OPINION Castlegar News Mm LIGHT x4 rf eal ~ , *. ON THEIR PAGE A4, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1990 aN ol, ¥. ang OP ili B\7 é 4 7s FEET MEMBER OF THE 8.C. PRESS COUNCK. —_— - + Local highland dancers ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 THE MID- WEEK 12, home several medals uv. Seen pein peed cone enna 16, 1073 : - provincial High — Burt Camp! yy / : EDITOR — Simon Birch : : % habe : } Salen the proesbes ‘rom PLANT FOREMAN — Peter Harvey A OR ‘es on . the Debra Tompkins Highland ADVERTISING MANAGER — Wayne Stolz i mT Peep. ib r ompkins Highla: OFFICE MANAGER — Linda Kositsin ean BG TD @s tb CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heat Hadley ) faa N ddr am EDITORIAL - . Cartoon crosses” ane at fine line Editorial cartoonists are allowed quite a bit more journalistic [«].?° — at. Z * licence: than those reporters commonly referred to as the ‘‘pencil a os G lI N DIAN presi”. a re 6, SS Through Caricature, exaggeration and even shading the exact truth : My} =). RESERVE j a bit, they make their point. Most times the point is made with humor, WV Tat <= or a situation might be exaggerated to make a point. (A huge native In- Mf . vr : dian, for inating a poli ) However, even for cartoonists. there is & fine line between respon- sible cartooning and social comment, and we believe this fine line was quite openly breached last week in the Arrow Lakes News of Nakusp. as picking up three fourths, two fifths and two sixths in the championships which sow close to 700 dancers from across Canada and as far away as Australia compete In the biggest dance competition in Conade. Competing: were (from ) = . Emily Cohge, Lindsay Barlow, : your Emme Dovis, Louren Normon CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION end Heather Cox. Not “Your Community Financial Centre” pictured are Heather Sheppard and Jennifer CASTLEGAR SLOCAN Lamroas Bondaroff. ee mA CosNews phota | N EES \ [i a 2 —... Coordination A copyrighted cartoon by Dave McMillan shows a fat corporate | E T T E RS T re) T H E Ee D | T fe) R leader labelled ‘‘Celgar Pulp Mill Expansion’’ holding an individual tightly by the neck and pointing a gun at him. The poor chap struggling Victoria. Government’s refusal to change the the effects of the existing political pollution, and by “*Let us do what we want or we'll lay everybody off!!!"" Public ignored then it may be too late to do anything meaningful The caption for the cartoon is ‘‘White Color Terrorists.’’ The Ministry of Crown Lands has ignored and constitutes a breech of the public trust. to limit further damage. So many activists have “ : ‘Grant Copeland bought in so heavily to existing surreal politics there < Celgar has not been making threats. The company has outlined what identifying areas in the Kootenays for commercial Director are few left to build anything new. would be the likely future of the present mill if a new, modernized winter recreation development. Worse yet, when The Valhalla Society Meanwhile, pressure to publish the secret list facility is not allowed to proceed, but the company has not been making notified of mistakes, a ministry official refused to is fading. The most common answer to a random any threats whatsoever. make changes and reprint the ministry’s full-color street poll of media types, Socreds and NDPers? . R ible journalism ds better of car ists than the brochure Kootenay Commercial Winter Recreation Pol i tical pol luters “There's nobody here but us . , example in last Wednesday’s Arrow Lakes News. _ Opportunities. Careful examination of 20 semi-trailer loads of — environmentalists.”” ar The government brochure identifies several taped cellular telephone conversations dumped in The latest toxic political line? Le sites within the proposed White Grizzly Wilderness _ the Victoria office of the Green Party indicates that “If the economy doesn't grow, where will the Vv | EW PO | N T preservation on the B.C. Endangered Wilderness appear on the official list. a, due to economic growth?” Map by the Valhalla Society two years ‘We started to get suspicious when we didn’t What are the priorities of today? ago and endorsed by most leading environmental find any politicians or political parties on the “Shall we fight to the death over the GST, or organizations in the province. published list,"’ said a prominent Green. break up the country over Meech?”’ - rane OD fi become an issue, an anonymous technical expert Crescent Valley e abit psy Socata — ees raped said: ‘Toxic politics directly attacks the brain, | Ss U ee 2A phate belles if ming nthe subtly altering expectations and values. Recent a complex is Meow Croke seutygoretngeer "uty heingcpeton tnd lee Rem unanimous opposition to this proposal during a By MARCUS ELIASON LONDON — In a memorable episode of the Brit&h TV sitcom owner goes to absurd lengths to avoid mentioning the war to his German guests, then proceeds to do just that — over and over. had actor John Cleese goose-stepping and heil-Hitlering, is being recalled as British commentators wrestle anew with the complexities of Anglo- First there was Nicholas Ridley, trade secretary and confidant of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, sounding off about “uppity” West to break free is labelled ‘‘Castlegar’’ while the corporate goon says, published plan ignores public input and therefore For the information of Mr. McMillan and the Arrow Lakes News, even misrepresented public involvement in Area, which was identified as a candidate area for there may be more polluters in the province than money come from to revive the planet that will die e - A Asked why political pollution is-starting to " erman unity don