6 - Friday, April 27, 1990 - North Shore News Felling along Mountain Highway in North Vancouver District presents a lesson in the art of looking before you leap. Te ABRUPT halt to tree felling On Monday night, North Vancouver District Council voted to put the brakes on its boulevard tree felling and replan- ting program. The move followed resiient outcry over the surprise removal of approxi- mately 20 linden trees along Mountain Highway. While district officials have said the trees needed to be removed because they were the wrong type for the area and because they were rotten, outrage over the district’s action would surely have been kept to a minimum ha¢ ample war- ning and reasonable explanation of the folly project been given to area residents. With the environmental! message being daily delivered to the pubjic loud and clear, an evermore environmentally aware population has become sensitive to actions that affect the natural surroun- dings. And on the North Shore, environmen- tal sensitivities are especially attuned to actions that affect the area’s trees. Though North Vancouver District has admitted that it erred by failing to give adequate notice of the trees’ removal, it is surprising that a program involving large scale tree removal did not im- mediately ring loud administrative alarm bells before it was begun. Establishing good communication be- tween government and the public is one of the keys to winning the environmental battle on ail levels, . Environment yes; propaganda no Dear Editor: On April 12, 1988 in the Supreme Court of British Colum- bia, I launched a civil lawsuit against the B.C. government for granting an amendment to Can- for’s Port Mellon pulp mill pollu- tion permit. I stated that the amendment benefited the company at the ex- pense of the environment. After two years of pushing for action involving much frustration, I will be withdrawing the lawsuit. The B.C. government’s en- Publisher Associate Editor North Shore News, founded in 1950 a5 an ing. suburban newspaper and qualted unde Sc Paragraph Ht of the Excise Tae Act ts put Wednesday, Friday and Sunday py Nor Press Ltd and dist.ibuted jo every dno: or Snore Seconc Class Mad Reaistration weicome put we canna acc unsohcted materia inctuding ma ot which should be accompanied by envelope Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertising Director Linda Stewart es MATIN, ACs set forcement of this mill's en- vironmental conduct has been ne- glected for years; however, due to an upcoming election, political embarrassment through public pressure has finally forced the government to lay 19 charges against this Port Mellon pulp mill. It is sad that government en- forcement didn’t start years ago, before so much environmental damage had occurred. it is even sadder to think that this action to enforce our laws and protect our environment may have TH WENCH OF NOWSHAMD wint vane OULe SUNOAY “WHONESDAT Prorat Fas 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. North Vancouver, BC V7M 2H4 59,170 (average. Wednesaay Friday & Sunday} a SOA DIVISION Display Advertising Classhea Advertsing Newsroom Distrputnion Subsenstions been prompted only by a nervous government facing a close election race. We, the people of British Col- umbia can no longer afford to have our money spent on pro- paganda forced upon us through fancy government folders and slick TV messages designed to put us at ease and make us forget this gov- ernment’s appalling environmental record. Terry Jacks Environmental Watch 980-0511 986-6222 995-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 MEMBER ————————_ S's eeeapere of Amare forth Snore owned and managed Entire contents = 1990 North Shore Free Press Lid. All nghis reserved. Watch our ‘lawless’ rulers like a hawk! PROBABLY FEW taxpayers dutifully mailing their returns to Revenue Canada this month realize they may be paying taxes they’re not yet legaily obliged to pay. Should they eventually get a re- fund, they can thank their local Senator, unless he or she happens to be a Tory. And even greater thanks may be due as the January 1991 deadline for the Gouge & Screw Tax looms. Championing the people against the arrogant Mulroney government is rapidly becoming the role of our oft-maligned Upper House. And though not everyone is aware of the fact, it does have teeth. Except for money supply bills the Senate can, after in-depth study, send proposed legislation back to the Commons for amend- ment time and again if deemed necessary. And apart from con- stitutional amendments it can also refuse to pass a Commons bill, an action which prevents the bill from being reintroduced in that same session of Parliament. Among measures currently be- fore the Liberal-dominated chamber happens to be the bill implementing the 1989 budget. So whatever amendments to it are called for (rejection of the Old Age Pension ‘‘clawback”’ seems certain), we have, in fact, been “CONNED into obeying the 1989 General Tax Guide when doing our returns this year — because new sections in it are not yet law and some may never be! Meanwhile, for 80 per cent of Canadians, the Senate has even more serious business on its agen- da. Also before it is the hated GST bill which the Mulroneyites want to put into effect next January Ist. Even in Ottawa a feeling is grow- ing that they won’t make that deadline. Reportedly, very few Senators of either main party support the pro- posed sales tax. Soon, their GST committee will start to criss-cross the country seeking the views of Canadians from coast to coast, and you can bet they won’t be in nearly such a hurry as Den Blenkarn’s Commons committee was. Present signs are that December may find Senators still debating amendments io the bill preparatory to throwing it back to the Com- mons. Nor — given the hostility of the provinces — can outright LK > & ALD. BILL Bell ...will he hit the “honec.”* SENATOR Ray Perrault ...GST lunch date due. Senate rejection be ruled out. Either way, the chances that the wretched measure will finally become law by New Year’s Day are beginning to look progressively dimmer. If it doesn't, will the Mulroney gang try to con us again by pretending Senate approval and the royal assent are mere for- malities? : They’re already squandering hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on hiring legions of extra bureaucrats, setting up GST of- fices and trying to brainwash us with a massive ad campaign. Just as if the tax were already law. So watch our “‘lawless’’ rules like a hawk. Refuse next January to collect or pay any tax not on the statute book. And oh yes — take North Shore Senator Ray Perrault to lunch this summer! eat TAILPIECES: Score to date, North Van 1, Burnaby | in the where-shall-we-live doubleheader between City Ald. Bill Bell and his March 28 bride, Dorothy Caddell, chairperson of School District 41. Until they can settle on common ground, they’re keeping their respective pads on the North Shore and Burnaby Mountain ... Gearing up for her 39th Miss North Shore Pageant, Gertie Todd says this year’s brains-’n‘-beauty entrants may also be sponsored by private individuals in addition to businesses and clubs — details and entry forms from The Perfect Set- ting, 124 W. 16th, North Van (985-0555) ... Would-be Galloping Gourmets should red-ring the May 2 starting date of five classes at Windsor Secondary teaching ‘*sur- vival skills for men in the kitchen” — registration ($44) via 986-8888 ... And happy birthday today, April 27, to North Van's Gerry Williams. kek WRIGHT OR WRONG: Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this: that you are dreadfully like other people.