6- Sunday, February 13, 1994 ~ North Shore News

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| Butt heads

HE FEDERAL Liberals are fast devel- ;
oping a reputation as a government of
knot-heads,

Take, for example, its recent move to cut
tobacco taxes by $5 per carton.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced
the tax cut as one of the government’s major
weapons in his new war against cigarette
smuggling. oo!

Also in his arsenal will be a campaign to
convince youngsters to, quit smoking or to
avoid taking up the poisonous habit that
costs the Canadian public close to $10 billion.
annually in smoking-related illnesses, death
and lost employment. time.

Huh?

Yes, you heard it right the first ¢ime: con-
vince teens to stop smoking by making ciga-
reties cheaper to buy.

The Liberals’ dopey plan will cost the fed-

eral treasury approximately half a billion
dollars, including $300 mitlion in immediate

. lost tax revenue,

All this malarkey just before a budget in

‘which the government hopes to make inroads

in the couniry’s staggering $45 billion deficit
by imposing predicted tax increases of up to
#1.3 billion.

Virtually all of the cigarettes being smug-
gled into Canada are manufactured legally in
this country, exported tax-free to the United
States and then brought back illegally into
Canada.

So what's really needed is a tax applied at
the source — the cigarette manufacturer —
that erases the estimated $25 difference
between legal and smuggted smokes and
thereby erases the incentive to smuggle.

We don't have to compromise health to
batdle underground nicotine crooks,

“The whole story is appalling ..
Figure skating has always been
relatively squeaky clean.”

North Vancouver's Karen
Magnussen, on the Tonya Harding
affair. (From a Feb. 6 News story)

SE was shell-shocked, It was nota
great week for Keeping tabs on
things.” .

Acting West Vancouver Mayor
Rod Day, responding to the events
leading up to the removal of several
trees in Caalfeild Park. ¢Freat a
Feb, 9 News story.)

“Small business is big business.”

North Shore News columnist Mike

Grenby, at his; News-sponsored

Feb. 5 “Invest and Prosper” senti-
{

nar. (Fram a Feb, 9 News story)

“If there were more white witch-
es in polities, | guarantee we'd
have not only a cleaner environ-
ment bat a healthier society with
less violence and crime."

White Witch Lucy Ridley, on the
value of witches to the political
process. (From a Feb. 13 News
story.)

Publisher
Managing
Associate Editor
Sales & Marketing Director inda Stewart
Comptroller we .. Qoug Foot

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

ob ’n
the
for s

OTTAWA’S “SOLUTION”
to cigarette-smuggling
reminds one of the story

ahout the origin of the camel -

— a horse designed by a
commitice.

It’s also a shameless sellout to
Quebec puffers who threaten to
vote sepuratist unless they can buy
the weed at hall’ price.

So Jean Chretien cuts the federal
tax by $5 a carton — or by up to
$10 for every tax dollar over $5
that the provinces choose to cut.
Slaps on an $8 export tax. Hikes
tobacco companies’ taxes. Raises
the legal age for buying cigarettes.
Cracks down on sales to minors.
And hires hundreds more cops.

Give us a break! How many
more uscless steps can Jean take?

Your humble scribe. now an 11-
month-old reformed smoker after
nearly 60 years on the weed, finally
quit last March for exactly two rea-
sons — neither of them included in
Ottawa's brainchild. ;

First, the hole left in his wallet
by a $50 carton every five days.
Second, the social leper status he
was reduced to — barred from

. smoking virtually anywhere but his

own apartment and growingly
aware that four oul of five visitors
hated the smell of both it and him.
Since it's economically imprac-
tical all at once to make the weed

JEAN CHRETIEN.:.. wrong
smoke signals. i

iNeyal, like pot or heroin, the obvi-
ous way to force the remaining
minority of nicotine junkies to
eventually butt out is to continue
the same highly successful rob-
‘em-shame- "em treatment,

“Eventually” being the key
word.

. Both federal and provincial gov-
eunmments are tax junkies who
would face a horrendous withdraw-
al problem of their own if all that
money from the tobacco industry
and its customers suddenly dried
up. They can alford to be weaned
from their tax addiction only gradu-
ally — unless we want to bankrupt
Canada even sooner than seems
probable already. So slowly does it.

As to the smuggling problem,
it’s been made acute because of the
exported CANADIAN cigareties
brought back Hegally into Canada
-— not primarily because of

. Amhericun cigarettes, which were

always cheaper,

Che answer to that is siniple, Set
the export tax not at $8 but at $20-
$25 per curton to make snuggling
them tack profiddess, And if
Canadian tobacco firms threaten to
move south, call their bluff, Bil

0

sha

Clinton is now poised to clobber
them with higher U.S, taxes...
The end goal, Jean, is to beat”
both smugglers and lung disease by
DESTROYING THE MARKET
for cancer sticks — through ruth-” . -
lessly pumping up their price, while
making the smoker's social life
more and more miserable. That’s
already worked wonders since the.
1970s, If it finally defeated ME, it
can sooner or later defeat ANY-
ONE. : fe
And yes, since you ask, [really |.”

‘enjoy being smokeless at last.

Sonichow it makes life much sim-
pler —cven at 10 Ib. overweight!.

WRAP-UP:“Flower Works” dis-

play by. West Van watercolor artists
‘Jane Ford, Mary Baker and Jill
. Southern:continues at West Yan

Memorial Library unti} Feb. 27 —
all pdintings for sale ... Tuesday,
Feb.15, is'registration deadline for.’
Mt. Seymour. Little League ©
Baseball ages five to 18. Forms
available at“Ron Andrews Pool,
where they can be dropped off...
Donate your pinta tomorrow and”
Tuesday. Feb. 74-15, at the blood; >
doaor clinic, 2:30-8 pam. each day,’

in Liens Gate Hospital Medical

Day Centre Gym ... Happy birthday
wishes tomorrow, Peb, 14, to North
Van Kiwanian Ron Sayer and West
Van ditto Terry Higgins ... And
many happy returns of Tuesday,
Feb. 15.10 longtime Cedardale
neighbor Frank Cragg.

eae

WRIGHT OR WRONG: If you
did it this way 1Q years ago,
chances are you're doing it wrong.

FRANK CRAGG... West Van
birthday boy. a