Flames head home one win away/9
Smarty Jones eyes the crown / 12

Aussies side with Bush on Iraq/15
The magic returns / 25

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
dustries vice-president Peter Affleck told a Forest Expo luncheon. The appeal could run until 2006, and it's likely the U.S. will not easily give back any tariffs already collected, said Affleck. "So, the fight continues," he said, calling the trade fight the biggest issue the B.C. forest sector faces. To date, about $2 billion US has been collected by U.S. Customs. By 2006, that number will have risen to $3 billion, more than half of which comes from B.C., and the majority of that from the Interior, noted Affleck.

PRINCE GEORGE

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2004

$1.00 (HOME DELIVERED: 56 CENTS A DAY)

Chalk another one up for Canada
U.S. cuts tariffs in half
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The U.S. Commerce Department has cut 27-per-cent softwood tariffs in half under its first administrative review, a decision lauded by the B.C. forest industry on Thursday as a victory. However, the review of the first year of tariffs from May 2002 to April 2003 -- which won't be final until December of this year and is appealable by the U.S. lumber industry -- also makes no change in the amount of tariffs companies pay now, B.C. Council of Forest In-

Softwood lumber dispute
Canada has been taking a two-track approach to the three-year-old softwood lumber trade fight with the U.S. -- legal challenges and negotiations. In the legal fight, a North American Free Trade Agreement dispute panel just gave the U.S. International Trade

Commission (ITC) until June 10 to resubmit its justification for finding that Canadian softwood imports threaten the U.S. industry. The NAFTA panel has already twice ruled the U.S. ITC has shown no evidence that Canadian lumber imports hurt or threaten the U.S. lumber industry. It's a key ruling in the legal battle for Canada, because if it holds up, the U.S. lumber industry's case collapses. However, Affleck pointed out that the U.S. industry is already positioning itself for an extraordinary challenge of the key NAFTA ruling, already alleging bias of one of the panel members and

saying the panel overstepping its mandate. Those are the only two reasons an extraordinary challenge can be granted, which would delay a final ruling, explained Affleck. In the meantime, forest industry, provincial, Canadian and U.S. officials are in Charlottetown, P.E.I., to examine whether there's enough common ground to restart negotiations. Firstly, the Canadian provinces have to come to agreement amongst themselves on how to approach negotiations with the U.S., said Affleck. Canadian provinces rejected a U.S. offer earlier this year put on the table just before last Christmas.

Amnesty apologizes to police
Citizen staff Amnesty International has issued a public apology for a mistake it made in its annual human rights report, where it claimed two men died in Prince George after being struck by tasers fired by police. "Due to an administrative error in our Report 2004, which covers the human rights situation in 155 countries, we stated that both deaths were in Prince George, when in fact one was in Prince George and one was in Burnaby," said Amnesty spokesperson, Richard Bunting in a statement. "We apologize for this and have taken immediate action to correct this online and in hard copies of the report with errata slips." "However, this should not distract from seriousness of the fact that two men died. Tasers should not be deployed until there has been independent and rigorous testing into their effects and use." Amnesty International had corrected the information on its website, one day after it was posted, but Supt. Mike Morris of North District RCMP said that wasn't good enough. "I think they should publicly acknowledge the fact that they made a mistake," he said at the time. Morris was in Vancouver Thursday and could not be reached for comment. The group's annual report highlighted alleged police brutality in Canada and stated that Terry Hanna and Clay Willey died after being tasered in Prince George. However, Hanna was arrested and died after a clash with police in Burnaby. Willey, 33, died in hospital July 22, 2003, 16 hours after he was arrested in the parking lot of Parkwood Place mall by Prince George RCMP. An internal investigation by North District RCMP, which oversees the city detachment, cleared police of any wrongdoing in the man's death. A coroner's inquest, which must be held whenever someone dies in police custody, is scheduled for October.

