Dear Sir:
-- | have become very dishear-
tenéd toward some of the local re-
_ sidents regarding the Wal-Mart
~~ matter.
I have lived in Terrace my
whole life and it has provided me
_ With many beneficial opportuni-
ties and growing experiences,
“] do feel it has not lived up to
_ cits full potential. I feel that be-
--¢ause of closed-minded peoplé
~~ Within ‘this community, we have
driven many. valuable people
away. that could have helped
make Terrace thrive.

In the economic state that Ter- .

race is in a lot of people are
. hanging on every hope that the
mill will re-open soon, This has
been a hard last few years. Many
people are down to one income or
none, and living off savings or
turning their homes back to the
banks just to survive.

~- These are the families that we
need to think of to keep them here
~and helping keep Terrace popula-
-ted.

This great store could replenish
“the pockets of some of the resi-
-dents here or leave a little left

over in their pockets for some-
thing more than just the necessi-
ties. Which, in turn, will pull
them into our small businesses
toa.

Look how many people ques-
tioned Canadian Tire coming into
Terrace. It has been a godsend to
us, and it has employed so many
“of: our friends, family members

and students to fund them through
many:more years of schooling.

-It also gives these young adults
an Opportunity to transfer to a new
store,.to help support them
through the years of future school-
ing at out of town universities.

It reels in people from all sur-

rounding communities to spend | —

-money in Terrace, too. “Big box”
stores, like Canadian Tire and
Wal-Mart, are very supportive of
the.communities they build and
operate in, as such, supporting our
local sports teams, food banks etc,
~~ Look how many other cities
have been successful with all
these “Big Box” stores coming
into their communities.

“" Don’t use the excuse that we
are a smaller place, because not

having these new stores come in, °

we are halding ourselves back
from the growth.

I hope everyone starts looking
at the positive side of these busi-
hesses to get our community
booming again, and offer a little
more selection to the residents
here, so that they can buy local
and support everyone here.

Otherwise, we are going to see
more people moving elsewhere.

Many others, as well as my-
self, are willing to drive to Prince
George for a better price on items,
which is a major loss for our local
businesses, If you don’t think any-
one is willing to make that drive
think again.

I spend an average of $3,000 to
$4,000 in Prince George a year,
many others do too.

I would love to spend it in my
own community, don’t get me
wrong. But being a new homeow-
ner and a one income family, |
will look for the best price and a
better selection if it takes a bil of
a drive to buy il.

So I encourage you to stand’

your ground and dig your heels in
to support your feelings on this
matter,

Eventually though, these com-
panies will break ground whether
it takes two, five or 10 years and
the day they open their doors, |
wilt be there to support them.

; Kelly Prinz,
Terrace, B.C.

Ea
‘Dear Sir:
City council’s support of the
rezoning application filed by First

al-

Our readers on whether we should welcome the

art

mother of all big boxes

TT

THE WAL-MART in Quesnel is a magnet for local shoppers. New Wal-Marts have gone up in
Quesnel and Prince George in recent years. ANNIE GALLANT PHOTO - QUESNEL CARIBOO OBSERVER

Professional Management Inc. the
developer of 36 of 40 new Wal-
Mart stores, is short-sighted and
inconsistent with their recent ef-
forts to enhance the downtown
core and promote tourism.

Councillor Marylin Davies’
comments in particular, reflect a
lack of understanding of the ef-
fects this potential new neighbour
will have on the businesses and
residents of Terrace.

Before councillor Davies advo-
cates the “sacrifice” of park land
in the name of “progress”, she
should examine the effects Wal-
Mart has had on similar commu--
nities across North America.
Canadian Wal-Marts contain
many services, including a phar-
macy, a photo jab, an auto repair
center, a portrait studio, a garden
center; an optical services center,
a bank, and a small McDonald’s
restaurant,

In Cranbrook, a study conduc-
ted by Vancouver-based Thomas
Consultants Inc, predicts that the
city's: clothing stores will: lose.27'™

.. per cent.of their business ‘to Wal-
-Mart. é

The study also maintains that
car repair shops will see a 10 to

- 15 per cent decline in business,

furniture and hardware stores will
lose 10 per cent, and computer
and electronic stores will lose 25
per cent.

