OPINION Castlégar News PAGE A4, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1990 MEMBER OF THE 8.C. PRESS COUNCH. ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 INCORPORATING THE MID- WEEK MIRFOR PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 12, 1978 AUGUST 27, 1980 LV CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-F EBRUARY 15, 1973 PUBLISHER — Burt Campbell! L3 EDITORIAL Cleanup campaign a good idea Castlegar city council's revival of a fall cleanup campaign is a good idea and is an indication council is serious about making Castlegar a more attractive place to live. And one quick-thinking alderman has linked the cleanup idea to safety. When words like ‘tawdry’? and “*dilapidated"’ pepper the descrip- tions of Castlegar, as they have in recent published reports from visitors to this town, you know we need all the help we can get cleaning it up. The pickup day on Tuesday will allow city residents to spend this weekend getting rid of all that junk they can’t normally put out with the garbage — garden debris, old fridges, stoves, mattresses, and hedge and tree trimmings. While a lot of that refuse might not be visible to the public, allowing people to get rid of it free of charge will help remove the tem- N ==e Y 7 October6,1990 Castlegar News F LOCAL/PROVINCIAL NEWS Premier criticizes NDP even though no one knows what VICTORIA (CP) — The NDP that is, except a few Indian chiefs who say it covers the province “lock, stock and barrel. “Well, if aboriginal title—means lock, stock and barrel and Mr. Har- court now says he’s prepared to pay 25 per cent of lock, stock and barrel, people im Ottawa must be laughing is all ready to give plan things away when don’t know what the cost of it is.”” Vander Zaim said his government has consistently maintained that land claims are primarily a federal respon- sibility while Harcourt has wavered on the issue. Federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon said Monday there must be a ‘very balanced distribution’’ of contributions by the ‘federal and Provincial governments in any set- tlements. He wouldn't say, however, whether British Columbia will be asked to cover half of any settlements. He said “The terms of C require they pick up the cost in our view unless decided otherwise by the courts,” he said. the provi must to the total settlement package, which would include money, land and resource-harvesting rights. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ptation to dump it in the old gravel pits down by the C: River, a continuing sore spot with council which has had a hard time discouraging Castlegar residents from using the area as a private dum- Ping ground. But Ald. Terry Rogers also had the clever idea of tying in the cleanup day to one of his continuing projects as chairman of council's works and services committee — improving the visibility at the city’s in- tersections by encouraging residents to trim overgrown hedges and trees which restrict visibility at the corners of intersections and force motorists to make either unsafe or blind movements. Being able to get rid of the cuttings without a trip to the Ootischenia dump should spur people with corner lots to cooperate with council in its efforts to make the city a safer place. And in general it may discourge people from burning their garden debris which always adds a choking pall of smoke over the city in the fall. a Those who wish to participate in the cleanup day are 6 phone city hall between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday to arrange for the free service. The city asks that garden debris and hedge trimmings be bagged, bundled or boxed with each unit no more than 18 kilograms (40 pounds) for ease of handling and that doors of fridges or stoves be secured for safety purposes. We i di d to take VIEWPOINT Socreds warm up for GST fight By HOWARD DIRKS Nelson-Creston MLA B.C.'s Social Credit government is looking at ways to challenge moves by the federal government to push the goods and services tax through the Senate through the use of blatant Patronage appointments and other measures. The federal cabinet has used Sec- tion 26 of the Constitution — a never- before-used provision that dates back to the 1867 British North America Ac- t — to expand the Senate by eight ad- ditional members in order to create a Progressive Conservative majority We believe that the use of Section 26 in this way is not constitutionally permissible. It is bad enough that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney chose to deny British Columbians the right to choose a new senator through the B.C. Senatorial Selection Act by unilaterally appointing Pat Carney earlier this month. But it is even worse ge of the city’s good idea HOWARD DIRKS that he has expanded the Senate, at great cost to the Canadian taxpayer, for the singular reason of ramming through the GST, a flawed tax which is opposed by 95 per cent of the coun- try. This is autocracy — not democracy — and it’s no way to runa nation Since the idea was first floated in 1985, our Social Credit government has formally opposed the very idea of the goods and services tax or any other value-added tax scheme-on at least 10 separate occasions. In 1986 and 1987, we made four separate representations to the federal gover- nment urging it to ignore the idea of a GST. And ever since the tax was introduced into the federal Parliament in early 1989, we have worked equally hard to try to get the federal government to realize that it is a .bad ‘idea that’s guaranteed to weaken our economy We have also made it clear that we have no intention of cooperating with the implementation of the tax, or of “*piggybacking’’ our provincial sales tax on the GST, as has the gover nment of Quebec. It is obvious now that there is no way to convince the prime minister to back down on his GST tax grab. The only hope left for Canadians is the Senate, and the courts. First, we will join with Alberta in a court case challenging the con stitutionality of the GST. At the same ... dislikes GST time, however, we will proceed to challenge Prime Minister Mulroney's ability to stack the Senate with new appointees through Section 26 of the Constitution Through these two legal actions, we will be working hard to protect the in terests of British C from an Helmets help Recently, my child came home from school crying and all dirty. He had fallen off his bike coming down the hill from Kinnaird elementary school. He was going too fast as lots of kids do. Luckily he wasn’t hurt — just bruised and very sore from road burn on his arms, legs and chest. His bike helmet was also left with the effects of road burn — big scratches down the side and front. If he hadn't been wearing his helmet it is hard to say what would have happened to his head, but with it on he had only a small bruise on his forehead. As is probably common with most parents, we talked about getting our kids helmets, but never got around to doing it until it was made so easy by the Kinnaird Elementary Parent Group. They arranged for the fitting, ordering and distribution of the helmets through the school. To all who took the responsibility and effort in arranging these helmets; I thank you very much. Corry Angrignon ~- Castlegar , Cancer concerns One of your readers said that I repeated the charge that Castlegar children had elevated cancer mortalities at the Nelson hearings, even after | was corrected at the Castlegar hearings. This is not so Neither I, nor any director of the Valhalla Society, nor anyone that I know from our community attended the Castlegar hearings or was aware of what had transpired there. After my presentation in Nelson the Celgar lawyer asked me whether I had heard the Castlegar hearings and I told him I had not Only later when I talked to Cal Him did I understand that the table showing elevated rates of cancer mortality in the Castlegar school district applied to all people in the area, and not just to school children. We strive for accuracy in our work and want the public to be notified of any mistakes. However, I am puzzled by people who act as if there is nothing to be concerned about because it was all a false alarm to manipulate people's emotions. I presume the terrible suffering of adults with cancer is still a cause for concern. The letter of Dr. Nelson Ames is much more factual in its approach and reasonable in its tone, raising some legitimate questions. However, he concludes that Castlegar residents should be assured that there is no increased risk of cancer developing in their children. Apparently differnt doctors have different opinions about this. At the Nelson hearings one person submitted to the Celgar Expansion Review Panel a German magazine which carried a story about the German doctors’ association warning mothers living around kraft pulp mills not to breast feed theit babies. A page from the report of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada contains graphs and a table of occupational mortality in B.C. The source of these figures is the Cancer Control Agency of British Columbia, 1989. They show pulp mill workers dying from three types of cancer ‘from just below three to almost four times the mortality rate due to these cancers in the general Population."* The report states as well that “pulp and paper workers in B.C. suffer a significantly elevated death rate for all types of cancer 1.26 times that of the general population.’’ These trends have been recorded in pulp mill areas throughout the world. Surely Dr. Ames will recognize the Cancer Control Agency of B.C. did not waste its time compiling useless statistics; surely he will concede that a margin of three to four times cannot be dismissed as a matter of no concern. Perhaps he is aware that some doctors, ignoring a mountain of evidence, would not warn people AIDS was contagious until the virus was seen in the electron microscope and transmitted in the laboratory. By then tens of thousands of people were doomed to die. This is an extreme example, but it serves to warn us all that conclusive proof may not arrive until long after there is enough evidence to warrant protecting ourselves Anne Sherrod Director The Vathalla Society Position scares Are there other people out there who find the NDP’s position on Indian aboriginal rights and land claims as frightening as I do? It wouldn’t be quite so bad if they were going to pay whatever the price would be out of their own pockets or give only their own land to the Indians, but they are trying to shove their hands into our pockets before they are even elected to do so Corky Evans is a nice guy in many ways, but he’s got his head screwed on backwards on most issues and especially this one. Thank goodness, unlike the NDP, Premier Bill Vander Zalm and the Social Credit government are considering all aspects of the problem, and are going to let all the people of B.C. have a say before a decision is made. Mike Harcourt is trying to backpedal now, saying that giving the Indians aboriginal title is nothing to be afraid of, that it does not mean the Indians want our land and resources. But I have seen some of the Indian leaders saying just that We are all Canadians, no one should have more, or less, rights than anyone else. All people are the same underneath, it has nothing to do with skin color or nationality. There is room in Canada for all our various cultures, religions and backgrounds, but we all have to contribute to making things fair for everyone We cannot correct all the wrongs that may have been done in the past. Even if you tried, where would you stop? In regards to Ingian land claims, would you stop at who took over the land after the English and French people came or would you go back in time to find out who certain Indian bands took the land from, or who was the first person on earth? The Indians who may have been wronged are long gone, as are the people that may have done the wrong to them, and so are the Indians who may have done wrong to other people. Why should the rest of us have to pay or benefit when neither side really had anything to do with it? Even if you wanted to recognize aboriginal rights and title who would pay for it? Seeing as most of the land in B.C. is being claimed, would it be fair that people who have bought land and paid taxes in good faith alll these years be kicked off the land they have developed so it can be given to the Indians? I think the biggest wrong that was done to the Indian people was to say they were different from the rest of us and set some of them down ina corner and pay them money to stay there. They should have had the same rights the rest of us have . as well as the same obligations. To pay people for doing nothing when they are quite capable of earning their own living creates social problems for them and racial prejudice on the other side. Just like anyone else in Canada Indians have a right to buy and own land, to vote and even run for office in government. There is no need for them having separate governments. And everyone should be paying taxes to make the burden of paying for ail the good things we do enjoy in this great country equal in cost, as well as benefits Iris Bakken Kootenay Stone Centre Salmo ee Exhibit pleases It was a pleasure to see the Selkirk Weavers’ show this month at the West Kootenay National Exhibition Centre. To the Selkirk Weavers, congratulations for a beautiful exhibition showing ideas from so many creative things of nature and art To the director of the NEC, thank you for exhibiting the show with such artistic sensitivity The exhibition lasts until the end of October Do go and visit Margaret Pryce Castlegar local assessments. The Assessment Authority provides Please address all letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor, 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 cases will letters be Published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name, address and telephone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality. grammar and taste. unfair federal tax-grab that only ser. ves some 4,000 bureaucrats who will be hired to administer the GST and will only delay the inevitable day when the federal government will have to get its actual spending under control. With 35 cents of every tax dollar, and $113 million every day, going to pay the interest only on the national debt, the federal government can no longer afford to shirk its real duty, which is to control spending and get its fiscal house in order. The GST is not the way to do this. Coming at a time of expected economic recession, this tax which will raise inflation, push up interest rates and penalize small business, is something which we, and.our children, cannot afford. | encourage you to write to your senator about this problem and urge him or her to oppose the tax. It may have passed the Hause of Commons, but it need not be too late yet to stop this bad law from taking effect. Let's tell Mr Mulroney once again thai B.( no part of the GST. wants Property values set by market By LARRY QUAYLE Assessor B.C. Assessment Authority Property owners all over British Columbia, including those in Castlegar and the surrounding area, are currently receiving their new Property assessments in the mail. The assessments will be used by local authorities during the 1991 and 1992 taxation years. Provincial requires new every two years and the current up- date replaces values established in 1988 The new assessment form has a new appearance — it is easier to read and provides the property owner with more useful information. The Assessment Authority hopes this new form will help taxpayers understand Property assessment and property taxation more clearly. The new design was based on feedback from the public. The new blue and white form clearly displays the details of the in- dividual assessment and provides an- swers to some commonly asked questions. Property owners are en couraged to read the form carefully as soon as it arrives and to make sure they understand the information and that it is accurate. The assessment is based on the ‘‘ac- tual value”’ of the land and buildings included in each property. This sim- ply means that Assessment Authorit appraisers have determined the fair market value of each property as if it had been sold on July 1, 1990. Everybody's property is valued on the same date to keep the system fair and make sure that similar properties are assessed at similar values. Market values in most British Columbia communities have changed considerably over the past two years — as people who have bought or sold their homes know first hand. The market value of a property can change for several reasons. Normal maintenance generally doesn't in- crease a property's market value. However, the addition of a two-car garage will mean your