eproponiatetermechasioed _,.Anefriy aie rae arog, Bann researchers became independent from the shock, in Fawity Towers, a bumbling hotel That episode from the 1970s, which German relations. Germans trying to take over Europe. Then came publication of the summary of a secret seminar held by Thatcher, in which academics discussed stereotypical German traits such as bullying, angst and sentimen- tality. Ridley resigned, and Thatcher’ of- fice swore to find out who leaked the the Second World War, that charac- terizes Britain's @ttitude to Germany. economic union came July 1 —sthe consulted at all. Deufschmark looks certain to public meeting held in Ainsworth. Beside’ ignoring published public input, the West Germany’ is a formidable ministry’s brochure states that the ministry economic power, and after final consulted the Valhalla Society in the process of unification with East Germany — Preparing the plan when in fact the society was not Information contained in the ministry’s site the European C y. descriptions are very incomplete and misleading. a Way similar to eures from amnesia.” it is impossible to calibrate instruments.”” She declined to reveal any further details about her techniques. A senior government official firmly denied Thus, argue supporters of Ridley The brochure omits showing the substantial areaof —_ that such a list could exist. and Thatcher, surely a small island the Kootenays which already is committed to country like Britain. with chronic mechanized forms of commercial recreation such as “We denied that global warming was economic problems has the right to _heli-skiing and snow-cat skiing. For this reason, the _ exist either,’’ the official said. ask what sort of Europe it is going in- | government’s brochure fails to accurately present to. the full context of the issue. Other information published by the ministry Neal Ascherson wrote of a German __ indicates that there are no wildlife concerns in the tendency to regard Britain as a Sandon area when we know there is a lack of twilight world on the fringes of adequate baseline studies in the area. The government proposes to integrate the to the sunset by a mad queen whose incompatible uses of snowmobiling and cross- country skiing in the narrow steep valley bottoms In the Independent on Sunday, Europe, ‘‘a raft being pulled away in- shouts grow gradually fainter.”” rapidly detreiorate. rapidly deteriorate. growth and to save the planet is the greatest British Foreign Secretary Douglas where foutes are essentially limited to existing roads | ‘‘What’s even more frightening is‘that political Hurd criticized his country’s tendency _ with major avalanche hazards. Good plarining “*to draw down the blinds, shut out should values are completely shot after years of sordid the real world, swear at the present The society has requested that t! uses. PI to gain power.”” try of Recent Socred and NDP emissions set new world and pretend that we can go on Crown Lands change and reprint its brochureo records as the most lethal ever recorded. just living in the past.’’ incorporate the public input that has been received summary. He pointed out that West Gremany _ in the planning process subsequent to the printing has prospered by working hard, of their brochure The issue’ remains: the mix of producing manufactured goods and suspicion, envy and scholarly holding down inflation — ‘‘all the fascination, steeped in memories of _ things we failed to do.”” Unfortunately, Mr. Dave Butler told me he could not do this and the outeeme_of the plan is now in the hands of senior government officials in Toxic politics can’t be reused, recycled, or stop production. Greens are concerned that it will take an apocalypse-resulting in billions of deaths before “This research is difficult because by now the entire planet is contaminated. Political emanations on so many different wavelengths are so strong now happening for the last two years and this list doesn’t A dramatic increase in political toxicity has accompanied recent fears that the human impact on the biosphere has become so large that the global climatic system and radiation shield are about to “*Simultaneous demands for more economic ‘ion in history,”’ said a political analyst safely disposed of. The only long term solution is to mainstream people will be able to break free from Asa long-standing admirer of Howard Dirks, I must take exception to former Attorney General Bud Smith’s remark that Howard sometimes can’t chew gum and walk together. After following his political career for some time, I feel confident that Mr. Dirks could indeed perform both tasks simultaneously, with little if any difficulty. George Stein Robson 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. Assorted colors. THE RIGHT PRICE RIGHT NOW L stores LADIES CANVAS TENNIS SHOES 388 — COMPARE AT $6.99 — HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9o.