A6 - Wednesday, October 26, 1983 - North Shore News

GE editorial page

Moral molehill

Point-of-principle purists are having a hey- day of moral indignation over those B.C. Hydro bill stuffers promoting Beautiful B.C. magazine, which was recently sold by the government to a private owner. In this part- icular case we suggest the purists are making a mountain out of a molehill.

The critics of the deal argue that Jim Pat- tison’s Mainland Magazine Ltd., the new owner of the prestigious publication which contributes so much to the B.C. tourist in- dustry, should not enjoy a free promotional ride — estimated to save it about $200,000 a year — on the coat tails of a government agency.

If Mainland can have this privilege, they say, why can’t any other magazine — or any other advertiser, for that matter — send out promotional inserts with Hydro’s 920,000 electricity and gas bills?

Because, we suggest, Beautiful B.C. is a one-time ‘‘special case.’’ Firstly, its transfer to the private sector does not diminish in any way its public value as an important tool of our third largest industry. Secondly, Hydro has been carrying the once-yearly inserts for a long time at no extra cost to Hydro customers.

Obviously, the practice should not now continue indefinitely. But if this modest bonus during the immediate transition period can help establish the economic viability of the magazine under its new owner — without penalizing taxpayers or energy users — it

~ hardly seems unreasonable. ;

The survival of Beautiful B.C. is as much in the interest of every British Columbian as of Mr. Pattison himself.

Legal slump?

One can’t help feeling a trifle suspicious about the $75,000 fund-raising drive launched by the B.C. Trial Lawyers Association to fight a proposed no-fault auto insurance scheme which, they say, would eliminate 80 per cent of all lawsuits for bodily injury. Whatever the other merits of their case, that IS an awfully big chunk of business to risk losing!

eve VOCOR OF swUETT 6 AreD WEBT YAROUWER

sunday

news

Diaplay Advertising 980-0511 AURA eee Classified Advertising 986-6222 news Newsroom 965-2131 Circulation 986.1337

1139 Lonsdale Ave . North Vancouver,BC V7M 2H4 Publisher Peter Speck

Associate Publishe: Robert Graham

Editor in-chiet Noel Wright

Advertising Director Tin francs

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Government bailouts scam

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT blew a cool $34-million in an unsuccessful effort to bail out

Maislin Transport.

By W. ROGER WORTH

There were further hun- dreds of mithons for the auto industry and the likes of Massey-Ferguson.

Then there’s the granddad- dy of them all, a $1.4 billion write-off on Crown-owned Canadair, with another few hundred million needed to keep the company afloat.

With all this government

The road from

HlGH NOON in B.C. may arrive just seven days

trom now

If at does, British Columbians are likely

to find life distinctly unpleasant for as long as the

shoot-out lasts How

anyone's guess

lh what ts fashionable these days to call the “worst ease scenario) you Could find yourself next week upable to geet oa vehicle licence, oa drivers een on a martiage thence, unable to sellor pur unable to

cross by ferry to the Psbana,

chase a house unable to take home a bottle ot any aboobole refreshment

If vou happen to be oon

wellare you comb Sand yourself «hequeless

Shortly after that the buses Could disappear 1CBe

res comld shul down

frown the streets cdaim cen Phone and The kids closed Hospitals could be coduced (pardon the oniappy pun) to skeleton ser Supermarkets

mistallatioos Prepares

could ocase se bveoool

could be

yee Could have peoblems im keeping ap their food storks

With 4? shopping days let

to C hrastesas thousands of

British Columbians lucky chough to be working thas week could suddenly fire

themsclyey without a pay

pachet

Weve tathuig about a full Seatle sttuke by cisah servants and hot cr tts heeds a

peonetal stork by other unteosns

hos Seapeprenet Ctrean CMICAEN C,AME T teat os whit thre hae

long

that would be is

Goverament bimployees Limion the Solidarity Coal tion and the BC bederation of Labor have promised their fcllow citizens af the govern ment lays off a single one ol ws 1.600 workers scheduled tor the axc next Monday Past Thursday Premucr Beaett hinted that his layott timetable might be modified ietalks with the union proved frusthul by October Vl But with tess than six days of talk how remaining the question iso how far etther side can back off

