A6-Wednesday, October 22, 1980 - North Shore News

editorial page

Go on- ASK them!

The use of the referendum as a working
tool of government is receiving a lot of at-
tention these days. One local problem to
which it might very appropriately be applied
is the plea of the North Vancouver Teachers
Association for the recruitment of additional
teachers to ease the current classroom
workload.

In its brief last week to the North Van
School Board the association argued that “as
family breakdowns increase, more is asked
of the classroom teacher. Schools are being
asked more frequently to handle the social
and emotional problems.”

The teachers may have a valid point but
the school board may not be the right body
to which to address it. As Chairman Dorothy
Lynas said: “We need to involve the whole
community here because it's a_ social
phenomenon ... (but) you still have to justify
your budget to the public.”

This, then, would surely be an ideal case
to settle by a referendum among all North
Van parents of school-age children, worded
somewhat as follows:

“More teachers are needed to handle
students’ emotional and social problems
caused by increasing family breakdowns.
Since society as a whole is responsible for the
problem, will you accept a 25% increase in
your school taxes for the above purpose?”

Whatever the answer, it would let the
trustees (who possess no money of their own)
off the hook. It might also demonstrate to
teachers the limits of the possible when it
comes to the bottom line on the tax bill.

Whistler woes

The announcement that Whistler has
doubled its skier capacity as a result of this
year’s development work is bad news for
West Vancouver, which must bear the brunt
of the heavy extra weekend traffic. The
ultimate solution is a new road over the
mountains. Until then it becomes in-

creasingly urgent for Highways Minister
Alex Fraser at least to get moving on that
direct link between the Lions Gate Bridge
and the Upper Levels.

THE VOCE OF WHOSTTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

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Looking after $10m. in gold
%

OTTAWA(SF) - Few
things in worldly affairs offer
stranger stories than the
business of international
arms sales. From time to
time successful international
arms sellers offer what might
be called ‘‘courtesy
payments” to customer
countries. Translation: Pay-
offs.

Canada, of course, doesn't
do this sort of thing. There
were whispers a few years
ago about some questionable
dealings of Atomic Energy
of Canada as the agency
labored to sell CANDU
nuclear reactors on Canada’s
behalf. That kind of thing
simply can't be tolerated,
though, and we are now
simon pure.

Canada does get involved
sometimes by accident,
though. Recently a high-
powered European arms
manufacturer had concluded
a deal running into billions
with a South American
country. The arms company
has a Canadian represen-
tative, and the man in
Canada was warned that an
agent from head office

Canadian Comment

BY PETER WARD

would be coming through,
on his way to make a
“courtesy payment” to
somebody in South
America. The package being
transported through Canada
took the form of gold coins
in a couple of suitcases.,

That's not the kind of
thing which is normally
checked in bond with

Canada Customs and the

foreign agent wished to
spend a few days in Canada
on his way to South
America. The Canadian
representative went to
considerable trouble to
arrange bonding and

secunty measures.

When the head office man
with his two loaded suitcases
arrived, he said not to bother
with customs because the

Restless natives hard

A strange calm broods over the North Shore as
our local bodies politic approach their annual
climacteric — the November 15 council elections.
Aside from North Van District’s Ernie Crist, the
City’s Stella Jo Dean and a corporal’s guard of
Deep Cove fundamentalists who prefer potholes
to pavement, restless natives are hard to find.

Indeed, the calm is a little
uncanny when you consider
(a) there are only 23 days left
before polling day; and (b)
two of the three North Shore
municipalities have = their
mayor's chair up for grabs, a
situation supposed to
automatically guarantce
“exciting” elections.

It may happen yet, of
course But as of today the
“excitement” is certainly
rugning well behind
schedule, if it's capable of
being generated at all in the
remaining three wecks

The deadline for can.
didate nominahions is noon
next Monday, October 27.
just five days away Only
then shall we finally know
the full fist of entrants in the
various races

For the moment
however, challengers of the
status quo have sall to
emerge in this year's
highlighted municipal
clections North Van
Distinct West

two

couver and

Vancouver
FEW GUT ISSUES
In both municipalities the

incumbe nt
three

Mayor and all
aldermen

whose terms arc up will be

incumbent

seching re clecQon Not a
squeak oso far from any
outmder though at secs
inconccivable that there
wont be at least afew
aqucaks by Monday lun
chame

In North Van City which
Now operates on a two year

term for the mayor and all

sia aldermen this is an off

year However the city does

have oa

angie aldermank

election due to the mid-term
retirement of Alderman
Gordon Cross. This vacancy
has to be won by some
outsider, since no council
incumbents are involved.

The apparently strong
position of the incumbents in
North Van District and West
Van reflects a rather unusual
absence, 10 each
municipality, of broad gut
issues capable of stirring
large blocks of the elec-
torate. Such issues as
currently exist are strictly
localized — each, perhaps.
capable of influencing a
couple of hundred or so
voters but definitely
thousands

In North Van Distnect the
chief issues are the hazards
posed by the local chemical
industry (with Hooker as the
focus) and slow progress
with overall, long range
community planning

The chemical hazards
threat has been thoroughly
probed during the past cight
months by ciuze np
bodies as well as by council

not

vanous

isclf A temporary standoff
now seems likely duc
mainly to the horrendous

cost of (he only permancnt
solution kicking Hoober
out altogether

MAJIORITY V IFW

Ihe absence to date of an

all embracing community

plan (now promised by

Mayor Don Bell wihin tbe
neat year! doesn t in
practh ec seem to worry mast
Drastract residents tow
Kicatly Om the contrary

some Deep Cove dwellers

Noel Wright

have voiced strong op-
positon even to a proposed

modest upgrading of their
roads, claiming that
“progress” of that kind could
destroy the “Eden hke”
atmosphere of their com.
munity

In West Vancouver the
current issues are cqually
locahzed = -

with a prudent

the part) of
council lo take careful note
of majonty

tendency on

local opinion
Framples include the “thin
house” controversy In
the = proposed
Rock woods subdivision and
the move to ban any further
residential highrises

Crlencagies.

Ihe emotltonal tree
cutting issauc ta presecrive
views scema to have been
largely defused thanks to

the commonsense approach
of the cilzen Committee set
op oby council and

although again only o cs vuple
of bundred on so people are
directly affected

indie ations

there are

ivry mayorty

opinion prevanl oon

thay the

cane of the planned

townhouse deveclooment

airline would look after safe-
keeping of the valuables.
Fine. The two men spent
their two days together, and
then went off to Toronto
International Airport to
collect the suitcases and gold
for onward journey to South
America.

The airline searched, but
could not immediately find
the gold coin-filled suitcases,
worth by conservative
esumate somewhere  bet-
ween $2 million and $10
million on the international
market.

A frantic search turned up
the missing bags, sitting in
the open at the end of a
luggage carousel, where they
had apparently been waiting
in the open to be claimed for
two days.

It was a very relieved arms
sales agent who claimed
those bags and hoisted them
aboard his flight for South
America, but you know, his
hefty “courtesy payment”
bags were probably safer
sitting with piles of un-
claimed baggage at Toronto
International Airport than
they would have been under
heavy guard.

o find

which would shut down
Fisherman's Wharf marina.

None of these matters are
likely to bring protesting
citizens roaring to the
barricades between now and
November 15. If mayor
issues finally emerge in West
Van and North Van distnct.,
it looks as though they will
have to be invented in a
hurry by any last-minute
challengers who file their
papers on Mohday

TAX HIKES

One such issue capable of
causing a generous amount
of confusion is, of course.
taxes.

Although provisional 1981
budgets are not made public
until after the elections,
there's little doubt that next
year's taxes will rise For one
thing, provincial assessments
(over which councils have no
control) may increase in
some cases by up to 40% 1n
order to reflect the (ruc
market value of homes in
accordance with
skyrocketing estale
pnces

That) obviously doesn't
mean taxes will go up by
40% The job of councils
will be to lower the mill rate
on swollen assessments in
order to keep the bottom
line dollar hike on your tax

real

bill to a minimum. having
regard to ever rising
mumecipal costs, especially
wages

However, just in case

someone raises the question

in the next three weeks
incumbent North Shore
candidates will be — well
advised to have clear

convincing answers ready on

this complen subject If they
dont others may with
shimpy facts bul appealing
rhetork

Nothing makes natives %
restiess as a threat to thet
por ketbooks