aC4 Wednesday, October 16, 1991 Letters toTHE EDITOR lam writing regarding the Social Credit party’s record on support for women’s cen- tres and transition houses. The party is to be congrat- ulated on the appoi of Problems women face deserve serious treatment This has meant an in- creased level of demand and public expectation from a group of dedicated but un- derpaid and unpaid workers in ition houses and cri- Carol Gran as minister re- sponsible for Women’s Pro- grams. . The creation of such a min- istry was long overdue but in “sis centres. Women’s centres received funding from the Social Cred- it government this year for the first time. P to the growing pres- sure from women the Socreds finally took the. step and made the appointment. ‘This ministry, with very limited consultation with women’s groups in the province, has adopted a scat- ter gun approach to address- ing women’s needs. The ministry has made available to the communities small grants, none of which He , it was for special projects and was one-time- only funding contributing to the continuing uncertainty which makes long-term plan- ning so difficult. To overcome the barriers and obstacles that women face in trying to claim their place as full citizens in this society, there needs to be in place an overall plan to ad- dress the problems. City works crew follows priorities and standards City works crews are called upon daily to pro- vide numerous services for the public. The budget required to undertake these works is developed using priorities and stan- dards established by city council. ‘The intent of this article is to provide gener- al understanding of how these priorities (when and where a service is provided) and standards (quantity or how much and quality) are applied by the city’s works crew. The city has developed criteria or priority ratings that lay out when and where a service will be provided. The framework used to establish works schedules are as follows: safety and health risk; pre ive mai f existing utilities of ); level of use; The City Voice A request for assistance may be received from a community group needing some topsoil for a project the group is working on. Ifenough d notice is provided, thi (pi of of operations; and special circumstances. The following examples show how estab- lished standards are applied with these priori- ty ratings. ; Snow removal operations begin when snow has accumulated to a depth greater than five centimetres and must be completed within 48 hours. Roadways with heavy traffic voh this special request could be tied in with the city’s operations eco- nomically, Over the next few weeks, council will be debating priorities to be applied tothe paving ferendum. It is anticipated questions like the following will be discussed: Should roadways that are severely deterio- rated (which mens a simple overlay or capping re- ceive high priority, first for safety reasons and second because of level of use. To overcome the barriers and obstacles that women face in trying to claim their place as full citizens in this society, there needs to be in place an overall plan to address the problems. required needs surveys to be done in communities where all the groups working on women’s issues agreed on what the previously identified needs were. Carol Gran has stated that violence against women is one of her top priorities and allocated $500,000 to this is- sue. Of this, $350,000 was spent on an advertising cam- paign and the balance was split into $10,000 parcels to go to community groups for projects. None of this money went to improving or di This plan needs to be de- veloped in close consultation with the groups which are working on these issues cur- rently and have been for years. There needs to be a long- term commitment of consis- tent funding which recog- nizes that women being beat- en in their homes and earn- ing 60 cents for every dollar earned by men will not be solved by a short-term, quick fix approach. It’s high time a govern- ment in this province s taking the problems of the fe- male half of the population seriously instead of using them as a tool to gain points ina pi the ongoing services, which are chronically underfunded. year. S. Mackenzie Krestova The News Tavesonenea 365-2212 DISCOVERY TOYS OPE HOUSE Sunday Oct. 20 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. 112 Ferry Ave, Castlegar Laura — 365-2476 "Since the Robson Ferry was closed, how many extra dollars have Robson people spent on gasoline and similar toaD exp ; which once were spent in Castlegar stores?” $7,273,000 and still counting. Paid for by the Not so Young Robson Ferry Grass on'the city’s ball fields is not to exceed six i és in height. The city has found that ifthe Friday this dard is a are mowed Tuesday and and weekday users are satisfied. d and both weekend is not feasibl for deep repairs would be required) be performed first? Or, is money better spent on salvaging a roadway that ires an overlay to prevent failure? at care and thought are given in estab- lishing goals and prioriti for services to be pro- ‘vided for the public in the short term as well as in the long term.. No Frills - No Gimmicks Low Cost Warehouse Operation SAVE AS MUCH AS L on Furniture for every room in your Home Open to the Public y, October 16, 1991 _ Letters toTHE EDITOR New ground rules needed As someone who has worked closely with groups Fs led slcaiiion ¥ pr in plan would like to offer a point of view on the current situation. t h in tc ities. This province enforces laws in one way for industry and government and another way for you and me. The recent occurrences at Hasty Creek in the of ferry trips, and the size of the second ferry (MV Shelter) to accommodate an extra 36 chip trucks in each direction. Celgar has stated that it wishes the ferries to run 24 hours