idea found favor among purchase plan. Eventually, legal costs incurred in the course of lengthy public hearings — in Trail, Penticton and Kelowna — had swallowed up the organization’s bank account and its executive settled for trying to secure a suitable private Canadian owner. A month into its historic mission, in September 1986, the consumers group grew to 700 (from 17), prompting Abele to venture a bold prediction: “If ‘we have 5,000 members, our politicians are going to take notice.” Saturday: The politicians get involved. History sheds light onrepatriation issue Ninety-three years after the Kootenay River's years after a historic sale, West Kootenay Power is once more being thrust into the limelight of history and with the by the K -€ Electric C rushing waters flowed through the first dam and four of a campaign for repatriation of the local utility. The following is a retrospective look at the events surrounding the first-ever foreign takeover of a Canadian utility. First of two parts. By BARBARA TANDORY Special to the Castlegar News When West Kootenay Power’s first dam was built, in 1897-98, the future seemed to promise a proud role in Canadian history for the local power ys In 1898, in an ambitious undertaking that was the first of its kind, the small investor-owned company completed, after only a year and a day of the Lower B. dam on the Canada lost more than legacy with sale of West Kootenay Power Kootenay River, sending high-voltage power over 50 kilometres of high mountains to feed the energy needs of the mining industry at Rossland. A second power plant, at the Upper Bonnington Falls in South Slocan, was built between 1905-1907, also setting a record — that of the largest single project of concrete construction in the province up to that time. In 1916, the utility was acquired by the Cominco smelter — at that time called the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada Ltd. — which remained its owner until the sale to UtiliCorp United of Kansas City, Mo., four years ago. By the late 1920s, when the third dam was added at South Slocan, the expanding power company was supplying the growing mines and smelters of the Boundary region at Grand Forks, Phoenix and Greenwood, and supplying the farms and orchards of the O} at Oliver and as far as Kelowna. By that time, West Kootenay Power and Light became an corporation with the incorporation, in 1918, of the Northport Power and Light Co. when it extended its transmission lines to the Washington smelter. (The distribution system was sold back to the Americans in 1942.) In all, West Kootenay Power built six dams — the Corra Linn (named, along with Bonnington Falls, after sites on the River Clyde in Scotland) in 1932, the Brilliant Dam, also on the Kootenay, jin 1944, and the post-war Waneta plant on the Pend d’Oreille River outside Trail. (Cominco retained the last two plants after the 1987 sale to UtiliCorp.) Adding to the overall security of ownership was the fact that Cominco, a mining giant of world standing, was itself owned by the oldest and biggest holding company in the country, the Canadian Pacific Railway, another Canadian institution. But in 1986, in a swift series of i return for a transfer of ownership of its three Kootenay River plants (Upper Bonnington, South Slocan and Corra Linn) back into WKP’s hands. But the issue of tax exemption was resolved only ily. Fi ially a p ial goose laying golden eggs, WKP became a corporate problem for its parent company which resolved the problem by selling the utility to UtiliCorp in the summer of 1986 for a price that was 70 per cent of its $45 million book value. Alongside the sale agreement, a parallel development was taking shape in the summer of 1986. At the end of August that year, Gerald Abele, @ young entrepreneur and chamber of commerce president from Creston, started a consumer group against the sale that soon spread to all parts of changes, CP Rail sold Cominco and Cominco decided to sell its power company. Cominco’s reasons, however, had little or nothing to do with the changing pattern of corporate ownership and everything to do with provincial enefgy legislation. Since the introduction of the B.C. Utilities Act in 1976, Cominco had been facing designation as a power utility and was dodging utility taxes with temporary exemption from the government. It received a tax exemption in 1982 in B.C. ina whose spirited fight for Canadian ownersKip was to eclipse everything else in the power company’s 89 years of experience. : Forméd from 17 founding membets in the Nelson and Creston area, the Electric Consumers Association grew to more 8,000 members hroughout the the touch 1 Okanagan when it became a voice of protest representing WKP customers during the B.C. Utilities ALL FILM DEVELOPMENT 10% orr 5X7 BONUS PRINT Bring your graduation film in for developing and receive a 5x7 bonus print of your choice. Did You Know We Also Have... e Treasure Prints ¢ Have your favorite photo ermanently mounted on Beautiful collector pieces! © 4x6 PRINTS ¢ : Available at the Same Cost as 3x5 Prints. Colour Film Only. Drywall Sealer “New Improved Hiding Powel” $11.99 OM cencn a mrs TT In Store Specials! © Wallpapers... 35-503 ® Custom Blinds Breeze Interior Latex Eggshell or Semi-gloss “Our Best Latex” BC M8201) Our Fine Selection of imported Giftware! 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