At 80, B.B. King hitting road for one last world tour /27

One woman's hitchhiking nightmare /13

Pogge makes triumphant return /8
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2006 80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 59 CENTS A DAY)

Agency monitors opposition to port plan
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Prince George's economic development agency is keeping an eye on a development that could scuttle a $160-million container handling terminal at Prince Rupert. The container-handling terminal, meant to open another gateway between North America and Asia, has been touted as having benefits throughout northern B.C., including Prince George. This week, two northwest coast First Nations announced they are seeking a federal court judicial review because they don't feel they have been properly consulted. The bands -- the Lax Kw'alaams and Metlakatla, part of the coast Tsimshian -- are threatening to seek a court injunction to halt the project in order to get their concerns addressed. "Our objectives and strategies here, are obviously impacted by the progress at the port," said Kathi Scouten, an official with Prince George's economic development agency. Initiatives Prince George has been exploring ways to tap into the container traffic that will be flowing through Prince George on the way to and from the eastern U.S. when the container terminal is built. Construction was slated for early this year. The possibility of an inland port arose after a report published by the B.C. Progress Board last December included Prince George as one of three cities which would make a good location. The First Nations move to go to court has the Prince Rupert Port Authority concerned, as it could delay the project, and delay could kill the project. "It's very serious," said Prince Rupert Port Authority CEO Don Krusel. "We have to move forward immediately, and immediately is defined in days, not weeks and definitely not months." For example, Maher Terminals, the private terminal operators that is putting up $60 million for the project, has to order its cranes to link with the completion date of the facility, Krusel said. Ordering the cranes is like ordering a plane, noted Krusel. "If you lose your slot, it's gone for a long, long time," he said. It's similar with the contractor selected to build the terminal, he said. They could move on because of the hot construction market, and then the job will have to be retendered, said Krusel. He said there has already been two months of delay pending a deal with First Nations. Krusel said there is an offer on the table that includes employment, business opportunities and significant monetary support. The issue has surfaced within days of Monday's federal election, but the candidates appear agreed a resolution is needed quickly and that the port will benefit native and non-natives alike. Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP incumbent Nathan Cullen was flying into Lax Kw'alaams at Port Simpson, north of Prince Rupert, on Friday afternoon. -- See CANDIDATES on page 3

Parties clash over tax breaks
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff When it comes to deciding which party will do the best job of relieving your tax burden, it's a case of picking your poison. The Conservatives have promised to cut the GST, but will roll back breaks on income tax included in the Liberals' November mini-budget. The Liberals, conversely, plan to leave the GST untouched. The Conservatives plan several other breaks, but lowering the GST is the cornerstone of their plank, accounting for $32 billion of their $45-billion package. If elected, they would reduce the GST to six per cent in the first year and to five per cent within five years. The Liberal mini-budget included reducing the rate for income up to $35,595 to 15 per cent from 16 per cent retroactive to last January and increasing the basic personal exemption by $500 to $8,648. That adds up to a $350 saving. The Conservatives said they would raise the rate back up to 16 per cent after one year and would roll back the personal exemption threshold. But in unveiling the GST promise, party leader Stephen Harper said the Conservative GST plan would reduce the cost of a minivan by $400. Dick Harris, the Conservative candidate in CaribooPrince George, says the Tories' package is better than the Liberals' when everything is taken into account. Other Conservative measures include immediately increasing the non-taxable threshold on pension income for seniors to $2,000 from $1,000, a $500 tax break to parents for childrens' sports fees and the $1,200 child-care allowance. "The fact is, if you take the total package of the tax relief for the Liberals and the total package for ours, our cuts are far more favourable to the working people of Canada and small business," Harris said. Simon Yu, the Liberal candidate in Cariboo-Prince George, maintained lowering the GST isn't going to help the poor because they can't buy enough to make up for the reductions his party has in store for income tax. The New Democratic Party will leave the mini-budget promises untouched, but also have no interest in providing further breaks, saying the money would be better spent on education, seniors and health care. "What programs are going to be lost in the future when they realize these tax cuts aren't working out and the country is going into debt?" asked Alfred Trudeau, the NDP candidate in Cariboo-Prince George. The Canadian Action Party would go a lot further than the Conservatives and eliminate the GST by the third budget after lowering it to five per cent on the first one and three per cent on the second. "The GST should never have come into existence in the first place," said Bev Collins, the CAP candidate in Cariboo-Prince George. "It's hilarious that the Conservatives brought it in first in 1991 and they're trying to make it sound like they care about Canadians by dropping it a point." Conversely, Chris Kempling, the Christian Heritage Party candidate in Cariboo-Prince George, said his party is looking at completely eliminating income tax, although it's not official party policy, and relying on sales tax. -- See DIFFERENT on page 3

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

SLIPPERY MISHAP -- A semi-trailer jackknifed Friday morning on a slippery section of the Hart Highway, just north of Salmon Valley. The southbound tractor-trailer unit hit a patch of black ice, said police. The driver and his co-driver, who was in the sleeper, were not seriously hurt, said RCMP The highway was reduced to one-way traffic for a portion of the day. Chief Lake . Road between Discovery Road and Paradise Road was closed for an hour during the morning drive because of slippery road conditions. Four vehicles that had gone into the ditch had to be towed out.

HOMES

ATV club endorses report calling for more regulation
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Prince George ATV Club president Bob Orr agrees with a report from a coalition of off-road and conservation groups calling for mandatory registration, licensing and use of helmets when riding ATVs, snowmobiles and dirt bikes on public lands. Orr said the measures will be particularly helpful in tracking down stolen ATVs because registration will give police a number to trace. He also said growth of the sport means some regulation needs to be in place to promote safe riding. "I was over at Yamaha the other day and one of the owners there said they sold more ATVs in December than they did snowmobiles, and that tells you something," he said. "It is a popular sport and it has to be regulated." The report, released this week, is the culmination of three years of work by the Coalition for Licensing and Registration of Off-Road Vehicles, which consists of 11 organizations with a combined membership exceeding 120,000. The organizations include ATV-BC, of which the Prince George ATV Club is an affiliate. The report consists of 48 recommendations designed to improve safety, minimize environmental impact and encourage responsible driving by off-road enthusiasts. "We want to promote safety and enforcement and trail development and conservation," said Beverly Felske, co-chair of the coalition and an ATV-BC director. "You have to manage something properly in order to make it a win-win for the province and for the people doing the recreation." It says riders should be at least 16-years-old and have a valid driver's licence -- children and teenagers accounted for over one-third of injuries suffered in ATV accidents -- and that offroad vehicles should carry a visible plate or decal to assist conservation officers in controlling backwoods behaviour. The cost of annual licensing might be $50 to $70 and would raise $3 million annually. Any money from licensing fees over and above the cost of administration should be put in a trust fund for education, safety, enforcement and trail development, the coalition recommends. The trust fund and programs are modeled schemes used in New Brunswick and Quebec, Felske said. "It's basically modeled on the New Brunswick one, which was put into effect in 2003," she said. "To my knowledge, they have not had any complaints about it." The document will be submitted to an intergovernmental committee looking into the issue. All 11 organizations supported all the recommendations except for the Federation of B.C. Naturalists, which opposed one as a result of a dispute over how the trust fund would be divvied up. As well, the B.C. Wildlife Federation was originally part of the coalition but left over philosophical differences. The BCWF, which represents 30,000 hunters and anglers, says the recommendations go too far. -- See FEE on page 3

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 18 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-48 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . .19-22 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15,16

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