awa srode Aino - BVO} £81 vaaunal. Ff saan The ‘disabled and. elderly. have been ‘singled out. for special’ benefits under ‘a revised homemaker. ‘subsidy plan announced. by ‘Human Resources Minister bill Vander Zalm. lee - The- new schedule: sub? stantially. increases. the basic — income level for homemaker services and is expected to. triple the number of the elderly, disabled and fami- lies eligible for the program. The changes, contained i in ‘amendments to the Guaran- teed Available Income for Need Regulations, are part of the new Long Term .Care program instituted at .the beginning of January. The ~ new program will emphasize . os Co = @ Elimination of the asset ceilings previously imposed for qualification. services within the home rather than relying on institutional placement. Bemocracy, as the saying goes, is a form of govern- ment where elected officials take over the ship of state and attempt to steer it in all directions at -once. Democ- racy is a form of government where one is free to say what one thinks — even if one doesn’t think. Democracy, so the theory goes, is the ultimate expres- sion of majority rule. The majority elects representa- tives who procced to enact laws which reflect the opin- fons of that majority which elected them. There are even people who believe that . democracy is being practiced in Canada. Unfortunately, some of the things which.seem too good VERIFIED CIRCULATION 47,001 "page 2, January 18, 1978 - North Shore News - cracy’” “The: ‘key “features of the “new. heme regulations are: ~ e AY raise - in- “the allowable monthly income levei nearly double the previous subsidy ceiling. e ‘An additional exemption of $64 for each person in a family who is - disabled: (or. _ over age 65. ne family earns a wage. oA special exemption of all earned income of a spouse or dependent of a handicapped | person requiring homemaker 7 ser vice. . to be true, aren "te That’s certairily true of our ‘‘demo- . It’s not entirely clear just what we do have — but it. certainly. isn’t democracy. Kenneth McDonald a Canadian political writer of some standing, recently pub- lished a new book titled ‘Green Maple: How Canada | Could Attain Peace, Order and Good Government’’. Among McDonald’s points is reference to a joint Com- mons-Senate Committee © investigating methods by which a governing party could evade the Parliamen- process. The study tary found that there are at least “14,000 . regulations and other statutory Instruments that allow Cabinet and indi- 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4! OFFICE/NEWS: (604) 980-0511 CLASSIFIED: 980-3464 CIRCULATION: 986-1337 Publisher Peter Speck Associate Publisher Bob Graham /Editor-In-Chief Noel Wright/News Guillermo iu:.., vsotos Ells- worth Dickson/Production Marna Leiren/Advertis- Ing Kristi Vidler/Classified Berni Hilliard/Circala- tion Yvonne Chapman/Adnmiinistration , Barbara Haywood/ Accounts Sylvia Sorensen. North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent’: community newspaper qualified under Schedule 111, and Part (111, Paragraph 111 of. the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday and Sunday by the North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed | to ! every door on the North Shore. | eres " Second Class Mall Registration Number 3085. _ ENTIRE CONTENTS COPYRIGHT © 1978 NORTH ° _ SHORE FREE PRESS LTD.’ All rights reserved.” AWW coe ‘1h \iSooneiaamhiancaaaeneaanadaRseeA Ns Leh OAR Nana income ediculation.- eA reduction in the contri- butions required from most 4). _ clients ‘who are’ not fully” . the regulations to bring more ~. particularly those who_might _ a - be forced to rely on insti- ° An employment incentive. - of $100 above the normal ceiling where an adult in the: -but many times not as good 1 in the Committee’s conclu- i evade Parliament ‘and (b) . final outcome. The dwindling i J" backroom have all the fun. | ° "Exemption of ‘ail Federal family allowances. from. subsidized. * | “We have. tried to expand . people into the program, Es; Solid mahogany, ¢ carved both sides,¢ ~ two Styles 2°10 x 3 x 6’8 x 1 ae tutional care without this in-home - service,’” said &: Vander: Zalm. —_ “Previously, the allowable | incomes were so low that an. elderly person or family with a disabled member had little alternative but to seek some. kind of institution which was. not only much more costly, -for the individual.’ ” re i ves Pas Cede i . vidaal ministers, ‘usually on the advice of civil corvants to make decisions. without Parliamentary approval.’’ te eA V-Groove, - 4xsgx 4mm, vinyl overlay . Note the two key elements 2 sides, 4 x 8x % Lumber Core.. Great © fo or _ bookcases, kitchen — cabinets, vanities, etc. ri ays rye “sion: (a) that ministers can’ that the civil servants can ‘contro! the ministers who are not. reporting their actions back to Parliament. (b) leads to (a) ) which MaKes a a mockery of the concept of elected ‘representatives’’. se _Gust off Main & Mtn. Hwy.) ene ee me Saas . xs = tee ETHAN JUST ‘PLYWOOD Even within their own WUC H MORE Ti party, Mis rene’y ie aaet & here are 1@ Windeor sieres on the fewer main banal voice in decisions. Back- including: Vancouver. Burnaby - benchers have virtually no 1601 West 2nd - 1490. Boundary Rd. say in party: policy. Non- | 738-9717 299-5914. elected - senators, party directors | and — fund- _ raisers often influenece the reserves of talented man- power in the ranks of Otta- ‘wa’s backbenchers can be traced directly back to their lowly status. LINCOLN - _ MERCURY BAKE OVEN | PAINT FINISH ~The Ritchie Collision | Centre offers factory bake oven enamel paint Jobs at the fantastic price of. $169. 50. Camplete repaint “of most. compact and medium size vehicles. | Phone today: or drop by 1525 Welch.St. North Van. Democracy depends on power resting with the - elected representatives. as individuals. Even party unity can defeat the democratic process. Backbenchers can be yanked off Commons committees if they fail to side with the party philosophy. Government _ backbenchers have no opportunity to criti- cize waste or bungling in the . government — unless they are prepared to leave the _party. In the United States, where members of standing © committees cannot be removed until they have completed their legal: terms, ‘democracy is much better served. . The decline of democracy is of particular concern to the small business community. When a; small group of people dictate the political decisions for the _ entire country, only those groups with the loudest voice will be represented. Political stren- gth is tied to economic power. Consequently . the preservation of a well-olled - Parliamentary system Is vital if the ordinary: firms and people of this country are to , be properly represented. 1525 Welch St. _Nortin Vancouver ', It's. time. we: were all ; allowed " to. share’ in’ the political mistakes rather than ' letting a handful of.men in. “LINCOLN. _MERCURY (Think gmail’? is copy- righted ntessage from the ‘Canndian Federation of Inde- pendent Business]