6 — Friday, June 28, 1991 - North Shore News CONODION TeXPOYeR CANHNG 1901. THE STAT OF THE NOTION... VIEWPOINT Grey matter E DON’T need psychologists to tell us that this unseasonal, re- lentless and darned unfair run of wet, grey weather is having a profound ef- fect on our coliective ments) health. Vancouverites know better than to ask for the world when it comes to weather. Just a few months of warmth, that’s ali we ask, Usually, we are granted enough sunshine to see us through another rainy winter. But now, with the Deities of Downpours seem- ingly taking an unholy pleasure in tormen- ting us with daily deluge and constant cloud cover, we are being pushed to the limit of our tolerance. Casual conversations reveal that, city- wide, people are refusing to heed the alarm clock’s bell, rolling over and escaping once again into the sun-soaked arms of slumber. Mysterious, flu-like symptoms such as listlessness, fatigue and irritability are reducing many to a somnolent stupor. This must stop if our city is to survive as a vibrant Canadian centre. We must raise arms against the natural forces that seek to sap the strength of our city's citizenry. The onus is on each of us to get cheer- ful, and fast. Forget consciousness-raising groups; what must be raised here is our Spirits. So celebrate Canada Day in style. Take in some music. Have a party. Eat good food. Be happy. The sun will shine inside. Mulroney is doing his best Dear Editor: 1 am not one to write to the newspaper but Mr. Hunter's col- umn of June 19, *‘Brian fiddles while the nation burns,’’ demand- ed that I reply. While Mulroney may not be perfect, I believe he is doing the best he can as Prime Minister in trying to keep the country together. We tend to be a country of complainers, not realizing that most of the world would rather be in Canada than where they are currently residing. It is easy for the people of Canada to blame al! their problems on one person, as Mr. Hunter does, but that does not address the problems of the nation. It is the people of Canada who must save Canada and if the people tack the will, do not blame Mr. Mulroney. His government has made many changes to this country which he obviously feels is the way to improve Canada and keep the country together. I find it rather ironic that such a column would appear in your newspaper which tends to endorse the anti-Quebec, simplistic views of Mr. Preston Manning and the Reform Party without any close evaluation of the policies of the Reform Party and in particular how a party which claims to have policies, carries out its policies when it also endorses free votes for MPs and government by ref- erendum. Government only doing things that are popular in the short term is much more dangerous to Canada in the long term than any other type of government. As we pay off our enormous deficit caused by the ‘‘popular decisions’’ of the 1970s and early 1980s the mistakes of a government doing only what is popular are obvious. If we did not have such a large deficit from that era then we would have more monies these days to save, improve and correct our environment. Perhaps Mr. Hunter would be more constructive in protecting and improving Canada by offering constructive solutions rather than using Mr. Mulroney as a handy scapegoat. A. John Lakes North Vancouver Publisher Peter Speck Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution 986-1337 North Shore Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subscriptions 986-1337 [RRR managed Associate Editor . Noel Wright — Classilied Advertising 986-6222 Fax 985-3227 feed Advertising Director —_ Linda Stewart’ Newsroom 985-2131 Administranon 985-2131 Comptrolter Doug Foot North Shore News, founded m 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualtied under Schedule 111, Paragraph It of the Excise Tax Act. 15 publishes each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday py North Shere Free Press Lid and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885 Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year, Mailing tales available on request Submiss:ons are weicome but we cannot accept ra PONCE OF MONAT ANE OTL ST VANCOUVER SUNDAY » WHONTSOAY - FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C MEMBER SDA DIVISION tesponsibility for unsolicted matenal meluding V7M 2H4 61,582 (average circulation. Wednesday. Friday & Sunday} manuscripts and pictures which should pe accompanied by a Stamped, adutessed envelope Entire contents < 1991 North Shore Free Press Lid. All nahts reserved Immigration: our road to riches or ruin THE ENVIRGNMENT is not the problem. People are the probiem. All the blue boxes and supermarket ‘‘green pro- ducts”’ in the world won’t save us unless we first deal, numerically, with ourselves. That has always been one of this column’s articles of faith — long before { ever heard of an Ajax, Ont.-based outfit called Zero Pepulation Growth in Canada, Inc. It recently sent me, unsolicited, a bunch of its research material. Studying it, I don't imagine ZPGC members get many birthday cards from Im- migration Minister Bernard Valcourt, let alone his boss, Brian Mulroney. Our political masters clearly regard them as subversive nuts, and no wonder. ZPGC argues that boosted immigration (now set at 260,000 a year) will be Canada’s ruin. So at least let’s hear them out. Firstly, says the group, Canada’s renewable environmental resources — including farmland, forests, minerals, the soil, at- mosphere and climate -— are al- ready being exploited to the limit by our existing 26 million popula- tion. Those vital ingredients of our health and living standard can't stand any more abuse than they’re now getting if we're to have a hope of sustaining them. We've lived too long on the “capital’’ represented by Canada’s resources and environment. Allowing them to renew is the on- ly way to ensure ‘“‘income’”’ for the future. And that, of course, is ex- actly what a million extra new Canadians every four years will NOT allow, Secondly, the theory that im- migrants create wealth and are needed to support our aging pop- ulation is baiderdash, says ZPGC. In real terms (i.e., constant dollars) more people could create more wealth ONLY if our resources were infinite. And research has already shown that most immigrants earn less than their Canadian counterparts of equivalent age and education. Meanwhile, immigrants grow old just as fast as everyone else. So all you do is compound the old-age dependency problem and then keep trying to “‘solve’’ it by importing ever more immigrants. With virtually zero immigration ZPGC claims our population would stabilize on its own at 28 million — the most they believe the environment can handle before our living standard starts to plummet. Nuts the Zero-Growth boys may Noel Wright HITHER AND YON be to the politicians, who love immigrants because they tend mostly to be docile, grateful voters for the governing party that lets them in. But isn’t it odd how interesting the idea of nuts can be? Galileo —- who figured the earth went round the sun, not vice versa — was one in his day. I'll leave you be the judge about ZPGC. And who the nuts are. DATELINES: School’s out and the kids are home, but there’s always hope — like the two-week Summer Strings and Art for youngsters, July 2-12 at Cleveland School, conducted by Roger Wecker and Phyllis Surtes. Call 987-8141 fast to pre-register ... History buffs shouldn’t miss the watercolors of local heritage homes by North Shore artist Margo Cuthbert — on display along with her land and seascapes, flower and wildlife studies at North Van District Hall through July 17... And 10-year Reunion time is coming up fast for Argyle’s Class of ’81. If you belong, call Kerry soonest at 737-7425 to learn all about the festivities being planned for Aug. 10. WRIGHT OR WRONG: Helping people too much can be risky. Always leave them the task of finding out for themselves how great you are. 7 NEWS photo MAN-MADE WEALTH... apparently limitless - but have the en- vironmental resources on which it depends already reached their limit? Fam =