& - Wednesday, August 20, 1986 - North Shore News Mailbox B.C. WAS ‘CONNED’ Sincerely fed up with taxes, tariffs Dear Editor: John A, MacDonald won an election on the promise of his Na- tional Policy, which in plain English meant tariffs’ on imported goods. This tax levy against the Cana- dian people meant countless mil- lions for the federal government, it also eliminated the competition in the market place to the bengfic of the ONT-BEC manufacturers who could now sell to a captive market at inflated prices. This policy was a Bingo rules make all of us losers Dear Editor: Once again we are to suffer the consequences of having our legislators do our thinking for us. The good intentions (which we have to assume were the reasons for the recent changes in governm- ent regulation of the bingo in- dustry) show once again the disastrous effect of political med- dling in the marketplace. Bingo players as a whole, are decent, quiet, law-abiding people, who like to enjoy a few hours socializing with friends while play- ing a relatively harmless game. The money they spend is money they have earned, and they should be free to spend it as they wish, To claim that bingo players need to be ‘‘protected’* from themselves or anybody else, indicates a pater- nalism that is truly offensive. {t implies that bingo players are not capable of making a comparison between the benefits offered in one game against another. 1 suspect the average bingo player is much more shrewd than some of the people who would regulate his or her lifestyle. Bingo players have reacted to the changes by altering their habits — many now preferring to play in bingo parlors across the border. This has caused closures and unemployment — the inevitable consequence of untoward interfer- ence in what should be a free mar- ketplace. We are all losers when this hap- pens. Bingo players lose the freedom to make a choice, bingo operators are put out of business and their employees lose jobs, government: revenue drops, and not least of all, the charities, who would benefit from all this activi- ty, are feft out in the cald, It would surely be mere fair and tealistic to adopt a libertarian ap- proach and allow the consumer to decide, This is the only regulation the bingo games really need. Bill Tomlinson North Vancouver [Wl fruit ...and more, and more, and more. buon for the industries of Central Canada but disasterous for the rest of the nation, but after all where do the votes count anyway? Wilfred Laurier proposed that Canada enter into reciprocal trade with the ULS., his leadership came to an end as his MPs) turned against him fot jeopardizing their political future with such a treach- crous sugvestion, after all it just wouldn't be in the best interests of the ONT-BEC industry, Canada has the international reputation of having the highest tariffs in the world and it is almost hilarious that some Canadians ac- tually believe in Che sincerity of the federal vovernment’s free trade talks. The only person who is sincere is the amazing Simon Riesman who gets $1,000 per day of our money for talking it up, and you can bet he'll talk it up ull the cows come home for that kind of money. Who wouldn't? British Columbia had free trade with the world before we were conned into Con-Federation. Vic- toria had up to 1,400 ships a year entering her harbor, then in 1873 along came our first Confederation gift, the tariff and taxation building, the immedi#zic result: was a soaring increase in the cost of living, within a year the screams of Western separation were to be heard all the way to England. Did the federal government pay heed? Of course nor —- just Tike Louis Riel’s requests; the march on Ouawa by Western farmers in 110 asking for the removal of tar- iffson farm equipment: the federal government ordered bloody beatings in Regina in 1935; the ex- propriation of Western land in the 1940s; the Nadonal fnergy Policy: Petro: Canada; fisheries policies: French language: metrication: equalization payments to Ottawa; Western banks: Western industry: the unemployed; immigration; Senate reform, Western resource control, ad infinitum, we don’t count because the votes aren‘l here. As producers of natural resources there is no question that the West would be better off with tree trade, our cost of living would drop by 35 to SQ per cent, but the price to Ottawa would be more than they could bear. So don’t hold your breath on this one, just hope that some day one of us Westerners can get a job like the amazing Simon Riesman, but on second thought you had better not hold your breath for that one either, fairy tales don't come true out West, that’s only for the privileged of the East. Richard G. Lewers Victoria Doug Collins on vacation _ YOUR CAREER IN “LAN DSCAPE HORTICULTURE j f i i STARTS AT CAPILANO COLLEGE | Applications are now being accepted for the Applied Landscape Horticulture-Certificate Program. This 6 month, full-time, practical ! program commences Sept. 15, 1986 Training includes: * landscape and grounds installation * landscape and grounds maintenance * nursery and greenhouse production Interviews are presently being arranged, For further information contact: Capilano College, 2055 Purcell Way North Vancouver, B.C. V7J 3H5 984-4947 Group proposes quiet Sundays Dear Editor: We applaud Bob Hunter's July 9 humorous account of his sufferings from weekend garden noise, his vain search for a quiet Walden's Pond, and his consequent support for our call for ‘quiet wardens’? on weekends. Gardens were once a refuge of quiet from the voise of the veorkplace, the streets, the city, with only the soft whir of hand driven lawnmowers to be heard. The quiet garden bas long been a thing of the past. TInfernally noisy lawnmowers came first, then chain saws and more recently the even more high-pitched whines of weed eaters and leaf blowers, and no doubt more To come, fsen when we by luck experience a few oiinutes of quiet ins our gardens, we cannot really enjoy them becaise we are constanthy on edec expecting any moment some garden machine to start up and shatter the silence. We need times of guaranteed quiet in our gardens, particularly on weekends. While we have byliiws prohibiting noisy stereos in gardens we have none limiting the use of noisy tawnmowers and other such infernal devices, We propose a bylaw imaking Sunday a complete day of garden quiet with no power gardening tolls, lawnmowers, chain saws or whatever allowed, and permitted Saturdays from [0 a.m. to 4 p.m. We would like to poll your readers on this ‘quiet weekend” proposal, and would ask them to mail in a copy of this letter with ves or no written on it. (Mail to 2230 Inglewood, West Vancouver, V7V 1Z8). John FE, Beltz, Chairman Society for Soundscape Awareness and Protection 7 packages to choose from Ov year.of computerized Lifecycles. = 6 months of aerobics & trimione classes 4 months of weight training —~ “Early Bird Special" 3% months weight training - 3.months of ‘aerobics & A weight training 3:monihs of weight training &-11.tans ‘3: months of weight raining &.§ tans hot fudge, Tues ch a cMAR KE FT: