The orth re Hews fs published ty Worth Shore Free citss Ltd., Publisher Peter Speck, Publisher 985-2131 (101) Comptolier 985-2131 (133) fog Editor: Sales & Mertetng Director “95-2131 (i16) 960-0511 (319) Newsroom Fax Classified, Accounting , ‘ & Mala Office Fax” . 985-2131 (194) Mclredia-S; unity Edites 985-2131 (147) s TOUTHE EDITOR Letters must I include your name, ful address & telephone number. VIA Intermet: trenshaw @ direct.ca “Le > User tDemallbax » = Passwort fetters Entire contents © 1997 North Shore ‘Hurnan Resources Manager 885-2131 (177) MIFFLIN Won'T KNOW WHAT Hit HIM , SIR / News Wie wee iat Me eo vt nee iene cinerar vat amen Costly buffoonery BS IE EAST A II ENS TGA BPI SE ERAS YBicnity mind about Coun. Crist Dear Editor: For a long time I looked upon Ernie Crist as a council- lor who represented me well, and i cast my vote accordingly at every election. However having scen on local television how he behaved at a January meeting when confronted by opposi- tion to his pay raise campaign caused me to change my mind about him. The posed picture of an. affable, smiling representative of his constituents in. the ~ North Shore News of Jan.26 . is the exact opposite of the mean-spirited, - snarling little: man slouched in his chair_and hurling sexist insults at anoth councillor and telling the'au ence who opposed -his view- - point in a very surly manner that they had “opted for mé ocrity” which | observed of the TV coverage of the: m ing. It makes me wonder, how. many of your. readers really think ‘that ‘his picture: in your, paper in any way. projects attitude’ toward’ ; UREAUCRATS have long been the — butt of jokes and perceived as the poor boys of public policy. However unfair “the reputation is, the ‘Story goes that wherev- er a bureaucrat steps in, silliness or a big pay- out will follow. “) J Briday’s strike at North Vancouver School ' District 44 leaps to the fore as'a case of burcau- ‘cratic ineptitude. Although competition will be stiff, the B.C. Public Sector Employers : Association (BCPSEA) may be the 1997 poster child of bureaucratic buffoonery. school board accusations that the BCPSEA: did not inform the board early enough that a deal ratified by the board in ‘November would be rejected by the employers association, .which must approve all school ‘board contracts. Forget also that the board said ‘the BCPSEA brought in guidelines after the board ratified’ it. The BCPSEA replies that it told the schoo! board there could be problems with the agreement before the board ratified it. Forget all that. Fast forward to today. After a one-day strike during which 2,000 teachers and support staff walked out, nearly . | 18,000 kids were forced to stay home, wages were lost, a second mediation process and its costs incurred, and much hand-wringing and . disruption — we have a deal that costs, ahem, more than the original deal ratified by CUPE and the school board in November. The BCPSEA’s assertion that the “end-lift” result is only 2.1% for the new contract com- pared with 2.3% for the prior deal may be cor- rect, but that doesn’t put hard cash in the school board’s coffers. _CUPE wants an investigation of BCPSEA operations. A job for a bureaucrat, perhaps? ‘would Li _ designed to do. Incidentally, L spends 60 or yo hours in his capacity as a councillor.: ¢ to know fi ure includes preparation ,and delivering of lerters'such as th latest one. Perhaps. fromi now. . should pit ‘that figure. top of the’ letters and po he arranges to have printed in: the North Shore News on.a, keep a: record. from week; week of the time consumed 01 his . self-serving opagarid: output. ; W.D. Leggatt .. A U.K. election is expected by spring. Whatever the result, it’s likely to add still further to the eternal mysteries of politics. Prime Minister John Major’s—and his predecessor Margaret Thatcher’s —Tories have ruled Britain for 18 years. Surely, that alone means it’s time for a change to find out what nice young Tony Blair, “New Labor's” handsome, charis- matic leader, can do. And don’t forget, of course, that the Tories are trailing Labor by some 16 points in the polls. Just why is far less clear. Today, lower unem- ployment and inflation, plus rising living stan- dards and increased foreign i investment, make Britain the economic envy of its depressed European Union partners. As well, the Labor Party’s success with the pollsters has come only after it junked most of its socialist policies of the past 50 years. Under Mr. Blair — who bubbles over with the enthusiasm of a star RRSP pitchman on a lecture tour and sends his kids to private schools — the Labor wolves have temporarily donned and yon the clothing of “Liberal” sheep. The ultimate key to the clecticn, ‘how ever, is the EU’s call for Britain to join the European Monetary Union (EMU) by 2000, thereby replacing its pounds and pence sterling with the new “Euro” banknotes and coins. On this issue the positions of both parties are, for the moment, a tad fuzzy. Major and a por- tion of the Conservative Party lean towards play- ing ball with the EMU. Blair indicates he’s in no rush to sign up, though not promising he never would. However, other Conservatives (the “Euroskeptics”) regard the EMU asa death blow to Britain’s economic sovereignty and reject any idea of going along with funny “Euro” money. An unknown number of these Tory rebels are reportedly rallying to billionaire Sir James Goldsmith’s new Referendum Party (RP), which wants the U.K.’s overall links to Europe put to a national referendum. Options for voters would be to quit the European Union altogether or, at most, work with it tor mutual advantage in a looser, more independent role. The RP talks of fielding up to 600 candidates. While it might not elect many MPs, the splitting of the Tory vote could seal Major’s “fate. On their economic record a further term for the Tories makes sound sense. But they almost certainly won't win it — due in no small part to their leader’s flirtation with a Europe economi- cally much worse off. Politics versus sound sense in Which again shows how wide, the gap between politics and sound sense. ees. HANS BENTZEN’S sudden’ death six-da ays ag in no way alters the fact that his self-financing’ fun "nel project remains the ideal answer.as a new, crossing. His highly qualified professional ates live on and are fully capable. of realizing vision — which would now also bea fitting mon-: ument to a distinguished B.C. and international. . engineer. . LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS, network rail you: - drop at the North Van Chamber of Commerce a Trade Show, 3-8 p.m. tomorrow, Feb.13, in the - Squamish Nation Centre, 100 Capilano Rd: — free draws, silent auction, hors d’oeuvre, . live - music and no-host bar. Business was never such ~ fun! ... Meanwhile, happy Birthday: Friday, “Febo 14, to West Van Kiwanian Terry Higgins ..: Say’ that again Saturday, Feb. 15, to West Van's Fr Cragg and North Van Kiwanian Jay Firman. ee © WRIGHT OR WRONG —for Valentine’s: Love is the craziest of all games. There are either two _ winners or none. . cae — The North Shore News believes strongly in fret- . dom of speech wind the right of all sides in a debate to: . : 7 be heard. The columnists published in the News pre. sent differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the newspaper itself. ;