Sub Zero meet comin' at ya / 8

Canada, U.S. trade war heats up / 16

No end in sight for The Simpsons / 26

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
"Only through collective bargaining can you reach a just and fair settlement, and he doesn't believe in collective bargaining," he said. Fraser, who was knocking on doors in College Heights on Friday, said he's met many people who are angry at Campbell. "He has hurt so many people and he should be ashamed of himself," Fraser said. "I don't know how he's helped communities and families." Prince George-Mount Robson candi-

PRINCE GEORGE

Select the right rose / 41

SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2005

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

`Stealth' campaign draws NDP fire
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff New Democratic Party candidates had some choice words for Premier Gordon Campbell the day after his visit to Prince George, beginning with the way he showed up. Deborah Poff, the party's candidate in Prince George North, accused Campbell of arriving by stealth after his only public appearance was at an evening rally hosted by the Prince George Construction Association. "He is not being very open and transparent about his appearances in Prince George or any other city," she said Friday. "I think he's afraid of the people. It's always a closed event where he's secreted into a group of loyal agents to give their applause and then he's secreted out." A professor at UNBC, Poff also dismissed Campbell's promise at the rally to increase the intake of first-year students into the Northern Medical Program as old news. "As somebody who planned that program, I know that program was going to go up to 32 after four years," she said. "That's not a new announcement." The Liberals spent the pre-election period making announcements to buy votes and with the campaign now on, they're recycling old items, she said. B ot h Po f f a n d P r i n c e G e o r ge Omineca candidate Chuck Fraser cast doubt on Campbell's pledge to give public-sector employees fair and reasonable wage hikes over the next term. "He's got absolutely no credibility whatsoever," Fraser said. Fraser also cited the Liberals' record of ripping up contracts. date Wayne Mills said mining was not as weak under the NDP as the Liberals are claiming and was largely a function of low commodity prices. For a time, copper hovered around 45 cents a pound, but is now up around $1.45 a pound. He pointed to Kemess and Huckleberry as examples of operations that opened up in the 1990s. Prince George North MLA Pat Bell, the Liberals' junior mines minister, has said the price was just as weak in 2004 as in 1995, but exploration doubled. Mills also had a response to critics accusing the NDP of turning Thursday's Day of Mourning at city hall into a political event. Mills said the Liberals need to be held accountable for changes to Workers' Compensation Board regulations, particularly around the right to refuse unsafe work. If a worker turns down a job on that basis, Mills said the employer can turn to someone else to do the job without informing him or her why the first worker rejected the request. Mills said that has made young people particularly vulnerable. "It's our youth who aren't being trained properly and therefore they're liable to do something that's unsafe, whereas somebody else turned it down," he said. Mills's Liberal competition in Prince George-Mount Robson, incumbent Shirley Bond, has said the injury rate, according to WCB 2003 statistics, is the lowest it's been in B.C. since 1994 and youth deaths over the past four years are significantly lower. More reaction page 3

Port of Prince Rupert gets ready to rumble
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The private investors involved in a $175-million container terminal in Prince Rupert said Friday the final pieces are in place for the project to go ahead. CN, Maher Terminals and the Prince Rupert Port Authority said they plan to have the terminal operating in the first three months of 2007. Prince George business and municipal leaders welcomed the news. The container port -- meant to create an additional gateway to the surging Asian market, particularly China -- has been touted as having benefits for communities throughout northern B.C. Gerry Offet, CEO of Prince George's economic development agency, said in the long term, Prince George could become an inland port. That would involve warehousing, railway sidings, switches, and facilities that would enable container stuffing, repackaging materials both coming in and going out, explained Offet. However, he cautioned that type of project would be based on demand. "My guess is in the initial stages the container port itself will not be that crowded," said Offet. Don Krusel, CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, said the Phase 1 project is expected to generate nearly 500 direct and indirect jobs. Prince George city councillor Don Zurowski, who represents the city on the Northwest Corridor Development Corp., said any time the transportation infrastructure through northern B.C. is strengthened, it brings benefits. "Efficiencies as it pertains to transportation allows many different industries to flourish," said Zurowski. "I would think that includes our prefab truss business, and housing components." Montreal-based CN confirmed Friday it will spend $30 million for its part of the project. Originally, the railway had earmarked $15 million. This will be added to $60 million in funding pledged by the Canadian and B.C. governments. Maher Terminals of Canada Corp. also said Friday it has completed plans to proceed with a request for proposals in May for the acquisition and installation of three large cranes, together with supporting equipment and technology, for about $60 million. -- With files from Canadian Press

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

WALKIN' IN A WINTER WONDERLAND -- Betty Bishop walks her dog Buddy on Dezell Drive, past a tree festooned with ice crystals after the owners left a sprinkler on overnight and the temperature dropped below freezing.

VALEMOUNT
High : 14 Low : 0 page 2

Forest town bent on diversifying
This is the second in a series of provincial election stories on the issues in communities around Prince George. by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff VALEMOUNT -- It's not uncharacteristic that even before a proposed $75-million year-round resort development breaks ground, that Valemount Mayor Jeannette Townsend is thinking about how her community could develop further. Through the narrow window in her modest office, she points to a valley, hidden behind a ridge, that has already been scoped out for a $45-million ski hill project. It's just a dream, but Townsend says maybe one day, a century from now, perhaps less, Valemount could host a Winter Olympics. One thing is clear in Valemount: That's a desire to grow and diversify the economy. "We know that forestry is not going to remain the way it is forever," says Townsend. "You have to plan ahead." Townsend credits the B.C. Liberal government, and Prince George-Mount Robson incumbent MLA Shirley Bond, with giving the $75-million year-round resort project the boost that resulted in its green light. Bond brought Kevin Falcon, then the minister in charge of resort development for the province, to Valemount in September 2003. Although the project had been bogged down in terminal red tape, two months later an agreement between Alberta-based Sunrise International and the province was signed. "Most of the people I speak to, they're happy with Shirley Bond. She has listened to them, and worked hard," said Townsend. "She's tried to help. We appreciate that." But what is equally clear is while municipal leaders have looked to the provincial government for help -- and welcomed it -- they are the drivers of the economic diversification push. Brainstorming to diversify the economy began in the early 1990s. It's where the idea for the ski hill was formed. And it was the municipality itself which solicited developers for a gondola project on Canoe Mountain, a spectacular mountain, even among the many that surround Valemount. Sunrise International's plans for the year-round resort include two golf courses, a hotel and lots for homes, as well as a gondola on the mountain. The Liberals just doled out $350,000 for the Valemount airport for runway lighting and global positioning technology, which will allow planes to land in the dark and during poor weather. The upgrades to the airport are meant to help bring tourists in for the growing heli-skiing industry, as well as the Canoe Mountain resort complex. The 4,000-foot runway will also have to be extended to 6,000 feet, hopefully coinciding with the completion of the resort project, says Townsend. Continued on page 3

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .17 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .32-34 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . .3,5,6,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .19-24 Comics . . . . . . . . . . .28,35,36 Coming Events . . . . . . . .2,18 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World 15,16Phase two of the

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Valemount businessman Vince Clark hopes a major year-round resort, planned for the town, pans out.

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