GREAT SCOTT! WHAT DID Hint IN CHIEF? WAS ITA KNIFE? A BULLET? .. GLUB?.. ROPE? en SLAW ’ ARS oking socialists ‘UN | up ; the ‘red letter day flag: the ‘(NDP government in Victoria has done something: of value that is not tied Specifically to paying off big labor or advanc- , ing dubious socialist doctrines. ‘The NDP g government: announced earlier "this: week that it will raise the minimum ape for buying tobacco products to 19 from 16. | oct will, also.ban the'sale of “kiddie packs,” ‘which’ ciatain fewer than 20 cigarettes; ‘restrict ‘Cigarette machines to adults- -only ‘premises,’ ‘and threaten stores that sell ciga- rettes to minors-with licence suspensions. : Howls.of defiance will undoubtedly come froin the under-19 set, who. will feel persecut- ‘ed and further deprived of the opportunity to suck deadly: fumes. into their: system, smell like sour, ashtrays and look foolish. Others will vow, like all good: smokers, to carry on valiantly with their obnoxious, expensive and socially distasteful habit. But the grim modern reality is that tobac- co is one of the most destructive and addic- tive drugs readily, available to teenagers. - According to Premier Mike Harcourt, dis- cases caused by smoking cost B.C. approxi- mately $1 billion per year. And the younger a person starts smoking, the more likely. he or she is to remain smok- ing and the sooner he or she will suffer. the: medical consequences of that tobacco addic- tion. io Regardless of whether the new provincial legislation convinces significant numbers of young people to quit. smoking or discourages - them from starting, it registers another resounding, anti- “smoking Statement from society. ; i Yektakhah, on a suggestion from a Canadian. government official that is “Serious theatre is comedy gone , : wrong.” : of an earthquake? Actor/comedian Ray Soden, on comedy, (From the -Jan..19 News «. Spotlight.) “OF-course I’m concerned. What -have I-done about it? Absolutely nothing! “Don't build your plan around the assumption that you will be there to take control.” ; North, Shore Emergency Program Coordinator Ross Peterson, on preparing for an earth- quake in the Lower Mainland area. he apply for an tranian passport so he can accompany his wife and child to Malaysia. (From a Jan, 21 News story.) ; “We'd be paying less for the arts “7 “What'can you do to prepare for f the power, of an earthquake?” » -* North, Vancouver’s- Sarah + Harris, | to the Jan. 19. News “-Anquiring: Reporter question: Are -you concerned about the possibility Iranian 5 re Publisher .. .: Managing Editor. Associate Editor. . Sales & Marketing Director: Linda Stewart Comptroller -. . Doug Foot North . Shore News, foinded in’ 1969 as an. independent suburban newspaper and quaiified = under Schedule 711, Paragraph til of the Excise © sTax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free. Press -Ltd. and distributed to every dcor on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mai! Sales Product Agreement No, 0087238. Maiiing rates - aveilable on request. Submissions are welcome but “we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should te accompanied ah a stamped. addressed envelope, : an ... Peter Speck “Finale Renshaw: Noel Wright * * Newsroom : v7M 2H4 (From a Jan, 19 News story.) “T his is crazy. He says, ‘Get a passport from the Iranian gov- ernment.’ Fran from them!’ refugee Display Advertising Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising . 986-6222 1.139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B. C.. than a pair of shoelaces.” North Vancouver District Coun. Ernie Crist, on. increasing the dis- trict’s current per capita contribu- Afshin $1. (From a Jan. 2] News story.) Distribution 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 Administration 985-2434 MEMBER 980-6511 985-2131 North Shere managed ” SDA DIVISION /6t, 582 (average circulation, ‘Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) . Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. ‘tion for North Shore ‘arts grants to” Civil servants a major threat to the econo {N THE ANNUAL collection of taxpayers” horror stories last. week from Auditor- General Denis Desautels one figure stands out above all the others as a warning sig- nal of impending financial doom for Canada, Atthe end of the 1991-92 fiscal year the Federal. debt stood at $423 billion. But less than 9% of that fig- ure — $37 billion — was dug to overspending.on government pro- grams, The other ‘$36 billion repre. sented solely the amount Ottawa had borrowed to SER VICE TI " DEBT created by previvus over: spending. Meanwhile, the focus of the auditorgenenl’s 1994 report wits on costly woes in the tax collection system. One-third of all companies registered to collect the GST were Jate filers last year, owing the guv- ernment some $650 million.- ‘The new electronic filing system for.income tax was found to be wide open to cheaters. Phoney invalids and fraudulent seniors rob the taxpayer of up to $220 million a year in undeserved / penstons and ald age security, The aid program for Athintic fishermen idied by. the bun on cod fishing lost $15 million to phantom Claimants not affected by the clo- ‘sure, In 1990-91 it COST Laxpayers over $28 million to transport MPs around in defence department Challenger jets — including $4.4 million for Brian Mutroney's juo- kets —. when equivalent private- sector charter planes would have cost about Ge. fifth as much.” Resource cC.npanies got a tax break due to government biingling ” that could cost up to $1.2 billion.” And the $1 billion foreign aid pro- grim was found to be largely wast- ed — often doing more harm than good in developing countries. These few examples are,.of course, only the tip of the iegberg. AS Desautels says, “it’s such a big muchine ... that you might plug one “hole and a leak will start some- where else.” The “big machine” he refers to is not primarily the 295 MPs but the entrenched 555,700-strong fed- eral public service — the people who actually run the show for our elected representatives. This huge army of bureaucrats is now also the target of Class Action, anew book by economist Dian, HITHER AND YON / Cohen and business professor, Guy, ; Stanley; “Arguably,” say the authors, ee “the public sector's resistance to 6%. changing itself is the major prob-. lem in Canada’s economy. Pubiic |, power remains too’centralized, > departments too hierarchical. : Crovernment is too cumbersome and tooexpensive,”. |. Last week the federal debi passed the $500 billion mark, To * save.Canada from bankruptcy mas: sive change j8 needed, And that,as Cohen and Stanicy emphasize, means we. ee an no jongera affond, a rather than Facilitates i f POSTSCRIPTS: Tuesday, Jan 25 avs pam in North Van Museum, , 209 West Fourth, Mary... : o/ Staughnessy, M.Arch. will lecture on “Adaptive Re-Use of Ve Pacific Shipyard Buildings” — 987-5618 for info. ... First perfor- munee in the North American debu of the Hungarian Virtuost Orchestra -— founded in 1988: ‘by, graduates of ‘the renowned Liszt Ferene Acudemy — takes place Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.mcin the North Shore Community |. ‘Coneert series at the Centennial Theatre. ... Correct number of the Multiple Sclerosis Society is 689 3144 — sorry for the earlier error! .. And many happy returns of - Tuesday, Jan. 25, to North Van Kiwanian Jim Reavill. ‘ WRIGHT OR WRONG: You're: as old as you feel right after you try- to demonstrate how young you feel NORTH AMERICAN first... renowned Hungarian Virtuosi: Orchestra opens here Wednesday, sponsored. by. North: Sho Community Concerts.