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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)

Mining exploration heating up
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Mining exploration continues to inch up in B.C.'s northeast central region, and is expected to hit a six-year high of at least $12 million this year. The spending in the region, which includes the Prince George area, is up from $10.9 million last year, and a low of $3.4 million in 1999. While exploration spending is not at its peak from the 1980s, the trend is in the right direction, says Bob Lane, a regional geologist with the Ministry of Energy and Mines headquartered in Prince George. "It's not a big jump, about 10 per cent, but it could be higher because there's a number of projects poised to really develop from an exploration standpoint if their funding comes through," explained Lane. He said some of the highlights of exploration activity in the region include:  Southern Rio Resources is carrying out exploration south of Vanderhoof on a gold and silver system.  International Wayside Mines continues its exploration program on a gold finding from three years ago in a former mine site in the Barkerville area, east of Quesnel.  Imperial Metals Ltd. is conducting new exploration at the closed Mount Polley Mine southeast of Quesnel.  Cross Lake Minerals in a joint venture with Gold Giant Ventures has bought the QR gold mine south of Quesnel, which is shut down as well.  Gibraltar Mines is carrying out more exploration on that shut-down mine as well.  Northgate Explorations Ltd., which owns the Kemess gold and copper mine about 400 kilometres northwest of Prince George, is carrying out more exploration to expand its ore body.  Stealth Minerals is carrying out an extensive exploration program in an area next to the Kemess properties. What needs to happen, though, is that the exploration leads to the creation of a new mine, noted Lane. Mining is an important economic driver in northern B.C. Five major active mines employ more than 1,000 people in the North, and that doesn't include jobs in the exploration sector. Kemess employs more than 400 people alone, of which more than 100 are estimated to live in Prince George. However, the Bullmoose coal mine in Tumbler Ridge shut down this year, a loss of 250 jobs. The B.C. mining industry has attributed the rising level of interest in mineral exploration and development to the B.C. government's legislative and policy changes. The province has enhanced the flow-through share program, and eliminated the provincial sales tax on mining machinery and equipment. The government has also reduced corporate and personal income taxes, continued streamlining regulations and begun instituting a two-zone land designation model that helps provide certainty. The B.C. government this summer also created a mining task force, which includes Prince George North MLA Pat Bell, to jumpstart the sector. Recommendations are meant to be ready for Energy and Mines Minister Richard Neufeld by October. The move follows last month's announcement of a $2.1-million initiative by the provincial and federal governments to conduct geoscience surveys. The research will determine the potential for mineral extraction in a given region.

Better safety record sought for city staff
by KAREN KWAN Citizen staff Faced with a trend of safety violations, the city has begun working with the Workers' Compensation Board to improve conditions for its employees. The city renewed this year an agreement to serve as a "focus firm," opening itself to more guidance, as well as closer scrutiny, by the regulatory agency, said Bruce Clarke, the WCB's regional manager of prevention. "So the city has given us that commitment to work with us," he said. The five-step, voluntary program is aimed at workplaces that need help developing health and safety programs or those with higher rates of injuries or claims, he said. "The city is one that's been struggling a bit, and one accident is one too many in our eyes," Clarke said. "They were getting a lot of orders issued on them for infractions in the past; they were generating a fair number of claims," he said. The number of violations and the city's injury rate were not immediately available to be compared with other B.C. municipalities. Clarke said the city is currently going through the second phase of the program, which involves reviewing existing safety measures. During the final phase, the agency monitors the workplace to ensure safety standards are met. Ray Borgia, who deals with health and safety issues for the city, acknowledged the WCB had reasons for flagging the city as a focus firm, but noted part of the WCB's mission is to target large employers to improve working conditions. "We don't stand out as a significantly poor player in the realm of safety as far as municipalities go, but nevertheless, our experience was certainly enough to consider us as a focus firm," he said. Part of the challenge, he said, is the complicated nature of running a municipality, which involves operations as varied as snow removal, construction and recreation. Safety plans must be developed for different types of activities, Borgia said. "Our approach is we want to rein in the number of WCB claims and the seriousness of them, and the cost associated with them, through improved focus on training and compliance with safety practice," he said. Kevin McConnachie, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 399, which represents city outdoor workers, said participating in the focus program is a good first step toward improving worker safety. "There have been many cases where employees, I don't think, are being given the proper training to properly do their job," he said. He said he's not aware of any serious injuries or fatalities among city workers in recent memory.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

OUT FOR A RIDE -- Teighan Jones, 4, and Ayden Martin, 4, enjoy a ride along the Nechako River trail on Wednesday afternoon. The B.C. Rivers Day Music Festival at Fort George Park has been named the official music festival across the province. See story on page 3.

