' OPINION

WEDNESDAY, Novemb

r 23, 1994

The C jar Sun

‘Serving the 10,000 people of the Castlegar Area, is published every

Wednesday by Sterling Newspapers Lid. at 465 Columbia Ave.

Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8, The Castlegar Sun is politically indepen-

dent and a member of the Sterling News Service, Canadian Commu-
C.

nity BC.
Assocation, and the B.C. Press Council. Established November 28,
1990. Publications Mail Registration 10420.

PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG

editorial comment

Castlegar council is wise to proceed cautiously
on the federal gov: n Il to convert

i like Castlegar’s to control.

‘The last thing the city needs is a $500,000 alba-
tross around its neck—and that is how much
money the airpo! rt loses each year.

Kootenay West-Revelstoke MP Jim Gouk says
some of that is federal bureaucratic fat that could
be trimmed without much impact.

He may be right. Ottawa has never known to be
lean, but at those costs, the city can’t afford him to
be wrong.

Mr. Gouk mentions Kelowna Airport as a city-
operated airport that is thriving and suggests
Castlegar should look to the Okanagan city as an
example.

Again, that is a valuable su; ion. However,
Castlegar, while it is experiencing a spurt of
growth, is not Kelowna. Nor is it likely to be in the
next 10 years.

That doesn’t mean the city shouldn’t be seriously
considering ing the airport. The airport plays
too vital a role in the economy of the area for
city not to have a long, hard look. That’s why the
Regional District of Central Kootenay and Region-
al District of Kootenay Boundary are also interest-
ed in it.

Still, there are a number of issues to be resolved
before the city’s comfort level reaches the point
where they can make an offer to take over the air-
port. There is also the ion of capital improve-
ments. Who is to pay for those? Will we
see an airport tax like that in Vancouver? That
might be a viable option for covering the capital
costs, but what about the operating deficit? Not
many airport users would want to pay a fee to
cover that.

And the land around the airport is in the Agricul-
tural Land Reserve. What impact will that have?
What about the taxes on airport land, buildings and
installations? What are the entrepreneurial activi-
ties that can be successfully initiated at the airport
to generate more revenue?

It is easy to say, “We can run it better”; it is not
as easy to do.

8 propc

Ron Norman
Community partnership

Ev Surgenor, Castlegar school district superin-
tendent, tried to hide the worry behind a bright
smile. What if no one showed up for the first meet-
ing of the pilot Proj ark?

But his worry to outright elation as the
trickle of people turned into a deluge and over 200
people showed up at the Arena Complex Nov. 9 to
give their input into the project.

Looking around the hall, one thing became obvi-
ous—this wasn’t an educator-driven exercise. The
people sitting at the tables were from a broad cross-
section of the ity. Professionals, busi
people, parents, and students got down to the task
of defining what skills, attitudes and attributes
today’s students need to acquire to become tomor-
row’s citizens and employees. It was a true exercise
in comm: il

unity partnership

from the meeting is being now being com-
piled and will be used for curriculum reform in
Castlegar schools. It will be interesting to hear
what everyday People want to see changed in an
education system which is archaic at best.

Karen Kerkhoff

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Castlegar council celebrates
its first full year in office this
week—a year marked with as
much controversy as any since I
moved to the Crossroads of the
Kootenays in 1981.

Council has had to weather
two ferocious storms of protest
from area residents over pro-
posed developments in the south
end, accusations of closed-door
decision-making in its in-camera
sessions, problems with its recy-

dollar expenditures © for
Columbia Ave. and Arrow Lakes
Drive, and on and on.

cling depot, unexpected millipn- +

Mr. Pollack recounted for the
councillors and mayor some of
the comments they made during
last November's election.

It’s a neat trick. They call it
accountability and I thought it
might be enlightening to go back
in time and revisit some of those

| Norman

All of this is begi to take
its toll on council. Councillor
Kirk Duff admitted to 75 angry
residents at a public hearing last
week that this has been a very
stressful year for council.

I bet.

What was interesting at that
public hearing was a

anniversary. So here goes.

“I would like to think that I
could provide an honest and open
form of government that would
listen to the needs of the resi-
dents.” —Mayor Mike O’Connor.

I’m not sure the more than 80

i d who turned

by John Pollack, an older south
end resident— older both in
years (he’s a senior) and in the
time he’s lived in the area (40-
odd years).

up at last week's public hearing
are convinced of this.

Council gave swift third
reading to the Southridge area
development the night after the

on this first

public hearing.

Not much time for sober
reflection.

And there was no comment.
Just a quick raising of the hands.

n?

Listening to the needs?

Or how about this one: “I
believe that the city can best
position itself for growth by pro-
viding for a sound and stable
infrastructure. For example, by
instituting a program that will
allow_us.to get gur ge wer, water
and road systems in place in
order that de can take

Council celebrates first anniversary

jects must specify how many
man-days workers from this area
will be employed on the job. The
contractor would then be com-
mitted to hiring more people
from our area and this would
help keep our own people
employed and keep some of our
tax money home.”

