Terrace Standard, August 14, 2013

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S TANDARD TERRACE

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VOL. 26 NO. 18

www.terracestandard.com

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Broader revenue approach urged By Josh Massey TERRACE WON’T get everything it wants from the province to cope with an expected economic boom, says a provincial cabinet minister who toured the area last week. And, says energy and mines minister Bill Bennett, the city might be better off developing a regional approach with other local governments when it comes to a piece of the revenue pie that could come from industrial projects such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and mines. “The important issue for now is having a regional voice and not presenting government with too many choices. Do we satisfy what Terrace wants? Do we satisfy what Prince Rupert wants? Or do we satisfy what Kitimat wants? We need the northwest to really think about what we think is about to happen,” said Bennett. Bennett spoke to city council members Aug. 7 and was accompanied at the meeting by aboriginal relations and reconciliation minister John Rustad and com-

munity, sport and cultural development minister Carolee Oakes. The three cabinet ministers were on a northwest visit that included meetings with First Nations and municipalities, as well as speeches at public functions including a Terrace Chamber of Commerce dinner hosted by the Skeena Valley Golf and Country Club on August 6. Bennett repeatedly said that forming a regional alliance of some sort could help the northwest’s chances of forging an effective revenue sharing agreement with the province for infrastructure and community upgrades. He said that LNG and other companies would invest directly in the communities once the contracts are signed and construction is underway on the proposed industrial projects. “You should consider some sort of regional organization to figure out what’s most important and where you see yourselves 20 years from now,” said Bennett, adding that he feels Terrace needs to do a better job of priori-

tizing its needs. According to Bennett, the amount of money allotted to specific municipalities would hinge on where tax-paying LNG facilities get built. For this reason the details of a revenue sharing agreement with the government is hard to forge before the projects are given the go-ahead by the provincial reviews and corporate boards. “If you have three LNG plants in Kitimat, a lot of that pressure will be in Kitimat,” said Bennett, adding that on the other hand it could turn out that Prince Rupert will have the bulk of the LNG processing facilities, in which case it would need a greater share of the revenue. Bennett was presented with a city council shopping list which included city councillor Marylin Davies saying there’s a need for more doctors and more space at Mills Memorial Hospital and councillor Lynne Christiansen saying a new museum is a necessity.

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Nass sockeye a surprise By Anna Killen

MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO

■■ Big as life george mckay prepares to work on this carving that he’s been doing for about one month’s time on and off at the George Little House Aug. 10. He’s been carving for 45 years.

It may be a dismal year for sockeye in the Skeena River, but the Nass River sockeye returned in higher levels than first predicted, meaning the Nisga’a were able to harvest 25,000 more sockeye than anticipated. And a strong Nass sockeye run early in the season which saw in-season estimates skyrocket meant that those who manage the Nass fishery were able to open it up to commercial fishermen who were unable to fish Skeena sockeye. “It was stable, and it shows positive signs for the future with some of the biological data that’s

been collected.” said Richard Alexander, Nisga’a Fisheries Stock Assessment Management Biologist, of the Nass return. “We’ve basically made the conservation goals. We were able to detect that the run was coming in stronger than forecast, and that provided more commercial opportunities – both for the commercial fishing gill net and seine fleet, as well as the Nisga’a economic fishery.” The Nisga’s Lisims Government’s fisheries and wildlife department has managed the Nass watershed since 1992, in partnership with provincial and federal government, and the majority of the extensive program’s budget

comes from the Lisims Fisheries Conservation Trust Fund, established in 2000 as part of the Nisga’a Final Agreement. What typically happens is that the season starts on the Nass, and then when the Skeena opens the fleet splits – but that wasn’t the case that year due to the low sockeye numbers on the Skeena. But the strong, early Nass run meant that the Nass was able to handle more pressure than it typically would, while still being conscious of conservation goals. The Nass provided 16 days of commercial fishing for gill nets, and 18 days of commercial seine fisheries.

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Riverboat Days

As it was

Sports days

From blacksmiths to valve cover races, there was lots to see and do \COMMUNITY A11

Kitsault still looks like everyone just stepped out and will return soon \NEWS A5

Athletes of all ages get in on the variety of events at Riverboat Days \SPORTS A28


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