BE 211
 FOREST CONGRESS
Successful? That depends
by KEN BERNSOHN Staff reporter
   OTTAWA - The National Forest Congress ended today with mixed reviews.
    “I think there was a strong commitment from the federal government and the provinces,” said Prince George Mayor Elmer Mercier, who was in the nation’s capital as an observer at the conference.
    “It’s obvious how much money gets spent on silviculture depends on leadership in gover-ment or pressure applied to government.”
   UBC professor Peter Pearse said, “There were high expectations for the federal government to announce a full ministry of forestry and additional funding for universities. It’s been a disappointment.”
    Jack Toovy, chief forester for BC Forest Products and president of the Canadian Institute of Forestry, pointed out this was the first time in 80 years a prime minister of Canada had addressed a forest conference.
What did the congress do?
    ■	It saw federal and provincial forest ministers agree to spend $4 million over the next two years on a public awareness campaign.
    ■	Minister'of State for Forestry Gerald Merithew promised to draft, with the aid of Canada’s provincial forest ministers, a national forest policy.
   ■	More than 440 leaders in forestry heard about wildlife, found out even experts don’t know a lot they should about the
forest and discussed a number of other issues not normally heard in public.
  Was the congress a success?
  It depends on which objective you choose:
  “The aim of the National Forest Congress is to turn Canada’s economic and political focus back to where it belongs, to our natural resource industries and to forestry in particular,” congress president Charles Geale said before it opened.
  A fact sheet issued at the opening of the congress said: “The objective of the congress is to build a national commitment to the future of Canada’s forests through programs and activities supported by the total forestry sector in Canada.” Rather than reach conclusions, the conference ended with goals from four forestry forums across the country being listed.
 These were things like, “ensure adequate funding and identification of priorities and goals,” in research without saying who should pay the bill.
  “Multiple use must be consis-tant with other broad public policies affecting land use.
  “It is recommended the industry do a better job of representing its interests at the economic and political levels.”
  Bob Blanchard, vice-president of the International Woodworkers of America, said, “I think you have to give a little settling in time, to see what the results will be.
  “There was a lot of rhetoric. We’ll have to see how much sincerity there was.”
Won't anyone talk?
by KEN BERNSOHN Staff reporter OTTAWA - Getting rid of a federal cabinet minister is easy.
    Gerry Merithew, minister of state for forestry comes to mind.
    “Are you going to give Jack Heinrich the $20 million he wants you to contribute to that tree-planting fund?” I asked.
   “Good to see you again,” Merithew replies, then turns and walks away.
    The B.C. forests minister’s plan for a $70-million fund with $20 million from the provincial government, the same amount from industry plus a matching grant from the federal government. $5 million from unions and $5 million from municipalities isn’t popular at the National Forest Congress conference.
    Jack Munro, president of the International Woodworkers of America is asked if the IWA is going to give toward the $5 million wanted from unions.
........ - ...... —
  “He (Heinrich) hasn’t asked yet,” Munro says.
  “Jack, you know all about it,” I explain.
  “Turn off that tape recorder, take your notebook and get out of here.”
  Asking company presidents if they’re going to contribute toward the $20 million Heinrich wants from industry gives an inkling what it was like to be a leper in the Middle Ages.
  No one wants to be the front runner. No one wants to be used as an example by the provincial government in soliciting funds from other companies.
 A few companies say they won’t contribute, but the executives are terrified of being quoted. Most say they haven’t made up their minds yet - on the record. On the condition they won’t be quoted, they say they expect the industry will end up contributing.
  Heinrich’s plan to spend other people’s money, isn’t going over
  op
well, thus far.
Punjab threat fulfilled
 JULLUNDUR, India (Reuter) -At least II people were shot dead in clashes between police and Sikh extremists after Punjab’s police chief vowed to match gunmen bullet for bullet.
