a2 Castlegar News August 18, 1990 LOCAL/PROVINCIAL NEWS BRIEFLY By CasNews and Wire Service Trial set for Nelson Two Castlegar men charged in connection with an alleged hostage- taking incident will go to trial before a judge and jury in B.C, Supreme Court in Nelson, likely this fall, said John Carpenter, the lawyer for one of the men. 4 Scott Bell, the prosecutor involved with the case, said the court will begin sitting in September but because of the number of jury trials that must be scheduled the two men, Gordon Jack Benton and Daniel Sydney Haack, will probably go to trial in November. Benton and Haack are charged with breaking and entering, using a firearm in the commission of an offence and assault with a weapon in addition to abduction charges. The charges were laid following an incident April 24 when a Castlegar man alleged Benton and Haack took him hostage at gunpoint, RCMP said at the time. Man charged in accident A Castlegar man involved in an accident that sent a Robson woman to hospital with multiple injuries has been charged with driving without due care and attention, RCMP said. Eddy Plotnikoff, 32, has been charged in connection with a May 27 accident on Broadwater Road near Robson that sent Tori Naknakin, 26, to Trail Regional Hospital with internal injuries and a fractured left arm and right leg, police said. Naknakin was cycling along the road when she was hit by adump truck, police said. Highway 3A to be resurfaced VICTORIA — Rita minister of por and highways, and Howard Dirks, MLA for Nelson-Creston, have announced that tenders have been called for resurfacing more than 35 kilometres of Highway 3A. Work will take place between the Kinnaird overpass in Castlegar and the west end of Taghum Bridge, 35 km to the east. The project involves recycling the existing pavement and applying a new layer of asphalt to the road surface. “This project essentially involves rehabilitating the road surface to better it traffic,’” said. ‘‘This two-lane highway will also be widened by the addition of two metres of paved shoulders. As well, concrete barriers will be moved to allow a wider driving path.” Recycling work will begin this year, with the total project scheduled for completion in the summer of 1991. Busy day for firefighters VANCOUVER — Firefighters worked to put out 1,085 forest fires burning in British Columbia on Thursday and contained two large blazes that have been causing problems in the Squamish forest district, about 60 kilometres north of Vancouver. Cooler weather and a significant drop in the number of new fires to 105 from 200 within the previous 24 hours gave the firefighters the break they were looking for, B.C. forest service officials said. ““We are hoping that this short-term break in the weather will allow us to catch up with and attack new fire reports immediately,” said Bruce Hutchinson, provincial fire control officer. “*A quick response is especially important now because several areas of the province still have high to extreme fire-danger ratings.”” Many of the fires caused by lightning this week are on steep mountain slopes. Firefighters at the Squamish forest district were able to contain the two largest fires in the district — the Tim and Quill fires at 1,500 and 635 hectares respectively. Cooler temperatures throughout thie province and scattered showers in the south are expected to give relief until Sunday or Monday. Wine sale targets tourists VANCOUVER — British Columbia wines will be going on sale at selected tourist-oriented retail outlets. Labor and consumer Services Minister Norman Jacobsen said probable locations include tourist shops at major airports, border crossings, ‘‘and especially in the province's wine producing areas.”” “Having local wines for sale in tourist shops will help bring these excellent products to the attention of visitors,’’ said Jacobsen. said the liquor distribution branch will allow only a limited number of businesses to participate. To be eligible, applicants must have been in business for at least two years and must be currently viable operations. They must sell predominantly B.C. or Canadian-made goods and must target the tourist market. Dry weather is worrisome VANCOUVER — It usually rains so much here that some people think the umbrella was a local invention. But this summer, this city on the edge of the rainforest might as well border on the Sahara for all the rain it has seen. After 41 dry days — the last rain was recorded July 11 — water district officials are starting to get worried. Adding to their concern is the fact that warm weather has the one million people in Greater Vancouver guzzling about 1.7 billion litres a day, about 20 per cent higher than normal. On one recent scorcher, a one-day record of just over two billion litres was sét, drawing the water levels