Hot over hog reference

Dear Editor:

Re “Trimming the Fat"( March 26
News). .

On_ behalf of the West Vancouver
Municipal Employees’ Association I
wish to express our extreme disappoint-
ment with the distortion portrayed in
your March 26, 1997, article.
Specifically, the graphic of the “hog”
and headhine “Trimming the Fat” clear-
ly illustrates the negativity pursued by
many in the media.

As media representatives, you are
well aware of the fact that the majority
of people interpret things on a “visual”
basis. The “hog” sent a very clear mes-
sage, and a negative perception was sct
prior to anyone’s reading the article.

"The proposa! referred to in Mr.

_- In response to the head-
‘line above Joseph Hind’s
March |.) 12; letter,
“Multiculturalism is flawed,”
one can only-agree that mul-
» * teulturalism.’"is’- certainly

is * flawed,-as is “democracy, uni-

~ versal “education, ' a" profes-
> SiOnal- police’ force and miost
_ of the: institutions that make
up'ourmodern world: Is
: there ‘any: kuman. institution
, that is not flawed? . :
E-would disagree that it is
‘“fundsmentally flawed,”
however. It is rather the best
stratégy:we have devised for
ealing “positively with the
ievitable -phenomezon of
- population Movement
found otir. small. world that
has been taking place for cen-
turies. The alternative of try-
sing. to! create some kind of
“homogencouis society has led
to the horrors of the ethnic
cleansing and genacide.
Those who see immigra-
tion as bringing in people
- whose “cultures, traditions
andivalue systems are com-
pletely alien to those upon
~ which Canada was built”
. scem'to be imagining a past
for:-Canada in which peace
and harmony reigned among,
a. homogeneous people,
which is an illusion. Canada
has from its inception been a
“society in transition as various
groups caine in to coexist or
‘struggle with the native peo-
ple: who: were .already in
places. ;
"Our ‘present immigration
4 system has basically three ele-
. sments.-in support of our
° humanitarian, values, we
admit refiigees. In our eco-
nomic. self-interest, we bring
in skiBed ‘independants and -
entrepreneurs. “In line with
our belief-in. the. importance
:-*of family ties, we. allow these
* newcomers to. reunite “their
families once they are finan-
cially able todo so. .
Canada is far from perfect,
"but itis one of the countries,
that-werks the best in terms °
... of. social peace and harmony.
Our “flawed” policy of mult-
-culturalism is one of the rea-
sons why this is so.
Margaret Third
Executive Director

“North Shore ve bes pede et SRR
toa Multicultural Society >> 74 0 v'-|o awa! 0 SE tee ELE So wo

Galster’s article did contain “74 points”
— he failed to mention that over 24%
were revenue-generating ideas!

To suggest 74 cost-saving ideas dis-
torts the representation by employees,
and attempts to convey to the public an
excessive waste.

In addition, a number of the cost-
saving ideas were repetitive, thereby
reducing the total even further.

The “story”. (if there is one in this
case) is that employees understood the
nature of the problem relative to grant
cuts, and wanted to be part of the solu-
tion.

Through their own initiative, ideas
for cost savings and revenue generation
were put forward to the association to
be conveyed to the municipal manager

April 13th 1:00 p.m. In the Rotunda

Please join us on Sunday as we celebrate

eleven years of fun, festivals and food with

for review and discussion. It would have
been irresponsible for cither party to
forward such ideas further until the
practicaliry and feasibility of each sug-
gestion was explored.

Ie is unfortunate that the North
Shore News missed the opportunity to
highlight the efforts of the parties to set
aside traditional labor-management
adversarial behavior in an effort to work
together on a problem that affects us all.
Bur then, a headline reading “Municipal
employees work with the district to solve
budget crisis” might not grab attention
like your “hog.”

Brian Schramm

Business __ Representative West
Vancouver Municipal Employees’
Association

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