rc

Page 40, December 6, 1978 - North Shore News

| BY MARGARET BAMFORD

Once’ again. British
| Columbians have been
given the opportunity.

to’ witiéss*~'a-: “govern-_ .

ment _ ‘based on » the .
pressures _ of -vested-_
interest groups -and
tactics aimed solely. at.
acquiring votes. -- in
Bill 16, |
Psychologists Act,
passed silently into law
in the province of
British Columbia i in the

spring of 1977. |

This bill proclaims ‘many.
high purposes. and at a
surface glance, does indeed.
appear to be an effort‘on the...
part of the government | ‘of

B.C. to maintain high .stan- ©
dards of psychological coun-

selling in the province. and:
nobly. protect ‘its citizens

from the horrors of * ‘quack-

99

ery’’.

ond this first. brief glance —
proves the bill to be a very
_dangerous wolf indeed, and
one only very. flimsily _ dis-
guised i in sheeps’ clothing.

-- The bill was first proposed
to. the House in victoria bv
Dr. Robert Wilson, head of
the Legislative Committee of
the B.C... _ Psychological Ass-

- ociation. It is revealing to”
note that this important piece

of. legislation should germ- |

inate in the mind of the
group. whose interests it
would best serve, ensuring
as it does that all counselling
is restricted to the province’ Ss
psychologists.

. The act establishes a board
_which exists solel y toregister
and control psychologists.
| Except for two members

appointed by the Lieutenant- -

Governor in Council, the
seven-man board is made up
of members of the B.C.P.A.
Subject to the bylaws, the
board may delegate its
functions and. powers. In
sum, the | registration of
psychologists i in the province

solely in the hands of the ’

B.C.P.A.

There is something discon-.

certing, something that
should raise the hairs on the

thought of professionals
policing themselves. How-
ever, if they wish to play
policeman entirely at their
own expense, this is _ their
prerogative. |

~The act, glossy and busin-
ess-like, is so full of. .
loopholes. and ‘vagueries’
that it virtually sounds the

death-knell of countless. j
voluntary counselling ser- &

= How About You?

vices and human support
groups in this province.

A definition of the . prac-
tice of psychology three
paragraphs long includes

“the provision to individuals,

groups, organizations, or the ,
. public of any service invol-
ving the application of
principles, methods and
procedures of understand-

ing, predicting and influen- |

Diamonds
30% to 40% Off}
See page 38

‘the

Anything, however, bey- “second glance at this 2

cing g behaviour, including the ©
principles of. learning, perc-.

eption, motivation, thinking,

“emotion and . interpersonal

relationships’’.

Certainly when the act was ;

. first ‘proposed there was an

enormous amount of. public ~
‘concern that human activities

-in-the province could be cut
mercilessly, unless. the

‘mother talking to her son had

a master’s degree in psychol-
ogy; unless. the minister
counselling his flock was a
registered member of the
B:C.P.A. But, -such is the
policy of the current givern-
ment, little or no heed was
paid these concerns and the
psychologists are now in the
_ process of: fortifying their
handily created closed shop.

-FINE MOM $500
Ah, but you say “this bill
“only affects those who charge
a fee for their serivices’’
“if one takes that crucial

‘‘for fee or reward,
monetary or otherwise’’.

Very neat, but you better not ~
to mom,
junior, or she may end up

with a fine of ‘‘$500 for each:
day’”’

say ‘‘thanks’’

‘that she keeps talking
to you:

As usual with the govern-

involved..in. the registration
process itself. Of course,
this does not bother the
B.C.P.A. as the eventual
goal of total control over all
counselling and advice-giv-

. ing activities in the province

is an enticing carrot well

~ worth. the: expenditure of .
effort. - . .

At boggles the ‘mind,
however, to follow the logic

ofan act that costs the public _

dearly and benefits virtually

‘no one but the B.C.P.A., the
- original proposing body.

"The strenuous support of .
the act by the Social Credit.
- ministers responsible for the

act.could surely only be
explained by reasons known

- only to these ministers and to |

back of the neck’ at the the B.C.P.A.

| themselves.
Whatever the extent of these
reasons, one ‘can only

-have

. heart.”

ct one
finds the additional state-
- ment

assume that. they are self-

serving.

There. are. precious few
members of the Legislative
Assembly who. genuinely
the .

“Notably.”
instance, one of those mem-
bers is Gordon Gibson,

-leader of the Liberal Party of

B.C.

