re. 2 Yee gre? Clos On AG - Wednesday, January 11, 1984 Gi editorial page. eee “og : ’ - North Shore News Boom and bust In his latest press release West Van-Howe Sound MLA John Reynolds makes a per- suasive case for the government’s restraint program, but stops short of stressing the glar- ingly obvious conclusion. Mr. Reynolds cites dramatic examples of what happened to the province’s income over the past three years — largely as a result of the global recession. Total natural resource revenues in fiscal 1982-83 dropped to $544 million, compared to $1.32 billion in 1979-80. Over the same three years forest industry revenues plummeted to $86 million as against the 1979-80 peak of $632 million. The government’s receipts from petroleum and natural gas were off by $350 million during the same period. Overall last year, there was a shortfall of more than 60% in the natural resource dollars needed to nrain- tain health, welfare and education programs. Despite this, Mr. Reynolds points out that 1983 health care expenditures (at $2.45 billion the largest in provincial history) were up by 7.3% over 1982, while the Human Resources budget (more than $1.25 billion) increased by 14%. The clear corollary needs equal emphasis. Victoria’s first duty along the rocky road to recovery must be to work for an end to B.C.’s former dependence on _ natural resource revenue and seize every opportunity to build, in its place, a modern diversified, labor- intensive industrial economy. Only by ceasing to rely on the boom-bust cycle of resource markets can we assure B.C.’s long-term economic health, beat unemploy- ment and pay as we go for needed services to people. Try 6/49, Hugh With millions of Canadians dreaming of what they’li do when they win this weekend’s estimated $10 million 6/49 jackpot, the biggest-ever lottery prize in North America, we hope Finance Minister Hugh Curtis is keeping an eye on the possibilities. It might pay off handsomely for him to buy a modest 10,000 tickets for B.C. with petty cash from the Treasury. $10 million could ease quite a bit of restraint — and Hugh’s entitled to his dreams, too. Fe VORA GP UNETTTS AtSm ERT VRNEDETwED sunday news north shore | news 1139 Lonsdate Ave.. North Vancouver, B.C V7M 2H4 Publisher Pete: Speck Edltor-in-Chiet Noel Wright Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Circutation Subscriptions 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986. 1337 080-7081 Associate Publisher Robert Graham Advertising Director Tim Francis Personnel Director Classified Directo: Circutation Director Berm Hillard Isabelle Jennings Bill McGown Production Director Office Manager Photography Manager Crnnis Johnson Donna Grandy Terry Peters North Ghore Newa, founded in 1969 a5 an InVEpONdeENnt Comunity ewnipapo: and quale under Schocdkute 1H Part IN Paragraph Ht of the tacusm Van Act an qrdotinted each Wednesday and Sunday by North Shore beoe Pross Fld and distituted to every dour on the Morth Shore her ond Class Mai Regist alton Numer 368% Entire contents - 1964 North Shore Free Presse Lid All mghts reserved ‘Snare cpptaons Noth awd Went Var cnwo £6." pe yea Matheny, alos availalytoe of rene Meu COU ind ettty Que atgrtont aati mete ten) Ma@rwate tS and) pr theres wile ft ofr Oe ae aUreased onvotope Member of the B.C. Press Council fay sm G& THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE ‘veep eave saa erve Waa Stem Crt ariemt fry a mtorr) $4700 1ave: aye Woothenaary A Spr lay: ae Some wishful resolutions AT THE START of another year, it is perhaps time for a little wishful thinking about some New Year’s resolutions that would make life a little easier for all of us. Canada Post, for example, could announce there would. be no more postal rate in- creases for at least three . “3 ~ ¢ ~ . I ay, LAY, years. In tandem with that good news, the postal unions might agree to accept wage cuts from their $25,000 per a; ae * ba! z gopsia; ‘Tull, i to tee a 4 By W. ROGER WORTH year salaries, with union leader Jean Claude Parrot preaching that strikes by public sector unions are irres- ponsible. Then there are the politi- cians. In addition to follow- ing the postie lead on pay cuts, they might also resolve not to fight with each other. Instead, Parliament would become a kind of love-in. Friendly discussion would take the place of heated