Bond hopeful Daniel Craig among Munich's stars / 25
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2005

Fountain of Youth found in P.G. / 8

Sons turn in bank robber dad /15

New look for famed parade / 28

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Japanese beef decision `great news': rancher
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Japan's decision to open its borders to Canadian beef again means a huge victory for the national cattle industry, but doesn't have a direct impact on local ranchers, according to the president of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association, Cariboo rancher Mark Nairn said the news on Tuesday was welcome, but it is only one part of an overall strategy to turn around the industry beleaguered by the BSE crisis. "Certainly that is something we have been working towards for a long time," Nairn said. "They are our third largest trade market for beef after the U.S. and Mexico, so it is important for us to get back to trading with Japan." Nairn said local ranchers had plenty of advance word the Japanese border was going to open again, following the lead of the U.S. and Mexico (Canadian beef is now welcome in 70 nations). The Canadian Beef Export Federation is the lobby group spearheading the national cause and it kept producers informed as they made progress in their negotiations with Japan. "The first shipment has gone ahead to Japan, and that is great news," said Nairn. "It is an extremely lucrative market. They don't buy as much as the Americans do, but they buy at higher prices, they want the best of the best, and they eat meats not traditionally eaten in North America, like beef tongue. Here in Canada a tongue is worth about $2, but in Japan it is $20 a pound." In 2002, the last year Canada could ship beef to Japan, the two countries did about $96-million worth of business on 24,000 metric tonnes. Even though B.C. is positioned as the shipping point for almost all that Canadian beef, that gives no advantage to B.C. cattle producers. "Most of this (export) meat will come out of the big plants in Alberta," Nairn explained. "B.C. doesn't do much finishing of beef, what we do is raise it to a certain point and ship it to be finished in Alberta. They have the feed supply, there, and it is always cheaper to take the animals to the feed than the other way around. So we like to think we provide Alberta with that raw material, which will be in the big pool of meat products sold to Japan." In spite of slaughterhouse dominance by Alberta, Nairn says there is growth in the butchering industry in B.C. More development needs to happen, he said, to satisfy the local beef consumer, and reduce overall Canadian dependence on the American market. That was a lesson the BSE crisis taught to Canadian ranchers who sold the vast majority of all beef products into the U.S. He said market watchdog groups are actively working to divert exports away from the Americans to alternative markets. Nairn named in particular the export federation, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, the Beef Information Centre, and government representatives like Prince George North MLA Pat Bell, B.C.'s minister of agriculture, who took the case for Canadian beef to the World Trade Organization.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

DOWNSLOPE -- Hunter Thorp, 3, slides down Carney Hill Thursday morning. Overnight snow made sliding perfect.

Economic activity to tilt west: report
TORONTO (CP) -- Newfoundland and Labrador will enjoy the fastest economic growth in Canada in 2006, with the rest of the country's activity picking up from 2005 and shifting westward, according to a Bank of Montreal forecast. It predicts national gross domestic product will grow 3.5 per cent in the coming year, with significant regional variations. This would be up from estimated national growth of 2.9 per cent in 2005. "Next year, the westward tilt is expected to continue, although Newfoundland and Labrador will be the exception to the rule as major developments in the mining and oil sectors ramp up to full production," Rick Egelton, chief economist at BMO Financial Group, said Thursday. The BMO forecast says growth in Alberta and British Columbia will be even stronger than in 2005, propelled by rising oil production and oilsands construction in Alberta and a construction boom -- partly related to the 2010 Olympics -- in B.C. There also will be growth in Central Canada as well as Manitoba and New Brunswick, as manufacturers largely complete their adjustment to the strong Canadian dollar, BMO predicts. It says Nova Scotia will see stronger growth from improved exports, but Prince Edward Island's growth will slow as a result of declining construction. Saskatchewan's growth will also slow to a "more sustainable" level after weak investment in 2005. The national unemployment rate is expected to average 6.3 per cent in 2006. That would be down from 6.7 per cent in 2005, although employment growth is likely to slow, partly because of an anticipated rise in labour productivity. Meanwhile, the long-predicted end of the housing boom may be at hand after home construction hit the highest level in 14 years in 2004 and declined less than expected in 2005. "We expect further declines in 2006 and subsequent years as pent-up demand is fulfilled and as interest rates rise over the medium term," said Egelton. BMO predicts the Bank of Canada will raise its trend-setting overnight rate, now at 3.25 per cent, to four per cent by April and 4.5 per cent by next autumn. And it forecasts that the Canadian dollar will trade between 86.4 and 87 cents US over the next year. BMO's expected 2006 real growth by province (estimated 2005 growth bracketed):  Newfoundland and Labrador: 5.2 per cent (2.0 per cent)  Alberta: 4.8 per cent (4.2 per cent)  B.C.: 4.0 per cent (3.5 per cent)  Ontario: 3.1 per cent (2.9 per cent)  Manitoba: 3.0 per cent (2.5 per cent)  New Brunswick: 3.0 per cent (2.5 per cent)  Quebec: 2.7 per cent (2.2 per cent)  Nova Scotia: 2.5 per cent (2.0 per cent)  Saskatchewan: 2.5 per cent (3.0 per cent)  P.E.I.: 1.8 per cent (2.5 per cent)

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Feel the chill with the Polar Bear Dip
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Things have been warm downtown, but north of the city there is still plenty of freeze to satisfy anyone who wants to earn a Ness Lake Bible Camp Polar Bear Dip T-shirt this weekend. "The ice was about six inches thick on Christmas Day and we need only five inches. It is still totally frozen over, with a fresh blanket of snow," said Dave Horton, program intern with Ness Lake Bible Camp. "Everything is definitely still a go (for the polar bear dip)," Horton added. "It starts at 2:33 p.m. and ends at about 2:37, but there will be all kinds of activities afterwards. There will be cinnamon buns and hot chocolate and the winter teen camp ends just as the Polar Bear Dip starts, so this is the big finale for it. It's a coffeehouse-ish atmosphere while you massage the feeling back into the numb parts and fill your stomach with warm drinks." Camp staff cut a large hole into the ice in front of their sprawling campus on the shores of Ness Lake. Participants line up wearing, usually, bathing suits, winter boots and a toque. "We banned wet suits," Horton said. -- See SWIM page 3

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INDEX
Ann Landers . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . 3, 5, 13, 21 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . . 17-20 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . 21 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Entertainment . . . . . . . 25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 14, 15
Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

OVERTURNED -- A logging truck rollover on Blackwater Road Thursday had traffic down to one lane just before the West Lake turn-off. The driver of the truck was not injured in the mishap.
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