3 - Wedaesday, Februars 1. t989 - North Store News APPOINTED ASSCCIATE MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE MIP Collins named to cabinet CAPILANO-HOWE Sound MP Mary Collins was one of four B.C. MPs included in the new 39-member federal cab- inet announced Monday by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. CAPILANO-Howe Sound MP Mary Collins ...‘‘women too sre concerned about peace and securi- ty.” By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter Collins, who was re-elected to her second term in the Nov. 21, 1988 federal clection, was ap- pointed associate minister of na- tional defence. She was one of six Tory MPs to be elevated to cabinet status for the first time. The new portfolio will add $44,500 to her current $77,700 an- nual MP’s salary, which includes $19,400 for expenses. Collins said she was excited and honored by the posting, which represents the first time a woman POLLUTION MEETING Environmentalists call for cleanup of BH. Sound mills PULP AND paper mills will! continue to pollute Howe Sound until the provincial government forces the mills to clean up their production process, West Vancouver en- vironmentalist Terry Jacks told a meeting of over 350 con- cerned Howe Sound residents last week. “The workers should be fully compensated and the mills shut down...until they are environmen- tally-friendly,”” Jacks said in an emotional speech. Jacks, a North Shore resident for 20 years and the founder of Environmental Watch, said he has watched tke Howe Sound waters being slowly killed by the outpour- ing of deadly dioxins from the mills. He quoted a study that linked dioxins with a high level of lung cancer in Howe Sound residents, and spoke of evidence pointing to an unacceptably high presence of dioxins in the Sound’s seal life. Peter Bentley, chief executive officer of Canadian Forest Pro- ducts, declined to attend the meeting because he said the ‘‘deck would be stacked against him,”’’ organizer Sheila Paterson said. MLA John Cashore compared the failure of the Social Credit government to fine the polluting mills with a parent who sets stan- dards for children but doesn’t discipline them. Cashore, the NDP environment critic, believes the mills should be shut down, but he said Environ- ment PAinister Sruce Strachan lacks the political clout to repre- sent the environment because he is not a member of the inner cabinet. Consequently Strachan has become an ‘‘apologist for polluters, rather than an advocate for the environment,’* Cashore added. Strachan and Federal Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon were invited to participate in the forum, but neither replied, Paterson said. Without government action the mills will pursue their own economic interests, said Doug McKenzie, a union worker at Woodfibre. And these interests are a com- . mitment to profit and to their shareholders, he said, adding that the mills will not voluntarily use pollution control because it would cost millions of dollars. “Without the regulatory agen- cies policing and enforcing the By ELEZABETH COLLINGS Contributing Writer regulations, the mills are just not going to comply,’’ McKenzie said. Rather than shut down the mills, the government’s response has been to shut down Howe Sound, said Dr. Ehor Boyanowsky, an ex- pert on crimes against the en- vironment. Boyanowsky warned that the failure of the government to res- pond to moderate protest could spur more radical splinter groups and civil disobedience. The technology exists to purify the production process, but the po- litical will to enforce its use simply isn’t there, he said. Howe Sound Pulp and Paper at Port Mellon plans to modernize its operation in two years, but local shellfish operators said it may be too late. “We've had a good quality name all througa the U.S. and Canada for prawns and crabs — now the name is being hurt,’’ said Jerry Mathieson, vice-president of the West Coast Prawn Fishermen's Association. The indefinite closure of some parts of Howe Sound to recre- ational and commercial fishing causes fishermen to exhaust the stock of fish in the areas open for fishing, Mathieson added. Bruce Adams, a local crab fish- erman, told the audience he wou!d be selling his operation because he couldn't produce a product that harmed peopie’s health. Many Bowen Island and North Shore residents echoed concerns about how to clean the waters of Howe Sound. One audience member suggested the millworkers should strike and environmentalists would join the picket line to support them. But a pulp mill worker told au- dience members to take their com- plaints to the government and mill owners, rather than use militant tactics: the workers — real culprits.” “Don't go after jeopardize the has been appointed to the national defence portfolio. The appointment, she said, ‘‘in- dicates women too are concerned about peace and security.”" Collins said that though the new post meant markedly more respon- sibility for her, it would make her more effective as an MP ‘‘because I will have access to the decision- making process. I’m excited. It’s a good reflection on Capilano-Howe Sound.” But she declined to comment on the future of the Tory gov- ernment’s proposed $8 billion plan to build 10 or 12 nuclear sub- marines in the wake of former defence minister Perrin Beatty’s reappointment as minister of na- tional health and welfare and Bill McKnight’s new posting as the minister of national defence. Collins's specific responsibilities within the defence ministry will be determined over the next few weeks. The 48-year-old Vancouver-born Collins was first clected in 1984 in the Capilano riding with 56 per cent of the vote. She was returned in 1988 with 47 per cent of the votes cast in Capilano-Howe Sound. She is the first North Shore MP to be appointed to a cabinet posi- tion since former Capilano MP Ron Huntington became minister of small business and industry in 1979, Other B.C. MPs in the new cab- inet in addition to Collins are Vancouver Centre MP Kim Campbell, who was appointed minister of state for Indian affairs and northern development; Prince George-Peacs River MP Frank Oberle, the former minister of state for science and technology, who was appointed minister of state for forestry and will head the new federal department of forest- ty; and Richmond MP Tom Sid- don, who will remain as fisheries and oceans minister. Of the other four MPs ap- pointed to the cabinet for the first time, two were from Quebec and two were from Ontario. Prime Minister Mulroney also announced changes to the size, structure and role of cabinet committees and the creation of four new policy committees: en- vironment, cconomic policy, cul- tural affairs and national identity, and human resources, income support and health. BEEING A mom can be a lot of fun...sometimes. Margaret Humphries has an in-pool shower thanks to four-year-old son Ian while 14-month-old daughter Tessa makes a splash. The trio were participants in a recent Teddy Bear Swim at the West Vancouver Recreation Centre. Doug Collins..... Editorial Page Bob Hunter Lifestyles Mailbox ... North Shore Now. TV Listings What's Going On Wednesday, sunny with cloudy periods. High near -5°C. Thursday, mostly claudy with chance of flurries. Low, -10°C; high near -1°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885