LC i lacassdbccockidee NEWS VIEWPOINT Howe Sounds MECHANISM must ke established to allow ongoing public information and’ input on Howe Sound water- shed development. The message officiais received last Saturday at a day-long public meeting held in West Vancouver on the state and future of the Howe Sound watershed was simple enough: the area needs broad planning vi- sion. Environmental author Guy Dauncy ad- vocates the establishment of a single wa- tershed authority working with ‘‘a clear master plan of goals.”’ The environmental evaluation presently conducted by Environment Canada is a critical first step to acquiring an intimate understanding of the true impact that in- dustrial, commerciai and residential activi- ties have thus far had on the watershed. lt is beyond dispute that Howe Sound fisheries have already been battered. Yet development plans for the area pro- gress at a brisk pace. Increased port activi- ty at Squamish is likely. An improved Highway 99 route to Squamish with resi- dential, industrial and recreational projects slated for sites along the winding ribbon of highway are also in the card: within the next few years. Jurisdictional and regulatory powers are best managed by a comprehensive authori- ty. That, coupled with an ongoing public component that embraces a free-flow of information and dialogue as 2 basic tenet, could provide an effective vehicle for sound decisions. LETTER OF THE DAY Park owners applied for lighting Dear Editor: . Re: Lower Lonsdale Semisch I- . lahee Park. We are the property managers for the owners of 233 West Ist St., as well as tenants in the build- ing. We are compelled to express our dismay over the article by Pamela Lang,.which dominated the front page of the North Shore News on Oct. 30, especially since we had made formal application to North Vancouver City Council for adequate lighting to be instali- ed in the park on Oct. 28, 1987. This application was rejected on Aug. 24, 1988. In an attempt to Publisher Peter Speck protect our owners’ and tenants’ interest, we have a private security firm patrol the property random- ly, seven days a week, at the te- nants’ cost. The tenants in the 233 West Ist building are all responsible, con- scientious citizens and do their share to benefit our community. The owners and- operators of Sailor Hagar’s Pub and Beer and Wine Shop provide one of the few pubs in ¢he area which has a com- fortable, safe and pleasant at- mosphere. . The article was written in such a way as to attribute the main cause of the problems to the businesses Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution in the area other than the numerous other social and eco- nomic problems, which are the root cause. The city council's resolution read ‘*That- the City Engineer be instructed that at present the City cannot afford to provide lighting in our City parks for the purpose of improving the security of adja- cent properties.’’ Ccuncil has missed the obvious fact that the lighting of this park would also improve the security to its citizens and not just adjacent properties. Susan E.G. Hackett Vice-President, Operations General Equities of Canada Ltd. 986-1337 North Shore Managing Editor . . . Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director .. Linda Stewart. Comptroller Doug Foot North Shere News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Ill of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday North Shore Free Press Utd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885S. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per ear, Mailing rates available on request. omissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. Newsroom V7M 2H4 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 north shore 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. 986-1337 managed 985-3227 985-2131 Subscriptions Fax Administration ————— MeweeR ————— LJ SOA DIVISION 985-2131 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1991 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Jin Mikey’s new § Jhigh wire act! & “SO FAR, so good ...’’ One can almost hear Mike Har- court surreptitiously crossing his fingers on returning from his Asian honeymoon junket. By keepiny clear of trouble for five whole weeks he and his team have already broken B.C. political records. It’s easy to do nothing wrong when you're doing nothing at all. But now life begins in earnest — with the famous Harcourt balanc- ing act that fascinated audiences while he was mayor of Vancouver. Today the wire is higher and longer, and the safety net has gone. City Hall being forced by law to balance its budget, mayors have no deficit problem. They don’t have to brave the minefields of labor, education and health legislation. Their constituents, with shared iuterests, all live within a few miles — not scattered over a huge province with 75 dif- ferent local agendas, let alone overseas. So far, Mikey has proniised Japanese and Hong Kong business bosses labor peace and no new taxes other than the two announc- ed during the election (a high- income surtax and a minimum corporate tax). They lapped it up, indicating they'd keep on investing here. Back home, the Premier’s first stop was at the B.C. Federation of Labor to announce early repeal of Bill 19, the Socreds’ hated Indus- trial Relations Act (which nonetheless kept damaging strikes to a minimum over the past four years). ‘You'll always have a friendly ear in government,’ he told the Fed — whese leader Ken Georgetti is also pressing him to ban strikebreakers. Meanwhile, the Socreds are ac- cused of having cooked the books — now thrown open to public scrutiny and an independent audit. . Result: forecasts of a 1991-92 def- icit as high as $3 billion, with the NDP, of course, blameless. So where does the government go from there? The story to the Asian tycoons was that the red ink hemorrhage would be staunched by ‘‘cutting programs.”’ But which ones? Health, education and welfare -~ on which Victoria spends over 70 cents of every dollar — are the pillars of a ‘“‘caring, compas- sionate society.’’ With heart pa- tients dying while waiting for hospital beds, high school dropouts running at 20% and unemployment still rising, all are screaming for more money. Can you really see an NDP cabinet slashing ANY of them? Which leaves only two options: ever more red ink — or further tax nikes after all. Both bad for fae ’ MIKE HARCOURT... all things KEN GEORGETTI... to all people. Noel Wright HITHER AND YON business, jobs and economic re- covery — even though neither, at this stage, may be directly the NDP's fault. Meanwhile, there's at least no tisk of boredom as you watch Mikey trying his latest highwire act of being all things to_all peo- ple. . SIGN-OFF: Ethnic Brits start their Merry Yuletide cheer early this year with the Society of St. George’s 7 p.m. Christmas party next Thursday, Dec. S, at (where else!) the elephant and Castle Pub in Pacific Centre. If you belong, call 430-4845 soonest to reserve — if you don’t but would like to, contact Membership Chairman Mary Piggott, 988-2833 ... It was . happy ‘‘homecoming”’ earlier this month when the West Ven Museum and Historical Society moved its archives and other “kit and kaboodle’’ from Cedardale. Centre to its new and highly ap- propriate location — the heritage Gertrude Lawson House at 680 - 17th St. ... And don’t leave it any later to phone 985-0666 and pre- order those ever popular Christmas Candy Wreaths (large $18, small $15) from St. Catherine’s Church, North Van. WRIGHT OR WRONG: To err is human — but if you’re determin- ed to be superhuman, ycu’ll also need a computer. A ban strikebreakers by law. — a