6- Wi WE SURVIVED THE WAR, OF 1812... } AE SURVIVED WORLD WAR IF’. WE SURVIVED WOBLD WAR I... WE SUAVIED THE FLO CRISIS... WE SURVIVED THE GREAT DEPRESSION. WELL SURVIVE BOUCHARD AND PARIZEAU, Lifeboat bailout T’S TIME to throw a lifeline to an orga- nization most of us don’t even think about until it’s almost too late. Anyone who has spent any time boating in jocal waters knows just how vulnerable a boater can ve te misadventure. The North Shore is fortunate to have the support of the North Shore Lifeboat Society (NSLS). Just as the North Shore Rescue Team is there to assist those who find themselves in trouble in our mountain wilderness areas, members of the lifeboat society are there to assist us on the water. Right now the NSLS requires our help. Operating on a shoestriug budget and the dedication of coast guard auxiliary volun- teers, the greup is in need of $150,000 to replace two rescue boats based ai Deep Cove in North Vancouver and at Fisherman’s Cove in West Vancouver. The timing is critical. The federal government appears deter- mined to remove tighthouse keepers from the West Coast. Lighthouse keepers have proved to be key links in the chain of safety along our coastline. Without them, organizations such as the NSLS become even more essential. The numbers tell the tale. Since 1980, the coast guard auxiliary members responded to more than 800 calls for help. _ Last year 15 volunteers put in 5,000 hours each to carry a pager so that at any given time a crew is available for each of the rescue beats. Their effort is the very stuff of com- munity spirit. It’s time for us to respond in kind. To con- tribute to the NSLS, a registered charity, call Paul Atterton at 922-1211. A beef with Beef bang-up story Dear Editor: I would like to comment on sev- eral points in your July 24 front- page story Beef bang-up, which | find quite remarkable in several respects, First, in my opinion, it’s not exactly front-page news to report a dispute between a motorist and ICBC concerning a claim, even when it involves a total write-off of a vehicle. I also question your judg- ment in publishing some of the vul- gar language used by Mr. (Arthur) Schopp (“These guys are a bunch of slime buckets”). From the picture of Mr. Schopp Publisher Managing Edito: Associate Editor.. wa Pator Speck on your front page, it looks as if he’s wearing either a Mason’s or Shriner's ring. If he is a member of either of these illustrious organiza- tions, 1 don’t think he should be very happy about seeing language of that nature in print. As to Mr. Schopp’s settlement for his dream Cadillac, with their new Northstar V8 motor and much better quality control in body fin- ishing. etc., Cadillac is back in the luxury car category, but in my opinion, and certainly lots of other people who have some idea about automobiles, the 1992 Cadiliacs were certainly not to be considered Oisplay Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 905-692 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax Distribution Subscriptions highly esteemed automobiles. 1 question whether a wholesaler or even a Cadillac dealer would have wanted to buy Mr. Schopp's car, regardless of condition, for anything more than $23,000 to $25,000. I would say he was very fairly treated in the settlement of $32,000 as compared with his own valuator’s opinion of $29,000. It so happens that I had a claim with ICBC earlier this year involv- ing a total write-off, and [ received a satisfactory settlement in a period of just about 10 days. John G, Chaston West Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Sates & Marketing Newsroom Comptroller. North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedute 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednasday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to avery door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates V7M 2H4 available on request, Submissions are welcome Dut we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. je Nonh Vancouver B.C. North Shore Managed 985-2131 Administration 985-2133 MEMBER SBA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) a een eS ASSO EaRRSSIAEEREL A NOE ASSN Ae Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. ‘Equity’ nuts insult their own employees “WHY CAN’T women be like men?” grumbles Professor Higgins (alias Rex Harrison) in My Fair Lady. The same question has smoke coming out of the ears of Victoria fire chief Mike Heppell. Chief Heppell is fuming over a leaked “strictly confidential” city study which indicates smouldering prejudice among its 96-member ail- male fire department against admit- ting femaie firefighters. The report says the male fire- fighters think entry standards wouid drop. They doubt whether women can maintain the same fit- ness level as men. They fear females “couldn't handle” the sex- ist and racist humor common in firehalls. And they worry about suspicious wives smelling hanky- panky in the shared firchall dormi- tory. The angry chief claims only a few of his boys feel that way, and vows to put the guilty wretches “back in school” to be brain- washed. Not clear in the newspaper story is just why the issue arose in the first place. Has the all-male VPD been doing a lousy job? Are males 66 Hiring for a job by any yardstick except pure merit automati- cally discriminates against some person or group.99 able to meet the rigorous entry requirements in short supply? If, as you may well think, the answer is neither of the above, only one other explanation remains. Chief Heppell himself has been brainwashed by the thought police into embracing “employment equi- ty” — our Brave New World term for less efficiency at much higher cost. Formerly, job-hiring for any type of work was solely a matter of picking the best qualified applicant for the specific vacancy to be filled. By and large the results were pretty satisfactory. By contrast, “employment equi- ty” insists that all staffs and work- forces should numerically reflect the demographic make-up of soci- ety as regards gender, ethnicity. disabilities, ete. So suppose [run a smatl furni- ture moving company in a commu- nity where 50% of the population cligible for employment are female, 10% are visible minorities and 10% physically or mentally handi- capped. For the back-breaking work involved, the equity nuts would demand that I hired five men and Noel HITHER AND YON five women — one of the 10 being a vismin, another a schizophrenic or a wheelchair case. Never mind about the customers’ furniture or earming enough money to pay them all. Don’t get me wrong. I'm 100% for equal OPPORTUNITY in the job market. Ifa 130-Ib. female can carry an unconscious 250-Ib. male over her shoulder down a ladder — and also pass every other firefight- er’s test with top marks — she should get the job. She should NOT get it merely because she’s a woman —~ any more than a man should get a maternity nurse’s job merely because he happens to like babies. It’s that simple. So-called “employment equity” — new being imposed by govern- ments in more and more areas — is actually the exact opposite. Hiring for a job by any yardstick except pure merit automatically discrimi- nates against some person or group. In the People’s Republic of Ontario, for example, the Rae gov- ernment reportedly ran civil service ads recently that warned white males not to bother to apply. Moreover, “employment equity” —— or, more accurately, reverse dis- crimination — demeans the very people it claims to serve. Women, . colored folks and paraplegics can never know whether they personal- ly deserve their job or got it solely as a number on 4 quota list. Maybe some of “equity’s” employees don’t give a damn about being insulted in that way. But given his responsibilities, Fire Chief Heppel certainly SHOULD! WRAP-UP: Find out about the “Sound Of Silence,” the intriguing title of the exhibit by printmaker Valerie Metz, on display until Aug. 7 at West Van's Ferry Building Gallery, 1414 Argyle ... Park junior at St. John's Anglican Church Aug. 2-5 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon daily during its Summer Fun Days for children aged 5-10 — call 986-TISI to register ... In need of volunteers to assist the 1994 stu- dent reception program from Aug. {4 to Sept. 5 is UBC International House ~~ phone 822-5021 for full info ... And a very happy fourth anniversary tomorrow, July 28, to His West Van Worship Mark Sager and first lady Kathryn. WRIGHT OR WRONG: Nothing is really work unless you'd rather be doing something else.