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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2005

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SOFTWOOD LUMBER DISPUTE

NAFTA in jeopardy, Canfor CEO says
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen sta ff The United States's reluctance to live up to the latest ruling on the softwood lumber issue has put the very essence of the North American Free Trade Agreement at stake, says Canfor chief executive officer Jim Shepherd. He also called on Ottawa to push the issue with the Americans. "I very openly call upon our federal politicians to clear the air," he said Monday during a meeting with Prince George media. "Do we have a treaty or don't we have a treaty? Do we have free trade or don't we have free trade? "At the end of the day, the softwood lumber industry has become very much the sideshow for what I would call the true question mark now, the NAFTA accord. And from my perspective, free trade has been the intent and I call upSHEPHERD on the Americans to honour the intent of the treaty and I call upon our fellow politicians to get that intent followed." Shepherd's comments come after a NAFTA extraordinary challenge panel essentially dismissed last week Washington's claims that Canada's softwood exports are subsidized and, thus, have damaged the U.S. lumber industry. The panel's decision was definitive, Shepherd said. "By the rules of NAFTA, it's over," he said. "The whole softwood lumber issue has been decided and we move forward on that basis." Shepherd is holding out little faith that seeking World Trade Organization authority to enact trade sanctions to the total of the $5 billion sitting in U.S. coffers will have much effect. A decision on that issue is expected in September. "They haven't honoured any WTO position and said they don't intend to follow it," he said. "Our hope in Canada is through the NAFTA accord, they've signed a legal, binding treaty between two sovereign nations." Asked if he saw any parallels with the closure of the U.S. border to Canadian beef, Shepherd said the U.S. was much quicker to act on that issue because so many more American jobs were at stake in packing plants south of the border. In contrast, he said the effect of the duties on Canadian softwood has added up to only $1,000 a house in a growing U.S. market, which makes for a tall order in convincing the U.S. to change its ways. -- See LUMBER on page 3

Citizen photos by Dave Milne

Pilot Carl Harbuck mans the controls of the Bell Canada lightship over Prince George. It takes a crew on the ground, below, to steady the ship so passengers can get on board.

Blimp soars over city
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen st ff a Takeoff in a blimp is much different than liftoff in an airplane, a Citizen team discovered Monday during a flight in the Bell Canada lightship. Once passengers are loaded in a blimp, three crew members on each side hang on to tether ropes, and two members run alongside the craft to manoeuvre it into position. Then the two four-cylinder, 180 horsepower engines are gunned and the helium ship heads over the green lawn for just a matter of seconds before lifting almost straight up to about 1,000 feet. It's a good view from the windows as the craft floats along at about 60 kilometres per hour. Riders are often rocked side to side inside the gondola, or are suddenly in a 30-degree steep climb, or dive, but its all done in gentle movements. Up and down motions are caused by warm air currents, much like little dust whirlwinds, pilot Carl Harbuck explained. From the airport base, the blimp travelled northwest along the Nechako River, and swung over Cranbrook Hill, UNBC and Westgate where Harbuck noted, "it looks like someone is trying to start a whole new town out here." The craft continued south to College Heights and beyond the BCR site before turning over the downtown core to head back to the airport. "They are much more nimble than people give them credit for," said Harbuck, who uses two steering wheels on either side of the pilot's seat for up and down and foot controls for left and right movements. "Actually, they can turn on a dime and have nine-cents change," said David Bowling, the second pilot. As the blimp came to a real soft landing on the grass, crew members came running to get hold of the tethers and get the ship in place for the next take off. To load and unload, two passengers come on and two get off. "Otherwise it may start climbing like a homesick angel," said Bowling. The blimp is touring 20 communities in Alberta and B.C. to promote Bell Canada's presence in Western Canada. It flew to Prince George from Fort St. John in about 6 1/2 hours. -- See ENTER on page 3

Man dead after shooting
Citizen st ff a A 24-year-old male is dead following a shooting in Prince George last night. Police did not specify if the man, who was found on the 3800 block of Wiebe Road near Costco at 7:05 p.m., died as the result of an accident or foul play. Officers arrived at the scene after an ambulance call. The Prince George RCMP Serious Crime Unit and the B.C. Coroner Service are investigating.

High : 19 Low : 12 page 2

Summer back on hiatus after scorching weekend
by PAUL STRICKLA N D Citizen st ff a Summer for Prince George has taken another holiday, says a forecaster. After what might have been the nicest four-day stretch of the summer, conditions are undergoing a dramatic change, says Jim Steele of Environment Canada. Cooler unstable air associated with a broad upper disturbance has drifted southward through the Central Interior. Showers are expected to persist today with highs struggling to meet the 20-degree mark, he said. The heaviest precipitation should be between Prince George and Kamloops, probably between Williams Lake and 100 Mile House. South of Kamloops thunderstorms may set forest fires. The cloudy conditions over Prince George will persist into Wednesday before sunshine returns later in the week. "This may also be short-lived with yet another surge of moisture expected to arrive on Friday," Steele said. "This past weekend's conditions were the warmest since late May with Saturday afternoon's high just shy of the 30degree mark," he said. "May 28 and 29 were the last time temperatures were this warm in the Prince George area." If you think this summer has been a disappointment, you are right. Between July 1 and Aug. 14, Prince George had 25 days with maximum temperatures greater than 20 degrees. However, only five days during that period saw temperatures higher than 25 degrees. -- See FEW on page 3

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 27 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,5,13 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . .16 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,15

Legal efforts by U.S. cattle ranchers scorned
by ALWYNNE GWILT Citizen st ff a A bid from an American cattle group to close the U.S. border to Canadian beef will not work, according to local officials. "Except for them being a real irritant, I think we have them licked on this issue," said Mark Grafton, spokesperson for the Prince George Cattlemen's Association. Representatives from R-CALF have said they will go back to court and try to lobby U.S. Congress to close the border once again. The border opened on July 14 after an appeal court overturned a March decision which closed the border in the first place. "They just try to tie everything up in court all they can," said Grafton. "I don't think they really have a leg to stand on anymore." Pat Bell, B.C.'s minister of agriculture, said R-CALF is trying to fight a losing battle. "These guys just don't know when to quit and they don't know when they've been beaten," said Bell, MLA for Prince George North. "They've been beaten and they should quit and it's as simply as that." In a recent statement, R-CALF representatives said the issue is not with Canada, but with the United States Department of Agriculture for not having strict enough import regulations. But, Grafton said he couldn't put too much faith into what R-CALF says publicly because of its past actions. "We've seen R-CALF buying cattle up in Canada when they thought the border would reopen to take advantage of the lower prices," said Grafton. "They're just saying that to try to make it like they're not against Canadian producers, but that's rubbish." Bell said R-CALF should first try to figure out who it is against. -- See AMERICAN on page 3

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