Doug Collins

@ vel this straivht ©

WHEN IN the fullness of time Bill Bennett shuffles of f his
mortal coil and goes to the great bevond, those who inhabit

the daily prints and the halls of academe may have
word to say for him. They are too mean to do so now,

a@ good
even

though he has shown superb class.

Consider his leaving. Few
politicians have shown such style
in giving up power. Pierre
Trudeau went because he knew
the country was sick and tired of
him. Bennett, however, has gone

Fat mid-term, when he might very
well have won an election on the
strength of Expo.

Having bashed him so vicious-
ly, the major media are not about
to say that a great premier has
left. He is going out of the door
without as much as a ‘thank
you". One columnist even heaped
vituperation on his farewell party.
But that doesn’t alter the fact that
a lion has gone. A lion with a few
warts, yes, but a lion all the same.

Some British Columbians are
too close to the sound and fury of
B.C. politics to see him in proper
focus. So let’s take a look at what
an outsider had to say about him
before he announced he would be
retiring.

“Mr, William Bennett,’’ wrote
Ted Byfield of Western Report in
talking about the glory of Expo
and the grudging credit the
premier had received for it, ‘‘is
not what you would call a media
darling. As far as the media are
concerned, he is not there to com-
mend; he is there to blame.”*

The premier of B.C., Byfield
pointed out, is a kind of media
whipping boy, like the president
of the United States. The only
ones who like him are the electors.

“Fo read almost any columnist
covering B.C. politics, or listen to
any of the udvanced thinkers of
national television, you would
wonder how this man is able to get
up in the morning without being
assaulted in the streets. Whatever
he does, it’s wrong.

“Tf he spends, which he certain-
ly did to make possible Expo 86,
this proves that he is irresponsible
with the taxpayers’ money. Hf he
refuses to spend, which 4e¢ has
done repeatedly in the lasy three
years, this proves that he is indif-
ferent to the needs of his preo-
vince. Hf he requires school boards
to meet their budgets or get out,
it’s because he hates school

| B.C. Raill
makes |
millions }

B.C. Rail Ltd., B.C. Railway
Co.'s operating subsidiary, made
$7,852,000 in unaudited income
before deferred income taxes for
the first six months of this year.

That amount compares with net
income of $2,238,000 for the first
half of 1985.

Operating income for the first
half rose 14 per cent to $45,703,00
from $40,012,000 during the same
period the previous year.

Car loading volumes in the same
period rose six per cent over the
previous year due to an increase in
forest products traffic.

children or is anti-intellectual. Uf
he sets up a huge fund to reward
excellence in education, it's
because his educational ideas are
‘elitise’

In 1983, when Bennet ran for
re-election, stated Byfield, it was
to the customary chorus of -on-
tempt in the media. (And more
than that. As | pointed out at the
time, television and the daily press
broke their necks to gang up on
him. Especiatly television. And
especially BCTV.)

Byfield recalled that when Ben-
nett promised to cut the cost of
government, nobody seemed to
listen to him. But ‘Bennett is not,
in the usual sense of the word, a
politician.
habit of actually doing what he
says he is going to do, and of put-
ting principle before politics. He
would rather, that is, be right than
be premier."’

We all remember the media and
opposition hysteria that accom-
panied the restraint program and
the cuts in the civil service, all of
which were overdue. (Particularly
the squeiching of the tyrannical
human rights branch.) So does

Byfield the Albertan, who was |

watching from Edmonton:
‘‘The howls echoed across the
land. A lunatic was at large in

B.C. Thousands marched in pro- |

test. Promising to cut spending
was one thing; actually doing it
was quite another. The
editorialists, the cartoonists, the
liberal commentators, the advanc-
ed thinkers, all plumbed the limits
of their vocabularies to find new
epithets to hurl at the sullenly
obstinate premier.”’

Why do the media hate Bill
Bennett, asked Byfield?

“One can only guess. He isn't
respectfully terrified of them. He
just runs his government and ig-
nores them.""

No doubt about it. Bennett had
greatness. But we ali know what
happens to the prophet in his own
land. Anyway, here’s a smal!
thank you, Bill Bennett. You had
more guts than the whole army of
your critics.

He has a distressing §

9 - Wednesday, August 6, 1986 - North Shore News

N. SHORE EXPO EVENT

Artists display clay, fibre

OVER 30 North Shore artists are
featured in a clay and fibre exhib-
ition being held in a cafeteria at
Capilano College.

Clay and Fibre 86, put on by the
North Shore Expo committee, was
originally intended to reflect the
theme of Expo and transportation.

“Its not really a transportation
look. We tried, but the artists did
their own thing,’ said Barbara
Barron, a member of the exhib-
ition’s organizing committee and a
contributing artist.

But at Jeast one exhibit, three
stoneware models of vintage cars
being driven by mules, mixes what
could vaguely be called a cranspor-
tation theme with humor.

ART POTPOURRI

The show which features about
70 pieces, is really an artistic pot-
pourri ranging from decorative
clay vessels to hand woven hang-
ings.

Barron has three pieces in the
show including two large stone-
ware vessels and a stoneware plat-
ter.

Another prominent North Shore
ceramic artist featured in the show
is Judy Cranmer, who uses we.:
coast Indian designs on her vessels.

A section on Native arts was
also originally included in the show
but is absent among the final pro-
duct.

Barron said the exhibition’s
organizing committee had at one
point considered using paintings,
but decided to keep the show small
and specific.

Clay and Fibre 86 is a juried

Thurs. Aug. 7
7:15 PM

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show, which means professionals
selected the exhibits.

“Tt definitely is a quality show,”
said the exhibition’s coordinator
Conchita Furstenwald. ‘it’s not
just a craft display,"” she added.

Furstenwald, a Spanish instrue-
tor at Capilano Catlege, said
Capilano College’s north campus

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cafeteria where the exhibition is
being housed is a more than ade-
quate site. ‘Actually it's a
beautiful room. You can't even see
it’s a cafeteria,”’ she said.

The exhibition at Capilano Col-
lege, 2055 Purcell Way, runs Tues.
to Sat., 2:30 to 8 p.m., until Aug.

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