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Clark victim of witch hunt: NDP
Ex-premier made scapegoat for political purposes, says local party official
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
Former-B.C. premier Glen Clark’s acquittal of charges of influence peddling verifies there was a “witch hunt” to topple him and the party, Prince George NDP official Kathy Jessome said Thursday.
“Mr. Clark was the scapegoat for political ends as opposed to any real criminal issue,” said Jessome, president of the NDP’s Prince George North constituency association.
Clark was found not guilty of all charges after being accused of swapping his influence in the granting of a casino licence for renovations on his home by his neighbour Dimitros Pilarinos.
Pilarinos put a new roof on Clark’s Vancouver home, renovated the master bedroom and built a second-floor balcony in the summer of 1998 while his casino proposal was under consideration by the government.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett
CP photo
Former premier Glen Clark with his wife Dale outside the Vancouver courthouse.
said Clark exercised poor judgment, but nothing that crossed the line to something which was criminal.
Jessome said the case also shows the standard of behaviour set on politicians is out of proportion to that set for die general public. “We want real people to be in those positions of power. And we had a real person in Glen Clark. And the standard they held Glen Clark up to was higher than any other standard,” noted Jessome.
“All that happened was he entered into a business deal with a neighbour. It could have happened to anyone of us at any time ... You can be allowed to do things foolishly. Everybody does.”
But UNBC political scientist Greg Poelzer said there’s a lesson in the outcome for all B.C. politicians.
Even though Clark was eventually exonerated of the charges, he’s already paid the political price, said Poelzer. Clark resigned as premier in
August 1999 when it was revealed he was the subject of a criminal investigation.
“Not only do you have to be operating within the law ethically, but just as importantly, is to be seen to be operating within guidelines,” said Poelzer.
The completion of the court action brings to a close a dark chapter in the NDP’s recent past, and it could help the party move foreword and reorganize, he added.
However, Clark’s legal troubles were not the only reason the party was almost wiped out by a Liberal landslide. Poelzer said the public will not forget the $453-million fast-ferry project, which the NDP admitted was a mistake, and so-called fudge-it budget.
Prior to the 1996 provincial election, the Clark government introduced two surplus budgets. Shortly after being re-elected, the government said the two budgets were actually deficits.
Wood processors, haulers want part in forest talks
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
Associations in northern B.C. that represent loggers and secondary wood manufacturers are concerned they’re being shut out of critical forest policy discussions, while major forest companies have an inside track with the B.C. Liberal government.
The B.C. government is working on forest policy with a committee of a dozen CEOs representing major forest companies including Canfor, Slocan, West Fraser and Weldwood. There’s a committee structure with 60 or more representatives from industry working on issues like the Forest Practices
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INDEX
Annie’s Mailbox..............29
Bridge.......................39
Business .................20-22
City, B.C..............3,5,6,13
Classified ...............33-39
Comics ......................28
Coming Events..............2,18
Crossword ...................28
Entertainment.............25-28
Horoscope ...................39
Lifestyles................18,29
Movies.......................27
Nation.....................7,14
Sports ....................8-12
Television...................27
World.....................15,16
Code, forest tenure, timber pricing and First Nations issues, but there’s nobody representing loggers or value-added wood producers within this process, said Ken Pendergast, CEO of the Central Interior Wood Processors Association headquartered in Prince George.
While the association has had some discussions with the government this summer, he’s worried they’re being consulted after decisions are made or not being taken seriously. They were promised a meeting with Forests Minister Mike de Jong at the end of August or early September, but no date has been set. Recent calls to senior Forests Ministry officials have not been returned, noted Pendergast.
“If it continues to be left in the hands of the licencees (major forest companies) to be the godfather and ensure we’re considered in this process, we’re not comfortable with that,” said Pendergast, whose association last met with government officials on July 26.
The association has already told the Ministry of Forests a proposed timber pricing system would devastate the secondary industry. Other concerns include the elimination of timber-cutting controls and severing the tie between timber harvesting rights and local communities.
Forests Ministry spokesman Mike Hogan said the CEO committee is just one of the ways the ministry is gathering information on forest policy reform. “We’ve got lots of consultation going on around the province,” he said.
However, the Central Interior Logging Association, also headquartered in Prince George, has similar concerns to that of the value-added producers.
Roy Nagel, the association’s general manager, said there’s nothing wrong with consulting with forest companies, but the B.C. Liberal government has to make sure it’s listening to all the stakeholders.