in mountain reservoirs well below previous low marks for this time of year, a Greater Vancouver Regional District official said in a news release. Until the rains come again, people should conserve water by putting off washing the family car, making sure dishwashers and washing machines are full befqge operating them and ‘‘not having the tap running in the kitchen or bathroom,” the release said. PNE celebrates 76th birthday VANCOUVER — The Pacific National Exhibition opened Friday despite earlier concern that it would miss its 76th year. Beset by labor troubles, the fair was cancelled only to be revived following a hastily called round of negotiations. The board that runs the fair has since been entangled in political squabbling. Nakusp gets new ferry By CasNews Staff Highways Minister Rita Johnston launched the new Needles ‘cable ferry on Friday in Nakusp. The ferry will serve the middle Arrow Lakes route between Needles and Fauquier. Nelson-Creston MLA Howard Dirks was on hand to watch his wife, Lorna, christen the vessel at Waterfields Boatyard. It replaces the MV Needles, which is reassigned to “other duties. “This new ferry is part of the ministry’s commitment to improve ferry service on the Arrow Lakes, and part of our provincial transportation plan to create a multi-model transpor- tation network that stimulates regional economic development,’’ Johnston said in a news release. Dirks said the new ferry will have economic benefits. “*In launching this ferry we're laun- ching much more than a ship,” he said. ‘*This new ferry will do more than provide improved service across the middle Arrow Lakes. It will im- prove our local economy.” The new Needles is an cight,J cable operation ferry. It has the capacity to carry logging trucks at a time, compared to SPELLBOUND CosNews photo by Ed Mills Getting caught fooling around at Stanle: h camp could result in getting singled ‘out by one of the instructors, so the youngsters tended to pay attention. The week-long camp ended Friday and the girls camp begins Monday. the 28 yards or two logging trucks carried by the MV Needles. The new ferry was built in sections in North Vancouver by Vancouver Shipyards Ltd. and trucked to Nakusp where it was assembled. As part of the Ministry of Tran- sportation and Highways program to improve ferry service on the Arrow Lakes, the di Bay and Shelter Bay, ‘ity for this Upper Lake route to $0, vehicles per us 40, the government said. The 28-car MV Needles moves to the Galena Bay-Shelter Bay route to support extra traffic during the sum- mer months, from August until Oct. 8. Also on the Upper Arrow Lake this summer, the 10-car Arrow Park ferry was replaced by @ newly refitted vessel — the former Castlegar-Robson ferry — increasing carrying capacity to 2 cars or two logging ‘trucks. “These changes, including the launching of the new Needles, means we are entering a new era in ferry transportation in this area,”’ Dirks said. bosketholl y school's Hydro sells Arrow Park land By CasNews Staff Nine lots of B.C. Hydro land in West Arrow Park along Lower Arrow Lake have been sold to a B.C. or- chardist for $550,000, Jim Kozak, a land and resource officer for B.C. Hydro, said. ‘ The lots, which are worth over $1 million because of the valuable timber on the property, will be taken over by Ken Witzke of Winfield, a com- munity outside of Kelowna, Kozak said Friday. B.C. Hydro sold the land for less than it is worth in exchange for Wit- zke agreeing to a number of con- ditions, Kozak said. The conditions include agreements that Witzke will not cut the trees on the land, that the property will not be used as a cattle feedlot and that if Witzke sells the land he must receive approval for the sale from B.C. Hydro, Kozak said. The conditions were imposed to address concerns expressed by area residents last year when a cattle com- pany wanted to buy the land to con- struct a feedlot for 40,000 cattle, Kozak explained. One other lot in the area was sold earlier to Janet Spicer of Nakusp, who is also an orchardist, Kozak ad- ded. Threat continued from front page modernization of the 30-year-old pulp mill ‘is the most environmentally sound technology available. Borowicz also said the panel’s man- date is dictated by the terms of reference the federal and provincial ministries of environment wrote for the panel and issues such as whether or not forests are being logged in a sustainable manner are outside the terms of reference the panel must work within. Copeland said the panel could change its mandate if the panel mem- bers chose to do so. Celgar representatives, Regional District of Central Kootenay directors Ken Wyllie (Area J) and John Voykin (Area I), representatives of environ- mental action groups, Castlegar Process expedited."” Donaldson said he feels the tran- sportation issue, which