property. is worth more on the open market. On the other hand, if you demolish a buliding your property is worth less. The most widespread reason for a change in the actual value since 1988 is that demand for property in the local area has increased. This demand has moved up the selling price and changed the actual value. Although some areas saw a dip in the real estate market after last March, there was still a considerable increase over the Past two years. This increase is reflec- ted in the new assessments. The professional appraisers at the Assessment Authority don’t create the value of your property. That value is set by the marketplace — the ap- Praiser simply measures it. Detailed information on every property in Br- itish Columbia is on file at the Assessment Authority. This infor- mation is used to determine the value of a property. The appraiser takes in- to account the property’s location, size, topography, shape, replacement cost, age, condition, the current selling price of comparable properties in the same area and any other factors affecting market value Local Assessment Authority offices have computer access to the selling Prices of all local properties and these are continually reviewed and analyzed by the appraisal staff. Information on zoning changes and building permits are obtained from municipal offices and regional districts. to assessments across the province has please see VALUES page AS and ordering entire families to Prepare to leave in a few hours. Old mumists take over the home and belonging. the letter states. The writer relates that her own brother and sister-in-law have fallen victim to Red depredation. A 12-year- old daughter of the couple who was away from home when the police arrived is now staying with another gum. The young girl has no idea where her parents have been taken. 25 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 7, 1965 News Potential pollution of domestic water supplies from “‘our quadruped friends” is a good argument in favor of chlorination of drinking water That was the view of medical health officer Dr. Nick Schmitt expressed in @ report defivered at a recent meeting of the West Kootenay Health Unit He said that “animals, domestic or otherwise, do harbour germs that can cause serious illness in humans.”’ .- °¢ The department of highways has been given approval to eOnstruct a 5,000-foot-long access road to West Kootenay Regional college near the airport. * 8 «6 Coffer dam at the Arrow dam is rapidly nearing completion and the gap in it is expected to be completed before the end of this month. 1S YEARS AGO From the Oct. 7, 1975 (Castlegar News The B.C. legislature in a special seven-hour emergency session on Tuesday legislated striking. pulp workers back to their jobs. A bill ordering the return to work was given Royal assent at 5:45 p.m. and provides for a resumption of Production within 48 hours, meaning the start-up of the pulp-making Process is supposed to be under way by that time this evening. On Tuesday the B.C. Fed issued a Statement vowing to fight the order “im every way possible."’ It described been less than one third: of one -per of the tax picture. The other side is the rate applied to that value. Generally speaking. large increases in overall assessments are usually offset by lower local tax rates. This has hap- pened im the past B.C. and this year some local mayors have already promised to limit 1991 tax increases to the rate of inflation in spite of significant increases im them tax collecting agencies with the taxable assessed value of all assessed Properties. These taxation authorities include local governments, school districts, hospital boards, regional districts and — im rural areas — the Provincial government. These agen- cies develop annual budgets and determine how much money they need to raise from local taxpayers. If the total assessed value of properties im a taxing jurisdiction § increases, taxing authorities can raise the same amount of money as before simply by lowering the tax rate. In reality, most local budgets actually increase by the rate of inflation each year — and this imcrease creates modest imcreases in individual tax bills. What should you do if you think you have not been accurately assessed? Contact the focal Assessment Authority office listed on your notice. The Netson-Trail office is responsible for assessments im the City of Castlegar and surrounding area. The office is located at 502 Victoria St. in Nelson and its telephone number is 352-5581 (call collect if necessary). During October, telephone hours have been extended into the evening, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Assessment Authority has also set up @ province-wide toll free Help Line during October. The toll free number is 1-800-667-3900. the legislation as strike-breaking and unprecedented ‘‘brutal interference’’ in free, collective bargaining. . 8 6 This past week saw the opening of the Castlegar Arena and has resulted in that facility being a beehive of ac- tivity. Presently minor hockey is holding its hockey school for registered minor hockey players. . oe ~ ; > indicated in~ using the A genetal increase w: September, as compared wi same month last year. 5 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 6, 1985 Castlegar News Citing the need for the protection of society, county court Judge Raymond Cooper stnitenced a 71- year-old Sons of Freedom woman to 10 years in prison Thursday for the Sept. 8 arson fire that destroyed four buildings in the Doukhobor Historical Village in Ootischenia. 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