industrial assets overlooked

Dear Editor:

Re: District sends Cates
Landing to public hearing,

Wher will district council
wake up to the fact that the
Port of Vancouver and the
marine industry are munici-
pal assets, not habilities?

MeKenzie Barge and
Marineways and Noble
Towing/Dollarton
Shipyards provide much-
needed local employment
and spin off great benefits for
a host of local marine suppli-
ers and naval architects.

On top of this, these busi-
nesses pay very healthy taxes
to needy municipal coffers.

If it is council’s agenda to
swap zoning in exchange for
a developer to clean up a pol-
luted industrial site, they
should think again.

Rather, they should make
the current owners clean up
their property hy enforcing
existing bylaws and Greater
Vancouver Regional
District /Department of
Fisheries and Oceans ensi-
ronmental standards. T know
if that was my back yard the
district would not hesitate to
drop the heavy hammer on
my head and nghtfully so.

But to continue beating
up on district residents with
repeated public hearings over
essentially the same issue is
an affront to the democratic
process.

The public has already
spoken and the answer was
no.

Robert Eaton
President, Marine and
Shipbuilders Local 506

Compiete Mechanical

Cana

Dear Editor:

The Sept. | North Shore News edito
rial entided Indecisive Action touched a
sensinye spot.

The question is “rule by the politicians
or by the people: In other words
“bureaucracy or democracy?”

ifthe facts outlined are correct, the
North Vancouver District councillors’ only
problem will be prioritizing the improve-
ments demanded, and surely that does not
need a referendum,

But on a larger scale, what about
Canada? We have been led to believe, erro-
neously, that most western countries,
which include us, are democratic. But if we

agree with Abraham Lincoln's definition of

democracy as “government of the people,
by the people, for the people,” then we

a needs Abe's

only qualif¥ at umes of elections once every
four or five years,

We became unusually democratic when
they asked us about the Meech Lake and
Charlottetown Accords. “Phose exercises
proved clearly how wrong our govern
ments can be tn assessing public opinion,

The only country that seems to be truly
democratic is Switzerland. There a referen-
dum can be mandated by a petition by 10%
of the electorate. (Our last NDP govern-
ment’s 40% embargo was transparent
hypocrisy and a denial of public trust.)

Incidentally, would our present NDP
government survive a public vote of confi-
dence?

Edmund Burke's style of democratic
rule by elected politicians (an innavation in
his day) was suitable in the last two cen-

turies when the majority ofthe people were
uneducated and illiterate, But today that
no longer holds.

Surely we've emerged enough from
those dark ages to make up Our Own minds
about most crucial issues?

Let the politicians decide the trivial
matters and give the public the privilege of
deciding the major ones by referenda,
either annually or as they do- in
Switzerland.

Why ‘can’t we copy the Swiss... or
revive dear old Abe?

Lawrence Boothroyd
West Vancouver

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