was raised a number Of times during the meeting, has become an unfair burden on Celgar. The Ministry of Transportation is i for the hi on new Celgar report and the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance would like about four months. Copeland said that if intervenor funding were provided, reviews of the Celgar “report could be completed quicker than if members of which chip trucks travel and if changes need to be made to accom- modate an increase in truck traffic, the ministry should make those changes, he said. He pointed out that Cominco is not responsible for the current rerouting of the highway around the Trail smelter to accom- modate that city’s traffic. No conclusions were reached during the three-hour meeting on how the hearings should proceed or when they should begin, although a number of i business people, Celgar and area residents jammed into a small room in the panel’s Castlegar office for the meeting. Donaldson said he feels the review process will likely move quicker following the meeting. **] think the (panel's) secretary was handed a pretty clear message that people of this area want the (review) were gi endor- sed by those who attended. Some people said they were sur- prised the panel’s executive secretary, Alan Ferguson, and Borowicz did not bring a list of possible hearing procedures and allow people at the meeting to express their opinions on the feasibility of the proposed procedures. Ferguson said the panel, which will make the final decisions ‘on the Fields LOTTERIES Wed., Aug. 23 to Sept. 9 Overwaitea Shoppers Drug Mart The winning numbers drawn Thur- sday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 10, 15, 25, 27, 30, 40, 41 and 42, The winning numbers drawn Wed- nesday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 11, 12, 13, 18, 30, 46, 50 and 56. The winning numbers in Wed- nesday’s Lotto 649 draw were 17, 19, 20, 31, 40 and 44. The bonus number was 21. There was no winner of the jackpot prize of $1,932,034.20. Therefore, the Lotto 649 jackpot prize pool estimate \ for today's draw will be $4 million. lyers ond would like to do so. please The second prize pool, awarded to rag Circulation Depertment et those matching five regular numbers and the bonus number, had 4 winners Tues., Aug. 21 to Sat., Aug. 25/'90 © SuperValu © Zellers Wed., Aug. 22 to Sun., Aug. 26/°90 Not oll flyers receive full distribution. Wt you did not receive one of these of $182,469.90. The third-prize pool, awarded to those matching five regular numbers, had 204 winners of $2,736.00. The fourth-prize pool, awarded to those matching four regular numbers, had 12,580 winners of $85.30. In addition, there were 246,362 of $10 awarded to those matching three regular numbers. The four Extra winning numbers for’ British Columbia on Wednesday were 53, 74, 79 and 82. In the event of a discrepancy bet- ween these numbers and the official winning numbers list, the latter shall prevail. hearing p and starting date, has its ‘town notion’? on how the hearings should be conducted but wanted public input before making the plans. Oct. 1 was generally seen as a reasonable starting date for the hearings, allowing time for Celgar and the provincial and federal gover- nments to provide additional infor- mation the panel is requesting before it calls the hearings. A Celgar representative said the company, which received the request for further information Thursday, could provide the new data within two weeks. The panel must give 30 days notice of an initial hearing date. However, a representative of The Valhalla Society said her izati concerned about the proposed expansion study the report on their own during their spare time. General agreement was reached that some of the hearing procedures designed by a panel conducting a public review into the ferrochromium plant at the coast should be adopted by the Celgar expansion -pahél. For example, most of those at the meeting da i of it or general-interest submissions from submissions on specific technical issues. The crowd also debated whether or not some of the hearings, such as those dealing with technical issues, have unlimited time’’ to begin work on the expansion. Power Consolidated (China) Pulp Inc. is a joint venture owned equally by Power Corp. and Stone Con- solidated Ltd. which own Celgar Pulp Co. in partnership with the China In- i Trust and Corp. “*We had all the elements together a year ago — still do have the elements together,”’ Parnell told the Castlegar News following the meeting. “But (the delays) have put the project in jeopardy. And the longer the delay, the greater the jeopardy,”’ he said. The $630-million project will likely increase by about $25 million because of the delays, he said. such be run in q ial fashion, with witnesses sworn in and ination and tat permitted. In response to questions, Borowicz assured the meeting the panel will have the power to ‘‘maintain order’’ to stop anyone trying to obstruct the hearing process. He said general-interest sub- missions will be given equal weight to technical submissions and all sub- missions will be considered on the basis of substance, not on the number of similar submissigns. As well, the technical experts the panel has retained will be made available to the public for questions during some form of public meeting before the hearings begin, Ferguson said. Borowicz said he and Ferguson will report to the panel on the meeting today and the panel should make decisions on when and how the hearings will proceed within the next week. Lorne Parnell, vice-president of wants at least 120 days to study the Power C (China) Pulp Inc., reminded the meeting ‘‘we don’t Group continued from front pege After some discu: decided that a positive action group, to be called Citizens for a Clean Celgar Modernization (CCCM) be established and that an executive be created to carry on the essential work immediately. Dorothy Bagg will chair the group, with Lorne Myrha as treasurer and Barbara Parker as secretary. Donaldson will head the media liaison committee, Don McDowell the information com- mittee, Fred Parker the volunteer networking committee, Betty Middleton the telephone commit- tee and Chris D'Arcy the special events committee. Each commit- tee consists of several members. The CCCM will hold its first regular meeting next week. Citizens wishing to help can con- tact any member of the executive to do so. LOCAL NEWS August 18, 1990 Castlegar News a3 Soviet crew fi to the Castlegar News The far-reaching effects of glasnost and perestroika have been witnessed around the world, but who would have expected those developments to make a major impact on the lives of a small group of British Columbians? The pace of change in the Soviet Union is spilling over into groups of ethnic Russian around the globe. Most foreign Russians now receiving attention were once considered out- casts and were ostracized in their mother country. Emigration for many became the only. hope for survival. One such group, now receiving con- siderable recognition in the Soviet Union, is the Doukhobors of B.C.’s Kootenays. The Doukhobor plight is receiving so much attention in the USSR that a major film produc- tion is now in the making. Tamara Lisitsian, a prominent Soviet filmmaker, has been travelling through the Kootenays for the last two weeks with her crew of 10, shooting a film for worldwide distribution. The Soviet film entourage has already filmed segments in the Slocan Valley, home to a large number of Doukhobors, Grand Forks and Castlegar where it took. part in and filmed a. ‘‘mellania’’ or ethnic Doukhobor prayer service. be distributed worldwide. According to a Popoff of Castlegar, the D CosNew: foremost Doukhobor historian and lecturer, Eli Doukhobors decided they’d had enough with czarist oppression, which But, says Lisitsian, this will not be merely a movie documentary. She said just the fact the Soviets recognize the Doukhobors exist is indicitive of the opening of Soviet society. In beliefs. 1895, have been ignored and/or persecuted in the past by the Soviet government because of their pacifist and religious thousands of Russian included y military service, and in that year burned all weapons and guns they possessed. They believed the. teachings of Christ forebade killing. For this they would eventually have to emigrate or remain ocal Doukhobors Soviet film looking at the lives and culture of local Doukhobor people in Canada will and face certain torture, said Popoff. Inevitably the Doukhobors im- migrated to this area by the thousan- ds. The ones who remained in the Soviet Union have lived through hell, Popoff said. The Doukhobor philosophy is history and finally getting the recognition it deserves, according to the film crew, which has a full-time scriptwriter recording events and historical interpretations as it goes. But all material going into the film receives complete critical analysis before it. gets approval from the Doukhobors, Popoff said. Before, nobody said a word in the Soviet Union which countered the communist line, but, now anything is possible, Lisitsian said. She said the munities. Popoff is accompanying the crew during their entire visit, acting as interpreter and historian. One of the oldest Doukhobors in this area, Joseph Podovinikoff of Slocan Park, said most Canadians have no idea how fast change is oc- curring in the Soviet Union. He was not surprised recognition came for the Doukhobors from their mother coun- try before it came from Canada. He feels that most Canadians have an in- ’s socialist ion was a disaster and now people are freely expressing that. But, she