i

»! visors’

“ which’ runs. from July 1,

:
~ Wednesday, April 20,

198K - North Shurg News

|
IT. WAS fascinating to obse. re the impact in Toronto of
Premier Vander Zalm’s near‘declaration of war on Ottawa.

I'm from 8.C., right? But I’ m
in Toronto and | ‘talk to probably!
three dozen people ona given day.
Family. Friends.;Colleagues. /
Fellow students. /

Lwould almost expect somegne
to ask me how it was out there; ‘On
the edge of the Pacific. Was //
Vander Zaim nuts, or docs h¢ rep--
resent some kind of legitimate
constituency?

Not one person have | run into
who asked me anything.

The interest level j is, Aolotut
Zero. Less than that. ° 4

Oh, the story got playge: on Page
One and at the top of newscasts
and al! that. It is just that it got
played in the context of an old
cliche,which is to say, not seriously,

Partially, this is personality. 7

Far onc thing, Mrf/ Vander Zain
is viewed az being aliout as s¢rious
as a fundamentalist: televangelist.
‘He is a national figure, f ir sure,
thanks to the O noticed! issue.

But it is also noticed that when
push comes to shove, he folds.

There are guy like that. They
stand out ‘there amping up and
down, waggin ine fists, but as -

ia

THE TWO oitsaning issues ina
two-year’ first “contract agreement .
Energy * & . Chemical

(ecw) Local 601. and

settled in binding arbitra

Both sides in + the labor dispute’

nig is expected within 10 days.”

fy JAC issue were the hours’ of: work

2 how “plus - week, while : the

fy union wants a maximum:

ECW negotiators also: ‘wanted
wage gaps closed’ in the ‘super:
salary | range. ., ‘Company
first-line supervisors, earn: from

7 $56, 000 to $59, 000. i in five different

‘the’ contract; :
‘1987 to

: « June 1, 1989, have been ratified:

ECW spokesman. Jukka 'Sok-

" kanen said ‘Tuesday: he was happy

that the contract had been ‘settled,
but -‘‘not thrilled with the: settle-
ment. We would have preferred to
have negotiated | (a ‘ settlement)

- father. than have it imposed by a
: third. -party.”? . }- -

, Orest Sackney, Canadian Ove:
cidental’s = vice- president of
manufacturing,: said the’ arbitrated
settlement .was probably. the best
way to resolve the dispute. i

» On’ April. 14, the ECW set up ae

: Cusseta
| Notice--

‘adiiof ‘April ° ees.

1. should have read | prices. §
‘in effect: Sunday, April,
17 to’ Saturday," April
23/88. We’ ‘apologize tof

Four: customers. for any; 4
‘inconvenience. a8

moves in their direction, they jam
their hands in their pockets and
take a walk, whistling.
| Vander Zalm is vaguely
remembered as the sicaze who
wrung every last buck out of the
country’s coffers, before letting go
of South Moresby. And didn't he |
sing something’ vaguely racist
about frogs once upon atime? ——

And so now he threatens to look
into-the advantages of some form
of sovercignty association. He's
not calling it that, of course. But
when you talk about taking over
federal jurisdictions, what the hell
else are you talking about?

Hey! Go for it, Zalm! Squeaky

” wheels and grease and all that! it’s |

a perfectly legitimate tactic.

I have a bad feeling it's not part
of any coherent strategy, however,
_ Tf Bill Vander Zalm was working
towards the creation of a semi- :
independent British Columbia |

“within the context of a loosencd-up

federation — on the model of a
rather terrific modern democracy

like Switzerland — I'd be the, first”

to start cheering. |
My philosophical position! on
this i is based a bit on, the open of °

12-hour. picket | line at Canadian
Occidental to press ‘demands for
Tesolution of the contratt. 4

Ay Negotiations between, the Super-
visors and the company have been ‘
underway since August) 1987, ae

. staled their .case Monday. before, F
: mediator Vince Ready, and’ a rul-, .

=.) Ron Zalko.
. Health Club
veInternational Plaza |
1979 Marine, Drive -

“986-3487 »

system.

4UNTER_

° strictly personal * °.

o |

bioregionalism, which sees the
watersheds of the world as the
ultimate ratiqnal ecological unit of
political power.

That is, people in a given water-
shed share a dependency on the
same biological life- “SUPPart
The ability 10 survive as a
species, as a community’, and as
individuals, begins, and ends, with
fresh water./

If we were to re-draw our basic -
political boundaries around water-

‘sheds, instead of such ridiculous

arbitrary. liries as, say, most pro-
vincial or unicipal borders, we
would be re- arranging the system

of governnient to match the reality

of nature.

“Hf we built upwards from there
(o create 4 global federation com-
posed of whatever it would be —

/1.200 oF 12,000 bioregion-states —
swe would have a good’chance of

nursing this planet along for

_ maybe millions of years, instead of

burning it out in another century.
"AS you can well imagine, this
bizarre-scunding theory I'm
describing has no particular place
in mainstream politics in Canada
or anywhere else, for that matter.
1 mention this only to clarify .
_ how unrelated, Un sure, Bill

or

Vander Zalm and your correspon-
dent must be at the philosophical
level.

Yet Pthink when ‘he waves a
stitk at Ottawa, it is a Good Thing.

' This nation-state Canada does
not Operate any more fairly than
possible, and it is nat possible to
keep avast mass of people at the
centre of an empire happy by pay-
ing too much attention to the

hinterlands. That’s just basic'polit-.. ; a
a:

ical facts of life.

Aad, alas, there is the problem 7 ‘

of crying wolf too often. British |/
Columbia's premiers have threay:

' ened and blustered so often that

B.C. is indelibly etched with the
reputation as the ‘‘spoilt child of
Confederation." :

An outburst like Vander Zaim* Se
even ina Throne Speech, is just
viewed as another temper tantrum.
No substance, Ail bluff. Just
another ‘whining Westerner.**
That's the reaction —:no kidding! :

Sf the Zalm was serious, he'd
just get on with the job — scout’
the Kicking Horse Pas and get out

* the barb wire. But he’s not, nafs

everyone on both sides of the
Rockies knows it. \
More's the pity

oa | muffin & coffee

E Come in and enjoy.c muffin and.a reg.
f cup of 400% Colombian.coffea., ..-

i NO COUPON NECESSARY: Offer: good.
R until, May 15/88. Not valid with other

a specials.

For 2.Weeks
*(ose-6 tis.)

— Come In And Ash."
About the V.LP. Card

M . SBONUS VALUE :

‘PA ~ Detuils available at club

Ist. Visit
Incentive

“Linear’

Raich gi x yeh,
studio-linie

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A few of the patterns available’

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