‘mAG AThe News “= Dave McCullough Publisher Simon Birch Editor Peter Harvey Plant Foreman Mark Davis Advertising Manager Warren Chernoff Accountant Heather Hadiey Circulation Manager Burt Campbell Publisher Emeritus L.V. Campbell ‘Aug. 7, 1947 Feb. 15, 1973 Wednesday, October 9, 1991 OurWiEWS Grit scores points 4e"'B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Wilson may have won his party a couple more seats in the Oct. 17 election with his performance during last night’s televised debate. At the very least, Mr. Wilson has raised his public profile with a sincere and sometimes angry appeal to B.C. voters to end decades of polarization in this province’s politics, while at the same time clearly stating, in the brief time allowed during the debate, some of his party’s policies on the economy and the Constitution. As for the other two leaders, Mike Harcourt of the NDP and Rita Johnston of Social Credit, their performances during the debate was at times frustrating and annoying. Mrs. Johnston’s rejection of Mr. Harcourt’s initial offer and handshake to keep the debate clean and instead take the low road, constantly interrupting him while he was trying to make a point, was especially disappointing. Her repeated attempts to turn the tables by painting the NDP as the party most lacking in ethics and honesty rang false in light of the Social Credit party’s scandals during the last five years. Mrs. Johnston came across as a leader down and almost out, trying desperately to score points with the voters in whatever way she can, much like a beaten boxer throwing wild punches in the hope one of them connects. But, to continue the boxing analogy, Mr. Harcourt’s strategy of dancing around some key questions, especially on the NDP’s economic policies, has to leave some questions in the minds of voters. Even though the NDP laid out its economic platform early in the campaign, Mr. Harcourt would have made a better impression last night by being less evasive about the party’s economic goals. And his bickering with Mrs. Johnston only reinforces the viewpoints of those voters who have low opinions of both leaders. It won't, of course, swing enough votes to the Liberals for them to form the next J government. Nevertheless, Mr. Wilson* must be smiling today. = getty acter ge) Letter toTHE EDITOR Order take out service on Oct. 17 The inspiring slogan “Howard Dirks Deliv- ers” must be a relapse into the old days when The Socred mind-set just does not under- stand the basic meaning of “sustainable” or “enviroriment.” The party lives on a profit-" planet called “Free Enterprise at All Costs” where there is no need for clean air, water or soil but and cannot be In the recent conflict between water and ¢ i A in- by instead of d sellout to big business and special treats for Socred cronies. P versus terests, Dirks was noticeably absent but now he has the audacity to claim that he values ild: areas. Ci ionate and caring people who stand up to protect their water are called environmental terrorists. How does Mr. Dirks decide every morning which face to put on for the day? Please, only one more “take-out service” and that is to be delivered to Mr. Dirks and his kind on Oct. 17. Gunter Retterath Filing for bankruptcy not the best way out ere do they find these guys? Here the Socreds are fighting for the very survival of their party and the on- ly candidate they could come up with in West Vancouver-Garibal- di is a chap who went bankrupt four years ago. Rodney Glynn-Morris had debts of more than $250,000, in: |’ cluding $96,000 in unpaid taxol when he filed for bankruptcy in in Au- asa didate. The money would be either in cash or funds in trust so he could buy anoth i ria’s daily newspaper because-I couldn't see myself working for the P to replace the one he sold last sum- Th chain which had bought the Daily Colonist and the Victo- mer to seek election. temptation of an easy 125 grand, of the real admi- ria Times and promptly merged There are, of course, all sorts of the two papers into one. theories about this weird incident in a weird campaign. One says the pro-lifers wanted him out of the way. Another has it that Rodney _liever in not working for a compa- It meant leaving behind a very well-paid job with security coming out of my ears, but I'm a strong be- ny I don't respect. And [had foolproof plan for the entirely new method to get out from under debt. Folks get caught in a financial squeeze, see no way to serve his fel- out and file for bankruptcy. Hap- pens all the time, and not only to Happened nasty to John recession. the employ of Victo- day; October 9, 1991 kThe News .| the point that as far as this lecti Letters towHE EDITOR Independents lack clout particular attention to Some say Chris D’Arcy has done a good job over the years as an MLA. Others, quite often awith a stronger and louder voice, say he has not done a good job. I choose not to comment on that issue one way or another. What I would rather comment on is what I call “raw politics.” We, as citizens of Rosg- land-Trail, have not had an MLA sitting on the government side of the house since Dave Barrett’s NDP tt was defeated in 1975. Both major political parties in Ross- land-Trail have worked diligently over the years to win the election in Rossland-Trail With an independent MLA, who would he talk to? He could raise the issue with the gov- ernment, but he sure wouldn't be in any gov- ernment caucus or i deali Reasons to vote Never was the distance, factual and moral, that are with the issue. He sure wouldn't be invited to any official opposition meetings that are deal- ing with the issue. At best, he may be able to talk to Jack Kempf if he wins the election or he could possibly mull it over with himself. Some say that an independent could cross the floor to the NDP or Social Credit if it was felt that would be beneficial to Rossland- ‘Trail. First of all, an independent would have © to be invited and you can be sure Mike Har- court would have a very difficult time i the p ier of the Socred Party and the facts better demonstrated than in Rita Johnston’s latest diatribe against citizens forced into civil disobedience. All over the province, citizens of every walk of life and age have had to protest, through ac- tion, unfair, industry-dominated logging poli- cies. Consider her words: “British Columbians will not be held hostage to environmental ter- rorism and those who choose to disobey the law cnn expect sg Apion from me.” Mr. D’Arcy after this fiasco. More letters, page B4 while at the same time hoping their party wins a majority of seats and forms the gov- ernment. Those of us in the NDP have been ful in electing our candidate in Ross- land-Trail while those in