A6 - Wednesday, November 16, 1983 - North Shore News GEES editorial pag c Re At last - some progress on UI NEWS VIEWPOINT Lesson learned? Most urgent now, following the ‘‘truce’’ between the government and Solidarity, is a speedy recall of the Legislature — with a new spirit of respect for it needed from Socreds and NDP alike. Under our democratic system the Legislature is the only forum entitled to con- duct the affairs of the citizens of the province who elect it. For three angry weeks it virtually lost that function to sidewalk demonstrators and picket captains — thanks to the behavior in recent months of both its elected parties. The Socreds were fairly chosen as the ma- jority ruling party in the May 5 election. There’s clear evidence that a majority of British Columbians accept their basic policy of restraint. But in their blind rush to imple- ment their program they immediately flouted the other vital principle of democracy: the du- ty of an elected government (particularly with a less than 5 per cent lead in the popular vote) to govern for ALL the people, not merely its own supporters. In turn, the government’s arrogant haste brought out the worst in the NDP in terms of grandstanding and obstruction for its own sake. Ironically, the New Democrats wound up double losers by forfeiting their legitimate opposition role to the unelected Solidarity Coalition on the streets. Hopefully, both parties have learned their lesson — the vital need for consultation, com- promise and restraint in the use of power itself, which alone can preserve the legislature as the guardian of EVERYONE’S rights. We have glimpsed the frightening alternative. A sad day ‘*‘A death in the family’’ best describes the feelings of the newspaper fraternity about the demise Monday, after a lengthy financial il- iness, of the venerable Columbian newspaper. During its 124 years it chronicled the story of British Columbia from cradle to mature adult- hood, and became part of the very fabric of the province. As at the passing of a respected relative, we are sad to see such a long and honorable life now ended. _ a sunday Diaplay Advertising 980-0511 news Classified Adfertising 986-6222 north shore Newsroom 085-2131 rr ews Circulation 986-1337 1139 Lonsdale Ave . North Vancouver 6 C V7M 2H4 Publbaher Peter Sec b Associato Publisher: Editor in-Chiet Advortising Director Rover Caraham Noe! Wright Tir bot epee ty Personnel Directo: Classified Director Circulation Otrector Bern HMilbard Isdabpecites Jenwurigs th) Mec Cnawe Production Directo: Office Manage: Canis Johnson Photography Manage: [dearaeved Cae arc dy Vestry Mertens Porth Ghore Mew fons UY ah ar pO rtm ity feerwgrageo: aot cpsaliteerdd Gewies Soe Penta MO Ra Mae age ange ot thee tacino Van Act in padotishod cach Wednoniay and Suewday bry Moet Shore free Press (td and OtstritOuted lO avery Our on fhe North) Stare Second (lass Mat Regiuitratir Mumbe: ith Entire contents > North Shore Free Prees ltd All nights reserved 1963 ‘witome rept North ard Wel vacwinive boo pm yea Marten, ater avantatie un mp! Na orm rind, aoe mptoest Yop ren re a Fas ate OES aed gee tN ate oath bee oa mega ert toy A ene) Oe vote Member of the B C Press Council $4 700 average Wormendny A the wloy Wk AS we sm & By W. ROGER WORTH PEOPLE operating the coun- try’s small and medium-sized enterprises and their employess may not be over- joyed with recent increases in the premiums they pay to the Unemployment Insurance fund, but it could have been much worse. The reason? A devastating 56 per cent general premium rate increase that would have been required to balance the government’s Unemploy- ment Insurance account, didn’t happen. Instead, both employers and higher-paid employees will pay about 10 per cent more come January |, 1984. ‘‘Our concerted efforts to eliminate or postpone a massive increase in premiums paid off,’”’ said John Bullock, president of the 65,000 member Canadian Federa- tion of Independent Business. ‘‘The politicians accepted our advice, which ts encouraging indeed.”’ Nevertheless, many employees will pay an extra 92 cents per week, bringing weekly premiums to $9.78. Contributions by many employers will rise by a max- imum of $1.29, to $13.69 per week. paying much, much more than their fair share of payroll and indirect taxes, and we're seeking major changes in the system to over- come these difficulties.”’ Sull, Bulloch agrees it will be tough to make substantial changes before the next federal election, which is one reason he’s so pleased with Ottawa’s decision to shelve a general] Unemployment In- Mainstream Canada What’s intriguing, though, is that Ottawa is finally com- ing to understand that dramatically raising payroll taxes such as Unemployment Insurance is tantamount to kiling the small business goose that is providing a ma- jority of those precious golden eggs called jobs. Even better, politicans from all the federal parties have generally agreed with a Federation proposal to con- sider holding a full public in- quiry into the way the Unemployment Insurance system works. ‘*There are very real pro- blems in an Unemployment Insurance scheme that will cost Canadians