S - North Shore News - Friday, July 7, 2000

ST Vancouver School

District 45’s proposal to

introduce user-pay, all-day
kindergarten is meeting resistance.

The school board is now faced with

a potentially nasty battle with teach-

ers who must ultimately buy into the

program.

The B.C. Teachers Federation

. (BCTE) has forbidden its members to

apply for the work. BCTF president

- David Chudnovsky said the program

represents two-tier education.
, This is nothing new, however. We

_. already have a two-tiered educaticn
“~ system. Those who have the money
and inclination send their children to

private schools.

“The province is sour on the deal P:

~ too. While the ministry has conceded
that the school district can legally
implement such a program, the gov-

ernment is philosophically opposed to
the move.

The position is a cynical one given
the fact the public education system
does not treat all children equally.
The B.C. government provides free
full-day kindergarten to disadvan-
taged, native and special needs chil-
dren.

According to school district chair-
man. David Steveason, so far about
30 families have signed up children
for the user-pay program. It seems to
be a popular idea with working par-
ents in West Vancouver.

Offering extended kindergarten
hours in some West Vancouver
schools may be a good thing, but the
rocess to achieve it has been flawed.

All stakeholders, teachers included,
should have signed on before the ini-
tiative was presented to the public.

ie

mailbox

Natural gas price
will soar more

Dear Editor: ”

The price of natural gas for heating our homes could go
higher ’and exceed the recent estimate of a $300 increase to
heat our houses...

.. Energy producers say that by 2003 we will need the equiv-
alent of 17 more BC Hydros in the North American conti-
nent, This is duc to the demand for clectricity for the freezing
winters and the air conditioning summer requirements and 2
high economy in the Us. where natural gas in being used to

power electric turbines. .

1 As. the environmental movement says no more dams for :
Hydro, ‘no nuclear plants for electricity, and no coal burning

for power plants, ‘the demand for natural gas to power electric
turbines ‘is: increasing ‘rapidly in order - to-“met the ‘extra
demani

Our’ supply is eet, but. again, “how long will it take to
develop let alone’ 3
slope of Alaska; ‘the ‘MacKenzie Delta or the waters of Port

Hardy. and’ Hecate Straits, which are’ estimated to store 10

, gas.:is‘ now. a: commodity on. the North |
American’ markets and the New, Alliance: pipeline from the .

Peace to Chicago is insatiable. The price of gas last year was
2.15’at the well head: This April it went to $4.80, ‘and ir is
which docs, not > speak well to getting back to the $2

of, dollars’ from. the: royalties as the price goes up. This last :

increase of toyaltics equalled a 21% profit to the government.
Tam going to su

ural gas royalti
U.S... consumers so ‘why . don’t we share directly in our
resources that are so abundarit? Do you not agree?.
To show you the value of electrical’ energy, a short while
Pb erex,; Hydro’s ‘ay an at arm, in four fr sold $60

ct. permission to take gas from the north:

t to the government and our caucus’
that’ we consider a dividend to B.C. households from the nat-.
. After all, half of the royalties come from the -

AARON
EN ANY

ANT TO ENCOUNTER
BEARS, COUGARS, WOLVES
OR COYOTES.

WHERE SHODLD WE. GO?

YViciosid Tans (ctor Dar orkane aes nc wun taeslccartcen. com

- Grubel’s s insights read well

COME, all ye writers: Light a
candle today for St. Jo, Patron ;
Saint of Rejection.

She’s known to the larger world as
J.K. Rowling. Her
fourth Harry Potter
book —- the sensation
of the publishing season
— will be dramatically
unveiled at midnight
tonight.

Which will lead me,

” before Jong, to applaud |.
North Shore writer
Herbert Grubel, who ,

has nice as many new

books out this year as ©

StJo.°
But I don’t think Prof. Grubdci —

- world-class economist and retired

Reform MP ~~ expects his sales to chal-
lenge Rowling's.

