COLLINS

.,© get this straight ©

BILINGUALISM IS the Coquihalla Highway of federal
politics. Except that the cost of bilingualism cannot be
counted and it is a highway without an end.

Mountains of extra money are
to be be poured into this social
disaster to satisfy Brian
Baloncy’s insane desire to extend
the French language grip on this
country. The language police are
to be given heavy weapons and
the Chief Language Cop is to
have near-dictatoria! power in
forcing his will by means of Bill
C-12,—:

.__ Federally, the peasants of
English Canada are to be
discriminated against more than
ever in the job market. Which is
saying something, sccing that the
French are heavily favored now.

Setting the pace is the House
of Commons itself, where staff
are 66 per cent French. The
situation is even worse elsewhere.
The Language Commissioner's
Office is itself 75 per cent
French,

A small group of Tory MPs is
girding for battle against C-72.
They are not yet out in the open
but have done an analysis of the
bill that minces no words and
docs not bode well for Brian
Baloney.

Although bilingualism in
Parliament is not written into
law, the Commissioner of Of-
ficial Languages is even now not
short on arrogance. Anticipating
his future role, no doubt, he
wrote fo an Anglo MP (who
does not wish to be named) as
follows:

“I bring to your attention a
complaint which I have received
to the effect that your office

provided unilingual English
telephone reception during the

morning of March 14,

“I recognize that this com-
plaint may represent an isolated
incident. Should that not be the
case, however, you may wish to
explore the possibility of ensur-
ing bilingual reception at all
times.. °

That i is an augur of what will

happen across the country if

C-72 becomes law. The MP in

_ question would then have com-
mitted an offence, and might
even have a French secretary im-|
posed on him. In the country at.

“large; even judges are not to be,
immune from the demands of .
bilingualism. . :

In all federal jurisdictions ( the
civil service, crown corporations,
éte.).‘‘the right to: “work in the.

language of one's. choice” could

easily mean that the French will
predominate, even though they
aré. only 24 per cent of the
population.

Look not to the Great Baloney
for succour in all this (untess a
revolt of massive proportions
takes place). Look not to the
other federal parties, cither. The
NDP and the Liberals are both
on their bellies before Quebec.

No party has complairied
about the rampant discrimina-
tion that has been going on in
that province for years against
the Angios.

You cannot display business
signs in English there, for in-
stance, and Robert Bourassa says
he's sorry but he doesn't think
he'll be abie to honor his elec-
tion promise to make them legal.

Baloney’s lips have been
tighter than a Scotchman’s purse
about all that. But when Tory
Premier Sterling Lyon fought
French in Manitoba it didn't
take him more than five minutes
to bash his fellow conservative.

It is the same in Alberta.
When some NDPer had the
stupidity fo speak French in that
legislature, knowing that French
wasn't recognized, our dear
prime minister was heard yelling
about ‘the rights of all
Canadians."'

Horror stories abound, The
only guy in the Canadian
pavilion at Expo 88 in Australia
who isn't bilingual (meaning
French, mostly) will be Rick
Hansen. In Pretoria, where
English and Afrikaans are
spoken, the first thing you hear
when calling the Canadian em-
bassy is ‘‘Bon jour,"

The cost of all this crap is, as
I say, incalculable. As a con-
sumer, those bilingual cornflake
boxes cost you. Every press
release put out by every federal
department or crown corporation
is in French and English, usually
with French first, even though 76
per cent of us are not French.

Recently, a reader sent me a
“four-page pamphlet on Jasper

_ Park issued by ‘‘Parcs Canada.”’
_ French was at the front, English
“at the back.
We Anglos love being kicked
around so it’s our own fault, |
» suppose. But with C-72 coming
in, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
xk ke *
Interested in our war against
“South Africa? Hear Professor
Tony Marais of the University of

- « Witwatersrand on sanctions; 8

p.m.. Thursday, Room 227 Hotel
- Vancouver; Sponsored by Cana-

_ dian Friends of South Africans

Societys admission $5.@

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Cold Turkey Day

Stop Smoking January 20!

9 ~ Wednesday, January 20, 1973 - North Shore News

Charges laid for indecent act

A 29-YEAR-OLD West Vancouver
man recently appeared in North
Vancouver provincial court to face
three criminal charges stemming
from an alleged indecent act in the
lingerie department of Woolco.
Wallace Thomas Powell was
originally charged with performing
an indecent act in public, perform-
ing an indecent act intended to in-

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sult or offend another person and
openly exposing an indecent act in
a public place in connection with a
Sept. 18 incident.

Appearing before Judge J.K.
Shaw, Powell was remanded to
Jan. 19 to fix a date for trial on
the charges.

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