added, the people are looking for new direction, and it is understood their society has to be restructured from the ground up. Where better to look, she said, than at pre-revolutionary idealists who dreamed of a united world based on freedom, peace and the right to live without oppression and exph i In other words, said Popoff, the government of the world’s largest country is seeking assistance from @ small minority of Canadians in the reshaping of their society. Katarsis productions based in Alma Ata, Kazakstan, is spending between 800,000 and 1.5 million rubles on the film, approximately $1 million Cdn. The crew members are from Mosfilm based in Moscow. Most of the film production will be shot in Russia with the final segments showing the present life of the Canadian Doukhobors. The crew will move to Alberta and Saskatchewan next for shooting in other Doukhobor com- of Doukhobor beliefs, based mostly on biased media sensationalism. The Doukhobors have been firm advocates of some form of world unification similar to the UN for over a century, he said. But, he ad- ded, socio-economic conditions have finally brought the necessity of world peace home to the Russian people. He feels they have learned no coun- try is perfect or has the right to op- press others, And, said Podovinikoff, the Russian people are desparately seeking advice from groups like the Boukhobors because the cost of the afms race is killing the planet and the Doukhobors have had the solution all along. This opinion was echoed by Lisitsian. This concept might be harder for countries like Canada to grapple with because a large portion of Canada’s economy has depended on the arms race, said Podovinikoff. But, he said, the time may never be riper to find to and begin giving the UN the authority it deserves. NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFLY From Wire Service Bargaining not under charter OTTAWA — The right of labor unions to bargain with employers is not protected by the Charter of Rights, the Supreme Gourt ruled. The ruling came in a decision that turned down an attempt by a nurses’ union in the Northwest Territories to overturn part of the territorial Public Service Act that gives collective bargaining rights to public service unions recognized by the territorial government and incorporated under the act. “The constitutional guarantee of freedom of association . . . does not include a guarantee of the right to bargain collectively,’’ former chief justice Brian Dickson wrote. The case arose when nurses, who had been federal employees represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, were transferred to the territorial payroll. The territorial government grants bargaining rights only to a teachers’ union and to the Public Service Association, which represents everyone else. The nurses became members of the association but wanted to retain their allegiance to the Professional Institute. The institute applied for incorporation under the act, which would give it the right to bargain for the nurses but on two occasions, in 1982 and 1986, the territorial government refused the application. Herald will use recycled paper CALGARY — A Calgary newspaper plans to start using recycled newsprint by late next year. “We're responding to readers’ requests,” Al Rudd, the Calgary Herald’s director of op i said. ‘‘For i reasons, we don’t want to tip our old newspapers into landfills."” Rudd said construction of an $83-million de-inking plant in Coquitlam, near Vancouver, will make the switch to recycled newsprint possible. Newstech Recycling Inc. expects to have the Coquitlam plant running by late 1991, producing pulp for two major newsprint companies. The paper has wanted to use recycled newsprint for some time, but until Newstech came along it wasn’t able to line up a supply, Rudd said. Heart statistics released ATLANTA — People who do not exercise for at least 20 minutes three times a week are nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease as active people, said a study. The Centers for Disease Control reported about 58 per cent of the U.S. population has a sedentary life, which contributes to thousands of preventable heart disease deaths each year. Of all the preventable risks health experts Study for coronary heart disease, lack of exercise if the most widespread. Compared to 58 per cent of Americans who put themselves at risk for heart disease through lack of exercise, only 25 per cent of Americans smoke, 22 per cent are obese and 17 per cent have high blood pressure. The health agency noted the number of people exercising regularly varies widely by state — from 55 per cent in the state of Washington to 26 per cent in New York. Soviets given back citizenship MOSCOW — President Mikhail Gorbachev, apologizing for two decades of political repression, has