The Prince George
Citizen
THURSDAY, MARCH 7,1991
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(Plus GST)
Couvelier quits, Socreds shaken
by Canadian Press
VICTORIA — Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s efforts to turn around his government’s sagging fortunes suffered another setback Wednesday with the resignation of Finance Minister Mel Couvelier.
Couvelier, the 11th minister to resign since Vander Zalm took office in 1986, left a cabinet meeting shortly after noon, dictated his resignation, then left the legislature.
He gave no reason for his decision to quit, but a member of Cou-velier’s staff suggested the minister was unhappy with what he saw as overspending by some other ministries at a time when he was preaching restraint.
The sudden resignation comes as Vander Zalm prepares for an election he must call this year.
Yet while he looked shaken, a sombre Vander Zalm — the trademark smile missing — still ap-
peared to take the resignation philosophically.
“We’ll go on and no one is irreplaceable,’’ he said, his normally bubbly spirit visibly dampened.
“Would I prefer that things perhaps might not have gone as they were?’’ he asked. “It might have been easier, sure.’’
m International COUVELIER Business Minister Elwood Veitch, a staunch Vander Zalm supporter, was appointed to take Couvelier’s place.
The premier met with Couvelier on Wednesday before the weekly cabinet meeting to discuss financial strategy. The legislature resumes sitting Monday in what is expected to be a short session — two or three weeks — possibly followed by an election call.
Vander Zalm had hoped to use the legislative sitting to showcase the differences between Socred and NDP fiscal policy.
The news caused a stir in the business community.
“From a business perspective, my personal reaction is that he will be sorely missed,” said Jim Matkin, head of the B.C. Business Council. "He is a strong minister and has taken a fiscally prudent approach in the finance portfolio.”
The NDP suggested the resignation was yet another nail in the coffin of the Vander Zalm government
“It think it’s a serious blow to the financial credibility of the Vander Zalm government” said NDP finance critic Glen Clark.
Socreds hold 43 seats in the legislature and the NDP have the other 26.
ANALYSIS, page 2
Strachan ‘disappointed’
by PAUL STRICKLAND and BEV CHRISTENSEN Citizen Staff
Finance Minister Mel Couvelier’s resignation leaves the province in a difficult position just before the next sitting of the legislature, says Prince George North NDP MLA Lois Boone.
”1 was surprised and shocked to hear of the latest resignation from the Social Credit Party,” she said today in Prince George. “It makes me wonder just what’s going to happen in the next session.
“We were waiting for the next budget to come down. Couvelier was the mastermind behind this year’s budget.”
The legislature resumes sitting Monday.
“I was disappointed to hear Mel was leaving (the cabinet),” Prince George South MLA Bruce Strachan said today from Victoria. “He has been a competent finance minister and good friend over the years.
“He gave no reason for his resignation from Cabinet,” added Strachan, minister of advanced education, training and technology. “His letter of resignation said he’d remain a member of the caucus so he’s not concerned about the operation of the party.
“During a discussion I had with him yesterday (Wednesday), it didn’t seem clear to him why he’d left because the reasons he gave to me were not acceptable from a political or parliamentary point of view,” he continued.
“I have thought of quitting
many times during the last 12 years in politics. But that’s not the way you get things done. You stay inside and resolve the problems from there.”
Boone said Couvelier’s resignation creates uncertainties in many areas.
“Will we have a budget?” Boone said. “Will we be going along without a budget? Will there be a change in the philosophy behind the budget?
“I think it just leaves the province in the air just prior to the session to have one of the major players in cabinet resign.”
Vander Zalm would be well-advised to call an election soon while he still has the major portion of his government behind him, she added
“Cabinet ministers and candidates seem to be dropping away at an alarming rate.”
Gordon Wilson, president of the B.C. Liberal Party, said Couvelier, a former Liberal, would be welcome back in the party.
John Mangan, president of the Prince George North provincial Liberal riding association, agreed.
“We’re looking to hold the balance of power in a minority government situation,” he said today. “I believe Mr. Couvelier would be very welcome.”
The formation of the new B.C. Pacific Party this week will force Vander Zalm to call an election as soon as is feasible, Boone said.
“I think the evidence is that the B.C. Pacific Party will certainly affect the Social Credit Party,” she
said. “Grace McCarthy (former Socred cabinet minister) admitted it would attract dissenters who are unhappy with Vander Zalm’s leadership.
