Local news The Prince George Citizen . , October 18, 1980 — BOB MILLER City editor LUMBER WOES What does tariff mean? Thursday the U.S. Commerce Department placed a 15-per-cent duty on Canadian Lumber sold in the U.S., but what does it mean to us? Here are the answers, and the questions that go with them. Are jobs going to be lost? Yes, but this area of the province will be least effected. Economists have provided a variety of numbers about job losses, ranging from 2,000 over a few years to 15,000 by the turn of the century. When mills will close will depend on lumber prices. As long as they stay up mills will run. When prices drop, mills will shut at a higher price than before, because the tariff means they’ll make less profit at a given price. What’s a countervailing duty? A duty, also known as a tariff, is a tax put on imports. Every country has them because: ■ They protect industry within a country. Here in Canada, for example, there are high duties on imported clothing to aid manufacturers here. ■ They raise money for the government. There’s a duty on plastic airplane models imported to Canada, although we have no domestic plastic model manufacturers. The duty is a tax, just like sales tax. ■ They discourage imports, helping the balance of payments. If imports cost more than products made .at homes, people tend to buy domestic goods. If, at the same time, a lot of stuff is sold abroad, other people end up owing us money, instead of us owing them. This is termed “a favorable balance of payments.” Governments think they’re wonderful. ■ A “countervailing duty” does all three jobs plus one more. If goods from another country get government subsidies, giving them an unfair advantage, a tax can be put on the goods to remove the advantage. This isn’t just an American rule. It’s allowed under the international General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. But the rules are very technical and the Canadian government says they shouldn’t be allowed in this particular case. What’s the beef? Canadian provinces haven’t been charging enough for cutting rights to timber according to some American lumbermen who filed a charge with The International Trade Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department. They’ve argued a cubic metre of wood (the size of a telephone pole) at a government sale in the U.S. often costs 10 times more than Canadian provinces charge. What happens next in the U.S.? After a preliminary ruling, the money due on a duty has to be placed in trust in a special account. Around the end of Febru- ary a final ruling could determine the level of tariff for a number of years to come. If too much was collected initially, there’s a refund, if it’s too little, there’s an additional charge. The International Trade Administration will deliver its final decision 75 days from now. Forty-five days later, the International Trade Commission, a different group with a similar name, finalizes the tariff. Then the fuss dies down leaving a duty in place. Is there any way out of this? Under U.S. law, the U.S. Commerce department and Canada can make a deal between now and the end of November. If they do, the two sides enter into a “suspension agreement,” which means the ruling gets put aside. Or if Canada can get American lumbermen to withdraw their petition before the end of February, the issue dies. Who gets the money for a duty on lumber? The U.S. government collects it and gets to use it for whatever they want. Is there any way to avoid giving the money to the U.S.? Under U.S. law, if companies here were to get together to make a deal with their U.S. counterparts, they’d all go to jail for violating American anti-trust laws. The only deals whcih can be made are by governments. In addition, under international law, national governments can only negotiate with national governments. The U.S. can’t negotiate directly with British Columbia. (Remember the fuss when France talked with Quebec?) Under the Canadian Constitution, natural resources belong to the provinces. This means the provinces have to decide what to do, and have to negotiate through the federal government. If timber charges here by the federal or provincial governments (the U.S. doesn’t care which) are raised to match the level of the duty, the duty may be reduced or eliminated. What’s going on now? The provincial and federal governments want to keep the money in Canada. The idea of an export tax is favored by Ontario, some federal civil servants, and some members of industry. The provincial government wants to keep the money here. Thursday afternoon Price Waterhouse told the industry to expect a raise in minimum stumpage charges, and more realistic numbers to be used in figuring costs and charges. This would mean higher charges here, but less duty if a deal is worked out. Youth kills mother, jailed three years A 17-year-old Salmon Valley boy has been sentenced to three years in jail after being found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of his mother on June 24. The youth was sentenced in Prince George provincial court Friday following a two-day trial earlier this week. Three years is the maximum sentence the courts are allowed to give a young offender under the Young Offenders Act if he is being sentenced for an offence which an adult offender would be liable to life imprisonment. Under the act, the youth cannot be identified in the media and no information which could identify him can be published. Court was told the boy had been arguing with his mother on the day of the shooting. Following the evening meal, the boy’s father left the house to cut firewood, leaving the boy and his mother alone in the home. In a voluntary statement the youth made to the police following the incident, he said he shot his mother because he was upset about the way she always put him down and he lost his temper. When she turned her back, the boy picked up a bolt-action .22-calibre rifle and shot her once in the back. After she fell to the floor, he shot her four times in the head, court heard. The woman’s body was found by her husband when he returned to the home at about 8 p.m. and he called the police. Following the shooting, the boy took $10 out of her purse for gas money, took the family car and left the home, court heard. He was apprehended by RCMP about hours later at a friend’s house. McLeod's store closing doors After 23 years in Prince George, McLeod-Steadman will close Nov. 29. “The closure is due to a policy change in direction from head office,” Vincent Willis, manager of the store said. Twenty-eight staff members will be dismissed due to the closure. The store, which has been open Sundays for several weeks, will begin a close-out sale Sunday, with everything in the store 20 per cent off normal prices. A FRESH START FOR PRINCE GEORGE NORTH Weather Immediate Prince George area: The forecast calls for mainly sunny skies today, with clouds moving in overnight, more cloudy skies tomorrow and intermittent rain in the afternoon, j Today’s high should be near 14, :with an overnight low of -1, and a : high Sunday of 12. The chance of precipitation is zero today and tonight and 80 per cent Sunday. Friday’s high was 14. There was a trace of rain and 7.3 hours of r sunshine. A year ago today the high was 11, the low was -2. There was .6 :mm of rain and .3 hours of sun-: shine. | Sunset today is at 6:08 p.m. and [sunrise Saturday will be at 7:46 :a.m. Prince George, Parsnip: Today sunny with cloudy periods, patchy morning fog in few valleys. Highs 11 to 14. Tonight becoming cloudy in the evening. Lows zero to 3. Sunday cloudy. Intermittent rain be-: ginning in the afternoon. Highs 8 to • 11. Probability of precipitation : near zero today, 10 per cent tonight and 60 per cent Sunday. Bulkley Valley-The Lakes: Today mainly sunny. Becoming mainly cloudy late in the afternoon. Highs 10 to 13. Tonight cloudy. Intermittent rain beginning late tonight. Lows 3 to 6. Sunday intermittent rain. Highs 8 to 11. Probability of precipitation 10 per cent today, 70 per cent tonight and 80 per cent Sunday. Thompson: Today morning low cloud and fog in some valleys. Otherwise mainly sunny. Highs 12 to 15. Tonight clear with cloudy periods. Patchy fog forming in some valleys overnight. Lows zero to 3. Sunday sunny with cloudy periods. Patchy morning fog. Highs 12 to 15. Probability of precipitation zero today, tonight and near zero Sunday. Okanagan: Today morning low cloud and fog in a few valleys. Otherwise mainly sunny. Highs 12 to 15. Tonight mainly clear. Fog patches forming in some valleys. Extensive frost in low lying areas. Lows -1 to 2. Sunday mainly sunny. Patchy morning fog in some valleys. Highs 12 to 15. Probability of precipitation zero today, tonight and near zero Sunday. Columbia: Today low cloud and fog dissipating near noon. Otherwise mainly sunny. Highs 9 to 12. Tonight clear with cloudy periods. Patchy fog and low cloud forming overnight. Lows -2 to 2. Sunday sunny with cloudy periods. Early morning fog and low cloud. Highs 9 to 12. Probability of precipitation near zero today, tonight and 10 per cent Sunday. Kootenay: Today patchy morning low cloud and fog in some valleys. Otherwise mainly sunny. Highs 10 to 13. Tonight clear with cloudy periods. Patchy fog forming in some valleys. Lows -1 to 3. Sunday mainly sunny. Patchy morning fog and low cloud. Highs 10 to 13. Probability of precipitation zero today, tonight and near zero Sunday. Chilcotin-Cariboo: Today morning cloud and fog in some valleys. Otherwise mainly sunny. Highs 12 to 15. Tonight becoming mainly cloudy overnight. Lows -1 to 2. Boy scouts seek support Beavers, cubs and scouts from the Nechako District and Fraser District of Boy Scouts of Canada will be participating in their annual Apple Day all day today at local shopping areas in Prince George. The annual fund-raising event got underway Friday night but the main part of the appeal takes place today. Apples are offered to the public for donations which are used to finance district boy scout functions. This weekend is filled with activities for the boy scouts and girl guides with an international Jamboree of the Air (JOTA) Saturday and Sunday at the Scout Hall, located downstairs at the Kinsmen Centre. The activity is a co-operative effort by amateur radio operators and scouts and guides and gives those participating a chance to communicate with other scouts and guides from throughout the country. Last year, about 100 youngsters participated in the event and organizers expect even more to take part this year. In addition to activities for the youngsters, about 30 leaders from 14 northern districts will be participating in the semi-annual regional commissioners and presidents meeting at the hall. Leaders from 100 Mile House to the Yukon will meet to plan events for their districts. Greasepaint ghouls It’s that time again, time to start thinking about a Halloween costume. At a makeup workshop this week Colin Dix transforms these youngsters into creatures so hideous even their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them. Dix adds skeleton features to Brian Hockley, 11 (top), while Tonya Lake, 12, receives a witch’s nose (middle) and Tom Hirt, 12, becomes a one-eyed scarface (bottom). Dix is a member of the Prince George Theatre Workshop. Citizen photos by Lisa Murdoch Students offered jump on careers One answer to today’s economic problems may be found at Shad Valley which is not a place, but an experience for bright high school students across Canada. The program places selected Grade 11 and 12 students in five universities across Canada for four weeks during the summer to immerse them in business, engineering, modem technology and entrepreneurship. Universities involved include the University of British Columbia, Calgary, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Waterloo. Following university stays, students will spend six weeks receiving practical experience in business and the work place. “The idea of the program is to expose students to what’s available and waiting for them following graduation,” said Sharon Delaney, public relations officer at the College of New Caledonia. She noted Grade 11 and 12 are the critical years when most students attempt to decide what career is for them. Dr. Derek Lane-Smith, who originated the program at the University of Waterloo last summer, will talk about Shad Valley as guest speaker at a luncheon Monday at CNC. Delaney said invitations have been extended to administrators and business and industrial people in the area who may be interested in becoming student sponsors or placing students in their establishments. OPEN HOUSE N0RTHAWKE MEDICAL CLINIC Is pleased to invite all citizens interested in health care issues to meet the candidates for Prince George North and South, and discuss these issues on: MONDAY, OCTOBER 20 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. NORTHAWKE MEDICAL CLINIC 7780 Hart Highway 962-9207 All candidates running in Prince George North and South have been invited to attend. Coffee and Donuts will be served SPRINGATE ELECT GORDON to the Vander Zalm Team “Our first priority must be to strengthen and diversify our local economy. We need to expand our resource strengths by encouraging "Value added” processing of raw materials. This will bring new dollars and permanent jobs to our area.” BillVanderZalm A Fresh Start For British Columbia Social Credit, ¥ Campaign Office: 1663 Victoria St., Prince George — 563-9811 Paid for by the people to Elect Gordon Springate Total to date: $20,864 i