Wednesday, January 8, 1992

OurWiEWS

Adrian RAESIDE |

Waiting for
nswers
ll is not well in the fair city
of Castlegar. Why, just take
Tuesday’s council session for.
example.

At the invitation of city council, the
citizens of Castlegar came out in
force Tuesday, only to denounce the
work of their elected official. :

With all the pizzazz of a recycled
Brian Mulroney speech, city council
tried-to smoothe the water only to
discover just how unpopular it really |

was. :
In a city the size of Castlegar you'd

think that elected representatives —
would be friends with everyone, but
that was not the case Tuesday.

Deep ineide KGB Headquarters, Ivan
- finished mg back. 1

"You call that ing |

IS

1 tuned, gulped.
my mug of ho chocolate and settled
back into ty overstuffed armchair’
T felt. a tug on the cushion behind.

& cushion?” I snee

SOMEHOW, SPY
THRILLERS JUST ~~
ARENT THE SAME

ANYMORE ...

icitcoeae Another point for Team Apathy

officials received school-like jeers
from the untrusting, overflow crowd.
And with good reason.,
———Tatentional or not, city officials
appeared to evade concerned citizens

It’s been three weeks
since my last column and,
so
association. ; :

Oh well, score another

far, no -residents

costs money. Our money.

If you’re in the habit of 1

signing blank cheques and

mailing them your ex-con |
cousin to “take care of,” |

honest efforts to expose the bottom
line about the cost of Castlegar
politics.

It seemed every question was
answered with a question. And when
that didn’t do, citizens were
frustrated with that-old politicial
cliche: “We'll study that and get back
tno

Come on council, this is Castlegar
not Ottawa: We live in a community

small enough that the truth won't

hurt. : : ; Gees

“As honest as council’s attempt at
keeping the faith: with its citizens
was, it only raised further questions.
All of which must be answered.

a

one.for apathy.

The truth is, I’ve had
some half dozen people
phone me regarding my
twisted thoughts on the
yet-to-be-formed Castlegar
Residents Association: Each
offered me their version of
“I hate city council
because...”

Harrison
“2 Comparison

stop reading — the sweet
smell of Celgar in season
has obviously clouded your}
brain.

So, still reading, eh?
Well, Rose Pastzy has @
plan. Pastzy was one 0
several people to call me,

With-enough info: trOias oe :
to keep the rumor running at the speed
of a hamster’s wheel, the time has come for

this no-name, no-person, no-finances”
‘residents association to be formed.
~ After all, to stand back and:allow city |
council to take absolute cantrol over the
future of Castlegar is careless, not to
mention costly. Remember folks, everything
from a new RCMP building, a central fire
hall, downtown revitalization to.a stop sign

exception of a close friend, Pa’
she’s alone: Hardly, Rose.

—The fact is there are dozens of people out
there. willing to Taunch this new
association. And while the who, what,
where, when and why of the Castlega
Residents Association hasn’t been
determined, it is clearly within sight.

So, what’s the next step?

.

(Sire TAILIC

~ Question: How did you spend the Christmas holidays?

Grace Medeiros
Castlegar

“I enjoyed the
comfort of my new
white socks.”

Sid Marten
Renata

“| did a lot cross-
country skiing.”

avin Mealing
Castlegar

“I went ice fishing.”

Mike Danbauk
Brilliant

“] visited friends in
Australia.”

haron Hample
Robson

“I spent a
wonderful Christma
with my family.”

Me
=
2
=
C

lauding the idea of a
residents association. The =
only problem is, with the

stzy thinks i _VIN3H4

please see HARRISON page 7

@ Wednesday, January 8, 1992 :

ithe

Please address
all letters to:
Letters to the
Editor

Castlegar News
P.O. Box 3007
Castlegar, B.C. ~

Letters toll E

EDITOR

Lucky for our library

One of my many thanks for 1991 goes to
the staff and volunteers of Castlegar
Library. I cannot but praise their
helpfullness, cheerfulness and hard work.

I feel privileged to be part of a library
that has such excellent facilities, a great
variety of books, and especially such a
selection of new books that continue to
arrive regularly.

a Margaret Pryce
——-—— Castlegar

Longing for ferry :

In following up the renewed interest and
discussions re the status of the now defunct
Castlegar-Robson ferry; as one of the
earliest users of this ferry, I feel I should
(even at this late date), put my observations
and sentiments into the pot, for what they
are worth.

I feel that I have been remiss in not
getting involved from the start.

: irst; | must say. that I-whole-hea
support Ed Conroy, Marsh, Stein, Dalton
and all those others who have worked so
hard for the cause.

When the old SuperValu store was
operating in North Castlegar, I did all my
shopping there.

I rarely went in the store without
meeting numerous Robson customers who

had come across the ferry to shop for
groceries; then probably visit many of the
other good stores in north town, plus
possibly the bank, clinic, legal office, pub
and frequently end up having lunch at

_Jenny’s or any.one of the good dining places_

in North Castlegar. After the closing of the
ferry, which, in turn resulted in the closure
of the SuperValu store; the sight of a
“Robson” customer in North Town became a
rarity.

One could hardly buy a bottle of milk at
that time without driving up té the
Castlegar Plaza.

Other north town businesses must have
felt the loss of the Robson patronage. Also,
once-the Robson-shoppers had got into their
cars and crossed the Kinnaird Bridge, they
were right at the plaza shopping centre,
with no need nor incentive to visit north .~

- Castlegar. Further, according to many, once
they were in fheir cars, there was always
the incentive to even by-pass the plaza and
keep right on going to the Chahko Mika
Mall in Nelson.

