6 - Wednesday, February 18, 1987 - North Shore sews THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER Publisher: Editor-in-Chief Peter Speck Noe! Wright Barrett Fisher Linda Stewart Display Advertising 980-0511 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution 986-1337 Managing Editor Subscriptions 986-1337 Advertising Director North Shore News, footie “1 Ya. 43 an wioetwenddent wi teaitian eweter 4 acai News Viewpoint Time to recover? IL: a federal election were held today, the opinion SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver, B.C, V7M 2H4 eaten cet Cente Siti PVRICHTS alee a HO: EE a va Pr totes atin Od fe dec oNparied fy a Starr pend aaneseeet pre lope Entire contents 1987 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All fights reserved polls say Brian Mulroney and his demoralized caucus would not muster enough votes even to form the official opposition a role which the pollsters now assign (o Ed Broadbent and the NDP. We wonder a little, however ... A federal clection is still at least 18 months or more away, and mid-term traditionally finds elected pov- ernments eve7ywhere at a low point in the esteem of the voters, regardless of party. True, the Mulroney government is now being par- ticularly badly buffeled by a rash of scandals and an image of the prime minister personally as less than trustworthy in his pubjic statements. But the 16-year reign of the Liberals under Trudeau was far from scandal free and from the mid-1970s onward growing distrust of Trudeau himself outside Quebec failed (aside from the brief nine-month ‘‘blip’’ of the Clark government) to defeat him. For good reason. The party that holds Quebec and half or more of Cntario rules the country — it’s that simple. However, alienated the West becomes, Mulroney, too, knows he must follow the Quebec-Ontario formula for political survival and pay the asking price. Despite a current image of corruption and flawed leadership, the overall Tory record since 1984 is markedly better than that of Trudeau’s arrogant, " spendthrift Grits. And public opinion, reflected only in snapshot form by the polls, is notoriously fickle. . The Tories still have some time to recover and are undoubtedly learning fast. Don’t count them out just 58,287 (average, Wednesday s Friday & Sunday! Epa pivisioNn OK OK... IL GET iT RIGHT THIS TE... yet. Canadian authors taxed out of home A STUPID LAW is bad enough in itself but arrogant Stewart of Toronto. bureaucrats can make it ten times worse. The combination had two local businessmen steaming last week. Ken Bassam and partner Dick Heron operate B & H Mc_ 1 Ship- yard on East Ist in North Van. Among other things, they import books. Last year, you'll recail, the bird-brained feds slapped a 10 per cent import duty on books from the U.S. in retaliation for the American duty on Canadian lumber. Since then, Ken and Dick assure us they've been swallowing hard but dutifully paying their - customs bills — you don’t stay DON FELL ,.. back in the swim. long in the import business other-: wise. So what did they get when theiz latest shipment arrived? A curt and menacing form letter from Customs and Excise, gleeful- ly describing a new computer system for tracking .“‘delinquent importers” . Such wretches, it ad- vised,’ would put their ‘‘privi- leges’’, reputations and continued customs service all at risk. Other dire penalties were outlin- ed before the letter ended by assur- ing recipients that the new system was designed to serve them better. Ken shot back a reply pointing out that he neither required nor had requested the new ‘‘service’’. He demanded an apology for the implied slur on his business and a restatement of customs service in civil terms -—- emphasizing that importing isnot a ‘‘privilege’’ granted at the whim of bureaucrats and that the latters’ job is to serve citizens, not browbeat them, The kicker, however, was that three of the books in the shipment on which the 10 per cent duty was being charged were Canadian, not foreign — two of them by Farley Mowat and at least one shown as published by McCletland & LETTER OF THE DAY friean terrorists’ aim is Dear Editer: For the benefit of thinking readers, I’d like to give a concise outline. on present South African develo ments: The South African government is facec| with a situation created by terzorisis, a situation encompass- — ing saboiage, civic irresponsibility, intimidation of innocents, and an all-out attempt by outside organizations and governments to ‘create chaos. Rarely is the violence’ aimed at whites, che real aim is to destroy the good things created by the blacks and whites together so as to obliterate the existing free enterprise system and Marxist government. Black school children have faced intimidation to the extent where many schools have been closed down for lack of pupil attendance, - an indication of the determination of lawless young people who serve foreign: based manipulators: install a How’s that for being literally taxed out of your home? Only in Canada .. tor of the Coho Festival Society at its a.g.m. Feb. 26. ... Visiting in a hurry last week from their Palm Springs winter pad — and with good reason — were Calgarians Jack and Betty Shart. Jack’s Noel Wright NAME GAME: That sigh of relief heard all the way down Capilano Road last weekend came from Ray Marinakis whose Canyon Gardens Restaurant was virtually cut off from its patrons for several days by the water main ditch diggers. Three or four thousand dollars poorer, Ray reports access now restored and business returning to usual ... Getting back into the full swim of community activity is former North Van District mayor Don Bell, elected a North Van school trustee last November. Look for him to be named a direc- fetter writers who frequently air their views in the North Shore News, I have some factual infor- mation: In Canada, their questionable standards of judgement have at last come under public scrutiny and their rapidly decreasing sup- port base is hardly surprising. In South Africa, their opinion counts for nothing. It becomes in- creasingly clear that President Botha will continue to enjoy the "For the naive and ill-informeds’scslpport: of his electorate long after @ focus @ daughter Deborah Wardell of West Van had just presented hubby Peter Wardell with their firstborn, Rachel Jeanne, who came with her biological clock already correctly set: she sleeps nights ... Globetrot- ting North Van City Alderman Stella Jo Dean (the Mediterranean, Israel, you-name-it) stayed closer to home for her winter break this year — she’s just back from sunn- ing it up for a couple of weeks in. Puerto Vallarta ... Did you know that any Canadian resident who worked 10 years or more in Britain could qualify for some British Messrs. Clark and Mulroney , if they're lucky, occupy the opposi- tion benches in Ottawa. If the self-appointed foreign af- fairs experts know of any country that ‘instructs is peacekeeping forces to tacitly accept the attacks of terrorists, then they owe it to their principles and aspirations to advertise the fact. South Africa has repeatedly demonstrated its ability and determination to look after its own affairs..-Nothing can be more pension? For further info call Ron Davie of the British Pensioners Association after 6 p.m. at 929- 3930 .,.Congrats to News market- ing director Larry Christie who ‘celebrated his big four-oh last Wednesday. Gifts included a large bottle of Gerito! — what fun these kids have! ... And speaking of bir- thdays, committee man Ralph Brown will soon be passing the tin mug around to West Van residents, seeking donations towards projects marking the community's 75th anniversary this year. The party kicks off March 15 -- very appropriately with the unveiling of the new municipal STELLA JO DEAN ... a closer sun. larxist govt laughable than the attempts of uninformed people to influence a political system that is beyond their limited knowledge understanding. or More amusing is the fact that ° these handicapped people persist in attempting to project themselves into a situation that dismisses their efforts with total indifference. Peter du Piessis, North Vancouver." - - »5'.