A6 - Wednesday, November 23, 1983 - North Shore News EEE editorial pag c I MAINSTREAM CANADA Small firms helped at last FINALLY, Canada’s smaller companies appear to be getting more of the attention they deserve, and Futile move? The court action by Dr. Ross Regan against his fellow North Van school trustees sounds like a wasteful exercise in futility. Dr. Regan is challenging the legality of last week’s school board meeting which ratified the 1984 contract with teachers. He claims the meeting breached School Act requirements regarding notice and agenda. If the B.C. Supreme Court agrees, the contract will also become invalid until re-ratified. Dr. Regan, the only trustee to vote against ratification, aims in this way to reopen his at- tack on a clause in the contract which, he claims, makes seniority the deciding factor in teacher layoffs — a viewpoint difficult to reconcile with the actual text of the clause. It states that teachers retained will be those with the greatest seniority ‘‘provided that they pos- sess the necessary qualifications for the posi- tions available.’’ **Necessary qualifications’’ are defined as certification, training and ability ‘‘to perform the duties of the position in a satisfactory manner.”’ In other words, a music teacher won’t be bumped by a tone-deaf phys. ed. in- structor merely becaue the latter is more senior. This seems to cover layoff situations fairly and adequately. Even if Dr. Regan gets his way, it’s virtually certain he will again be out- voted. But meanwhile, because the Nov. 15 settlement deadline has now passed, renewed ratification may have to be carried out under binding arbitration procedures. That and the board’s court involvement threaten extra public costs for no discernible worthwhile purpose. Bully for ICBC! President Tom Holmes reveals that ICBC returns 96 cents per premium dollar in claim payments compared to 74 cents by private in- surers — whose average premiums would be $61 higher as a result. And now a leading North Shore collision repair operator says 91% of his customers surveyed are happy with ICBC service. After years of bad-mouthing, maybe we’re on to a good thing after all! Fee TORE OF WU Te Aa WEST Wate Ere e sunday : news north shore news 1139 Lonsdale Ave.. North Vancouver, 8 C V7M 2H4 Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Circulation Subscriptions 980-0511 986-6222 085-2131 886-1337 980-7081 Publisher Pete: Speck Editor-in-Chiet Noel Wright Associate Publisher Advertising Director Robert Graham Tam Feances Personne! Director Classified Director Circutation Olsector Bern Hilliard Isabelle Jennings Bul McGown Photography Manager Terry Peters Production Directors Office Manage: Canis Johnson Oonna Grandy North Shore News. tounded 1 1069 as an independent COmMmMuNnty Newspepo: and qualhod under Schedule Hh Pan i Paragraph Ht of the Caco las Act ss published each Wednesday and Sunday by North Swe free Press Ltd and distributed to every door on the North Snore Second Class Mail Regrstrathon Numior 366% Entire contents | 1963 North Shore Free Preas itd AN nights reserved atone raptans Mott ant Woot Var cuve: $/% por yoo: Marlo ates evattablio On request No fespDEsdolity accepted for ursctie tead maternal ren tcl Mama tS ana pm teers wh Nh phonsth be ae OrpaAred by a starred @hbhensed qovetopoe Member of the 8 C Press Council a $4 FOO average Wodneaday A Sunday) THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE eh A Le te it’s about time. For years, it seems, policy makers attached to govern- ment and big business have viewed small and medium- sized enterprises as their tiny brothers and sisters, a hecessary part of the family, MR. MULRONEY DO COMMENTS ON TH AMERICAN INVASION By W. ROGER WORTH but a sector tnat contributed little to the overall economic cause. When big companies faced | MOGT CERTAINLY DO AND IF YOU GIVE ME A CALLIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS IM SURE major financial problems during the recession, for ex- ample, the government man- darins rapidly endorsed plans to bail some of them out. At the same time, the na- tion’s chartered banks ap- peared more intent on mak- ing massive loans to multi- nationals and foreign coun- tries thousands of miles away, rather than increasing loans to businesses down the street or around the corner. Until the recession, a decade or more of bigness prevailed. Governments fired big money at big business to resolve big employment pro- blems. In many cases, small business became a footnote in those great macro- economic schemes. But times have changed, dramatically. The bureaucrats and their political masters have belatedly found that small business has really been creating a majority of the country’s new jobs. And studies indicate that while small and medium-sized enterprises were actually ad- ding jobs in a down economy, their counterparts in larger firms were shedding employees. More important, perhaps, is the fact that a remarkable 150,000 new businesses were started in Canada last year, and another 200,000 start- ups are forecast for this year. In the midst of this perceiv- ed move from bigger to smaller, a fundamental change is taking place in the way smaller firms are treated. Suddenly, entrepreneurs seem to be getting respect. Governments are pro- viding additional support and assistance, and the man- darins are really listening to input from groups represen- ting small business. Many Major accounting firms now have booklets or newsletters targeted at the sector as the attempt to pick up additional business. Thousands of con- sultants are now concen- trating on the sector, finally realizing the true extent of the market. More important, perhaps, the bankers have finally seen the light. Most of the lending organizations have now upgraded services to small and medium-sized firms: ad- vice on operating indepen- dent firms is readily available, competition for business in the sector is in- tense and it is a rare day when one bank or another is not at- tempting to outdo its com- petitors in advertising and promotion. All of this activity, of course, does not mean all small business problems have been resolved, nor are they about to be. But it does sug- gest a new era for smaller firms has arrived, with the country’s real job producers finally getting the attention they deserve. (CFIB Feature Service) Was it really voter apathy? BY 8 P.M. SATURDAY the same sad old story seemed to repeat itself. The only clear thing about the 1983 municipal elections was that apparently four out of five North Shore citizens once again didn’t give a damn one way or the other. When the polling stations closed, an across-the-board average of only 20 per cent of eligible voters had bothered to cast their ballots. Relatively speaking, North Vancouver District shone with 27.6 per cent. West Van- couver mustered a dismal 19 per cent and North Van. couver City a miscrable 14 per cent. The City, incidentally, was where the action was suppos ed to be this year — the only NorthShore municipality with the mayor’s chair plus six aidermanic and three school board seats up for grabs. In the event, Mayor Jack Loucks was returned for a fourth term by acclamation As to the other 16 candidates, less than onc City voter in seven showed any interest in them Bad weather can hardly take the cntire blame (it's always ratning at election tame). And other Lower Mainland municipalitics among them, Port Co quitlam, Maple Ridge, White Rock, Port Moody and New Westminster managed turnouts ranging from 40 to more than 50 per cent Since there's no shred of evidence that their citizens are more intelligent or responsible than those of the North Shorc, some other rcason must cxist fot the latter's traditional apathy on polling day. RIGHT, LEFT First, however, a quick glance at what the conscicn- tious 20 per cent chose for their respective communiti- thes. North Van District moved perceptibly to the right with the clection to council of three representatives of the Taxpayers’ Association for Good Government (TAGG), widely regarded as a Socred farm team. They are incum. bent Alderman Joan Gadsby, returned for a third term, together iwth newcomers Stephen McMinn, a pro. fesisonal engineer, and realtor Craig Clark. Their victories sent Alder man Ernie Crist, an un- disguised Icfi-winger, down to defeat in his bid for a third term Incumbent school trustec Vern Smetovshy was re elected. But Frank Warbur- ton, her running mate under the banner of the Iecft. leaning Citizens Association for Responsible PBducation (CARE) and an cight year in cumbent, lost his scat to newcomer: Margle Goodman, a budget-conscious business woman who topped the poll North Van City cdged slightly leftward on council, where social worker and former alderman Joba Bratthwaite joined the four Noel Wright PS ar] re-clected incumbents (Aldermen Frank Marcino, Stella Jo Dean, Ralph Hall and Etko Krooa). Braithwaite topped the poll, however, while the second vacant aldermanic scat was taken by Dana Taylor, oa Lower Lonsdale activist and, so far, something of a political dark horse For school board the City also kept slightly = Ieft-of centre, re-clecting all three CARE sponsored in cumbents Philip Joe, Margaret Jessup and Rev. Roy Dungcey. POSITIVE’ INERTIAT West Van candiates arc rats ed from buth to remain strictly upright, leaning neither right nor left. It’s a formula that seems to work well for incumbents, all five of whom won further terms — Diana Hutchinson, Dave Finlay and Gordon Rowntree on council; Margot Furk and Dawn Sikula on schoot board. Slightly surprising, never- theless, was the margin of defeat for West Van’s lone council challenger, Tom Reid, the colorful former mayor of North Van City up to 1977. Despite a high- profile campaign in his third bid for an aldermanic scat, Reid wound up more than 700 votes behind the nearest re-clected incumbent. On reflection, maybe the voter inertia that produced these results has a positive side after all, The only plausible ca- planation seems to be that the great majority of North Shore citizens are basically content with the general stan- dard of their local govern- ment and felt no urge for changes, aside from the cou- ple in North Van District Plenty of issucs remain to be resolved, of course. But presumably thcy were seen as issucs thal could safely be teft to current office holders, rather than as any cause for witch-hunting at the ballot box In that case, maybe the 80 per cent who passed by the polling stations knew what they were doing just as clear ly as the 20 per cent who entered a.