support of the Socre- ds have been successful in forming the gov- ernment since 1975. I don't think too many. people will argue ion goes, it Secondly, when you have a campaign com- mittee back home, as Mr. D’Arcy has, made up of Liberals, Socreds, federal conservatives and yes, even some NDP supporters, who do you turn your back on at home? ‘Those who are sup ing Mr. D’Arcy, should carefully consider what they are doing looks like the NDP will form the next govern- ment, or at least at this particular time have an excellent chance. We now have an opportunity to select an MLA who will sit on the government side of the house and with the work and effort Ed Conroy has put in as a candidate it is clear we will have an enthusiastic and commit MLA. I recognize that there are some in this community who cannot and will not support an NDP candidate even with a moderate leader like Mike Harcourt, even when it is clear he will be the next premier. As misguid- ed as that may seem to me, it is their choice and decision and they have the right to make we asa should not de- stroy the best fighting chance we have had in years. In B.C. you need to be on the govern- ment side or at the very least on the side of the political party recognized by the govern- agi t the actual truth: elderly people, businessmen and wom- en, housewives, laborers, environmentalists, teenagers, many in tears, anguished because grossly wrong invasionary and exploitative log- ging policies have forced them to disobey court orders. The RCMP officers themselves, moved by the pain exp’ d by these citi han- dled these “terrorists” with a grave, kindly con- cern. And the judge in the Hasty Creek hearing stated that he had read the huge stack of doc- ts which repr d the participation of the residents at Hasty Creek and appreciated the fact they had exhausted the process. These people are variously endeavoring to protect their watersheds, their scenic heritage, their last remaining stands of old growth, sup- ported by a deluge of reports | corroborating the ment or more importantly, d by the citizens of this province. Ron Schmidt Castlegar Active MLA needed If there is one urgent item on the agenda for this coming incial election, it is to fi- nally get an MLA who can be a strong advo- cate for this riding. afan fn Biuaat their decision. My politics may seem ed to them as well for all I know. But why un deneneeety Our system of 3 than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of g not and has not been accessi- ble to an independent MLA. It doesn't matter ifhe is hard working or not. For example, one of the things that is on most people's minds these days is the water licence fee at Comin- co. Cominco claims it desperately needs the water licence fees reduced. Naturally, the company would approach its MLA and ask for assistance in its bid to reduce those fees. If that MLA sits on the government side of the house, then Cominco would have the ear of the government. If that MLA sits in opposi- tion, the company would at least have the strength of the opposition to get its point across, The same goes for a business is- sue or an environmental issue or a labor is- sue. in d-Trail are seriously behind other West Kootenay communities in community and social services. This disparity cannot be explained simply because we have been represented by an opposition MLA. Other Kootenay communities have had more services for years despite having an op ition MLA, and the question needs to be asked, will our representative see that we achieve parity with them? We pay taxes like other residents of B.C. and we should not receive fewer serxices. In my opinion, Chris D’Arcy failed to do the job. Ed Conroy, on the other hand, was vocal and active well before he ran for the NDP nomination. Let’s bring in someone who doesn’t take our votes for granted. Patricia Lakes Castlegar 5 for- est policies of the Socred government. Of these reports, Premier Johnston takes no notice, though they stem in part from her own gov- ernment ministries, from the B.C. govern- ment’s specially formed commission headed by Sandy Peel, and from experts in the field and universities. te Johnston strikes out at “environmental ter- rorism” while these local residents are led away to be booked, photographed and finger- printed, having hidden her exploitative indus- try-dominated forest policies behind the facade of a court order. She refers to all of this as breaking the law, but what the Socreds have really done is hide their misbegotten policies behind legal proceedings which are narrowly’ constrained to only determine whether the pro- cess by which the logging company is allowed to build roads into a watershed or log there is legal. Among the outrages the Socred govern- ment has perpetrated on the people of this province, this is the one which best reveals their veniality, showing their capacity to cor- rupt the truth into our faces in a way that even the indifferent or apathetic can’t ignore. If ev- er in history there was a reason to vote, this is the election. Richard Caniell New Denver Beyer continued from page A6 And that’s what I wanted to be- come, before I decided to emigrate to Canada where I proceeded to become a laborer on the Trans- Canada pipeline, then a f to 24 per cent, it didn’t take too long for the debts to pile up and the bank to get mean. When the dust had settled, my wife and I had lost the works. a taxi driver in Winnipeg and, af- ter a dozen or so other jobs, a stu- dent and, finally, a j i Coming full circle after all these years, I jumped head-first into the Life’s gone, our own home foreclosed on, even the car was picked up by a sheriff, and $100,000 in unpaid debt hanging necks. little problem with ethics, I said. couldn't and wouldn't take a lot of ng little guys down with me, I "To make a long story short, len- listed the help of the provincial debt-counselling service, which set up a schedule of It took that warm feeling of pride in our stalwart Rodney, you should re- us three years to pay off every pen- ny, but we did it. After that, it didn't take us very long to get back on our feet. All of which, I suppose, would probably bar me from ever run- ning for political office. Nothing like a bankruptcy to qualify you for elected office. Meanwhile, here’s o]d Rodney, beaming into cameras, extolling his own virtue as a man who did the right thing. No bribery for Rod~ ney. No sir. But before you get carried by ber that you're going to pay for part of the $96,000 in unpaid taxes from which the court gave Rodney such welcome relief, be- cause that amount was simply packed on top of the national deficit. One wonders whether Rodney office. Like f said, where do they finc these guys?