6 - Wednesday, April 25, 1990 - North Shore News Gilet Preece Wyrsl it NP@U! Toxic lesson ANCOUVER CITY’S first tox- ic-waste disposa) collection pro- vided another positive step on the long road towards a cleaner environ- ment. Last weekend about 2,700 residents turned up at the Vancouver city works yard to rid themselves of such hazardous household waste as old _ batteries, pesticides and other toxic materials — enough to fill 520 steel drums. City officials were shocked by some of the materials brought in — from con- tainers of DDT, nitric and sulphuric acids to oxalyl chloride, used by the mili- tary as poison gas. Most had been stored in people’s homes for years. And while the disposal plan was commendable, it is obvious it should have been instituted years ago. For too long peuple have heedlessly dumped tonnes of hazardous wastes into the planet’s oceans and waterways. Their actions have, until recently, been largely ignored by all levels of gcvern- ment, who have provided neither en- vironmental education nor disposal alternatives. Certainly, the public has shown an overwhelming willingness to help clean up the planet. In order to cultivate that willingness, a permanent, free, waste disposal collection site must be estab- lished to encourage residents on the North Shore and all over the Lower Mainland to rid their homes of toxic ma- terials safely and permanently. And those residents should also be en- couraged to use, wherever possible, organic, non-toxic products in place of their hazardous counterparts. LETTER OF THE DAY. - .: West Van could look like Bermuda dise on Earth. Dear Editor: On a recent trip to Bermuda, I noted a distinct similarity between the landscape style there and most of West Vancouver. In Bermuda, the proliferation of hedges and trees contributes to the beauty that draws tourists from around the world. The consistent use of landscaping to achieve a semi-forested look transforms what might have been a rather ugly island in the Atlantic into a Para- Publisher . Associate Editor Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertising Director Linda Stewart West Vancouver is blessed with an equally magnificent natural landscape. But West Van’s city council seems to be blind to it and developers are contemptuous of it. Older neighborhoods that resemble huge gardens are beginn- ing to look like the gardener has gone berserk with the lawn mower. New neighborhoods are barren. lf West Vancouver does not ac- tively begin to protect and promote SHE VOICE OF RONTH AND WEST VANCOUNEH north shore SUNDAY « WEDNESDAY - BHIDAY North Shore News, tounge ut 1969 as an independent Para St sind gisiohuted t o Second Class ars North Haing tates at : wefcome fut we TUT unsolicited material includ witch should be accompanivgd fy a Stared unvelope suburban Newspaper atid quaiderd unter Screduls 111 a 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. Narth Vancouver, B.C V7M 2H4 59,170 average. Wednesday Friday & Sunday) Li SDA DIVISION: Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions its predominant landscape style, the city will soon lose its allure. Land prices will fall because peo- ple who wish to live in bald suburbs will find better lots elsewhere. Regulations are necessary to preserve and perpetuate the land- scape that best suits West Van- couver. If a whole country can do it, why can’t we? Leri Ostler West Vancouver 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 926-1337 985-3227 G MEMBER N's tee mores oF Ame North Shore owned and managed Entire contents < 1990 North Shore Free Press Ltd All rights reserved. What folk want ail depends on the day! ASKING PEOPLE what they want can be a hazardous ex- ercise — as annual general meetings, whether of businesses or bowling clubs, regularly demonstrate. Thus, too, with referendums, a hot topic nowadays. Let govern- ment find out what the populace wants, then DO it, and everyone will live happily ever after. At the moment there’s a vocif- erous demand for a referendum on the Gouge & Screw Tax which, if the Tories heeded it, would un- doubtedly kill the monster. Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells has called for a referendum on the Meech Lake Accord. That, too, would be widely welcomed — though since only 33 per cent of Canadians begin to understand the thing, the result might be of dubi- ous value. Preston Manning’s gung-ho Reform Party would hold referen- dums on ALL controversial major issues, with voters entitled to fire Reform MPs who flouted the wishes of their constituents. And then, of course, we have B.C.’s Socreds who — nothing if not creative —- have figured how to use the referendum mechanism (in the case of extra school taxes) to FURTHER government policy. The fact that so many school boards, including North and West Van, have decided not to risk a referendum this year suggests that Victoria has got its voter numbers right. Despite screams of protest from trustees, parent groups and unions, the silent taxpayer majori- ty has clearly accepted Tony Brummet’s claim that his block- funding formula is perfectly ade- quate for the time being. Traditionally, however, parliamentary democracy is no lover of the referendum because it runs counter to the concept of “responsible government’’ — elected by majority every three or four years with virtually unlimited powers. If it screws up, we eventually swap it for a new gang of tem- porary dictators. Given the fickleness and diversity of public opinion from one weekly poll to the next, the process makes a cer- tain amount of sense. But on the downside the process also implies that MPs and MLAs automatically possess greater vir- tue and wisdom than those who elect them, which is nonsense, of course. The best we can expect is that they provide stable, . reasonably competent administra- tion with no lasting damage to us, present or future. So what about an arrogant mid-term government whose ac- tions are apparently regarded by the vast majority of voters as do- ing grave and permanent harm to their wellbeing? Shouldn’t that justify a man- datory referendum if, say, five per cent of the citizens petition for it? Why should they have to spend two or more years battered by government policies they don’t want? What they don’t want, however, is the easy part. The tough problem always is finding out what they DO want — which all depends on which day of the month which pollster asks them! kan WRAP-UP: Brits gathered early this year for their St. George’s dinner in the B.C. Club last Friday (Hitler’s birthday, good grief! — the Saint’s day actually being April 23). Some 90 members of the St.G. Society, notably rejuvenated under North Van president Ann Haigh, rounded off roast beef, Yorkshire pud and apple pie with toasts, entertainment by John Pool, June Earnshaw, Marjorie Tosdevin and Donna Cullis, games and dancing. A decorously merry evening celebrating the England ‘‘there’ll always be’’... Tree huggers can learn all about tree growth prob- lems and solutions Thursday, April 26, from Lena Warrington of North Shore Citizens for Trees and her slides — at 7:30 p.m. in West Van ‘Y’, 1735 Inglewood ... And don’t miss out on bargains, plants, crafts, food, prizes and fun galore Saturday, April 28, from 10 to 3 at Collingwood Scheel Country Fair, 70 Morven Dr., West Van — it’s a biggie! awe WRIGHT OR WRONG: Canada must be the only country where you need more brains to prepare your income tax return than you do to earn your income. . . Photo submitted Selerosis Society rec van draw, fan Hobbis of North Van (left), receives his cheque from Al Johnson. Final deaw for the van takes place Comorrow, April 26.