Saturday, December 7, 1991 & z i OurViEWS AdrianRAESIDE nPAGE 6 N10 S Minimum problems? t seems our New Democrat [lecvernment is in a little hot water. Despite taking a progressive step towards increasing the standard of living for all British Columbians, the province’s business community is none too happy. The B.C. Chamber of Commerce came out, guns blazing, slamming Labor Minister Moe Sihato’s plan to increase the minimum wage. The chamber has stopped short of calling the move a sneak attack on behalf of the new government. But there’s nothing sneaky about it. According to the plan outlined by Sihota last week, workers over the age of 18 must be paid no less than $5.50 per hour — a jump of 50 cents per hour. a The chamber denounced the increase, saying Premier Mike Harcourt promised his government would consult with businesses before making rash decisions. Rash? How can 50 cents an hour be rash? Based on a 40-hour work week, that 50 cent raise translates to an extra $20. Over the 52-week year, the increase nets already-underpaid workers a mere $1,040 more. Furthermore, considering that the majority of people benefitting from this slight increase are single mothers already living below the poverty line, the raise is hardly rash. New Democrats should be applauded for this initiative. It’s a clear indication that the new government is committed to people over profits. —— MAGCOT!. SCUMBAG! COWARD!... CHEAT! YL Rekindlin KS Oy REN VV pirit of Christmas Don’t get me wrong: giving Every year at this time it’s the same complaint: Christmas is too commercial; we need to recapture the true spirit of the season. It’s true alright. Christmas is too commercial. But I don’t blame the retailers for that. They’re only trying to make a buck. And it isn’t easy for them, faced with a sluggish economy and competition from cross-border shoppi Comments from the Crossroads gifts is great — even useless knick knacks and doodads that seem to suddenly show up at this time of year. It seems to me that we give so little during the year, it’s the least we can do at Christmas. 7 No, it’s the buying the gifts that is the problem. More and more I hear complaints from people who feel forced to shop for (Though I do blame retailers for beginning the season so early this year. Halloween wasn't even over when Christmas items were on the shelves. It’s lucky our Thanksgiving isn’t. as late as the American holiday or we'd have a real overlap of seasons. Then again, maybe a later Thanksgiving would be just the thing to hold off Christmas until December). We have only ourselves to blame for getting caught up in the hype of Christmas. gifts at Christmas. It is no longer a pleasant activity for them — this in an age when shopping has become a leisure activity. ‘ (I don’t have any scientific data on this, but I would guess if we totalled up the ber of hours we shopped each month, it would easily surpass the number of hours we spend on any other leisure activity, aside from watching TV.) please see NORMAN page 7 Stree TALK Question: The NDP government is increasing the minimum wage by 50 cents. Do you agree? Doris Rainet “It’s good for minimum wage earners but bad for small businesses.” Gwen Koftinoof “Yes, everything else is going up.” Steve Nault “I like it. It gives minimum wagers @ chance to get ahead.” Walter Gorkoff “Yes, but it doesn’t ka really make much difference to me.” Sandy Nichol I don’t think it’s a solution, it only adds to inflation.” OtherVIEWS | Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor 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 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, Letters tcoWHE EDITOR Tourism not paying bills Minister of Tourism, Darlene Mazari in her effort to make tourism the No. 1 industry in B.C. claims that, “tourism’s costs are less than the traditional resource based industries” and that tourist jobs rep t sustainable develop She also claims that tourism jobs will take priority over other land users. Let’s look at a hypothetical “sustainable development” tourist job created to replace a resource job lost due to Darlene Mazari’s decision to save some hypothetical last valley. Jane worked in the forest industry averaging about $50,000 a year and paid about $16,000 in income tax. The resource job is lost but she gets lucky and lands a good job in the tourist sector, 40 hours a week at $10 an hour. The job depends on visitors from outside the area and will last from 12 to 16 weeks depending on the weather. She has a good year and the job lasts 16 weeks. Jane’s gross is $6,400 for the season. Jane applies for UIC, serves a three week waiting period and draws weekly benefits until the tourist season rolls around again. Benefits for 32 weeks of UIC are $8,160 bringing her total income to $14,560. She pays $2,000 tax. The job our Minister of Tourism wants to create is “sustainable development” only in the sense another taxpayer has to develop $8,160 to sustain the UIC benefits and $14,000 to cover difference in income tax paid between the two jobs. To the Minister of Tourism, I say: Instead of promoting urban tour operators at the expense of rural communities, take a trip out of the city and try working with, instead of against, communities who need tourism as a secondary industry. Darlene Mazari, as citizens of rural resource dependent communities, should we be scared of you and your agenda? Art Duhame Woss, B.C. Stand up for freedom Public Service Alliance of Canada President Dary] Bean recently revealed the ugly face of forced unionism when he wrote a chilling, frightful letter to three public servants. The three — all grandmothers — had written to Bean to protest the threats, harassment and intimidation which they crossed a picket line in order to earna living during PSAC’S recent strike. Bean’s letter began by calling the women “SCAB” and then included this quote from American author Jack London: “No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water to drown his carcass in, or a rope long enough to hang his body with.” (London was a militant leftist whose writings were reprinted in the millions by Stalin’s regime and were taught in classrooms in the Soviet bloc.) Unfortunately, no one in authority — not the police and certainly not our gutless politicians — seems willing to stand up for the rights and freedoms of these women and others like them. That is why we're asking you and your readers to please take a stand on behalf of these victims of forced unionism and demand a stop to this violence and intimidation. If any of your readers witnessed this behavior or were victims of it, we ask them to write to “Victims of Forced Unionism”, 907, 100 Adelaide At.W., Toronto, M5H 183. A national support network is being formed to help them. Natives in British Columbia came one step closer to taking their rightful place in our society with the release last week of a re- port that urges broad participa- tion of the Native community in the management of the province's forest resource. Even a cursory read of the re- port by the Task Force on Native Forestry makes it clear that this is an extraordinary document. “Native people have long held forests and natural resources as had suffered or witnessed when they Natives must have voice on foresty matters Report from Victoria Hubert BEYER It also recommends that the University of B.C.’s Forestry Fac- ulty and the University of North- ern B.C. include native forestry courses in their curri David Somerville, President Nati 1 Citi » Coaliti includes these same values, and also involved wilderness, recre- ation and parks. People are also an important part of the of forest envir it adds. The report also suggests that Natives become more involved in culture programs, and that a Na- tive Forestry Capital Pool be cre- ated to enable Native companies and individuals to borrow capital to establish forestry-related eco- nomic ventures. But the report goes beyond sim- special. As native people b more involved in forest manage- ment within their traditional ter- ritories, ways must be found to in- corporate spiritual and cultural values into modern forestry prac- tices,” the report says. The seven-member task force consisted of four natives and three non-natives. The latter were all registered professional foresters. They travelled all over the ‘province “during the past 12 ‘the. listent : plyr ding that the Native ities get a slice of the eco- months, Pp and receiving written submis- sions. The report. urges the govern- ment, the forest industry and the First Nations to “establish a vi- able native forest sector in British Columbia that will assist First Nations in job creation and com- munity development.” nomic forestry pie. It makes quite clear that First Nations be encouraged and assist- ed in participating in the integrat- ed resource management, local re- source use and timber supply area planning processes through “full consultation involving the local Native communities.” “Integrated forest management The report warns that the time for studies is over, and that action is now necessary. To that end, the report urges the government to establish a per- manent First Nations Forestry Council whose mandate will be to help create Native forestry tenures, silviculture programs and facilitate joint ventures be- tween First nations, government and industry. Finally, the report urges the provincial and federal govern- ments to get on with the job of set- tling Native land claims. For Natives, the task force re- port is yet another indication that- society is, at long last, beginning to include them in the Canadian equation. continued from page 6 I personally find shopping a waste of time— except grocery shopping. There’s something appealing about grocery shopping. I think it’s the satisfaction of completing a job.) So how do we satisfy the giving without all the hassles of the getting the gift? I know some families who decide not to buy each other gifts, but instead give all their money they would spend on Christmas gifts to the local food bank or a charity. It’s a noble gesture and maybe something all of us should aspire to, but I find it unrealistic for most families. There are other types of gifts. We have a tradition in our family of always giving to the Legion Hamper Fund. This year, for the first time, our children will also be making a donation from their own savings. Now, it may not be as much as their parents’, but proportionate to their savings, it’s far more. There are other ways to bring the true spirit back into Christmas. Some cost money, some don’t. Charities are always looking for more help — either through donations of money or time. Pick your favorite cause and write them a cheque. It’s tax deductible. If you can’t afford that, offer to help them. But Christmas is a chance to give of that precious commodity — either to your family members or to friends. Jack Charters started me on a tradition that I try to carry on every year, though I’m not always successful. I re-read Dickens’ Christmas Carol. It’s not very long and children of all ages love to hear it. Baking some Christmas goodies? How about taking some to a neighbor or the single person on your street. My father lives on his own. He's not much of a cook. In fact, he’s a terrible cook, so he’s thrilled when people on his street drop in with baked goods and he loves the company. There are lots of ways to enjoy the spirit of Christmas without having to hear the constant beep of the cash register.