6 - Sunday, May 10, 1987 - North Shore News

News Viewpoint

No-win for labor

espite continuing militancy, with worse loom-

ing, the B.C. Teachers Federation and the B.C.

Federation of Labor are clearly losing the public
relations battle against bills 19 and 20.

The reason

is simple. Today’s situation differs

markedly from the heady 1983 months of the Solidari-
ty movement sparked by the Bennett government's

restraint program.

That program directly affected the incomes and job
security of thousands of people — from civil servants
to welfare recipients. So Solidarity drew significant
backing for a time from the immediate financial self-
interest of Jarge numbers of involved individuals,

These factors are absent in the present case. The new
labor legislation imposes certain restraints on collective
bargaining — especially as regards industrial action
damaging to the general public — but it threatens no-
body with imminent loss of money or a job.

The opposition of teachers and union leaders to
bills 19 and 20, therefore, is primarily philosophical.
Meanwhile, their fight with Victoria is already hurting
thousands of innocent students badly and its promised
escalation could disrupt life for many more citizens.
This is no way to consolidate whatever public sym-
pathy exists, let alone win friends in a battle of ideas.

If the heat on the public becomes intolerable, the
government can end it by legislation. if the unions defy
the law, it can call a snap election on the gut issue:

who runs B.C.?

In neither case would labor win. Its best hope of
eventual change lies in educating, not intimidating, the
public — which is what democracy is ali about.

Noel Wright

@ Sunday brunch ©

INNUENDO is a much more in-
sidious form of attack on a per-
son’s character or ethics than a
direct allegation, which you can
fight head-on — if need be, in a
court of law. But innuendo slips in
through your fingers like
quicksilver.

Horseshoe Bay's Dan Sewell and
former West Van mayor Derrick
Humphreys know all about that
since recent stories in a Bigtown
daily suggested possible hanky-
panky at municipal hall in granting
a water lease last year, rontinely
signed by Humphreys, for Sewell’s
marina.

Present West Van Mayor Don
Lanskall, promptly went public,
ordering’a ‘‘full probe’’. Shades of
Tiddlycove Watergate or Contra
arms scandal loomed. Now, the
report from council’s independent
legal adviser is in, being studied by
a committee. Here's what the
summary paragraphs of the report
say:

“The circumstances under which
the municipality granted the Sewell
lease were open and subject to
public scrutiny. The availability of

the (carlier) lease was publicly
advertised by the receiver. Bylaw
3277 authorizing the Sewell lease
was passed at a public council
meeting. The lease itself was ap-
proved by the Minister of Lands,
Parks and Housing under the
terms of the foreshore lease ... In
our opinion the procedures
followed in granting the Sewell
lease were Substantially correct ac-
cording to the requirements of the
foreshore lease and the Municipal
Act.””

End of quote. Sorry if that robs
anyone of a hoped-for scandal!

eat

HEARTWARMING DEPT.: The
miracle of modern electronics is
helping a plucky, positive-thinking
young lady achieve her career
goals, thanks to local Lions and
Optimists. The seven North Shore
Lions clubs and the North Shore
and Vancouver Optimist clubs
combined recently in raising
$10,000 to buy a special Braille
computer which produces
straight copy when connected to a
printer — for blind Cap College
student flizabeth Wade.

LETTER OF THE DAY

Trustees not complacent about Al

Dear Editor:

The B.C. School Trustees
Association would like to set the
record straight in response to your
April 29. News Viewpoint about
the school trustee position with
respect to Acquired Immune Defi-
ciency Syndrome.

Your suggestion that school
trustees are ‘‘downplaying the role
of education in combatting
AIDS..." is far from accurate.

