Ab - Wednesday; May 12, 1982 - North Shore News EEE editorial page Costly garbage The reports brought back by members of the North Vancouver civic group which recently visited Europe to study methods of garbage disposal vary somewhat in_ in- dividual emphasis. But one point emerges clearly from all of them. Europeans spend more on dealing with their waste then we have so far been prepared to spend. That's probably the key lesson that the North Shore and other Lower Mainland municipalities -- now fast running out of long-term landfill facilities -- have to learn. In England and Europe no single system of waste disposal appears to predominate. Everywhere there are mixes of landfill, incineration and recycling operations, often combined with long hauls of garbage by truck or rail to disposal facilities far removed from urban areas. Many of the facilities -- whether landfill, incineration or recycling -- also seem to be considerably more sophisticated and ef- ficient than anything we have locally. They are dictated by the denser populations of European countries -- which, nevertheless,. still remain acutely aware of the ever- growing nature of the problem. As the density of our own populated areas steadily increases, the North Van visitors had, in effect, a preview of the shape of things to come. Ultimately, the choice is not between landfill, incineration and recycling. The only effective answer lies’ in technologically advanced combinations of all three at a significantly higher cost than we've hitherto contemplated. The only alternative is eventually to drown in the garbage of our modern lifestyles. Word puzzle Human rights jargon can tie itself into interesting knots. The post office has killed a plan to give summer jobs to letter carriers’ families because the Human Rights Com- mission says all temporary hiring must be non-discriminatory. And what could be fairer, indeed — even though it then becomes okay to discriminate against a qualified applicant merely because his brother works for the firm? Ah, words. . sunday news Display Advertising 980-0511 north shore moa Classified Advertising 986-6222 news Newsroom 985-2131 Circulation 986-1337 1139 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver BC V7M 2H4 Publisher Peter oporh Assoctate Publisher Robert Graham Ediltor-in-Chiet Noel Wright Advortising Director Tarn France ts General Manage: Administration & Porsonnol Mrs thevervs b debbeear cd Ctrcutation Director tana AE ths Production Otrector back Stomeatwnuse North Shove News formed my FOU an an inceqrrnchort Cornennuty prerw gpeagress ave) cnaalifierdd carcier Ss tyeciuube ME beat UM ben eagge ergot tH ot thie: tactso Tan Act in pubtshoed each Wedhosday and Sanday fy Noell: Shore froe roan bid and cistrilbuted to every choo on the Nort? Shore Socond Class Mat Registratiues Number 160° Entire contents 1982 North Shore free Preas Ltd All rights ;exe ved Sneteme rates | Nortfh and Went Vancouver bo per pea Maite, caten avatiatte on coun sont Ne fengmminitedtty mec egpitercd fan catreye pbte Hered trepbhare taal wae Wee Deve, Caste qt an gre tun aviv fe shred tre ae corrugated bey a stearagied ach oamodd onivertu re VERRIER CA TRON 93.899 Wednesday 93 404 Sunday sx. & THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE LETTER OF THE WEEK Damage caused by high interest rates may prove to be permanent Prime Minister Trudeau recently stated that if we want to benefit from the coming economic recovery, wages must come down. To understand fully why he says this, one must take an historical perspective. Without a doubt, the main triggering event for inflation in the seventies and cighties was the oil price increases brought on by O.P.E.C. When the price of energy goes up, the price of everything goes up because almost everything uses energy in the production process. Energy producers therefore managed _ to wrestle for themselves a bigger piece of the economic pie. Organized labour responded to this by demanding wage increases to compensate them for the inflation which resulted. In other words, they did not want to give up any of their piece of the pie to O.P.E.C. Wage controls in the late seventies prevented them from fully achieving this and the average real wage fell over this period. Labour, however, was not the only one to lose to in- flation. Lenders who denved their income from interest payments found that these Payments barely covered inflation. Needless to say. lenders were upset and by the end of the seventies we saw a chanye in economic policy that was designed to totally protect the lenders from eneryy pnce inflaton. Assertion, were made that lenders should not only be Protected from inflation but that they were entitled to premiums of at least 3% as well (1.e. their piece of the economic pie was to grow even if the pie did not). This gain to lenders and energy producers would to a large extent have to come out of wages. In my opinion, neither labour nor the _ lenders should consider themselves entitled to full compensation from oil price inflation. A fair balance seemed to have been struck between 1977 and 