OPINION
Castlégar News"

PAGE A4, WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1991
MEMBER OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCIL
ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 19047 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1960
INCORPORATING THE MID-WEEK MIRROR PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 12, 1978-AUGUST 27. 1980

LV, CAMPBELL ~ PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 15, 1973
BURT'CAMPBELL, PUBLISHER EMERITUS ~ PUBLISHER, FEBRUARY 16, 1973-MAY I, 1901

PUBLISHER ~Dave McCullough
EDITOR — Simon Birch
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TIVE - Gary Fleming

EDITORIAL

_Assuming
too much

The good news for free enterprisers out here in the West
‘“ Papier A

at the 17th

y is that,

rupted years of NDP rule,

the Social Credit Party hasn’t quite written off Rossland-

Trail. Not yet, anyway.

Premier Rita Johnston proved that much simply by coming
to the area Monday — leadership hopefuls haven't exactly

: been flocking to the interior in droves — and expanded on the

point during an interview at the Castlegar airport. ,

She had, she told reporters, seen encouraging signs of Castlegar:
Socred life while scouting around Nelson and Trail for the
better part of the day. Incumbent Chris D’Arcy’s absence
from the NDP ticket provides further impetus to the Social
Credit campaign, Johnston declared. “Victory is within our

: grasp,; she seemed to suggest.

No one, least of all Social Credit strategists, should be
fooled by this analysis of the West Kootenay. Walter Siemens

has about as much ch of

Be RE ep Te)

d-Trail for the

Socreds in the provincial election later this year as, well, as

Zero, in other words.

’ Chris D’Arcy has of taking early retirement.
Johnston’s optimistic prognosis is

based on two faulty premises, and two wrongs will certainly

not make her right.

Her first error lies in assuming that a two-way race

* between Ed Conroy and Walter Siemens would be fairly close.

Unfortunately, there’s reason to believe — three reasons, in

-fact — that’s not likely to be the case. Firstly, Siemens has

proven to be a bit of a letdown even among those who are
most inclined to vote Social Credit. Secondly, Conroy is fairly
well known and has demonstrated-a better grasp of the
issues. And thirdly, area voters are strongly predisposed to

vote NDP.

The second flaw in Johnston’s analysis is her assumption
that D’Arcy won’t run. That’s plausible — the mind fairly bog-
gles at what reward awaits him if he keeps his nose clean and
Mike Harcourt forms the next government — but not proba-

ble.
D’Arcy likes the job he has right now, and talks like a man
whose real ambition is to keep it. He may be deterred by the

odds

ing as an indep

a

and he may back off

in favor of a cushy government job, but we're betting there
will be at least three names on the ballot, and D’Arcy’s will be

_one of

them. — >
—If-we're right, then the chance of Social Credit victory local-

ly gets even slimmer. The real dogfight would be between
D’Arcy, who could steal support from both the left and the
right, and Conroy, with Siemens trailing.

Of course, none of that is likely to matter much to Rita
Johnston. She, like Walter Siemens, is destined to go down in

history as a loser in 1991.

VIEWPOINT

Leaders face
tough summit

By LARRY WALSH
The Canadian Press

Leaders of the western
world’s seven richest countries
will play a strange game of mul-
tiple choice when they gather
next week in London for.the

1991 economic summit.

In summit jargon, the game is
called removing the brackets.

A final communique will be
finished before Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney meets his coun-
terparts from the United States,
United Kingdom, Germany,
Japan, France and Italy.

But the communique, issued
jointly by all seven countries at
the end of the summit, will be
filled with brackets around con-
troversial words.

The summit leaders’ main job
~ in between photo opportunities
and state dinners — is to remove
the brackets by selecting one of
the words suggested by their
officials or come up with one of
their own.

The trouble is that the game
of removing the brackets will
harder to play than ever before

Two years ago in Paris, the
so-called Group of Seven summit
ended a day early because lead-
ers finished their multiple
choice and ran out of things to
talk about.

But this year's G-7 meeting
could break down under agenda
overload.

Here is one of the tough areas
where summit leaders will have
problems reaching a consensus.

*Reforming the Soviet Union.
Soviet President Mikhail Gor-
bachev is banging on the door of
the Group of Seven nations,
asking for a seat at their talks
and support for his political and
economic reforms at home.

Luckily, summit leaders
won't polish their final commu-
nique by themselves.

They'll be guided by senior
government officials, called
sherpas in the summit lexicon,
after Tibetan guides who chart
the way and carry supplies for
mountain climbers.

They have already met’ sever-
al times, surveyed the obstacles
snd Jomeed the brackets in the
final

Local dignitaries, including Mayor Audrey Moore and Alderman Bob Pakula, and several Heritage Socie

members were at Zuckerberg Island Monday morning for the official f of the Pp x “id
ly was rebuilt, mainly to allow agsured access for gency y

the Okanagan, which Is one of the major contractors on the Ceigar Pulp mill expansion.

CasNews photo by Ed Mills

by Argo

LETTERS TO

THE EDITOR

Poem voices anger

The Shoppers’ Lament to City of

“Coming events cast their shadows before
And I'm sorry to say my farewells to your
store
Your sales staff are friendly
And it’s not very far
But where in the hell
Can I park my old car?
I could park on 3rd Street
And walk up the hill
Or walk into town
But I frown at the thrill.
The planners have “fixed” us
With their mirrors and smoke:
They cut off the ferry, and the
“dam” road's a joke.
So you think you have made it —
But wait — there is more
One additional hurdle to enter a store
Repair work on the bridge
Will leave one’s hind-end sore.
I am forced to go shopping in Nelson or
Trail
Where there’s easy, ample parking
and also a sale.
Your store access is denied us
Your patrons will “be screwed”
Pardon the expression — it seems rather
lewd
We gaze at log truck traffic
And heave a sad sigh
As the huge trucks roll merrily by.
One thinks we have crossroads
But one’s faced with a shock as one
speeds down the highway
To encounter a road block
The bri is a.one-way
The sign says it plain
With the cute little arrows
We are shafted again.”
Pat Romaine
Castlegar

Policy disheartens

I am writing to draw the attention of your
readers to a change in policy (and heart) on
the part of Canada’s Immigration Depart-
ment with regard to refugees from E] Sal-
vador and Guatemala.

In the not too distant past, Canada had a
refugee policy that basically said that any-
one from either of these two countries who
had.a legitimate claim to refugee status
would be allowed to stay in Canada. Even
those whose claim was not acceptable would
not be sent back to either of these two
human-rights abusers, but to a “safe” third
country.

ie chy

monitoring by the United Nations Hi
Rights Commission.

The current policy of the Immigration
Department is therefore inconsistent with
the reality understood by other parts of our
federal government. It is also not legal in
the sense that this policy violates Article 14
of the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights
which guarantees a person’s right to seek
asylum from persecution in another country.

The current policy is also in stark con-
trast to the special treatment given to for-
mer Iraqi amb dor Moh d al-Mashat
but I personally would rather have Canada
err on the side of saving human life than
what is presently happening to those who
are not rich and powerful.

I strongly urge your readers to take a few
minutes to write a letter (handwritten and
short is best) to Hon. Bernard Valcourt,
Minister of Employment and Immigration,
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont., K1A 0A6.
In the letter urge a reversal of the decision
with regard to the Estrada family and any |
others from E] Salvador or Guatemala who
are presently under a deportation order. A
FAX or phone call would also be very effec-
tive and-helpful. Please send a copy to your
MP, Lyle Kristiansen, also at the same
address or phone him at his Nelson number.
Postage is free to Ottawa.

Thanks for helping to be the “voice of the
voiceless.”

Ann Godderis
Castlegar

Tourism looks good

I visited Zuckerberg Island Park on
Sunday and wish to add my words of thanks
to Argo Industries for providing a first-class
causeway to the island. Fire protection is

assured while the causeway provides an
excellent alternative for park visitors
hesi to.use the ion bridge.

Incidentally, upon leaving the park two
cars with tourists arrived, one with
Washington State plates and the other from
Alberta.

I was pleased to see one party had a
Chamber of C ce hlet listing
area tourist highlights while the other party
asked me where the Doukhobor Village was
located as they wished to visit it.

Tourism appears to be alive and well.

While handing out bouquets, belated
congratulations to the City of Castlegar-and
its public works department for the blacktop
sidewalk put down on 4th Street last fall in
the vicinity of the Clay Castle.

The sidewalk work was much needed and
is a definite improvement. °
Burt Campbell
Castl

This policy has ly d.Ina
recent case, a family from El Salvador, Jose
Alberto Garcia Estrada, his wife, Antonia
Funes Umanzor, and their two young chil- ,
dren have had their appeal for refugee sta-
tus refused and they have been deported to
El Salvador. Phei reabouts and safety
are currently unknown and this is of great
concern to friends in Canada.

Both Mr. Estrada and his wife have
received death threats, in El Salvador for
months prior to their flight and in fact,
Antonia was stabbed five times by the
paramilitary just before the family fled the
country.

In another recent case, a family from
Guatemala, who had been ordered deported
from Canada, have gone into hiding because
of the certainty that they would be killed if
they were forced to return to Guatemala.

A third case involves Oscar Sosa, a high
school student from E] Salvador who came
to Canada as a minor in 1990 and whose
family is recognized by the United Nations
as refugees in Mexico. This fact alone makes
him a candidate for persecution in his home
country. He was involved in Catholic youth
work. 5

The Canadian government is well aware
of the desperate situation for people in both
these countries and in fact recently support-
ed a move (which failed) to have Guatemala
returned to a special category of human-
rights abusers which would then enable

Art draws protest

‘Now that everyone has studied the

hni used by envi lists over
the years to gain attention for their causes,
it was only a ter of time before artistic
pollution protesters would surface.

The Committee to Remove Artistic
Pollution (CRAP) staged a protest outside
the National Gallery in Ottawa recently,

ding tl i ive doo rating

work is d by the curators,
and the “artists” laugh all the way to the
bank. This kind of thing has been going on
for decades and it is wearing a bit thin.

It would be fun to watch the politicians
eliminate the funding: the “artists” and
curators would then bleat about how
important it is for the public to be presented
with piles of #$%&, that to cut out art is to
cut out the soul of the civilization, etc., ad
nauseum. ‘

There are plenty of artists trying to give
full measure in an age of dearth, and no one
has ever been able to consistently figure out
who is who when attempting to direct funds.

My sentiment is with CRAP. If the
National Gallery has decided “art” today is a
piece of $#%&* get rid of it. Let the
government money go to those that are still
struggling in poverty trying to express their
vision.

David Lewis

_ Crescent Valley

Issue needs support

I am writing in regards to the ad
“Huckleberry Pickers Fined $5,000.”

The government of this province is
currently in the process of implementing a
new set of policies to deal with commercial

tion opportunities on wild or
backcountry crown land.

The British Columbia Wildlife Federation
has some strong concerns about these
proposed new policies, and while recognizing
that there is a need for a tenure system to
regulate commercial operations on crown
land, we would like to ensure that the “right
of public access” is the first and prime

ideration in any new legi ion. As it
stands today, the public does not have any
legal right to access crown land here in B.C.

To quote an official of the Ministry of
Lands and Parks: “The government turns a
blind eye to the public’s current use of crown
land, there is no law that says the
government must allow the public to use or
be on crown land.”

The BCWF would like to change that and
are undertaking a campaign to do just that.
To be effective on this‘issue, we will require
a lot of public support and are asking that
readers join us in the ensuring the public’s
right of access. Become a member of the
BCWF and help us take our message to
Victoria. Contact any BCWF member or
your local Rod and-Gun-Club for information
on how to join, or write-or phone the BCWF,
102-200 St.,-Langley, B.C., V3A 1N4.

Pat Wells, Director
Revelstoke

Theft upsets owner

I am appealing to the young tennis player
who took my silver ETUSA Pro2 tennis
racquet from the North Castlegar tennis

courts.
It would be kind of you to return this
since it was a reti gift given

to the “artistic” works inside. Tel:
cameras displayed recent acquisitions by the
gallery: the $1.5 million “painting”
consisting of three stripes on canvas that
some MPs claimed they could have done

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
Cc Ave. in C: ji 7

with a paint roller, the famous 1}
consisting of slabs of beef, and perhaps most
notably, a collection of what looks like
gigantic piles of fresh, gooey cow dung
strewn on the gallery floor.

High artistic mucky-mucks explained
that we, being the great unwashed, can’t be
expected to understand that to today’s artist
“only the conception matters. Skillisno _
longer valued. The public may desire art as
it was produced by bygone ages, but this is
ee are ——— today.”

themsel presenting them with a
of 08:7 Tied Caagguet oles of all Boing thes this

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.

School is out, the weather
has been warm, and you may
be thinking-of taking a vaca-
tion.

You reflect back on the past
year, amazed at how quickly it
has passed. As you think
about the events of the past
year you realize that you are
much more aware of various
environmental concerns than
you were 12 months ago. You
are more aware of the choices
you have to reduce input to
our community landfill — the
Ootischenia dump - by exer-
cising the three basic princi-
ples of reducing, reusing and
recycling. In fact- you’ve
already started making an
effort to employ some of these
principles in your home,

Now that you are going on
vacation, will your philosophy
of the three R’s (reducing,
reusing and recycling) also go
on vacation? Hopefully not! In
fact, why not make it a person-
al challenge to minimize the
amount of garbage you pro-
duce while on vacation this
summer?

