Music
                                       54.40 comes back to Prince George hotter than ever. Page 18
Workplace
                                The interview can make or break your job search. Page 10
  Nation
 Disgrace and scandal bring an end to Airborne regiment. Page 6
    Sports
                                  Cougars looking for upset repeat in Kamloops tonight. Page 13
                                                                                           Low tonight:-17 High tomorrow:-13
                                                                                            Details page 2
PRINCE GEORGE
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Citizen
 TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1995
COMPENSATION FOR ALCAN AFTER PROJECT SCRAPPED
Kemano payback battle erupts
                                                                                                   by BILL SEYMOUR Citizen Staff
   The focus on Alcan’s Kemano Completion Project shifted to a range war between Ottawa and Victoria only hours after Premier Michael Harcourt announced Monday that B.C. was scrapping the controversial project.
   Harcourt fired the opening salvo in what is guaranteed to be a continuation of the long-running Kemano dispute by saying Ottawa is responsible for paying Alcan should there be any compensation to the company.
   Within hours federal Fisheries Minister Brian Tobin and other federal ministers shot back at Harcourt, asking if B.C. scrapped the deal, why should Ottawa pay?
   “I reject out of hand any suggestion that the federal government should now be responsible for compensation to Alcan,” Tobin said from Ottawa.
   Harcourt’s announcement that B.C. was rejecting the deal signalled the death knell for the $ 1.3-billion water-diversion project in northwest B.C. His announcement met with quick and deep public approval within B.C. and coincided with the government’s release of a report on the half-completed project.
   But now-with the deal scrapped there is little indication Harcourt will follow through on more than a few of the recommendations the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) handed his cabinet.
   A local benefit fund of $15 million to $20 million recommended
    EDITORIAL: PAGE 4 REACTION: PAGE 3 OVERVIEW: PAGE 5
Citizen photo by Chuck Nisbett
                                                           Premier Mike Harcourt was in Prince George Monday explaining why his government is killing the
                                                                                                Kemano Completion Project.
for communities affected by the Kemano Completion Project (KCP) does not have to go ahead because the project is dead, Harcourt said.
   However, several key features of KCP — the Kenney Dam Cold Water Release Facility to control river temperatures to protect fish and the restoration of land flooded by rising waters of the Murray and Cheslatta lakes — should proceed, he added.
   The premier said Ottawa must take the first step to formally end the project by reversing an earlier decision granting Alcan use of up to 88 per cent of Nechako River flows.
   Harcourt is arguing Ottawa should pay compensation since it was a federal minister who set the stage for the 1987 Settlement Agreement between Alcan, Victoria and Ottawa. A letter from then-Conservative Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon to the province said water levels agreed to in the project were adequate to protect sockeye and chinook salmon in the Nechako River.
   The BCUC commissioners and interveners in the BCUC hearings disagreed with this assertion and recommended greater flows into the Nechako. The province has stuck to this recommendation and uses it to back claims that B.C. should not pay compensation costs.
   “I’m not sure there are costs,” Harcourt said Monday in Prince George. “That’s because that 1987 Settlement Agreement was severely
flawed.
    “It was based on a letter from a minister of fisheries that contained scientific evidence that has been questioned.”
    Meanwhile, B.C. MPs are staying quiet on what should be done on the project until they have a chance to study the BCUC report. Revenue Minister David Anderson, the senior federal minister from B.C., said B.C.’s declaration puts Ottawa at a “severe disadvantage.” “This is not something to just fling out of the blue,” Anderson said Monday from Edmonton. “This isn’t the way the game should be played.”
    Anderson said B.C.’s demand that Ottawa take responsibility for any costs simply ignores the history of KCP and the province’s pivotal role in getting the project off the ground in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when it was the largest industrial project in Canadian history.
    If B.C. wants to formally end Kemano, it should rescind provincial legislation from decades ago giving Alcan water rights in northwestern B.C.
    “It is essentially a provincial exercise,” Anderson added. “They are the primary players, they should rescind it.”
    Officials with Alcan are remain-' ing quiet on the issue.
    A terse press release says company officials expect to meet with provincial and federal officials Monday.
                              GARBAGE DUMP MYSTERY SUBSTANCE IDENTIFIED
                                                                                                                     Citizen Staff
   That unfamiliar substance discovered last week at the Foothills Landfill site has been identified as sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate.
   “Both are oxidizers, meaning when combined with contaminants, they emit sodium nitrogen gas,” Derek Bates, environment director with Fraser-Fort George Regional District, said today.
   He said the danger is that the material could be disturbed, causing it to emit gas unhealthy to people.
                                                                                        The samples had been sent to an Edmonton laboratory for analysis.
   CEDA, Prince George consultants on chemicals, will neutralize the material today by mixing it with dried soda ash, said Bates.
   “From there it will be placed into a lined drum and moved to a special waste treatment and disposal facility not yet determined.”
   The amount of material at the site is estimated to be less than would fill a 45-gallon drum, said Bates.
   The roped-off area containing the chemical materials has been covered with a tarp.
   B.C. Environment officials are continuing to investigate the source of the material, which originated from the BCR Industrial site.
   Until the area is declared clean, it’s off limits to the public, but the transfer station for disposal of garbage is open for business as usual.
   Potassium nitrate or saltpetre is salty white powder used in making gunpowder and preserving meat. Both potassium and sodium nitrate are used in making fertilizers.
   FFGRD took over operations of the landfill site Jan. 3 from the City of Prince George under the province’s legislation to reduce solid waste into landfill sites 50 per cent by the year 2000.