 “If the terrorists are making their hit lists and hit squads, we will retaliate with our own hit lists and hit squads,” Julio Ribeiro said Thursday in the Punjab town of Batala. Extremists would be matched “bullet for bullet,” he added.
Ribeiro was sent to Punjab last
month to tackle the violence which has claimed at least 130 lives in the last five weeks.
  Police shot dead four people Thursday as they tried to infiltrate an area near the Pakistan border known as a militant stronghold.
  In another incident, police killed three people in a raid on farmhouses near this industrial city.
  The police action came after an extremist attack on a train near the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in which three people were killed.
today in brief	_
THE USSR is ending its nuclear testing moratorium after the United States conducted a blast in the Nevada desert.	r\
Page Z
THE VANCOUVER Canucks are one of six NHL teams facing elimination from the Stan- i o ley Cup playoffs.	Page I O
RICK HANSEN is able to continue his global wheelchair marathon despite excruciating pain, thanks to the friendly or crowds cheering him on. Page OD
"They took away his library card when they found out he was a bookkeeper."
Index
Ann Landers............22
Bridge..................28
Business................37
City, B.C...........3,6,8,11
Classified ............25-34
Comics .................18
Crossword..............27
Editorial.................4
Entertainment.......18-21
Family .................22
Horoscopes.............28
International.............2
Movies...............20,21
National.................5
Sports................13-16
Expo sights Page 6
 Sadrack says
 Cold, cloudy weather with sunny periods is the forecast for today and Saturday with temperatures dropping to near -7 overnight and rising to near -2 Saturday.
 Thursday’s high was 3, the overnight low was -8, there was 0.6 cm of snow and 3.9 hours of sunshine recorded at the weather office.
 A year ago on this date the high was 17, the overnight low was zero, there was a trace of rain and 4.8 hours of sunshine.
Sunset today is at 7:04 p.m. and sunrise Satur day is at 5:17 a.m.
U.S. Senate to block free trade
The
Citizen
50c Including
Prince George	JL WLS JL JKLJI	JL JL	Friday, April 11, 1986
fsEtrtl )
Citizen photo by Lisa Murdoch
                  Marilyn Outhet, who works with the B.C. Festival of the Arts, has not taken to Festival the streets, peddling tickets to the event, she’s on her way to set up an informa-message ^on signboard at the Coliseum. Festival ticket packages (limited to two per customer) go on sale at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Coliseum box office.
Teachers approve pact
  School District 57’s 1,200 teachers gave overwhelming approval Thursday to a one-year contract which could give them a three-percent wage increase.
  The contract, which could increase district costs by more than $1.3-million, will now go to provincial compensation stabilization commissioner Ed Peck for final approval.
  All previous teachers’ agreements submitted to Peck have been severely reduced before they were finally approved.
  Although Pat Brady, president of the Prince George and District Teachers’ Association, would not release the total number of teachers who voted on the new contract,
he did say there was only one dissenting vote.
 During a recent meeting with School District 57 trustees, Education Minister Jim Hewitt said the cost of all teacher salary increases after 1985 will be paid by local homeowners. Previously, the provincial government had provided all operating costs for the province’s 75 school districts from general revenue.
 Brady defended the wage increase.
 “This contract means during the five years since 1983 teachers will receive a 7.5-per-cent wage increase when, at the same time, there’s been a cost of living increase of approximately 20 per cent,” he said.
  “So there’s been a loss in teachers’ purchasing power of about 12.5 per cent.”
  During the same period, approximately 200 teachers have been laid off by the school district — less than half them as a result of declining enrolment, he said.
  If approved by Peck, the new contract would mean a teacher with three years of university training and no experience would receive $21,000 and the highest paid teachers in the district, those with a masters degree and 10 years experience, would receive $44,668.
  The contract also included some changes to the layoff-recall provisions and other “housekeeping” changes, Brady said.
