Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 26, 4 992

TERRACE STANDAI

Publisher Hae

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EDITORIA

Manning. and’. provincial Liberal party
leader Gordon Wilson have in common?
Aside: for a passing resemblance and hav-
ing visited “Terrace within weeks of each

other, they sound the same.

That’s tight. The man who stands to win
big in the next federal election by promis-
ing to clean house and the man who won
big in the last provincial election by offer-
ing an alternative must have the same

speechwriter.”

“‘Equali

they meet certain criteria.

‘So, what’ is it. Has the. Reform party in- -
filtrated the provincial Liberal party or are
the provincial Liberals expanding their in-
fluence by finding’ a sympathetic federal

outlet? 2.

“It's probably a bit of both. Terrace voters

i oe ER
&

eccnomic, development, budget or Start
‘sending. its representatives to the right kind

of conferences. :

It’s happened again — being left off the
map. The latest culprit is Maclean’s maga-
zine’s. Aug. 26 extravaganza on British
Columbia. Page after page of interviews
and pictures. Glowing tributes to the prog-
ress of the province. That kind of thing.

The problem occurs on . a page layout
spectacularly entitled ‘‘Splendor, Gain, and
Growth,’’ There’s Port Hardy, Penticton,

Virtual twins

What .do- Reform: party leader Preston

ty of all Canadians regardless of
reace, language or culture rahtern than spe-
cial status-for some because of their race or
colour,” says’ Mr. Manning. Mr. Wilson
says, ‘Every Canadian should be equal to
every other Canadian’’ in rejecting the no-
tion that certain rights or privileges should
be bestowed on people simply because

Missing again

. (Egads: Either the city has to double its

"aT
ae Tig i)

tf

2

. ight

are the same as any others in.the province’
and in the country. They. aren't satisfied >
with what has gone on before. And they”
aren’t sure that the more traditional parties:
have the stuff to fix whatever is wrong -
with the country. So
As for the parties. themselves, the ad-
vantage goes to the Reformers, They’ve -
had longer to set up a platform and set of
policies. There’s an anger and frustration .
west of the Quebec border that'll easily —
translate into votes and parliamentary seats
- for the party that will speak the words
people want to hear. a

Our provincial Liberals, on the other
hand, are still scouting around for a plat-
form. They’re new to politics and to being

_in the opposition, Just as the New Demo-
crat government is feeling its way, So are
the Liberals.

The issue for the provincial Liberals
remains the job of taking the resentment
against the NDP and the Socreds of the last
election and converting it into a plus’ for
the next election. People will try anything
once, but they expect some. action and
comfort if they are to vote Liberal again. —

VICTORIA — Sexual abuse

on native reserves should not

be used as an argument against
. aboriginal self-government,
says Andrew Petter, British
Columbia’s aboriginal affairs
minister, oe

In-the contrary, self-
government is much more

tion than the problem of SexU-,
i le * rae ,
al'abuse on native reseryes\ ;
“the minister said. “/P..2-*

Kelowna, Tofino, Prince Rupert i and
Kitimat, Even Hella, Bella, But:po-Teirace.”
- Terrace is the’ city which experienced a -
_ population growth of 8.6 per cent, to
' 11,433 people between 1986 and 1991.
Compare that to Kitimat’s one .per cent '
grwoth and the 5.5 per cent registered by
Prince Rupert. po

column in which I had criti-
cized him for his rather weak.
response to a series of articles
in the Victoria daily, detailing
the nightmarish lives of
_ os abused woinen on four _.
It’s the city which is now. moving -for-.,
ward to claim the title of being the north-
west’s service centre. Next time Maclean’s
does this sort of thing, we hope Terrace
takes its rightful place onthe map. =

reserves.

loathing with which the vic-
_ tims of the abuse lived, But it
‘also showed the courage of

“Isa girl!
“Nine pounds, five ounces
of dark-haired charm, slum-
bering peacefully when I saw
her, unperturbed that B.C.’s
healthcare cutbacks _ post-
poned her birth 24 hours.
Then, in afine burst of in-
dependence, miffed. by a
“hospital that wasn’t: there for

_ her, she arrived ‘under her
own steam when she chose,

. « Because.she was almost
three ‘weeks overdue, the

doctor: had ‘decided. her.
mother’s labour should be.
inducéd. An 8. a.m: appoint--
‘ment was selected for the.

' procedure which requires the
constant attendance, of : a
nurse for. at feast three
‘monitoring administration of:

_ the ‘drug and “ils: effect . on:
both mother and baby,
> ¥et when our daughter ar-

rived at the hospital, psyched _

for: the’ ordeal,’ two~ather
- pregnant women had jumped

the queue, leaving the hospi-

tal short’a nurse to altend our
daughter. She .was put. off

until: the following morning; »

Tali
funding «cutbacks would

sent home to. agonize another

pinch -elderly, chronic care -
patients or «those awailing:

some of the victims who had
decided to speak up.

women’s leader to argue. .
_ against native self-. --

i

C J TS eo C > | e} ' ed . b | rT | ‘The controversy sparked by. ~”
. fy. aie " the series caused a native

by Claudette Sandecki | 7

_ Vancouver, His birth made

an ultrasound showed ‘a‘lack
-of.amniotic fluid. But* the .

“parents ruled ‘out abortion,

‘though lack of amniotic fluid

“sparked a: medical and eihi-
-cal debate that eventually. in-
-volved advisers from:around

three hours —

* known . as \-‘‘infusion”’ _in
- which the amniotic.fluid was:

ays thought hospital |
- could breathe normally when
-he was’ born - wilhout kid-

“would have: had to: undergo

kidney transplant
years

government. Sharon Mclver, a
B.C. lawyer and acting
speaker for the native —
Women’s Association of Can-
ada, Said her group was ap-
pealing to politicians nat to
abandon native women to the

Through
Bifocals

band councils... o
While I never belicved that
Petter wasn’t horrified by the
revelations, I found his
response somewhat luke-.
warm. It seemed to me that he
was more concerned about his
_agenda of native self-
government than the plight of
- the victims of sexual abuse on
reserves. > _
‘Maybe Petter had second.
thoughts, too, In his response
. to. my criticism, he saidhe: -..
cares deeply about the plight

malformed fetus amounted
to thousands of healthcare
dollars. Yet the baby was not
expected to live past two
weeks. His-tiny, seven weeks
premature body couldn’t
withstand the dialysis neces-
sary to maintain him, Lucki-
_ ly, our grand-daughter didn’t
require medical intervention,
‘either exotic or mundane. All
she needed was three hours
“of old fashioned hands-on
“nursing care.»

Right now she’s oblivious
to the fact Mills Memorial
Hospital’s cutbacks delayed

_ her birthdate by 24 whole -
hours. But come. election

- time.19 years from now, Pll
remind her.

without kidneys was born in

medica] history.
At 16 weeks of pregnancy

usually spells doom to the
fetus. The parents’ decision

the world. ee

The baby was given a high-
ly experimental | treatment deed all people, who are vic-
tims of sexual abuse.’”. -

He stressed that to assume
sexual abuse on reserves Was
an aboriginal problem was to
imply a racial basis for such

artificially. maintained.
Weekly, .‘the 21-year-old
mother ‘received’ hour-long
infusions of--fluid into. her:

likely to form part of the solu-.°
.. abuse. - ;
v“’The 1984 Badgley Report
_eStitnated that one in two
“women and one in three men ;

~ Petter was responding-toa
in Canada have been victims

Saanich Peninsula Indian -

The articles told a horror...
story of fear, shame and self-- ~

_” mercy of the men who govern

- of aboriginal women, ‘‘and in-

Abuse no barrier |
to native control —

From the
Capital

. by Hubert Beyer

Fan & 6

of unwanted sexual acts. And
the problem is likely much
worse in communities with a
history of poverty and social
deprivation,”’ Petter said.
Nor was the use of pressure

“and intimidation to silence
«victims of sexual abuse unique

‘to any culture, he added,
‘pointing to a recent national
study which concluded that
nine out of 10 sexual assaults
in Canada aren’t reported to
police,

“The pressure that inhibits
victims from speaking out are

tions.and systemic atliludes
that give rise to such abuse,””
Petter sdid, .
_ Petter sees the inability. of

"Canada’s justice system-as the

main reason for the. failure of
sexual-abuse victims, ‘includ-

"ing aboriginal victims, to

speak out. : .
‘*Many victims are loathe to
subject themselves to criminal
proceedings in which, more.

often than not, they are the.

ones placed on trial,’* he said.

The minister makes a valid
point, Even though the system
has somewhat curtailed the ©
lalitude of defense lawyers
trying to place the victim of ©
sexual abuse on trial, it is still
a traumatic experience many

~ women would rather not go

through. © ...% >. =.
On the other hand, itis in- ”
finitely more difficult for na-
tive women to publicly con-
front their tormentors than it is
for non-native women.

Reserves are tightly-knit com- .
~ pyunities that can exert Ear

greater pressure on its mem-

bers to,conform with the status:

As Sandra Douglas-Tubb,

. most a**psychology of ens- . *:

ties, even their clothing. Any-

rooted.in the very power rela- -

“Such cases are seldom
eligible for-diversion and, «..:
-even then, diversion can‘occur °
‘only if the viclim consents and.

“a better response than’ the off- 2

up ta closer scrutiny,

responsible for its perpetra-

QUO os

exccutive director of the Vic-'*:
toria Native Friendship 2
Centre, pointed out, there is al-";

lavernent’’ on reserves be- |:
cause the women are depen- ©:
dent on the band for their ~~ ©

housing, their food, their ulili-

one breaking the code of six - ::
lence pays a price, she said. .

Finally, Petter rejected any
suggestion that a native justic
program, designed to deal wit
offences by natives in their:
own traditional ways, was in.
some way exacerbating the ©
problem of sexual abuse of
women on reserves.

“Clearly, the project is not
implicated in the causes of ..
sexual abuse, Nor can it be.
argued that the project poses:
substantial barrier to obtainin
justice in sexual abuse cases,’
he said. ee)

if recommended by the police .
and Crown counsel,’ he .~.- ©
added. © fs _—
. Well, minister, }give you
full marks for coming up with *

the-cuff one awhile ago. J also.
don’t doubt that you care,;But ©
not all your arguments stand

Studies, have'shown that sex-"
ual abuse is far worse in native:
communities than in the rest of ©".
British Columbia: And while ° |
sexual abuse isrooted,toa
great extent, in poverty'and | |
despair, its remedy cannot be.
Icft 10 those who are partly

tion, 7

womb. SOMETIMES WOLF CONTROL is. TERMINATOR ONE) |}. | (Roser Base! we
This allowed the fetus to NECESSARY, BUT MARTEN DISAGREES)| | (This ts LUPUS BASE 11. |/ ALREADY GoT
develop’ lungs so that he wiTl TUS PROTECT, So HE AND Vic How's THE WOLF /. A FACK OF bey

HiRED ON AS GOVERNMENT HUNTERS

neys. Even, after. birth, he

regular dialysis. 10 maintain
hitn until he could have a
after a
0 doubt the experimental
1edical care invested ‘in ‘this

HUNTING 2”

AND KiLLEO THEM ALL ED)

a a EIT es