AS a followup to last week’s investigation into the deleterious effects of summer sun on the rea- soning powers of civic pols, Ripping Yarns today presents more evi- dence that your fearless leaders are imbibing something that the rest of us aren’t. Exhibit A: Red Alert!: Moe Sihota, newly appointed minister for social development and eco- nomic security, reports that he has a glan to improve the lot of B.C, working folk. Best of all, he says he can do it with- out cutting taxes, Are vou feeling econoini- . cally secure yet? Sihora is set to wade into a swamp of social development issues ranging from the mini- mum wage to day care and the wage gap between genders, All of which will provide ample opportunity for bulking-up tax miailbox loads and lengthening bureau- cratic payrolls — NDP special- ites that Moe apparently believes working people just can’t get enough of. Too bad Moe and his mob of misguided socialists don't seem to comprehend the sim- ple reality that working peop: : and other self-reliant fol don’t need governments stick- ing their expensive and ineffi- cient snout into mere social engineering projects. If Moe Sthota really wants to help working people, tax éuts should be at the top of his To Do list. If he can’t do anything on that count he should get into another line of business. Come Enept bridge solution Dear Editor: Recent letters from Cliff duFresne and Erwen Smith about the Lions Gate Bridge rehabilitation fiasco are right on the mark, espe- * cially as to the autocratic stance of the Vancouver Park Board pro- hibiting the widening of the causeway. This whole mess of the First Narrows crossing was brought into focus for me recently as 1 drove over the Alex Fraser bridge on the way to Delta. What a magnificent structure: stylish, six wide lanes, and as I recall built in reasonable time. without any great fuss, or what pears to be the norm these days —~ public and political postur- ing and infighting between various levels of government. This is the type of crossing we need at First Narrows. Anything less in this day and age is ic. If we sec ourselves as a great city/ region of this country and a world tourist mecca then let our governments act responsi ly. Surely the major city of western Canada deserves better than the inept provincial government “solution” of widening the lanes ona roulette on a crazy causeway. Robert Hickson North Vancouver robert h@be.zympatico.ca “Native JeweLtery/ 'Wepoinc Rincs” - 641 Wert 37d Strset, forth 988-9215 ‘Mexican Cruise for two FREE! - Book a Club tour - and enjoy a 3 DAY POOL PASS! . le old inadequate bridge and continuing three-lane DEELERS ANTIQUES WD ku. 1965 “te Curios |< AMBLESIDE a Ny ALL 3 900 Exhibit B: If you're considering a life of crime, now might be a good time to get in on the ground floor. Recent developments in Canada bode well for the criminally inclined. Consider for example that, according to a recent news report, the federal cabinet is proposing changes to Correctional Service of Canada regulations that “sould remove the power of prison officers to suspend inmates from work training programs for disobedience or misbehaviour.” The change would mean that, whether they worked or just spent the day relaxing in their cells, inmates would still collect their daily $6.99 jail- house wage. Paying people to go to jail is tough enough to compre- hend for simpletons like me, but to consider continuin that payment regardless oF what an inmate does in jail to rehabilitate him or herself is an insult tc every law-abiding _ person across the land. We are also told thar, while employment insurance reforms have cut off most unemployed Canadians from benefits once they have been out of work for more than a year, those in jail are exempt from that rule change. Spending time in a jail- house is apparently considered an exceptional case under the new rules. © So going to jail won’t interfere with your cash flow and it won’t foul up your employment insurance claims ones you get out. . at’s next, bonuses for inmates who put in overtime? Paid vacations in lieu of jail time served? ogg ey ae STORES are TAKING PART ina this HUGE SALES EV NT! DON’T MISS OUT! Consignments not included. 4391 Main Street, ey Exhibit C: West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast MP John Reynolds has delivered another installment of news from Parliament Hill, where your friendly pols, bureaucrats and assorted gov- ernment minions are hard at work incinerating your tax dollars. Ina recent Reynolds Wrap dispatch, the West Vancouver- Sunshine Coast MP excerpts items from Reformer John Williams’ apdy tided Waste Report, a compendium of tax- dollar-torching tales with cnough real-life horrors to rival The Blair Witch Project. For example, Canada’s National Film Board took care of $15 million during the 1997-98 fiscal year. Produced by that esteemed board from your investment were such classics as Frank the Wrabbit, a film about how humans and rabbits formulate and justify beliefs ($194,885); Gypsies of Spinia, a reel about gypsies in Slovakia ($166,881); Rats. which explores rodent/human linkages ($140,077); Stolen Moments, an examination of lesbian history and contempo- rary lesbian life and culture ($40,526). If the latter is any- where close to being as outra- geous as the lesbian porn clas- sic Bubbles Galere, which was funded in part by a $55,000 Canada Council grant, we'll be laughing all the way to the ank Seeking employment options? If you have the right stuff to be director of the Southeast Asian Gender Equity Program, the Canadian International Development Agency wants you. Base salary runs to $75,000. Benefits and other allowances on top, of “OVAnd no Waste Repo no Waste rt would be compiete without an update on how your $145 million worth of federal * Reproductions Sunday, August 8, 1999 — North Shore News — 7 Millennium Project moncy is being invested. How about Sing 2000, in which a 2,000-member choir performs two shows of music by separatist songbird Michel Rivard? For $306,000, it’s a bargain. Or here’s another creative way to burn up close zo $400,000: organize a national campaign to have thousands of people across the country fly kites on the first Sunday in June in 2000. The New Brunswick Lung Association was first in with that one, so you'll have to be a little more creative. A Mastodon Millennium Project? A Flag Park? A video king on the history of apple cider in Quebec? Sorry, already taken. But keep trying. 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