OPINION Castlégar News PAGE A4, SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1991 MEMBER OF THE B.C, PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 THE MID-WEEK 1”, LV. CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 15, 1973 PUBLISHER — Burt Campbell EDITOR — Simon Birch 4 PLANT FOREMAN — Peter Harvey ADVERTISING MANAGER — Wayne Stolz OFFICE MANAGER — Linda Kositsin CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadiey it 27, 1980 EDITORIAL Celebration not outrageous The abuse of alcohol, especially among teenagers, should never be condoned and efforts to ag in the of alcohol must continue. But last week there was a bad dose of misplaced outrage by some people over the fact that players on Canada’s junior hockey team quaffed a few beers and sipped some champagne in the wns room following their victory over the Soviet Union which gold medal for the Canadians. Cries that the televised scene in the dressing room will harm ef- forts at discouraging alcohol (and other drug) use among teenagers and sets a.double pancary | is absolute nonsense. g ee Most enough to the dif- ference between the once-in-a-lifetime celebration and alcohol abuse. In addition, the players on the team were hardly babes. There were 14 players age 19, five 18-year-olds and three 17-year- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Support sought Carol Gran, in her message from olds on the team which played the tournament in where the legal drinking age is 19. So there were eight players who legally shouldn’t have taken a drink. . Nevertheless, keep in mind that these were young men who had just won a gold medal for their country in a sport they love, a feat many will never match in magnitude for the rest of their lives, and were caught up in a mood of exuberance. So it’s difficult to com- prehend the intolerance of people like Wayne Hindmarsh, president of PRIDE Canada (Parent Resources Institute for Drug Education) the minister of government management service printed on the first page of The Municipal Superannuation Plan Booklet (revised 1989) writes: “You, your and g must since April 1982. If the transit operation had not been contracted out we would not have to bring this issue to the bargaining table at this time. This money would have ensured that we could look forward to a sustainable retirement. Instead we are looking at having to take job action to that we do not have to live in poverty work together to provide the right degree of financial independence only you can define: The British Columbia government and your employer Strive to provide municipal, hospital and other who said he is ‘‘totally disgusted’’ because the players some beer and champagne in the dressing room to celebrate the win. It’s true that the abuse of alcohol and drugs causes terrible problems and tragedies in our society. But reacting with disgust over a group of young hockey players celebrating the biggest victory of their lives with a beer or two or a few gulps of champagne is absurd. Educating young people about the sensible use of alcohol can and should take into account how to handle drinking in such a situation. Calling it disgusting doesn’t seem a sensible approach. But no doubt people like Mr. Hindmarsh will get their way en covered emp! with benefits that will be sufficient, when combined with payments from other government plans; to enable you to retire in comfort. With your own savings supplementing these sources of income we trust you can look forward to realizing some dreams; to having your later years be your best."” When the transit operation in Trail was privatized in 1982, the employees were no longer covered by the Pension (Municipal) Act asa of being d out. an official with the Canadi Amat Hockey A already said the incid houldn’t have d and that a pe change is in the works. So instead of allowing the winning junior team to have an open and honest celebration which could set an example of sensible moderation, there'll be a ban on alcohol in the dressing room and the beer consumption will be relegated to a back alley behind the rink. It was not until the last round of bargaining that concluded in 1988 did the workers win the right to an RRSP in their names which came out of their wage increases for that year. The refused to anything to our future. One of the primary goals in this round of negotiations is to match the benefits that workers VIEWPOINT Wilson's tenure ‘wasted years’ By TERRY O’SHAUGHNESSY The question of fiscal management has not been properly addressed by Michael Wilson and his colleagues, let alone answered. There is little evidence this trend will change when Wilson brings down his new budget for 1991, assuming he’s still the minister of finance at that time. In a hard-hitting, pre-budget sub- mission to the federal government, the~ Canadian Federation