A6 - Wednesday, January 25, 1984 - North Shore News seem cditorial pace Charter mocked | ~ The ‘new bill forbidding political advertising during an election by any group other than a recognized political party sets a dangerous precedent. Supported by all three parties in the Com- mons, the bill is aimed dgainst ideological pressure groups such as the Citizens Coalition and single-issue groups like anti-abortionists. During past election campaigns such groups have indulged in extensive newspaper advertis- ing, designed to influence election results in a manner favorable to their own cause. The bill was based on the argument that money alone, without political accountability in the form of candidates, should not be allowed to exert unrestricted influence on the political process — especially since bona fide parties themselves are subject to specific limitations on.their campaign expenditures. Nonetheless, the bill directly denies the fun- damental freedom of expression guaranteed by the Charter of Rights — which sets no limit on the AMOUNT of free expression to which citizens are entitled. In fact, the Election Act’s curb on party expenditures could itself be unconstitutional. To overcome this problem the legislators presumably relied on the clause in the Charter making all rights and freedoms ‘‘subject to such reasonable limits ... as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.’’ But by invoking that restrictive clause to give an exclusive advantage to established political parties, they not only made a mockery of ‘‘freedom of expression’’, Potentially, they made a mockery of all the Charter’s other promises as well. Challenge Nobody enjoys being a guineapig. But there are already indications that many of the grim-faced Grade 12 students now battling their way through the first government exams in a decade will wind up doing better than they had dared hope. They’ll also have learned a valuable new lesson for adult life: how to meet a challenge when the stakes are high and you’ve only one chance. ‘Tye VOCE MP SORE TE Ale REY VAC were sunday Display Advertising 980-0511 news Classified Advertising 986-6222 north shore: Newsroom 086-2131 rn ew Ss Circulation 988-1337 Subscriptions 980-7081 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, 8.C. V7M 2H4 Publisher Peter Speck Edltor-In-Chief Noel Wright Classified Olrector Isabelle Jennings Associate Publisher Advertising Director Robert Graham Tim Francis Personnel Director Bernt Hithard Circulation Director Bill McGown Photography Manager Terry Peters Production Olrector Chaos Jonnson North Shore News, founded in 1960 as an independant Community Newspape: and qualittod unde: Schedute Wh Part Hl Parcageaph Ut of the taxcise Tax Act ts published each Wednesday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press LId and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885 Entire contents " 1984 North Shore Free Prese Ltd. All rights reserved Subacnptions North and Woot Vane ouver avanable on frequent $25 pee your: Mailing tates 17] No responsibility accepted for unsol tod maternal matuding Manuscepis aNd pictures whieh should be ace ompanod by a stamped addessed anvelope Member of the B.C. Press Council * BOA OIVEON THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE 64,700 (averago Wodnesday & Sunday) MA INS TREAM CA NADA By W. ROGER WORTH - THE TAX FORM that’s due to arrive in the mail any day now is a prime example of what people operating smaller firms have to contend with on a daily basis. With the tax form, the first thing you'll notice is the weight. How, you may ask LET ME GUESS.. yourself, could any set of documents that weighs so much be as simple and un- complicated as the experts at Revenue Canada contend? Even before the envelope has been opened, you’re pro- bably thinking about visiting ~ the nearest shopping centre tax kiosk to hire someone to compiete the forms. The WE DION'T wile envelope feels intimidating. Qn opening the package, there’s a booklet explaining how simple it is to fill in the forms, together with a multi- colored, duplicate set of papers that appears to re- quire more than 25 pages of data. More intimidation. Then there's the very real consideration that you may. actually lose money by not taking advantage of all the tax loopholes and deductions that may be available. In- deed, the forms not only look complicated, they are.. Somehow, we’ve developed a tax system that forces millions of Canadians to seek out tax-form preparers. Even the nation’s accoun- tants are lobbying for a simpler system. . ~ But if the ‘personal tax return is intimidating for the individual, consider the challenges faces by in- dividuals operating-:smaill and medium-sized: businesses. There are reports to federal and provincial sales ':, tax departments. The Workers’ Compensation..Board needs information to. plug into its computers. Revenue Canada constantly needs data, as well as money, and the Unemployment Insurance Commission forms have to be completed. A dozen or more federal, provincial or municipal agencies are seek- ing information on a regular or irregular basis. The granddaddy of all the That bell is for MY WRIST is still sore from sharp slaps ad- ministered by several readers of my recent