Multiplex booze policy outlined
                                                                                                         by BERNICE TRICK Citizen Staff
   The first step towards selling booze in the Multiplex sports centre has been taken by Prince George city council.
   In a 6-3 vote Monday council directed administration to apply to the Liquor Control Licensing Branch for three liquor licenses to allow beer and cider at major sporting events like hockey games, all types of liquor in private boxes and the multi-purpose room, and liquor to complement meals.
   The majority of councillors voting yes did so for the revenue the service would bring in to help pay operating expenses and cut expenses to taxpayers.
   Tom Madden, director of Leisure Services, estimates the city’s share of revenues from sale of beverages and food will be $300,000 annually. He estimates gross totals at $360,000 from booze and $800,000 from food.
   During sporting events like Prince George Cougar hockey
games, drinking will be restricted to designated areas in the complex, but not allowed in the stands.
   The portable cart containing beverages would be open to the public 30 minutes before games start and remain open until the end of the second intermission. No patron would be sold more than two cups of beer during one visit to the beverage cart. Food concessions would stay open until the end of a game or other events.
   No decision has been made, should a game go into overtime.
   Coun. Don Grantham spoke strongly in favor of the move, saying it’s done in other major arenas to some level. All staff must be trained to responsibly deal with the liquor policy, he said.
   In a Western Hockey League arena in Red Deer, beer is sold in the stands, said Grantham, who attended a game to check out the situation.
   “That’s the extreme; beer in the stands, but I didn’t see any abuse. We’re trying to go down the middle
road,” said Grantham, whose straw polls among the public show strong supporters and strong opposition for the service.
   Coun. Ron Thiel backed Grantham, saying, ‘The city has the capability of controlling consumption. I don’t think you’ll see rampant, uncontrolled drunks. If it happens, they will be dealt with.
   “The amount of revenue is significant and will reduce the number of tax dollars needed to support it,” Thiel said.”
   Coun. Dan Rogers, a member of the Substance Abuse Task Force, stoutly opposed the policy.
   “We have to look at the role alcohol consumption plays in our region. Even CNN (cable-televi-sion channel) said Prince George leads the country.
   “The Northern Interior Health Board challenged us recently to make this facility alcohol-free. It’s an opportunity for us to say we’re going to make this a positive lifestyle choice.
   “I can’t support the recommen-
dation. Alcohol consumption and-problems it causes in this commu-1 nity are alarming.”
   Nor does Rogers think there will be a lot of extra money after the* expense of training staff and hiring security.
   That money could be made up by holding more events and negotiating properly, he said.
   “What we charge. for rent for concerts will make or break us,” Rogers said.
   Coun. Cliff Dezell and Anne Martin both joined Rogers in opposing the policy.
   Coun. Monica Becott voted for the recommendation, but only because council will have another kick at the cat after the decision of the LCLB.
   She requested further information on marketing the facility without liquor being involved.
   “It will defeat the purpose if we can’t market it without liquor,” said Becott, who believes, “It’s time we in Prince George learn how to handle liquor” like Europeans handle wine.
   INDEX
Farcus
Ann Landers...   .....12  
Bridge........   .....22  
Business......   ... .2,3 
City, B.C......  ... .2,3 
Classified...... . .19-24 
Comics .......   .....18  
Coming events .  .....22  
Crossword ....            
Entertainment .  .....18  
Horoscope.....   .....22  
Lifestyles...... .....17  
Movies........   .....18  
Nation........   ......6  
Sports ........  ..13-15  
Television ..... .....23  
World ........            
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COUNCILLOR WELCOMES ARTS BLUEPRINT
                                                                                                       by BERNICE TRICK Citizen Staff
    “I almost feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven,” a Prince George councillor said Monday about a proposed policy designed to increase exposure to the arts.
    “I won’t tell you how many years I’ve been waiting for this,” said Monica Becott of a Leisure Services Commission policy draft which points out a need for a policy, predicting a sharp increase in interest and participation to beyond the turn of the century.
    This greater demand for culture will stem from an aging population, increased education levels,
 relatively high levels of income and growing influences of women, cultural minorities and native people, predicts the commission.
    Council directed commission members to take steps necessary to draft the policy based on its report to council.
    To do that, the commission must induct a committee which will establish terms of reference, do an inventory of arts in Prince George, hold public meetings, draft the policy and present it for approval to the commission and city council.
    Here’s how the report defines the arts in Prince George:
    ■ Performing arts — music,
 theatre, opera, dance, mime, puppetry. -
    ■ Visual arts — painting, sculpting.
    ■ Literary arts — prose, creative writing, poetry.
    ■ Heritage arts — archeological sites, artifacts, archives, traditions, tales.
    ■ Environmental arts — architecture, urban .design, town planning, landscaping.
    ■ Material arts — crafts, pottery, weaving, rug-hooking, lapidary (stonework).
    ■ Media arts — publishing, radio, film video, photography.
    ■ Multicultural arts — ethnic celebrations, festivals, fairs.
    ■ Recreational arts — bands, barber shop quartets, square dance, gourmet cooking.
                                                                                                                    ★ ★ ★
    In other policy matters, “People doing things for themselves” is the main theme in the city’s latest policies for 22 community associations throughout the city to abide by.
    Core Services for Community Associations outlines what services the city’s Leisure Services-Department will provide, such as leadership training, orientation of executive members, ongoing communication through meetings and regular contact, and direction for matters like insurance and playground development.
SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441
 CLASSIFIED: 562-6666
 CIRCULATION: 562-3301
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