of In- dependent Business called Wilson's y and regional districts are entitled to. This would be similar to the pension which we would have possessed, had the system not been privatized. Our employer and B.C. Transit wishes to make us look greedy in the eyes of the public by showing what a large difference there is between, what we need and what they wish us to have. Dennis Stach wants his employees to accept a wage package that does not cover inflation (unless it comes out of the five per cent per year that he has offered us, which is less than the projected rate of inflation). Under the Pension Act the average transit employee in Trail and Castlegar would when our working time is over. The of the transit in Trail and Castlegar are asking the people to whom we provide transportation and the general public as well to show their support for these hard-working citizens. Wes Hughes Secretary CUPE Local 2087 Feeling powerless The following letter to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was placed as an ad in the Globe and Mail on Jan. 11. It was signed by a wide variety of Canadian organizations and individuals from across the country. We urge readers of the Castlegar News to clip this letter, copy it out or write your own and send it today to the Prime Minister, c/o The House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, KIA 0A6. Many of us are feeling powerless and rather hopeless about the current situation in the Gulf. If each of us does something to urge our serene * Casualties could number in the hundreds of thousands. Half of the dead would be civilian — and many would be children. Canadian soldiers will be among them. © This war will not be short, nor will it remain limited, It will likely engulf the entire Middle East in bloody, protracted struggle. © With 1,000 nuclear weapons and a large array of chemical and biological arms in the Gulf, weapons of mass destruction could be used. © There could be major and irreversable environmental damage caused by burning of oil fields, destruction of nuclear generating stations and nuclear-powered warships. Prime Minister Mulroney: How can you justify such risks? We demand that you commit Canada to do everything possible to stop a war in the Gulf. We urge you to push for negotiations toward a peaceful solution to the crisis. And we insist that you use Canada’s influence at the United Nations to convince the Security Council to renounce the use of offensive military force on or after the Jan. 15 deadline. As Canadians we have had an international —reputation in the past for working for peace. At this crucial time, we plead with you to put forward an independent Canadian foreign policy for peacemaking in this crisis. A peaceful solution can and must be found. towards taking a more active role in negotiated settlement, that inertia will be token and we’ll be doing something toward creating a better world to pass on to our children. Sending a letter, attending Sunday’s prayer vigil at the Castlegar United Church at 2 p.m. or just talking with a friend are all positive actions that would be helpful steps to moving Canada to the role of peacemaker in this troubled situation. Ann Godderis For the Castlegar Peace Group Dear Prime Minister Mulroney: We as C: i are horrified by the growing about $1,800 per year out of his or her wages and the employer would contribute an amount based on the formula set out in the act. All together it would cost the employer, the regional district and B.C. Transit about 6.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent per employee per year. That is part of the money that B.C. Transit has saved possibility of war in the Gulf. We urge you to reverse your policy now and work to find a peaceful solution to this crisis. We condemn Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, but responding with brute force cannot right that wrong — it only threatens more lives. If war starts it will become a Please address all letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor, Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at 197 Columbia Ave. in Castlegar. 