A6 - Wednesday, July 28, 1982 - North Shore News

EEE editorial pag c ER

Negativism
We.Canadians are, by nature, a negative
lot, who suffer from a considerable and
extended inferiority complex.

While our neighbors to the south talk
about their imminent economic recovery, we
of the frozen north continue to wallow in our
misery.

Our news reports are filled with the latest
economic disaster while the analysts talk of
the long downward journey still to be
travelled before any light will be visible.

And it’s not only the reporting, but the
seemingly morbid pleasure we derive from
the current troubles. Rather than get on with
it, we seem to have this need to pick at the
scab and discuss, not how quickly the wound
can heal, but what terrible diseases can grow
from it.

Of course that is part of our national
psyche.

Our’ entertainment pre-packaged,
blended and brought in from the outside.

Even Wayne Gretzky is now being said to
be “too good” by many of our sports experts.

We don’t like the CBC or PetroCan; our
politicians are all incompetent and we ignore
our national athletic teams, knowing that
they won't do well.

When we read, we invariably read
American, both in books and magazines,
because, well, you know, Canadian authors
are so dull.

And then we sit back and moan about our
hard lot in life, wondering why we can't
break out of the recession.

Our passions are so diluted that until we
get a transfusion, we will remain mired in the
morass of our own self pity.

Stand firm

For the first time in many years rents are
going down or holding the line in North Van
City. Oddly enough, municipal hall is ex-
periencing a rash on requests for conversion
of rental units to strata title.

Let’s hope council will stand firm and
refuse to cave in to those whose only
motivation s¢ems to be a fast buck. Removal
of more rental units from the market will

force rents ap again. We need sense, not
dollars.

sunday: ©.

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VERTED) CHRCUA ATION 53.995 Wednesday 93 494 Sunday

<=> sm G

THIS PAPER IS REC YCLAGLE

‘Is there any sunshine...?’

By W. ROGER WORTH

The letter that arrived at
the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business ad-
dressed to President John
Bulloch was one of those
heart-wrenching pleas that
could only have been written
by a sincere individual,
immensely concerned not
only about her job, but
about what's happened to a
country that once showed
such tremendous promise.

The message may be
depressing, but it’s
significant because it’s real.
For what's happening to
ordinary people like Marie
Pirwitz and her boss is being
repeated time and again in
communities large and smail
across the country.

Here’s the letter:

“I'm writing this letter to
you as I am a very concerned
employee of CMO Heavy
Equipment Service Inc.,
Oakville, Ontario. I have
been with CMO since 1979,
and it grieves me immensely
to watch what is happening.

“My employer, = Cliff
McKoy. HAD a_ viable
business when J was first
employed by him. I was so
caught up in my enthusiasm
that I delved into my work
and watched his company
grow steadily.

“We enjoyed each day,
and planned for the next
with much optimism. CMO
made plans to expand and

take on a Clarke (Equip-
ment) dealership, and to hire
more men and office staff.

“Then last November
1981, (I call it Disaster
Month) happened; sales

dropped drastically and by
Christmas, plans for ex-
pansion were scrapped. The
Christmas staff party was
cancelled, customer gifts
were cancelled and
Christmas bonuses were cut
in half.

“In January 1982, shop
staff were laid off, and so
was I. I was recalled in
March, but no one else was.
In April, when the issue of
raises came up, we voted

Mainstream Canada

against them, to help the
floundering company.

“The company is losing on
the average of $5,000 per
month in sales. The bank is
demanding excessive
payments on the company
loan, suppliers are anxious
for payments, their patience
and co-operation has been
pushed to their limits.
Payments of any kind are a
constant struggle to meet.

“When did the repair shop say your calculator would

be fixed, Miss Tuttle?”

