4 - Sunday, September 25, 1988 - North Shore News

Bos HuNTER

© strictly personal e

THE MULRONEY government’s decision to pay $20,000
each to Japanese Canadians as compensation for their in-
ternment during the Second World War is suck good news
that I must admit for 2a moment E wept.

Those were tears of joy. It has
been a iong, long, long time since I
felt that way about anything a Ca-
nadian government has done.

1 also had to laugh at myself,
having just finished writing a col-
umn about how patriotism
amounts to a form of brain dam-
age; here wa, my government do-
ing something that made me feel
proud, for a moment, really pro-
ud, to be a Canadian.

nese Canadians is that we had to
wait until the Americans made
their move before we made ours. It
would have been ever nicer if we
had acted first.

But that’s a nit-pick. The main
thing is that we acted. The histori-
cal wound can now be allowed to
heal.

Of course there are plenty of
die-hard racists on the West Coast

who will mutter under their breath

IZ TET

Or; course there are plenty of die-
hard racists on the West Coast who
will mutter under their breath that
compensation wasn’t due because of
the circumstances of the times in
which the internment took place.’’

Here was an act of political will

that refreshingly embodies several
principles that are worth dying for,
such as the idea that nobody
should be discriminated against on
the basis of ancestry.

The other principle, simply put,
is that governments should make
amends for their crimes, just like
the rest of us. Rare is the gov-
ernment that actually dues it.

In fact, one of the things that
makes me proud of the compensa-
tion move is the sheer unusualness
of it in an historical perspective,
history having been such a pit.

The Soviets, for instance, have
got around to admitting that under
Stalin millions of their own people
were murdered, but the thought of
actually compensating families of
the victims has not entered their
heads.

My only disappointment in the
matter of compensation for Japa-

Thinking of Selling?
Call

"|
J. Michael Gendron
For aif your
Real Estate needs
Integrity & Service
with a smile

Call Michael at:
Sussex] 984-9711
Real

(an pager}
Sussex Group-S.A.C. Realty Corporation

For information
on how the
YMCAcan
improve your
lifestyle call:
681-0221

“The Best You Can Do For You”

that compensation wasn’t due
because of the circumstances of the
times in which the internment took
place.

And there are veterans who,
more understandably, will growl
that they were treated horrendous-
ly as prisoners of war by the Japa-
nese and never received any corm-
pensation. That’s true.

But the barbarism of Japan dur-
ing the war isn’t the issue here.
There is nothing we can do about
that, whereas there was definitely
something we could do about the
anti-democratic behavior of our
own government — and having
done it now, we can hold our
heads high.

I have to add that with the revi-
sions the federal government
recently made to the War Measures
Act, de-fanging some of the more
sweeping totalitarian aspects of it,
the Tories, under Mulroney, have

really hecome the liberals of Ca-
nadian politics.

It was, after all, the Liberal Par-
ty that used the War Measures
Act, both during the Second
World War and at the time of the
FLQ crisis in Quebec, to round up
innocent people and throw them
behind bars or barb wire.

Author Norman Mailer once
remarked that an odd charac-
teristic of American politics in
modern times has been the role-
reversal that occurred between the
Democrats and the Republicans.

While the Democrats are
presumed to be the party of the
doves and the Republicans the par-
ty of the hawks, it was the Demo-
crats who got America into most
of her recent wars, and it was
Republicans who got them out.

In Canada, there is an obvious
parallel. It is the Tories who
deliver Liberal legislation nowa-
days whereas all the Liberals can
think to do is take reactionary
positions on matters ranging from
free trade to native rights.

Speaking of which, | would
hope that the next major item on
the federal government’s human
rights agenda would be straighten-
ing out the other great blot on
Canada’s social conscience, which
is our continued policy of neglect
and discrimination against native
people.

It is worth noting, for those who
smugly think that because Joe
Clark blathers on about human
rights abuses in South Africa, that
Canada is somchow vastly superi-
or, a new study indicates the health
standards enjoyed by native people
in Canada are roughly ona par
with Third World countries.

Another point, I am advised by
somebody doing research into the
matter, is that before the South
African apartheid system was
formally put in place, the gov-
ernment of that country sent no
less than five groups of legislative
investigators to Canada to study
the way we dealt with native popu-
lations.

it was on the basis of their look
at the Canadian reserve system
that apartheid was invented!

So — good work, Mr.
Mulroney. But there’s plenty to do

as ae

As past President of the British Columbia
Association of Chefs de Cuisine, 1 would
like to join Mrs, Miller and Lynn Miller,
partners, and the entire staff in
congratulating our chef and partner Kirk
Westcott upon qualifying and being
inducted as a member of the British
Coiumbia Association of Chefs de

Cuisine.

445-13TH ST. W. VAN.

Everett Miller
Spirited Dining Ltd.

Roy

S26-4114
PARK ROYAL SOUTH

Collector's Corner

Wishes to thank all those who
sent flowers, attended and were
thinking about us on our grand
opening weekend.

Inge & Sue

Mon-Fri. 10-5:30 Sat. 10-5
988-9880

1618 Pemberton Ave.
North Vancouver

Fine handmade Persian
and Oriental Rugs
and Carpets.

Inventory reduction for largest distributor in
Westem Canada and USA.
NO OFFERS REFUSED

SUNDAY-SEPT. 25

12:30 PM, CAP MALL

Enter to win a Genuine Persian Triable Rug
valued at SOO.

sponsored by

Moanlight Rugs

Warchanse

i? i

Over 300,000 graduates recommend

Young Drivers of Canada
Training centres across Canada, America and Britain
© Automatic or standard cars.

® Private driving lessons with
home/work pickup included.

* Driver training for all ages.

* Top-quality personal service.

¢ Professional classroom preparation
teaturing YD's own videos.

* Training includes “YO Emergency
Manoeuvres” and downtown traffic.

« Road test arranged in our car.
« Income tax deductible.

FOR INFORMATION. BROCHURES AND SCHEDULES CALL

VAN EAST KITSILANO KERRISDALE
872-1266 734-1266 263-1655
RICHMOG
273-97

3
QURSES