i if 6 - Wednesday, August 30, 1989 - North Shore News BCTF policy should be ‘mind our own business’ WHETHER KEN NOVA- KOWSKI ever taught a class — and if sc, wnat courses — I don’t know. But one thing is certain: they did NOT in- clude Logic 100. Mr. Novakowski is president of the B.C. Teachers Federation. He’s asking the entire Industrial Relations Council to hear a BCTF appeal against a recent ruling by a three-member panel that allows North Van teachers Justin and Nancy Wasilifsky to leave the union on religious grounds. They can't accept the BCTF’s Pro Choice stand on abortion. This, claims the outraged BCTF voss, attacks the union’s demo- cratic rights and will invite other members to quit on religious grounds. Democratic rights? Just a minute, Mr. Novakowski! Unions exist to protect the wages and working conditions of their members. So one might fairly begin by asking why unions should get involved at all ir, activities that are unrelated to that job — whether it’s yelling for sanctions against South Africa, funding the NDP or promoting Pro Choice. Especially when such extra-cur- ricular activities may be utterly repugnant to certain members. True, lots of other organizations actively take sides on controversial public issues that have no direct connection with their primary function — churches, chambers of commerce, business associations and veterans’ groups, to mention only four. But with all these others there's one vital difference. Membership is VOLUNTARY. With the BCTF, membership is NOT voluntary. A teacher who resigns because he strongly op- Poses an extra-curricular activity that goes beyond the BCTF’s basic mandate of employee-management relations can no longer teach — if the BCTF has its way — ina public school. If the oni; -»ption his conscience allows him 1s .o quit, the price he must pay, says the union, is the loss of his job. Doesn’t sound very democratic to me, Mr. Novakowski. Of course, | understand YOUR prob- lem, too. Unions must count on membership solidarity for the bargaining clout needed to get the GRAND MASTERS training schvol...North Van chess enthusiasts Juan Blanco Jr. (left) and Henry Puhrer best contracts for those same members. The army must be 100 per cent loyal. Deserters, whatever the reason, must regretfully be shot. But surely the fair solution all round is obvious. Since your members are con- scripts, stick to your proper union job — wages and working condi- tions — and stop tilting at all kinds of controversial windmil!s that are basically none of the union’s business. Those windmills may be sacred cows for the Wasilifskys in your ranks. bone their skills at West Van Rec Centre. Steroid scare Vancouver RCMP that 90 to 95 per cent of T HE RECENT acknowledgement by the North anabolic steroids bought on the !ocal black market are fake only reinforces the fact that drugs and sports do not mix. The police statement came after a North Vancouver Elementary logic, Mr. Novakowski! eek TAILPIE:CES: Though the open- ing reception for West Van's 1989 Coho Festiva! is still a week away, its now famous art show, this year with ‘*West Coast Ambience’’ as its theme, is already on exhibit in Park Royal North. The juried con- NEWS photo Cindy Goodman test is judged by well-known local artists, but YOU and the kids can also help pick the winners by using the ‘‘People’s Choice’’ and “Children’s Choice’’ ballot boxes. {n addition, West Van Photographic Society has a display featuring coastal scenery — and over in the Upper South Mall is another ‘“‘Salmon”’ art show by talented North Van school stu- dents... Edgemont Village mer- chants are petitioning District Hall to stop ruining their carpets and parquet. Seems those ‘‘ornamen- tal”’ cherry trees planted there years ago by District turned out to be fruit-bearing trees. So cherries fall on the sidewalk, shoppers step on them, then step into a store and track bright red juice all over the floor... From the Local Heroine Dept., congrats to lucky John McQuade who tied the knot four weeks ago with Deep Cove native Julie Brierly, M.B. -— that’s M.B. as in Medal of Bravery, with which Governor General Jeanne Sauve decorated Julie last year for plung- ing into a boiling November sea to rescue a couple from a capsized canoe... Sixty bags of good wishes tomorrow, Aug. 31, to the latest members of the Diamond Club — West Van’s Gordon and Elizabeth Scarlett who were married on that day in 1929... And also tomorrow, happy 51st anniversary to North Van's Harold and Jean Fromme. * WRIGHT OR WRONG: By the time we finally sort out all the an- swers we find they’ve changed all the questions. judge ordered the RCMP to return-a quantity of phoney steroids seized earlier this year. As the law stands, it is not illegal to sell substances purported to be steroids, The hazards of using genuine steroids have been well documented — they include personality disorders and circulatory malfunctions — yet despite the dangers, athletes continue to use these drugs. Fortunately, the supply of real steroids are drying up since the Ben Johnson scandal, but bogus ones are becoming readily available. Some of the seized items passed off as steroids earlier this year were discovered by police toxicologists to be toxic ard dangerous. Any 3 athlete willing to take the risk and choose to use oa Steroids must now face the double threat of taking what is likely a more dangerous substance. To curb the increasing trade of black market steroids the law must be changed to penalize fake steroid traf- fickers. The maximum penalty for conviction on traf- ficking in steroids is a $5,000 fine or three years in jail, _ . : or both; people caught trafficking the fake goods are Advertising Director Linda Stewart FaaRedinnd bailed Jet go scot-free. . Posh esinnnaniciee ee ena Scneauie itt, 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, But the solution inevitably lies with steroid users Wednesday Fcay and Sunday by Nortn Shove Fee North vancouver. B.C. . . an Stel every OF ec themselves. Education is the only means to counter the Shore Second Class Mail Regestzavon Number 3865 9 479 (average, Wednesday philosopty OF these desperate athletes whe believe the Maiing cates avaiable on request, Submissions are Friday & Sunday) end justifies the means...even when that includes tak- cited material inet 3 pictures ing toxic substances to reach their goals. : submitted NOAM MARKUS has a nose for fun and he's willing te share it with one of his admirers at the Pacific Na- tional Exhibdition in Vancouver. Markus, who delights young and ojd with his unicycle, ‘‘chicken’’ balloons and other antics, is just one of the many street entertainers helping to make the PNE a success. The 17-day fair continues through Sept. 4. FYE VOICE DF NORTH AND WES VANCOUVER 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions Publisher . Peter Speck Managing Editor... Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noe! 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