Search

Examines Alberta's shiny new paper mills which are expected to cash in when prices for pulp and paper rebound next year. Shipments of pulp and paper component down; Alberta Newsprint Co. of Whitecourt breaking even by deferring depreciation costs; Campaign of then-Premier Donald Getty to lure international investors to Alberta's largely unallocated forests; Cost to taxpayers; The long-term.

Looks at the deal between paper companies Grande Alberta Paper Ltd. (GAP) and Manning Diversified Forest Products Ltd. (MDFP), over a supply of timber from northern Alberta. Each company's concern of bankruptcy, if it did not get the lumber; The compromise, which was supported by the government.

Comments on a report released in October 1995 by green-leaning scientists that warned that Alberta (Canada) is running out of trees and no new forestry projects should be launched. Recommendations in the report; Grande Alberta Paper Ltd.'s proposed project; The views of Environmental Protection Minister Ty Lund; Comment by Liberal forestry critic Nick Taylor. INSET: Log-nappers beware (illegal logging and smuggling), by G.K..

Discusses how Canada's Alberta pulp mills want to streamline the enviro-reporting system. Proposal to merge data collection for Environment Canada and Alberta Environment; Each has different reporting forms and different data; New Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act doesn't address duplication problem.

Discusses the current status of the Grande Alberta Paper (GAP) mill. Actions of former premier Don Getty; Moves by Finance Minister Paul Martin; Cost considerations related to the GAP; Role of the Alberta Forests Products Association.

Mentions Canmore, Albertan Cyndi Foster's use of animal dung in her handmade papers. Colors and textures of Poop Paper; Her comments about using herbivore dung; Public reaction to the paper.

Reports on the litigation of Esther Neuman for violations of the Alberta Animal Pedigree Act. Alleged failure to provide customers with pedigree papers of poodles; Fines to be charged upon conviction; History of Neuman's breeding operation.

Surveys the Alberta Stock Exchange, which has doubled in activity over the past year, trading now exceeding $50 million a week. Hottest story in surging junior oil and gas sector; Activity not going unnoticed in Montreal and Toronto; Province's juniors' need for capital.

Mentions Albertans Adam McKay, Abraham David, and Jason Ewert. How they helped the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology School of Business win a first-place spot in the Green line Investment Challenge, a Canadian competition for finance students; Comment of instructor Pat Latham.

Reports on the decision by Alberta's Environmental Protection Minister Ty Lund to allow competitive bidding in the province's forest products industry. Conditions set for Alberta Newsprint Co.'s operations before the company can avail of cheap access to timber reserves; Mistakes detected in the province's support of the company; Options left for the company to expand its operations.

Provides information on former Alberta Premier Ernest Charles Manning, who led the province more by example than by decree for 25 years. Papers released from Alberta provincial archives; Manning papers an open challenge to common fallacy that religious politicians are intrusive busybodies; Manning's Christianity smoothed the rough edges of ruling Social Credit party; His concern with the Quiet Revolution in Quebec; Economy of leadership. INSET: Small was beautiful, by C.S..

Looks at an upcoming general election in Alberta and discusses the views of analysts and political operatives. Ralph Klein's Progressive Conservatives; Laurence Decore's Liberals; The issue of the province's $20 billion debt; Descriptions of both campaign styles; Insinuations included in a position paper titled `Education for All'; Talk about raising Alberta's corporate and personal income taxes; More. INSETS: Down and out in Redmonton, by L.G.;The old style lingers on, by L.G..

Focuses on logging trucks in Alberta. Concern for overloaded logging trucks, according to Alvin Moroz, an engineer with Alberta Transportation and Utilities; The cooperation of truck manufacturers to explain their individual rating capacities; The distance that a truck needs to stop safely; Brief statistics on accidents involving logging trucks; Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., owner of peace River Pulp, starting its own safety program.

Reports news briefs relating to Canada for November 16, 1998. The effect of Hurricane Mitch on the peregrine falcon being tracked with a satellite transceiver on its leg by the Canadian Wildlife Service; The report released by provincial Energy Minister Steve West on the cause of the electric power outages experienced by Calgary; Reporters and newsroom employees of Southam Inc.'s `Calgary Herald' voting to join the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union; More.

Reports on the closing in 1997 of five Alberta community newspapers in the Red Deer area owned by Record Publishing. Names of the papers; What the closings are attributed to; Papers which will attempt to fill the gap left by the defunct papers; Comments from editor Rob Gilgan about the importance of local businesses to the success of a community newspaper; How the newspaper industry has responded.

Reports that the health policy development branch of Alberta Health floated a paper entitled `Decisions about Tomorrow: Directives for Your Health Care.' How the paper solicited public input for a law regulating so-called `advance directives'; How concerned observers are afraid the provincial government may use the initiative to move closer to legalized euthanasia.

Presents commercial news about Alberta for August 10, 1998. The efforts of John Vieaux in assisting aboriginal iron workers to acquire journeyman papers; The Native Canadian Alpine Team, an aboriginal climbing team which hopes to scale Mount Everest; The top residential sales in Edmonton and Calgary; The settlement of a gas rights lawsuit between landowners and petroleum producers; The possible merger of Luscar Coal Ltd. and Manalta Coal Income Trust. INSET: Gas producers win a landmark case against landowners.

Reports on the Albertan proposal to further privatize its provincial parks. The irrational fear by some Albertans of the idea of provincial parks being run by private companies under government inspection; Comments of Bruce Russell who operates campgrounds at Thunder Lake and Carson Pegasus provincial parks; The leaked information from an Alberta Environment discussion paper examining which of the provincial parks can best be managed by the private sector.

Reports on the Northern River Basins Study indicating that pollution levels in Alberta's northern river systems are dropping. Funding of the study; Comments of James Hole of Grand Alberta Paper Ltd.

Examines the differences in tax burdens between the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's five speeches on Alberta's tax advantages over Ontario; Headlines in Toronto papers and praise from Ontario executives and think tanks; Central Canada as a taxpayer's nightmare; Klein's meeting with Hugh Bolton, Coopers & Lybrand; Corporations which have opened head offices or corporate divisions in Alberta; Bill 79, Ontario's employment equity legislation.

Reports on two dogs being beaten to death with an aluminum bat in Edmonton, Alberta. Daniel Herman Kohut and Michael Paul Melmoth charged with killing a domestic animal without a lawful purpose; Why they were not convicted; Justice Canada circulating a discussion paper among humane societies for revamping laws on animal abuse.

Discusses the supposed antagonism that the `Edmonton Journal' feels toward the Reform Party in Alberta, Canada and how that was shown in the October 1998 Senate election. The paper's series of articles encouraging voters to spoil the Senate portion of their ballots; When the `Journal' started their campaign to discredit the Reform party; The effect of the articles that promoted the spoiling of ballots.

Discusses the wiretaps placed on the phone lines of three Edmonton journalists by police. Leak to the reporters of a paper linking a police commissioner to organized crime; Views of one such reporter, Janice Johnston; Why the reporters were wiretapped; How police obtain permission to wiretap.

Reports that the livestock industry in Alberta, Canada wants a province-wide code for intensive livestock operations. Groups that pushed for the instituting of a code; Discussion paper circulated by the government; Definition of an intensive livestock operation; Bill being worked on by the government.

Looks at the attempted robbery of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada by two teenagers. The weapon being a box of tissue paper; Description of the teenagers attempting to rob the bank; How they were caught by police; Comments from Kelly Gordon, Edmonton police spokesman.

Informs that the `Edmonton Sun' newspaper of Edmonton, Alberta bailed out Marilyn Tan, the woman accused of stabbing Edmonton photographer Con Boland, and then was granted an exclusive interview with her. Boland's lashing out at the paper because of this; Response of `Sun' editor Paul Stanway to Boland's remarks.

Discusses a proposal released in a discussion paper in August 1996 that tradesmen in Alberta inspect their own work and insure themselves against liability. Concern by private home inspector Moe Madsen, owner of Madsen Technical Services Inc., of substandard construction should the idea of loosening building inspection become policy; The number of Albertans that oppose the privatization of safety code inspections.

Opinion. Calls for a review of fetal status in Canadian criminal law because of news that Albertan women may be able to receive tax-funded partial-birth abortions. Availability of dilation-extraction (D&X) abortions in the United States and in Alberta; Which Criminal Code provisions render illegal certain abortions; About the Morgentaler decision by the Canadian Supreme Court; About the paper `Crimes Against the Fetus,' by the Law Reform Commission.

Considers ownership changes at several Alberta newspapers. Impending sale of Toronto Sun Publishing Corp., the company that runs the `Calgary' and the `Edmonton Suns'; Other ownership changes in May 1996; The fact that the papers that most Albertans read are owned by a few big chains based outside the province; Opinions about the importance and impact of out-of-province ownership.

Describes Alberta Liberal leader Grant Mitchell's policy paper asserting what public health is really about, including personal hygiene, garbage disposal, proper nutrition, proper housing and adequate income.

Relates that Alberta's `Calgary Herald' and the `Edmonton Journal' newspapers, owned by Toronto-based Southam Inc., are cautiously edging their left-leaning editorial policies toward the right. The `Herald' admitting in September 1995 that many readers feel that the paper's editorial views were out of touch with its home community; Job changes for Southam editor and editorial writer Catherine Ford and Linda Goyette; Satya Das; Other changes.

Comments on the artwork of Shelley Ouelett, from Calgary, Alberta, who created an upside-down sculpture of Mount Rundle renedered in 6.075 toilet-paper tubes. Her job as director of Calgary's Stride Gallery; Display of the sculpture at the Nickle Gallery until April 19, 1995.

Announces that in Canada, Alberta Energy Minister Pat Black demands an end to preferential treatment of a provincial regime and suggests the province end its overarching control of electric rates and let competition push down prices across Alberta. Who the current energy regime is governed by; Who Alberta Power serves; What the discussion paper demands.

States former `Edmonton Journal' publisher Donald Babick, Linda Hughes, Tom Barrett and the paper's owner Southam Inc. of Toronto were all found guilty of criminal contempt by Justice Alexander Andrekson of the Court of Queen's Bench. Andrekson ruled that a 1990 front page story graphically describing the heinousness of Albert Stewart's murder of his common law wife interfered with his right to a fair hearing. Courts becoming increasingly severe; Recent bans; Details.

Cites a paper by University of Alberta economist Bev Dahlby (funded by the Association of Alberta Taxpayers) which measured the cost of increased taxation on the Alberta economy specifically. How tax revenues create a disincentive to work; Tax rates (federal and provincial) on Albertans; Overall economic cost of raising additional revenue; Difficulties in justifying public expenditures through a surtax; Sales tax least equitable; How sales taxes distort the economy; Details.

Describes the social studies program at Eckville High School, `Democracy in Action,' which last year successfully campaigned against the school's use of bleached paper. This year, the 10th grade class decided to lobby the school board for a condom machine in the school. Last week the Lacombe County School Board rejected their request. Reasons for the rejection; What the students learned; Criticism of training in special interest group lobbying.

Discusses the efforts of Willson Stationers Ltd., the last Canadian-owned stationery chain, to compete with foreign-owned businesses like Corporate Express. Comments from Douglas Lawson, president of the company; How Lawson became president; What he plans to offer to customers as an attraction away from stores like Staples and Office Depot; Outlook.