6 - Friday, January 12, 1990 - North Shore News Mieech screwing up both INSIGHTS constitution and nation Either way, Quebec and her MEECH LAKE, praise the Lord, seems to be nearing its death bed. Even its Tory chief salesman, Senator Lowell Murray, admits there is only a month or two left to bring the three dissident premiers on side in time for the June people ure NOT the problem for Anglo Canada, which makes the name-calling created between the two by Meech all the sadder. Their deadline. if New Brunswick's Frank McKenna, Manitoba's Gary Fiimon, Newfoundland’s Clyde Wells — or any one of them — hang tough with their demand for fundamental amendments, the monster will expire by midsummer. But only, alas, after gravely damaging Canadian nationhood. The three-year-long debate on the ‘‘Accord”’ has wound up as an Anglo-Franco fishwives’ brawl. “Don’t change a comma or Quebec will quit,’” threatens her two bully-boys, Premier Robert Bourassa and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. ‘‘OK,"’ retorts more than half of Anglo Canada, “if you want to play hardball, then bon voyage and good riddance!" As a skit on constitution-mak- ing, it might be hilarious slapstick, were the peril for Canada’s future not so great. Thirty months ago Quebecers were recklessly promised some- vince would get in the revised con- stitution -- i.e., the open-ended ‘distinct society”* status. If Anglo Canada now cries ‘*un- fair’’ and digs in its heels, Quebecers will rightly feel betrayed. The betrayal, however, won't be by their Anglo fellow- citizens but by Bourassa and Mulroney, who pledged the rest of the country without consulting it. “A nation within a nation’ has never worked, never can. Mecch Lake’s other Naws — especially the excessive new powers -given to ALL the provinces and the single-province veto on any future amendments — have been well aired by now. But these are not the reasons why it deserves to die. A country’s constitution is its most basic and vita! law. It can't be cobbled together at a midnight poker session in a lakeside resort by 11 power-greedy politicians. It shared problem is the politicians * striving to exploit Quebec for voles, These Meech hustlers have screwed up not only the constitu- tion but — for a while, at least — the nation itself, uee WRAP-UP: Congrats to the Ar- my, Navy & Air Force Vets #45 on their ‘‘cold start’’ donation of $1,745 to the Christmas Bureau. They beat out challenging North Van Legion's $1,559 with pledges raised through the New Year's “Penguin Plunge” swim... Burns Night season returns next week and the flagship celebration Fri- day, Jan. 19, at the Scottish Cul- tural] Centre, 8886 Hudson over- town, has the Garioch Blend re- cording dance band flying in for the occasion direct from bonny Scotland — ticket info from 263- 9911 or 929-1802 ... For the ump- teenth time that guy Billy Bishop Goes to War again next Thursday, Jan. 18, at North Van's Pres- entation House, where John Gray's ever popular hit musical will run through Feb. 10... And happy SIst anniversary today, Jan. 12, to North Van's Frank and Margaret Peverelle. week WRIGHT OR WRONG: Suc- cessful people think up things for the rest of the world to keep busy at. must involve the entire citizenry — preferably by means of a specially elected constitution-making body, but at very least through a na- tion-wide referendum on the finat draft. It may be that Mulroney simply fails to grasp this need for genuine national consensus on the law that determines all others — just as he lacks understanding of his duty as prime minister to speak for ALL of Canada, not merely his native province. Call it inadequate educa- tion in statesmanship, if you wish to be charitable. Or, you may suspect that Meech has far more to do with his per- sonal cvenda — to be prime minister permanently with the aid of Quebec’s key 75 seats. thing more than any other pro- NEWS photo Neil Lucente FOR COLD CASH ...Army, Navy & Air Force Vets’ Gary Croft (left) receives polar bear trophy from Christmas Bureau’s Pat Orr for the Unit’s winning donation caised in the Penguin Plunge swim. Contributing more cold cash (right), Ron Ferguson of North Van Legion #118, runners-up in the Plunge challenge. Clearly a problem HE QUESTION of North Shore water quality is becoming increasingly cloudy. But what is clear is that something has to be done to improve the water being delivered to the North Shore and elsewhere in the Lower Mainland from the two North Shore water reservoirs through the GVRD system. While officiais say there is no immediate health hazard posed by the water coming from the Seymour and Capilano reservoirs, the curnulative problems created by water turbidity, or murkiness, represent a real potential threat to local health. Turbidity in North Shore water, particularly in the Capilano reservoir, is a chronic problem. Its most serious characteristic is that it interferes with the ability of chlorine to kill potentially harmful bacteria in drinking water. In November, heavy rains and a large mudslide in the Capilano reservoir pushed water turbidity to six times above acceptable levels and took weeks to drop. Dr. John Blatherwick, the chief medical health ad- visor to the GVRD, wants a filtering plant installed in at least one North Shore reservoir system. But filtration plants would have high capital and operating costs, and installing one at the Capilano res- ervoir would also be extremely complex. Therefore the range of alternatives must be ouilined and some hard decisions made soon if we are to determine whether the costs to install filtration plants are justified and if local governments are to determine how much the public is willing to pay to ensure the continuing high quality of local drinking water. 4B kts tttjitaa, cone EN 980-0511 north: shore 986-6222 w* , 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions . . .Peter Speck Managing Editor. _ Barrett Fisher Associate Editor .Noel Wright Advertising Director . 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