Local grocery stores will not be
exempt from the effects of Wal-
Mart. Although Canadian Wal-
Marts do not carry a full line of
grocery products (yet), they carry
a significant number of dry goods,

Thomas Consultants study of
Cranbrook businesses predict the
city’s Safeway and Overwaitea
stores will lose five per cent of
their business, while the Canadian
Wholesale Club will lose 15 per
cent of their business,

Wal-Mart's poor treatment of
their employees is well known.

Typical labour practices in-
clude iow wages, substandard
working conditions, encouraging
employees ta work “off the
clock”, inadequate benefits, and
the use of intimidation tactics to-

. wards employees pursuing union

organization.

Wal-Mart has been criticized
by church, labour, and human
tights groups for selling products
made in Third World sweatshops.

In June, the Toronto based Ma-
quila Solidarity Network presen-
ted Wal-Mart with its Sweatshop

' Retailer of the Year Award,

Lori Merrill is quite right when
she says that Wal-Mart is “not a
greal corporate citizen.” In other
communities, Wal-Mart has asked

for tax reductions of up to 40 per |

cent, created environmental ha-
zards by storing fertilizers and

pesticides on parking lot& adja-
cent to waterways, proposed
building on environmentally sen-°
sitive land, and driven local en-
terprises out of business,

Economic studies had shown
that for every two jobs Wal-Mart
creates, three jobs are destroyed.
Wal-Mart is infamous for moving
into small communities, sucking
them dry, then leaving.

There are 300 empty Wal-Mart
stores across North America. We
do not need one on the banks of
the Skeena River.

Karen Scales,
Terrace, B.C.

Baa
Dear Sir:

‘I believe the development of a
Wal-Mart in Terrace will improve
this community's economy for the
short and long-term.

It will provide both employ-
ment and capital.

Like any rural community,
over-dependence on any single re-
source-based industry, ‘like forest-

TY leads to economic:-boom-bust:

cyclés:! The bottoms of these
cycles do not always lead to eco-
nomic rebounds. (An end to the
‘softwood iumber dispute is not in

sight).

_ IT think the deal our city has
made is remarkable and com-

_ mendable.

Wal-Mart is a large employer
which will spend a large sum of
money in Terrace and bring shop-
pers into Terrace for many years.

Our city needs this injection of
cash if it is to maintain our muni-
cipal infrastructure and services.

Our municipal tax base is curr-
ently in crisis due toa loss
of taxes paid by employers and
residents,

Qur community has been losing
its young people, trades-people
and. professionals, as they chase
jobs in the lower mainland or
other parts of Canada.

We have not been drawing
new, young people to Terrace to
replace them.

A range of affordable shopping
is a factor that influences develo-
pers and new workers when they
consider investing in or relocating
to Terrace.

I believe, the lack of part- -time
_and summer employment in Ter-
“race indirectly influences stu-
dents choosing not to live in Ter-
race after completing their educa-
tion.

That it isa factor in parents
choosing to move from Terrace
before their children complete
high school here.

Wal-Mart is not a cure-all
for the loses I have described, but

it can be part of a solution for our

ailing economy. .
Wal-Mart has a lot to contri-
bute to our community, if we let
it.
Simon Dadds,
Terrace, B.C
; . EEG
Dear Sir:

‘IT found it particularly interest-
ing to drive by the proposed site
of the proposed Wal-Mart store
and see surveying crews hammer-
ing in stakes. This was before the
final reading in the rat haus -
oops, sorry, that’s German for city
hall.

It made me kind of think that
this has been a done deal for a

‘long time and just had to go

through those annoying legalities.

Potts to ponder:

1. Did anyone tell Wal-Mart
about that floodplain thing or the
outflow winds?

2. Do you want to walk your
kids between a warehouse store
and a riverbank? What's with the

‘skinny parks in this town that are:
swedged: between things that don't

match? ©

3. Did you know that’a hhome-
owner in Vancouver for 2002, on a
house valued at $375,000, only
paid $I, 078 in general city taxes
and ‘another $550 in other city

‘charges?

