‘Castlégar News PAGE A4, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1991 MEMBER OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 THE MIO-WEEK ISHED IBER 12, 1978-AUGUST 27, 1980 L.V. CAMPBELL ~ PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 15, 1979 BURT CAMPBELL, PUBLISHER EMERITUS - PUBLISHER, FEBRUARY 16, 1973-MAY 1, 1901 PUBLISHER -Dave McCullough Poi CIRCULA’ SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE - Gary Fleming Pictared at 197 Cokmbta Aversa, Castoga Castoger News Und ter Caress EDITORIAL Get drugged drivers off the road The decision by B.C.’s police chiefs to seek changes im laws to allow testing of drivers for drugs deserves public support if iron-clad guarantees are included that any such changes won't lead to an infringement of people’s rights. The need for such tests was underlined this week with the release of a report following a year-long study showing that drugs — both prescription and illegal — are present in more than one in four drivers killed in B.C. motor vehicle acci- dents. The report apparently caught a lot of people, by surprise, including B.C. Attorney General Russ Fraser. “If this report happens to be true, then it’s more serious than we would have guessed,” Mr. Fraser said. Indeed, it’s serious enough that police need the power to lessen the odds — one in four as the study suggests — of sober drivers encountering someone behind the wheel impaired by drugs. The problem is, while the current law says it’s illegal to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs, the equipment used to test drivers for alcohol doesn’t pick up drugs. A simple roadside blood-alcohol test doesn’t work. What’s needed to detect drugs is a blood or urine sample. And that’s where the solution to removing drugged drivers from the road enters the realm of civil liberties. “It’s certainly something we have to take a look at but the bigger issue is whether we are infringing on people's rights,” Solicitor General Ivan Messmer said. “It comes down to when someone refuses to allow you to test them.” Likely, if the law is changed, police, as they do in other sit- uations, will have to use good judgment when they suspect a driver is impaired by drugs. And if the new law is carefully applied, there shouldn't be any fear of abuse. “If there’s sufficient evidence to show a driver might be impaired by something other than alcohol we don't see a big problem,” said John Westwood, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. However, Mr. Westwood is correct in suggesting that demands for blood tests should be allowed only when specific criteria are met and that the samples should be drawn only by medical personnel, not police. VIEWPOINT Victory over inflation costly He compares the battle it {attlegar Nom! e LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Couple’s hospitality appreciated Wow! Those are wonderful mountain roads leading into and out of Castlegar. Unfortunately our car succumbed to mountain sickness as we neared the summit of the last big climb and we found ourselves without power at the side of the road. A passing motorist offered to phone the B.C. Automobile Association for us, but more than two hours passed and we accept- ed some practical help from another motorist. The car finally started and we limped into town at 9 p.m. and stopped at the local General Motors service centre. A strolling couple stopped to admire the Mt. St. Helen’s act our car was performing and we stated our intention of looking for a room for the night. The couple owns the Fireside Motor Inn but it was fully booked. However, they took us with them and then they spent a really considerable amount of time trying to find space for us. With hot coffee and true hospitality they saw to our accommodation and we spent a comfortable night. Does Castlegar have a Good Citizen’s Award? We certainly suggest it be given to Ernie and Genevieve Turta for the super public relations job they do for Castlegar. -Maybe some of your other good citizens will simply drop in and tell them their good work is appreciated. iS Marjorie Martin Victoria Canuck publishers By CHARLES LEWIS Ottawa Citizen OTTAWA (CP) — Canadian book pub- lishers are facing one simple problem: sur- vival. They are yelling for help, but they’re not sure anyone is listening. They are sure theyll wither and die if no one is. Even during the best of times, publish- ers walk a tightrope. Theirs is an industry that relies on a tremendous amount of luck — @ great review, a spot on Morningside or Newsworld ... Whatever it takes to excite the public about a new book. However, this isn’t the best of times. Add the GST (the first-ever tax on books) and a deep recession to an already precarious industry, and the tightrope becomes an even thinner, higher, wire. “The book has always been seen as an important symbol of society and culture,” says Ji ine Hushion, i By LARRY WELSH The C. Press The federal government’s high-interest-rate war against inflation appears to be almost won. But victory bears a high price — a severe recession, factories closed for good and almost 1.5 million Canadians who want a job but can’t find one. against inflation to fighting pol- lution by closing down factories. “In essence that’s what we're doing with inflation; we're clos- ing down the economy, creating high unemployment and yes, it works. But my God, at what cost?” Lots of jobless Canadians and billions of dollars spent on Some i believe it may be time to declare a new war, a battle to reduce unem- ployment. John Crow, governor of the Bank of Canada, has pursued a campaign to curb inflation and he seems to be on the verge of winning. The annual inflation rate edged up to 6.3 per cent in June. But that included the impact from introducing the GST in January. Inflation rose at an annual rate of less than three per cent in the April-June period and many economists believe the Bank of Canada will easily reach its target of two per cent inflation by the end of next year. How did the federal govern- ment win the inflation battle? By engineering a year-long recession that devastated Cana- da’s industrial heartland, says Mike McCracken, head of Infor- metrica Ltd., an economic McCracken estimates the unemployment rate could be as low as 4.5 per cent if the