per day. Historically the company has got what it many who took a stand in Hasty Creek have worked long and hard on these problems. They have gone to endl ings, taken 1 field trips, and written innumerable letters to those who are supposed to be the stewards of our public may travel It is also likely that the federal government will pay for a large part of the required environmental monitoring. been considered as a serious issue by either the or Celgar. revel wey oA . This is a wid d gone a nd. disputes throughout B. Mr. Sandy Peel, seemenet the B.C. Forest Resources C it up ly in a CBC radio interview: “The public does have a right and a need and a responsibility to become involved in these issues, and if they're not resolved within the fr wk of the P then we think that there should be some form of independent diation that looks ind dently and cleanly Pp at both sides of the issue and resolves it in that manner.” This mediation is precisely what the Slocan The answer is that under present government policy, the public is a “special interest group” while industry is government's “client.” The present government appears to subscribe to the “trickle-down” theory of economic management: government's job is to set things up so that big business and big developers can operate freely, and then the benefits will trickle down to all the little people in the province. While it is true that we need major investment in our economy, the needs and goals of big business often conflict with the needs and goals of the communities in which they operate. The goal of those who manage the big forest ies, for le, is to produce their products at the lowest possible price in order to pay the biggest return to their investors. injunction was in a shorter Each of the 83 people who were arrested at the Hasty Creek blockade got a $500 suspended fine, oni hate tet sng their off Celgar pulp mill in Castlegar, is trea’ breaks the law. On March 15, 1991, Celgar Pulp Co. wos hanged hy the weeks mianagesnent eee ech also laid one charge against charges concerned an alleged illegal dumping incident that took place April 22, 1990. Here it is over six months since Celgar was charged and a year and a half since the alleged incident took place, and the trial has yet to take place! Even if Celgar is found guilty of these charges, will the be given an ad fine to deter future illegal discharges? Probably not. The one and only time the present owners of Celgar were convicted for failing to comply with the terms of a permit, they were fined a mere $100! This was on April 24, 1989. The maximum fine at that time for this violation was $50,000. Celgar didn't even have to reimb the existing rail network. All of these ideas were thrown out by Celgar. We believe that these alternatives should be re- taxpayers. We, the undersigned resid: of the Ki demand that a moratorium be placed on all new road construction on Highway 6, and chip truck traffic levels to be maintained at the 1989 levels, until such time as the following reviews have been completed: 1) Anew study of alternative transportation in di with dations by the Ties ways and the Slocan Valley Economic the public for the thousands of dollars it cost to bring the company to court to collect that $100. There is injustice being done here, and the government is being totally insensitive to it. Therefore, it is wap fo yess sol ase to bake She ibility for maki Libby Ruljancich 2) A cost-benefit analysis regarding the effect of chip truck traffic on the future development of the communities along Highway 6. Special attention should be given to the negative impact of heavy traffic volumes in the narrow Slocan Valley, which would radicall: frrcvsis attempts to diversify the ese Deer Park Moratorium wanted Editor's note: The following is an open letter to the candidates in the upcoming election. The community living along Highway 6 wished the road to be upgraded as the old road system was inadequate and unsafe in its original state. The True ip req agov that will establish and enforce a new set of ground rules for companies operating in B.C.'s public forest. The health of the forest and the needs of the public must come first. Big business can learn to operate within these limits and will be much better received and considering them when they vote on Oct. 17. R. Allin Hills Two sets of rules So, you think that we live in a democracy here in Super Natural B.C.? Take a look around at what's id neither asked for nor realized that the road would be developed as a north-south chip transportation route. : Projected chip truck numbers * On Highway 6 south of Slocan City to Castlegar, chip truck traffic will be more than double the present volume. Figures for 1989 were from 51 to 62 trucks per day. The figure for 1995 is projected as 110 to 127 trucks per day. * On Highway 6 north of Slocan City to ip truck traffic will ic base (by new businesses and tourism). 3) A review of the sustainability of the timber supply in this area, in regard to the Celgar expansion. 4) An inquiry into the reasons for Celgar not paying any of the capital, operating or maintenance costs of the upgrading of the road systems necessary to truck chip feedstock and produce. 5) A review of the conclusions i Signed by 12 businesses located on Highway 6. : Candidacy not liked I feel , chip more 1989 were 13 per day. The figure for 1995 is Senator figures do not take into account the in other jal heavy vehicle traffic or numbers of logging trucks using the road. Ferries © Plans are in place to increase both the number Tris Bakken, a staunch Vander Zalm supporter? I feel taken advantage of as I voted for him in the last election. I would not have voted for him if I knew he was a Socred supp: Ifa New D votes for Chris D’Arcy it’s a vote for a Vander Zalm supporter.