WCB hike looms over ranchers
by KAREN KWAN Citizen staff B.C. beef producers are trying to fight a proposed increase in injury-insurance costs that comes at a time when the industry is struggling to keep afloat, says a local ranchers' representative. Under preliminary rates announced by the Workers' Compensation Board this summer, ranches will be paying almost 20 per cent more next year. The base premium for the sector is projected to rise to $7.93 per $100 of assessable payroll, up from $6.64 last year. "It's just another nail in the coffin," said Mark Grafton of the Prince George Cattlemen's Association. The association represents about 100 ranches in the area, and the Nechako Valley Regional Cattlemen's Association has another 210 members in the Vanderhoof area. Representatives from the B.C. Cattlemen's Association met with the WCB this week to voice their concerns about the increase, said Grafton, who attended the meeting in Richmond. "We're going to be setting up another meeting to see if there's any options, so it's not carved in stone yet. And we made them well aware of our situation," he said. The association must come up with an alternate plan by Oct. 22, and is looking at whether beef ranchers can be moved to a different assessment category, he said. WCB spokesperson Donna Freeman said the agency is consulting with industr y groups before approving rate changes this fall. "We are committed to investigating their concerns and we would respond to them," she said. Rates reflect the cost of injury claims in each sector, and this year lower returns on investments, which are used to subsidize premiums, are also driving the increase for some sectors, the WCB said. Freeman said premiums for ranches are expected to rise because the length of time workers are being paid for an injury claim is increasing, even though the rate of injury has dropped. "Their payroll is shrinking ... so there are fewer employers left in that industry to pay increasing claims costs," she added. Although the premium increase is not by itself significant, Grafton said it's another obstacle for beef producers who are trying to survive the market turmoil created by the mad-cow scare. "We're already talking about an industry that's reeling and to have to explain this to cattlemen is not going to be easy," he said. The average premium in B.C. is projected to rise slightly to $2.06 per $100 of workers' earnings, which is among the lowest in Canada, the WCB says. Rates for 56 per cent of employers are expected to drop or remain the same, while the remainder face rate hikes. Among those sectors to pay more are agriculture, construction, and shake and shingle mills. Other industries, including healthcare, local governments and financial institutions, can expect to pay less, with some health care sectors facing decrease of 14 to 20 per cent in premium costs.

Alberta beef starts rolling across border
EDMONTON (CP) -- Producers, packing plants and politicians cheered the first exports of boneless Alberta beef Wednesday while Canada moved closer to deals with Mexico and the Philippines to open their borders to other beef products. Two truckloads carrying 36,000 kilograms of boxed beef cuts from Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alta., crossed the border into Sweetgrass, Mont. by midmorning Wednesday. "It's a big step," said Brooks Mayor Don Weisbeck, whose southern Alberta city has been feeling the crunch since the discovery of one cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy May 20 prompted more than 30 countries to ban Canadian beef. "It's the first big step on a long journey." Weisbeck said the crisis hit Brooks like a car wreck and it will take a long time for the economy to fully recover. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein told the Medicine Hat News that the start of shipments is a positive step toward mending what he called the overreaction, expense and pain the mad cow crisis has caused the province. The premier was in the southern Alberta city for a caucus retreat. Klein said he plans to go to the United States in October to discuss what the province has done to make sure mad cow doesn't strike again, and to pass on his concerns "about how the world overreacts." He admitted he didn't pay much attention to mad cow disease when there were outbreaks in England and Japan. "And now I see the madness ... and the stupidness, the ridiculousness and the ignorance that surrounds this affliction," Klein said, "and the absolute overreacGary Mickelson, spokesman for Lakeside Packers, said the company has more loads scheduled to ship this week and hopefully more orders are on the way. "Every shipment helps, but it will certainly take time to rebuild our export business," he said. Cargill spokesman Robert Meijer said its plant in High River, Alta., also expects to begin shipping beef within 24 hours. "We've been given the green light to go and we're ready to go. It's a great day." Alberta Agriculture Minister Shirley McClellan boasted that no other country hit by mad cow disease has been able to reopen its borders so quickly. "I think it speaks to our system. I think it speaks to the surveillance and testing we have in place," she said. "We expect this to be the first of many shipments going daily." As those first shipments crossed the border into the United States, Canadian officials were meeting with representatives of other countries at World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico, pressing other countries to lift their bans. The Canadian Beef Export Federation was optimistic that negotiations will lead to deals that will move Canadian beef to Mexico and the Philippines. "We're not only back in the United States with boneless beef under 30 months of age, but also back in Mexico and we expect to see significant volumes here over the next couple of weeks," Ted Haney, the federation's president, said from Cancun. "That's been very, very positive." He said Mexico is preparing to import a much wider range of Canadian beef "which may also include live animals in a relatively short period of time."

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .15 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .16-18 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .19-22 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . .15 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23, 24

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Agriculture port director Thomas Urie from the U.S. Depar tment of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection Services opens a box of Alberta beef for inspection. tion to something that has the possibility of afflicting, you know, a person who eats ten billion meals of spines and brains and other awful parts." Mad cow disease attacks and destroys the brains of affected animals, so eating the spines and brains of cattle are considered higher risk in terms of passing the infection along to humans.

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