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esti (127) ‘
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news viewpoint

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Mae eo IE ae wT LATO me nam men LA BRI etd nate Mn Pm LRA tent em RSME i RRA Otel

Spare change?

‘F nothing elise, the Great Debate under-.

‘scored the single most important issue in
this provincial election campaign: change.

Viewers handicapping the performances of .
‘the five leaders in the May 16 BCTV giadia-
‘torial political session should disregard the
_ verbal kidney punches, the empty Promises,

the inter-party sparring.

: What: matters most.on May 28 is the.
: answer to the question: Is it time for a change

in. how B.C, is run?
‘Those weary of Big Government intrusion

- into the free marketplace, those fearful of the
-continued erosion of their basic. democratic
‘rights of free expression, those ‘concerned
about the fiscal mismanagement of the’

province’s economy and B.C.’s.ever-increas-
ing debt, those concerned about government
payoffs to Big Labor end the runaway growth

of the civil service, those fed up. with runaway

Courts ¢

‘MONEY —- the debt,

the deficit, budget cuts | Noel
and taxes -— has driven |
the election debate so |
far. But there’s one even

more important issue. .
Individual freedom of
expression — supposedly

Wright

welfare and social service costs will agree that -
there needs. to be a change in how -their ;

province is run.

Those undecided shouid consider . the Qf
impact of another four years of NDP rule and ||
multiply the hijinks of the. socialists’. past.
term several fold for an approximation of :

what would be in store for B.C.

The Great Debate likely did little to per-
suade voters on either side. of the, fence to
change. But it doubtless convinced more than
a few previously sitting on the fence to step
down on one side or the other. /

It should have convinced everyone interest-

ed in preserving the democratic running of |

this province to cast a vote. ' f

Without it ‘they. will get the goverment. | -B.C. Rall Conducta

they deserve. *

And the government the apathetic deserve

will be bad for everyone. —

/

of whole groups, if gag laws
like the NDP's are necessary.
An NDP MLA recently
blurted out the answer. “The
courts,” he said, “don't always
do what we want them to"—
thus confirming that all the |.
machinery for media censor-
ship already exists and will

Rail sale
opposed

Dear Editor:
Regarding Gordon
Campbell's plan to sell B.C;

Rail and use the money to fund -. ¥

election promises, It seems to —
me this is very short-sighted,
akin to selling your house that
you worked for years to fix up
then using the money fora _
spending spree: in the end you
have no house and no money. -

All your hard work for nothing.” |

For the past 80 years the:
provincial government has put
hundreds of millions of dollars
into the railway to access the ,
resources of the north. B.C. -
Rail has gone from being a.
provincial joke to a healthy,’

thriving business that has made ..

a profit.for fifteen of the past’.

16 years. The railway com-;
petes in the open market, pro-
vides a good living for.hun-. :

: dreds of British Colurnbians,
-and has spent $450 million i in’
capitol investments in the last”
five years: B.C. Rai) has
“buy local” policy, spend
$166.2 million in B.C. and
$89.6 million in othe: .

, provinces last year alone. The
best part is: it, costs us noth

~ If that doesn't stimulate the
economy, ‘what does?

_ prospect of-huge profit and a
monopoly.on transportation.’

‘would be, well, like'shoveling

money off the back of a truck

“thé people of. British Columbi
“David Moorhouse

enough for Ni

am. news he ads on KVOS Cable. 12%
8 p.m. were scheduled. to end Monday).

A confident, plausible personal i image’ is
among a dictator’s most useful tools — as
Hitler, Stalin and Mao all knew. And democra-
tic freedoms protected by law are always a

“

guaranteed by the Charter of
Rights but definitely not by
Premicr Glen Clark.
His NDP government has
ruthlessly trainpled on that
right with its infamous
“Human Rights” legislation. Now, anyone
stepping out of line can be hauled before a

- Human Rights Council composed of appointed

NDP hacks and suffer a penalty of up to
$100,000 — without ever seeing the inside of
a court of faw,

“Stepping out of line” means saying or pub-
lishing anything that “indicates” discrimina-
tion against a person or group, or is even “like-
ly” to expose them to hatred or contempt.
Moreover, the Human Rights Commission is
now empowered to seek out alleged violations
and force media to hand over documents even
if there is no complainant,

You may well wonder what the long estab-
lished laws of libel and defamation are for,

especially in in this age of class actions on behalf

Ad and ‘yon

undoubtedly continue to be
used by a new NDP govern-
ment.

For proof, we have the
NDP’s equally obnoxious
Election Act. It forces any per-
son or group wishing to participate in the clec-
tion debate with paid advertising to (a) register
with the Chief Electoral Officer, and (b) limit
their expenditure to $5,000 — a ludicrously
small sum in light of present-day media costs.

So what happened last week when the
National Citizens Coalition got around this
restriction by using Washington State cable TV
and radio to bring its election message to B.C.
voters? A letter to “All Media” from CEO Bob
Patterson warning that any advertising of the
NCC's ads over KVOS-TY and KiSM-FM
would bring the full force of the law down on
the offending B.C. newspapers or broadcasters.

if you find it hard to believe such naked
political denial of our right to hear and be
heard can take place in the Canada of 1996,

- hither

dictator's first victims,
gaa

ee Prey
CELEBRATE the 85th birthday of Lensdate -
Elementary tomorrow, May 23, at the stu-°0
dents’ production of “This Olde School”. in, the
Centennia! Theatre. Curtain 7:30 p.m. Box.
office tickets $7 (children $5) ... Walk for,
charity in the Kiwanis Amblethon, 9am. to
noon Sunday, May 26, along the West Van
Seawall. Get your Passport for lots of prizes,
entertainment, mascots at Ambleside Park -
starting point ... Many happy returns of tomor- :
row, May 23, to City Mayor Jack Loucks ..
More of the same Friday, May 24; to News -

managing editor Timothy Renshaw |. Anda (0 :
birthday bouquet Saturday, May 25, to North -

Van's June Martin.
oa Q

WRIGHT OR WRONG: In dreams and iove 2k
nothing i is ‘impossible. a