Aé6- Wednesday, January 20, 1982 - North Shore News EE editorial page Quality’ , price The tax burden presently being borne by North Shore homeowners raises the question of how much we are ultimately prepared to pay for our residential “quality of life.” Or, put the other way round, how much commercial and industrial development is acceptable in predominantly residential communities in order to broaden the tax base and relieve homeowners’ pocketbooks? North Vancouver District — primarily residential, though with some considerable amount of existing industry — is already addressing the question realistically. Mayor Bell, in his New Year message, stressed the need to encourage further commercial and industrial development in order to lighten the residential tax load. West Vancouver, where that load is by far the heaviest, has no industry at all and firmly rejects it. Despite fiery meetings to protest current tax levels, many West Van taxpayers regularly oppose even new commercial projects on any major scale — as witness the controversy over council’s development plans for its potentially lucrative “gateway” property at Taylor Way and Marine. As the old saying goes, you can’t eat your cake and have it. The price of living in a highly attractive residential community, untainted by industry, will undoubtedly continue to rise year by year if existing services are maintained, regardless of how tightly municipal and school budgets are controlled. Increased corporate revenue is the only lasting way to ease the homeowner’s burden. Ultimately, the choice for the latter is as simple as that. The roots to the current confrontation between Rene Levesque and the more militant members of his Parti Quebecois are in Ottawa. came home constitutional Levesque from the conference in early November in a towering rage because he had _ been snookered by the federal government. He said things about the isolation of Quebec, and about the separation option which encouraged militant Quebec nationalists. They took it from there and pushed Levesque at the PQ con- vention. How did Levesque get outsmarted in Ottawa? It’s really quite simple. The master. federal strategist, Justice Minister Jean Chretien, said later that he had been trying for months to spht Quebec away from the other seven provinces opposing the federal plan. He managed to create the spht at that federal provincial con- ference. ‘— How Pierre outsmarted René Statement. It wasn't the group of seven which dumped Levesque, but quite the other way around. Once the seven Anglo premiers were convinced that Levesque had been dealing, they met all night and came to an agreement of their own. The first Levesque knew of it was when he walked into the room next day to be faced with the agreement between the seven and the federal! government. With Ontario Canadian Commer? BY PETER WARD Chretien and Trudeau talked to Levesque about the referendum cptuion’ for constitutional change, and Levesque, knowrig full well that a :air numer of the Anglo premiers \ uuld never accept the proposal, went along with it. T+ result was the famous, and ‘ery brief, appearance vu! solidarity between Trudeau” and Levesque. The other see: English- speaking premiers’ were nonplussed when they heard that Levesque «as dealing with Trudeau. Premier Lougheed, for one, refused to believe it, until a reporter played him a tape recording of Levesque :..aking his and New Brunswick already on the federal side, that gave Prime Minister Trudeau the support of nine, and he was laughing. | Levesque talked bitterly at the conference, and then he had to go home, knowing he'd been outsmarted by the feds, and knowing he would face the wrath of Quebeckers for giving away Quebec’s tradtional veto. No wonder he talked tough. He could have lost his political hide otherwise. He may still lose it. The feds are chuckling, not only about the constitu- tional agreement ploy, but about the divisive troubles of the Parti Quebecois. Metric oversight | A strange sense of obligation The metric madmen have missed out on a great opportunity. What with Christmas bills,tax assessments and the weather, who NEEDS January and February? So why not a metric calendar starting in March? It would give us a tidy 10-month year (five months at 36 days, five at 37) and 73 tidy five-day weeks, each with three workdays plus, naturally, the two-day weekend. How's that for positive metric thinking? 