column on the malfunctioning fire alarm in our apartment building, which many of its residents cynically ig- nore. I’m accused of treating a deadly serious sub- ject far too lightly. That’s good. The column apparently achieved its objec- tive, which was simply this: The sooner everyone in- volved — from fire chiefs to building managers to highrise dwellers to manufacturers of temperamental fire protec- tion systems — appreciates the psychological problem caused by regular false alarms, the sooner we'll be on our way to solving it. First, however, the bad news. Especially for oc- cupants of *‘older’’ highrises built 15 years or more ago. Like our own. According to West Van Fire Chief Colin Evans, these are the big remaining head- ache. As time goes by, buildings settle. Gaps appear under doors, through which the frypan fumes from your Sunday night steak or even the steam from a hot shower can escape to activate the cor- nidor smoke detector The trouble ts) that the dumb detector can't tell good fumes from bad fumes, and nobody has yet figured out how to teach i Somctumes an enthusiastic pipe-smoker passing along the corndor has been known (o send it in (oO &@ lantrum. HALF OVER 65 Then again, oldce buildings don’t) have the Slightly pressurized at- mosphere common in newer highrises, which helps keep cooking fumes and the like in their place, inside individual apartments. Chief Evans and his boys are working on these ‘‘older building’’ problems, with tricks like extra insulation around door gaps, in an ef- fort to cut down on false alarms. But overdone T-bone isn’t the only culprit — regardless of the age of the building. Occasionally, as happened with one of our own building’s recent episodes, the glass on a fire alarm box will be accidentally broken. Vandals who manage (o gain entry (0 a building have been known to break the glass just for kicks. And there have been cases of burglars trig- gering the alarm in the hope of finding empty, unlocked apartments whose occupants have fled down the fire stairs (always lock before you leave!) Other worrying notes about highrises from a fire chief"s casebook ° A survey three years ago that showed 52 per cent of all trestdents in tall West Van apartment buildings were 65 years of age or older many unable to move fast, some not at all without help © Suites that stand empty all day — maybe with a smouldering cigarette or a pan on a burner forgotten by the occupant in the morning rush to work. by Noel Wright Be] ¢ The myth that fire in a concrete building remains confined to the suite where it starts — in practice, (he heat fries the floor above, while the floor below is ruined by water e The widely held belicf that the building's fire alarm rings in the local fire hall lt doesn't. Somebody has to call the fire hall by phone le, says the tax man government forms senders, though, is Statistics Canada, whose headquarters should be renamed Red Tape City. In addition to regular infor- mation input from business, the department's employees are constantly dreaming up surveys. A lot of data, of course, comes from forms ‘filled in business. ‘While many large com- panies are are able to provide such information simply by pushing the correct button on thé computer, most smaller firms cannot afford such computer programming lux- uries. As a consequence, even the smallest of enterprises are forced to spend at least five hours per week on _ the avalanche of government- oriented paperburden. Like the simple personal tax return, the government forms that go out to business are complicated, but they must be filled in. By not following orders, en- trepreneurs face heavy fines and even jail. ‘The point, of course, is that a simplified and _ less demanding system of govern- ment-oriented paperburden is needed. For individuals, the tax- form red tape is a once a year event. But for people operating smaller firms, red tape is a frustrating daily ex- ercise that’ seems to be a waste of time and money. It shouldn’t be so. (CFIB Feature Services) OU AT THE INQUEST? lc’s this misconception, bolstered by previous false alarms, that gives the fire chief his biggest worry of all. Whenever the firefighters are summoned to a_ highrise apartment, they ‘invariably find some occupants still in their suites, making no at- tempt to evacuate the building. **We knew you were com- ing, so we thought we'd be all right,’’ is a stock explanation. After seven months of false alarms the psychology is completely understandable. From the viewpoint of a fire chief — potentially the chief witness at the inquest — it’s also terrifying. Which brings us to the good news Chief Evans can offer about the current situa- tion in West Van. in all but a couple of older apartment towers, he claims, the bugs have now been iron. ed out of the claborate and costly ($50,000-$100,000) warning systems installed last year. The neat time the alarm sounds, the chances are now 100 to one it’s for real. Head down those stairs fast! For us laughing cynics tn the two heritage buildings whose systems are still being de-bugged the message is ex actly the same stop crowding our luck and get out - remembcring, as we go, the poct John Donne's warning “‘Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee "'