[f a tree falls in the BC. legislature, and there's Someone there to heas it.. does it save: a@ Sound ? LA 2 VA | uae ; WY Cut spending {HE PEOPLE know what the pro- vincial government should do about the financial mess facing each of us, but the government is unlikely to listen to popular wisdom and even less likely to act upon it. . The NDP is scheduled to detiver its new budget on Tuesday, March 30. If it were listening to the people, both on the North Shore and beyond, it would don surgical smocks and do some serious cutting — to its budget, to government spending, to waste, to bureaucracy, to en- trenched mediocrity. The people know that. They also know that B.C. currently faces a staggering $2 billion deficit that threatens to strangle the life. out of the province’s traditionally re- silient business character. They know too that they are already overtaxed. In @ poli conducted recently by West Vancouver-Geribaldi MLA David Mitchell in his constituency, 72% of the 409 resi- dents polled said they were in favor of cutting government spending; 63% said they were concerned about the deficit; and 57% said they supported a law that would require the provincial government to ob- tain approval through referendum before raising taxes. ; A good place to start cutting would be in the size of government, where public- sector wage increases many times higher than those in the private sector have push- ed costs through the ceiling but not in- creased services. But the cali for cuts needs to be ‘far iouder and clearer: governments are notoriously deaf when it comes to listening to the people between elections. LETTER OF THE DAY Larger areas require higher pupil costs Dear Editor: Recently school funding and enrolment comparisons for 1993 to 1994, between North Van- couver District #44 and Kamloops District #24, were shown on the front page of the North Shore News. ; North Vancouver with a budget of $88,760,301 and an enrolment of 16,784 students appeared: to be One other very important piece of information was missing from the comparisons, that of area of the school districts. North Vancouver School District has an area of 152 square miles whereas Kamloops Schoo! District has an area of 5,200 square miles, more than 34 times greater. The larger area requires more schools to service the students; cipals, vice-principals, librarians and maintenance and clerical staff and these, together with much higher transportation and travel- ling costs, will result in far higher cost per pupil than would be ex- pected in a compact school district such as North Vancouver. I have no doubt that similar great differences will be apparent if the area of West Vancouver is compared with the areas of Ter- treated worse financially by the provincial government ‘than Kamloops, with a budget of $92,842,052 for 16,056 studenis. Publisher Managing Editor . . Associate Editor Sztes & Marketing Director. Linde Stewart Comptroiier........ . Doug Foot Nerin Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Il of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales -Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility tor unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which Snould be accompanied by a Stamped, addressed envelope Peter Speck . Timothy Renshaw Noet Wright Newsroom V7M 2H4 Kamloops has 52 schools against North Vancouver’s 42 schools. The additional Kamloops require additional prin- Display Advertising Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 tace, South Peace River and North Peace River. Ernest Sarsfield North Vancouver 10 schools in 980-0511 ky Printed on 10% recycled newsprint Distribution 986-1337 fecha Subscriptions 986-1337 Re Fax 985-3227 be 985-2131 Administration 985-2131 Jd SUNDAY © WEDNESDAY « FHIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. SDA DIVISION 61,562 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1993 Norih Shore Free Press Lid. All rights seserved. PRIDE AND JOY of Trade Minister Mike Wilson, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is now running into stormy waters below the border. Due to come into force next January, the legislation implemen- ting NAFTA is supposed to be “fast-tracked’’ through Congress at the same time as similar legisla- tion is passed in Mexico City and Ottawa. No problems seem likely in the two latter, always provided the Tories remain in power in Canada. But in Washington, ma- | jorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives are reported to be hanging tough on three issues — job losses to cheaper Mexican labor; Mexico’s low environmental standards; and national sovereigniy. On the first, President Bill Clin- ton — unlike George Bush — has now obviously come to share the concern of Canadian critics of the deal. Why wouldn’t any profit- hungry, labor-intensive U.S. or Canadian firm be tempted to relocate where labor costs are six times less? And what happens to the U.S. or Canadian workers thus left jobless? At the same'time the environ- ment has been firmly moved from the back to the front burner by the new Clinton administration. Mexico's environmental stand- ards are pitiable compared to those of Canada and the U.S., -and foreign firms already operating there — notably in the maquiladoras along the U.S.- Mexico border — get away with murder in terms of fouling the air and water: That ‘‘freedom”’ to pollute further reduces their costs and boosis their profits. Why, then, can’t Mexico beef - up its standards and enforce them effectively? That brings us to the third —- and most serious — issue. if passed by all three countries, NAFTA law can override national sovereignty. For example, environmental standards can be challenged as trade barriers and subjected to a prolonged series of tests to decide whether they are economically justifiable under NAFTA rules. This is a far cry from the GATT, the worldwide trade regu- latory body, which never ques- tions national sovereignty and uses impartial panels of non-involved countries to settle trade disputes. On balance, tiere’s not the slightest evidence that free trade with the U.S. since 1989 has brought Canada any net gain. In- creased exports are due largely, if not entirely, to our weakened dollar. Meanwhile, double-digit MICHAEL WILSON... free trade gain illusory. HITHER AND YON unemployment persists and countless firms have closed for good. NAFTA, as now drafted, promises us even less. - So thank Bill Clinton and his boys for insisting on a whole raft of new side agreements before they'll even consider buying the deal themselves, They may save Canada, ty, a lot more grief, oes / TAILPIECES: Big sound fans can en. Joy the ‘Marching and Waltz- ing’’ concert tomorrow Thursday, «. March 25, by West Van Band at 7:30 p.m. in West Van Rec centre — tickets $3.50 at the door ... Also tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. West Van Museum and Historical Society holds its a.g.m. in Hollyburn Elementary School, 1329 Duchess — including a ’ special presentation honoring West Van Legion Branch 60... "> Volunteers are still needed for the Cancer Seciety’s April fundraising campaign on the North Shore— ~ call 985-8585 (North Van) or 925-1952 (West Van) if you can help for two or three hours ... From the Better Late Dept. a belated 100-candle salute to Evergreen House resident Mary Clark who yesterday, March 23, notched up her first century ... And happy 63rd birthday tomor- row, March 25, to Mount ; Seymour Lion David Sinclair. e ° e WRIGHT OR WRONG: Diet plans consisi of putting off tomorrow w what you put 0 on mn today. BILL CLINTON... side agree: ments or no deal.