4 — Wednesday, September 15, 1993 - North Shore News ‘New style AT VIRTUALLY the same moment that Israel and the PLO were shaking hands on a deal to end half a century of bitter warfare, and Russia and Ukraine were cutting a deal that cught to result in the dismantling of 1,500 nuclear warheads — monumentous events, we are talking here — Kim Campbell decided to shave seven EH-101 helicopters from her scheme to buy 50 of them to conduct warfare against enemy submarines. What enemy? What sub- marines? Maybe she's planning to defend Canada against Paul Watson, who is reportedly con- templating buying an old Russian sub, which is up for sale because the Russians can’t afford to operate their submarine fleet any longer. Other than that, who is Little Ms. Muffet worried about? Nei- ther the Serbs nor the Somalis have subs. The Americans do, of course, but are we going to go to war with them over Arctic sovereignty? Is this Ms. Campbell's ‘‘new way” of doing politics? Sounds like the same old stuff to me. An election’s coming. Polls show that most Canadians think blowing nearly $6 billion on sub- hunting helicopters after the end of the Cold War makes no sense at all. Maybe it would have made sense a decade or so ago, but the Tories were busy chopping the military then. Are they so slow- ‘reacting that it is only now, when the war is over, that they’ve sud- ~ denly become gung ho? aM In any event, the new prime .: minister, after having sworn up and down, as defence minister, never to back down on the heliconter deal, has backed down. Sort of. Nothing monumental, like the Russians, Ukrainians, Palestinians or Israelis coming to grips with a new world. No, nothing sweeping, historic or , significant. A nip and tuck here, 2 little concession there. Tinkering, in other words. . : ( Which reveals, more than any- . thing yet, what Ms. Campbell’s‘ self-proclaimed new style is all about. She’s a tinkerer, as well, we see, as a ditherer. _ , Tinkering and dithering, I see the broad outlines of her ad- ministration writ small, It’s not Sa SSP ay omer sneer ae am ob Hunter ue STRICTLY PERSONAL just that her speeches are banal, it’s her essence which is shallow. Vision? Give me a break! A vision would involve cancell- "ing the deal entirely. We are talk- ing about British and Italian-built helicopters designed in 1980 to ‘hunt Soviet submarines. Apart from the fact that there are no Soviet submarines to hunt any fonger, we are looking at the priciest helicopters in the world, and the third most expensive defence purchase in Canada’s history. On the sleazy side, the deal is rife with charges of cronyism and favoritism. «For openers, 2 long-time friend of Brian Mulroziey from his days as a student at St. Francis Xavier University, Fred Doucet, is the chief lobbyist for Paramax, the Montreal-based but American- owned company which stands to make the most money out of this boondoggle. Paramax is run by a chap named Paul Manson, who just happened to lead the Canadian armed forces back when the helicopter deal was first _ ' IMAGINE HOUSE HUNTING WITH $ IN’ YOUR POCKET AND S$ IN THE BANK JOANE C. MAHON YOUR VANCOUVER ISLAND CONNECTION Bus. 925-2911 Res. 922-8185 Need info or maps on retirement villages in * Parksville, Qualicum, Nanaimo? On Oct. 251H Mane Your Vore Count { A Real Choice for Real Change Put up alawn sign for Reform ! Cali 926-6659 * Authorized Ly Doug Hendenon, Official Agent foc Heb Grubel EES SES MIP? being negotiated. I] know one is not supposed to be shocked by these incestuous military-industrial complex sort of things, but one doesn’t have to buy into it, either, as Ms. Camp- bell has obviously done. The list of prominent lobbyists and flacks with Tory links who are involved in the project is about as long as it gets. Take a look at the military manufacturers who arc in line to siphon money from the deal: Lit- ton Systems Canada, Spar Aerospace, CAE Electronics, GE Canada and Standard Acro, all of whom are well-known donors to Tory party coffers. It’s not just that this deal stinks, but even by the sleazoid standards of backroom Parliament Hill, it stinks to high heaven. In her speech announcing the cutting of seven of the choppers from the program, Ms. Campbell used a cute little argument: ‘‘I don’t want to wake up some morning 15 years down the road to hear of some fishermen or sail- ors in distress who have been left to drown because the aircraft we have are too rickety, too rusty or too weak to get there.”’ Ah, gee, shucks. How sweet. No mention of one of the main criticisms of the EH-101 chop- pers, namely that they may be useless for search and rescue mis- im seems like the sal sions because of the down-draft they create, which would blow anybody they were trying to save into the water, and the fact that line of vision from the cockpit would leave the pilot blind to anybody directly below. Ms. Campbell has tried to dismiss the down-draft and line- of-vision problems as red herr- ings, but a memo from her own Supply and Services Department, dated October 1991, sent to E.H. Industries, refers to both issues as Create Some Magic With Our New Restyling Event Come in fora chance to Win A Free. Mounting! CAPILANO NIALL Sept. 17, 18 & 19 “areas of major concern with respect to the operational accept- ability-suitability of the EH-101 to perform the search and rescue role."’ It’s this can of worms or, more specifically, 43 remaining cans of worms — that our ‘“‘new style’’ prime minister is still defending, ~ just to keep her former boss’ old-boy network of buddies in business, sucking up taxpayers’ . bucks. Way to go, Kim! Innovative amd High-tech Industries om the North Shere will put Camadiams back to work. “Let's get Canada working”. #11A-221 West Esplanade : in eral SEEN (B.C. Rail Bidg.) 982-8513 Authorized by Salim Datoo, the official agor.t for Motina Jatfor. happy & satisfied North Shore clients. Our success is largely due to our customers, who appreciate our quality service and creative designs. 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