between $55-billion and $65-billion over the next five years unless it ts tightened up,’’ says Bullock. ‘‘We have already proven that smalier firms are surance rate increase of 50 per cent or more. That would have left firms in the small business sector paying an onerous $18.60 per week per employee. Under such a system, a lot of smaller companies atiemp- ting to survive simply couldn’t have paid this high price of hiring people. ‘‘Sometimes governments forget that payroll taxes such as Unemployment Insurance must be paid, regardless of whether employers are break- ing even, losing money or earning profits,’’ Bulloch points out. ‘‘Thankfully, this time, the pohtiqans decided in our favour. I only hope they’ve finally come to recognize that payroll taxes are creating serious problems for the small business sector.”” (CFIB Feature Service) Pierre again-or the frypan? PIERRE’S PEACE PROJECT ts clearly concerned with more things than just peace. Pretty obviously, it’s also a last-ditch effort to save his and his party’s political hide in the ap- proaching election. Moral purists are wont to pour scorn on those who ‘‘do the mght thing for the wrong reason’? Normally, I'm hap py to help wath the pouring Morcover, this column has long maintained that Canada's salvation depends on kicking Mr Trudcau and his yadad Liberal henchmen out of office at the first available opportunity And according to the latest: polls, some three out of every four Canadians now agree So it's a httle embarrassing to admin that the man has suddenly caused me to pause for a Moment in my tracks Whatever his past sins and pr escent Motllves, ul sccms Pierre has at long last turned his hand to a task of rather crucial importance to you and mc figunng out how to ensure our survival With cruise missiles alrcady in) Britain and the Soviets walking out of SAL I talks, 10s hard to heep right on being mad at who sOMCOnC massion lhe regardless of how many votes Ho brings him tackles a that LL TiMatlt NONSENSE Its just a years age that | changed my mind about The Bomb Prrevicranty { had Bone Along with the Conventional wisdom that the best protes thon agasnst Phe Bomb tay in Uncle Sam and Ivan continu. ing to scare the daylights out of one another by amassing more and more warheads on a one-for-one basis. by Noel Wright Le enti | Never, of course, to be us ed.) because the result would be so ghastly as to be un thinkable In fact, the tig ad vantage of the Nuctear Deter cont. as it’s hygennally call od. ts that tt saves its dix aptes the bother of thinking at all I6 neverthetess any =o frurther Yorus febaess on comtinuimg to think. the Nuclear Deterrent is uluimate nonsense. The U.S. and Russia now control well over $0,000 nuclear warheads of all kinds. That’s already enough to blow up cach other and the entire world several thousand tumes over. They could be cut by 80-90 per cent and the eventual holocaust, for all practical purposes, would re main precisely the same Instead, some $600 billion a ycar is being squandered on increasing the stockpiles stl further in the name of ‘‘pan the ty”’ To argue that this tnsane exalanon of overkill = wall never be used intentionally or acadcntally ts as logical as saying that a tinder dry old wooden house with 1920s electric owing will) never catch fire because uo would damage the furniture Onece the first nuctcar war head was launched, the destruction of our globe and tts inhabitants would be as simplic as it would be swift Step by step measures to stop the first omucicar warhcad from ever leaving its pad are constderably complhlcated More SALES TRIP Back from his hghtning visits last week to sta Western buropean leaders Ms Trudeau has come up with preliminary steps that sound, to this layman, the a lot of sense °* An carly conference of all five nuctear powers Bry Prance and well as the UN The two supe powens geting four tain. China sas and Rauasssa nowhere by themselves, can use some helpers with a lide nucicar muscle of their own. e A strengthening of nucicar non-proliferation — af Third World countnes want cont nuing economic aid, they must stop dreaming about joining the nuclear club. ¢ A balance between conven uonal forces in Europe to reduce the temptanon for a loser in an old fashioned war to fire that) fhest) megaton rocket °*A ban on deploying systems “Star Wars” This week Mr Trudeau ts off with his peace package (o Japan and India As soon as possible after that he plans to try sellang 1 in person to Washington and Moscow Obviously, our salesman ts going to have his work cut out when he gets around to puching the two nuclear bully boys But hts product ts certainly beyond reproach And given that our PM cn ys ao lot) more cstecm abroad than his cfforts at home have carned him, we irc al teast justified in keeping our fiagers crossed while he carpetbags from capital to capital If hes latest brainwave leads to cven the first prac testing and ants satellite forget about tical moves tin curbing ouclecar madoecss, he s wehome in my book, to any cxtra votes he can collect cn route Even a few more years of Pretre look good Compared to winding up as a cinder in the nuctear trypan