restored the Soviet citizenship of exiled writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and 22 other literary, scientific and cultural figures, officials said. In addition to Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel laureate charged with treason in 1974, Gorbachev's presi ial decree returns citi ip to chess champion Victor Korchnoi; writers Vasily Aksyonov, Viadimir Voinovich, Lev Kopelev and Georgi Viadimov; scientists Yuri Orlov and Valeri Chalidze, and artist Oskar Rabin, Soviet media reported. The names of the other 14 weren't announced. Canada's trade surplus tripled OTTAWA — Exports rose sharply and imports slumped to boost Canada’s merchandise trade surplus to $1.7 billion in June, almost triple May's surplus of $630 million, Statistics Canada reported. Exports jumped by $639 million to $12.8 billion in June, a new high, mainly because of a rebound in sales of cars and automotive products to the United States. However, the $456-million decline in June imports to $11 billion was another sign the Canadian economy is close to recession. Saddam invokes the past NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is in- voking the cultural glories of Iraq's ancient empires and their legendary warrior-kings like Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to enhance his claim to be the new champion of the Arab world. Saddam has rewritten history books and purports to be a descen- dant of the Prophet Mohammed, who founded Islam in the 6th century. He has employed more than 1,000 workers and spent millions to rebuild Babylon, capital of Nebuchadnez- zar’s empire. He seeks to rally support among the world’s estimated one billion Muslims and legitimize his cruscade against the West and Israel in their eyes as he fin- ds himself facing a U.S.-led inter- national quarantine for invading Kuwait on Aug. 2 Nebuchadnezzar’s empire em- braced Kuwait, now gobbled up by Iraq, and what are now Syria, Jor- dan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saddam, 54, has been shrouding himself in the mythology of Iraq's historical heyday from the 6th century BC to the 8th century to consolidate his power. Around this he has created a per- sonality cult. Huge posters and wall inti of Saddam are Pi t, as are photos of him on front pages of Iraqi newspapers. A plaque in the Shiite Muslim mosque of Imam Hussein in the holy city of Karbala in southern Iraq shows a family tree that proves “the land between the rivers’’ — the Euphrates and the Tigris. Archaeological excavations have produced evidence of settlements dating from 7,000 BC. The Garden of Eden is reputed to have been at Al- Qurna, where the Euphrates and Tigris join. ' Saddam began rebuilding Babylon four years ago during the 1980-88 war with Iran. He brought in more than 1,000 laborers from Sudan to toil in the desert heat on the banks of the Euphrates to rebuild Nebuchadnez- zar’s Southern Palace and other parts of the ruined city, 100 kilometres nor- th of Baghdad. By encouraging Iraqis to steep themselves in the glories of Babylon, and those of the great Mesopotamian cultures that flourished around the cities of Nineveh, Nimrud and Ur, Saddam sought to boost national morale as well as enhance his own dynastic credentials. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem. He took the Children of Israel into captivity for 50 years and fought for years with the Persians, ancient enemies of the Arabs. Iraqi history books refer to Nebuchadnezzar as the defender of “the Arab nation,”’ even though he lived 1,000 years before there was such a thing. Saddam has not restricted himself to identifying with Nebuchadnezzar. He has likened himself to Ham- murabi, who ruled Babylon in the 17th century BC and is credited with drawing up the world’s first written code of law and with razing the cities of his enemies. Mesopotamia was the centre of the Parthian empire which emerged in the 2nd centry BC and lasted for 400 years. It capita? was Ctesiphon, whose ruins lie near modern Baghdad. The Parthians came later and held back the Romans and the Byzantine empire until AD 637, when they were conquered by the Arabs sweeping out of the south to spread the new religion of Islam by the sword. In 750, the Abbasids, whose capital was Baghdad, carved out an-Islamic empire stretching from what is now Pakistan to Morocco. This was the era of Caliph Haroun al-Rashid, when Baghdad flowered as the centre of Arabic culture and the beguiling city of the Thousand and One Nights. (CP) — An government lets them leave, @ diplomat said Eight Canadian Nicosia have completed arrangements for a possible evacuation and set up a 24-hour officials in that the former peasant boy can trace his lineage back to Mohammed through the Hashemite kings of Arabia The Information Ministry in Bagh- dad