1979 when both sectors gave a little through inflation and the economy prospered. However, when Paul Volkner was appointed head of the U.S. Federal Reserve in 1979, policy was changed so as to totally -protect the lenders by raising interest rates regardless of whether it halted all economic growth, which is exactly what happened. The result of this change in pohcy is high unem- ployment that is dnving down wages throughout the world. Trudeau now tells us that uf Canadian wages do not drop as well, we will be pnced out of the world market. What he does not tell us is that if imterest rates are brought down with the help of exchange controls and if the dollar falls a httle as a result, we will be able to maintain our competitive position in the world market. Lower interest rates here would also give Canadian businessmen a head start over the Americans in preparing for recovery in that investment could stan now to build up our CONTINUED ON PAGE A7 Premier gets the B.C. spirit PREMIER BILL BENNETT has publicly ac- claimed the Canucks for their spectacular feat in reaching New York and the Stanley Cut finals -- “that’s the B.C. spirit,” Mr. Bennett he declared. As a result, now finds himself in need of a Brodeur of his own to keep the opposition’s puck out of his political net. The premier cheered on Vancouver's hockey heroes last weekend with a stnking full page ad in the two Bigtown daihes It showed a hand waving a while towel, praised the Canucks (adding the bit about the BC sparit in large type) and was signed by Mr Bennactt himself ona behalf of the government of British Columbia But oh dear NDP leades Dave Barrett promptly had a fichd day This ad he cost the B ¢ taxpayer $12 700) Even worse, “That's Phe BO Spit” gust hap pens to be the Soctal Credit governments dreamed up fumcd, had new slogan by Mr Ben netts backroom boys as the Socred callying cry for the acat clec tron In tight of the premnices testeatol program 1 200 about to hose their yobs the wd proved too Mr that Me scnaitivity of an oyster more om the aod with hospital cmphoyees Barictt Beanctt: has othe And sane strain about the deaprable ocx plottaton of the innocent Canucksin an clfort to carry polite al lavosr Whea it dele nding the Comes fas taapnyer s Aeollars teapesctaltly thas taxpayer's), Em mght up there ain the front row manning the barncades But just thas once | suspect that Mr Barrett may have fallen into the trap of thinking at the top of his lungs A few things arc) stll sacred And this week. for virtually every British Columbian over the age of six, the Canucks come right at the top of the list) Failure to egg them on with might and main to victory over the damn Yankees is a crime worse (han treason Above all, that's truco the lunchbucket crowd which Mr Barrett likes to count as his foot soldiers in the war against the wacked Socreds If a mere $12. /00 help inspire the Canucks to bring home the Stanley Cup, Bert Bluccollar and Harry Hardhat gladly sagm the ad could would chit) them acives gust at this moment In actual fact the «bat for Me of Course Bennett's ad ts chee adedly mantest abut one anda half taa cents for every BC houschold Wath up to five games sall to po whoin bis mght mind i gpomg to quibble about that’ De partment stores ape od as omeoch oom ada cvery day and oh the cost tao Clete Noel Wright pnces without as singic thang forus to celebrate Ah says Mr Barrett. but Ws the poaciple of the thing. the politcal immorality. that's so wicked Sometimes onc wonders a little about Mr Barrett The principle bebinad the premicrs ad scems as ob vigus asits semple For most of the BC populace the Canucks are the only good news 1982 has brought to date So whats parti ularly wrked about the govern ment cheering ous up by offherally recognizing the fact) and thereby maybe tmaparing the boys to furthers saperhuman cfforts? As to “political im- morality,” iat admittedly won't do the government any harm to chmb on to the Canucks bandwagon with maximum publicity Especially as the govern ment now has a slogan that fits the situation so perfectly What onc = specifically wonders about Mr Barrett, however, ts whether -- had he been premier - he would not have done cxzactly the same thing Fortunately for Mr Barrett we'll never know, sackcloth and ashes being one of the perks en yoyed exclusively by op position parlics ICs arguable, of course that if the Socreds wished to fish for votes with a hockcy sick, they should have paid the $12,700 trom party funds, not the public pursc In that case, however. the Socreds would have emerged as the only political party backing the Canucks | suspect Mr Barrett would hardly have hed that cither As leader of the official opposition, he can at icast bask ana litthe reflected glory from Vactona’s splurge For tree I don't know whether: Mr Beanctt’s ad will win him oa stingic catia vote at Une acal clecthon But at icast he had the savvy to grab Uhe puch and shate witht) and | doubt whether anyone outside the NDP caucus really grudges bam the petty cash he spent in such a noble « ause Thats the BoC spirit thos thrillang Stanicy Cup week