NDP CHICKENS are com-
ing home to roost in a rush,

" slamming’'shut Mike

Harcourt’s “windows of

opportunity” for the looming

election. |‘:

‘First came the pathetic collapse

“ef his claim to sound management

- Of B.C.'s finances and debt —
blown to shreds in the. public rela-
tions debacle of his Feb. 23 “elec-
tronic townhall"‘on TV, which
exposed, the soaring provincial debt
since the NDP. won power in 1991) .

Then freedom-of-information |

» papers revealed hundreds of thou- ~
sands of patronage dollars paid to

an NDP ad agency in contracts .
never put to tender — partly, it.
émerged, for daily advice from a
U.S. Democratic Party spin doctor

: in Washington, D.C., on how to run

-our province.

These two items alone 2 are wide-
, ‘ly. reported to have.torpedoed NDP
.. plans to go to the bali box this
o spring. Cre
Now, the Idian “eveaty-mak- :
ing” scam poses an even bigger |
‘threat tc. Harcourt’s election plans.
Despite his efforts to scothe the,
non-native 97% of'British
“Columbians there is increasing ©

public angst about what's going 0 on

behind ‘those closed doors.
“ * Under the process devised by
> the’ B.C. Treaty Commission all the
“ negotiating takes place i in strict pri- ”
‘;yacy between the Indians and
- bureaucrats of the federai and

- Provincial governments, cee

“Peter Saock:. |
“Publisher ° , | voy
(985-2191 (101)

1189 Lonsdate Avenue

North Vancouver B.C.
wo! MI7M 2H4 | :
“North 1 Shore = Managed

‘Noel

hither
“gnd you

” No outsiders of any kind — nei-
ther.specialist advisers, community

_ observers nor the media — are
‘allowed in the room at-uny stage of

the deal-making. a
All the great unwashed 97% are
allowed to know about the wheel-

ing and dealing is what — if any-
~ thing — the bureaucrats chouse to
* tell them. And once the draft treaty.

is completed, it gets even worse:
“If you're an Indian, you'll be.

able to vote on the draft in a band.’ ;
“* deer-caught-in-the-headlights look

referendum — which means (1)
your representatives will obviously
explain to you in detail how it was...
ezrived at; and (2) if you and

enough of your fellow Indians dis- \

like it, you can reject it.
No such luck;— and NO REF-

. ERENDUMS, not even locally in:

communities directly involved —
for the non-native 97% who facé
paying the multi-billion-dollar bills ©

‘in cash, resources and land for this:

SEONG RG CNA g MIRAI TE SAS ARNE SEEDER GEN AUG MO GREET Ma

ae ES A Oe cone oe

NOTHER SEABUS linking the North
Shore with downtown Vancouver is a
good idea that needs more local back-

The pedestrian ferry service, which began
operation in 1977, has been a success from the
outset, primarily because it makes good
SeIse.

And when a government project makes
good sense, i should be applauded vigorously
— it being so rare an event.

The SeaBus story carried recently by
SCTY resurrected a previously Noated plan
to increase Burrard Inlet SeaBus connections
to and from the North Shore.

And whi": B.C. Transit officials have
denied that u.c North Shore could be in line
for three new SeaBus routes — one to
Ambleside, one to Capilano Road and one to

Seymour Road — as reported in the television

SFE Le REN Lekedee A LEI AD GHD UGE DROP IM a NGA RST RG NYE A RR EG

news story, the basic idea of increasing North
Shore SeaBus connections needs promoting.

An additional link to any one of the three
aforementioned terminal sites weuld help
ease the growing commuter pressures on the
two already overcrowded North - Shore
bridges.

It would also help diversify the options for
North Shore commuters, which is a key to.
relieving the North Shore rush-hour transit
squeeze.

A buses-only lane or two is just not going to.
do that much (to untangle local rush hour traf-
fic snarls,

Bigger bridges, wider traffic lanes serve ;
only the car-driving public. s

They won’t get traffic off local roads and
reduce the pressure on local transportation
systems.

Rail and ferry commuter options w i.

_ whole exercise.

Harcourt is now scrambling to
oifer vague promises of “input”
from affected groups and commu-
nities at the draft treaty stage. :

But the treaties, once accepted

by the Indian bands, will be ratified
by the B.C. government with a sim-

ple majority * vote in the legislature.

So if you're a non-native, you'll
have no direct say in the final deci-
sion.

Nor will these treaty acts be
mere parliamentary statutes, able to _
be repealed at some future date.

They will be protected by the
Constitution and thus graven in

" stone for all time, ‘no matter how

big a disaster they might eventually

_Prove to be.

“Trust us to do our best for
you,” says the Premier. Given the

_ two other credibility tests he’s just
flunked — debt control and blatant | ;

patronage -— it’s a sadly hollow °
plea. ;

As the election nears, Mikey”
knows that the NDF record on
Indian treaty-making is one more:
guaranteed vote-loser. Hence his *

you see so often nowadays on TV.

see a

NEW MEMBERS welcome at,’

W.V. Adult Community Pops Band -

— info 926-1919 ... And many

\happy returns of tomorrow, March

13, to North Van’s Helen Preston.

a eee6

WRIGHT OR WRONG: ‘Life i is
like a 10-speed bike — with lots of |
"Bears we never use.

quotes of the week

“How much do you have to
fortify your premises? When the
cop came the last time, he said,
‘You should have bars on your
windows.’ For crying out loud,
who is suppesed to be behind
bars, me or the guy stealing from
me?”

Russell Chernoff, whose busi-
ness has been the target of burglars, -
on security and crime. {from a

’ March 10 News stary.)

“Pye run into, to put it mildly,

_acouple of nuts.”

Poet Joseph Emanuel, who sells |
his poems door-to-door on the

‘North Shore, on the people he
: Meets on his rounds. (From a”
' March 3 News story.)

maibox

“We must live within our
means and govern with the «
money. we have to spead, not
with how much can be bor-
rowed.” |

Whistler mayor and West.
Vanconver-Garibaldi Liberal candi
, date Ted Nebbeling, on responisibl
: fiscal management of public funds.
(From the March 8 Noel Wright :
‘Hither and Yon column. } ae

“Tt was alla little tos artsy for
_ me.”

West ‘Vancouver painter :
~ Cameron Bird, on the Emily Carr’

' school of art on Granville Island, ©
{ From ¢ a March 8 News Inside

ae —- : a

Dear Editor: oo
- “If you can’t pave it, buy them a
drink.” This is an old expression in

Canadian politics. Highway politics °

seem to be alive and well in North
Vancouver District. .

At the district’s Feb. 27 capital
budget meeting, council decided to
put the Montroyal Connector first.

on its agenda of priorities although‘

it is listed 92 on a list of 139 capital,
projects. Only the first 35 could be
funded.

The. Montroyal Connector will
be totally funded by. district’ fand
sales.

_ This is deficit financing at- its :

worst, where the politicians sell off
the public trust. When there is noth
ing more to sell: they, double your
taxes!’ : 2,

A recent report ‘recommended

” the road be built, citing traffic logic ;

and the satisfaction ‘of: the: driving:

public . as. the” prime ‘reasons : for

building. This is hardly compellinig
stuff to spend our money on.
So if you like the way council is-

“doing business, belly up to the bar,”
. but you better know that when they

buy you. that: drink they will be

.. Spending your money.
Alan McIntosh.

West Vancouver -

Comptroller, mo
“ 985-2134 (433)

- Chris Johnzon |
Operations Manager
985-2131 (1414)

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