Can Mr. Green say “local
hire”?

The issue raised its head at
council earlier this month and
not a peep-from him.

How about this one from Jim

place in an orderly and well-
planned manner.”

Orderly? Well-planned?

T'm not sure either the residents
of Southridge or Dumont subdi-
vision would consider the pro-
posed developments in their
areas orderly and well-planned.
Not with the problems with the
existing road networks.

I could have chosen from any

N ff: “Dealing with coun-
cil should not be a stressful sit-
uation.” That was thrown back
at him at the Riverbend Subdi-
vision public hearing after resi-
dents pointed out that it was the
fifth meeting they had been
forced to attend to get council
to listen.

Talk about stress.

Council members made some
promises a year ago this week.

of the other did: as well.
Like Doug Green: “I would like
to see a policy in place where
contractors for Castlegar pro-

ps it is time they dug out
an old copy of The Castlegar
Sun and re-read them.

Happy Anniversary!

By DON SCARLETT

British Columbians have been
waiting nearly 30 years to put
right what was arguably Canada's
biggest energy blunder: the
Columbia River Treaty. In 1964
W.A.C. Bennett sold the “Cana-
dian entitlement” of power creat-
ed in U.S. dams by Canadian
water in Duncan, Arrow Lakes
and Kinbasket reservoirs to the
U.S. for three decades for a paltry
$254 million.

Canadians soon realized that
the power was worth far more
than we had been paid and that
the Americans benefited far more
than we did from the control of
the river flows by Canadian
reservoirs. Moreover, if we hadn't
sold the power for such a long
time, we could have avoided the
construction of more environ-
mentally-damaging projects like
those on the Peace River and
reduced the need for the Burrard
Thermal Power Plant and its
attendant pollution.

Now the 30-year term is final-
ly drawing to a close and the
Americans are required by the
treaty to return the Canadian enti-
tlement power to B.C. The return
of this power can only begin to
compensate the province—and in
particular the residents of the
Columbia and Kootenay
regions—for the environmental,
social and economic losses creat-
ed by the three treaty reservoirs
But British Columbians reason-
ably expected their politicians
would have learned something
from the hard experience of 1964
and found a way to do better this
time.

Yet when Premier Mike Har-

Harcourt
repeats
mistake

court d in

own: rel ing B.C. to the role

that his government had reached
an agreement with U.S. electric
utilities over the disposition of
the Canadian entitlement power,
he repeated every mistake of his
Socred predecessor. The deal was
negotiated in secret, with no
input from the people who would
be affected, just as Bennett's was
in 1964.

Between 21 per cent and 32
per cent of the Canadian entitle-
ment capacity is to be sold—for
another 30 years—for a paltry
US $180 million (to be paid,
coincidentally, just before the
next provincial election). Mean-
while, our American neighbors
expect to save $200 million
because they are to be released
from their treaty obl to

of industrial supplier of Ameri-
ca's energy, to foster economic
growth and employment along
the U.S. west coast.

Instead of requiring the Ameri-
cans (as stated in the treaty) to
deliver all Canadian enti

It's hard to imagine an energy
strategy for B.C. that creates
fewer jobs and more environmen-
tal damage in this province, while
fueling already overheated Amer-
ican markets.

If British Columbians continue
to absorb the environmental and
social impacts of power genera-
tion while supplying clean energy
to the U.S. west coast, Americans
can hardly be blamed for under-

ilizé conservation and
continuing to expand their
unsustainable economy.

In the long run we won't be
doing the U.S. any favors,
because B.C.'s hydroelectric and

gas resources are finite;
by postponing their need to live
within their means, we will only
make the inevitable shock more
severe when it occurs.

Meanwhile, the environmental
and social cost to this province
will be enormous, climaxed by

power to the B.C. border, Har-
court's negotiators allowed the
Americans to set the delivery
point in southern Washington for
most of it. This change ensures
we will sell nearly all of the
Canadian entitlement to Califonia
because it will be more difficult
and expensive to get it back to
B.C. for our own use

As Canada's fastest growing
province, B.C. will end up flood-
ing more valleys and burning

build a transmission line to the
B.C. border.

But in addition to short-chang-
ing the province and repeating
the Bennett short-sighted mis-
takes, Harcourt added one of his

more ble natural gas
just to supply its own needs, and
if Harcourt's dream of the future
comes true, private developers
will build power plants all over
B.C. to supply ever more power
to the U.S.

P of our own
energy supplies.

This is not a “done deal”.
The Harcourt government has
so far only signed a “memoran-
dum of agreement” which can
still be altered.

We must protest the foolish-
ness of selling any part of the
Canadian entitlement for a 30-
year term. Neither B.C. Hydro
nor the provincial government
has ever successfully predicted
our energy needs even a decade
into the future; no part of the
Canadian entitlement should be
committed for longer than that

Don Scarlett is a member of
the Kootenay-Okanagan Electric
Consumers’ Association.

