A6 - Wednesday, October 3, 1984 - North Shore News NEWS VIEWPOINT A red light? he unprecedented majority won by Brian Mulroney and the federal Tories clearly gives them an iron grip on the running of Canada for at least the next four years, and quite probably the next nine. With three times more Commons seats than both other parties combined, they are effectively immune from any control by the opposition over their policies and measures. The hope of the electorate wasgand is, that the parliamentary strength of this new team will lead to an all-round improvement in Canada’s fortunes. But although it is still early days to judge, one potential cause for concern about the style of the Mulroney ad- ministration is already emerging. It is evident in the Prime Minister’s own offhand treatment of the media since assum- ing power and the passion for secrecy that seems to be spreading to his principal cabinet ministers. The need for a strong majority gov- ernment to set Canada back on the road to prosperity does not preclude the equal need for informed critical comment on_ the methods being used. With a parliamentary opposition as numerically weak as the pres- ent one, the media’s role in that process takes on added importance. A strong Tory mandate for decisive action to clean up the Liberal mess was obviously needed. But a majority as crushing as the present one can, regardless of party, threaten the health of a parliamentary democracy, The danger signal is any trend towards the same arrogance that cost the.Grits so dearly. We hope Mr. Mulroney is not blind to this red light along his victory path. Believe it or not! he Lower Mainland’s fantastically good summer and early fall weather has some people filled with forebodings for the months ahead. Gloomily they predict that winter will make us pay dearly for all those rainless, sun-drenched weeks. Not so, accor- ding to the 1984-85 edition of the venerable Farmer's Almanac which has just appeared. kor southern B.C. it) promises moderate winter temperatures and less-than-averape precipitation. We checked last year’s Almanac. It was 95%. right! 138 VORL.E OF WONT) AMD WEB! vancOUvER Display Advertising 980 0511 north shore ee Classified Advertising 986 6222 news Newsroom 985 2131 . : Circulation 986 1337 auMEay WHEE eA yo Ea. Subscriptions 980 2707 11359 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver 8 4 VIM ghta Publistirer Aoow late Fublishe: tidttor ta C tet Advertising Otro. tu: rn hong Peorsonnel! Dtroc te. ‘taasifiod Manage: Cec ulation Otroc tor KA “Me Prec Gue thon Ltrae Vor Photography Manager Nee Th Siero Nowe fostire c arertectn TRO Marth Shore bo oe Mirman ciel Ae tytn eae: weal Member of the 6 ¢ i Coe THIS PAPER IS nec ve Press Couns tl SNe kee LABLE usa ATT wa pel | | MA: Oty ME: 7 ‘ A ee Ge. ROME BPE oa” aXZKGG ob creation is a taxing job RAND PRIZE for September in the Seemed-Like-A-Good-Idea-At-The-Time category goes [to the Canadian Mental Health Association, which scores ‘A’ for theory but flunks the practical. The CMHA says we must share the work around or be doomed A report just published by the Associavion proposes that Canadians with full time paid jobs should take extended leaves of absence at tegular intervals so as to let the jobless have a turn at working for money If we don't, the report predicts that the vounp. the unskilled, the disabled and many women Could be strut Out of productive work per manently VT tyat ut Watts would make Canada oa class ridden socrety with all the attendant ovals ar pat tic tilat Troe oF dthe Hore vaolenmee atid orore mental brcakdown To hake a woth thre C MBA suppests a thatiertial Phe One procl arache ups al CNIS tp Socal Security fuss Take welbare ated carernipdbers thie dit ee © es fi tas ms pecthrect addtrorial faxes This worded bee used tee triak ¢ vag Phe Lest woaapee sof Thre se cn flease of abet ¢ LETTER OF THE DAY Whale pool will benefit G everyone Thus, the word “unemployment”? would, in effect, be banished from the vocabulary Throughout vour working hfe you'd be either employed or on leave of absence, in both cases be ing paid without any stigma of ‘subsidized idleness” In come support becomes the common denominator — for exgryone, whether a otem porary nine to fiver oor oa temporary beach bum Considerably less clear ois crxactly how you set about matching jyobholders and yobless. cren all of the assuming that latier are capable of doing at least salisiactorily one yob Unemployed pHumbers may not make the best doctors Redundant bus drivers Could have probleme as teal estate salesmen Land off Cocktail waitresses maugpht fond teaching Kindetparten a strain Other headaches (hoor with do cation and remuanera What aif the able pod swap for our unem thon omy sua phoved Vaneouset pluniter ion Whitehorse Oor feoor cet Dear Pb aditaor Poth Writing fer cages ey Uisapporntiment wath yer pPremiatuwec CCpeorting of wsvues Soreertrag the pyc hitler whrale tastatar ae the Nancouset Nauartuiny bent vere atthe de 1h uy rere prers sate be to des chop a Dakar cad crew about thre prerecal Vere ers Guny armed at Ube Agusasrit Naot ws othere atry thre nytieres col thre ponults crf tte ate Prae beg a! SUE ON cota ted me the weea Porevast rbvat ttre per eetsed ual vesbvetips strats ose thers an saee wall cope tatpente thre tre strech vg prositiy ce xurpepaant haae thre ise wn hadber whrabe prerer hoa cocktail waitress, in Moose Jaw? Do they move home every time they switch from leisure to work, and back again? focu Oey by Noel Wright SE And does that pobless oon struction laborer who takes over as editer oof The News take over my salaty as well’ More rmportant ty far ded borer ontinwe Co get durtay Neorth Shore Creo whelringly the Tovar residents preerprle ' Caseater re tocomnmece the need for anoim peared kallet whale habitat and the potential forr sucha Facshity te rvake a rape. cons Cea Py tiesty Ie hye paths Coder aticet a beeree teed erigers shle tal toot hese tryaageriebi cust acertiabs DP bie bardse ape cd prot Preoope bh tbe precrpee th wall toe tbee Cow tithe bourne Omer tat w that Har mas! Meserne prasterec EVE Gh RAN SS bE Oa ete pov abehe bey all Peis beet terri oe Nase tread thre precede crf ose cont revue ey rex pretidinig tr, oye rye Wow biaade prorcd woth oa fore Sy ey | my year lying under the palms in Maui? Finally, just try to visual- ize the size of the bureaucracy needed to run the job-swapping operation. ‘All of them permanent Full Time Equivalents on indexed pensions. Nevertheless, the CMHA's beautiful theory does con- tain the germ of a practica! thought Where the Association has gone off the rails is in assuming that paid jobs have to be “'productive’’ Automation and the com puter have killed that idea for ever It we insist on workers generating a protit for them bosses, we're gomg to be stuck with ever rising unemployment for the rest of time Obviously, therefore, the onty long term solution is to cteate millions of now socially desirable jobs in recrealton sport, culture education, welfate services you name tt that don't carn anvone a dime And pas oa full diving wape tor them Coreat’ But who pass! Whi. a oo with cour lsu that vou and | od tar Gollars preorsely what the CMA os tabkanp about anyways! PECSSOS a genuine COmecers abou Hutuire eene ration Pratl. awareness and tbe Comm ticots yf the animal: under oun cate We aie thre rONpreotrsatobe pean eb beatin ane weooare tin prrervcad ty Nupyprre hata at pete pert that beth praxwides oa supper iat ve ta ahity for ou I whales amd offers the bes: Place where a Waypority people cam be caxaposed hese raprificent annals AIL ot us wall bene tar cre measurably frat she Noa cover Niguel thew ok da whiabe ftravtoe ave Allan Baker West Vancouver