The forest policy changes will not only affect major companies but loggers as well, pointing out that if the province is going to offload responsibility for something like forest firefighting, the companies will also be looking at their contractors to play a part, he noted.
Loggers and haulers had meetings with de Jong a number of times last spring, including at Forest Expo in Prince George, but have not heard any word on further discussions.
“I’m hoping maybe the CEO committee is just the first of such structures,” said Nagel. “The worst thing the government could possibly do is to look after the interests of the forest companies without looking at the impacts on all the other sectors.”
Call centre lauds PGDC as play maker
Citizen staff
An eleventh-hour decision by the Prince George Development Corp. to purchase a building for a downtown call centre salvaged a deal that will bring 300 new jobs to the city, said an official with the call centre firm.
The PGDC announced this week it had taken the unusual step of borrowing from the city to buy the $1.7-mil-lion building at 1190 Second Ave. so it could lease the facility to Oregon-based LiveBridge, Inc. That move ensured the company could open a centre in Prince George in time to meet its deadline, after negotiations with the previous landlords hit a wall, said Kel-ly-Jo King, the company’s site selector. “It was make-or-break time in the process. If they hadn’t made the decision (to purchase the building) when they did, it would have killed the deal,” she said. King said the company was just three days away from choosing an-
other location, likely Nanaimo.
The Portland company has signed a five-year lease and is scheduled to open the Prince George call centre Oct. 1, doing telemarketing, or outbound calls, for a large U.S. bank.
After a couple of years, LiveBridge plans to switch to an inbound-call centre, providing telephone support for customers of client-companies. LiveBridge says it has long-term plans for Prince George, and there’s a possibility of future expansion that could create 500jobs.
“The development corporation had such a good understanding of what our needs were that we didn’t have to spend a lot of time convincing them why were doing something the way we were,” King said.
PGDC president Gerry Offet said it’s not common for a municipal economic corporation to become the landlord, but PGDC officials felt it was the best
way to ensure the city landed the call centre. “As the critical date this week came closer and we weren’t making progress, we started to look at alternatives,” he said.
The PGDC is borrowing $2.6 million from the city to back the call centre — including $900,000 to finance renovations and equipment leasing — and has arranged a kind of mortgage with the city. LiveBridge will cover the monthly payments, plus interest, as its rent, along with operating costs such as property tax and utilities.
Offet said the project is a low-risk investment, although the PGDC would still have to repay any outstanding amounts on the city’s loan should the call centre pull out for any reason.
LiveBridge expects to begin hiring management and support staff starting next week and plans to hold a job fair for telephone representatives in the next couple of weeks.
Farm work good Games training - eldest athlete
Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
Henry Paynter, 95, of Westbank Is the oldest competitor In the B.C. Seniors Games. Here he competes In a badminton game Thursday at the Civic Centre.
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff
Picking com, lots of it. That’s how the oldest athlete in the B.C. Seniors Games prepared for his badminton matches here this week.
At a spry 95, Henry Paynter of Westbank is a skilled badminton player who has participated in all 15 Seniors Games.
He attributes his good health to working every day on his farm and orchard.
“The day before we came here, I picked 52 dozen cobs of com for our stand. That helps my wrists for badminton,” said Paynter.
“I was always strong in the back and weak in the head.”
But said he expects this year’s event to be his last one.
“I’ve been just holding out to get this one in,” said Paynter, just before he and wife Sheila, 82, captured a silver medal in mixed doubles 80-and-older category.
“Henry’s been telling us that for 20 years, but I expect to see him back next year,” said John McGuinness, 83, from Kelowna, who with Alice Fraser, 81, took the gold against the Paynters.
On the court, Henry Paynter has lightning reflexes and a hard shot. And being happy with his lifestyle also helps, he said.
“When you work on a farm, your day is planned before you get out of bed. You know you’re going to be cultivating the com or turning on the sprinklers,” said the tall, lean man, who’s stayed at the same weight for 50 years.
He doesn’t expect to be a grand winner at the B.C. Seniors Games that are on through Saturday.
‘1 do it more for the recreation and meeting of the people.”
Joyce West, 72, who’ll play 12 games of badminton during the games, won her first match Thursday.
“I don’t care if I win a medal or not. The main thing at the games is the meeting of old friends and making new ones,” said the Penticton woman.
“Age really isn’t a factor here. It’s the mental challenge, and as long as you do your best, that’s all that counts.”
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