govern- ment tried to make sure every Canadian who wanted a decent job could get one. Unemploy- ment was 10.5 per cent in July. If those Canadians were working, they could generate $84 billion in new activity for the sagging economy in just one year, McCracken said. “You want to talk about waste, $84 billion a year is a lot of waste.” Chronic Canadian unemploy- ment stands out like a sore thumb when compared with some of the country’s major industrial competitors. The unemployment rate aver- aged 9.98 per cent in Canada between 1984 and 1987. That compared with 3,6 per cent in Austria, 2.7 per cent in Japan and 2.6 per cent in Sweden dur- director of the Canadian Book Publishers’ Council. “But to the consumer, it is not a necessity. So now you've got a commodity that’s never been taxed competing for a fickle consumer dollar in a tighter economy with all the other entertainment dollars.” During the past year, book sales in Canada have dropped somewhere from 20 to 30 per cent. + A recent federal study showed that the six biggest Canadian publishers — Key Porter, Douglas and MacIntyre, McClelland and Stewart, General (which includes Stoddart), MacMillan, Lester and Orpen Dennys — are collectively operating in the red. And since the report was completed, the industry has lost two publishers of note, Hurtig blisher of the C. ai -ycl pedia) and Lester and Orpen Dennys. There is @ sense of wonder that comes from taking a close look at the Canadian book publishing industry: wondering how anyone survives and wondering why any- one would get into publishing in the first place. Start with the UNESCO gtatistic that Says a country should have a population of more than 30 million people sharing one common language to support a viable pub- lishing industry. “That means we're working from a sub- zero position,” says Hushion. “Right off the top, the demographics of Canada work against us.” face worst of times That’s only the beginning of the handi- cap. Canadians must compete, on their own turf, with the biggest publishing giants from the United States and the United Kingdom. “The issue is not ec a . eign markets as it is to our own domestic markets,” says children’s book editor Rick Wilks. At any one time, he says, the number of Canadian books in a Canadian bookstore is only about 25 per cent of the stock. And what is in Canadian bookstores is really on loan. If a W.H. Smith store Book sales plummet in fight for survival doesn’t sell a single copy of the latest Alice Munro book, they simply return it to the publisher for a full credit. Where country musicians bemoan part- ners who fool around, Canadian publish- ers sing the blues over Canadian book- stores who indulge in buying around. In order to survive on a large scale, Canadian publishers generate revenue by obtaining agency rights from for- eign publishers. McClelland and Stewart might negotiate a deal to be the official distributor for the latest Simon and Schuster book. In theory, this means that Canadian buyers — bookstores, libraries, etc. — will buy that American book from M and S. But Canadian buyers will often go around the Canadian blisher to a U.S. h where prices are cheaper. “The protection of copy- right is really what it’s all about,” says Jack Stoddart, the head of Stoddart pub- lishing. “About $200 million, which is available for business in Canada, is going to the United States through buying around. What we’re saying is that if we __ it’s the worst of times for Canadian \ licence right f for this mar- Cov ket, the ’ : ? market should be says Macfarlane, Walter and Ross publish- er Jan Walter. With shoveis and sculpting tools in hand, amateur architects one and all showed up at Syringa Creek Park afternoon for the ‘Saturday annual Sandcastle buliding contest. Over 300 people took In the festivities as 33 buliders got down to work on a scorching summer ai the beach. Prizes were awarded for the largest and ture, Among the sand creations that dotted the beach were space sasquatch. Prizes for the event were donated by the local Dairy Queen and B.C. Provincial Parks. castles, for y and of design, as well as architec- and the of the y D-sar-D DINING LOUNGE OPEN DAILY AT 4 P.M. * LICENCED * 365-3294 CELGAR, WESTAR & COMINCO MEAL VOUCHERS ACCEPTED Located 1 Mile South of Weigh Scale in Ootischenia PUBLIC NOTICE Temporary Lane Closures Columbia River Bridge The Columbia River Bridge, located in Castlegar on Highway 3, will go a ilitation project ing August 8, 1991. The project will take about a month to complete. OLDS CUTLASS Supreme Classic Raven Black. 305 cu.in. V-8, 61,000 km. Air cond. All power features inc. 6-way : z i Power seat and power sun In order to resurface the bridge deck in a timely, efficient manner, roof. Fully loaded just like temporary lane closures are necessary. Minor delays can be new! expected. Please watch for and obey traffic control devices. See! SSOLAUSIY,, — ene oF cane Ses315 3 Collect . PINATVALE, ROBSLANO customers Cali 364-0313 We will endeavor to keep the number and duration of these delays to a minimum and restore regular traffic flow as soon as possible. © 1-8x10* © 2-5x7's* © 16 Wallets ( 2x1)* 19 Portraits Only $9.99! ROBINSON Special includes one 8x10*, two 5x7's* and 18th Street, Castlegar 16 Wallets (2x1)* on traditional blue back- FRI round only (1 pose). One offer per family. Ri. SAT. Raditional portraits are available. Customer 9 10 satisfaction is guaranteed. $2.00 Sitting Fee 10-5 10-5 rson. * Portrait sizes are approximate. " GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICE ON ADVERTISED OFFER! YES! It's a Super SUMMER SANDAL SALE! 35-50% OFF ALL SUMMER STOCK (Not including consignments of jewellery) = 402 Baker St., Nelson 354-2003 \\ er Ud Upstairs in the Nelson Trading Co. \ ‘Hours: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Friday ‘il 9 p.m. OPEN SUNDAY 12-4 P.M. 44 Shoes Use our Convenient Layayway VISA AND MASTERCARD ACCEPTED Prices as little as ices! [A_No Frills * No Gimmicks ° Low Prices: [J Low Cost Warehouse Operation [4 No Commission Sales Staff No Membership Fee y Volume Dealer - Warehouse Prices Name e Selection of Brand "aere 2 Mattresses at TREMENDOUS SAVINGS! [= eon OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MON - THURS & SAT: 10 am -6 pm Fripay: 10 am - 8 pm ‘SUNDAY: