AG - Wednesday, December 17, 1980 - North Shore News GEE editorial page Worth a trial? Opponents of the proposed liquor lounge in the North Vancouver Recreation Centre made some valid points at the recent public hearing. They worry about noise and vandalism -- which periodically plague neighbors of commercial watering holes elsewhere in North Van. And we agree wholeheartedly that anything likely to en- courage excessive drinking and alcoholism ic_to be condemned. Still unresolved, however, is the question of whether the Rec Centre lounge would fall into that category. Supporters of the project stress that the atmosphere would be very different from that of a commercial pub, inasmuch as there would be constant community involvement and no “pushing” of liquor. And a similar facility in a Coquitlam community sports centre has reported- ly been operating for six years without any pro- ble One thing at least is clear. Laws, regulations and Liquor Board restrictions in themselves have so far falled to curb overall drinking problems. Is it possible that practical education in the art of CIVILIZED drinking might ultimately work bet- ter? A U.S. medical authority recently suggested children from 12 upward should drink modest amounts of beer and wine at home with the fami- ly, so as to learn by the age of 18 how to handle alcohol properly. For those of drinking age a Rec Centre lounge - free from commercial pressures and supervised by both management and the community at large -- might conceivably be a step in the same positive direction. Nobody will know for sure until it has been tried. And if opponents were then proved right, it could always be closed down very quickly. Surplus friend Bank robbing, says a U.S. business professor, has become a low status crime. He adds that the rise in bungled bank holdups is due to banks advertising how open and friendly they are. A warning to all those other businesses beating the same advertising drum. A “friend” with a handgun at your till is one friend too many. ree sc momen re ws vareoouven sunday news north shore news NEWS 985-2131 1139 | onsdale Ave North Vance Ouver B V7M 2H4 (604) 985-2131 ADVERTISING = CLASSIFIED 980-0511 986-6222 Publisher Peter Spec k CIRCUL ATION 986-1337 Associate Publisher Editor-in-Chief Robert Graham Noel Wright Advertising Director Era Cardweti Classified Manager & Office Administrator Berni Hiltard Creative Director Tim Francis Production Rick Stonehouse Faye M Crae Managing Editor Andy Fraser Nows Editor Chas lloyd Photography Ehsworth One soe Accounting Supervisor Barbara Keen North Shore News founded in 1 VEU an an IndeEpeEndec#— Omnmnuer ty newapaper and qualited under Schedule HE Part Ht Par fags cageh Mt the bxcise Tax Act ts putbhshed each Wodnesday and Sunday by North Shore free Presa bid and cbatiGutod to every door on the North Shore Second Clans Mail Hogistration Number 16a% Subscaptons $20 per year tate contents YO) North: Store Free Press Ltd Albrights cesenvod No cesponaitility Manuscipts and pu tures wwe ft BtamMped addressed return oonvatope ae Cagpteodd bor sapycodes Havel ocrsetberr vent tere Vea beragy sebocreabed toe VME OY s UO Te bey a) VERIFIED CIRCULATION 60,670 Wednesday 48,913 Sunday 7 a © Wy war? THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE OTTAWA (SF) - The federal government is very frustrated because of the in- volvement of the British Parliament in changing Canada’s constitution. With a majority in the Canadian parliament, both in the Com- mons and in the Senate, there is no doubt that Liberal discipline can whip sufficient votes into line for passage of anything decreed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Brits forced PM to ‘play fair’ Rad Canadian Comment BY PETER WARD That's how the con- stitutional proposals have got to their current stage. Such is not the case when it comes to. getting the Trudeau constitutional bill through Westminster. There | wo I rie AH KNOW HOW Y'ALL FEEL HONEY...BUT AH’M OHO’ MR.REAGAN HAS HIS OWN FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER On the most talked-about issue before the public today — patnation of Canada's constitution — Dave Barrett and his NDP caucus in the B.C. Legislature are behaving more and more like the dubious lady who wouldn't say yes and wouldn't say no. Mr Barrett's mental dilemma the subject came out very clearly in his bare-knuckles attack on the Bennett government's con suitubional resolugion during last week's brnef session of the Legislature on Whatever else one may think.under numerous other headings, about the way Premier Bennett and his col leagues are handling the af fairs of the province. their constitubional resolution was pure Canadian cheddar eaten with wholesome B ¢ apple pie lt reaffirmed the B ¢ government's allegiance to the Crown and its commit ment to a united Canada within the Canadian Con “asserting the sovereign status of Canada as a free and independent nation” federation It supported carly patria ion