conceding

meanthngtully without publicly

dcteal

If an the end, neiwher side yields oon this paine of the November bo col appears inevitable with you and bt crushed bet

ween the two juggernauts

chicken

hisvon

Ome the gencral strik« stage was reached, things could getlooeven rougher

Canada’s last general strike OF years ago in) Winnipeg

wound up after six

weeks with poloe clubs and guns two dead and JO injured

Victorias cumorcd to have

plans ready fo call an tthe ROMP and troupes if Hecessany foe orpeatentantn thre avulbority ot the clected Rkexcrpment Which bervangs

as tan Ma

Bennett s second

largesse being spread around like confetti, it is perhaps notable that last year’s losses under the federal govern- ment’s Small Business Loans Act have been reported as “‘staggering.’’ The amount of

money involved: $11.7 million. There’s more. The story

that appeared in many of the country’s mewspapers in- formed Canadians that losses on .the loan guarantee pro- gram, which was designed to encourage smaller firms to expand and create badly- needed jobs, were ‘‘almost double’’ the previous year’s

of the slack.

It’s true, bankruptcies, receiverships and other business failures have been at near-record levels during the past couple of years (hence the increase in losses on Ot- tawa’s program), yet 150,000 entrepreneurs started new companies in 1982 alone.

What’s more, the Cana- dian Federation of Indepen- dent Business estimates there will be another 200,000 start- ups this year.

This is a remarkable feat, particularly in mid-recession, and at a time when the na- tion’s banks are maintaining

Mainstream Canada

losses of $6.8 million. In fact, losses were only 72 percent higher.

What’s sad about the story is that Canadians may believe certain headlines, such as the one in the Windsor Star that screamed: ‘‘Bad loans to business bad deal for tax- payers.’’ Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, the country’s smaller firms are even now creating the vast majority of Canada’s new jobs. While larger companies have been laying off employees and reducing employment, small and medium-sized entreprises have picked up at least some

focus

Noel Wright

option vf talking Carts

A snap clection on the single issuc Of who runs Bo The umions? Solidarity? OF the provinces democratically clected representatives”

Thats ceally the put issuac today

NAKED FORGE May “ HC

Bennet a tion man

boast gave Mr

Vanlens

date for a restrame progeam Phone denying the need tor Such oa peomtanms at all ace preethy cdearty in the smaanmority Pecn Be

leader Net

Ped and Sotidariy hoube

Support resteatnt tn poenetal

chatms ota

Meanwhile (puote iv

higher than norma! Canadian interest rates, partially to cover losses on overseas loans.

What’s really significant about the Small Business Loans story, perhaps, is that during the past 21 years, Ot- tawa has guaranteed loans worth $2.4 billion to 117,000 businesses and lost only $28.1 million, or 1.17 percent of the total.

Compared with the federal government’s billion dollar big business bailouts, that’s a drop in the bucket.

(CFIB Feature Service)

B.C. to Beirut

number of British) Colum bians have questioned certain details oof Mr Bennett's restraint package They've spoken oul loud and clear, as is their

might They've very definitely been heard and already, up to a pom,

they've been heeded

By Hallowe'en it’s possible may be hegdgd even That's one of the um

principles on which our system of parlamentary works Hut ultimately i works on a stall more vital principle

they more portant

democracy

The principle that only the Rovermiment chosen by the electorate has the right to gesecrn and that only the cles torate has the right to prevent Wotrom governing, by firing it at the polls

Any spectal interest groups thal try on them own to pre vent a duly clected govern ment from governing by the use of naked force to

dtsrupr othe lives and live

lihhoods oof therm fellow ellison are oto pull very blunth, cnemiecs of parha

mentary democracy At the

ch of that toad le destina

trons tike Berrut

and Corcnacda

Regardless of sSpecitn issucs and Che ments of those tn Comat over them.) ites tine this polarized province faced up to the meaning of pachamcntary democracy

It bfigh Noon is the best answer nent Pucsday brings a December clection west mas be the only sane way to finda

bretlee conve