HE ‘recent episodes involving federal government bailouts of Canadian NHL teams might seem like bad out-takes from the film Slapshot but the bellyaching sparked by the issue reveals a major cancer on Canadian life. Taxes. Canadian hockey teams and their ownership are but the upper end suf- ferers of this country’s overtaxed and over-governed system. Apert from the anemic Canadian dcliar, professional hockey teams face tax penalties at every turn that make their doing business in this country increasingly difficult. If that sounds familiar it should. ' Canadian businesses of every size continue to bear tax loads that are X Gaihies the land. That goes double for Canadians themselves. The average Canadian, for example, has absorbed a 43% increase in his personal income taxes since 1993 and has seen his after-tax income fal! $1,135 since that time. With federal surpluses estimated to run to $95.5 billion over the next five years, the demand for tax relief is more than the knee-jerk whining of the great unwashed. It’s the Icgiti- mate demand of Canadians to return the hard-earned money owed to them by a tax-obsessed government. The solution to NHL team wees is much the same as the solution to Canadian taxpayer woes: cut taxes, cut red tape, cut bureaucracy and make Canada a place that rewards ini- tiative and hard work rather than WC Tints duo Dex By Ronn Pens nt Woh. 13Ci dex a ragh.Commy, ODGLY ENOUGH, THE FEAKS COINCIDE With OVER, 15 cm OF NEW POWDER ON THE LOCAL SKI HILLS... ‘EL ON IICUULDEALARE LEHI BLT HTADALL AI BULLE RO strangling productivity and bleeding the entrepreneurial lifebicod from mailleox | Pall results iebated * . Dear Editor: |: There are Iwo points to note ‘regarding Noel Wright’ 's piece “Massive ‘no’ to Nisga’a Treaty” column. - The first is a technical point about the requirements for oper statistical analysis: ‘samples must be generated random- ly. With the CAGE “poll,” though, rather than the testers gen- erating a fandom sample, those who wished to be tested gen- - Crate the sample. The only thing that the CAGE “poli” shows is that of the people who chose to participate, 99% said “no.” : Obviously there is the possibility, if not the likelihood, that =: those who wanted to register their opposition were more like- Ay to ké motivated to participate. to any case, given that the sample is not generated ran- domly, the result is of no statistical value whatsoever as it per- tains ,to.the..implied claim that British Columbians (or . .¢., the wider population, ° would reject the Nisga’a treaty... Of course, this doesn’t mean that British Columbians sup- poit the treaty: ‘only’ that the poll doesn’t show that they don’t. The second point is that there is an important, but seem- ‘ingly unrecognized, assimption underlying the motives for the CAGE “poll.” ‘The ‘assumption is that majorizy opinion ought to deter- ‘outcomes: (including those: concerning minority groups) in such a society as this. Some call this the “Tyranny of the Majority.” Now, it may be that majority opinion is appropriate in the Nisga’a treaty case, bur there seems to be no support given for this assump- é argument might be: given that this is 2 democratic society so majority rules. But we all know that really this soci- ig a limited | democracy, by design . Structires are set in place just so O that those who govern can canny Of the majonty, They, may not always be suc- vent ty H, but often we think it good that minority interests are moet even at the cost of the majority. ".. A good example of this is making public spaces accessible to all minority who are physically impaired.» So the CAGE poll tells us nothing about the possible results me: possible ‘referendum. And, even if it did, some con- vincing case needs to be made for the appropriateness of refer- "enda-based decisions in cases like the Nisga’a treaty. ‘Michael Fleming |: North Vancouver, Worth Shore News, founded in 1969 as an indeperident subexban newspener and qualdied sider Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the - Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Feday and Sunday by HCN Pubscations Company and distributed to every door on the North Shote. Canada Post Canadian Pubtecatons " {aid Sales Product Agreement to, 0087235. Eno Distebution Manager : 988-9937 (124) bemogsnews.com St bee tenia cueuaion Weonesday, Fretay & Sunday) Creative Services Director 985-2131 (127) mmlancher@nsnews.com penalizing it. IS Canada doomed to a further interminable period of govern- ment by the increasingly com- placent and arro- gant Liberals? After Sunday we'll almost certainly know the answer. If, following the weekend's United Alternative and Reform Party conventions in Ottawa, the answer is “yes,” the guilt will lie squarely on a tiny group of obstinate, logicatly challenged Reform rednecks from the western boondocks — hellbent on destroying the leader who brought them from scratch to official opposition in 10 short years and, with him, any early hope of defeating the Grits. On the one hand, poor befuddled, seatless Tory leader Joe Clark is losing close aides and MPs faster that s maple sheds its leaves in fall. _ Half his tiny, nominally still loyal par- liamentary caucus are split over his “soft” policy on Quebec. Party membership i is down from 96,000 to 18,000. Any thought of the Clark-led Tories — who still reject any merger with Reform in a new UA party — winning power in the upcoming 2001 election all on their own is to'dream in technicolour. So, on the other hand, is any chance of Reform alone ousting Jean Chretien or Paul Martin (take your pick) — given Ontario’s traditional Reform-Tory vote splitting. But the number of high profile Tories from Ontario and elsewhere across the eae ke,» dal PETER SPECK ~~. Publisher. 985-213t (101) Pspeck@nsnews.com dihainatansionts com leny Photography Manager $85-2131 (160) tpelers@nsnews.com cen ceascncsaneoenoecsconerenseececneceneteoees Doug Fect General Manager 985-2131 (733) dloot@nsnews.com jaleria Stephenson Ctassitied Manager 986-6222 (202) vstephenson@nsnews.com Enlire contents © 1999 HCN Publications Company. All tights feserved._ nation who are backing Preston Manning's UA initiative could quickly change that picture if the new right-of- centre party finally emerges. Right now, given that the goal is to govern Canada as soon as possi- ble, there’s clearly no other way to go. Meanwhile, the revolt- ing redneck Reformers (teue strengeh still unknown), who worship ac the “grassroots” altar and basically reject any firm central feadership, don’t even necessarily WANT to govern Canada. Numerous of them say the party’s original objective was not to gov- ern, but merely to exercise strong influ- _ence on the governing party. That goal, they maintain, has already been amply achieved.and they’re perfectly happy to. occupy such a second place indefinitely. ‘ -But permanently placing second appeals so little to Manning that he’s vowed to quit as Reform leader if his "party rejects the UA in a March referen- dum requizing a two-thirds majority to endorse the merger. This weekend’s proceedings, however, should give a pretty accurate advance pic- ture of the eventual outcome — especially in view of a new and imminent lea ership challenge. - Two dissident Reform MPs — B.C.’s - Dick Harris and Saskatchewan's Lee Morrison — have now announced they will run for Reform leader and call this weekend for an immediate leadership review, Allin ail, therefore, Preston should - a.m, to 4 p.m. each day to he . house is is on fire. Anon have a pretty accurate picture by Monday, of where he stands with the upcoming ‘ Reform referendum and its required 67% vote for the UA. As well as his own fate.. If Reform DOES back the UA in « March, Manning promises to seck the | Icadership of the new party, With the ‘ 2001 federai election by then ooining, _ it’s hard, in the time left, to see a better : bet to head his own creation. Ontario-born John Reynolds, our West Van-Sunshine Coast Reform MI ’ could prove a bonus in his native province — later, if not immediately, new leaders take time to sell themselves to the clecturate and timing for the chance to oust the Grits is now of the essence. On that tight 2001 timing | Preston; leader of a new anti-Liberal party, is fay’ ahead of the field. Q Q Qs ALZHEIMERS month on the North Shore winds up Friday and Saturday, Ja 28-29, at Lions Gate Hospital with North Shore Health workshops from 9 ‘tending victims of that saddening ‘and . demanding disease’ call 984-5808"c 984- 38581 for full details A 102-CANDLE SALUTE Fri “North Van's Rose Elda‘ Edwards, born Jan. 28, 1898 — still in remarkable h and living i in her own home, as she ente the third year of her secon :.0 a Q: : WRIGHT GR WRONG: The onl excuse for yelling at anybod _awright@uniserve.com ~ LETTERS TO THE EDITCR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. Themuthy Managing Editor . 985-2131 (116) ‘renshaw@nsnews.com _ Gail Snelgrove Genetal Office Manager 985-2431 (105} gsnelyrovegensnes.c com VIA e-mail: trenshaw@nsnews.com Michoal Becker - Hews “QB 2131 (114)