lesson in respect for law and the environment ONE OF the most fatuous statements made this year by anybody involved in the legal profession was a comment by a MacMillan Bloedel Jawyer, describing the rationale behind the logging company’s private court order, which prohibits anyone from interfering with its logging operations in Clayoquot Sound. Quoth he: ‘It is an inherent power the court has possessed for bundreds of years, in order to preserve respect for the orders of the court and respect for the rule of the law in a democratic socie- Really? Excuse me while ! gag. I've heard a lot of hypocritical statements in my time, but coming from that source, this surely has “20 rank up there with the most hypecritical statements of all time. By the way of background, keep in mind that the 500-ptus individ- uals who have been arrested at Clayoquot Sound this summer could have been dealt with as a » matter of private civil law, but B.C., in its twisted NDP wisdom, has intervened, so that its pro- secutors are proceeding by way of criminal contempt, which subjects protesters to severe penalties. ” It turns out there's nothing /quite so proto-fascistic as a / “Social Democrat” crowd in power, is there? Sad to say, but true. Harkening back to the comment from the Mac Blo legal beagle, what has all this to do with. respect for rule of law? The implication here is that _ MacMillan Bloedel is somehow an impeccable corporate citizen, and - it is the rag-tag band of protesters who are the criminals. -: Of course, Mac Blo is now par- ~ tially-owned by the provincial ’ government, which, I guess, is the NDP’s idea of applied state so- cialism.. So it’s no surprise that the so-_ cialists are leaping to the defence of the capitalists, the line having been nicely blurred. But let’s have a look at just what kind of an outfit the NDP '- decided tc get into bed with. The logging giant appears regu- larly ‘on the B.C. government’ s annual list of major polluters. | CONSUEFATION - 4226 Marine Drive 984-4007 STRICTLY PERSONAL Documents provided to me by Douglas Chapman, a former pro- secutor for the Ontario Ministry of Environment, show that since 1991, Mac Blo has failed to com- ply with its legal obligations to obey the law on at least 50 sepa- rate occasions. Mac Blo has been convicted at least 24 times in B.C. and Ontario for crimes against the environ- ment, including destruction of fish habitat through negligent logging operations, failing to report pollution events to the authorities, violating terms of its permits, and polluting fishery waters. So far, fines against a repeated offender like Mac Blo have been low, even though they could amount to as much as $1 million a day or even three years in jail for individuals within the company found to be negligent in the com- mission of an offence. But no, the B.C. government is too busy pouring millions of dollars into public relations cam- paigns aimed at defending our forestry practices, instead of reforming them. CUSTOM PE NRE ag ee FULL HOUSE DEAL Ask about the additional savings you'll receive on most biind orders for 8 windows or more Here's a few selections from MacMillan Bloedel's criminal re- cord, which the company’s lawyer, in his eagerness to accuse others of lack of respect for the cule of law, neglected to mention: ® Nov. 25, 1969 — convicted for destroying fish habitat through negligent logging practices (two counts), Fisheries Act, Sec. 30 and 33 (2); @ Aug. 2, 1973 — same thing, Section 33 (2); @ April 25, 1975 — convicted for polluting Fisheries Waters, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (2); @ April 5, 1976 — convicted for destroying fish habitat through negligent logging practices, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (3); @ June 12, 1978 — convicted for polluting Fisheries Waters, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (2); @ March 27, 1979 — ditto; @ Jan. 20, 1978 — convicted for destroying fish habitat through negligent logging practices, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (3); ® Oct. 7, 1981 — same crime, same act, Sec. 33 (2); @ Jan. 29, 1982 — convicted for polluting Fisheries Waters, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (2); @ Sept. 25, 1985 — ditto; @ Jan 14, 1987 — ditto; @ Aug. 7, 1987 — ditto; @ Oct. 20, 1987 — convicted in Ontario for failing to notify authorities of pollution event, Ont. Water Resources Act, Sec. 16 (3) and 16 (4); @ Oct. 20, 1987 — convicted in Ontario for water pollution, En- vironmental Protection Act, Sec. 413 (1) (a); @ July 17, 1989 — convicted for ‘violating terms of its pollution permit, Pesticide Act; @ Oct. 24, 1988 — convicted for destroying fish habitat through negligent logging practices, Fish- eries Act, 31 (1); ® May 31, 1989 — convicted for polluting Fisheries Waters, Fish- eries Act, Sec. 33 (2); @ June 19, 1990 — convicted for polluting Coastal Waters, Waste Management Act, Sec. 44; @ Sept. 19, 1990 — convicted for failing to report a chemical spill, Waste Management Act, Sec. 20; BRING A NeW WORLD INTO Your Home! At Wiz Zone Computers for Kids, we bring the world of computer technology home for you and your family. @ Oct. 23, 1990 — convicted in Ontario for water pollution, Ont. Water Resources Act, Sec. 16 (1); @ Nov, 15, 1990 — convicted for violating the terms of its pollution permit, Waste Management Act, This list is not complete. But i think you get the point by now. Who on earth is MacMillan Bloedel to throw the first stone when it comes to respect for the rule of the law? Sec. 24, eee cmeiiiee CUSTOM DRAPERIES AND VALANCES Labour $8.50 per panel unlined, $9.50 lined. CUSTOM BEDSPREADS & COVERS Low, low prices on blinds & tracks. For FREE Estimates Call 987-2966 Serving the North Shore for 23 years Convenient Hydro bill payments Dundarave and Lynn Valiey Centre As a convenience to our customers on the North Shore, Hydro bills may be paid at special boxes located in the IGA- Plus store in Dundarave and the mall entrance next to the IGA-Plus store at Lynn Valley Centre. The payment boxes are accessible during store hours for your payment by cheque . 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