‘Fo date, all the hardship caused by the
removal 0

.the Robson people, whereas North
Castlegar has been equally crippled.
It is a shame that North Town,

particularly the businesses and city, did not ©

throw their support in with Robson right at
athe start as the Castlegar bias would have
added a lot of weight to the pro-cause.

e ferry has been attributed to—

Another point — before the ferry closure
— except on parade days there never was
any traffic problem on Columbia Ave. The
day after the ferry closure, the 5 p.m. traffic
awditing the light change at, the rail road

__crossing was backed up as far as Sherbiko .
Hill. I feel that the closure of the ferry at :

the time was purely a political ploy, and not
_a matter of economics.

Incidentally, installing a temporary ferry
to bypass traffic blockage during road or
bridge-construction is the normal
procedure. After all, the Castlegar-Robson
ferry provided the by-pass during the
construction of the Kinnaird Bridge.

I.was probably one of the earliest users of
the Robson-Castlegar ferry and one of the
last users of the “waterloo drift ferry.”

I believe that from the time Highway 3
was put through Castlegar there should
have been signs put up at the Brilliant and
Highway 3 and 22 interchanges,
advertising the alternate “ferry route”
through north Castlegar. :

Many tourists that I have spoken to were
surprised that there was an alternate ferry
route through Castlegar and stated that
they thought the town was a dead-end.

They certainly would have taken that
route had they known, as they “just loved
crossing ferries, particularly free ones.”

J.F. Killough
Castlegar

Nisga band still fighting for its land

In the next few years, you'll be
hearing more about Native Land
claims than any other political is-
sue.

No other Indian nation has
pushed the land claims question

or deliver them to
197 Columbia
] ae ee ee

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
9a.m.and5
p.m. The writer's
name.and city or
town of.

as long and as arduously as'the

Nisga’s Nation. For nearly 200
years, the Nisga’s have been fight-
ing for their rights. Again and
again, they were beaten down, but
at long last, it looks as if their long
battle may end in a just victory.

Today, I would simply like to of-
fer you a brief history of the Nisga
Nation’s experience.

The year is 1793. The Captain
Vancouver expedition to Observa-
tory Inlet and Salmon Cove marks
the first contact between the Nis-
ga’s and white explorers.

In 1858, the colony of British
Columbia is established. The pop-
ulation of the colony comprises

Report
from

Victoria

63,000 Natives and 400 whites.
In 1881, the Nisgas’ petition.
Ottawa to save the Nass River
salmon from over-fishing by the
white man. The petition is ig-
nored, and the Nass River Can-
nery is built. That same year, a
census records the population of
British Columbia as 25,661 Indi-

ans and 23,798 whites. The native
population had been decimated by
smallpox.

In 1924, the McKenna-McBride
Commission allots 18.755 acres of
reserve land to the Nisga’s, Two

years later, the provincial govern--

ment establishes regulations that
Indians and non-Indians must
register trap lines.

In 1927, the. federal govern-
ment adopts article 141 of the In-
dian Act, prohibiting Indians from
organizing to discuss land claims.
Offences are punishable by fines:
and, or, jail.

In 1951, the infamous section
141 of the Indian Act is repealed.
In 1955, the Nisga’s Tribal Coun-
cil is formed. In‘1960, Indians are
given the right to vote in federal
elections.

The year 1968 marks the begin-
ning of a dramatic turn in the Nis-

ga’s history.

That year, they take the land
question to court in the famous
Calder versus B.C. case. :

In 1973, the Supreme Court of
Canada, in a land-mark decision,

—is split on-the question of aborigi-

nal title.

In 1976, the Nisga’s, Ottawa
and Victoria begin negotiations
under the comprehensive land
claims process.

In 1987, the federal negotiating
team and the Nisga’s reach agree-
ment on 90 per cent of the issues

_ relating to fisheries and land.

On March 20, 1991, the Nisga’s,
the Province of British Columbia
and the federal government sign
the Tripartite Framework Agree-
ment. s

There’s no going back now. -

The issue must be and will be
resolved.

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

Well, it would easy to say
announce a meeting, but those
things cost. How much, I really
don’t know, but let’s just say.I’d
be willing to kick in $20 just to
cover the story.

Book rights, of course, would
cost that much more.

I could say, “alright, meet at
the local Dairy Queen at 7 p.m.
on Wednesday,” but I think
there is a loitering law. Besides,

I’m trying to cut down on my
fatty foods.

Even better, I could give you
Pastzy’s phone number, but
she’d kill me. After all, she
knows where I work. (Psst: it’s
in the book.) —

_- Hence, folks, the proverbial
ball is in your court. I'll gladly
stand back and officiate, but if
the desire for a residents
association or an independent
citizens advisory group is out

x‘

there, prove it. Me, I think it is.

Our city is dying for a new
voice to offset the
predetermined yahs and nahs
of city council. _——

* Whether she knows it or not,
Pastzy has started the ball
rolling by contacting yours
truly-on three occasions. And
while there is no talk of a
membership drive — except
maybe from me — it appears
that a residents association

isn’t far off.

They. say timing is”
everything, so what better time
to create.a bona fide collection
of concerned citizens than when
Castlegar is_preparing to fill its
money bags with Celgar dough.

Oh yah, if you’re looking for
that clever touch of irony, why
not hold the first meeting in the
Kinnaird Hall? :

Surely, that. will grab
everyone’s attention.

2 EEO GES