If you are travelling out of
the area any garbage you pro-
duce wilt not end up in our
own community landfill, but it
will end up in someone else’s.

However, any tourists visiting
the Castlegar area will make
their contribution to our land-
fill. So, in essence it is kind of
a give and take affair. If we all
act responsibly, no matter
where we are, then we all ben-
efit. Here are a few sugges-
tions:

— Avoid buying drinks and
fast foods in styrofoam con-
tainers.

— Keep your beverage bot-
tles and cans until you can
drop them off at a collection
depot. This may involye carry-
ing an extra bag in your trunk
to keep them in until you come
across a suitable place to teave
them.

= Don’t buy. over-packaged
items, no matter where you
are.

Recycling philosophy travels
well on summer vacations

— Don’t leave clutter and
debris at your campsite for
someone else to clean up.
Leave the area as you'd like to
find it.

— Save the newspapers you
buy until you get home or
until you find a recycle depot
in your travels.

Train yourself to be on the
lookout for recycle depots
wherever you travel. There are
a lot of them out there. For
example, B.C. Ferries now
have bins to deposit old news-
papers, and containers for alu-
minum cans. They have also
phased out styrofoam cups and
plastic disposable utensils.

Have a pleasant vacation
and remember to treat other
communities as you’d like
tourists to'treat ours.

The Kootenays are talented !!
See our unique hand crafted
gifts & souvenirs. A local artist
is always on hand to serve
you with pleasure.

Waneta Plaza, Trail

364-5659

Make a Move!!

without

Our Hostess’
Gifts and In-
formation are
the Key to Your
New Community
Heather at 365-5490
orG

v4

GARAGE SALE
St. David's Thrift Shop, premises Oglow Building, 601 Columbia Avenue, July

43th, 9.2.1. p.m

CHRISTIAN WOMEN'S CLUB
Thursday, July 11, 10°a.m.-12 noon, Pass Creek Park, Muffin, Pot Luck.

Speaker: Eunice Nelson, If rain at Bap!

3886. .

tist Church,.9 a.m. Phone 365-8025, 365-
15

Coming events of Castlegar and District non-profit organizations may be listed
here. The first 15 words are $5 and additional words are 30¢ each. Boldfaced
words (which must be used for headings) count as two words. There is no extra
charge for a second insertion while the third consecutive insertion is half-price
and the fourth and fifth consecutive insertions are only half price for the two of
them. Minimum charge is $5 (whether ad is for one, two or three times)
Deadlines are 5 p.m. Wednesdays for Saturday's paper and 5 p.m. Monday for
Wednesday's paper. Notices should be brought to the Castlegar News at!97

‘Columbia Ave.

COMMUNITY

Bulletin Board

A Spectacular Selection of

I

SAVE 3

Continues to July 31

0%-50%

This Thursday, July 11
STEVEN BAAL

Guitarist, singer and songwriter, Baal performs popular
and original material in the folk tradition.

a
© Free lunchtime concerts every Thursday
* 12 noon to 1 p.m.'at Kinsmen Park

* Bring your family, lunch, and lawn chairs

Sponsored by the Castlegar Arts Council
with the co-operation of the
Castlegar News and CKQR Radio

. along with the City of Castlegar

These'concerts are made possible through the generous financial
support of B.C. Tel, West's Department Store, Cohoe Insurance
Pharmasave and Moroso, Markin and Blain

The Costlegor Arts Council gratetully acknowledges the tinancial support
of the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of

Tourism, Recreation and Culture

In the event of rain.

concert will be held in the Legion Hall

through the generosity of Branch No. 170,
Royal Canadian Legion.

Foster Parents
deserve a medal,

heres y
do som

Sa nl
: v 5

Most of us know people who are foster

parents. They're friends or family who

always seem.to have an endless supply

of love, patience and determination.
Now, like last year, you can give them

More than just your admiration. You can

nominate them for the Li

ur chan
thing about it.

camille

ce to

pounds

Ten deserving foster families will
be chosen and honored at a reception
hosted by the Lieutenant Governor.

To nominate your special foster
family, simply call the number below
and ask for a nomination package. An

Governor's Foster Families Award.

Nominees must:

© be residents of B.C.

* have at least 2 years continued
Service caring for foster children for
the Ministry

‘* show respect and understanding
when working with foster children

, and their parents

* have a cooperative relationship with

P from last year may
be re-submitted. Nominations must be
in by August 6th, 1991,