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 without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name, address and telephone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor: . The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. tenure—as- finance minister “‘six wasted years,”’ pointing out that Canada’s small- and medium-sized business community is currently sad- died with the worst set of economic liabilities in years. As the submission notes: ‘‘Even in the recession of 1981-82, the outlook was not as con- sistently negative as it is today.”” CFIB President John Bulloch ex- plains: “Small business confidence is dropping every day in this country,”’ he says. ‘‘The root of this lack of confidence is the belief that many of the most burdensome elements of the current recession — high interest rates, an overwhelming national debt, an overvalued exchange rate — are self-inflicted. Small firms correc- tly perceive the federal government to be the architect of its own fiscal misfortune. But now all Canadians must pay.” Bullock points out that in such a fiscally constrained environment it is clear that policy focus must be direc- ted at measures that are both effec- tive in countering some of the impac- ts of the current economic environ- ment and inexpensive to administer. “Small business owners Canadians in general have lost con- MICHAEL WILSON +++ Management questioned control and deficit reduction plan. “Otherwise, Canadians will have as much confidence in the upcoming budget’s forecasts for revenue and expenditures as they have had in the forecasts of past budgets: that is, zero.” Bulloch further recommends revision of the Bankruptcy Act to ease the burden faced by the rapidly increasing number of business Labor leaders worry about deal Editor’s note: The United States, Mexico Cc have had preliminary talks on a North American free-trade deal. Formal may begin this it, young Mexican and a blue smock, workbench, deftly twisting a tangle of colored wires. Maria doesn’t speak, doesn’t smile, doesn’t look up. She just con- tinues nimbly assembling electrical components for refrigerators at the tidy Whirlpool Corp. factory in Reynosa, a bustling border city in northeast Mexico. Maria earns the equivalent, of about 65 cents an hour doing low- skilled work that used to be done in the United States for more than $7 an hour. At the end of the day, she’ll ANALYSIS from reality. But the United States is there would be a large-scale loss of investment and jobs to low-wage Mexico, union officials believe. “Free trade with Mexico will reduce real wages for workers in Canada,"” warns Bruce Campbell, senior economist with the Canadian Labor Congress. Advocates of the deal, however, argue that Mexican assembly plants preserve the “‘high-end”’ jobs of skilled workers in Canada and the United States, jobs that might otherwise go overseas to Hong Kong or South Korea. U.S. President George Bush and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari have promised to negotiate a¥ trade deal by 1992 that would eliminate tariffs and other as long ai they continue to support free-market reforms. The catalyst for the trend is Mexico, which has transformed itself from one of the world’s most protec- ted economies to one of the most open with a dose of privatization, i y Mexico sees free trade as a way to equally with Mexico and the United States for new- job-creating invest- ments. “A continental free-trade deal opens up new opportunities for Canadian exporters in sectors of the economy where we ares strong, such as resources and telecom- munications,” says Derek Burney, Canada’s ambassador to the United States. “It’s also a very healthy counter to @ very unhealthy international trading ’ after the collapse of the GATT talks, he says. Carsten Westphal, an executive with Toronto's Spar Aerospace Ltd., cal barriers between their two coun- BREAKING RECORDS Five years ago this week, Jim Richards of warm It was. High temperatu of around §C hevcta or tied records for Jan. 10 and 11. Cosews tile photo i 4 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 11, 1951 Castle News The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. announced recently that at a cost of over $3,000,000 it will add another 70 tons to the present 425-ton daily output of zinc from its plants at Trail, B.C. The new project is expec- ted to provide permanent em- ployment for about 50 men and will be completed in about two years. The expansion is being made to han- dle the increasing tonnage of zinc concentrates from B.C. customs shippers and also the concentrates which will be coming from the Bluebell and other Cominco Proper- 15 YEARS AGO From Jan. 15, 1976 News A highway parking bylaw, which in one section calls for the prohibition of parking on the east side of Columbia Avenue between Maple Street and Pine Street, received second reading at Tuesday night’s council meeting. Extensive discussion preceded the passing of the second reading with tations, which described the impact of on West Koot Labor Relations Board for relief if the pi i i at its facilities residents and suggested changes to the UIC Act. . . More than 100 B.C. Tel employees in Castlegar, Trail and Nelson were off the job Friday when they refused to cross the picket lines set up by striking Shaw Cable workers. However, a B.C. Tel spokesman said the company will apply to the this week. * 8 Slocan Forest Products has no plans to burn wood waste con- taminated with a highly toxic wood preservative at its Slocan sawmill. “The rumor is totally false,” assistant accountant Diane Smith said in a telephone interview Friday from Slocan. Ald. Andy Shutek a negative vote on the section which prohibits parking from the Klothes Kloset to Castlegar Drugs (Maple Street to Pine Street). #08) Se A ion will be sent to Vic- for . . 