Wednesday, January 20, 1993 m Mary Ann Fullerton Circulation Manager Burt Campbell OurWiEWwWS Adrian RAESIDE Bargain budget or the second straight year, the City of Castlegar puts its budget to the people. And for the second straight year, the city came out the winner. Despite the tiny turnout, Monday’s gathering proved to be another positive step toward bridging the gap between a skeptical public and = an increasingly productive council. Under the cautious direction of Councillors Lawrence Chernoff and Kirk Duff, citizens were given a simplistic vision of how and why Castlegar intends to spend its growing tax base. And, if public opinion has anything to do with it, our budget is in good hands. Sure, we can complain about city hall renovations and central fire hall costs, but every budget has a bottom line — how much will it cost to the ordinary citizens? In Castlegar’s case, citizens are getting a bargain. For the second straight year, council is proposing a two per cent tax cut for homeowners. In fact, a tax cut in 1993 would mark the third consecutive year the city has resisted to pad its coffers at the expense of the public. This is hardly the province-wide norm. We can accuse the city of a lot of things, but we should never accuse it of railroading citizens on their tax bills. If anything, Castlegar has been diligent in protecting citizens from the economic realities that surround them. CaN ol OUR, NEWEST Conroy sitting POLITICAL 9 __ SUPPORT GROUP the hot-seat I wouldn’t want to be in Ed Conroy’s shoes these days. Besides the fact that they wouldn’t fit my — dare I confess it publicly — dainty size nines, I wouldn't want to be saddled with the step- by-step pressure that he now finds himself under. See, whether Conroy likes it or not, the public is becoming _ increasingly frustrated with his performance and the overall performance of his New Democratic government. Let’s face it, with or without Conroy's support, the provincial government has, © axed the Castlegar-Robson ferry, * delayed construction of the Castlegar- Robson bridge, * proposed a half-wit plan that would see Warfield hill truck traffic rerouted through our already treacherous roads, * rejected a Job Protection Commission Report that outlined how the government could ensure the long-term survival of Harrison tw Comparison Cominco, ¢ and stalled in its re- creation of an ‘improved’ Labor Relations Code. Hardly an impressive resume for a rookie MLA or his first-term party. So much so, that Conroy's own supporters are starting to take a second sober look at the man they have selected to represent them in Victoria. A devout trade-unionist, Conroy has had no support 4 from his own party — a party that has left him weathering the storm after it continually dropped the political ball in the West Kootenay. It should come as no surprise then that local unions are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the NDP. For, as one trade-unionist told me recently, “It’s easy to talk tough with the media, but he’s got to start standing up in the legislature and voicing our concerns.” please see HARRISON page 7 Street TALK Publisher Emeritus L.V. Campbell Aug. 7, 1947- Feb. 15, 1973 Elmer Williams Castlegar “I don’t put my trust in men. I put my trust in God.” Jean Young Castlegar “They’re too laid back.” Nora Popoff Castlegar “Not too great. I think the scandal makes it worse.” Holly Heppner Robson “I don’t know. To me, politicians are all the same.” Question: Do you think the provincial Liberal party has been effective in opposition? AS Bill Hackman Robson “We've had them in before and they didn’t do anything.” @ Wednesday, January 20, 1993 = = —- ad ~ nn ob) ~~ CO Please address all letters to: Letters to the or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave. 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 b ’ Letters tof HE EDITOR B.C. ‘courting with disaster’ I wish to lend my support to those who have lashed out at the Government of B.C. for awarding the proposed Castlegar-Robson bridge project to a non- union, Alberta contractor. As a retired Teamsters’ Union member, and having worked on several local major construction projects over the past 30 years, I must agree with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and our MLA Ed Conroy, “that we may be courting with disaster” if construction goes ahead by non-union members. Mr. Scott David Harrison, you “hit the nail on the head” in your column, Harrison Comparison as it pertains to our provincial government awarding this contract to an out-of- province, non-union shop, SCI, a Calgary-based company. “There might be a short term gain, but the result would be long term pain. “We must resist that temptation,” and trust that level heads will prevail at the Wednesday meeting between the UBCJ and SCI News file photo Mayor Audrey Moore and Transport Minister Art Charbonneau announce construction of the Castlegar-Robson brigde. Engineers and Contractors, and