4. If Walmart offered bargain
priced legal services, would there
have been a posilive vote from
the cily?

5. What's wrong with all that
vacant land. in Thornhill?

6. Is the bus route going to
change like at Canadian Tire?

7. Who is paying to clean up
the old gas stalion site?

8. Tourism and old town versus.
the Wal-Mart experience and no
contradiction in the planning
minds in this town, .

In summary, the city is plan-
ning to move an old (in Terrace
years) building across the tracks
to a new site to be called old
town and expect merchants to
make changes to storefronts at
their own expense to go along
with this idea,

All this is being done to attract
wealthy. tourists who come from
countries where old is counted in
centuries, not decades,

The city then wants to run all
the old businesses in town out of
business to allow.a new business
in on the other side of the tracks.

Treally thought that we had en-
ough big stores in town, I guess I
was wrong.

Should [ voice my disdain for
the way things are truly decided
in this town? Why bother?

~~. Chris Spangl,
-Terrace B.C.

Fear not success, says P.G. newspaper

Having recently watched var-
ious political tribes here in Prince
George do battle over the arrival
of Wal-Mart, we can now sit back
and watch as the City of Terrace
goes through its own debate, And
it ig with curiosity, sympathy and
mild amusement that we view
safely from afat.

The amusement stems from
two sources — the similarity of the
arguments and the alarmist nature
of some of them.

‘The letters to the editor page of
‘the Terrace Standard recently
featured correspondence from a

“man who had lived in'the city for
°13 years and intended to make his
retirement . there, He asserts: | that :

Wal-Mart, after forcing all com-
petitors out of business, will shut
down the operation and move on,

Upon hearing that Wal-Mart
was coming to town he has started
io look for another communily to
spend his galden years in, saying
he refuses to live in-a community
which has been created as a result.
of Wal-Mart. .

Another writer seemingly hates
the chain because of its success ~
as indicated by it becoming the
world’s. biggest corporation.
Would this type of person prefer
that small, struggling companies
came to town? ..

“We've heard these lypes of ar-

‘gument. before, occasionally hear —

them still, And all the while shop-
pers continue to vote with. their
dollars, visiting the store in
droves.

The situation in Terrace is un-
Hike our own in that. it appears
they have a distinct “poor us” at-
titude. They lament being caught

in between Kitimat and: Prince

Rupert. Kitimat, with its. Alcan
and Eurocan plants and Prince
Rupert with its pulp mills and fish
plants. Terrace, without its’ own
giant employer to provide. a tax
and income base feels left out.’

“Some in Terrace hope. Wal-
Mart will be thelr: Alcan, but still
Protest is tampant. .

_ ferrace had been. through the

doom and gloom predictions in
the late ‘90s when Canadian Tire
and the Real Canadian Ware-
house Club came to town, Clearly .
the town survived and some would
say it’s better for it.
And yet-the naysayers abound.
But as we've seen lately
Prince George is all too much like

Terrace.

We have elements that oppose
new development and businesses
on moral, ethical and protectionist
grounds. And in the. process turn
away investment that will prow
our city in- the same. way every

. business has to grow. :

‘m_editorial from the. Prince

. George Free. Press.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 2, 2003 - A5

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Don’t segregate us

Dear Sir:

On Feb. 7, 2003 our Board of Directors forwarded a
letter to the Coast Mountain School District
expressing considerable concerns about the
establishment of a native magnet school in Terrace,
and received no response,

We were surprised to note then, in the March 19,
2003 issue of The Terrace Standard that “school
trustees have already given their blessing to the idea
of a magnet school,”

The majority of aboriginal children in this region
are Nisga'a citizens (290 students), Frankly, we are
perplexed that: a) no one from the school district has
responded to our letter and b) that no. representalive
frem the schoo! district or any other involved
organization has thought to consult the the Terrace
Nisga'a Society that represents the majority of these
children. ;

Our Board of Directors and members are well
aware of the need to ensure that First. Nations
children have a more positive educational experience
and achieve higher levels of academic achievement.