Why have I named her Patron Saint
of Rejection? Because her first Harry -
Potter book was turned down by no less
than nine publishers.

Since then her three books about the

‘boy with magical powers have sold 30

million copies, in 39 languages. For a.
while last year they occupied the top
three spots on The New York Times list.
The print run of the fourth is 5.6 million

in the U.K, U.S. and Canada, biggest in

book publishing history.
Where are the bodies’ of those editors:

who rejected Rowling’s first tome? Oh,
-. probably swinging in the wind some-

where, bones picked clean by vultures.

‘They made publishing’s greatest com:.

mercial blunder of modern, if not all,
times: © 2°
This should lift the hearts; even :

inspire the malicious glee, of every Siri i

coe nnensaasnerseccasssonscarcaacrosesoeseoess

whose gem-like prose was rejected by
ignorant, tasteless, insensitive editors.
Which describes all writers and most edi-
tors — as scen by writers.
Among those rejected was.Grubel.
He is too kind to name
. the Vancouver publisher

six months and then
rejected it — his other
current book,
Unlocking Canadian
Capital: The Case for
Capital Gains Referm,
-published by the Fraser
Institute, has an assured
market — _ but he is
too human ‘not to be a
; tad annoyed at having’
- wasted che time...

Impatient that by then the manuscript
was 18 months old, Grubel pubiished it
himself as A Professor ii in Parliament:
Experiencing a Turbulent Parliament and
Reform Party Caucus, 1993-97. - ~

My advice: Ignore the title (wordy
and misleading). Buy the book.

“ Declaration of interest: I’m passingly .
mentioned, nicely. Never mind. The
book is part autobiography, part impres- -
sively jargon-free primer on economics,
part history of economics fashion, and ‘:

: only two-thirds about his political experi-
ence.

T think the latter will stand the test of
time as a valuable insight into Reform’s
“ workings and personalities during
Grubel’s foray into politics (he retired .

-. unbeaten in-1997). It also documents:
“media hostility to upstart Reform. . ’

who had his memoir for-

‘insight

Alarmed, the Gerinan-born Grubel _
he’s my age, five when the Second World
War began, and incidentally a grocer’ Sie
child like Margaret. Thatcher — replied.
that he knew abour the Holocaust and -
he never discussed it publicly. That night:

“my wife and I hardly slept. We cried in '
each ovher’s arms.” The j item was never
broadcast."

It’s ironic that Grubel was criticiz .
because as Reform’s finance critic, he.and

. Liberal Finance Minister Paul Martin had |
*. a rapport. It should have heartened’ ;

Canadians that both could put partisan
politics aside — exactly what we often”.
demand — to discuss issues touching a all
of us. Grubel has top credentials'as an ~.
economist and has moved casily with the
likes of Milton Friedman, Harry Johnson:
and others. Martin, a sensible man whom
T much admire, had the wisdom to con-::

~ sult him. Si milarly, Grubel objectively

compares Preston Manning’s leadershi;
style, as cool and all-business as his r repu-
tation, with that of Jean Chretien, who
“on the way to his (Commons) seat’,
would stop at desks to chat with rank
and-file members ... and there. was some
bantering, accompanied by . broad
smile.” Grubel deplores that po'cy and
ideas don’t come first, but he knows well

. that above alll | politics is about people.

Reform’s future is about to be decid:

‘ed in the ren-off leadership

Manning and his personality 6 ;
Stockwell Day. Grubel’s book is'a wel:
come backgrounder. to that contest, bu!
itll “have legs”. for years.fo:

ts. It can be ordered by fax at

The nastiest incident occurred when a oe

“CBC reporter ambushed Grubel with: *
know someone who was present when
you denied the Holocaust.” cee

| LETTERS 13 THE EDITOR must include your -
name, full address and telephone number.
Sabentt via e-mail to: treashaw@nsnews.com .

Terry Peters -
Editorial Manager

© What was chat big, w

: dle that hit us the. -other day