have local union people working on the project. In future, the government of British Columbia would be wise to find a way to include a proviso in future tenders to include British Columbia contractors only, on government tendered projects. Bill Konkin Ootischenia Bottom-line not always the best line When considering the merits of any contract; one needs to consider more than the bottom line. The gross difference between the two lowest bids for the Castlegar-Robson bridge was about two per cent ($272,000 of $14 million). But this difference is not the only measure to be considered. If B.C. carpenters are not fully employed, we have unemployment insurance costs and the loss of potential revenue from such work to local businesses. We also have social costs arising from such unemployment. These include family tension and a loss of community pride. The 1980s in North America and Great Britain have been characterized by governments supposedly devoted to the bottom line. What is the result? Most of us are worse off than we were a decade ago. Relatively speaking our lives are poorer, both economically and spiritually. Perhaps we should think more about the “top line” — good economic value, combined with a concern for people, produce lasting impact on the quality of life in a community. An obsession with bottom-line economics makes us all the poorer. John Myers Pass Creek The NDP taketh and giveth away Why the fuss about awarding the Castlegar-Robson bridge to a non-union, out-of-province company? It’s too late to close ine barn door now, the horse is gone. All that’s left are the horses’ asses who invited the Calgary firm to bid in the first place. Did Premier Mike Harcourt, Transport Minister Art Charbonneau et al really expect SCI Engineers and Contractors Inc. to accept an invitation from the B.C. government, and then politely drop the contract to save the New Democrats from an embarrassing situation. Perhaps so, for they also once offered a ferry, expecting they would never om ad be obliged to accomplish the deed. In Opposition, the NDP berated the Socreds for ignoring the appeals of the ordinary people. The more things change, the more they stay the same. George Stein Robson | Salvation Army says thank you I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Castlegar News — both its staff and its readers for your tremendous support this Christmas. Your generosity enabled us to help a great number of families in our community this Christmas. You have also provided additional resources that will help the ongoing work of The Salvation Army in this new year. Thank you once again, and God bless you. Richard Parr Salvation Army Community Services Co-ordinator Editor’s Note: The employees of The News selected to put money normally used for an office gift-exchange towards the Salvation Army. News management matched that total for a $230 contribution. More Letters, page 8 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. Harrison continued from page 6 Such a comment took me off guard. After all, I figured Conroy’s support was as solid as an earthquake-proof building. I was wrong. Before I go on, let me say that I believe that Conroy has done and will do a good job for Rossland-Trail — much like Audrey Moore has put her stamp on Castlegar and George Cady has put his on the Regional District of Central Kootenay. In doing so, however, people want and expect more from their elected officials. It is when the elected official can't deliver that they are faced with an increasingly frustrated public. Enter the Castlegar-Robson bridge. Or, to be more specific, the government’s handling of the bridge contract. Although they won't say it on the record, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that local members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners are less than thrilled that the bridge contract was awarded to a non-union, out-of- province firm. Personally, the union or non- union status of the bridge- builder doesn’t brother me; I’m confident a deal between SCI and union and non-union workers can be reached so that all of Castlegar benefits from the economic spin-offs of this $14 million contract. What does irk me is that the contract was awarded to an Alberta-based contractor, which I mentioned last week. With that said, I think it is unrealistic of us to think that Ed Conroy had a say in how and why Firm X got the contract over Firm Y. In fact, I’m certain that anything Conroy would have said about the bridge contract — including his early cries for a union-built crossing — would have had as much weight as yours or mine. The bureaucratic wheels were in full rotation long before Conroy was invited to submit his two cents worth. The bottom line is that the political machine — a machine we all recognize, but despise — is bigger than any one person, Ed Conroy notwithstanding. That is the reality that Ed Conroy is learning to live with. Begrudgingly, so must we all.