We have been, and will continue to be, fully
supportive of and actively involved in all efforts to
meet the unique needs of First Nations students in the
public school system.

However, we are strongly opposed to the concept
of a native magnet school. In our opinion and as
outlined in the school board's fact sheet for a First
Nations Culturally responsive school, the term
“magnet” is nothing more than a thinly disguised
euphemism for racial segregation.

We are adamantly opposed to the warehousing of
our children as a cost-saving measure for the school
district. This represents significant steps backward
that can do great damage to the positive work
accomplished over the years toward the building of an
integrated, tolerant community of people of all races
and backgrounds,

In the past, we (our organization and the Nisga‘’a
people) have experienced the constructive
interactions with the school district. These have led to
a more positive environment for both aboriginal and
non-aboriginal students. Of late, this relationship
seems to have deteriorated.

It is vital that we “raise the bar’ not just in the
level of education provided, but also in the decision-
making processes that provide the foundation. At the

magnet school information meeting we attended at |

the beginning of February, 75 per cent of the
participants were education and school staff.

In a situation where the focus seems to be on job -

protection and cost-cutting, we question how
recommendations arising from such a disproportionate
mix can represent the wishes of First Nations parents
and children.

If our children are to succeed in ‘today’ s world, we
must all build and maintain a solid working
relationship. Open and honest communications are
essential.

We. ‘strongly: encourage‘ all members :of the
community to Jearn,:the facts of:-this proposal.
Participate in discussions and make a decision based
on the most positive future for all our children.

Charles McKay, Vice President,
Terrace Nisga’a Society, Terrace, B.C,

Stand with the USA

Dear Sir:

As a Canadian, I am extremely upset with the
Canadian government's attitude to the war in Iraq, It
is disgraceful that the Liberal government would not
support our American allies in the war on terrorism.
The Americans are our allies. And most importantly,
they are our friends, and in many cases our relatives.

It is a well known fact that the regime in Iraq
supports terrorism by sending cheques to the family’s
of suicide bombers in various regions of the Middle
East. It is a well-known fact that that the regime in
Iraq used chemical and biological weapons against
Iraqi people that opposed the present government. It is
a fact that Iraq has invaded neighbouring countries in
order to try to expand its empire and impose their will
on other nations.

Our Prime Minister stated that he could not support
a war that was not sanctioned by the United Nations.
This is the same United Nations that through their
procrastination and bickering did nothing against the
genocide in the Balkan region of Europe and in
Africa. If the United Nations was truly concerned with
world peace and the protection the citizens of the
world, they would stand together.

We should be thankful that the Americans and a
number of other nations have said that enough is
enough, and stood together. It is a tragedy: that
Canada is not among those nations that have said the
Iraqi, regime be stopped.

I urge Canadians to send letters to their MPs and
to the Prime Minister to express their concerns about
the cowardice of our Prime Minister and his bully
tactics to disallow the backbenchers of the Liberal
party speak their mind. His lack of respect for our
elected members to disagree with his views is
dictatorial.

War is never the answer, but if we learn anything

from history, it might be the only answer in order to-

stop those who will use fear, terrorism and the threat
of death to force their beliefs on their own people and
surrounding nations.

Once again, I urge you to write your MP, your
Prime Minister and the American press to show that
you disagree with the Canadian government's stand,

If you want to send letters to MP Andy Burton, the
address is http://www.andyburton.ca/feedback.asp.

To send your message to our Prime Minister, the
address is:
hitp://pmi.ge. ca/feedback. asp?Lan guage=E&Page=mai
lroom

Doug Magee, Terrace, B.C.

About the Mail Bag

Tne Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our
address is 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. VaG
5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail
us at newsroom @terracestandard.com. No
attachments, please. We need your name,
address and phone number for variflcation. Our
deadline is noon Friday or noon Thursday i ifitsa
long weekend,