t ' i 7 ¥ } k f S pF nal AD Saturday, Séptemnber 26, 1992 m PAGE | InNtON Dave McCullough Publisher Scott David OurViEWS Taking a right turn he New Democrat Party appears to heading in the ‘right’ direction. Once the protector of the little guy, recent examples indicate that our government has adopted a new approach to provincial politics. First. there was Cassiar, the province’s newest ghost town. Instead of bailing out a money-losing mine and secure jobs for an entire community, the NDP decided to turn its head on a financial disaster leaving the little guy to fend for himself. Sure the government offered some financial assistance but that hardly translates into the high- paying, full-time jobs that have been lost forever. Second, the NDP failed to live up to its commitment to change the province’s labor code as it relates to secondary pickets by unions. This continues to be a sore spot with the many unions that helped elect our New Democrat leaders. The little guy hasn’t been the only one to face the frugal-hand of this government, however. The New Democrat government turned its nose up at B.C.’s doctors, capping the Medical Services Budget much to the chagrin of outraged physicians. And even Tuesday, Trail’s financially reeling Cominco operation was told that it would receive no special favors from this province. The NDP is clearly steering the province in a new direction. It’s just strange to see a once-proud socialist party taking so many right turns. Streef TALK OF COURSE, YOU GOULD ALWAYS LOOK AT YOUR |NVESTINENT AS GAINFUL BRK S Difficult challenge awaits Canad Vm finding this constitutional referendum a conundrum. And judging by again most Quebecois — want this country to stay together. the latest opinion polls, I’m not alone. As many as one-quarter of the voters in this province still haven’t made up their minds about the biggest question we have yet to face at the ballot box. And instead of getting any clearer the closer we get to the Oct. 26 voting day, the question is in fact becoming Comments from the Crossroads cloudier. On the surface, it all So favoring the yes side was as natural as a child hugging its mother — regardless of what the accord actually contained. But a hug is purely emotional, and the more time I had to analyze the accord, the less emotional I was. Let’s make one thing clear: I want a Canada with Quebec in it. That’s the only kind of Canada looks so simple. A “yes” or “no” is all it takes. But it’s the consequences of that “yes” or “no” that make this vote so very difficult. When the Charlottetown Accord was first made public I was leaning toward the yes side. In fact, I would guess that’s how the majority of Canadians — and that includes the majority of Quebecois — were leaning. I believe that most Canadians — and I’ve known and it’s the only kind I can envision. But I also have to ask myself at what price do we keep Quebec? With the Charlottetown Accord, we are laying the foundation for a new national structure. Now, with any structure, the foundation must be level. If not it will collapse. please see NORMAN page 7 Question: What changes would you like to see as part of the downtown revitalization? Toby Ward Thrums “Reconstruct the sidewalks. A flora and fauna scheme.” Carlos Amaral Castlegar “The streets repaved or repaired.” George Hansen Castlegar “Do something different with Kinsmen Park.” Jackie Jackson Genelle “More parking space. There’s just no place to park.” Don Lust Pass Creek “More greenery. Places to sit and talk to other people.” @ Saturday; September.26, 1992 - OtherVIEWS : Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. ViN 3H4 or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a 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 residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. Letters ‘toWHE EDITOR Socreds must return I'm still trying to decide whether to appeal the rescinding of my Social Credit Party mem- bein, Part of me just wants to forget the rotten political scene, but part of me remembers the great party we had and all the good things that were accomplished under it’s banner, not to mention the many good people that still are mem- bers. Many people are puzzled about why the party went down with such a staggering defeat when in actuality a good job had been done for the people. (Of course some people are on- ly now becoming aware of just how good it was.) I believe the death knell was sounded when our party started looking more towards getting votes than it did towards doing what was right, coupled with the traitorous acts of those who con- tinued to seek power and person- al glory with their malicious, well- orchestrated campaign against the former premier. Bill Vander Zalm was for the people and big money couldn't con- trol him. They wanted him out and would use any diabolical scheme to do it. The momentum grew so strong it backfired and though they had managed to accomplish their goal of getting rid of Bill Vander Zalm, the overkill carried on right into the last election causing total de- feat. The party’s shame is for not standing behind the good ‘practic- ing’ Christian leader we elected and it reached an all time low when certain people within the party were allowed to. continue manipulating even to the point of having our Christian principals removed. T believe that when we allowed that to be taken from the party for political reasons God’s blessings over the party went along with it. As Jesus said in Luke 11:17 “Any Kingdom divided against it- self will be ruined and a house di- vided against itself will fall.” To bring our party back to what it should be we have to put our Christian principals back in place, and then to always remember how important it is to keep putting those principals