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS

By HAROLD HYDE

( a North Shore freelance
liveng in (© ove Cuff)

Everybody scems to be
down in the dumps these
days Depressing local and
world cvents plague our
thoughts. To compound our
misenes, headlines are being

made from great piles of
garbage Dumps. now
referred to as sanitary
landfills, are altracting

people like fics

My mind has become
filled with garbage, so much
so, Leven had a dream about
a dump - North Shore's
Premier Street Landfill

In my dream I made a
fieid tnp to thas infamous site
to acquaint) mysclf with
these offal problems being
arcd about the dump
Arnmving at the gatc, | cn
countered an cldecrly gen
tleman scated on a threc
tegged Chippendale = chair
substituting for Une massing
fourth leg was o black and
white tclevision set) o1ooin
troduced mysclf, told him
the purpose of my visit. and
requcsted his assistance He
sasd he would be happy to
fill me an

‘First you must un
derstand the basics Do you
know what hind of poupic
have the most garbage?” be

asked

“Well, | think wealthy
people would have more
refuse to dispose of than

those less fortunate ”

“Thats mght.” he said “I
have had people come down
here and throw chesterfields
away because they got tired
of the colour And just the
other day a fellow brought a
fmdge down and dumped it
beoause the htthe light inside
was burnt out ”

NOEL
WRIGHT

ON
VACATION

line
warming

old
up to

genticman

the topic
scemed cager to continuc
He informed me he was a
hugh ranking member of the
Dump Management Team
and had been conduc ting an
indepth study
dump manage ment

“Hirst “he sand “T predict
to the ncar future, the dump

for futurc

height will be above = the
snow fine Wheo this
happens | plan on con

tounng the slops of the dump

to accommodate ski runs. |
will install bed-springs at the
tops of the ski yumps and line
the bottoms with old mat
tresses and water-beds Also
we will have a big advantage
over Grouse Mountain No
need for us to have Co install
any of that expensive snow
making machinery as long as
these seagulls keep flying
around ”

“The second proyect) will
be a golf course,” he said “1
have stored away cnough
wall-to-wall carpeting to
install in place of grass This
will enable us to climinate
the green fees

Impressed with the
Custodian’s fresh approach |
asked him to please con
tanuc Pausing flora moment
he rephed, “As the height of
the dump rises. the pressure
on the leachate wall increase,
this in turn will orcate heat 1
calculate the temperature of
Lyan Creck will probably
rise to 9O degrees When this
happens | will line the banks
of the Lynn with cedar and

create the world's largest
community Hot Tub ”
“Woot the Fisherntes

Department
increascd

object to the
fempcrature and

its adverse effect on the fish

runs” {| asked “Yes |
thought about that) thc
rephed “Phe answer is. the

Fisheries people will have to

- solutions are needed,

“The morale at CMO has
dropped, my employer is not
the same man I knew when |
joined his company: and
who can blame him?

“Sometimes I struggle to
get out of my bed in the
mornings, because I know
what I will be facing when |
arrive at work; more doom
and gloom.

“The government. of
Canada says, ‘practice
restraint’. We've cut back,
and cut back ‘till we cannot
cut back anymore.

“Is there any sunshine on
the horizon? Are we fighting
a losing battle?

“Your comments to the
foregoing would be = ap-
preciated. Thank you. Mane
Pirwitz.”

Perhaps it is time the
politicians and bureaucrats
who helped create our
economic mess _ started
reading letters like this,
rather than the supposedly
expert reports on which they
base their policies.

The message is_ clear:
and
they’re needed now.

(Roger Worth is a feature
writer for the Canadian
Federation of Independent
Business).

A dream of a garbage dump

divert the salmon runs to the

Seymour River, then they
can stock the Lynn with
tropical fish.”

Wistfully. the old gen
tleman gazed at his
mountain of garbage and
said there was once final
project he recommended to
complete Uhe dump con
version “At the top of the

heap,” he said, “1 wall install
holding tanks for the
methane gas Every morning
at 11 o'clock | will release
cnough gas to create a
mintature man-madc
volcano It will be called, the
North Shore's own Lattle
Mount Saint Helens ”

Visions of tounsts and
camera buffs Isned up
around the peak. awaiting
the scheduled blast, filled

my theughts Phere was no
doubt tn my mind that, when
all these

projects were
completed, those = smart
developers up at Whastier
will be Lining up to relocaic
on our mountain What
better way to chlmanatec

once and for all, the terrors
of Squamish Highway

| thanked the Custodban
for bis assistance and started
for home Then. all of a
sudden, there was a ternbic
clatter outside my bedroom
window Uhe garbage men
smashed fhy garbage can in
the packer and I woke up