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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2005

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Gov't mulls proposals to end strike
VANCOUVER (CP) -- The B.C. government will study facilitator Vince Ready's recommendations for ending an illegal strike by teachers before deciding whether to accept them. Labour Minister Mike de Jong described them as "thoughtful recommendations" Thursday night and said the government wants to consider them before providing a full response Friday morning. The teachers took the same stance, saying it wanted to study the document overnight before responding. But a spokeswoman for the federation also said the union's executive wants Ready to clarify his recommendations before the union discusses them. The response could come about the same time as the B.C. Supreme Court rules on an application by the government's bargaining agent to slap the teachers' federation with heavy fines for contempt of court. At least one public sector union, CUPE, said it would put pickets up in the Greater Vancouver area to support the teachers' job action. About 40,000 civic workers in Vancouver and area communities are expected to be off the job Friday, closing community centres, libraries and public facilities such as ice rinks. Ready presented his non-binding recommendations after the teachers made suggestions for a settlement. He said the teachers proposals -- amendments to the School Act to deal with class size and staffing ratios -- put the sides at an impasse. In his seven-page report, Ready said the present class size scheme "results in a number of classes in grades four to 12 that are simply too large for effective teaching. Moreover, there are classes where the number and/or nature of special needs students require additional resources and training." Ready recommended the government increase its commitment for learning conditions in the current fiscal year to $170 million from $150 million and that additional money be used the address the class size and special needs issues. Ready didn't directly address wage increases but said the government should commit $40 million "towards harmonization of salary grids throughout the province." -- See related stories on page 7

Terasen, Pembina planning pipeline
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Terasen Pipelines and Pembina Pipeline Corp. said Thursday they are creating a partnership to examine the potential of building a $1-billion Spirit pipeline to transport a chemical oil thinner from Kitimat to Alberta. The companies said preliminary engineering and design work has been underway for several months and the partnership is now conducting discussions with potential shippers. Terasen is in the midst of $6.9-billion takeover from U.S.based Kinder Morgan, which still needs regulatory approval from the B.C. Utilities Commission. The announcement is the second proposal to build a pipeline through northern B.C. for the chemical oil thinner, called condensate or diluent. "This is a very exciting project, it indicates our commitment to find cost-effective transportation solutions for our customers," Terasen Pipeline president Rich Ballantyne said in a prepared statement. "Heavy oilsands production is forecasted to increase significantly over the next several years and diluent is required for its transportation to market," said Ballantyne. "Imported condensate on the Spirit pipeline could fulfil this need on a timely basis." The proposed project would make use of existing infrastructure and could be ready for service by late 2008, said the companies. Enbridge Inc. has a rival $4-billion project that proposes building a twin pipeline to carry crude oil to Kitimat for shipping to California and Asia, and condensate back from Asia to Edmonton. The company announced a week ago it has selected Kitimat over Prince Rupert as the end point for the 1,200kilometre pipeline. The company has also been holding community open houses in northern B.C. this week. Enbridge plans to seek regulatory approval in early 2006 and hopes to begin construction in 2008. The completion target for the pipeline is 2010. Both projects need buy-in from oil producers and shippers. Terasen also has proposed building an oil pipeline to carry Alberta oilsands crude to B.C.'s coast, although the company has both a northern and southern route on its books. Terasen's proposal -- estimated between $2.27 billion and $2.57 billion -- is a phased plan. The company says it may be able to start construction on increasing capacity between Edmonton and Valemount next year.

Lumber deal on horizon
by PAUL WILLCOCKS Sterling News Service VICTORIA -- The next week could offer the chance for a breakthrough in the softwood dispute, Forests Minister Rich Coleman said Thursday. Coleman said the affected provincial governments have developed a new strategy for negotiations. Coleman said he had discussed the proposals with federal International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and hoped for a quick federal-provincial meeting. "I spoke to Minister Peterson this morning and we may have a meeting that will take place in the next week or so," he said. But time is tight. Coleman said the U.S. Commerce Department is facing an Oct. 28 deadline to respond to a NAFTA ruling that the softwood duty should be removed. "We think there might be a window," he said. "The Americans might want to come back to the table before Oct. 28." Coleman said he had spoken to his counterparts in other provinces earlier Thursday. "We'll be ready if the door opens," he said. Provincial officials met in Vancouver this week to nail down the details of the new proposals. Coleman wouldn't reveal the new approach. "Obviously when we reach a national position our objective is to go negotiate, so we don't want to tell the people we might negotiate with what our position might be," he said. -- See NAFTA on page 3

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

FILM FUN -- Matilda Fransson plays cello during rehearsals for Sinfonia's upcoming Magical Movie Tour concert Saturday, featuring music from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and more. Tickets are available at the Prince George Conservatory of Music, Books and Company and Studio 2880 or by calling 563-2880.

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UNBC class studying dangerous goods routes
by FRANK PEEBLES cision of where to transport dangerous goods. Citizen staff Prince George is a crossroads for industrial traffic A UNBC professor is working on a plan for a dan- throughout all of northern B.C. The chemicals gerous goods route in Prince George. which pass through the area are, to the lay person, Eric Rapaport has directed his GIS (Geographic almost the stuff of science fiction, Rapaport said. Information Systems) class to explore But to forestry, mining and other the traffic patterns of dangerous goods "We are trying heavy-duty sectors, it is common and mesh that with the location of resiwork material. to create dential areas, commercial hot spots, "We don't have the resources to schools, emergency response services, routes that assess every single chemical. We etc. are using gasoline as our prime madirect "We are trying to create routes that terial," said Rapaport. "A standard would direct dangerous goods away dangerous tanker truck, one-third filled up, from these high-risk zones," said Rapacan do as much explosive damage goods away as the Oklahoma City bombing. For port. "I knew the students could achieve that in this class, and they are." from high-risk gasoline there is a standard evacuOne of the primary tools the students ation zone of 800 metres. That's as zones." are using is a computer mapping system big as these footprints go for chemthat can isolate locations important for -- Eric Rapaport icals. But think about that, where their data. in Prince George can you drive They are creating a layered map, one layer each where there isn't a school, or a hospital, or a resifor schools, hospital services, key utilities, parks dential area within 800 metres of the streets where and recreation areas, dense residential living, in- tankers drive?" dustrial properties, and so on. When these layers Because the city's urban planners did not factor are lined up on top of each other, it informs the de- in a dangerous goods route years ago, it is virtually impossible to avoid sensitive areas altogether, Rapaport said, based on the preliminary data. "There are many considerations. This is not as simple as drawing a line along a map avoiding the most houses," Rapaport said. "Some dangerous goods are transported in gas form, but some are in liquid form. A liquid you don't want along a route that has a lot of storm drains because that can go into the water system and possibly right into the Fraser or Nechako. Once you identify the needs particular to the dangerous goods, then you might have to do things like relocate some of the storm drains or build blast walls for school yards, and that is what needs the political will because it takes taxpayers' money and resources to do that." Various industries and the municipality have cooperated with Rapaport's study, sharing information and materials, but it has not been given official project status by the city. Rapaport hopes that as the students progress, the affected stakeholders will take it more seriously. Rapaport believes the political will can be influenced by people asking the simple question: why has it taken so long for a dangerous goods route to be drawn up for Prince George?

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INDEX
Ann Landers . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-42 City, B.C. . . . . 3,6,7,13,31,32 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . . 17-22 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14,15

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