8 The ular meeting of the Castlegar Village Commissioners was held at the Village offices on Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. with Commissioner J. Dunlop in the chair. Those present included Com- Jenks, Mr. R.A.D. West and Mr. L. Campbell. 25 YEARS AGO From Jan. 13, 1966 News Minister of Mines Don Brothers told the Castlegar News yesterday af- ternoon that one of the ferries across the Columbia River will not be with- drawn from service on Saturday after all. His telephone call conveying the news came as the climax to a day of anxiety and speculation in the district. Petitions were being signed and messages sent off asking for the second ferry to be retained. . e A government-supervised _ strike vote of hourly rated employees in the Celgar pulp division here will be conducted tomorrow at the mill by returning officer R.S. Raguin, an of- ficial of the department of labor at Kelowna. The strike vote was requested by Local No. 1 of the Pulp and Paper Workers of Canada while the com- pany requested that it be government Merchants of Castleaird Plaza this week decided to defy a department of highways order that they close a temporary entrance into the shop- ping centre. . A $2,200 contribution towards meeting the cost of Castlegar’s snow- clearing bill has been made by the Foundation Dravo Co., Mayor R.C. Maddocks announced Tuesday. WE'll HELP YOU KEEP YOUR RESOLUTION! See ~~ naan yl nicaiypecnctoced designed a Flohe your Geaceapate toria ‘‘as soon as possible’ by Regional District of Central Kootenay directors who want to discuss local problems with the new Social Credit government. Director Al Dawson, author of the motion made at Saturday’s inaugural meeting of the year, said in later that as a body, the regional district ‘‘had been at the back of the hall."’ But with the change in government, ‘‘we’re going to try to get first in line.” 5S YEARS AGO From Jan. 12, 1986 Castlegar News There were new and innovative Proposals along with old familiar ones among the 13 formal sub- missions Thursday at the Com- mission of INquiry on Unem- ployment Insurance held in Castlegar. About 75 people — most of them unemployed — heard the presen- é “Real SE's ta te WITH BARRY.BROWN GST LOOMS BEHIND CONFUSED HOUSE MARKET On Jonvary 1. implemented 1 ‘cent tax on the sale of aaa is and services in Canada. The G.S.T. is replacing the outdated federal sales tax in fect since 1924. 1991 the government the G.S. In regards to real estate, the effect ot the G.S.T. dependa on what. type home you purchase. The existing homes, including. single be semi-detached homes, row houses and condomiuniums, will not be sub- ject to the 7 per cent G.S.T However, some services associated with buying o ome, such as those of lawyers, oppraisers ond real WF THERE IS ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP YOU IN THE FIELD OF REAL ESTATE, PLEASE CALL O8 DROP IN AT. NATIONAL REAL ESTATE SERVICE INS estate agents, will be taxable in 1991 oy The sale of new homes, and of homes substantially | renovated through major, com) sive struc: tural changes, will Bo sot subject to the G.S.T. However, depending on the price of the residence, G.S.T rebates will be available Homes purchased for under $390,000 will rec te equal to 36 per Cent of the G.8.T. paid. For more information call me at 365- 2111 oF call the G.S.T. information line at 1-800-267-6620. FIREFLY SALE See a Kal 5 O/m oye | Today! y Saves Pr KALAWSIKY. FRESH PORK SALE PORK . BUTT ROAST aes PORK LOIN Roast. Whole or Halves. Bone-in. gd? Se here © DELI FAVORITES HAM 419 TURKEY 1 99 Breast. Sliced or Shaved ...... SEEDLESS CRAFT Imported Red Flame $3.29 kg. 449 crery ~ 55 e IN-STORE BAKERY FRESH @ APPLE PIES 5 500 1 59 LAUNDRY DETERGENT -+--100G ORANGE JUICE ™» Scotch Buy Frozen ¢ 341 mL 99 ABC I0L. Each 5s6s LUCERNE YOGOURT Assorted Flavors Regular or Diet * 175 G. a 178 J Advertised Prices in Effect Saterday, Sunday, Jan. 13 through Mon. to Wed. & Set. Thursday & Friday %e.m. tod p.m. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. BATHROOM TISSUE Delsey * 12 Roll © Limit 1 Over Limit Price $4.88 44s , Jan. 197/°9T Sundey 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. We reserve the right to limit sales to reteil quantities. PONTIAC BUICK GPC (1989) LTD. ——-THE KING OF CARS—— 1700 Columbie Ave., Castlegar Genengpadiiisasisiiien ttle 365-2155 Collect fidence in the government's ability to manage its own affairs, let alone manage the country. As a first step SAFEWAY TRAIL, FRUITVALE, CUSTOMERS ROSSLAND CALL 364-0213 i Se area