hands out copies, although the accuracy of the family tree cannot be authenticated and many non-lraqi Arabs: are highly skeptical of its provenance. In the last couple of years Saddam has rehabilitated theonce discredited Hashemite monarchy of Iraq, over thrown in a 1958 coup and denounced as a British puppet regime. Iraqis like to point out that ancient Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq, is generally viewed as the cradle of civilization. Mesopotamia means Faster gas in WASHINGTON (AP) — The gas most often implicated in the threat of global warming seems to be increasing faster than in past years, says a report issued by a U.S. government agency The concentration of carbon dioxide in the air increased at an average rate of 1.71 parts per million during the last four years, said Dr Pieter Tans. He works for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration That is somewhat higher than tye 1.5 parts per million rise reported in centre ‘‘just to prepare ourselves in case that happens,”’ said Serge Drapeau, the officer in charge A 190-seat jetliner is at the air- port, ready to airlift about 700 Canadians stranded since Iraq in- vaded Kuwait on Aug. 2. But Iraq must allow them to leave before the Canadian government could decide whether to evacuate them to Cyprus. On Thursday, Iraqi authorities ordered all Britons and Americans in Kuwait to assemble in hotels, raising fears that thousands of westerners may be interned External Affairs spokesman Robert Peck in Ottawa said there Evacuation possible NICOSIA evacuation plan is in place to turn Cyprus into a stepping stone to safety for Canadians trapped in Kuwait and Iraq — if the Baghdad had been ‘‘no confirmation that this order applies to Canadians."” Canada is making ‘immediate representations on the subject’ to Iraqi authorities and seeking clarification, he said. Canada has consistently told Iraqi authorities that Canadians in Iraq and Kuwait must be allowed to leave. About 200 Canadians are known to be in Iraq, and 522 in Kuwait. All are believed to be safe : Drapeau, reached by telephone in Nicosia, said if an airlift is called for, it could involve three or four flights. ‘*We're close by, so you can go back and forth quickly and just take the Canadians out.” Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, is just a few hours’ flying time from Baghdad and Kuwait ““Contingency plans have also been made for the possible use of other aircraft if circumstances warrant,” the External Affairs Department said Wednesday A doctor and an ambulance would be at the airport in Cyprus to provide medical assistance to anyone who needs it on arrival, and consular officers would also be on hand, Drapeau said. Accommodation could be the stickiest problem._Cyprus is already packed with tourists. Drapeau said he has made preliminary reservations of more than 400 hotel rooms, and these reservations can be activated with a telephone call. But if Iraq allows thousands of westerners to leave Kuwait and Iraq at the same time, even these arrangements could be inadequate. If, unfortunately, Cal ns arrive after a wave of people, these rooms may not be available,"’ he said. The Canadian Forces, in Cyprus as part of the UN peacekeeping force, could provide 1,000 beds, Drapeau said. It would be ‘‘elementary comfort,’” but at least people who need it would have somewhere to sleep, he said. much of the 1980s. And in the 1960s, the increase was reported at only 0.7 parts per million annually “The (carbon dioxide) increase varies a lot from year to year At the moment, it seems to be increasing fairly fast," Tans said Concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC-11 and CFC-12 are monitored by a U.S government laboratory in Boulder, Colo. The increasing amounts of these gases in the air has caused concern in recent years. The gases are produced by industrial processes, heating and other human activities as well as some natural sources. Many scientists worry that the gases will act somewhat like a greenhouse, causing Earth to overheat The short-wave radiation from the sun that warms the Earth passes through them easily, but they can trap the longer-wave radiation from Earth that normally cools the planet and keeps overall temperatures in balance Global’ concentrations of carbon crease reported _ dioxide, the most common of the greenhouse gases, have increased by about 25 per cent since the mid-1800s, to slightly more than 350 parts per million. However, scientists disagree over whether any global heating has already occurred. Increasing the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide by one part per million requires the addition of 2.13 billion tonnes of carbon to the air. Much of this occurs through the bur- ning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.