a NOW that the so- called “storm of the century” is behind us, it’s time for a post-mortem on the sorry state of emergency pre- paredness in British Columbia. Did you notice the difference between how public authori- ties in our neighbering American states dealt with the severe winter weather and the virtual non-response by government agencics on our side of the border? -In both Washington and Oregon, a number of counties were quickly declared disaster areas and the National - Guard was called out to aid those "Americans whose lives or property were threatened: * = On ‘our side. of the border, by com- parison, it seemed as if everyone in che rovincial government was on hotiday. No one was home; no one was in 7 “cha ¢; and so far no one will accept = any blame. -This contrast between our two coun- tries is ‘striking for a number of reasons, snot the least of which is the way it ~ ‘belies our national mythologies. ee the United States, the home of the brave and land of the.free, where a & afer approach and ‘minimalist sed to be the. f the day, pu lic: authorities were oreo on the Ee and in comniand. Canada, our vaunted, activist gov- asleep at the switch and ¢ public was lar; ely left to D fend for jemscives. -... But the astonishing snowstorm rep- a resented : avery: serious threat to Public ty. We're exthemnely lucky that it didn’t result in tragedy for many British Columbians especially those who were caught travelling when the blizzard plan a disaster struck, The NDP government has a lot to answer for; and as taxpayers we should be demanding some accountability on this issue. After all, why are we spending $3.3 million per year on a Provincial Emergency Program? And why haven’t the opposition parties been asking pointed questions about the fax government reaction? It was appalling to see Artorney General Ujial Dosanjh finally waking up to the fact that the federal government's closure of CFB Chilliwack represents a threat to public safety in Brinsh Columbia. . Where was the NDP goverr:ment more than a year ago when Ortawa announced the dismantling of the only major land forces military base west of the Rockies? Do you think for a moment thar Ontario or Quebec would have allowed such a move without launching major political protests against the federal gov- ernment? Yet we heard nary a peep trom the NDP — until now, when they want to belatedly blame Ortawa for our lack of emergency preparedness. It’s unseemly, dishonest and represents politics at its worst.” The truth is that British Columbia has never received its fair share of national defence spending. CFB Chilliwack’s purpose was to assist B.C. communities in the event of emergen- > cies or natural disasters. Now that the military base is being shut down for good, we're goin fo have to rely on assistance from ' other side of the Rocky Mountains. And when you consider that during the recent West Coast white-out our highways were impassable and airports were closed, it’s casy to understand why this is completely unacceptable. What's worse, under current condi- tions we now know that we can’t rely on much help from Victoria cither. We were lucky this time. And we have much to be thankful for. Nat only did we survive a more-than-magical white Christmas, but the extraordinary efforts of thousands of British Columbians helped demonstrate the very best spirit of the holiday scason. Families, friends and neighbors iooked out for cach other as they hud- died and shovelled their ways chrough the massive snowfall. Here at home, we can be proud that members of the North Shore Rescue Team, supported by staff from Cypress Bowl, responded to assist stranded trav- cllers under extreme conditions in the Fraser Valley. In Victoria, where the snowfall was more than double what we received on the mainland, public safety was ensured by private radio station CFAX These are but two examples of dozens that could be cited where indi- viduals and private agencies smartly — moved in to fill the void created by our absentee government. Hercin lie the principal lessons of the storm of the century: look out for your- self; look out for your neighbor; and; whatever happens, don’t depend on Big Brother. Self-sufficiency and self-reliance have now. emerged as the supreme virtues worth striving for in the event cfa cri- - sis. Heaven help us if the big one ever hits home — because we're on our own. — The free Shore News belienes ly in freedom of speech and the right of. orate sides ina i 1 be heard. 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