1139 Lonedaie Ave North Vancouver BC V7TM 2H4 (604) 965-2131 ADVERTISING 980-0511 news narth shore news NEWS 985-2131 CLASSIFIED 986-6222 (IRC UL ATION 986-1337 Publisher Peter Spec h Associate Publisher Robert Geaham Editor in Chiet Noel Wright Advartising Director tru Cardwell Nows E ditor Cotas thoy Managing Editor Andy Fraser General Manage: Creative Administration Otrector Berns ttitiard Puen Bocas Production Director Photography bic hk SStonelenise tts we oe ths Cte sea vee Accounting Supervisor Circulation Director thruar At Me, Purchaser Barbara Been Haye Me Cae North Shore News onset ey Seryrer vere ep seagvere carve op cent free te bee pe Poe doe Hy 4 Tan At Ce ey bon ne tga ode ne Tea fo We be fe aed segree ban Toy Pade tt “eae Free Breas i ey ee | 1 ns re “Woenees Spese cared Ober 320 per year All righta reeerved Mar Hercgpem te atin 1pOt Noaritee VENtt Sandee ripe ttone tatiece ontonte North Shave Froe Proaa Ltd Ne Cony er Vane ae ep eh sat es me a ee Dede pam tage eh ae VEU Th ba on te SD IAD Wedeaday Ff SAO Sey SN’. THIS PAPE ROIS REC VOL ARLE During the past week hundreds of thousands of words have been spoken and written on almost every aspect of the Clifford Olson horror story. Every aspect, that is, except the moral validity of a promise to a monster like Olson — on which there has been scant comment to date. I'm not talking about the “deal” by the police to pay Olson $10,000) of public money for every body to which he led them — for an eventual total of $100,000 It has nghtly outraged gumbers of people large But I'm prepared to admit. in’ the circumstances of last summer. that i may have been the agonizing lesser of two evils At the time the arrangement was made all reports indicate that At toracy General Allan Williams and othe KOMP were virtually Certain that Olson was their man But poled clforts tor deve ate the missing children were proveng fruitless Ntronp publho pressure for action was mounting Aad count evidence against Obsou on even one of (he mutders was apparcntly soo stim (tat la rung dnt well thasvc beeeu acquitted bo gern kh Ulsny AAA tes Ubras the ay ae af the families tresprttnge ange mernst Peopee Uta the woeest taeda bran popre sie es Pe thre Ve npc rar te tye hoot dial ‘. An eke! ee im fioeateadh oo. heb e at oy Cs 0 Vey credo t Livtvebaat be The bree 7 Veuy appear, was the fear of the authonties that he might shp through their fingers to continue his rampage of massacre I can relate to all these factors “WORD THEIR BOND” What I cannot swallow ts Soliton General Robert Kaplan's contention that the agreement) was Iegal and must (herefore be honored Several other high ups connected with the case have been taking the same lofty moral tine since last Wednesday One Te port troted that the Ko MEPs word is ats trond With all duc respect babhderdash! When Acealing with the Colson of this wonrdd the coaly lepal and miotal cotrtnyastieog bs ter outwat the cetraal oat ha owa reishy pate and cnsare chat he beone vat Was crscey precssibatity it Netter age thre she aed cvet thea Yasin Cheopoughty cape Ode dad Uhre wathonities see aly ar witb © PP cats Nvecee ett hh ialh aed sayy baw yer os eee he Cy a ee reerp dey thesry oe tN bee Noel Wright accumulate the trust account until after the search froven oan was completed motead of releasing SPO OG pot tently discovered” Miarybe Wei tes Beis aiby sae hi MEP NE CNG ths tread waren’. was omtemplate Pte saver tity cof the woritte a Sy ce | aiid the a preestusive angpepelie sys fee crc edie ' decttre ae Bre chips fos taupe Ubve toile ft law toy tHe is Ede gy cds tied f 0 ee saetbes cba eo tie have son. trroty IPR KORIS] 1 te ' badwar \ mosh ba \ scpmpabaterta hay Wy hissed 1. ape oon he made under duress = are legally invalid. The authorities had no obligation, morally or in law, to honor their undertaking to Olson if they could have devised a way of seizing back the money once thei ob- jective (i.e). convicnon) was achieved. Hijacking, hostage-taking and other terrorist incidents around the world dunng the past decade or so provide plenty of precedents for authorities “double crossing” inhuman savages with whom they inimally negotiate in order to protect NNoOceNt victims and society as a whole And Olson was nothing other than a gett alone terrorist In the event, $90_000 paid under the apparently already rate bas wate s hands and the Olson deal has pa ssed only possiblity of recovering ib seems to be caval action in the Courts A bot of people ate ow clamenting for sock action DP haope at goes ahead and succeeds but on bipe ost thie soohh ntuor ven tals Say ee ee ed ey Vere ath Dhre Bee ewer ye Uf the pont Pes as re 2 thie tone rn bay ote toad 1 \ Loat, bboy \ ro , tuelrr ge ‘ if prheos caw rt oSdpe reeled deer ve