@ — Wednesday, September 1, 1999 — North Shore News LOSS T has a new leader but it’s the same old NDP. The party that brought you Glen Clark remains intact and ready to inflict more of its brand of party politics upon this politically abused province. Dan Miller, the replacement for Clark, was recently sworn in as the province’s 32nd premier. But he was more than a reluctant candidate. News stezies reported Miller saying that the job was not one he had sought ner was it one he wanted to _ keep. Hard to blame him. The province has suffered through a string, of leaders who, in hindsight, British Columbians would doubtless have preferred had been similarly reluctant. . And while Miller is merely a care- taker premier in place until the NDP north shore news chooses a permanent leader, the even- tual change at the top will do little to alter the core philosophies and opera- tions of a political party that has vis- ited a string of scandals upon B.C. He may have been a key ingredient in the past term of political disasters in this province, but Glen Clark is not the only ingredient. It has been a team effort all the way. Through everything from fudged budgets to skewed labour laws to anti-democratic human rights legista- tion to Bingogate to Hydrogate to fast ferries and beyond, the NDP has shown British Columbians that it is a regime driven entirely by party poli- tics and dedicated to taking care of its political supporters, regardless of the impact upon the province. A new leader will do nothing to change that. — maitbox Mussatto says gallery men _ Dear Editor: bers-not mocked The decision to construct a junior-sized playthg field at Sunrise Park has ered much North Shore News coverage : and a number of letters to the editor. in the latest letter, 1am accused of “mocking” some members of the deliberations, I ; lery during the must emphatically state that this is not the case ‘and that I have never, and will never, show any disrespect to those Jam clected to serve. “3. Lam very passionate about all issues T face as your elected : tepresentative, As such, I feel that fam, if anything, guilty of * becoming too emotionally involved with the issues. | am sorry -ifanyosie felt that I was being disrespectful to them becaus: of this, 2". “stand: by Sunrisé Park. 1 ty. decision for a junior-sized soccer field at . telieve that the comniunity’s need for a soccer field can be balanced with environmental cuncerns at Sunrise. Currently, the land at-this park is used as a dumpsite. The: development of a playing field will provide our youth with pos- itive sport ¢x; riences and greatly improve the environment. : The Ndrth Vancouver Recreation Commission has made it one of its highest priorities to increase.the: number of playing fields in the-city and without it we will be looking st substan-" ‘tial “waiting lists fer our.youth to play o: Without ‘additional: fields’ our youth will not have a place to play and build the local ¢ re . * Not all people are going to be happy with the decisions thzir self-esteem, Do we want them loitering at ry swore? . made by council. I believe Iwas elected to make decisions for what is best for the majority of the ‘residents over. the long term. The Cloverley-area residents have had to put-up wit much disriiption from the industrial waterfront activities over the years, understand.and empathize with their concerns. We - can do better to mitigate some of these problems. I orily hope -vpthat in the fa the waterfront the only sounds local residents can hear from - | be those of young children playing soccer: nized saccer. . A festival SECRETLY, I’ve always hated _..Labour Day. Sorry about that,.. Ken Georgetti! Something to do, maybe, with my native roots. In Britain and Europe Labour Day falls on May 1, a much friendlier date for such a grim-sounding cclebra- tion. The rigours of the working winter behind one, Ahead, no more driving, heating or frozen-pipe problems — just four months of warm, sunny days (hope- fully), of winding down and relaxing a little. Karl Marx didn’t get it entirely wrong. {n short, Labour Day across the Atlantic heralds a reward to workers for their preceding eight monti:: of shiver- ing, slippery, sodden wage slavery — a - lightening of ti gloom, the prospect of a litle summer fin mixed in with the year’s renizining toil. . o ’ In contzast, North America’s Labour Day is a stern warning of immediate penance to be suffered — clearly a hang- over from. the puritanical tradition imported by the Pilgrim Fathers. Its mes- sage is that all summer frivolities grind to a screeching halt ac precisely midnight on Labour Day. No gentle, lingering farewell to summer — as in Europe, until an equally. gentle autumn replaces it 17 days later. No ‘adjustment period in which to peacefully mourn: the passing of a beloved season and adjust to its initially kindly successor. Fron: 12:01 a.m. onward next wel it worth once more, and [et any red-blooded American or. Canuck forget that com+ mand at his peril. ; Back to school the very next day. Back to the three-figure bills fur junior’s latest wardrobe. Back to early-morning chauf- feuring of the kids. Back to work with a daunting fall job-list ahead. Back to dreary, Icaves-sweeping and yard tidying. Back to shortening days and lengthening traffic jams. Back all too soon to rain, ice and snow. Finally, back almost . before we’ve caught - our breath to the looming launch of North America’s two-month Christmas . marathon, That’s the grim message of our pre- sent back-to-everything Labour weckénd. All the annual rites of passage it her- - alds, of course, will unfold in due order anyway. But do we really have to have all -of them flung at us all at once each year with the slam-dunk of Labour Day — this rough, abrupt guillotining of the . Se Gombin § aie SOR YRIAR CHI “2ST OOM Jo Bin 1S) SAL postponing Canada-wide, us¢.the holiday M nday” .. to pay-2 nice little coniplinient to our. aboriginal fellow-citizens by calling it’ ~ “Indian Summer Day.” . But leave local coramunities to cele- brate it any way they wish. On'the North. . Shore we have.no problem, of course — we merely put the Coho Festival, com-: plete with its Indian dancers, back twe weekends later than at present. A fow little adjustments will be riced- ed, most of them benign forall except professional sourpusses."- . The longer holiday period means“ deferring back-to-school until the third week in September, ‘alon (happily) with the bills. New sessions of Parliament and the’ Legislature wili Bkewise he delaye: (ne loss there!), For stay-at-homes; thre more weeks of TV summer. can’t win’em all,” oe But release from the harsh penance o! ‘North America’s early-September Lato Day would be a victory for everyone: but the tiny sackcioth-’n-ashes minority. It’s festival well worth postponing! year’s lcveliest season while stall in its late . prime? We don’t, and there’s a very simple solution. First, reschedule North © America’s Labour Day to its Europsan - date, May I, where it can do no harm to anyone. Then, mount a far happier. sounding celebration on the THIRD |; long weekend of September — one which says in effect: “Thanks be for three more y. : Van Kiwanian Colin Piggott ditto Saturday, Sept. 4, to West Van's Ed - Kettles. es WRIGHT OR great weeks of fun in the sun before we’ lot ia life. buil re face the fall'and winter bhics!” your eure pbecmyhit ‘Tuesday life is grim and life is earnest wright 4h - ~ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . Letters must include your name, _ full address & telephone number. VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca «Worth Share Wows, founded in 1969-as an ° . Independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednastiay, Friday and Sunday by HCN Publications . Company and distributed to ever door on the ‘North Shore. Canaria Post Canadian Publications ' Mad Sales Product Agreemmani Nia, 0087238.” PETER SPECK *” Publisher 985-2131 (101 Creative Services Director Photography Manager Classified Manager - BERT 27) SOE R151 (160) eee 61,582 (average cinculalion, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) __ +. Entire contents © 1999 HCN Publications Company. All tights teserved. pany, Publisher Peter Speck, from 1129 Loasd ee COOMA NER T OEE HERA EM BODEN HN E MEME wm