6 News v PICA ECEE HE FEDERAL government’s ap-. “ ‘proach to busting the underground ‘economy ia Canada is.a good il- lustration of why that economy is booming - and: the ‘country’ s legitimate economy is 2 pote | ‘Insjead of attacking the root causes of why: more. Canadians are turning to under- ‘ground means of doing business, the gov- _ernment.throws:more money at the prob- ‘fem by. stepping up the investigation and prosecution of tax cheats. ¢, Lawenbiding Canadians have no sym- ‘pathy..for tax evaders, but the reality of ‘Canada’s bleak economic situation is that we are overtaxed and overgoverned. -~ And Canadian governments still don’t seem to be getting the messuge. _. The Conservatives were tossed out of of- fice and almost. obliterated as a party largely because they failed to wrestle the deficit to the mat. ’ Canada’s new team of MPs will suffer the same fate if they too hedge on promises to vanquish the deficit, which Finance Minister Paul Martin recently announced could be as much as $46 billion for the current fiscal year. However, Canada’s fiscal foundation may collapse well before we have a chance to send more fast-talking politicos packing if the foreign powers that hold the bulk of our debt decide to call in their. markers. Tax police will be of little value to anyone in a bankrupt country populated with bankrupt people. The solution is simple: cut taxes, cut government spending, make it worthwhile to earn an honest living in this couniry, or get out of office. : We have run out of alternatives. | NEWS QUOTES OF THE WEEK “Stop publicizing it so much.” Vancouver tug company was panel discussion on teen violence — on the need for facilities for ‘North’ Vancouver resident Alison Gavine, to the Dec. 1 News Inquiring Reporter question: What should be done to lower (North Vancouver) city’s crime rate? forced to fay off employees for the first time in its 04-year his- tory, on whether more layoffs were being considered. (From a Nov. 28 News story.) young people in West Vancouver. (From a Nov. 28 News story.) “¥ hope not. Golly, I hope net. 1 ‘‘We live hope the bleeding has stopped.” in one of the most wealthy districts in Canada and we “1 don’t think we'll come up with anything better than a male and female loving parent for children.” can’t shell out a bit of money for C.H. Cates and Sons Ltd. president ; and ~ general manager Claire Johnston, after the North i i Publisher ... . . Peter Speck Managing Editor. Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor Noel Wright Sales & Marketing Director Linda Stewart Comptrotler Doug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an . independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Itl of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited materiat including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, ‘sell. addressed envelope. : _ Newsroom V7M 2H4 a place where kids can hang out?”’ West Vancouver Secondary stu- dent Alaina Burnett — during a Display Advertising Rea! Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Tred ONCE OF MONTH AiO WERT whee OUYER West Vancouver teacher Jane Cowan, on the family. (From the Dec. 3 Just Add Water column.) 980-0511 Distribution 986-4337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 contains Administration 985-2131 PRrMay ‘recycled hbre Nortn Snore managed MEMBER BR's St GP This newspaper 985.2131 oltre é : SUNDAY © WEONESOAY © FMOAY 2 a 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. SDA DIVISION 61,582 {average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1993 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved, post-secon¢ wave of fi ture THESE DAYS — to paraphrase Mark Twain — it often seems that everybody is talking about education but no- body is doing anything about it. In the schools the infamous “Year 2000"' program has of- ficially been killed, though what replaces it still contains much of the same twaddie, with no guar- antee that it will work any better. At the post-secondary level the battle is about whether it’s more important to understand a VCR manual or to understand Shakespeare. Ata North Van Chamber of Commerce lunch last month John Watson, president of BCIT, came down convincingly — as you might expect — on the side of the VCR manual. Technical reading skilis, he declared, are essential if Canadians are to compete in the 21st century. Moreover, those skills are not being taught widely enough — mainly because they differ basically from the traditional reading skills taught to aspiring university students. No question that Mr. Watson knows whereof he speaks. BCIT’s record — 93% of its grads land | HITHER AND YON. skilled workers, vital tothe’ economy of the day, whose peér- sonal standards have never been surpassed, In our vastly different world the heirs of that tradition: ..: are BCIT and the growing number of similar technological skills- ‘teaching schools.’ . For most post-secondary education needs on the threshold " of the 2Ist century. they are the wave of the future. And even in ’ these tough times you’ll seldom find any ‘of their grads serving Big- -Macs! ~ (eee SIGN-OFF; Give a unique Xmas gift, onc of the 250 original - paintings by emerging local artists on display Wednesday, Dec. 8, ° 6-8 p.m. at Presentation House — : ‘ all for sale or rent (average $5 per a month). ... Lower Lonsdale.‘ - RENATE GRIFFITHS... your handwriting. watch jobs for which they are trained within a few months — is an out- standing post-secondary success story. At the same time it destroys a 50-year-old post-secondary myth. The myth that university is every high school grad’s God- given birthright — regardless of who pays, or what the student studies, or whether he/she is qualified to benefit from it at all. Thus, mere attendance at a uni- versity, even without getting a degree, has long been seen as an assured meal ticket, bringing a su- perior job for fife. Today, the inevitable results are angry undergrads demonstrating against paying more than 15% of their tuition costs, cash-strapped universities across North America cutting back their facilities, and BAs, MAs and PhDs — the lucky ones — flipping hamburgers. What happened after 1945 was egalitarian snobbism run amok. For the fact is that universities in the true sense (ie., seats of universal learning) were never in- tended to cater to more than a limited intellectual elite. From the Middle Ages onward their key purpose was to train and mature society’s LEADERS — in gov- ernment, the law, scholarship and science. As it still must be. Parallel to them arose the famed medieval guilds which proudly produced craftsmen and Seniors Association holds its _ eighth annual Xmas Dinner Mon- ” day, Dec. 6, at Lonsdale Quay Hotel — call Grace Walsh, 980-2. * 3979 for any remaining tickets. ... 12h Seymour District Boy Scouts’ Xmas trees are now on sale 9 a.m. to 10.p.m. daily through Dec. 23 ° at their new location in Parkgate Village, Mt. Seymour Parkway. ... . Many happy returns of Tuesday, Dec..7, to Kiwanian Brock Webber. ... And smarten up your handwriting when you write your happy birthday card the same day . to character-reading West Van graphologist Renate Griffiths! eoe WRIGHT OR WRONG: You never become a failure as long as you refrain from blaming some- body else. JOHN WATSON... VCRs deat out Shakespeare.