Time to fight if our MLA won't Dear Sir: “It ts not the job of the government to prevent the crimes of the people. It is the job of the people to prevent the crimes ofthe government.’’ — Thomas Paine. : We are squeezed by more taxes, service fees and restrictions. We are on the road to a system as repressive as fascist communism. 1 complained to our MLA about the increased fishing fees, His answer was that he feels empathy for the locals but if the tourists could spend this much to come to fish bere they could spend more for a licence. Does our MLA have the economics of this riding in his interest? Will he listen to the people here and stand up to his party in Victoria? Does he care? Is his party credible? Enough is enough, Maybe it is time not to buy a licence and fish as usual, May be it is time to be ar- rested and choose jail and plug the courts and fill the jail with our families and ourselves for fishing without a licence. Maybe this civil disobedience will belp the people prevent (he crimes by the government and the in- fringement on our liberties. Larry Seminoff Terrace B.C. Fishing losses mount Dear Six Last year the DFO (Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans) increased non-resident saltwater licences almost 300 per cent and resident licenses doubled in cost. The immediate result (DFO’s own stats) was 60 per cent fewer non-resident licences were sold and overall (including resident licences) 40 per cent fewer licences were sold. This resulted in 40 per cent fewer people buying tackle and gear, mote] rooms, fuel, restaurant meals, charters and gift shops. In sales alone this represented a loss of over.$300,000 less retail sales province wide an coincidentally well over $21,000,000 each less sales tax collected provin- cially and federally via PST and GST. An estimated loss of approx, 2,500 jobs occurred also, province wide. For my own shop [ am down about six jobs total right now and foresce even more on tourism (read fishing), and 20 of the total 42 classified waters are within our area. - We cannot afford the loss which is occurring and growing daily, No amount of licence fees collected will equal the losses locally in sales, profits, taxes collected, jobs lost and overall economy. People who usually come here every year are calling me daily via my 1-800 number to verify the license costs and then tell me they are definitely changing their holiday plans. Before it is loo late we must address this situation. : Brian Lee Patrick Terrace B.C. Unfair classifications Ap open letter to: Environment minister Cathy McGregor. As a long-time resident of the northwest, I am writing to question the unfair way in which the Skeena region has been targeted over and above all otber regions in this province, in that large stretches of every single river in Region 6 (Skeena) have now been classified either Class 1 or Class 2, ex- cept for the lone exception of the Kitimat River. It will now, as a result, be severely impacted with “a majority of fishermen choosing to fish ihis one river, because they will be unable to afford to fish any of our other many rivers, since the new fishing license will now cost each person between the ages of 17-65. over $65 a year to fish Class 1 and Class 2 rivers. This will result in the destruction of the Kitimat River’s banks and severely reduce the fish in this river. -T would like to bring to your attention, just how unfair this river classification is to us in the north- west, in comparison with the rest of the province, by comparing just three items, namely: 1. Region 6 (Skeena) has 28 rivers and their tributaries classified as Class 1 or 2. “2. Total number of rivers in the rest of the pro- vince combined is 17 rivers and their tributaries classified as Class 1 or 2. 1 notice that your riding — in Region 3 Thomson-Nicola — bas only a very short stretch of the Thomson, from Savona to the junction of the Fraser, classified between Septem- ber 1 and December 31. Another politically interesting point to note, is that Region 2 (Lower Mainland) with the highest density of population, and therefore one would ex- pect, the highest need for protected rivers, has NO classified rivers, Would you kindly explain to me ihe reasoning behind these two decisions. It is ob- viously the protection of the rivers and their fish. 3. Senlors and children under 16 have ‘age restricted waters’? set aside especially for their use for trout fishing and the 1996 Fishing Guide states on page 2, ‘We (the Government) have picked lakes and streams close to your home where there’s jot of trout, The rest is up to you.”’ Sounds good, but not if you live in the Northwest, because this is the only region in the whole province which has not one single stream, lake or river (in an area renowned for its rivers, streams and lakes) set aside for seniors and their young offspring to fish. Once again, it is politically interesting to note, that Region 2, the Lower Mainland, has a total of four lakes/creeks, etc. and Vancouver Island has a tolal of seven lakes, creeks, etc. Believe it or not, we do have seniors and children under 16 up here too and a population of over 50,000, with a healthy and stcady population in- crease, “Also, please explain to me the reasoning behind the complefely nonsensical new regulation that re- quires everyone, no matter whether they want to fish for steelhead or not, to buy a steelhead license. My understanding of your Ministry, (correct me if Iam wrong) is that it is there specifically to protect TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Apri! 30, 1997 - AS Fishy changes rile readers The Mail Bag > Dear Sir: As you have probably noticed, the all-too- frequent Ministry of Transport vehicle safety checks have become the norm in this province. Do you remember the last time you were courteously warned to have some minor defect repaired and then sent on your way? I suspect it’s been a long lime since you experi- enced that without a complimentary fine to ‘set your mood for the day. When objecting to the frivolous nature of many of these motor vehicle defects, the standard ans- wer seems to be ‘‘In the interest of safety...’’ Weil, then, when was the last time you were the cause of a fatal accident because your licence plate light was not working, yet reflects on its MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTORS issue tickets for vehicle defects and repairs, and will im- pound vehicles that are unsafe to drive further. Inspectors’ goal is highway robbery — not road safety FILE PHOTO own just fine? Or when was the last time you ran over some- one due to no other reason than a slight crack in your windshield that did not in any way obstruct your vision? ]-apree wholehcartedly; road safety should be the single primary motivating factor for these all too frequent vehicle checks. But I cringe at the thought of losing a day’s wages every time I approach one of these rolling cash registers manned by the government’s staff of professional panhandlers, Write lo your MLA and ask for road safety — not highway robbery. Dick Eichhorst Terrace B.C. our rivers and so by implication, the fish. If every- one is obliged to buy a steelhead license, then isn’t it logical to expect that now a greater number of people will actually catch this endangered species? One last point is the requirement to fili in on the back of the licence every time one attempls to fish in a new location, with a separate line for each and every species caught, but not necessarily kept. What happens when these 23 lines are filled up? It is gad to think that bureaucracy has stretched its arm even to gaing to one’s favourile fishing hole, forcing anglers to mark down every movement made. It's looking very much like shades of Big Brother watching you. I look forward to your clear and precise answers to my questions and concems. Susan Mehs Terrace B.C. Fees catastrophic Dear Sin Helmut Giesbrecht’s comments in the April 9 Terrace Standard are completely imesponsible! « Below are some examples of his quotes. “Guides have been known to sell a rod day for more than $500 U.S.” Not true! No rod days have ever been sold for $500 U.S. The average price for rod days is $100 Cdn. a ‘Rod days have been transferred between guides for much more where a guide ran out of rod days and had to buy some from one with a surplus.”’ WRONG, Rod days which are transferred ‘average $100 or less! : “The recent fee changes are a result of a public review of angling in 1995,"’ i Wrong again Helmut! The public was never in- formed of these fee increases’in the °95 review, They were informed however on March 7, 1997, three weeks before the season starts.” : “A payment plan is being introduced for guides on classified waters to ease the impact of fee in- creases on their business. The massive up-Lfont costs can be avoided,”’ This is true, but our first monthly installment is more than the annual one’ last year! If your auto insurance went from $1100 to $12,600 (as did some guide licences) would it case the impact if the government financed you? As usual our MLA is misinformed arid our tourism industry will suffer the consequences. — - , , 7 Steve Nickolls, president Terrace District Angling Guides Association Keep Kalum open Dear Sir: We-wish to bring to the attention of sportsmen in the Terrace area a government initiative that could significantly affect future fishing, bunting and recreational activities in the upper Kitsumkalum (Beaver) River arca. A large part of the Beaver River valley above Kalum Lake is being recommended for designation as a Study area under the Protected Areas Strategy, part of the provincial govermment’s agenda to int crease the amount of land designated as parks or plotected arcas, If the provincial government approves the recom- mendation, ‘the study area designation means the area will’ be under short-term protection from any resource development until a final land use decision is made, which, we understand, will be done through the Kalum Land and Resource Manage- ment Planning (LRMP) process. It will likely take several years before a final decision is made via the LRMP, based upon similar long term planning pro- cesses thal have occurred throughout the province. Our membership is opposed to designating the upper Kitsumkalum arca as # protected arca for two main reasons: 1. If te proposed area is designated as protected, it will most likely eventually be designated a park. Once it becomes a park, it is almost certain that fishing, hunting, trapping and recreational (e.g. jet boating) opportunities will be curtailed or possibly even climinated, depending upon what management -stralegy or process is implemented by the govern- tnent. The bureaucrats who design these processes have developed a slow but sure way of eroding the aver- age British Columbian’s ability to access and enjoy tecreatlonal activities on much of our wilderness, cither directly by imposing new regulations, or by making it increasingly expensive (cg. instead of driving you may now have to fly, license fees, re- quirement to hire a guide, etc.). The Khut- zemymatecn, Kitlope and Tatshenshini are three recently implemented local examples of this. . 