4 - Wednesday, June 19, 1991- North Shore News Brian fiddles while the nation THIS BUSINESS of ‘‘say- ing the country’’ has come to preoccupy the so-called senior level of government. Bob Humnte ory. STRICTLY PERSONAL The reason for this is simple enough. The man whose wildly- irresponsible gamble with the na- tion’s destiny got us into the mess we're in is still running the show. Brian Mulroney is desperate to avoid going down in the history books as the idiot who lost Canada, arguably the most privi- leged country in the world, with the fewest problems. When I think of Mulroney, Saddam Hussein comes to mind. Partially, this is due to the star- tling fact that the Butcher of Baghdad is still in power, despite his — or at least the Iraqi peoples’ — losses. For a guy who was described as a modern-day Hitler, this is quite an achievement. For all their space age techno- logy, the good guys don’t fight wars like they used to. Imagine if the Allies of an earlier era had called off the Second World War, leaving Hitler to emerge from his bunker and regain control of Germany. This is exactly what was allowed 1o happen in Iraq. it is bizarre in the extreme, especially in view of Hussein’s ecological rape of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, which has gone un- punished. Mulroney was the first Western leader to leap up and down bark- ing rabidly when George Bush snapped his fingers, calling for a posse to rush to the Mideast. He must therefore share the blame for the immense human and environmental disaster that has ensued. But more than that, in broad strokes there are enough parallels between Hussein’s and Mulroney's impacts on their respective coun- tries to be more than worth noting, such as mutual decimation of the economy, looting of the treasury, and lies, lies, lies. Mulroney has, in addition, handed the ball game over to the separatists, and laid the ground- work for the eventual absorption of the remains of Canada into its neighbor’s hands. Lyin’ Brian has suffered a polit- ical debacle which, from a na- tional point of view, will probably prove even more fatal for Canada than the Gulf war was for Iraq. In che end, fraq will likeiy still be Iraq. By the time Mulroney's reign is mercifully over, there is very unlikely to be much of Canada left, except two rumps. ef chat. Yet. like Hussein, Mulroncy urns clings to office. Canada’s flawed ‘*democracy”* unfortunately failed to hang on to one of the critical levers of politi- cal control over leaders that was evolved by the Mother of Parlia- ments -- namely the right of the party to dump an unpopular (or mad) prime minister, as in the Maggie Thatcher case. There being no impeachment process either, a scoundrel like Mulroney actually emerges as one of the iaost unassailable leaders in the Western world. He can’t be impeached. The party can’t yank him. The elec- torate has to wait four years at a time, and then the opposition splits the majority vote. He has too much ego to be able to admit that he has utterly bot- ched the job and should take a hike. There have to be members of his Cabinet who recognize this, but it is too much to expect them to do anything. Again thanks to major flaws in the Canadian political system, the prime minister rules over Cabinet like a medieval king over his cabal of dukes with their fiefdoms. The lump effect of all this is to saddle the country with the prob- lem of having to be ‘‘saved’”? — by the same gaggle of goofs who got us into the situation in the first place. It might be slightly funny except for the fact that the country does, indeed, desperately need to be saved. Truly saved. Saved from the all-too-real threats that con- front it on every side and from within, above and below. These threats include the destruction of our forests, the loss of topsoil, the contamination of our river, lakes and coastal waters, the pollution of ground- water, the depletion of fish stocks, the extinction of over a hundred species of wildlife, acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, the Greenhouse Effect and the satura- tion of our total environment with chemicals and low-level radiation. This is what Canada needs to be saved from. Whether Quebec sep- arates or not, this same Jitany of ecological horrors will be with us the day after, with all of us: French- and English-speakers alike. If anything, the situation will be worse because the few checks and balances that Con- federation built in to prevent runaway development will have been fatally weakened. Mulroney isn’t really trying to save Canada. Not the real, physi- eal place calied Canada. His en- vironmental record is utterly abysmal. He is trying to save his place in history. God help us, we are chained to his ego-trip, while our land, air and water — not to say the sky itself — continue to be ravaged. CER HOW MANY CANADIANS VOLUNTEER To PROTECT WILDLIFE ond the ENVIRONMEN’ 22 ‘Bees kT, 725 MARINE, N.VAN. @ 984-0331 So West Vancouver Teachers and West Vancouver School Board concluded a Collective Agreement on January 29, 1991 West Vancouver School Board has honoured its Collective Agreement! North Vancouver Teachers and North Vancouver Schoo! Board concluded a Collective Agreement on February 16, 1991 North Vancouver School Board has NOT henoured its Collective Agreement! The teachers and students in North Vancouver cannot benefit from improved working and learning conditions negotiated over nine months. Once again, the Provincial government has interfered in collective bargaining and is hurting the Education of our children. WHY? Ask your MLA. Where is the Fairness in Bill 827 For more information: North Vancouver Teachers’ Association West Vancouver Teachers’ Association 404-1124 Lonsdale Avenue 104-657 Marine Drive North Vancouver, BC. V7M 2H1 West Vancouver, B.C. V7T 1A4 988-3224 926-1617 OUR WORKING CONDITIONS ARE YOUR CHILDREN’S LEARNING CONDITIONS