“If I were him, I would call an election quickly so the new party doesn’t have too much of a chance to do damage to the Social Credit Party in the next election,” she said. “If I were the premier sitting there right now, I’d be caught between a rock and a hard place.
“The new party is gaining ground behind him and nipping at his heels, so he would want to go to the polls sooner rather than later, I think.”
However, Socred dissidents who join the new party are making a mistake, Strachan said.
“I think that is unwise,” he said. “All that will do is split off those who are not of the social democratic persuasion and add to the advantage of the NDP.
“That’s what happened in 1972 when the NDP won with the support of 40 per cent of the voting electorate although they didn’t have a clear majority,” Strachan warned. “That’s what also happened in Ontario.”
The Liberal Party will field candidates in all three Prince George ridings, Mangan said.
“Basically we as Liberals feel this is the election where we will make our best stand,” he said. “The only way to get control on government is to elect a third party to the legislature.”
Citizen’s Forum defended
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen Staff
Aid. Monica Becott doesn’t see the Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s future as beleaguered or losing its credibility as was claimed in a Citizen front-page story from Ottawa.
“Never has it been more impor-
tant for us to have people involved,” Becott said.
“This is the first time in history there has been such an opportunity for grassroots Canadians to voice opinions on important issues in the country.”
The questions being asked for people to think about are important
INDEX
Ann Landers .... 33
Bridge..................30
Business 10,11
City, B.C..............2,3
Classified .... 20-31
Comic...................35
Commentary...............5
Crossword...............29
Editorial................4
Entertainment . 34^5
Family..................33
Horoscope...............30
International 9
Lotteries................2
Movies................34^5
National.................8
Sports...............13-17
Television..............30
HERMAN
58
07
00100
'This won't help your back, but it makes me feel great."
ones, Becott says: What’s wrong with Canada now? How can Canadians fix it? What kind of country do want for your children? What changes or accommodations must Canadians consider to make such a future possible?
“This raw data is all being fed to Ottawa for a final report due to be released July 1,” said Becott, who encourages people to speak out
“Tell us how you feel about Ottawa, bilingualism, regional differences and other issues.”
Forums, which include from 10 to 15 participants, are being held throughout Prince George ranging from coffee parties to regular meetings with eight already held and seven scheduled, along with several more within the region.
‘The network is spreading and they (federal officials) can’t ignore us if we do this properly. Give two or three hours for Canada. It’s worth it,” she says.
Those wishing to attend a forum or organize one can call Becott at 563-6833.
When forum chairman Keith Spicer tagged the project at $27 million to taxpayers, it prompted opposition MPs to call for an investigation into the cosL
Job picture gloomy
8
Mass escape attempted 9
Bayne ready for battle 13
Woman wants living wills 23
Low tonight: *10 High tomorrow: I
TELEPHONE:
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Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
Hulxlan Lien, 4, Is one of the three former citizens of Brunei
who were among the 91 new Canadians who took the oath
of citizenship recently before Judge Angela Kan at city hall.
Major role forecast for new Canadians
by DIANE BAILEY Citizen Staff
Canada will lose half of its workforce in the next 20 years and immigrants will play a vital role in filling the gap, says the manager of the Canada Immigration Centre in Prince George.
Brice Gurney and his staff are using Immigration Week, on now in British Columbia, to explain the importance of immigrants to Canada’s future.
The centre has set up a display at Pine Centre Mall to answer questions, particularly about increased immigration levels.
In October, Employment and Immigration Minister Barbara McDougall announced that immigration levels would increase over the next five years to a maximum of 250,000 entrants per year. In 1989, 192,000 immigrants entered Canada.
“In this time of recession, that has a lot of people concerned,” Gurney said.
But he said the facts show the increased levels are needed.
“Our birth rate is at zero and our work population is getting older every year,” he said.
In the next 20 years, he said, Canada will lose 50 per cent of its workforce as people now in their mid-40s retire.
“In order to maintain our industries and provide resources for our social programs, we need to bring in people to fill those jobs,” Gurney said.
He said there have been years when Canada allowed more immigrants into the country, but some people tend to be more concerned now because today’s immigrants "are more visible.” Many now come from Asia, while in the past most were from European countries.
Recently in Prince George, 91 new Canadians took the oath of citizenship before Judge Angela Kan.
The largest number of new Canadians sworn in were the 10 people from Vietnam. There were nine from El Salvador, seven each from Germany and the United States, five each from the Netherlands and the Phillippines, four apiece from China, Czechoslovakia and the Dominican Republic, and three each from Brunei and Yugoslavia.
The remainder were from Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, England, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
On Friday, in conjunction with Immigration Week, the Immigrant and Multicultural Association will hold its graduation ceremony for students enrolled in its English as a Second Language program.
Man names attacker after eight-year coma
HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — A man was arrested after his cousin came out of an eight-year stupor and named him as the attacker who clubbed him with a log.
Donald Ray Combs, 37, was charged Wednesday with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in the beating of Conley Holbrook.
When Holbrook, 26, called out for his mother last week, it was his first word since his sister found him unconscious in 1982 outside their home in Linwood. Holbrook also named Combs as his attacker.
“Combs is one of the original suspects,” said Sheriff Jim Johnson. “But detectives had four or five different stories back then, and the victim was unconscious. I
would’ve hated to take it to court.’’
Combs and his girlfriend admitted in 1982 that they had been in a fight with Holbrook, said sheriffs Maj. Billy Nail, who investigated the case.
Combs was jailed on $50,000 bail. Authorities said the girlfriend would not be charged.
The internist who has treated Holbrook since 1983 said it’s highly unusual for someone to regain consciousness after more than a few weeks in a vegetative state.
“I haven’t heard of anything like this,” Dr. Marc Fedder said.
Conley had been able to open his eyes and smile over the past few years. He started to utter sounds in 1988.
I
CIRCULATION:
562-3301
Murder
suspect
testifies
by MARILYN STORIE Citizen Staff
Testimony ended Wednesday at the trial of Andrew Rose, 42, charged with two counts of second-degree murder, with a discussion of Newfoundland slang.
The Newfoundland native took the stand in the afternoon and testified he did not kill West German tourists Bemd Goericke, 27, or Andrea Scherpf, 22. Their bodies were discovered OcL 6, 1983, in the Chetwynd area about 300 kilometres from Prince George.
Pathologist Dr. Jennifer Rice testified Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court here that the pair had died of gunshot wounds to the head.
“To a Newfie, ‘my old lady’ means my wife,” said Rose. “And a woman will say ‘my old man’ when she means her husband.”
‘‘I killed an old man and an old woman,” said Crown counsel Oleh Kuzma, referring to Mary Madonna Kelly’s testimony Wednesday that Rose had come to her door and said these words. Kuzma suggested a Newfoundlander might also interpret these words to mean a young couple, but Rose disagreed. “Not to the best of my knowledge,” he said.
Rose was questioned about a major exhibit at the trial, a pair of bloodied Wrangler jeans with a size 34 waist and 34 legs found at a dump near the site of the murders.
Rose said he wears pants with a 34 waist and 32 legs. “Why would I buy 34-34? It wouldn’t make any sense.”
Kelly testified Tuesday she saw Rose in blood-covered jeans, with the cuffs rolled up, at the time of his early-morning visit to her trailer.
A report by RCMP Cpl. Herb Leroy, a blood splatter expert, indicated the blood pattern was consistent with what could be expected from a projectile such as a bullet.
The blood on the front of the jeans was consistent with Goer-icke’s blood type and 36 per cent of the general B.C. population, while the blood on the left leg front and back of the jeans was consistent with ScherpFs blood type and 37 per cent of the general B.C. population, he said.
Rose, who learned to handle basic weapons during a stint in the army, said he was also familiar with hunting, “but mainly just rabbits.”
“If you were to fire from close range, say a few inches, would it be safe to say that you wouldn’t miss?” asked Kuzma.
“I don’t think anyone would miss at that range,” said Rose.
When asked if he was employed in Chetwynd in the summer of 1983, Rose said he worked at a nearby sod farm. Kelly, his sister-in-law, was also employed at the sod farm at the same time.
Rose said he was “positive his last day of work was around Nov. 1. I waited for my last cheque from the sod farm.”
Rose claimed he had been hurt in a scuffle outside a local bar about the third week of September. “I had been punched in the nose and hurt in the ribs. I couldn’t work any more and I spent that week in my hotel room.”
A picture of Rose purported to be taken at that time and entered as an exhibit shows Rose with a fairly large cut over one eye and eyelid. During her testimony, Kelly denied it was the injury she said Tuesday that Rose had asked her to disguise with makeup.
The trial continues.
Women plan noon march
A group of local women is going to mark International Women’s Day with a noon march Friday at the War Memorial.
The march will begin at 12:15 p.m. at die memorial in front of city hall, says spokesman Maria White. Organizers are also arranging for speakers to address the rally.
The Raging Grannies, an activist group, are also planning to participate, she said.
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