ed

¥ SOUL that I am, I have
a ‘Spenthree weeks in
Switzerland, stulfing op

- Bratwurst and Roesti and
. gaping at the Jungfrau, the

highest pile of rock in,
Europe. ”

‘Tt scrapes the sky at nearly
14,000 feet and its beauty on it
sunny day is airaost blinding.
~ Not that my: knowledge of that
happy. land can be described as
mountainous. But I did enough
mooching around to know that the
Swiss know more about politics and
politicians than we do. That's why
they ‘have a cabinet of only seven
ministers and a referendum system
of government,
Every man his own president.
Not iong ye) they pondered
- whether they should j join the,
- European Union, which is con-
trolled by socialist bureaucrats in

. Brussels. In spite of the wishes of :

their betters they voted against it,
As a Swiss booklet puts. it,.

'- “Parliament does not create new
laws but only submits them. It is the

people who decide whether or not |
they will be passed and implement:

That doesn’t mean that the gov-

' emment has no’ power. But if the“

- peasants don’t like what they hear
“they an ‘dernand a national ballot’
on the matter. Fifty’ thousand signa:
. tures will get a vote on' “any new or.
revised federal law.”

“In addition to that, an “initiative”
“ean force riew laws on things people

feel deeply about. Initiatives require

100,000 signatures and then a

“national vote is held. yo. ,

. There have been referendums

and initiatives on ‘immigration,

Bier and a host of other issues.
“All-new tax laws go to referendum,
‘and once there-was even a referen-
“dum ‘on whether Sunday driving
should be limited. (It failed.);
“geThe result is that special interest
‘groups can’t get very far by being
“cozy. with MPs: They have to be

cozy. with'at least 51% of the coun-., =

Members of Parliament are, elect.

ed evcty’ four. years, and the g govern=

ment.can‘t be juggling with the.:
dates:'The very thought of such a ;
Sy. tem would give most of our:

/ politicians a bad case of the itch.

“No doubt it”

oug

Colims

on the
other hand

There would be referendums on
inunigration, national debt, bilin- °
gualism, gun control. taxes, abortion
ci demand, you name it.

In Switzerland the system is uni-
versal. The cantons and the munici-
palities also have referendums. The
result is that the Swiss may be
called on to vote ‘many times a year,
sa lot of trouble, but at
Jeast they have no one but them-

selves to blame if things go wrong. |;

The most recent referendum was
on “holocaust denial.” By a narrow
majority, the country voted to make!
it a crime. Which just goes to show
that nobady’s perfect. :

Pretty soon they will be tackling
the pension question, because unless
contributions are greatly increased

- the national pension plan will be

down the drain in another 10-years.

But, you may say, Switzerland is”

a trilingual state: German, Fi rench
and Italian, and who needs that?

(Actually, there is a fourth, minor

language, Romansh.}
Mulzilingual itis. But not across.

the board, Schoolchildren are taught ="

other Swiss languages, plus English.
but as far as F could make out (when
not downing Bratwurst, cte.) each
language group is left to it its own
devices..:

There was no evidence that

directives are sent out by the nation-

a] government in al) three languages

“to each of Switzerland's various

parts. Even in Bem, the German-
speaking capital, public Notices are

a) German only.

This common- sense approach :
(use your own language in your own
district) i is one reason why they are

not ‘always at one another's throats,

although. i was told there was a bit

‘ycling helmets —

‘CYCLISTS: WON'T. be. speeding
‘down North Shore hills with their

“skulls exposed thanks: to a new .
- mandatory helmet law..
 Thelaw, introduced in Victoria

Thursday, will not come into effect.

( ¢ until September 1996,

“The law. is oneof the new. mea-,

._Sures promoting bike safety in B.C.

Transportation :and Highways
“Minister Jackie . Pement « said’
-cycling’s surging popularity has led
to safety concerns.

In B.C. in 1993, more than 2,000

_eyclists:wete involved in accidents.’

made mandatory

with motor vehicles. ,
A high’ proportion resulted .

injuries and and {0 people ‘died.

Of those -10; eight were not
wearing a helmet.

“Studies have shown that head
injuries are the cause of three-quar-
ters of deaths, and account. for more
than half of alt injuries, * Pement
said.

“There is a “definite connection
between helmets and safety.”

Voluntary use of helmets ranges
from 2% for children” to 30%, for
adults.

Calle

DEREK A. CAVE:

Trial Lawyer

“Get the, settlement,

» you deserve.

#508, Kapilano 100 Biilding |
‘100 Park Royal; West Van,“

of muttering over the European
Union vote because most French
speakers voted for it, and most

. German speakers against.

Something else: every Swiss
must serve in the Army and when
he goes on the reserve he takes his
weupon home and must be responsi-
ble for it. | saw many of them doing
just that:

What | didn’t see. was soldiers
using their guns to rob banks or
murder people. Which shows that
guns and their use are a.matter of
culture. Atlan Rock please note.

Is there nothing wrong with
Switzerland? Of course there is. The
price of a gin and tonic, for
instance. On which more later:

, after cr bring our ship for a much anticipated Caribbean ¢ ‘cruise, our friend
was dismayed to find he had forgotten to pack any trousers, other, than the

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> Don Pi eston didn't compromise

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