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. # Sun., 12noon-5 p.m. & 986 South Main Southtown Plaza Colville, Wa. 509-684-5824 Lad NV’ Lassie Children’s Fashions SELECTED ITEMS Rachel’s Ladies Fashions 144 E. First, Colville, Wa. Phone (509) 684-6622 RAMONA HOLST — Owner Phanoh STORE — Friday, July 20 @ 8 a.m. New Western Water Ski Dept. Wear Dept. On Sale $ Hundreds of Dollars in FREE Draws $ Open 7 Days a Week! "5 ALL: SPORTS 557 S. MAIN > ja. 99114 ' LS we * Boslesssoes Parliamentarian's job Editor’s note: Are members of Parliament paid too much — or not enough? It’s a long-standing debate. Second of a two-part series. By GERRY ARNOLD P OTTAWA (CP) — In 1970, Bobby Hull was the terror of National Hockey League goalies, a new Ford Mustang cost $3,374 people wondered if $10,000 a year was too much to pay a member of Parliament. Today, Hull’s son Brett is challenging his dad’s scoring exploits. The price of that new eight-cylinder Mustang is more than $14,800. And people still wonder if they pay their members of Parliament a fair wage. An MP now earns eight times as much as his predecessors in 1970, with $62,100 in salary and $20,600 in a tax-free allowance. But as a 1989 report on MPs salaries and expenses noted, the job of an MP has gone from part-time to full- time over the last 20 years Has the salary improved enough as the demands of the job rose, or are MPs overpaid? By comparison, the Iti-million-dollar contract Brett Hull recently signed with the St. Louis Blues is far more than eight times what his father made when he was filling arenas for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1970. And while it’s probably safe to assume Brett Hull won't be giving up his career to run for Parliament, it’s probably also true that a lot of other people ideally suited for the Commons won't run either. “I think there’s a very significant problem facing us as a country,” says James King, president of Hay Management Consultants in Toronto. ‘‘What does one have to give up to become a member of Parliament?”’ King says MPs and cabinet ministers (who make a base salary of about $110,000) are underpaid, but the situation won’t change. The reason, King says, is that politicians are afraid of the voters. “*Let’s face it, what’s the average income for Canadians?’’ asked King. ‘‘‘That’s where most of the votes come from and so somebody earning $25,000 is looking at somebody earning $125,000 and saying they’re fat cats.”” Statistics Canada’s latest figures show that the average Canadian man made about $33,800 in 1988. For women, the figure was $22,070. King says,most people interested in becoming MPs are professionals who already earn far more than an MP. The age-old argument is how to attract those people while keeping the job from becoming so lucrative that it attracts people for the wrong reason. For the time being, King says the non-monetary rewards will have to do. “There are other forms of reward that one would seek and deem to be important if they wish to hold an (elected) post,”’ he said. “‘If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn't be peigiere, In Canada’s early days, MPs and senators were paid littke — $600 annually for the first Parliament — and the jobs were usually filled by rich gentleman acting out of a sense of civic duty. Sessions were short and it wasn’t a full-time job. Even 25 years ago, two MPs had to share the same office and secretary. Much has changed. Today's MPs have their own of- fices, secretaries, research assistants and constituency staff. The job entails long hours year-round, regardless of when the House sits. And there are countless meetings with constituents and special interest groups. The Commons now sits upwards of 175 days a year, or about 10 weeks longer than in the early 1950s. Most people know little about the financial demands ‘on a member of Parliament. But even some of their har- shest critics admit the job is not a gravy train. “‘Life is very expensive for members of Parliament,” says journalist Stevie Cameron, author of the book Ot- tawa Inside Out. “*] hate to say that, but I think they probably are un- derpaid.”” In addition to maintaining residences in Ottawa and at home, MPs have numerous responsibilities in their ridings. Such as sending cards and letters for weddings, funerals and i or ini i members passing through Ottawa. And MPs are a notoriously soft touch when it comes to charities. A 1989 report of a commission that reviewed MPs salaries noted that they are ‘‘a favored target of fun- draisers.”” All MPs do these things because everyone knows it’s part of the job — and part of keeping the job. And there are other expenses, like out-of-town hotels, meals and taxis. It all has to come out of that tax- free $20,600. The Commons powerful board of internal economy, an all-party group that meets privately, recently approved in principle an increase of up to $6,000 annually, tax-free, to offset the cost of an Ottawa residence for most MPs. But the increase will only take effect if the board can no gravy train ensure that the $1.8-million cost is absorbed into the Commons current $200-million budget. David Sommerville, president of the National Citizens’ Coalition, accused the MPs of hypocrisy. “On the one hand, Prime Minister (Brian) Mulroney's government tells us to tighten our belts. to help fight the federal deficit and inflation. On the other hand, however, government and oppposition MPs give themselves huge, tax-free raises.”’ Tory whip Jim Hawkes, a Calgary MP, thinks the base salary for MPs should be about $20,000 higher. But he knows it’s a minefield with voters. “Every time the newspapers talk about it they call it my salary,”’ he says, referring to his tax-free allowance. “There's very seldom any acknowledgment that is ac- tually a cost. I have no expense account in any way, shape or form."" Theituation in the Senate is not the same. Senators, who are appointed, are paid the same base salary as MPs, $62,100. But they don’t face the same expenses as mem- bers of the Commons because they don’t need to worry about getting elected and have no public accountability. The senators recently upset many people by voting themselves an extra $135 per day day just for showing up. Some senators argue their tax-free expense allowance of $9,600 doesn’t cover the costs of going to Ottawa to do business. Others, like Senator Richard Doyle, feel it's the wrong way to handle the matter. 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