LOGGING SAFETY

Umbrella council is close to reality
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff A B.C. government-appointed logging safety task force has fleshed out the first steps it's considering to put into action its own recommendations to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in the woods. The logging sector has the highest fatality rate of any industry in B.C. Forestry workers are 10 times more likely to die on the job than in other industries. Under consideration is the creation of an umbrella safety council which would represent all sectors of the forest industry and be run by a small staff, similar to a model used in the oil and gas sector in Alberta, Workers Compensation Board chairman Doug Enns told a forum of logging safety at Forest Expo on Thursday. The oil and gas sector -- which used to be known as the "killing fields" -- has significantly reduced its death and serious injury rates under the model, said Enns, who headed up the logging safety task force which released its recommendations for a sweeping change in safety culture three months ago. Labour Minister Graham Bruce gave the task force the go-ahead to implement its recommendations, and since then, a 22-person implementation team has been working on what steps to undertake next. Enns told the logging safety forum at UNBC that the task force team is also considering creating an incentive system through the Workers Compensation Board for all firms that buy into upgraded safety certification and training systems. Also under discussion with the Ministr y of Forests is making safety records one of the considerations in awarding timber harvesting rights, including long-term tenure held by major forest companies. "This is the sort of thing, I think, is all of a sudden going to focus everyone's attention (on safety)," Enns said afterward. Enns told the forum B.C. has some catching up to do with other provinces, some of which also made presentations at Forest Expo. Ontario's Forestry Safe Workplace Association, which has been in place since 1915, has significantly cut injuries in the past 15 years by targeting high-risk areas and through legislated safety certification. In B.C., serious injury and fatality rates remain high. Since 1993, more than 250 forestry workers have been killed on the job in the woods. Fallers and truck drivers alone accounted for 50 deaths in a five-year period ending in 2002. Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association field manager Tom Welton said the key for B.C. is to get the industry involved in developing safety programs. In Ontario, as in B.C., there are many more smaller firms than huge companies with the resources to spend on safety themselves. "It has to be something that is workable for them," said Welton. Central Interior Logging Association manager Roy Nagel said it looks like the B.C. logging safety task force is heading in the right direction. "The first order of business is to get this safety council umbrella set up, so you have good input from industry."

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

PLAYGROUND PARADISE -- Hart Highlands elementary school students and parent members of the playground committee hang out on the newly completed playground Thursday. The playground was built with the assistance of the committee, Hart Highlands PAC and the Hart Community Association, with donations of material from Rolling Mix Concrete.

PM makes $27-billion promise
WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) -- The Liberals announced a $27-billion spending platform Thursday that includes money for 8,500 new soldiers for peace operations and a national child-care program. Prime Minister Paul Martin announced the five-year plan in his Windsor home town and stressed Canada should not spend every penny of its budget surpluses. "We're not spending money that we do not have," Martin said, a subtle reference to the Conservative party's economic blueprint, which is pegged on large, projected surpluses. "We're not spending money that we do not have. In fact we're not allocating the full amount of the projected surpluses for the next five years. The platform document, called Moving Canada Forward, also contains an annual budget reserve of $3 billion. "A government must be prepared for the unexpected, for challenges that are not yet apparent. And it must have the

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financial freedom to respond without returning the country to deficit," the former finance minister said. The platform was a clear effort to mark a stark contrast with the Conservative platform of tax cuts and more military hardware, including helicopter-carrying warships. In a swipe at the Conservatives' commitment to build up the military, the Liberals' Peace and Nation-Building Initiative would define Canada's role in the world as helping failed states rebuild public institutions and



ELECTION 2004

social systems. The plan calls for 5,000 new members in the regular Forces and 3,000 more in the Reserve, which currently has 15,500 part-time members. The new full-time soldiers would form a brigade specializing in peace support. The platform also tries to appeal to left-leaning voters with its promise of a national child-care system, a commitment made in the original 1993 red book, which Martin co-wrote. The Liberals also plan to quadruple the objectives of the Wind Power Production Incentive and work to increase consumer demand for wind power. The New Democrats quickly dismissed the platform as a same-old, same-old strategy. "We've heard all of this before," NDP Leader Jack Layton said in a statement. "The Liberals promised most of this in previous platforms. They had three terms and 10 years to pursue these priorities."

INDEX
Ann Landers . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-38 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 17-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Coming Events . . . . . . . . 2,28 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Entertainment . . . . . . . 25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,16

Harper pledges $37-billion tax cut plan
Canadian Press With $27 billion in his pocket and an eye on the polls, Prime Minister Paul Martin is counting on a left-leaning agenda to lure back disgruntled voters and reverse his flagging electoral fortunes. But Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is pushing back with a $37-billion tax-cut plan aimed at keeping middleclass supporters and escaping from a political quagmire over his party's stance on abortion. Martin has spent a lot of time painting Harper and his Conservatives as right-wing bogeymen out to rip the country's social fabric. Liberal attacks on Harper became more pointed in recent days as opinion polls suggested the gap was narrowing between the two parties, with the Liberal lead dwindling to five percentage points. Martin didn't go after Harper on Thursday, preferring to focus on his own agenda. But Harper was having enough troubles. The Tory leader, who has been unable to capitalize on the good poll news because of an abortion controversy, waded deeper into the muck. Dogged by reporters and protesters during a campaign stop in Hamilton, Harper said a Conservative government would allow a free vote on abortion -- and almost any other issue -- if an MP introduced a private member's bill. That provided fresh fodder for critics who say the party has a hidden right-wing agenda and is no different than its Alliance and Reform predecessors. "People are going to mobilize a lot more as they realize that Mr. Harper is a real threat to equality," said Laurie Arron, a gay-rights activist who trailed Harper from Hamilton to nearby Guelph, Ont. Things turned ugly in Guelph, Ont., as Arron and fellow protester Bob Smyth tried to question Harper about his party's stand on gay marriage. Conservative supporters shouted "shut up, shut up," and a frail elderly man punched Smyth in the face and bashed him on the head with a campaign sign. -- For related story, see page 14

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