This distorted impression was left
by articles in The Province news-
paper which used selective’ infor-
mation to create controversy which
in fact does not exist. At no time
has the B.C. School Trustees
Association suggested that the
school system should shy away
from AIDS education. Newspapers
thus far have also chosen not to
report our request that the provin-
cial and federal governments
“devote significantiy more finan-
cial resources to scientific research

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Facase Tae Act

Te HUEY Shene Se
ivitdably Of tes

and pictutes el

SDA OIVISION

Publisher:
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Advertising Director

a4 AN Independent subutian Nensbaper ard Qualited under Scredule IH, Paragtapn I of tte
ahendiy, Fatty and Sunday by Marth Share Free Preas Lid and distituted to every doar oF
a Regeswaton Number SHB Suter
ate @elcumie tut ae Canngt accept thspo
OrPpAnud by a Staged, adressen envel

Peter Speck
Noel Wright

.. Barrett Fisher
Linda Stewart

and Yost Vancouver, $25 per yeat Mailing tates
for unsoheited matenal nciuding maousce pts

Entire contents ©
1987 North Shore
Free Press Ltd. All
rights reserved.

Aone . e.
NEWS photo Stuart Davis

FORTY WIVES of Canada-wide delegates to the recent Masonry Contractors Association celebrate West Van’s
75th Anniversary with a breakfast and shopping spree hosted by Park Roya) — whose marketing manuger Per
Danielsen (above) explains the special deals to Terry Martini of Toronto.

eee

WRAP-UP: Two top-talent North
Shore musicians — pianist Karen
Wong and flute-player Erin Macri
— are among the B.C. musical
stars in the Showcase Final Con-
cert of the Kiwanis Musical Festi-
val, 8 p.m. tomorrow (Monday,
May 11) at Richmond’s Gateway
Theatre. To reserve tickets ($5) call
Sam Balden today at 926-6304 or
the festival office, 683-4730, early
Monday ... Pitching in for Rick
Hansen, the North Van Chamber
of Commerce is sponsoring a fun-
draising 1960s rock 'n’ roll dance
May 23 in the Mickey McDougall
gym on East 23rd, reports orga-
nizer Merrill. Shepard. Tickets,
$10, from the chamber office, 131
East 2nd, where tables for six can
also be reserved ... Congratulate
West Van’s Edna Nash, one of the
five out of 60 province-wide
nominees to win the first
Distinguished Service to Families
Award presented by the B.C.
Council for the Family. The win-
ners were honored Wednesday by
Lt-Gov. Bob Rogers at a Gov-
ernment House reception in Vic-
toria ... The same again to West
Van’s Ross Howard, elected
1987-88 veepee of the B.C.-Yukon
Boy Scouts of Canada ... And Sue
Ennis of Garibaidi Highlands,
phone 1-898-3852, asks all 1972
Carson Graham grads to contact
her about the 15-year reunion
planned for July 25-26.
6 @

WRIGHT OR WRONG: By the
time we realize our parents may
have been right, we have children
who think we're wrong.

aimed at finding a cure for
AIDS.”

School trustees are hardly com-
placent about AIDS and pointing
out that AIDS is a medical pro-
blem does not automatically
translate into trustee inaction, The
BCSTA began education-relevant
AIDS research two years ago and
is one of the first education
organizations in North America to
develop a comprehensive manual
for school boards — one which

covers guidelines, and which

Ts :
NEWS pholo Mike Wakefletd

FINGERTIP assignments for 9 happy student...Ezabeth Wade with her
specialized computer and donor representatives (t to r) North Shore Op-
timist Bob Robinson, North Shore Lion David Gibbs and Vancouver

Optimist Bob Estergaard.

information on
curriculum resource material. In
addition, we delivered a pro-
vince-wide AIDS teleconference
seminar with member boards
recently and have prepared for
on-site seminars for school
districts.

The people of B.C. have a right
to the whole story and to know
that the public school system is
responding responsibly to the
AIDS threat — several boards are
already delivering educational

features ample

S

programs to students. At the same
time trustees want to ensure that
there are reasonable expectations
of the role education can play.
{Solid medical evidence about the
dangers of smoking has not stop-
ped milliciseof North Americans
from rist:ing lung cancer.) Schools
can an¢, will provide information
on cavse and prevention of AIDS,
but education alone is not the
answer.

Charles Hingston

BCSTA President