Rogers admits violation
 VICTORIA (CP) - Former health minister Stephen Rogers pleaded guilty today in provincial court to failing to disclose full details of his financial holdings as required by law.
  He will be sentenced Monday.
  The charge, under British Columbia’s Financial Disclosure Act, carries a maximum fine of $10,000. It is considered a summary conviction offence, not a more serious in-dictible offence.
  Attorney General Brian Smith decided to charge Rogers last week after he received a report
from Vancouver lawyer Leonard Doust.
 Daust was then hired as Crown counsel in the case.
 The charge involved not only $100,000 Rogers had invested in the Western Pulp Limited Partnership, but also the failure to disclose his interest in land owned by Western Pulp Inc.
 Rogers also failed to specify a debt for which he was jointly liable to the Bank of British Columbia, and failed to disclose his ownership of shares in Montgomery Investments Ltd. and Star Leasing Ltd.
carrying more than 30 per cent of the votes for election of directors.
  He also failed to disclose the nature of business carried on by Montgomery and Star, as well as the companies’ creditors, debts and land holdings, and the names of other corporations in which Montgomery Investments holds shares.
  Doust said earlier all the allegations are contained in one count “because the act requires you to file a complete written disclosure, and his written disclosure was not complete.”
  WASHINGTON (CP) - In a surprise move, the powerful U.S. Senate finance committee signalled today that it plans to reject the Reagan administration’s request to open freer-trade talks with Canada.
  Committee chairman Robert Packwood, an Oregon Republican, said at a hearing that the senti-ment is against a Canada-U.S. freer-trade pact and there is little the administration can do now to persuade the majority of the 20-mem-ber committee to give it the green light to proceed with the negotiations.
  He said a committee vote would be held sometime next week, and several committee members immediately said they are prepared to vote to reject the freer-trade proposal that is a centrepiece of Prime Minister Brian Mul-roney’s economic policies.
  “It is my prediction tnat we would vote to turn that authority down if the vote was taken today,” Packwood said.
  U.S. trade and State Department officials were caught off guard by the negative mood that swept the beginning of the first full hearings on Capitol Hill on the trade question. Some were visibly shaken and scrambled to telephones to alert other government officials.
  Senators issued a litany of complaints about Canadian imports, citing softwood lumber, hogs, potatoes and fish as major problems.
  Most of these products have been the target recently of American industry complaints to U.S. trade authorities, and lumber, worth more than $3 billion annually in exports earnings for Canada, has been subject of Canada-U.S. government negotiations.
  Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat and leading critic of Canada’s lumber exports, said he would like the committee to turn down the administration’s request for freer-trade negotiations “without prejudice.”
  This would mean the committee is in favor of opening trade channels between the two countries but there are too many unanswered questions to go ahead at this time, the senator explained.
  “Hopefully we can negotiate later down the road,” said Baucus, who has led a months-long campaign to block the start of talks until Canada changes its timber pricing policies.
  Senator John Danforth, a Missouri Republican, also said he would vote against giving President Ronald Reagan authority to begin talks because it is time for Congress to get aggressive with the White House over what several senators characterized as a weak trade policy.
  “I think this is the best time to get aggressive with the president," Danforth said.
Getty calls snap election
  EDMONTON (CP) — Even some cabinet ministers were stunned Thursday night when Alberta Premier Don Getty stood up after Treasurer Lou Hyndman’s budget speech and casually informed the legislature he was calling an election May 8.
  A relaxed Getty told reporters he made the decision after talking to his wife and taking a walk in a snowstorm earlier in the day, jokingly recalling the setting in which Pierre Trudeau decided to retire from politics.
  NDP Leader Ray Martin, after a huddle with advisers in his office, said the quick call will not dent his party’s plans.
  “We’re ready, ready, ready,” said a beaming Martin.
  But Martin’s party is burdened with a deficit of $114,713.
  The Progressive Conservative party, however, has a $1 35-million war chest to fight the election.
Details page 7
I
4