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HiSiS YOUR Brain. :

OD BLESS the NDP team in Victoria:

they have brought humor back to
provincial politics.

Not just titters and behind-the-sieeve
snickers but good old-fashioned belly laughs.
And not just every once in a while, but almest
daily.

Not since the final days of Wild Bill Vander
Zalm has the B.C. public been afforded such
a string of governmental jests as has been
unleashed by Mike Harcourt and his band of
merry pranksters thus far this year. ©

The only question guffawing voters will
surely be asking is why would the siapstick
socialists waste all their best material before
calling the next provincial election?

The gift of official humor might well be
repaid by grateful members of the humor-
starved public with a second term, so long as
the Harcourt jesters can guarantee another

five years of hilarity. —-

Only a band of specially gifted: jokesters
would follow the Robin Blencoe skit and its
brilliantly played intrigue of mysterious sex- |
ual harassment charges with 4 sequel involy-
ing government officials and lewd Internet 2-
mail promising great sex to those who keep
the chain intact.

Timing is everything in comedy, and this :
latest NDP episode proves that the current _
government of the people is unsurpassed in.
comedic timing.

For those who don’t share the socialist
sense of humor, however, the goings-on: in-
Victoria might seem more like a colossal
waste of time and money and further proof
that the NDP has Jong oversinyed its wel-.
come,

But, hey, lighten up, sombre stick-in-the-
muds: it’s only politics. ‘

THis 18 YouR BRAN afer
WATCHING FOUR Week OF
Fig OF ounFemn TH.

" pline, means too many MPs and
MLAs are often prevented from
doing very much individually, com-
pared with the more unfettered,
free-speaking members of the U.S.
Congress. Often they can’t give full
_value for money. ~

"No, Prime Minister. What
Canada needs is not six extra feder-
al parliamentarians but about 300

THE WESTERN Worid’s
most over-governed country
is about to become even *
more ‘so, Canada’s parlia-
“cMment is to get six additional
“MPs...
eo This, gays the Chretien govern-
ment, will reflect population’
es in Ontario (four extra .

N. Van thief ‘was.
a ‘complete joke’

Dear Editor: monitoring, repaiting ‘and bar-

ring my business to the judge or.

-members) ‘and B.C. (two extza).
»y The new ridings aré'to be in place
for. the nexi federal election:
‘to Thank-you ‘véry much, Prime.
Minister, but we need 301 MPs:
instead of the.present 295 like that
hole you- -know-where. -

True, B.C, and Ontario are enti- ,

“ted, to a proportionately bigger
represent tion than currently: ‘That,
however, has nothing whatsoever to
do with actual: numbers — which -

in ‘Canada’ 's Case are little short of.

The US with a population
nearly: 10 times greater than ours.
has’ 335. senators and representa :
tives! fin “its'two federal houses —
one, Senator or representative for
roughly. every 550,000 people:

»Canada, with 399. senators and ©

Even voliician hay ¢ Germany.
(population 80.3 million) functions ©
» with just 741 members in its two
federal ‘chambers, or one for about
"every 108,400 citizens...’
: Compared with the U.S., it’s ae
similar story at state and province.

around the same size as that of
Canada, gets by with a single state

‘ spokesman for roughly every
170,000 people. a

Yet in Ontario and’ B.C., for
example, the ratios are approxi-

‘mately one to 77,000 and one to
"43,000 respectively. *

+ Canada’s bloated excess of so-

+ Called legislators costs us dearly in,
: more ways than one.

Over and above handsome

‘salaries, allowances and super-rich. |
-. pensions, every MP. and MLA also
- adds personal office overhead to
: the bill:

For federal and provincial levels

: combined the total paid by taxpay-
: ers comes to many hundreds of
_ ‘millions. '

And that’s not all, of course.

«The bigger the legislative body -

itself, the bigger becomes its even

“ more costly bureaucracy.”

Also, the British parliamentary

‘ fewer —Starting with two senators

per province, like the U.S, model,
for a total Senate of 20...

_ Then restructure the Commons
to a tidy 80 MPs (Newfoundland 2,
P.E.], t, Nova Scotia 2, New
Brunswick 2, Quebec 20, Ontario
28, Manitoba 3, Saskatchewan 3,
Alberta 7, B.C.:10, Yukon 1,
N.W.T. 1).

This would provide one federal

spokesman for every 300,000 or so __

Canadians — leving us still repre-
sented in Ottawa nearly twice as
generously as American citizens ‘-

_ are in Washington, and at a quarter

of today’s cost. Ask Paul Martin,
the guy struggling to pay off
Canada’s overdrawn credit card,
what on earth is wrong with that.

: The obvious answer has to be: °
“Not a dam thing!” |
MANY HAPPY RETURNS of
tomorrow, April 13, to Mt.
Seymour Lion Tom Lucas ... And
’ ditto Friday, April 14, to his fellow
Leo Al Cummings.
WRIGHT OR WRONG: ‘Almost
all great ideas that changed the
world came from someone sitting ©

* Geductible

Re: News Viewpoint “Justice :

derailed” March 8.

As one of the businesses hit
twice in 48 hours by Mr.
Richard Warner on his stealing

spree,.and as a former probation”

officer, I think his sentence was
a complete joke.

My building. was hit ‘eight’

times in 1994, One business was

hit four times and was dropped.”
by its, insurance company, after,
_ upping the deductible to $1,000.

That’ business . was | forced.’ to

The fourth break and eater *: f
‘idea “as he: might: not’ ‘like! my;

into their. business i was’ while

they had a monitored ‘alarm sys-
“tem and bars on ‘the windows. -

Obviously the crooks know they
can be in and out’ before West

~ Vancouver's finest can arrive.

For this man’ not to have been

“made. to make :some form of
restitution to” the - businesses .

_ affectéd is shameful. . o
Maybe if. I sent the i increase

in my. insurance policy, as well...

the .. difference in my
“(from $250 "to

$1,000), the. cost of alarming,

' the attorney general, they’ might”
‘think twice about: letting’ these:

guys walk .:. and believe’ me,.

" two years probation is a walk.::”

We. once calculated ‘that it.

_took approximately..13 Separate |.

offences before a career ctimin
would make it to the.big house.”

/(a sentence more than two years.
Jess a day).: ;

I wanted to ‘sign. amy, name to

. this letter, but ‘a :friend ‘advised

me that since the.very subject’ of

‘this letter is, calmly, walking. the

streets, it might: ‘not.be a “good:,

opinion’ ‘and’ express: his own in
some fashion. ;

» they: caught him’ “ delivering

opinion, I have very tittle confi-
dence in our “legal, system.” (it

~ shames the word justice to call iti:

a. “justice” system. ):
- | Unfortunately, it is newspaper ;
policy that they:do not publish a;":

letter if no name is attached.

‘IT guess I'll take my chances.

Ken R. Nicolson
' West Vancouver :

“Jevels; California, with a population ‘ _ system, with its s rigid caucus disci- ., inachair.” | |.

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