6 — Sunday, April 29, 1997 — North Shore News north shore news NEWS VIEWPOINT Open and shut NY illusion that the NDP gov- ernment is an advocate of open- ess and honesty must surely have long since been shattered in even the most forgiving of voters’ minds. Its alleged honesty vanished long ago in the travesty. of budget balder- And the latest NDP action on the openness front speaks volumes. Deputy Premier Dat: Miller recently told reporters that the provincial gov- ernment is considering an increase in fees for access to public documents under the se-cailed Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy The reason: something along the lines of the Freedom of Information - Act (FOI) being a subsidy to “major media conglomerates.” Miller bases his reasoning on a fund ‘i JMORE excerpts from the hundreds of “pespondents to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund: - vo" “Enclosed is our contribution to the free me speech find. I would fheenfilly pay for she whole 4 ping i Thad the beac... After Hat happened “£0 chem under the Nazis before and during World War ID, the Jewish people, of all people, + Soould be the strongest proponents fr ech.” O00 * O00 “Astempts to limit open expression of honestly held opinions, convictions or ° beliefs are intolerable in any mature society.” — GS. Wilson of North Vancouver Maclver of North Vancouver aa Q ; "We wished we could do more. We see the absolute necessity to fight for free “speech and democracy in this country and province. We shall stand with you.” ae — Werner Grimm of North Vancouver oo00 “~ "There must be many like me on the North Shore and elsewhere who “want to support Doug in a tangible way. He is one of the few media people ' not afraid of the Gg battalions’ and not afraid to t bis mind.” ; aid of te ig re Ae he Rent of Wet Vancouver skewed perception that the news media make by far the most FOI requests. Rot of the highest order. They make far too few. The government’s own statistics show that in 1996, individuals not identificd with any group made up 77.6% of all FOI requests. Requests from the evil media accounted for a scant 2.25%. Media requests might seem as if they make up the majority because, by uncovering embarrassing government blunders, they generate the majority of problems for the gov- ernment. Maybe the NDP should formulate a new act: the Freedom of Nice Information and Protection of all Embarrassing Information Act. They could live with that. Our democracy could not. Vancouver entre- prencur Peter Macdonald who ste} lown thit weekend after five years as leader of the longtime scatless B.C, Conservative Party. Not exact- Ss nw NATIVES FINALLY GET RESULTS FROM “THE ROYAL CGOMAMISSION ON ABORIGINAL PEOPLES Peter's purse-string principles PURSE strings are the only leash strong enough to con- trol government, says a man who is arguably one of the best opposition leaders B.C. ly the kind of job that wins you instant political fame. But Peter brought to it a pragmatic approach 40% or less of united itself. that had much more to do with polit- ical realities than with Tory ideology. Following Social Credit's i ious collapse he found himsel: appalled by the prospect of 60% or more of badly divided anti-socialist voters being indefinieely , jomin- subjugated to DP support- _ ers. Nothing new in that sentiment, of course. Peter, however, started doing something about it in two highly practical ways, one of which could one day become his lasting, legacy to B.C. — and te Canada 7 . . O00 ::,. _, Donations vo the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund can “be sent to the News offices, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M ‘2H4. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech =~ trenshaw@direct.ca Web Sure linn fhuiedn 8952 Dedepentort sebuten teneqeps and qed under + Somat 111, Paagaghh 11 ofthe Bese Tax Act,is (pubiched each Wedreshy, Friday and Surety by North Shore Fee Press Lid anddettued o eary Gooran he Noth Store Grech Post Coredian Pubicaons Mal Seis Prd Agrerentin. (0087208 Meir cies sete on equest. af bars Es Bol Distribution Manager Creative Services Manager 985-1357 (124) 985-2131 (127) 61.582 (average culation, Wecnesday, Friday & Sunczy) Photograpny Manager 995-2131 (180) Entite contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ltd. Ait rights reserved. Surveying the the handful of rebel Reformers and the death watch Socreds, he con- ceived the also moribund B.C. Tories —~ whose political noses were current- PETER SPECK Publisher Keaaste Display Manager 900-0511 (108) uabbling Liberals, - poeg Fost Comptroller Editor OOS-2181 (177) SUB-SITES} | SBE-21S1 (01) Ses 21F1 (18 985-2137 (176) 4 ly at least cleaner than any of the oth- ers ~- as a catalyst for uniting B.C.’s antisocialist majority. To this end he held a series of monthl: “Conservative Forums” to which all and sundry on the right and centre of the B.C. political spec- trum were invited. Alone, Liberal leader Gordon Campbell shunned these anti- socialist brainstorming sessions. The ultimate unity goal was not reached during Peter’s watch, of course. But when it finally is, the seeds he sewed during the mid- °90s should not go unrecognized. Peter Macdonald’s big ace-in-the- hole, however, puts him in a political class of his own. He is the inventor of TAXCAP, a Policy giving voters com- plete control over government’s use of their money — and, by extension, over how government uses (or misus- es) that moncy. It is also beautifal in its simplicity. Here’s how it works. TAXCAP would set the maximum allowable taxation plus borrowing, (i.e., deferred taxation) as a percent- age of the Gross Provincial Product — the value of all goods and services produced in the province. It would be set either by regular refere::\dums or in accordance with the promise of the winning party at the last clection. It would be written into the Constitution, which would require any government exceeding its TAX- percentage to resign immediate- ly and calla new election. In 1969 the B.C. tax-to-GPP ratio was 11.5%. Today it’s over 21%. Peter calls for it to be reduced, as an initial target, to 15%. In short, politicians raised on the spend-and-be-damned system would be dragged, kicking and screaming, into a world where voters who pay the piper call the tune — not every four or five years, but every day. But although TAXCAP is primarily about saving you tax dollars, Peter points out other beneficial effects. With government forced to watch every single dollar daily, it is much less likely to squander money on its own ideological agenda — including such things as the pork-barrel funding of political supporters and the iniqui- tous threat to free speech launched via the NDP’s “Human Rights Commission.” In short, TAXCAP — at both the provincial and national tevels — would return control to the voters far in excess of anything referendum and recall legislation could provide. . ~ No wonder no establishment politicians even want to think about TAXCAP... o00 , A SEVENTY-ONE gun salute tomorrow, April 21, to our gracious, - long-suffering Queen Elizabeth on her birthday ... Just a 61-candle salute Tuesday, April 22, to former Socred leader birthday girl Rita Johnston: : O00 : WRIGHT OR WRONG: Small deeds done always beat great deeds ~ planned. ; LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number, VIA Intemet: trenshaw @ direct.ca = Managing COMPUTER 8BS - 989-8027 User {D:mallbox Password:ellers teplay & Raal Estate Fax 985-1435 Distribution 968-1897. Classified, Accounting 0) & Main Office Fax ©8227. Michael Backer - News Editar 985-2131 (114) General Office Manager 985-2131 (105) Agirew McCredin - Sports/Cornenity Editer |. intarnct- httpvjwwe.nseows.com 985-2131 (147)