Mr. Gibson has. ; proposed
an amendment to. the
Psychologists Act and in so

- doing has achieved a refresh-

ingly clear view of the act
and its purposes, both those
noble and good as loudly
proclaimed by the B.C.P.A.,
and the actual purposes,
which become increasingly
clear on successive readings
of the bill.

paorticr CLERGY

_ Mr. .Gibson’s amendment

is brief and succinct, correct-
ing only those segments

which have left the bill | open

to abuse. v

He leaves the B.C.P.A. the
option of persisting’ in their,

‘registration game so long. as
it is limited to their own
species, and not_ the many

others .who actively, and

daily, achieve good in this. |.
; province.
ment’s ‘various enterprises, —
the price“ tag’. will be high
‘when one considers the
“manpower and . paperwork |

His amendment would

delete the ponderous definit-

ion of the ‘‘practice of
psychology’’and add a clause
to protect the clergy in the
everyday carrying out of
their endeavours to counsel
their congregations. and, in

. Many instances, ease human

suffering.

. Again, the utter disdain of

. the current government for
. the views and concerns of

the people it governs is
summed up in the recent
statements of Health Minis-
ter Bob. McLelland, to the

effect’ that no matter how _
much public pressure is —

received by his government,
the amendment would not go
through. How reassuring to
realize that our elected
officials stand fervently on

_the side of democracy and
the wishes of the electorate.

_ Mr. Gibson's amendment
is an answer to the resolution

1 Now the Computer Revolution comes

ms to the North Shore.
We've put fun into computer learning .
try games of chance, games of skill, educational e

, games and more.

. you'll

The first night | played games the second night |

- was programming.

Choose between 9 Computers.

7 The whole family can learn together at

. . Community Computer
Institute Limited

Community Computer
Institute Limited

a lifetime learning centre

z bringing computerpower to you
from 4p.m. to11 p.m. Mon.-fri. 11-11 Sat.,

sun,

” 1366 marine drDrive, West Vancouver

922-5721

interests. and _
" concerns of the public: at
‘in’ this

even .
professed immunity to public

let the government
away our human and public
service groups when its only
alternative is a. self-serving
group of professionals, so
deluged with red tape its
value to human need is
negligible.

of the problems created by

the passage of the Psychol-.

ogy Act in the Legislature.

‘Let the B.C.P.A. register and.

police itself to its heart’s

content ifthat is how it feels it
‘can best use its self-proc-
- laimed professional talents, —
pit let the-volunteer.arganiz-

ations, the youth shelters,

the crisis lines, ministers of

religion, and concerned
friends, continue their work
on the front lines of human
suffering.
Government

daily lives. Let us hope that
public support

so strong as to overcome
Mr. McLelland’s

outrage.

This is the time to refuse to

Government of Canada

is creeping
into too many aspects of our

for Mr...
_ Gibson’s amendment will be

‘take —

PART 1. APROGRESS REPORT
What has been done as a result of the 1976 meeting?

PART 2. WHAT’S NEXT?
Where should Salmonid Enhancement go from here? |

Update ‘78
Salmonid Enhancement Program
Fisheries & Oceans Canada
1090 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B.C. VGE 2P1 —

Join Salmonid Enhancement

It is time to remove. the
sheep's clothing. and exam-. ~
ine ‘the wolf for what it:
is...and then. do. something ae

about it.

‘The newest
| Designee. frames,
_ quality eS
~~” lenses, and-
remarkably reasonable |
prices:

‘Pierre Cardin, Oscar de la Renta,
Elizabeth Arden, Metzler of Germany,
‘Gloria Vanderbilt, Christian Dior |

Park Royal Shopping Centre :
Main floor, near. The Bay | 922-91 61

- [Margaret Bamford is a
Vancouver | freelance writer
and. commentator].

Saimonid Enhancement Ur

Two years ago, members of the Salmonid Enhancement Program: of the Federal De- |
partment of Fisheries and Oceans, visited your community to hear your concerns and ©
your opinions on the proposed Federal/Provincial Salmonid Enhancement Program.

In response to your request that they return to report on the hearings of °76, the
Salmonid Enhancement team is coming back to outline to you what it has, and has
not, done regarding your concerns. We also want more input. |

Salmonid Enhancement todo now? How? When? Where? Why? -

The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. and is divided into two parts:

Each person or organization will have 10 minutes in which to present a written or
oral brief Outlining their concerns and/or recommendations. Longer written sub-
missions will be accepted up to January 12, 1979 and may be mailed to:

Each meeting will be fully recorded and a report published in 1979.

Monday evening, December 11th

Time: 7.30 p.m.

Place: Sheraton Villa in Burnaby

Fisheries and Oceans (Pa
cific Region
Salmonid Enhancement Program.

od ate 78 :

What do ‘you want