Vol. 4, Issue No. 41

Legislative Library,
Parliament Buildings,
Victoria, B.C.

V8V 1X4

TERRACE, BC WEDNESDAY, October 12, 1988

Y OUR HOME TOWN LOCALL Y y OWNED AND ) OPERA TED NE WSPAPER

50 CENTS

TERRACE — Officers for the
local Employment Standards
Branch seem to have uncovered
the tip of an iceberg, but they’re
not sure what they’re going to
find under the surface.

In June 1987 Terrace ESB of-
ficer Roger Davis announced
that the Branch intended to
begin. an audit: of the payroll
records of logging contractors
operating in the region. His of-
fice’ sent out 150° letters of
notification, covering the con-

Kermodel
gets $2.5
million
contract

Transport Canada has
awarded Kermodei Con-
struction: of Terrace a J
$2,529,150 contract for the
construction of the combined
services building at the
Terrace-Kitimat Airport. Ac-
cording to the Ministry of
Transport project manager, fj
frank Geyer, the bid submit- §
ted by Kermodei was about
$50,000 tess than that of Ter-
race H & H Construction and
about $110,000 below that of
Vic Van Isle Construction of
Revelstoke. _

The new 1,500 square
meter building will replace a |
number of smaller buildings
built during World War Il
and provide space for airport |
firefighting personnel and
equipment, as well as
Transport Canada’s general
maintenance crew. Airport
‘Manager Darry! Laurent said
arrangements are now being
made to get the project
underway, and he says he ex-
pects construction to begin
within a few weeks.

tractors they thought were work-
ing in their jurisdiction .—
roughly the entire northwest
quadrant of B.C.

The action was prompted by a
large volume of complaints from.
workers in the woods who were
being treated as one-man sub-
contractors rather than hourly-
paid employees. Davis set out to
explain to employers the
specifics of employer-employee
relationships as laid out in pro-
vincial labor law.

Inside
this week’s
Terrace Review

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: and
it's efficient, too. B.C. Hydro
chalrman Larry Bell told a
Terrace meeting that mega-
projects are out of favor...
page 2.

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY: The
Skeena Liberals found a can-

didate, the NDP says pol-

luters should be put in jall,
and the Tories open thelr
campaign home... page 3.

YOUNG IDEAS: Two Terrace
girls have been appointed to
council for telling the govern-

ment what youth really

likes... page 14.

Business Guide 12
Church Directory 16
ClassifiedAds 19—22
Coming Events - 144
Comics 18
Crossword 18
Dining Directory 10
Editorial 4
Entertainment 10
Horoscope 2
Letters - §
Sports - 5 > 8B
Talk of the Town 5
Weather — 2

In an_ interview yesterday,
Davis said he has discovered that
since June 1987 there have been
more than 800 loggingg contrac-
tors ‘‘passing through’? the
region. -‘‘It’s phenomenally
more than we had_ first
thought... every time we look at
one thing, we uncover some-
thing elsé. It’s nearly a bottom-
less pit.”

told him they’re living on the
edge of financial collapse were
probably telling the truth, and
he expressed concern that there
is serious instability among in-
dependent woods companies in

the Northwest.

When asked why the record

‘profits reported over the last
-year by large forest companies

~ aren’t making their way to down

Davis said that indicates to
him that contractors. who have

Autumn colors and
definite reminders that fall ha
nelther are as moving as th

the contractors, Davis
‘You'd have to’ ask

to
replied,

Investigators. taken aback by logging firm numbers

them (the forest companies).””
With regard to Employment
Standards compliance, Davis
said in some some cases the
employers are living up to their
obligations, but there are still a
large number using employees as
“subcontractors”? and violating
regulations governing overtime
and holiday pay.

Employee complaints received
by the ESB, he said, are down
slightly.

the sweet smell of burning leaves are
§ arrived and winter Is near. But
e distinctive sound of Canada

Geese, shown here taking off from Frank's Field Sunday on :

thelr annual migration to warmer lands.

Private waterfront “frightening”
question, ‘‘if there is an increase

of permanent residential devel- ;
opment, will there be adverse af-

TERRACE — The Regional
District of Kitimat-Stikine
recently expressed concern over
a provincial government an-
nouncement which stated that
current lease holders of water-
front land could purchase the
piece of property they now oc-
cupy. The provincial govern-
ment currently leases over 5,000
lakefront lots to B.C., Canadian
and foreign residents who use
the land for summer cottages,
permanent homes and industrial
and commercial use. The board
had mixed feelings about the

__ proposal and tabled the matter
after director Ruth Hallock

called the sale ‘‘a frightening

prospect’’.
by Tod Strachan

Since that time, regional
district staff have investigated
the proposal and drafted a
report listing some concerns

which the board will have to

consider at their Oct. 15
meeting.

in the first place, it is felt that
an increased trend towards lake-
shore investment could have a
negative impact on ithe environ-
ment, Even though the Ministry
of Health regulates sewage
disposal, for example, the report
notes that ‘“‘often construction

goes unnoticed’’, and asks the

fects
cumulative impact of individual
developments?’’. The report
places special emphasis on

the sale of these properties for
“‘use-specific purposes’” by trap-
pers or fishing and hunting
guides should not be considered.
Four other regional districts in
the province have already ex-
pressed concern. The Fraser-
Fort George area encompasses
about 500 leased waterfront
properties, and the board of that
continued on page 23

resulting from the .

remote areas and suggests that .

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