1 DON'T know why. but] just can’t work up a lot of righteous anger about Pantygate or the Great Valentine’s Day Lingerie Caper. If it weren't for the fact that two individuals at ‘the B.C, Trade Development | Corp. lost their jobs, I'd . limit my reaction to three “words: ‘tacky, tacky, tacky. , ° But the reality is, two mate employees ai the corporation were | “:fired for sending G-string panties to two female employees and to the star of this tawdry soap opera, cor poration president Oksina Exell. “. Lagree completely. with - Supreme Court Justice Thomas - Braidwood's ruling that David Wright had been wrongfully dis- » missed from his job for his role in the panty incident, ©’ The judge characterized the inci- ~ dent, which occurred of Feb, 14, ve 1992) as'an “ill. conceived prank” ~ but‘one that didn’t justify Wright’ dismissal. (His fellow prankster inz . thes corporation, Joe McKay, bas yel io come to court for his wrongful “; dismissal suit.) . . poration should bave been Like so many others, Pim appalled that-this case ever got to court, With a modicun of sense and finesse from management, the cor capable of handling this as an internal mat- ler thal would have highlighted the need for sexual harissment eduen- tion, - The judge also commented thut suading the G-strings to the three. female employees may have been a form of sexual harassment in the workplace. But te ruled the corporation dido’t have the greunds to fire Wright because the organization hadn't adequately enforced its sex: ual harassment policy and had done nothing to educate its employees (which perhaps explains why Wright said, “At the time | didn't Know this was sexual harassment otherwise E wouldn't have been “ involwed.”), The working environment at (he corporation should be absolutely critical 10 everyone's judgment of this incident. ‘This was a warkphice with it poster in the lunchroom showing scantily clad mate-strip- pers. Mug shots of men working for the corporation had been pasted Eetherine JUST ADD WATER aver the faces of the strippers. This was a workplace that had a "Male “Sex Object Of The Month Aw: signed by both Oksana Exell ag Tami Rustad, another Fecipient of the panties. Since there's no indi¢ ation that Exell’s and Rustad's signatures were forged on the @ avattd, we are obliged to ask ourselves: Were the BY female employees at the corpora. tion in 1992 timid, oppressed vic- tims of these openly sexuat hijinks orwere they going along forthe ride’ By alfaccounts, the lattes seems to be true. Why else would Tami Rustad have added ber mime toa letters of suppert for David Wright, a letter signed by 34 corporation employees and filed in the wrongful dismissal case? I'd be as hotas Hades if [felt that the three female employees were the innocent victims of a workplace where males forced sex- ual obsessions and fantasies on them. But let's be honest — it's clear from the evidence that B.C. Trade Development Corp, in 1992 wasn't exactly an ever-vigilant front in the fight for women’s ~ rights, Given the taste in lunchroom art at the corporation, f find it almost. laughable, if not unbelievable, that Exell would have us take seriously her interpretation of the women's reaction of the arrival of the panties; “They were so horrified that they were frozen in their tracks, “Imagine young professional women sitting around talking about ntygs corporate matters.in their business suits andl being confronted with than If she had the smarts to be appointed president of the B.C. Tride Development Corp., Exell should know that a business suit does not a professional make. And it's obvious thal the atmosphere at the corporation has been somewhat thin on professionalism given, the past tolerance for explicit sexual communication, cod As to what many people consid: er the crux of this istue, lve thought long and hard over whether Exell should be sacked for her criti. cat role in this fiasco. i Based on the evidence that she did nothing to foster and deyelop a workplace free of sexual harass- ment... based on her authorization of the launch of an intensive two- week investigation that included interviews with lingerie store clerks | .» based on the considerable hard- ship two employees suffered * because Exell handled the incident in-a draconian, highly. punitive - \ manner, she should lose her privi-_), teged position. I'd say that for any-° body. woman or man, who turned in this performance. FIRST RLEEE NSE Felts tte A =p council’s nose out of private business | | Head in in sand : , ene Crist “Winning, with twinning,” beg to differ. fey a ith ama’ private: -secto “economic developer agencies sea capead mountains of taxpayers’ dollars in. promoting business relating to Canada — for, the most Part for.’ no quantifi able return to this country. :: ». 3 The very inst thing the already over-burdéned “taxpayers on the North Shore. need or'want is another tier, of. government world- travellers family restaurants Spectacular Spring Specials AT ALL PARTICIPATING BINO'S FAMILY RESTAURANTS "Special Omelette Fruit Topped French Toast Beef Dip Swiss Chicken Melt: a Roast Turkey Liver & Onions swanning around the globe ai ‘their expense. If companies on. ‘the North Shore require, advice or assistance in developing. contacts and business in export - ‘markets, they would be well advised, as a Canada — or the‘provincial government agen- cies who claim o provide exporl and investment development services. I have, for’ a aumber of years, admired Coun. Crist’s energy and commitment to this communi- ty; however, if he wants to act as an international “deal broker” and promoter for North Shore companies, I suggest that he pursues his objec- tives ‘through contributions from private-sector organizations, whom he may be able to convince _ 138 BHP * 4 wheel ABS disc brakes first stép, to contact the federal _ ". government agency responsible — Industry thal district council is the sort of dynamic agency : who can produce results for them. Lastly, there is absolutely no evidence to sup- * port twinning as an effective tool for economic growth. In my experience, for every success there are a hundred examples of municipal government ' waste, abuse, incompetence and just plain jun- keting. I very much hope that this council will prove as sensible as the last and recognize that this is not an areca of activity council should be involved in. . Paul Daynes North Vancouver *1.8 Litre DOHC « Power windows, locks & mirrors 53.98 stereo P.S. THE NEW 318i CONVERTIBLES HAVE JUST ARRIVED! * AM/FM six speaker Park Shore Motors 1500 FELL AVENUE NORTH VANCOUVER 985-9344 Dear Editor: : ' -Contiary ‘to the claim in: your April 8 editorial, North Vancouver District Council . did not say no to mutticultural- - ism. They did, however, say no to taxpayer-funded, official : multiculturalism. If you fail to . discern a ‘difference between: the. two then you’ve had your: head in the sand. _ Christopher Lambert ~~ North Vancouver a THE: ULTIMATE _ DRIVING EXPERIENCE.