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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

Wedding bells ahead for Alanis /14

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2004

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 56 CENTS A DAY)

LUNCH BREAK -- An intrepid squirrel scans the surroundings, left, before diving into a city garbage container, centre, to retrieve a tasty French fry, right, Tuesday in Connaught Hill park.
Citizen photo by Dave Milne

TERASEN GAS DEAL

Buy-out clause could be extended
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff An outside shot the city's franchise agreement with Terasen Gas could be extended another year with the buy-out clause intact still exists, according to Bill Grant, the B.C. Utilities Commission's executive director. Although neither the city nor Terasen Gas will pursue the possibility, Grant said Tuesday a third party of concerned citizens would still have time to make an appeal to the BCUC. However, they would have to make a strong argument and act by the end of this month. "They'd have to make a viable and substantive case," Grant said. "If the two parties (the city and Terasen Gas) have an agreement and if the agreement is reasonable, then the commission likely doesn't have a big issue. And so the shoe would be on the foot of the party demonstrating where the added benefits could come from, say to one party without costing the other party. It's for them to show." Regardless of the outcome of the natural gas revenue referendum on Saturday, the city and Terasen Gas will sign a franchise agreement with the buy-out clause removed by June 30. It would still have to be forwarded to the BCUC for final approval, Grant said, although he could not say when it would arrive at the commission. But he suggested any effort to appeal would take some fast action. Both the city and Terasen say there is no real alternative to the arrangement voters will be asked to approve by allowing the city to borrow $58.6 million to finance the deal, meant to generate nearly $25 million for the city over 17 years. As such, if voters reject the proposal, the fallback option will be to simply remove the buy-out clause and to seek a "negotiated settlement" which the city warns will amount to very little if anything at all. The proposal comes as a result of a quirk in the socalled "franchise agreement" which Terasen's predecessor, Inland Natural Gas, reached in 1958 with the city for the exclusive right to install natural gas piping within Prince George. In exchange, the agreement requires Terasen to pay the city a yearly "franchise fee" equal to three per cent of the revenue generated within Prince George. As well, the "buy-out" clause was included to give the city the power to purchase all assets within Prince George from the company should it be seen to be jacking up the price of natural gas. But such rates are now regulated by the BCUC, making that source of protection for consumers redundant. Terasen has no problem with the franchise fee -- indeed they're willing to continue to pay the city the three per cent, which is expected to work out to $1.3 million this year -- but the natural gas provider wants to eliminate the buy-out clause to prevent the city from exercising that option. In exchange, Terasen is willing to enter a lease in, lease out arrangement with the city, similar to ones signed with four other B.C. municipalities for the same reason, that would see the company pay the city back the $58.6 million with interest that works out to 3.5 per cent a year. The city would get yearly payments of $550,000, which council has devoted to extra paving around Prince George, and at the end of 17 years, it would also have a $15.3-million legacy fund. Borrowing $58.6 million would roughly double the city's debt, but proponents say it would still leave the city with $110 million of borrowing capacity with the Municipal Finance Authority -- the cost of about five Multiplexes -- and that paying down the amount borrowed would start almost immediately. Several safeguards are in place, they say, should Terasen not be able to live up to its side of the deal that are designed to leave the city no worse off than if no deal had been pursued in the first place. As well, if Terasen went bankrupt, the city has primary right to the natural gas provider's assets within the city.

One in five area residents obese: survey
OTTAWA (CP) -- A wide-ranging health survey of Canadians suggests 18.7 per cent of the adults who live in the Northern Interior are obese. The region has a population of about 150,000 and includes Prince George and surrounding communities. The new information was released Tuesday by Statistics Canada as part of its Canadian Community Health Survey -- the largest study of the health of Canadians conducted by the federal government every two years. The survey suggests 18.7 per cent of the adult males and 18.7 per cent of the females in the Northern Interior health region are considered obese. An additional 35.1 per cent of the entire population was considered over their acceptable weight, while the weight of 41.5 per cent of the people was acceptable. In 2001, the first year of the survey, the obesity rate for people living in area was 15.6 per cent -- 17.3 for men and 13.8 for women. Across Canada, the national obesity rate in 2003 was 14.9 per cent; 33.3 per cent were considered overweight; 46.7 per cent had an acceptable weight and 2.6 per cent were underweight. In 2001, 14.1 per cent of the adult population in Canada was considered obese. The survey bases its findings on the Body Mass Index, an internationally accepted standard that uses a person's weight and height to gauge total body fat. For example, a 37-year-old man who is 5-11 and weighs 216 pounds would have a BMI of 30.3 and would therefore be considered obese. The Statistics Canada survey breaks down its findings not by cities, but by 126 provincial and territorial health regions -- areas defined by the provinces and generally represent districts of responsibility for regional health boards. More than 135,000 people were asked questions ranging from drinking and smoking habits to access to health care services -- and those results are extrapolated to give governments a snapshot of health at the national, provincial and sub-provincial level. -- see results on page 5

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Canfor drops herbicide plan
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Canfor Corp. has agreed to a twoyear deferral of herbicide spraying on its replanted forests in a vast traditional area encompassed by the seven bands of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council in B.C.'s Northern Interior, the Citizen has learned. The B.C. forestr y giant has not signed off a formal agreement with the bands, but has agreed to the idea, Canfor vice-president of environment and forestry Ken Higginbotham confirmed Tuesday. The two-year time per iod will be defined as part of a wider umbrella agreement setting out guidelines on how Canfor and the First Nations will interact. That's expected to be wrapped up soon, said Higginbotham. "In the meantime, you could argue (the two-year deferral) is in place because it means we won't carry out the spray program we might in August and September," he said. It's a major breakthrough for the bands -- led by the Nak'azdli First Nation in Fort St. James, 100 kilometres northwest of Prince George -- which have for years been calling for a stop of herbicide spraying in their traditional territories where they hunt and gather food and medicines. The issue was outlined by The Citizen last fall, when the Nak'azdli's elders voiced concerns that the spraying was harming their people's health. The band argued that manually cutting down the competing vegetation with saws is a more environmentally-friendly alternative which could also provide jobs for their band members. Herbicide spraying is used to cut back vegetation like fast-growing aspen that choke out replanted commercial trees including spruce and pine. The Nak'azdli band won the right to challenge the spraying at the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board. The Nak'azdli band has now set aside that challenge, which was to have been heard last month. "The elders, they're generally very happy with what's going on," said Nak'azdli chief Leonard Thomas. However, Thomas said there are still a lot of unanswered questions, including how to deal with Canfor's wish to retain the ability to use herbicides in some circumstances. Thomas said it's time for other groups like trappers, guideoutfitters and campers to help ensure pesticide spraying does not resume. Higginbotham said while Canfor wants to retain the ability to use herbicide spraying -- for example, in the Peace region where there are six-foot grasses which grow back quickly after being cut -- the company is committed to finding new ways to manage its replanted cutblocks to minimize spraying. Moving away from spraying could also lead to more efficient manual methods and new ways of treating lands before they are re-planted, he said. "I think there's an opportunity to look at this as an advance in forest management, at the same time as dealing with an important issue for these people," said Higginbotham. As there is expected to be more work for silviculture contractors there may be opportunities for bands to get some of that work, he said. However, Higginbotham said manual methods of controlling vegetation are more expensive than spraying. That's why Canfor will continue discussions with the province on how to get some cost allowances, he said.

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .17 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .28-30 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . .3,5,6,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .19-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . .2 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . .27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

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