THERE'S LITTLE TO ATTRACT MEDICAL MEN TO NORTH Doctor? He's the 'freak' photographing moose by JOHN ASIJNG Citizen Stuff Reporter Northern communities are forccd to look for “medical freaks” as their doctors, a Fraser Lake physician told a provincial committee studying B.C.’s doctor distribution Wednesday. Dr. JamesSwanney was taking aim at the lack of a hospital in his community, saying doctors would only go to northern areas with hospitals. “We are looking for some form of medical freak, a doctor who is willing to practise in the most affluent continent in the world without a tool which his peers regard as basic,” he said. “The question is where do we find such an extraordinary fellow?” the doctor who has been in Fraser Lake for five years asked. However, he said doctors who are already working in relative isolation are opposed to the mandatory sending of new graduates. “We must insist that doctors who are going to work in isolation are competent and well trained.” Swanney read from a four-page brief, spiced with humor and was congratulated for his presentation by committee chairman Wesley Black. The ■m*- 20' Copy Thursday, October 19,1978 Vol. 22 No. Prince George, British Columbia The Scottish-born doctor said, “We have not been able to recruit Canadians and we won’t unless his (the doctor's) special interest is photographing moose or something.” He suggested that the door be open to British doctors because many are interested in settling in the area and because they will come to stay. Meanwhile the Fraser Lake physician said the whole philosophy of small hospital programs should be publicly aired. Small hospitals such as the new one in Fort St. James are a savings in terms of suffering, he said. Now the 4,500 residents of Fraser Lake must travel 112 km to a diagnostic centre in Houston for treatment. A similar treatment centre is planned for Fraser Lake. Fraser Lake is 130 km west of Prince George. The physician said such a centre would be “better than nothing” for area patients, but would not solve the doctor shortage problem there. Meanwhile Dr. Brian Taylor, president of the Prince George Regional Hospital medical staff, reiterated a previous plea for a “northern differential” bonus for area doctors. He said while many young doctors come to the north, they aren’t the ones who should be coming here. The more experienced ones should, he said. “I think, however, a young physician is better than no physician,” he said. The advisory committee is in McBride today and Quesnel Friday. Former Socred Health Minister Black says members of the committee have been to Ontario and Quebec in their study of uneven distribution of doctors. He said in an interview his committee is trying to give the northern communities every possible consideration in the hearings. He defended the lack of northern doctors on his all-Lower Mainland committee by saying the travelling is “50 times” better as a tool. Although the committee was to have reported to Health Minister Bob McClelland by the end of September, Black says the deadline has been extended to the end of the year. GOV'T WILL USE 'FULL VIGOR OF THE LAW' Posties defy back-to-work order Fire hits Canada House LONDON (CP) - Canadian External Affairs Minister Don Jamieson, High Commissioner Paul Martin and a group of aides and reporters were forced out of Canada House on Thursday when fire broke out in the basement. There were no injuries but firemen reported some minor damage to the building. Cause of the blaze, soon brought under control, was believed to be in the electrical circuit. B.C. Rail embargoes perishables by JAN-UDO WENZEL Citizen Staff Reporter B.C. Railway has placed an embargo on perishable goods effective midnight tonight. "This was done because we don’t want to have perishable goods sitting in a rail car if the unions walk off the job Satur-. day,” said BCR spokesman Hugh Armstrong. The Joint Council of Railway Unions, representing seven unions comprising nearly 3,000 employees, served 72-hour strike notice at noon Wednesday. Union representatives from Prince George will go to Vancouver Friday, but no further talks with the railway were planned. A strike against the BCR would cripple industry in the Interior. Some firms are already preparing for an emergency. The pulp mills depend on the BCR for deliveries of chemicals as well as for shipment of their products. The lumber industry in the North Central Interior uses the railway for exports as well as for shipping to the east. The union joint council believes the railway is relying on the Emergency Services Act, which could be invoked by the government to end any work stoppage. Because of this the council believes the railway has not bargained in good faith. The last offer the railway made was for a one-year contract with a total wage and benefit package increase of 7.56 per cent. Citizen photo by Dave Milne Fifteenth Avenue post office plant manager Vern Olenyk looks over the bundles of mail piling up at the station because of the strike. SASKATCHEWAN ELECTION Blakeney's NDP destroys Grits By PETER CALAMAI Southam News Services REGINA — Premier Allan Blakeney’s NDP government Wednesday stepped boldly over the shattered wreck of the Liberal Party into a third term of office, setting the stage for a major federal-provincial confrontation on resources jurisdiction. The watershed provincial election left Saskatchewan with a two-party legislature—New Democrats, 43 seats, Progressive Conservative, 18 seats— compared to NDP, 39, PC 11, Liberal 11 at dissolution. The last remaining New Democratic administration in Canada was the first provincial government in recent elec- tions to stand a voter lurch to the political right. Blakeney’s convincing victory could entrench a new socialist dynasty here since Saskatchewan residents will soon rival Albertans in resources wealth. Observers predict good job security for Photos page 6 the government in power as uranium, oil, potash, and natural gas begin paying off. “The people have supported us in a resounding way in our position over resources control,” said Blakeney, surveying the 48 per cent NDP popular vote.