6 ~ North Shore News — Wednesday, July 19, 2000 UMMERTIME blues for most young people revolves around employment. Or the lack thereof. So the provincial government’s recent resurrection of discussions regarding raising the minimum wage should be cause for concern for more than employers. Young people secking initial access to the workforce should | be equally concerned. On the surface, the prospect of being paid $8 per hour instead of the current $7.15 as a minimum wage earner. sounds gocd. But the reality of raising that wage is less work for young people and other unskilled entry-level workers. Many employers, especially those who run small businesses, can’t afford to pay B.C.’s current minimum wage, Canada’s highest, ler alone the $8 per “hour wage proposed. mailbox ~ Premier urged to Save Horseshoe Bay Open letter to Premier U jal Dosanjh: Trusting the decisions of the BC Ferries directors irrevoca- ‘bly stained the reputation of one NDP premier. You Ber of letting it happen to you. BC Ferries, without any governmental challenges. ‘to’decimate and destroy the charming village o ‘Horseshoe “Bay. While they may claim to have brought their plans for cit- izen review, they have in fact, shown only token interest in the concerns, in the minicipal bylaws, and i in the clear havoc their “plans will generate... _f They, admit that’ the: destruction oft thé “inte sity | Horseshoe Bay will only: be a.25-year fix,-but that iY ne ppear to cause, them to re: the’ entire plan. : yp A belie the only reason ‘this plan bas not been more wide- ——VIEW POINT— Fries Fifty per cent of Retail Merchants Association of B.C. members surveyed last year stated that another minimum wage increase would cut job opportu- nities for young people and cther unskilled entry-level workers. During the NDP leadership cam- paign, Joy MacPhail, now B.C.’s labour minister, said raising the province’s minimam wage to $8 per hour would be an important step in fighting poverty. But a higher minimum wage will not fight anything if the marketplace can’t afford it. Far better for government to pro- vide restaurants and other traditional entry-level businesses with tax incen- tives to hire young people than to price their. services out of the marketplace before they’ve even been given a chance to start in it. How to save of inefficiencies in the system that next weck’s meet- ing of health min- isters should be exploring is long and varied. First and centre is the fact that medicare is run by bureaucrats which, as in every other department of government, is synony- are in dan-, is about taxpayers” dollars (who else’s?).. MONEY won’t mend medicare — not by a long chalk. The list mous with waste and patronage ‘using THAT'S THE WR 6 o'cLock ~~. NEWS. aN LOOK AT THAT DISGUSTING DISPLAY- BODY PARTS FLYING, DEATH, DESTRUCTION —1T'S HIGH TIME VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES WERE RESTRICTER BC To BE FIRST = PROVINCE TO. 1 vidC@ as’s dream. mation.” Again, an encouragement not to over-use medicare services. . Finally, of course, medicare with a °°: private clement paid wholly or partially : by government — a model being . Alberta’s Bill 11 permitting private clin- © ics to provide operating facilities for ' medicare doctors at no greater cost to. his doctor knew he the government than public hospitals. could not recover the Similar but decidedly more radical costs from Victoria. privatization had taken place a year ear-: True to his Hippocratic — lier in (of all places) Roy Romanow’s Oath, he finally went.’ = NDP governed Saskatchewan... ahead anyhow and, like -.° In B.C., private clinics for cataract - most doctors in similar’ surgery, Workers: Compensation: Board cases, cared for. his atients, RCMP and ther Key workers atient for free. ave been around ‘for gui ~ Why can’t n't MSP — like Revenue ~ High time-next wee! ‘for Cana are an estimated 26,300 British Columbians who are currently in arrears with their MSP payments. A case in point just recently was Tim Jefferies, whose surgery was delayed at Peace Arch Hospital because _Canada — institute much tougher col- health ministers to cover their. ears. with | ly; condemned. by. the, Lower. Mainland .as a. whole, is the. n that ‘West Vancouver problem. However, * Horseshoe Bay is not simply : a West Vancouver community. It «ig a prime tourist attraction, it is a summer outing destination for everyone, it is a beloved and treasured part o what makes Vancouver a special place. ; Once the blasting starts and pe ale see the destruction BC Ferries 'plans, no one will remain in nt. The NDP will be. forever tarnished by the fast ferries. And, if you don’t stop BC Ferries; ¢ Ty citizen, who takes’ a- ferry’. to’ Nanaimo will ‘3. ember:thac once Horseshoe Bay was jewel i in our crown. - And the NDP neglected to protect that jewel. Please do something to help. Demand a a full review of the BC Ferries plans. Let the people’s voice be heard, and look at: -" what we are losing to gain a parking l fot. John and Dixie Metlwraith : - West Vancouver. their hands against 1 the Canadian ostriches chanting “no American-style. medicine here”. without having a clue what they really mean, fling the doors ; wide open and examine every dream for saving Tommy Douglas’ s dream! ‘lection methods over months or cven years, including,’ possibly, garnishecing of wages? Discussed before in this space are what J call “medicare” s little mon- eysavers.” They include a nominal $5 to $10 -fee for a doctor’s office visit —waivable for EI and welfare patients. , ; ” Alternatively, two cashless psycholog: ~ ical tricks to discourage excessive and _ unnecessary doctor’s office visits. “One would consist of the doctor - ‘handing his fee-for-service directly to the patient. The latter would pass it to. MS? for immediate settlement, who in: - turn would pass the cheque directly to: the doctor. That way, the patient would get a personal understanding of the cost : of medicare and his personal contribu-., tion to that cost. Second, the still more alarming fact’ that B.C. is not only running short of money but even faster of doctors them- selves. Chalk this up to the steady retirement of doctors over the next . decade or so — not forgetting younger doctors heading for lusher pastures in the U.S. — coupled with our fast aging © population. . : Meanwhile, plenty of well-trained - physicians and specialists in Commonwealth countries are interested .in coming to Canada — whose bureau- crats curiously impose all kinds of prob: . lems... Applicants from the Commonwealth are not allowed to write Canadian certi- . fication exams without taking additional ‘aining here,’ despite postgraduate. openings for specialists being strictly limited (in Ontario, for example, just 24° . Fle annually). 2 Final la ification on can take a simplified version of Senda fax: 3:..985-2104 a. rus : : yp athe abc would have the doctor: } ’ b> ; : end dical “invoice” of the cost MANY HAPPY RETURNS of : Friday, July 21, to North Vancouver: birthday girl Toan Bain and mor of the same that day to her fellow North ‘Van celebrant t Mary ‘Agni DO. You HAVE A Stony IDEA News, toured in 196925 an independent “ suburban newspaper. and quatfied under. Schedule 111; Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, ts published ‘each | Wednesday, Friday and. Sunday by HCN Publications Company and cistibuted to covery door * “on the: North - Shore. Canada Post Canadi Publications Nail Si'es: Product Agreement Wo. - LETTERS TU THE EDITOR must include your name, full address and telephone number. . Submit via e-mall to: mbecker@asnews.ci Executive Editor. 999-2331 (758) ©. of ba. tenstewensws com i” Terry Peters Editorial Manager. 985-2131 (160)