2, Designating this area as protected will remove a significant amount of operable forest from TFL 1, which will result in lost jobs in the focal forest in- dustry (and they will not be replaced by. tourism jobs — this standard government response has been proven wrong too many times). : Given that the local forest industry will already be losing significant operable area because of native land claims, the Forest Practice Code, etc., we feel that losing additional areas to parks is unacceptable, Why have parks if no one can afford to visit them? Another issue we feel should be addressed for fu ture proposals of this nature is the public inpul pro- cess. We feel the Beaver Study area has been very poorly advertised, to the point of appearing deliberately sercretive. We would strongly suggest that concerned sportsmen and citizens make their views known as this could (bopefully) have some impact on the final land use decision. It is imperative that this takes place as soon as possible as this proposal will be going before the provincial cabinet in the near future. Letters can be sent to: Kevin Kriese, Chair Regional Protected Areas team c/o Ministry of Forests Bag 5000, 3726 Alfred Ave.. Smithers, B.C. VOJ 2NO. Or: To the Terrace Rod and Gun club, which will be forwarded to both Kevin Kriese and the Kalum LRMP, Terrace Rod and Gun Club, Box 292, Ter- race B.C. V8G 4A6 Attention: Kalum LRMP Bill Watson, president Terrace Rod and Gun Club Right call on nudes Re: The nvde paintings removed from the R.E.M. ‘Lee Theatre, Thank you very much to Barry Piersdorff for having them removed. I was at the theatre with my 11-year-old daughter and my 13-year-old son when the nudes still hung and ] was shocked and embarrassed to see that in front of all the children and parents. Joanne Thompson said the paintings “were meant to show the viewer the process of art making.” Shame on you artists! There are many ways to show the process of art making (drawing and paint- ing) without hanging pictures of naked people in front of children. And as to the “joy of drawing the human form”, were you so carried away with the joy of it that you had to have your painting hung in front of my chil- dren? ] am a 40-year-old woman and don’t consider myself old-fashioned. I also believe the human bady is a wonderful thing and I keep myself physi- cally fit and am proud of my body. But I certainly won't walk downtown in the nude. I know that would be wrong. And in my opinion, the nude pictures in front of children are also wrong. It’s as simple as that. Sandra Grant Terrace B.C, Art is in the soul Dear Sir: I was quite struck by statements regarding nudity. The Biblical exegesis used to support some argu- ments, in my opinion, is not correct, In Genesis, the initial notion that we should cover our bodies was not God’s idea, it was man’s after they had sinned. Being ashamed of our nakedness and of the ‘good’ that God created is a result of sin. We do live in a sinful world, and part of the job of Christians (apart from proclaiming the truth of Christ as the way, the truth and the life) is to strive to restore this now sinful world towards God’s ini- tially created goodness. This goodness includes the beauty of the human body, naked or clothed. Ast is one venue through which to address this. You do not need to see a naked body to deem what you see ‘crolic’ or offensive nor is a clothed body necessarily deemed ‘good’ and beautiful. Much of the message lies in the depiction by the artist but how this message is received lies in the mind of the viewer. I agree that for the sake of our children and our- stlves we do need to be careful. There is ‘bad’ art out there, though much rarer inside the walls of es- tablished art galleries than outside of them. If the viewer has trained their mind (or their children’s) and their eyes to see sex and something offensive each time they see a naked body, this response is their responsibility. In my opinion this will distort much in life and in art. I can’t imagine having to think of Michelangelo’s “Sistine Chapel” as offensive, or his “David”. What a torment that for the rest of my life ] would have to live with the ‘knowledge’ that my clothing is hiding something disdained by God and my body is something I should be ashamed of. I cannot comment on the nature of the art works in question, for I have not seen them (except those that were made public via the front page and other pages of the Terrace Standard). As an artist and as a former art student, [ find it hard to imagine that these drawings and paintings intended to depict studies of the human form would be offensive and that these well-respected members of our com- munity would depict these studies as such, As for other aspects of the discussion, it is about time art and artists in this community received noteworthy attention. Have you been to or sup- ported the art gallery lately? J, Diane Nyman-Leffers Terrace, B.C, Protect the children Dear Sir: I'd like to thank our local trustees of the school board for reminding us that as a community, we have a moral responsibility towards the children in our town. Perhaps in the future, we could ensure that the little ones are exposed to good quality paintings, etc, from our ocal teenagers at the high* school level during the Music Festival. Congratulations also to the cilizens om Scott Ave: for their stand against drug dealing on their street. It’s refreshing to know that some care enough about their neighborhood and the young people affected by drugs to take # stand, . , Joan Korti . Terrace B.C.