oof the Canadian con stitution from the U! Koo with an amending formula accep table to all the provinces and to the Parhament of Canada Phe second part: of tesolution asked Ottawa (ever so politely) to “respect the spirit of the pact that brought us into Confedera tion” by kindly keeping tts hands off BC the resources and apecifically by withdrawing the = resource taxes recently imposed CHALLENGE Its difficult’ to) imagine what any red- blooded Cana dian British Columbian would find obyectonable in such a resolution But Mr Barrett and his NDP chums attacked it anyway They had to. for reasons that have httle or nothing to do with the resolution itself They said the call for unanimous agreement on an amending formula would mean postponing patnation for another 113 years Switching ends. they chid ed Mr Bennett for not press- ing the BC constitutional position before the House Senate committee in Ot tawa They poured scorn on the government's argument for enlarged B © representation in an appointed federal Senate and on Mr Ben netts statement cartier this year that he didn't vote in federal elec tons They pointed (with some justifications) to numerous more senous problems than the constitution which are demanding action Finally Mr Barrett challenged Mr Bennett’ to go to the people and test thetr support for bis con stitutional resolution in the polling booth is a special sense of fair play in the British Parliament, which used to be present in the Canadian parliament, too. Prime Minister Trudeau doesn't care about fair play. He cares about winning regardless of the means. Long before the British Parliament was scheduled to receive the Canadian con- stitutional request, there were rumbles from all British parties about how quickly the Canadian thing was be- ing done; about how many people were opposed to Mr. Trudeau's actions, and about how closure had been used to put the constitutional bill into special committee. Add to that the initial fight over whether or not there would be radio-television coverage of the committee's hearings, and you have all the appearance of a railroading operation. The reluctance displayed by British politicians in early November to do exactly as Mr. Trudeau wanted, no questions asked, was a reflection of the fact that the Bennett wins round on focus Noel Wright The of Mr Bar retts routine challenge alas. was lousy The very same day the Gallup Poll an nounced that S4% of Cana dians nahionally disapproved of the federal government acting on its own without the unanimous approval of all the provinces the amended home timing to bring comstitatlion In BC the Msapproval figure was well over 00% TREADING WATER With NDP support in thas province very definitely on the upswing one can't blame British felt that fair play was being violated by Mr. Trudeau. The government Parliament appeared to cave in to combined opposition pressure in allowing radio- TV coverage of the commit- tee. Look rather to the mood which was settling into Westminster if you are seek- ing a reason for the govern- ment reversing itself on radio-TV coverage. The message was getting through to Mr. Trudeau and his caucus that the British Parliament might become quite truculent over passing exactly what the Canadian prime minister wanted without question. The Trudeau conclusion was that radio-TV coverage of the committee would restore some sense of rightness in the way the constitutional issue is being handled here in the capital. Thank fortune for the government change of heart. I don't imagine for a moment that Canadians across the nation have been glued all day to their television sets, hanging on every word of the witnesses, but at least Cana- dians have had a chance to see how the process works. They’ve had a chance to see some pretty dramatic TV clips from the committee hearings . and they have beconie better informed on a vital issue. points Mr. Barrett for exploiting every issue that arses im an effort to win sal more Brownie points. But on the constitutional issue he's in a singularly unhappy situation. His federal NDP leader, Ed Broadbent. onginally chmbed into bed with Prime Minister Trudeau on the lat- ters unilateral patnation for- mula. apparently without reading all the fine print. But as Mr Trudeau runs into ever stormier weather, the recent indications are that Mr Broadbent (if you'll par don the mixed metaphor) is anxiously looking for some way to yump ship Meanwhile, Mr _ Broad- bent’s provincial heutenants like Mr Barrett are being left to tread water on the constitubion until the federal party line 1s clanfied That's why the normally articulate Mr Barrett found lithe to say last week about the actual content of the B.C. government's con stitutional resolution. It wasn't safe to attack what the resolution calls for So he had to content himself with attacking tts author And that's why the embat- so Wed Mr Bennett scored a clear victory in) this par ticular round On points With Dr. (iallup in the sudge’s box . 4