Wednesday, November 23, 1994

The Castlegar Sun

Page 7A

Letters to the Editor

The one-third should have been there

Dear Editor:

In regards to Thursday night's
meeting at the Ci Com-
plex dealing with the proposed
development referred to as
“Riverbend Subdivision”.

As residents of the south end
of 3rd, 4th and Sth Avenues, our
primary wish would be that the
area in question would remain as
it is. Failing that, we would
desire it to be designated as a
park that all citizens of Castlegar
could enjoy as we have to date.

What do

Dear Editor:

On Nov. 14 the City of Castle-
gar held a public hearing to hear
how the residents of Castlegar
felt about Castlegar council
allowing Emerald Green Devel-
opments from the Okanagan to
put in a huge development of
apartments and modular homes
on one of the last large tracts of
undeveloped land on the west
side of the south end of our city.

On Nov. 15, it took our coun-
cillors about 20 seconds to give
third reading and unanimous
approval to the rezoning needed
for the developers to proceed.

The action of council dis-
mayed many, more, and
disillusioned all of us 80 or so

Editorial content not

Dear Editor:

Having read the sports article
“Zombie Zoo” in your Nov. 16
issue, I find it appalling that Jeff
Gabert would find it “fortunate”
that players were injured during
the hockey game. Is Mr. Gabert
suggesting that even though the
Rebels lost the game the positive
thing is that some players from
Sicamous were injured. Since
when is it fortunate that injury
could affect your future? Is it for-
tunate, that,the player, in. question
separated his shoulder and.is now
out fortwo months?

As neither of these appear to,

be an option, we would request
that all access to this subdivision
be off Highway 22.

‘The least desirable option is to
use 3rd, 4th and/or Sth Avenues
as a collector street. (Council has
pretty much assured us this is the

arterial
complete with’sidewalks, street.
lights, curbs, etc.

Anyone who has driven,
cycled or walked these narrow

who had d the

streets is aware of the hazards

To further introduce addition-
al traffic without upgrading
would impose a serious threat to
the safety of our children and
indeed to any of us who would
use these routes.

Council's decision (supported
by a legal firm from Vancouver)
to allow two of our councillors
(who represents one-third of the
council, excluding the mayor) to
abstain from voting on this issue

they know that

public hearing and voiced our

in the building of these homes.
This means that our local carpen-
roofers,

or attending and third reading and
the subsequent council meeting
shows a lack of faith in the coun-
cillors’ ability to be objective and
further questions the voters’ com-
petence in choosing these two!

To say that they would be in
conflict of interest because they
reside in our area makes one
wonder what would occur
should have even more of them
lived here as was the case a short
while ago.

Would we then be at the mercy

I don’t?

The money earned locally to
buy these homes will then be

PP to P type
of development the evening
before. We may have been lis-
tened to, but our elected repre-
sentatives certainly did not hear
us.
Council's actions got me to
thinking. What do they know

ters, a p
stucco men and painters will not get
one hour’s worth of work and
wages from this

led over to the Okanagan
and we'll never see it again.
But our city council voted

Our local lumberyards, plumb-
ing stores, electrical suppliers,
paint stores and building supply
centres who carry all the little

about this de that I
don’t know? It must be good for
the city if they are unanimously
in favor of it!

These modular homes are all
built in the Okanagan and
shipped over here ready to live in.

This eliminates our local tax-
paying, building contractors from
having any chance to partici

dv items needed in homes
will not sell one bathtub, one
door handle or even a buck’s
worth of nails.

Our local realtors will not even
get a chance to ici i

ly in favor of all this,
so it must be good for us. Or is it?

Please phone city hall and tell
our mayor and councillors what
you think. Final adoption of the
rezoning will not be given until
the next regular city council
meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Why don’t you voters attend a
city council meeting and see our

P oS m
sales of the lots for these homes
to sit on, or the homes them-
selves. These sales will all be

If Mr. Gabert accidentally was
to write a story about minor hock-
ey or high school basketball would
it be fortunate if a player fell and
broke their neck? Would it be for-
tunate if the t was paralysed
for life? I don't believe being
injured is fortunate for anyone.

If Mr. Gabert accidentally fell
while walking down the street
would it be fortunate that he is

by the 1p

fortunate

now brain dead and this may crit-
ically affect his future? I suggest
that Mr. Gabert owes his readers
and the Sicamous Eagles an apol-
ogy for suggesting that it was
good that players were injured. I
don’t believe Mr. Gabert’s rela-
tives would find it fortunate if he
were brain dead.
John Ray Sr.,
Castlegar

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in action?

Heather Hallett,
Castlegar

Go green!
Recycle
the Sun

of the likes of Councillor Pakula
who lives far enough away not to
hear the cries of the injured, or
Councillor Green who may him-
self be in conflict as his own

P would
should neither Riverbend nor
Southridge Dri

Council’s disregard for the
opinions and concerns of the
south end residents would lead us
to believe that they have just been
sitting on their “duff”.

of non-p

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