debate. There would be no personal slurs, no cat-calls and the Speaker could use the restful interlude to catch up on her reading. Creating positive new policies and updating older legislation would become simple. Unemployment In- surance, for instance, could be tightened to save tax- payers $2 billion per year. What’s more, all govern- ments could resolve to pro- vide greater support for the small and medium-sized enterprises that are even now creating most of the coun- try’s new jobs. Payroll taxes for small companies would RED JOKER ON THE WALL lt makes one die lau THERE’S A MECHANICAL CONTRAPTION in our apartment building that regularly laughs at me and my neighbors. We've learned to laugh back good-naturedly. The only remaining problem is that all this mirth could eventually cook our goose — and us with it. When the fire alarm starts clanging on the seventh floor, at's not a bit like the book. Nobody makes any move to abandon his or her suite. There's no orderly procession of evacuces to the stairway exw, clutching jewel boxes, warm coats and wet towcls Most times nobody = cven bothers to summon the fire trucks. Instead, a few doors open along the cormdor. Residents cachangce grins and wry head- shakings. If we're fecling sociable, we may linger and chat briefly while we wait fos the manager downstairs (o silence che red monster on the wall Then at's back inside to whatever we were doing The fun had its beginning last spring as a result of well intentioned scal for our safe ty on the part of the city fathers PROUD PANEI West Vancouver munic paliuty decided tn tts wisdom that apartment towers like ours along Bellevue, West Van's “highrese alley’’, must install new state of the art fire alarm systems ata cost, sncidentally, of thousands of dollars For several weeks work men were busy boring holes in walls and pushing milcs of comphi ated wiring up them In addition to corndor bells, heat sensors were mounted inside cach individual suite. An claborate§ clectronic display case full of little green lights -— proudly labelied Chubb 3000 Fire Protection Panel — went up in the lobby. Since then, false alarms have become a _ regular feature of highrise living. In our own building the average is at least once a month. Oc- cupants of similar buildings which have had the full treat- ment along the four-block stretch of Bellevuc tell the same story. The first tame the bells clanged, there was quite an impressive cavalcade of refugees down the 22 flights of stone stars (cacelicnt cxer cise once in a while, tf you're properly dressed for 1). Two or three alarms later the evacuation had thinned to a tnckle. During last week's alarm | held the statrway door open for minutes on end wtthout secing a single soul trot down the cscape route We are wrong, dead wrong lAnow Some day that bell is going to clang for rcal As we roast or asphyxiate, we'll wish we'd kept the habit of obcying But that’s the kind of trouble you store up for yourse!f when you play around with machines that have got the idea they're smarter than their masters. Noel Wright There’s a limit’ to the number of times a scif respecting human ts going to run down 220 steps and out into the rain mercly because an allergic smoke detector gets a speck of dust up tts nostril JOKERS Come to think of tt.) the whole modern urge to put sclf- willed machines in charge of our ‘‘security”’ and convenience creates at icast as many hazards as tt climinates Sometimes admiattcdly. Mainstream Canada be reduced, and the maze of red tape and paperburden would be eliminated. Tax forms would become so sim- ple that even the least mathematically inclined would be able to complete the return. Ottawa, of course, would become honest and forthright with the public, shunning such propaganda endeavors as the recent Throne Speech filled with so many promises the government simply won’t be able to keep them. Consumers, too, could resolve to change their ways. Indeed, the Consumers Association of Canada could team up with farm organiza- tions to lobby for higher food prices, assuming farmers received the benefits. In some cases, farmers might actually eam enough to start paying back their bank loans. Is all of this really wishful thinking? Of course it is. Nevertheless, the recent improvement in the economy is no dream, and while 1984 may not be