§ ~ Sunday, August 1, 15$9 —- North Shore News Gree C."S new Finance Minister Gordon Wilson has more than one serious deficit to deal with. Leaving aside for the moment the one on the province’s battered bud- getary books, the agile jumper of polit- ical ships has much to do in the area of restoring his own credibility deficit in the eyes of the public. The ex-Capilane Coliege professor was, after all, a shining opposition light in his varieus Liberal and Progressive Democratic Alliance incar- nations, ; . ' Silver-tongued and crisp of mind, Wilson shot many a well-aimed dart into the backside of dimbulb govern- ment and dimmer goverament poli- cies. But, alas, said dart-throwing is easi- : er from the cheap seats. north shore news VIEWPOINT sition irritant to government shill his been remarkably swift and seamless. Thus his growing credibility deficit. Prior to his ascension te the post of B.C. finance minister, Wilson was an astute critic of government spending and a promoter of such sound fiscal sense as balanced budgets. But Wilson the finance minister appears to have littie in common with Wilson the crit- ic, , The best news he can muster on his party’s projected $890 million deficit for the 1999-2000 fiscal year: the gov- ernment is on track to meet or beat it. Meet it? Is there ro thought to elimi- nating it? Even trying to? It’s hard to tell which deficit Wilson will have the most trouble eliminating: the one relating to the province’s finances or the one relating to his own credibility. ATTEMPTS TO BECOME A MILLENNIUM PROJECT BY DEMONSTRATING THE ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES |. - Wilson’s transformation from oppo- you said it . | “They were «ripping us of everything. We were going ta be glorified parking lot attendants,” - North Vancouver RCMP auxiliary spokesman Nick Buyan; on his disappointment about leaving his “super” vol- untéer job of 22 years. (From duly 23 News story.) i “We hear that a bad bear iz a dead bear.” “North Vancouver District Coun. Trevor Carolan, on neighbourhood fz; iat conservation officers and police arz more likely to kit a bear than relocate it. (From a July 23 News story.) goo “Ie depends what (he) is talking about.” North Vancouver City Coun. Darrell Mussatto, on his motion to limit public. access to city meeting facilities and whether retired News colunmist Doug Collins will ever be allowed back into the library to lecture. (From a Jaly 30 News story.) . eo, O00 aah, especially after you’re dead.” ~ hart indicated the public loved her. (From a July 30 Rebert ‘Aiken This Week Hollywood column.) ho Be ~ 00a “Next time I go to hospital, it’s going to be hard to top this. We should do a gig for thes.” -? West Vancouver's irrepressible broadcaster and musician : _ Nardwuar. the Human Serviette, on the standard of care he. ‘received at Lions Gate Hospital while recuperating from a brain hemorrhage. (From a July 130 This Week sory) ‘Basically it’s'a snoozer but it’s a heck of a summer - “Royal Canadian ‘Air. Force Capt. Mike Ayling, on his u coming performance at the Abbotsford Airshow flying a ”, World War It Harvard. (From a ng. 1 News story.} “The first time he came over too low so he circled arcutid‘and camé right over the house. The neighbours - ing ‘There goes my oid papezboy.’ ” ‘Blair Ayling, recounting the time son Mike routed a Snowbixds media flight over his Lynn Valley home. (From . the same Aug. 1 News story.) . . North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent subusban newspaper and qualified under Schodute 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is puctshed cach Werkvesdey, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press” Ud. end