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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2003

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)

Forest firms back plans to privatize B.C. Rail
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff A group of forest companies, all five of which have operations in the Northern Interior, announced publicly Tuesday their support for the B.C. government's plan to find a private company to operate B.C. Rail. However, the five -- Canfor, Slocan, West Fraser Timber, Abitibi Consolidated and Weldwood -- said their support is contingent on creating a competitive, efficient, service-oriented railway. "The timing of our message is congruent with our desire that folks remember that this is necessary for the forest industry, and without the forest industry we're all in a big mess," said Ian May, a spokesman for the five companies. "Something has to be done, and the image that's being projected out there is that B.C. Rail is healthy and fine and always has been. That's simply not the case." B.C. Rail's revenue of $61 million last year was an anomaly which will not be repeated, said May. It came about as a result of increased lumber shipments meant to counter the effects of the softwood lumber trade dispute with the U.S., he noted. Coal is also no longer being shipped on the rail line. With the current debt load, revenues are insufficient to adequately maintain the railway and service levels, which already need improving, said May. Some of the forest industry's concerns include:  A computer operating system that tracks cars, which is so antiquated it can't provide information on how many cars will be provided the day before they arrive. It will cost tens of millions of dollars to upgrade, money B.C. Rail doesn't have, said May.  Cars are frequently dirty when they arrive which is a cost to forest companies.  Arrival and delivery is unreliable.  Prices are too high. Rates are confidential, but another 20 per cent in forest products goods could move by rail if prices and service were better, said May. A private company will be able to make the improvements because they have deeper pockets, added May. The B.C. forest sector accounts for 75 per cent of B.C. Rail's revenue, and transportation is the forest industry's second biggest cost next to timber (logging and stumpage). The future of B.C. Rail has been a hot issue in Prince George since last fall. City council backed a call for a public inquiry into B.C. Rail but then pulled back from that at the North Central Municipal Association spring annual convention, endorsing the idea of a private operator running the railway. The B.C. government has said a private company is needed to operate B.C. Rail because the railway is debtridden and doesn't provide adequate service. The province has already short-listed four bidders for the freight service and hope to have a deal in place by the end of the year. The bidders are Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, RailAmerica and a partnership between OmniTRAX and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Critics of the plan -- so far, mostly the unions on B.C. Rail and the NDP opposition -- say a sale of B.C. Rail's freight service will cost massive job losses and control of a rail line that has been in provincial hands since 1915. A poll last month commissioned by the B.C. Federation of Labour showed more t han 70 per cent of Prince George respondents do not support a private company operating B.C. Rail, and nearly 90 per cent say the B.C. Liberals are breaking their election promise not to sell or privatize the railway.

Photo by David Mah

GREAT GRAB -- Mara Molnar and her four-year-old shepherd/lab cross Thor enjoyed some fresh air with a Frisbee on Tuesday afternoon at Centennial Park on the Hart. The weather should stay sunny and warm today.

Report worries city staff
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The city's unionized staff continued to raise alarm bells Tuesday about the recently-completed business-friendly task force report, when they held a press conference in front of City Hall. Canadian Union of Public Employees national representative Leanne Dawson dismissed the report as a "pot-pourri of measures that represent every giveaway that business could imagine." If council acts on the task force's recommendations, the city's tax burden and regulatory climate will have been altered in favour of some businesses, Dawson warned, and urged wider consultation. "The true future of Prince George, in business strategies, as in all matters, must involve wide consultation that reflects the interests and concerns of all the residents and interests in the city," she said. Delivered to city council Aug. 11, the report of the Service Delivery to Business Customers Task Force sets out 26 "potential strategies" for making life easier for businesses when dealing with the city. Those strategies include rewriting the zoning, subdivision and development servicing bylaws, which the task force deemed out of date, to meet modern development needs, and improving communication between city and business. However, there is at least one item with the potential to directly threaten the jobs of city employees. Under a section titled "alternative service delivery mechanisms," the report recommends evaluating possibilities "for enhancing service delivery through contracting out." Initiatives Prince George president Gerry Offet, who chaired the task force, said the recommendation falls short of calling outright for more contracting out. "There is nothing that said go out and increase the rate at which you contract out, or start contracting things out and lay off employees," he said. "I think the union leadership is drawing a lot of inferences, and I know that (city manager) George Paul will be consulting (CUPE) locals 399 and 1048 as part of the administration providing advice on the implementation." Dawson was leery of how much CUPE will be consulted. Although individual councillors expressed a need for wider consultation last week, the sentiment was not included in a motion to give the report approval in principle, she said. CUPE has asked to make a presentation at Monday's council

Union sets aside strike vote results
Photo by David Mah

Leann Dawson, right, Kevin McConnachie and Heather Elliot were some of the members at the CUPE meeting at City Hall on Tuesday to discuss a consultant's report on city business. meeting on the issue. Meanwhile, CUPE continued to reserve comment on changes to the city's organization announced Friday. CUPE local 399 president Kevin McConnachie said the union is still reviewing the changes, but added that the city did not consult employees first. -- See related story on page 5

Citizen staff The Council of Trade Unions on B.C. Rail said Tuesday it has set aside the results of its strike vote, which returned a 61-per-cent vote in favour of striking. The council was concerned that work scheduling and vacation conflicts resulted in a low membership turnout of 35 per cent. The strike vote started Aug. 7 and ended on Monday. "We knew summer would be a difficult time to reach our membership that works from North Vancouver to Fort Nelson, but the rapid sale of this company left us with little choice," said council chair Bob Sharpe. "We were a little bit surprised, but there's a lot of concern out there about what's going on with the railway and the fact that it's making money. People don't want to jeopardize the fact that we're in a pretty positive position here." The union met Tuesday with B.C. Rail at the Labour Relations Board to set out the parameters of future negotiations. The union will next meet with the company on Sept. 5. "Both sides have committed to trying to get back to the bargaining table as quickly as possible," said Sharpe. The council, representing about 1,200 unionized workers on B.C. Rail, had said last month the strike vote was the last chance to keep B.C. Rail publicly-owned and serving northern communities, instead of being sold off with massive job losses. -- See related story on page 3

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .21 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .18-20 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .31-35 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . .2 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . .17 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14,15

Gas price rises six cents at local pumps
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Following a two-cent hike at many gas stations last week, the price of regular skyrocketed by up to six cents a litre at many Prince George gas stations Tuesday, boosting the price to 85.9. Catherine Hay, of Calgary-based consultant M.J. Ervin, said the increase follows a nationwide trend due to rising wholesale prices over the last two to three weeks thanks to tight supplies this summer. "Having said that, it sounds like pump prices have gone up more than the wholesale price has," she said of Prince George. "The wholesale price has pushed up three to four cents a litre, whereas the increase you're talking about is more like six cents a litre." She noticed a similar event in Victoria, where regular rose by six cents over the week to 89.9 per litre, tying it with Yellowknife for the highest in Canada. "If someone suggests they're high, I concur with that -- they are high," Hay said of both Prince George and Victoria. "I can't explain that level of pricing by the fundamentals." cents a litre at 85.9. But as of Tuesday afternoon, many gas stations in Prince George remained at 79.9 cents a litre, the reigning price in the city for several weeks now. Based on a drive around the Bowl area late Tuesday afternoon, stations along 15th Avenue remained at 79.9. At that price, Hay said they're making 7.3 cents a litre. According to M.J. Ervin's latest weekly survey, posted Tuesday at www.mjervin.com, drivers in Vancouver are paying 84.4 cents a litre, a 5.3 cent hike, although 85.5 cents has been reported by the Vancouver Sun. In Kelowna, the price rose by 2.7 cents to 81.9 cents a litre and in Kamloops, it dropped by 1.1 cents to 71.0 cents a litre, according to M.J. Ervin. At 79.9, Prince George ranks as the 24th highest out of 44 cities in the survey, and at 85.9, it ranks fourth highest, and second among cities below the 60th parallel. The average price for Canada is 78.6 cents a litre, up 2.6 cents from the week before, with Calgary the lowest at 68.1, up two cents.

Photo by David Mah

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Gas prices soared by up to six cents a litre at most Prince George gas stations Tuesday. Based on the posted wholesale price in Edmonton, Hay said retailers would be making more than 12

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