Pathways are a gardener's friend/27
Franco back in hunt/11

Catwoman soulless boring /29
Why is this man wearing a dress? /6

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
ing the amount of timber it will put up for bid -- from timber it clawed back from major forest companies. "With only two major companies -- where do you go with that timber," Nagel said. Will Horter, a representative of the B.C. Coalition for Sustainable Forest Solutions, said they had warned that the B.C. Liberals' sweeping forest policy changes introduced last year were a recipe for consolidation. That's because the province no longer has to approve timber harvesting right transfers and now allows companies to close down sawmills and continue to keep logging rights. Horter said less companies, holding more timber rights, simply means less competition which is not good for communities and smaller players in the forest sector. There's no reason the companies have to control timber harvesting and manufacturing, said Horter.

PRINCE GEORGE

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2004

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 56 CENTS A DAY)

Mergers concentrate timber heavyweights
West Fraser and Canfor now hold nearly half the timber rights in this area
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff A successful combination of West Fraser Timber and Weldwood will mean that two companies -- West Fraser and Canfor -- will hold nearly half the timber harvesting rights in north central B.C., and even more in some areas like Quesnel, a review of B.C. Forest Ministry figures by The Citizen indicates. The concentration of timber harvesting rights -- coupled with the dozens of manufacturing facilities in the hands of the two companies -- has resurfaced concerns from loggers and a coalition of labour, environmental, First Nation and community groups that competition for logs and contracts will be negatively impacted. The groups are also questioning whether the province will be able to create a truly market-based timber pricing system with so few buyers for logs. In the Prince George timber supply area, Canfor and West Fraser will control about 56 per cent of the timber supply. In the Quesnel timber supply area, the two companies will control about 67 per cent of allowable logging. "It's a tremendous amount of clout over the timber supply over the region," said Roy Nagel, general manager of the Central Interior Logging Association. The group is raising the same concerns of weakened competition for logs and contracts it did when Canfor announced its $630-million buyout of Slocan, which was completed last April. The West Fraser takeover of Weldwood was announced Wednesday. Nagel said the consolidation could also prove problematic to the province, which hopes to introduce a marketbased pricing system by the end of the year. The Ministry of Forests is increasThe coalition had said the province should take back more than half of the timber harvesting rights from major forest companies and create log markets to create a true competitive timber pricing system. Quesnel mayor Nate Bello said communities have little choice but to work as co-operatively as possible with the companies. "What we have to say is, `OK, we've got these problems, let's work together solving our problems,'" he said. B.C. Forests Minister Mike de Jong played down the concerns around competition and timber pricing. Asked if there are enough buyers of timber in the North, to create a competitive timber pricing system, he said "certainly, yes." He told The Citizen the job now is to make sure the answer is "yes" on a regional basis. De Jong said the province -- in cooperation with a review by the federal Competition Bureau in Ottawa -- will examine the West Fraser Timber purchase of Weldwood on a region-by-region basis to ensure there is sufficient competition in timber, chip and timber processing markets. Canfor was forced to sell its Fort St. James sawmill and timber rights by the Competition Bureau. De Jong added he viewed West Fraser's $1.26-billion buyout of Weldwood -- owned by U.S.-giant International Paper -- as a "real expression" of confidence and interest in B.C. "I'm pleased a B.C.-based company has the confidence and financial where-with-all to make this kind of investment," he said. "How many times have we heard in the past, the argument that big U.S. companies are going to come up here and gobble us all up. Here, we see precisely the opposite taking place."

Tumbler Ridge plane wreckage from 40 years ago
Citizen staff The wreckage of a plane discovered by prospectors Tuesday is not the Cessna that vanished in 1982 carrying five Albertans, Tumbler Ridge RCMP confirmed Friday. Rather, they said, it is the remains of a plane which vanished May 2, 1965. Police, Transportation Safety Board investigators and a forensic anthropologist went to the site Friday after it was discovered in a mountainous area 74 km southwest of Tumbler Ridge Tuesday. When the two men found the wreckage, t hey travelled for 11 hours through the rough terrain to reach help. They eventually came across an oil and gas company surveyor who called police on a satellite phone and gave them the co-ordinates of the wreckage site. The plane that was found is a Cessna 180. It is white with orange and red stripes. The plane's call letters are CFJIV. Due to the historic nature of this plane's disappearance, police are asking for any information that might assist in this investigation. RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Catherine Galliford said the plane was in a canyon on a mountain at an altitude of 2,700 metres. "When our investigative team arrived at the top of the mountain, they found that the co-ordinates were actually a 4,000-foot canyon," Galliford said. "The plane was resting on an incline. It appears that the wreckage over the last number of years has slowly slid down this incline," she said. "It is an extremely difficult wreckage site. It would have been extremely difficult to spot that wreckage during the initial (search)." Investigators are requesting that the two men who initially discovered the crash site contact Tumbler Ridge RCMP at 242-5252. The families of the five men on the 1982 plane had travelled to Dawson Creek, and planned to charter a helicopter to fly over the wreckage. They have been told the plane is not that of their missing relatives. -- With files from Canadian Press

Prince Rupert to name new operator for container port
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The Prince Rupert Port Authority is expected to announce today the selection of the successful candidate to operate a new container terminal, part of the $1-billion deal to sell B.C. Rail services to CN. A news conference has been scheduled for Monday in Prince Rupert, which will include representatives of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, Maher Terminals Inc. and CN Rail. Maher Terminals is a major terminal and stevedoring operator in the Port of New York/New Jersey. Prince Rupert port officials were not saying anything about the deal Friday, part of a $100-million container terminal project, but had said recently that a deal was close and that it would bring benefits to the northern B.C. economy, including Prince George. Prince Rupert Port Authority president and CEO Don Krusel told The Citizen last week that container shipping is a growing and critical component of international trade and Prince Rupert is strategically located to take advantage of the flow of goods from Asia to the U.S. midwest, as it is 30 hours closer sailing time than Vancouver and 55 hours closer than Los Angeles. Other West Coast ports are also becoming increasingly congested. There are also opportunities for value-producers of forest and agricultural products in northern B.C. to utilize containers to access the growing Asian market, he said. As part of the $1-billion B.C. Rail sale, CN has agreed to invest $15 million to upgrade bridges and tunnels to allow double-stacked container trains to get to Prince Rupert, as well as upgrading tracks at the port.

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

WHERE EAGLES DARE -- Waiting for lunch, two young bald eagles perch on a branch near their nest, high in an aspen tree near Cluculz Lake. The eaglets, which stand about 30 cm tall, were born in early May and should start flying sometime in August. Mom and dad fish for the two continuously, and are always nearby. The same mating pair of bald eagles have used this nest for the past five years, or more. They raise two or three young each summer.

PARLIAMENT NEXT SITS OCT. 4

Hill relishes role as party whip
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff For the third time in his 11-year political career, Prince George-Peace River MP Jay Hill will be the party whip -- but it will be the first time he'll be taking on the role in a House of Commons with a minority government. Named to the position by Opposition leader Stephen Harper late Thursday, the Conservative MP quickly acknowledged the situation he'll be entering. "It's going to be very interesting, exciting, long, long days and I'm sure a lot of very interesting debates and conversations," he said Friday from Ottawa. The whip keeps tabs on the location of caucus members at any given time -- there are 99 Conservatives in the House -- and makes sure enough are present for any key votes. The whip becomes especially important when a minority government is in place because it's more susceptible to losing a vote on a confidence matter, which forces dissolution of the House and another general election. "So much rides on what takes place in the sense that a minority government could fall at any time," Hill said. "There's no room for error when it comes to the position we take on legislation, knowing what the other parties are going to do." Hill repeated his call for Prime Minister Paul Martin to allow more free votes in the House of Commons. Not only would they make the House more democratic, but would leave the Liberals less exposed to making a mistake. "On October 4, the first day the House sits, he can stand up and say there's going to be no confidence votes in the House unless it's designated as such," Hill said. "And that will make a world of difference and relieve a lot of stress, especially for his own whip." Hill was also the whip for the old Reform Party under Preston Manning for seven months in 2000 and for the Democratic Representative Caucus under Joe Clark for another seven months over 2000 and 2001. The DRC consisted of breakaway Alliance MPs upset with the leadership of Stockwell Day and Progressive Conservative MPs. Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris, who has been the deputy finance critic for six of the last seven years, along with one year as whip, continued to wait for his marching orders Friday. Harris said he may continue as deputy finance critic, where he focussed on banks and financial institutions, or be assigned special issues, such as the recent helicopter deal. "Someone might want to find out just how the government was able to manipulate the process to ensure that Sikorsky got it, and I'm sure there's going to be a special project on that one," he said. However, Harris said he doesn't mind not being named to a senior critic post because it takes too much time away from constituency work. "I'll be happy to do anything that Stephen Harper wants me to, but I wasn't about to apply for an elite critic role," he said.

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .23 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .44-46 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .18-22 Comics . . . . . . . . . . .28,35,36 Coming Events . . . . . . . .2,16 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entertainment . . . . . . .28,29 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . .14,15,17

Axe-wielding man held in cells
Citizen staff Prince George RCMP arrested a city man in the 1400 block of Queensway Friday during the early morning hours after he waved two axes in the presence of officers. Police said an officer drew a pistol on the man while bringing about his arrest. The suspect faces a charge of breaching the conditions of his release on earlier offences. Watch commander Staff Sgt. Ewen Freethy said it appears the man was using the axes defensively, because he didn't care for the prospect of being arrested, rather than aggressively to mount an attack on the police officers. RCMP say the man was held in city cells for the rest of the night. The man was taken to the courthouse Friday, RCMP said. By his consent, Anthony Smits was remanded in custody until Monday, Crown counsel said.

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