6 — Wednesday, April 19, 1995 - North Shore News

ec AER,

ee

A-And we could tell the medra that youre
not so itch emt as recycling water

or mayb e we could

LAST WEER’S rift between
Quebec’s two separatist

_ leaders, PQ Premier Jacques
* Parizeau and BQ boss

_ Lucien’ Bouchard, ‘has
“numerous political. commen-
“ tators searching for a diabol-
ical hidden’ agenda.

The devilishly clever Bouchard,
~. they warn, aims to lure The Rest
. Of Canada (TROC) into sparking.
©, the 60% Quebec support for sepa-
“s ration which has so far eluded
Parizeau,The plot goes like this:
‘Despite Parizeau’s best efforts .
the polls continue.to show only
” about'a'45% “yes” vote for the
; _ independence referendum he.
planned to hold this spring, but has
iow postponed until “later i in the
year.” . ; . :
« However, Bouchard -— by far
the more popular of the two in -
‘Quebec — has publicly rejected the

“idea of an unwinnable referendum. |:

. He has hinted it might even be put

_ off until another year and is mean-

while speculating about a decidedly
, “watered. -down feferendum mes:

te ‘Instead of Parizeau’ § all- -oF-
: nothing separation option Bouchard
is now. musing ‘about a “‘sovereign-
* ty-association”: question (hi there,
Rene Levesque!) enabling Quebec
to retain economic and even certain
political ties with TROC along the
lines of the European Union: "|.
A majority of Quebecers might
~~ well back such a proposal as being :
safer. But this EU-type compro-

‘Poter Speck °
Publisher '.'
885-21 at (101 )

Comptroller

1139 Lonsdale Avenue’

North Vancouver B. C.
oN7M 2H4..
North Shore Managed on

bring ina sewage
treatment angle.

: mise is based on nthe Quebec theory -

of “two founding nations.” TROC,
with its directly opposed concept of

» “10 equal provinces”, could never
grant Quebec a special Status not

enjoyed by any other provinces.
And that — the hidden agenda
hunters argue — is exactly the out-
come Bouchard wants.

He can then tell Quebecers: “We.

offered TROC amicable coopera-

‘tion but they rejected us once more

—as with Meech and. -
Charlottetown. The status quo
offers us nothing. Separation is
now our only course!”
Remember — ask the smart
boys — how Meech Lake “rejec-

_ tion” briefly led 60% of angry .

Quebecers to demand separation?

“The similar surge of anger this time

will win Parizeau his all-or-nothing
referendum. Neat theory —— except

_ for ignoring a totally changed 1995

economy.

News View point

HE RECENT public relations smog

belching forth from the auto industry is

enough to make British Columbians
consider moving to L.A.

Recent comments by the B.C. environment
minister unleashed a tire-squealing spin from
auto industry flacks.

The Motor Vehicle Manufacturers
Asseciation (MVMA) bore news of bleak
transportation times ahead if the NDP’s
tough vehicle emissions standards are adopt-
ed. No Mercedes Benz. No BMWs. No
“niche” cars, the MVMA hissed, because all
would be unwilling to meet said standards.

The choking point for the auto industry is
the new requirement that 2% of the vehicles
produced by automakers by 1998 be zero
emission — electric or otherwise. |

Good news locally because North

- Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems

er?

form, the next thing in sight is a
recession. In Quebec, as in TROC,
unemployment remains stubbornly .
high, ft won't be helped by
Quebec's $5.7-billion budget
deficit. Even less by a cut-off of
federal payments, a plummeting
dollar and no guarantee of entry
into NAFTA or other world trading
clubs,

When the crunch comes,
Quebecers — like TROC — very
sensibly vote their wallets, Which

_ also explains why passion is now
largely absent on both sides of the
separatism battle. Today’s cool
TROC message to Quebec is:
You're most welcome to stay and
enjoy all Canada has to share. But
leave if you must'— and in cither

~ case, On our terms. |

That message has been received -
by Quebecers, who now know ©.”

- where TROC stands. No longer can
nationalist flames be fanned by sur-
prise “rejections.” Separatists are. _

"left to make'do with what they’.
have: It’s unlikely to suffice: Which‘.
is why, to paraphrase T.S. Eliot,

. Quebec separatism may finally end
; “not with a bang but a whimper.”

“WISH MANY HAPPY retums
of today, April 19, to West Van.

Dear Editor:

Dece:nber.

Re: Big fine attached to illegal
. Smokes (News — March 26).

Being someone who always
tries to get i copy of the North
Shore News and as someone who’
likes your editorial page a lot com-
pared’ with. other community
papers, | was saddened when I read
the above news story and couldn't
help noticing the slant of the story.

In it you reported that a group
of seven men had been rounded up
by the North Vancouver RCMP in

’ The following paragraph says
the arrests followed an undercover
Operation inthe.North Shore's

Iranian community. _.

" After that you go on to say that
‘the resulting charges: against the
men ranged from passport forgery,
conspiracy to effect illegal immi-

LICR DAT ENED TES ALLER le IML IA Sr RELEASE IE Ea SOE ORE TNE LETS PTD LATTER AEN PRET nee FORESEES T IS OITA NE SOBA Pose SIR RIA VOC ET

currently leads the world in zero-emission
technology and is now engaged in a research
and development contract with Daimler-
Benz. '

Because an LRT line is not likely to hum |
along the north side of Burrard Inlet for a
long time, private automobile travel will be in
North Shore commuter futures.

The question then comes down to what you
would rather have. A smog-lite environment
with 2% of cars smog-free or air quality in
the Lower Mainland approaching that of
other polluted, head-in-the-sand cities?

This is not, as Big-Three automaker flacks
would have you believe, a matter of do-good-
ing government suffocating commerce.

Rather, it is a case of government reacting
to environmental realities, which is a wel-
come breath of fresh - political air from:
Victoria.

mailbox :

of cigarettes story

gration, money laundering to pos-
sessing the proceeds of crinie and
trafficking in opium, cocaine me
marijuana.

One not knowing better woul!
probably draw the conclusion that’
most Iranians dabble in the afore-
mentioned nefarious deeds. —

As someone who has socialized .
with Iranians from the time { was.
‘10. years. old, 1° take extreme
umbrage. with that insinuation..

_Tranians are wonderful people and‘
certainly one. of the most -hos- |*
pitable kind around. - - :
_ While’ I am ‘sure a paper “as”
responsible as yours wouldn't .
countenance a personal: attack on
any ethnic group,-your readers ”.
could easily’ get swayed by. s ‘such
slants.

Ss. Prakash: ;
Williams Lake

North Shore News. Mailbox policy —

Kiwanians Alex Brokenshire,
Frank Wilson and Gerry

McDowell... And also today, happy .

54th anniversary to West Van's
Hart and Mary Young.

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