-The premier said his first priority was to carry Saskatchewan’s battle over resources control to a federal-provincial constitutional conference in Ottawa at the end of the month. For the two opposition parties the message from the voters was mixed. “Obviously, I was the wrong man at the wrong time for the wrong party at the wrong time,” said a dejected Grit leader Ted Malone. For the Progressive Conservatives, the election was a case of great expectations leading to even greater disappointments. Under leader Dick Collver, the party picked up nearly 38 per cent of the popular vote, an astonishing resurgence from its virtual annihiliation in 1971. But many Tory supporters had counted on the collapse of the Liberals to produce a polarized upset • BLAKENEY Classroom shooting kills one • WINNIPEG (CP) - One student was killed and another taken into custody following a shooting today in a classroom at a high school in the St. James area of Winnipeg, police said. I The victim was identified as Kenneth Maitland, 16. In custody was a a 17-year-old male student who police said was arrested near the school a short time after the shooting. Tracy Buller, 16, who was in the commercial art class at Sturgeon Creek regional secondary school at the time, said she didn’t see the shooting but “I heard the shot and I looked and saw a guy holding a gun and another one lying on the floor.” Union members face daily fines Prince George inside postal workers, along with a majority across Canada, are staying off their jobs today in defiance of a back-to-work order by Parliament. “We held a meeting last night and a large majority voted to stay with the decision by national headquarters,” said Jim Paris, spokesman for the Prince George local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Leaders of the 23,000-member Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) had advised members to ignore the federal legislation, effective at 12:01 a.m. today. Postmaster-General Gilles Lamontagne has said the government will use the full vigor of the law against the striking workers and he accused the union leaders today of irres|>onsi-bility for urging defiance of the legislation. Defiance of the law leaveseach member open to a daily fine of $100, each union executive to $250 and the local itself to a daily fine of $2,500. Paris said the government’s action is surprising. “Why are they not coming down this hard on a union where members make about $13 an hour? Why us?” he said. Previously ahead in pay Most inside workers earn about $6.14 an hour and Paris said the government offered 44 cents an hour in a new contract. “Why hasn’t the government given us at least as much as the letter carriers got?” he said. Letter carriers earn $7.04 an hour. Paris said inside workers had previously been slightly ahead of the letter carriers in pay. He also attacked what he termed government waste of money in advertising nationally its side of the dispute with the postal workers. Paris said jobs at the post office are paying so little that it is hard to raise a family. “When I started with the post office 10 years ago I made $3 an hour. We have put off having a family as have many others,” he said. Defying Parliament, he said, shows how desperate the situation is. Asked how the members were going to pay the fines if the government prosecutes, Paris said he didn’t know. “We haven’t got any money anyway and you can’t get blood from a stone,” he said. Paris said only five per cent of the inside workers are sole wage earners in a given family- Meanwhile, no mail is moving here and the pickets are still up at the local facilities. Postmaster Warren Corey said he did not know what would happen, because everybody so far has adopted a low profile. “It’s a wait-and-see stance right now,” he said. In Montreal — where a crowd of about 300 workers marched at the main post office chanting "Trudeau to the stake” - only 17 of a possible 4,500 workers were on the job today, a post office spokesman said. Meanwhile, Ottawa union members burned Trudeau in effigy on Parliament Hill before setting up picket lines, where disturbances were reported early today. Police arrested two men following verbal abuse and threats to employees in trucks who were trying to cross a picket line at a main postal terminal. Two more in running for council The latest candidate in the fall aldermanic race says the city should cut in half utility rates for senior citizens. Announced his candidacy today, Roy Spooner said the move would cost the city less than 5150,000 a year and* save seniors, about $75 each in return. Spooner and candidate Stan Massey who filed nomination papers today, both stress improvements to conditions of life for seniors in their platforms. Massey, an unsuccessful candidate in 1977. says recreational programs need to be improved for all citizens. Spooner said he wants to work to encourage economic development if elected. He said a economic development will broaden the tax base and lead to better services and amenities for the city. Massey criticized the current council for being too susceptible to “pressure groups.” He said aldermen should provide more leadership. TODAY "Someday all this will be yours — but you must wart until we've knocked it down." Feeling lucky? Check those Western Lottery tickets — you could be $100,000 richer today. Page .‘I. FEATURED INSIDE) ( THE WEATHER ) ( NOW HEAR THIS Home again Five-year-old David Crocker is home with his parents after four-day ordeal lost in thc woods near Houston. Page 3. Index Bridge................................23 Business.....................18, 19 City, B.C...........2, 3, 11, 17 Classified.....................20-26 Comics...............................36 Crossword........................22 Editorial..............................1 Entertainment............36-38 Family........................31, 35 Horoscopes.......................16 International......................5 National..............................6 Sopow column.................17 Sports...............................7-9 Television.........................38 Today’s Prince George forecast calls for mainly cloudy skies with a chance of showers. Friday should be cloudy with sunny periods and a risk of occasional showers. The expected high both days is 16; today’s forecast low is 5. The high Wednesday was 18, the low 11 with no precipitation. On this date last year the high was 8, the low -3. • A visitor to a Grade 8 class at John Mclnnis Secondary school has learned social faux pas for this age group. A girl was taking a gentle ribbing from her classmates for. horror of all horrors, asking a boy to dance. Women’s libera tion just hasn’t filtered down there yet. 0 A budding economist told his friend here that the federal government was “spending money like a drunken logger.” The friend thought this over for a moment then said “I don’t think so. The loggers I know in this town spend their own money.” United Way Target: $185,000 Today’s total: $69,374