6 - Wednesday, December 26, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS ‘Senator’ Stan’s party ima no- BRAVING SATURDAY morning’s thick fog, some 250 local citizens on the lookout for a better class of politician found their way to the Centennial Theatre to hear — and repeatedly applaud — a retired army general. Relax, however. No Latin American-type military coup threatens. The guest was Alberta’s Stan Waters, Canadian Army Commander from 1973 to 1975 and later a successful business man widely involved in community ac- tivities (among them, the United Way, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, YMCA Board of Gov- ernors and Calgary Native Oppor- tunities Committee.) He's also the up-and-coming Reform Party’s present trump card. Among the party's key platform items is an elected Senate, with equal numbers of Senators from each province to act as a counter- balance to the domination of the Commons by central Canada. When a Senate vacancy arose earlier this year, Prime Minister Mulroney, who alone makes Senate appointments under the es- tablished system, invited Alberta Premier Don Getty to submit the usual list of nominees for him to choose from. Getty obliged — but by holding, for the first time in Canadian history, a completely unofficial Senate election. Waters won by a country mile, the Tory candidate finishing a dismal third. So Mulroney now has his re- quired iist of nominees, plus the votes won by each of them, and is still dithering over what to do about it. If he names Waters, he'll be saying OK to that 122-year nightmare of Canadian prime ministers — an elected Senate --- because other provinces will almost certainly follow Alberta’s lead as vacancies arise. But if he refuses Waters, he can kiss goodbye to any Alberta coop- eration on cherished Mulroney projects like the GST and Meech Lake — and possibly to the Tories’ whole western voter base. So for the Reform Party, “‘Senator-in- Waiting’? Waters rep- resents a delicious no-lose situa- tion. In the flesh he comes across as a strong speaker who presents the RP platform — a square deal for the west, opposition to the GST, Meech Lake and Tory im- migration and bilingualism policies — in blunt, no-nonsense terms. If he’s finally allowed to take the seat in the Red Chamber which Albertans want him to occupy, Ot- tawa is unlikely ever to be the same place again. And neither will Alberta be for the Tories if Mulroney defies its hitherto loyal voters by rejecting him. Bowen self-rule OWEN ISLAND residents should now move toward municipal incorporation. An impending change to the provincial lose situation FOLKTALES: Bringing the Christmas spirit to Beacon Hill and Inglewood Lodge tomorrow evening, Dec. 21, is a North Shore “singles” group which will enter- tain residents at both care homes with carol singing concerts as its way of saying thankyou to seniors who've helped build the communi- ty. The 30 or so unmarried members of the group, aged 35-50, meet once or twice a month for dinner, wine-’n'-cheese or other social get-togethers — call Deanna Levis, 985-7952, or Peter Fish, 988-5691, if you'd like to learn more about them ... Say hello to Biil Oin in his wheelchair when you’re in Stong’s, Lynn Valley, this week and sample the attrac- tively different cards he’s selling to help their handicapped artists — just the thing for a New Year’s greeting to those you forgot on your Christmas card list ... Sched- uled for late January or early Feb- ruary is a dinner and evening of tribute to the late Frank Baker. It had been planned for some time, says Hilary Wooller, president of the sponsoring Vancouver A.M. Tourist Services Association, in the hope Frank would be there, and after his death last month they decided to go ahead anyway. Stay tuned — and if you'd like to assist, call Vancouver A.M. at 669-3640. ate WRIGHT OR WRONG: Profiting from good advice takes even more wisdom than giving it. NEWS photo Mike Wakefield TOP STORYTELLER...author Janet Lunn, whose ‘‘Amos’s Sweater’? won the Canadian Booksellers Assn. award for the best children’s book of the year, talks to young readers at West Van Memorial Library. i ri catveanapernncwcsresrestiillrsvittitaresttatistlatMlllllliee dices * efCaiy. « qT AMO Mb AA Mia py INTE ae Wario Peer Camusr ys AMO eitesryppyp ities ar Mlleyytiiililller st ltipsyy pypptlh ° Islands Trust Act would permit incorporation, and the Greater Vancouver Regional District Board would like to cut the strings tying it to Bowen as an administrative body. These two developments set the stage for decision- making debate on the issue. As matters stand, just two of the five trustees sitting as Bowen Island trustees (BIT) are elected locally. The two focally-elected members represent a minority view in the decision process. While BIT has authority for planning and zoning on Bowen, the GVRD Board electoral area director makes recommendations on services, budgets and taxes for the island as a whole. The set-up represents onerous concentration of involvement by a single elected repre- sentative. A cumbersome patchwork of governing jurisdictions with differing levels of representation and responsibili- ty has to cope with increasing pressures brought to bear by an island population and development boom. For what it’s worth, submissions made by Bowen residents for consideration in the Island Trust Act ‘Review showed 76 pez cent of 82 submissions favored representation by local government. If it is determined that there are sufficient human resources available within the Bowen community to exercise both the required responsibility and authority, then incorporation should be pursued. The time seems right for the island’s residents to take hold of their future. y] I SAKHAROV J eereaatsvartltiecttiiy nna 1 } p a, PY mmm mt ‘ SSS) a Witeotttetttitteire, Tarte 3 A ve “ae BEE RESIN Publisher .......... . Peter Speck Managing Editor... . Barrett Fisher Associate Editor .... 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