into practice. James 2:17 “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompa- nied by action, is dead.” We can start by standing to- gether and insisting that ‘our leader’ and the best premier B.C. ever had be compensated for the fi- nancial and personal losses suf- = at the hands of the unscrupu- lous. to Christian faith We have to stand up and fight for what is right in these matters in order to give our party another chance We must stand behind good leaders when we get them. If we don’t we only get what we deserve. Bill Vander Zalm has reached out to help so many... isn’t it time to reciprocate and show him how much we care? He didn’t do wrong and he doesn’t deserve the terrible treat- ment he got. He deserves to have his good name totally restored. Please tell me your thoughts on all of this. I would like to hear from other present or former Socreds too. We can win if we take command to get right again and stand strong with God’s love uniting us. Iris Bakken Salmo Thanks for showing an interest in our heritage On behalf of the Castlegar and District Heritage Society, I would like to thank The News’ Corinne Jackson for taking time to attend our fall windup at the CP Rail Station Museum last Saturday. Close to 200 people enjoyed the bake table offerings of Leonard and Doreen Howe, and member and non-member contributions, and the other tables on the station platform. The folk songs of well- known musicians Joe Irving and Skip Fraser added a festive note throughout the afternoon. Many people toured the museum and had a first viewing ofthe exquisite curtains specially woven for the stationmaster’s quarters upstairs by the Selkirk Weavers and hung in a presentation that morning. Stories and memories of the old days when trains and train travel dominated that area of downtown were exchanged and videos of The Castlegar Story produced by Lorraine Pazsty and The Minto and others were kept running all day. It was a great success and we thank all those who worked so hard. Staff contracts here and at Zuckerberg Island Chapel House and Park finish in mid-October but we are working toward keeping the museum open if at all possible. To this end we are offering a series of painting classes with Allen Woodrow and other events using the museum building which is so handy to the downtown area. Public support and suggestions for workshops, events, possibly meetings or coffee parties to build our museum collections are all being considered. Please give us a call at 365-6440 or drop in at the museum. Don’t forget the special general membership meeting Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m., C.P. Rail Station Museum downtown. Carolee Fitz-Gerald, Secretary, Board of Directors Royalt better During the Labor Day Weekend my family and I were full of enthusiasm as we watthed a parade in the little town of Northport, Wash. Amid a mixture of Americans and Canadians we were all ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the various ese rves entries that paraded before us. That is, until the Castlegar Royalty was driven in front of us in what I called an embarrassing display. Picture this: All the Royalty were paraded in beautiful gowns atop gorgeous floats with their their home town. home town displayed prominently on the float. Castlegar drifted by sitting in the back of a pickup truck, gowns not visible and only a sash reading I give the girls credit for smiling when I’m sure inside they were mortified. It makes one wonder if the city only found out about the parade that morning. We were told that a truck or driver could not be found to haul our float. I wonder how hard an effort was put into it. Elaine Whitehead Castlegar Norman continued from page 6 Not perhaps in the first few years, over time. Is this new constitutional agreement level? Is everyone ever treated fairly? I don’t think so. For example, the new constitution will guarantee Quebec 25 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons forever and ever — even if its proportion of the country’s population shrinks. Don’t get. me wrong. I don’t care if it’s Quebec or Ontario or Newfoundland. The idea that one partner in a relationship should receive preferential treatment goes against the principle of equality. It’s one thing for Quebec to seek more independence, to have more control over its own affairs; it is quite another to seek a disproportionate share of Canada’s power and to have a disproportionate’ say over affairs that affect us all. I also have problems with the sections dealing with aboriginal self-government — not with the idea of self-government itself. I wholeheartedly agree that our aboriginal people should have control over their own destiny; make their own decisions without Ottawa’s heavy hand. But I don’t agree that aboriginal people shouldn’t be subject to the same laws under the Canadian Charter of Rights as the rest of us. By now, you’re probably thinking: “Norman is going to vote ‘no’ on Oct. 26.” You’d be wrong. I don’t know how I'm going to vote yet. Oh sure, I have some problems with the new constitution, but I also have some problems if it doesn’t go through. For instance, I haven’t heard anyone tell me how things will be any better if the constitution is defeated. Anyone who tells you they will work for another constitutional deal is crazy. The idea is so laughable it isn’t even funny. Does anyone really believe that Quebec would return to the bargaining table for another round of discussions if this accord fails? Make no mistake: this is it. With that prospect, what I am faced with on Oct. 26 is if I can live with a flawed constitution or not. If not, then I could be saying goodbye to Canada with Quebec as an integral partner. I told you this constitutional referendum is a conundrum.