4 ~ Sunday, October 9, 1988 - North Shore News

I, FOR one, am sold on the merits of the free trade deal
from an economic, sociaj and political point of view, and
have been saying so for a long tire.

But on the eve of the election
that will give us all a clear-cut
choice on free trade — a vote for
anybody other than the Tories is a
vote against free trade — 1 am
suddenty having doubts,

Of course, one always has
doubts before leaping from the

ed from the public teat.

The fears of the cultural czars
that book publishing and movie-
making will be virtually wiped out
as a result of the free trade pact
have validity only in the short run.

As it is, the culcural industry in
Canada exists purely on the basis
of subsidies — and therein lies a

ae

Too often, in the rush to defead the environment,
exaggerations get made. Too often, as in every other political
@rena, rhetoric overtakes reason.”’

PSC TS oe rere

doubts of the Geez-I-didn’t-
think-of-that variety.

Economically, the deal still
makes complete sense. We are, as 1
have noticed in my travels, the en-
vy of the world for even coming
close to finding a way to tap
directly into the vast American
market.

In any event, with the rest of the
industrialized countries forming
into trading blocs, we have no
serious choice but tc pick a team
and join up. Otherwise we are go-
ing to be left out in the cold.

I don’t buy the nationalist
argument that our sovereignty will
be damaged in any way that mat-
ters. In fact, I think it will be even-
tually strengthened by being wean-

Whitlpool,

nightmare.

Movies cannot be made in this
country without the nod from
scores of bureaucrats whose view-
points inevitably wind up deter-
mining what is shot and seen. This
is unhealthy in the extrerse.

The stamp of the committee in-
variably imprints itself upon our
works, giving them a certain uni-
versal banality.

Publishers, even though there
are many with courage, brains and
vision, nevertheless lack true en-
treprencurial zeal (at least since
Jack McCleliand quit) because,
like Mel Hurtig, they have grown
fat feeding from the pork barrel.

As for the political sense of the
free trade deal, as far as | am con-

cerned all modern nations are
heading toward greater degrees of
large-scale integration. It is part of
our evolution.

The trend-line is toward eventual
convergence, 4 point where we will
have to become a de facto world
state, not thanks to conquest but
to trade, travcl and communica-
tions.

Ihave not changed my mind
about any of the above factors.
They are all, to some extent, em-
bodied in the free trade pact,
which I continue to see as the most
intelligent Canadian initiative of
our time.

Except that now, damn it, con-
servationalists are screaming that
the free trade deal spells disaster
for the environment. .

A coalition of 90 Canadian en-
vironmental and Native peoples’
groups have made the claim that
free trade “has profound and
disastrous implications for the Ca-
nadian environment, and nay
fundamentally undermine the
principles of environmental pro-
tection ar. | sustainable resource
management.”’

If this is true, then, reluctantly, |
am going to have to reconsider my
position on free trade. That's all
there is to it.

I say “‘if’’ this is true.

Environmentalists, just because
they apply tite label tc themselves,
are no more necessarily the bearers
of ultimate truth than any other
lobby. This is a hard thing to say,
having spent so many years as an

@ strictly personal

environmental activist myself.

But it is precisely because of
those ycars of involvement that I
have my doubts about accepting
statements by ‘“environmentalists”’
as automatically being the word
from on high.

Too often, in the rush to defend
the environment, exaggerations get
made. Too often, as in every other
political arena, rhetoric overtakes
reason.

And far too often — this I know
for sure — political biases are
brought to bear on environmental
problems. .

Therefore, just because a coali-
tion of ecology groups says the
free trade pact is bad, I’m not
about to switch my vote in favor
of free trade.

What I do intend to do is at-
tempt to find out the truth of the
matter well before the moment
comes to enter the polling booth.

To me, the great issue of the
election is free trade. The dilem-
ma, so far, has been to make a
choice between free trade and nu-
clear submarines, since the Tories
insist on offering both on the same
platter.

Now there is the additional
strain of deciding whether, in fact,
the free trade pact will further
erode what little environmental
protection we enjoy. Or whether
— and this is certainly possible —
the environmentalists have other
axes to grind.

Pll certainly pass along my fin-
dings. Stay tuned.

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Streetcar
funding
approved

IT’S CALLED Number 153,
not Desire, and now a one-
time chicken coop is one
step closer to returning to
North Vancouver as a work-
ing streetcar.

By STEPHEN WISENTH.
Contributing Writer

One of seven streetcars which
served North Vancouver between
1908 and 1947 had $62,000 in res-
toration funding released by the ci-
ty’s finance committee.

“It is my wildest fantasy that
one day streetcar No. 153 will be
operating in North Vancouver as a
symbol of our heritage,” said Gary
Payne, chair of the board of direc-
tors of the North Shore Museum
and Archives.

For the moment, the streetcar,
which is stored under the Mahon
Park grandstand, will be
cosmetically restored at a cost of
$90,000, plus $8,000 for necessary
work on the grandstand.

Payne said this work will take
about a year, with the additional
necessary funding coming from the
city in the next fiscal year. The
$62,000 comes from a fund created
with $25,000 grants from the city
in 1987 and 1988, and a $12,000
‘city grant in 1986.

Debate revolved around the
question of who will own the
Streetcar once it is restored.

The car was found a few years
ago serving as a chicken coop in

Sea Streetcar
Pago 5