Whats the plan,

breakout at dawn

URE TTY

EWS VIEWPOINT

redmecks

: i

-OWDY FELLOW rednecks! Wel-
come to the North Shore, Canada’s
version of backwoods Alabama..

“At least that’s: what you might conclude»
‘after reading some recent stories written
about the North Shore ina pair of daily
‘hewspapers. I
' “Ever since North Vancouver District
Council rejected ail but three of 13 recom-
mendations from a district multicultural!
committee report, media bloodhounds have
been baying across the bridges in search of
racists and raving redneck right-wingers.

Resurrected first'by the Globe and Mail in
& page one article published after the multi-
cultural report was rejected in late March -
and most recently by the Vancouver Sun in an
April 20 story is the now “notorious” 1991
cross-burning i in North Vancouver. on the -
: property of an Iranian immigrant.

Though it has never been established as

anything more than an isolated incident per-,

petrated around the time the movie

Mississippi Burning and its, violent cross-,

burning action was aired on local TV, the

incident is now developing mythical sinister ©

status across the country.

 ‘Out-of-towners and smug’e easterners
would love to believe that racists abound in
the North Shore’s “Reform country” back-
waters. Comforting as that perception might
be to some, it just ain’t so. North Shore resi-

dents are a lot like residents elsewhere in’
Canada: they are proud of their neighbor- ,

hoods and concerned about the rapidly
changing cultural demographics of their
communities.

Misunderstandings between residents and |
newcomers have arisen and will continue to
arise as long as myth overshadows reality.

OF THE WEEK

political leaders and institutions.

“Sex begins with the way you
say, ‘Good morning’...”..

-North Shore resident Jean
Andersen, reminiscing about an old
long-lost flame rediscovered
through the pages of the North
Shore News. (From an April 22
News story.) . ;

“The people are never wrong.

unwise but never wrong.”
Rossland City administrator,
Andre Carrel, speaking at a forum
on direct democracy, on democracy
and the common sense of the peo-
ple. (From an April 20 News story.)

“British Columbians — and
Canadians as a whole — are
growing increasingly angry, frus-

_ oppressive.

Year after year, whether a PC,
Libera! or NDP government is in
power, big government just gets
bigger, more. costly and more
e.”

National Citizens’ Coalition
(NCC) president David
Sommerville, on public disgust i
with big government and its cost. |

it’s too late!

IT’S INCONCEIVABLE to
any anglophone Canadian

/ with a grain of common
sense that Jean Chretien

would not have a “Plan B”
ready for use if Quebec
announces its intention to
separate six months from
now.

Parti Quebecois chief Jacques
‘arizeau promises to do just that

immediately after he wins this fall's

Quebec election. He vows to go

ahead the very next day on prepara-

tions to take the province out of
Canada — followed by an carly -
referendum to win the formal blegs-
ing of Quebecers who'd already
endorsed his plan by electing him.

* Like fils fellow traitor Lucien
Bouchard, leader of “Her Majesty's
Loyal Opposition” in the
Commons, Parizeau seems to
regard the whole process as a piece
of cake: Once he unilaterally
declares independence, he figures
all that remains to be done will be
to amicably tidy up a few house-
keeping loose ends with Ottawa —
trifles like division of the debt, con-
tinued use by Quebec of Canadian
dollars and passports, automatic

“Quebec membership in NAFTA,

etc. — and then exit laughing.
Dream on, Jacques and Lucien.

The message to you today from a

growing majority of the rest of

- Canada is clear and simple. -

We sincerely want Quebec to
Stay. But if she insists on leaving,
let’s finally get it over with — and
on the following minimal terms.

A land corridor from Ontario to
New Brunswick and the waters of ~
the St. Lawrence Seaway must
remain under sole Canadian juris- -
diction. The northern Ungava terri-
‘ory — not part of Quebec at

: Confederation — must revert to

Canada. Forget about Canadian
currency and passports. Set up your
own dollar, franc or whatever, and
your own passport offices. Ge talk
to Washington directly if you want
to join NAFTA (and you better not
be too pushy with Mickey Kantor

about French on imported cornflake

boxes!). That’s the kind of “Plan
Be one hopes Chretien has all, “

mapped out and ready for use al the
right moment.

Meanwhile, although the smart
money is on Parizeau in the upcom-
ing election, Daniel Johnson and
his Liberals are still seen to have a
sporting chance. While that hope
exists, Chretien is obviously retuc-

‘day, Tuesday, April 26,
‘Van’ s Jean Cowell.

HITHER AND YON

tant to muddy Quebec waters,

He could, however, be fatally
wrong. If Quebecers learned. *
RIGHT NOW that separation
would be no Sunday school picnic
and grasped how dearly they’d pay
for so Jittle gained, Parizeau and .
Bouchard’s nation-wrecking cam-
paign might well start to spin its » °
wheels. The scariest thought, of
course, is that Chretien may have.
no “Plan B” at all — that Canada
might lose Quebec simply because
he never told Quebecers how it is
before it was too late. | *
SCRATCHPAD: Go treasure:
hunting today, Sunday, at the’
Rummage Sale and Flea: Market,
sponsored by St. Paul's Indian
Church from noon to 3 p.m, at 424°
West - Esplanade... Final °
Community. Concert of the 1993- .
94 season Wednesday, April 27, at |
8 p.m. in the Centennial: Theatre.
features internationally acclaimed:
classical duo-pianists Lillian Kallir:
and Claude Frank ... North Van
Arts Council jurying for this year’s
Folkfest Craft Fair takes place
Friday, April 29, from 3 to 6:30
p.in, — for appointment call Ela
Parkinson, 988-6844... Many. .
happy returns of today, April 24, to
West Van's Jeff Adams’...
Tomorrow, April 25, salute ail
Down- Under types on. ANZAC
Day ... And happy 90-candle birth-
jo North

WRIGHT OR WRONG: One
other endangered species, facing,
depletion unless protected, is the
Canadian taxpayer.

They may be imprudent or

Publisher ..

Managing E

Associate Editor
* Sales & Marketing Director...
* Comptroller.

North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an
independent suburdan newspaper and qualified
under Schedule 111, Paragrapti 111 of the Excise
Tax Act, is published gach Wednesday, Friday and
Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and
distributed to every door on the North Shore,
Canada Posi Canadian Publications Mai! Sales
Product Agreement No. 0087235, Mailing rates
available on request. Submissions are welcome but
we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited
fnaterial Including manuscripts and pictures which
should be accompanied by a Stamped, addressed
‘envelope.

trated and cynical aboQut their

(From an April 20 News story)‘

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Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. Ail rights reserved.

Photo cubmitted

HONORED A7 a recent “Thank You” breakfast were major donors
to aii upgrading project at North Shore Counselling Centre, repre-
sented by (left to right) Sheila Kirkpatrick, North Shore Cradit.
Union; Melanie Fraser, Al Fraser Memorial Fund; and James
Cameron, West Van Foundation. Missing were Dick Mitchell,
West Van UC Endowment Fund, and Barrie Wall, BC Rail, =