6 ~ Sunday,! May 31, 1987 North Shore News | Controntation...? he present B.C. workforce totals about 1,490,000. Subtract the 12.6% jobless and we have approximately 1,300,000 currently drawing a wage cheque. Membership of the B.C. Federation of Labor, which has called tomorrow’s illegal general strike, is given as roughly 250,000, and, in addition, B.C. has some 80,000 other organized workers not affiliated with the Fed but probably called on to honor its picket lines. Mathematically, therefore, the potential effect of Monday’s 24-hour stoppage is that less than 20% of. the province’s workers will impose their will on the other 80%. The cost for many of the latter, deprived of public transport, could be a lost day’s pay, and the non-working public will be made to suffer major in- convenience. If this is the way a 20% minority can ride roughshod over everyone else to ‘‘send a strong message to Vic- toria,’’ a growing number of hitherto undecided B.C, citizens may well start looking at Bill 19 in a more pos- itive light. The biil is not perfect — any more than any other bill is. But it has been markedly improved — in labor’s favor — since last week’s nine-hour meeting between the premier and Fed leaders. Even now the government has not entirely ruled out further modifications of detail. And moveover, our parliamentary system pro- vides for amending any bill if experience shows the need. To further its own political agenda, the Fed’s answer is a defiant kick in the teeth to the democratically elected government and the other 91% of B.C.’s 2.8 million population. So WHO is practising ‘‘confronta- tion’’ against whom? That’s tomorrow’s good question. ee THE VOICE OF NOTH AND WEST VAMCOUVER SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY +> FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Display Advertising 980-0511 Classitied Advertising 906-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Publisher: Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Advertising Director. . Peter Speck Nog! Wright Barrett Fisher . Linda Stewart §8,489 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) SDA DIVISION 1987 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All tights reserved. NEWS photo Mike Wakefield A HAPPIER OCCASION...Premier Bill Vander Zalm during a recent visit in West Van to address some friends — the Alumni of B.C. Young Presidents Association meeting in Capilano Golf Club. - Culture course in the commune of China and wants to experience the country. With a price tag of EXCITING SUMMER weeks lie ahead for Grade 11 West Van Sec- ondary student Bruce Gilchrist who leaves July 2 for a six-week ‘*homestay”’ visit to China. He’s one of a small group chosen for the Summer Abroad program of the Vermont-based Experiment in Internationa! Living organization and for most of the time it’s no ordinary tourist trip. Travelling in charge of a trained leader, group members first undergo a three-day orientation course in Hong Kong and then are lodged for two weeks with Hong Kong families. After that they move for a further two weeks to the South China mainland, where they’ll again ‘‘live native’? with | families in a commune. Only dur- ing the final 10 days do they hit the conventional tourist trail with visits to major Chinese centres in- cluding Shanghai and Peking. The ‘‘homestay’’ concept pio- neered by the 55-year-old Experi- ment organization is now recognzied as the most effective tool of international education. Bruce, who’s studied Mandarin for two years in night school, says he’s intrigued by the history and culture BRUCE GILCHRIST...China ‘‘as is’. — around $4,000, the experience doesn’t come cheap. But his. for- ward-looking parents, Aluin and Margaret Gilchrist, reckon it will prove to be money well spent. eee IF THE MILK of human kindness is one of your favorite beverages, meet Mary Ellis of West Van, A few days ago she was waiting at the News classified counter beside another customer who wanted to place an ad for his lost wallet containing some $400. When our classified lady regretful- ly informed him that all private ads must be prepaid, he explained he hadn’t a cent left and asked whether he could come in later to pay. At which point Mrs. Ellis dug into her purse, saying ‘‘Let me pay, | know what it’s like,’’ and settled his bill on the spot. Told of the incident, classified manager Val Stephenson promptly called the lady and offered, in apprecia- tion of her kindness to a stranger, to refund her $15. She wouldn't hear of it, but agreed with Val’s alternative suggestion to donate the money to charity — which we’ve done. Thank you, Mrs, Ellis, for warming our whole week! ! eae POSTSCRIPTS: Guest speaker at the West Van Chamber of Com- merce annual meeting and ban- quet, June 9 at the Plaza, is Rupert Harrison, retired municipal clerk and West Van’s official historian. Chamber PR lady Renate Griffiths tells me it’s planned as quite a bash this year to mark West Van’s 75th anniversary — with a pre-dinner reception, person-of-the-year award, door prizes, wine tasting and guests encouraged. Make friends fast with a member! ... Congrats to Marty Rattee, son of Noel Wright North Van’s Bill and Beverley Rat- tee, on being commissioned an of- ficer in the Canadian Armed Forces after graduating with a B.Sc. from UBC. He'll be posted to CFB Moose Jaw in August to complete flight training for his goal of becoming a CF-18 pilot ... Marc Howard (987-6107) wants to contact 1950s members of North Van Community Players about the planned June 12-14 reunion — stay tuned ... Ald. Gordon Rowntree reminds ‘‘fun’’ golfers that quali- SKY’S THE LIMIT...budding fighter pilot, 2nd Lt. Marty Rattee (r), @ Sunday brunch fying rounds for the July 11 Ambleside pitch-’n-putt tourney must be played between June 7 and 28... And West Van Little League president Patrick Bickford sends a big thank-you to Ralph Strong for his continuing sponsorship. *e% WRIGHT OR WRONG: Nothing’s as hard to do ‘gracefully as getting down off your high horse. . photo submitted receives his commission from Chief of Staff Pacific, Col. Goliner. LETTER OF THE DAY Why cannot consumers be allowed free trade? Dear Editor: We Canadians like to think of ourselves as being part of a free society, and I must agree that coinpared with many other people, we do appear to be free, but that is only in a relative sense. A bit like saying that the man in a compound .is free in comparison to the man in a cell. The real test is to ask yourself what you can do without having to ask someone else’s per- mission, whether granted or not. When I view it from that stand- point, I find certain of my rela- tionships with other freely consen- ting adult males, and on occasions females, concern transactions that are looked upcn as illegal by my government. These same actions incidentally are not looked on as immoral, even though they do in- volve the transfer of money from one party to the other. Interesting- ly, one would suppose that with our government’s proclivity to print and spend more and more money, they would encourage me to increase my participation, rather than by placing obstacles in my path as it does right now. Defenders of our civil liberties will assure us that the government has no place in our bedrooms. It is a pity that we cannot also keep it out of our kitchens, because what I am talking about does not involve my civil rights, but my economic rights —- the right to contract free- ly and voluntarily with someone else for the food I eat. See Free Page 7