A6 - Sunday, January 30, 1983 - North Shore News EEE editorial page Safeguard capital The bombshell dropped by West Van- couver School Board at its mass public meeting last week -- the decision to close five of the district’s 14 elementary schools -- seems clearly the only way to go at this time. Under the provincial government's tough financial restraint program it offers hope of maintaining the quality of education for a declining number of students on a diminishing budget. The school board is to be congratulated for facing the facts. A word of caution for the future, however, isin order. — : The so-called “echo” baby boom is already IMMIGRATION MINISTER Lloyd Ax- worthy is on the warpath again. This time, he is protecting us from the hordes of would-be rants immigrants who threaten to seize scarce Canadian jobs. According to reliable sources, the im- Migration minister is planning to cut the number of refugees to be admitted next year from 14,000 to 10,000. Said Mr. Axworthy, “You're not helping a lot of people if you bring them in but can’t give them jobs.” Now, there may be many reasons for limited im- Migration -- but protecting usually (and also the rising domestic population) brings not only additional workers, but additional consumers as well. Why else would people be willing to work, if not to engage, ultimately, in consuming more goods? Our immigration minister is especially fearful of ac- cepting newcomers, given the present Canadian un- employment situation. But under way. During the 1980s some 500,000 children_are_expected_te—be—born -8Fe-expee: in BCT == about 150,000 more than in any previous decade. This year alone is projected to bring a 45% increase in births over the average of the early 1970s. The first waves will be reaching the kindergarten age within three or four years, This means that schools now being closed will be needed again within the measurable future. Therefore, the physical premises -- which represent a buge capital investment -- must not be allowed to decay. If they cannot be leased to daycare or other community- oriented operations, they must be carefully maintained and protected for the not-too- distant day when they will reopen. Exactly the same argument applies, of course, to the vital investment in good teachers. Savings from temporary closures must be used, as far as possible, to avoid a permanent weakening of teacher resources that will be required again a few years down the road. Capital is always harder to replace than income. Unhappy hint? A Gallup poll indicates 95% of Canadians are “very happy” or “quite happy” -- about the same precentage as for the British and Dutch. Americans scored 93% -- but only a comparatively miserable 77% of the Japanese said they were happy. Maybe that explains more about the recession than we want to know. To misquote the cigarette pack warning, happiness may be harmful to your productivity. Sunday ‘ news Display Advertising 980-0511 north shore Claasitied Advertising 986-6222 news Newsroom 985-2131 Circulation 986-1337 1139 Lonedaie Ave North Vancouver 8C V7M 24 Publisher Perer Spec k Associate Publisher Hlootoegrt Car aabiearts Editor -in-chiet Noel Wright Advertising Director Tiny Foran as Personnel Director Mes then ttilhaar Circulation Dtrector Hoan At ths Production Director CoP iN poobascoee Ottice Manage: Odenertva Caraady Photography Manager Terry Preelers North Shore Nowa boii | Ce pendent oon anty Cow ep etprets td pr rembeferct ane te we bee babe Oty OO Lie yer tows AL Veaae avg raged Wot the wet We tee yo wid Aet fe bets ates n Maa Waar gent thre 1982 North Shore free Proos Lid All ights reserved Soe Oo) soared bey Pee OF valve te breve Tire t tet “aber Spat coe has Neo tt Came yserss Syeabame Fipeticaen meet Went cates nce Bo (se eon Masten, rates av euleatite oor hy pos that . “| 1 . 1 Ig or VE PARE (URAC CATION 64 543 Wednesday 94 003 Sunday sx. & THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE starce jobs ts certainly not — one of them. On the con- trary, the fear that there are only a certam number of jobs to go around, and that if the immigrants take them, there will be just that many fewer for domestic workers, is one of the most basic fallacies in all of economics. Called the “lump of labour” fallacy, this view is empirically refuted by the experience of every country which has ever been the Tecipient of large-scale immigraton. For example, in the year 1901, Canada had a population of 5,371,000. and 1,782,832 jobs. Between 1901 and 19t!. population rose to 7,207,000, about 794,000 from immigration, mainly from England and central Europe. In 1911, there were 2,723,634 jobs in Canada, a gain of 940,802. From whence have all these ad- ditional employment op- portunities arisen? The mystery is easily explained. New immigration THE BARRICADES «are being manned (metaphor cally) by Eagle Harbour resi dents in horrified protest against the planned closure of their community school, one of the five to be shut down by West Van School board in its cost-cutting drive A publ meeting 1s being held at the school at 7 pm Tuesday (Feb 1) in an effort: to convince school trustees that theyll be Tapping not only the neigh borhood school kids but also the whole Ile of the com munity — which as centred on the school in the absence of, other pearby amenities Eagle Harbourttes can call Sandra Ferris (921 8774) tor further info while they patish up their pitchtorks A FLASHBACK to last yearn 74-day Falklands was and nearly 1/0) years of Anglo Indian military hastory comes fo the North Shore carly next month Members of tbe dominant tace of Nepal India s Himalaya state) the Gurkhas hase prosided regiments for the armies of Indias and Bintan ever nineteenth since Ube carly century Renowned for ther prowess as warttors they have fought sede try side with the British - policies unemployment in this country is due to a whole host of unwise government ‘(fimimum “wage laws, excessive union pay scales promoted by labour legislation, liberal un- employment § insurance policies, FIRA, NEP, Canadianization, etc.) and has hittl to do with im- migration rates. We could double, triple or even quadruple our = ac- ceptance of refugees without in any way increasing the un- employment rate. Instead of unemployment, new im- migrants would bring with them economic buoyancy, hard work, thrift and productivity, as always do. Consider the following speculation. Right now, the future of Hong Kong looks uncertain. Red China is threatening to assert her sovereignty when thé 99- year lease with Great Britain runs out in 1997. Suppose she does. And _ suppose further that the inhabitants they fn aa em AEN RO ENCE SAREE EA OE REET LET OSCR BEER CECE NCR I Raat Ne oma of Hong Kong, all five million of them, apply en masse to immigrate to Canada. Would it be economic disaster, as Mr. Axworthy might contend, to resist such an application? Hardly. Their presence here would enhance our economy. They would create more job opportunities for the present population, not fewer. For these people are amongst the most hardworking and prosperous on the face of the earth. They have carved a magnificent standard of living out of barren inhospitable rock. Mr. Axworthy’s new refugee policy would bar such a possibility. It cannot be defended on economic grounds. (Dr. Walter Block is Senior Economist with the Vancouver-based Fraser InStituie.) 0 raG¥" a MEAT 208 4h .unag' GWG Ry aet i ~2 a aR\ \e Wises an od | FECERALC . ' Vopr te eed re eo eS FUR SEAE REE ERAS | ayia eye Viivrsevecete ye ’ Ht sae wer sunday brunch by Noel Wright on scores of battlefields over that) penod Next month's visitors are the pipe band of the Ist Battalhon, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles They ll be performing at Spm... Friday, Feb. tl in North Van's Forbes Ar moury Their battahon, presently spending six weeks at Fort Lewis in Washington State, served with distinc Gon im the Bintash task force that liberated the Falklands — as the Argies would be the first to testify West Van legton’s president John Moore (926 6172) and North Van Legon’s Sid Ward (987 3924) sergeant at arms ol Mainland Color Party, are in charge of (he petlormance arrangements Mark the date to mect these good guys to have on your side ina scrap the Lowers * Cure to potn yoursel(” some good West Van looking for icacives (both sons) to work evenings and weekends for spec tal Kuys polwe aie and with olfscers No pay but a mee unthorm plus lots ol imterest and prestige and = be prepared oon fer pet specify fit Canadian fume Choms regular police oe aston wet qual physically cilieens Che taeogas with grade 12 and “able to swim well”. To apply, ask for Staff Sergeant Ed Pruner at the police building, 1330 Marine, any weckday between 8 a.m. and 4 pm See you some time at the roadblock . e . SCRATCHPAD: West Van Fire Inspector Tom Payne will be on the CBC (Channcl 2/Cable 3) tube tomorrow, Monday. at 9!t5 am = of fering semors tips on fire prevention, smoke alarms. extnguishers and the like. He's guest on West Van TV producer Fred Engel's weckly Golden Year show “From Now On" Speaking of firefighters and that itk Margaret Lamon of North Van sends a big thank you to the City’s mnbhalator ambulance boys who were there on the spot within five minutes last month to care tor her husband in an emergency “the public cannot praise them cnough.” she says John Fawell ot Dundarave ts appalled that West Van council allow what he calls “ugly: new houses at Mathers and 24th Netson and 24th — is there Hho architectural Control co make them conform to the geocral styte of the ocigh borhood be asks John and would those and VASvapBre sy fay Helmer of North Van, who plays with Symphonie Canadiana and the brass quintet “A Touch Of Brass”. joins the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa by invilaGon as pmncipal trombone for a six-concert senes February 9-18 |. West Van's John Beltz, founder of the Society for Soundscape Awareness and Protection {they want life tq be less noisy), has written Van couver City council demanding a ban on sight seeing hehcopters, with a sideswipe at “the infernal hovercraft” Dante! I7- rards) =o recent Park Royal exhibit of Middle East paintings from his tour. of Isracl and = Turkcy last summer achieved a com plete sell-out of all 38 works “phenomenal” says gallery-owner Alex Harrison, because 15 20 sales from such a deplay normally rank as a success And saving the best ‘nl last. a salute to West Vans David Frazee who will receive the Star of Courage Canndas second highest bravery decoration, in March from Gev. Gen. Ed Schrever tor ican rescuing oa trom a vapsired vesselin the summer of 1980 while oa student employec with the © oast Cruard . WRIGHT OR WRONG, When a man tells you he has nw clear Conscience often than not alo means he has a bad memory More