Deep inside KGB Headquaters, Ivan finished my fackn tumed, gulped my mug of hot chocolate and settled ack into my overstuffed armchair | felt a tug on the cushion behind. me. "We Know you have a Twinkie Bar and bwo pork chops hidden somewhere in : Moscow,” Chirped Zin | Colonel Boris... "Youcell that fluff a cushion?’ snee ORKERS at North Vancouver- based Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. deserve better. The company’s North Vancouver yard has been all but abandoned; only a hand- ful of employees still work at the- once- massive operation. And while Versatile’s senior executives have moved on or been compensated by the shipyard’s ownership, these who toiled in the bowels of Versatile’s ships and on the shipyard’s shop floors have been left without futures and without financial! compensation. Many have spent the most productive years of their lives with Versatile and its predecessors; many were only a few years from retirement when they were laid off and will have virtually no chance of mov- ing on to other careers or positions; most of the workers have been reduced to col- pensation for compensating The company agreement: it and Ottawa. fj Unity issue calls for Anglophone minority in Quebec. The reverse is true. oo Dear Editor: “ 2 W.A. Burton’s comment on my mS defence of the distinct society a clause (guest column, Dec. 8, I said that the Anglophone mi- cook, 1991) comes as no surprise. nority would be far more secure eee within a Canada that accepted ~ Anyone following his frequent distinct society status for Quebec letters to several publications will than they would in a Quebec that lecting welfare. They are demanding some kind of com- spired a dexterous finger-peinting exercise. be familiar with his aggressive disiike of Canada’s French-speak- ing community. However distasteful his views might be he is currently entitled to express them. He is not, however, entitled to misquote me to the point of twisting my position. He states was driven to independence by Canada’s rejection of that status. Mr. Burton is also in error when he states that my argument for keeping Quebec in Confedera- tion was based solely on economics. The cost of national disintegration transcends narrow INSIGHTS SOMEHOW, SPY THRILLERS JUST ARENT THE SATE NEWS VIEWPOINT Shipwrecked investing their lives in the shipyard. They want to be put out to pasture with some dignity. But the plight of the unemployed is a hard stone from which to wring much sympathy. The question of who is responsible for Versatile workers has in- has said there is no sever- ance package under the union's collective points to the federal and provincial governments; governments vow to lock into the matter: they point to their watches; and the workers’ union blames the company and the bankrupt promises of politicians: it points to Versatile, Victoria The workers are left alone to shout in the emptiness — pointiess. ae LETTER OF THE DAY tolerance economic considerations. It means losing the country that most of us love and to which we have a deep emotional attachment. Let us not be embarrassed to use the word patriotism, } earnestly hope that Mr. Bur- ton and those who share his views will be able to generate within themselves 2 quality of under- standing and tolerance that will help us maintain the unity of a great country. Don Lanskail West Vancouver All 46% Reform must do is show > it can deliver MAYBE THERE were too many sexual assault stories screaming for news space. That’s the most charitable ex- planation I can dream up for the scant attention — if any — given by the popular media for last week’s Maclean’s- Decima poll on the Reform party. Outside Quebec 46% of Cana- dians said they were ‘‘somewhat likely”? or ‘“‘very likely’’ to vote Reform in the next federal elec- tion. In the 1988 election the Tories won 170 seats with 43% of the popular vote. Quebec was omitted because the party so far declines to run any candidates there (more on that anon). And like the spring spar- row, of course, a single poll is no guarantee of an election summer for the Reformers. But undoubt- edly this one accurately reflected today’s smouldering rebellion among Anglo voters. They’ve had it up to the ears with helplessly watching the three old-line parties screw up. They don’t merely want new policies. They want a new SYSTEM — one that gives them a real voice in the nation’s business instead of being at the mercy of five-year dictator- ships. Such a system is what the un- tried Reform party platform promises: referendums on vital issues; recall (i.e., firing) of MPs who flout their constituents; free votes in the Commons by MPs, regardless of the stand taken by the party leader and cabinet ministers. Above all, an elected, equal, ef- ” fective Senate — enabling the West and the Atlantic provinces to defend their interests against the overpowering clout now wielded in Parliament by Ontario and Quebec. Not lost on TV-watching voters is the working of the American system, whose better features the Reform party has adopted. True, the U.S. form of government (like all the rest) is imperfect too — often slow and cumbersome, and no more immunze to bad players than any other. But these are HUMAN — not structural — fail- ings. The system in itself is much more genuinely democratic than our own. To date the Reform party’s main error, which it should hasten to correct, is in not offering itself to Quebecers — a majority of whom share Anglo disillusionment with the current antics of politi- cians and want to remain Cana- dian. How Preston Manning and his flock, lacking any experience in government, would perform with their hands on the levers of power is still anyone’s guess. Otherwise, last week’s 46% score might well have been even higher — since the poll made one thing crystal clear. Canadians are thirsting for .— small ‘r’ reform. The challenge for big ‘R’ Reform is to convince them it can actually deliver. If it succeeds, it could hold the trump. cards in the new 1993 Commons. WRAP-UP: *‘Mr. Park Royal’’ has moved on — but happily not ; away. After 23 years as promotion - - and marketing manager of cos Canada’s first-ever shopping cen-_ tre, Per Danielsen, one of B.C.’s top professionals in those fields, has now established a problem- solving service for North Shore businesses and industries seeking . customized marketing and promo- * tion help on a consulting or pro- ject basis. His number is 291-1900. ... Chairing for a second year the: Feb. 1 Canadian Diabetes Assn.’s ‘Best Ball 1992 — Salute To Spain” at the Hotel Vancouver is North Van’s Patty Hearn. For tickets and info call 732-1331 ... And many happy returns tomor- row, Jan. 18, to 48-year West Van ‘‘pioneer’? Margaret Stewart — former West Bay Elementary .-, teacher —— who celebrates her 80th birthday with husband Warren . . -: and their family. a WRIGHT OR WRONG: To get a” kick out of success you must first - have almost failed. oo my Publisher..............Peter Speck Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution 986-1337 Nosth Share Managing Editor .. Timothy Renshaw Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subscriptions 986-1337 managed ht Associate Editor........Noel Wright Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax 985-2227 byte Advertising Director ...Linda Stewart Newsroom 985-2131 Administration 985-2131 Comptroller............. Doug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph iil of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year, Mailing sates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envetope. Tee VOICE OF NONTH AND WHET AMCOUVER: : MEMBER ‘north shore. SUNDAY + WEONSSDAY - FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. 7 V7M 2H4 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) SDA DIVISION Entire contents © 1992 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. PRESTON MANNING... reform- ing the system itself.