Freedom of choice

The annual hassle over Christmas shop- ping hours has begun early this year in West Vancouver, where Park Royal has applied to council for 9 p.m. closing during all 21 days up to Christmas Eve.

Similar requests in previous years designed to bring West Van into line with Vancouver, Burnaby and (last year) North Vancouver -- have routinely been turned down. West Van council has hitherto per- mitted only seven late-hour days im- mediately prior to Christmas.

In deferring a decision until next week, council stressed its duty to consider the interests of small merchants in Ambleside and Dundarave -- noting also that nearly 40 of Park Royal's own specialty stores had submitted a petition opposing the ap- plication. _

A key point in the controversy seems to be | the requirement of the Park Royal ad- ministration that ALL stores in the centre must keep the same hours. If the big department stores and supermarkets wish to stay open until 9 p.m. for three weeks on end during the Christmas month, the ad- ministration might be smart to relax this regulation temporarily and allow the specialty stores to set their own hours.

This would quickly reveal where the real interests of the smaller merchants lie. If competition from the big boys began to hurt too much, they would always be free to stay open late themselves. Conversely, if half- closed malls reduced traffic somewhat for the big boys; there might be some bonuses for enterprising late-night stores elsewhere in the municipality.

Freedom of choice, we've always un- derstood, is the heart and soul of free enterprise.

Taming the beast

If music can tame the savage beast, the U.K. post office which runs_ Britain's notoriously temperamental phone system may be right on. Next year irritated sub- scribers kept waiting for a connection will be regaled with Bach, Chopin, Mozart or Mantovani to soothe their hung-up feelings.

When you can’t serve them, serenade them!

sunday .

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A BOON TO SMALL STORES

By W. ROGER WORTH

A big percentage of the $19 billion Canadians spend on food this year will pass through the cash registers of

the national chains that solidly dominate’ the marketplace.

Yet in Quebec, big

supermarket operators are uneasy because independent grocers are at least holding their own, if not gaining sales, in the dog-eat-dog food market.

The reason: smaller Quebec independents are now allowed to sell wine, as well as beer, providing a customer drawing card that makes a more even .natchup with chain stores not able to

sell the product. By backing the in- dependents, the Quebec

government has resolved an issue that is only now

We kid you not.

B.C.’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, Bill Vander Zalm, thinks many mayors and aldermen are being overpaid under the present system — whereby they are answerable to their own local taxpayers for the salarics they vote them- selves. So fast week he proposed that their salaries should be set, instead, by Victoria, based solely on population

NONE TOE THE LINE

His suggested scales as they would affect the North Shore, are in the cause of Mmunicipalitics with between 25,001 and 40,000 residents, $13,500-$15,000 for the mayor and $5,000-$5,500 for aldermen Both = North Vancouver City (population 32,000) and West Vancouver (population 37,000) fall into this category

Por municipalities with populauons between 60 (i and 100.000 (read North Van District. with 63,500) Mr Vander Zaim would allow the mayor a scale of $18,000 $22,000 and $6, 200-87 200

By the above reckoning none the three North Shore mayors and councils toe the Vander 7 aim line

aldermen

of

becoming a hot item in the rest of the country.

In province province,

after independent

grocery retailers, including the

those represented by Canadian Federation Independent Business, have voted overwhelmingly in

SUPERMARKET CLERK. Must have pleasant per- sonality, strong legs, good memory, ability to operate cash register, make change, read weigh scales and pack merchandise neatly in brown bags. Full union contract benefits, incl. all statutory holidays and 37'4- hour week. Salary $20,826 p.a. Box 6789.

MAYOR for prosperous municipality, pop. 38,000. Required to chair weekly council meetings, the police commission and naurierous other public boards; represent the municip: lity’s interests at senior govt. levels; provide policy direction for a staff of 400: assume ultimate responsibility for an annual budget of $25 million: officiate at all community events. Suc- cessful candidate will have extensive administrative | experience ata senior level, strong leadership qualities and inter-personal skills, above-average ability as a | public speaker. Non-union. 55 to 60-hour week. Salary

scale $13,500-$15,000 p.a. Box 1234.

In North Van City, Mayor Jack Loucks and his merry men have just voted themselves a 20 per cent hike, bringing the mayor's salary to $18,000 p.a. (from $14,973) and aldermen $6,000 (from $4,991).

In) West Van, Mayor Derrick Humphreys, at $18,500 p.a.. exceeds Mr. Vander Zalm’s ceiling by a similar amount, though he’s sall $2,326 poorer than our supermarket clerk even on a 55-hour-week basis. West Van aldermen with stipends of $5,886. also break the barmicr

Mayor Don Bell of North Van Distnet. with $23,000 pa is likewise comfortably over the Vander Zalm maximum, while his $7 000- a year aldermen under

lo

are just

IThesc figures,

North

however.

Shore pale into insignificance beside the big time spenders south of the Inlet

SENIS TER TRUTH?

In Vancouver Mayor Jack Volrich chicf magistrate of a cily not too far short of half a mallion. - pulls in $43 000 Compared to the maaimum $34.000 Mr Vander 7.atm allow him

would

fine sales become a hot issue

favor of selling wine. They believe the change would provide a consumer con- venience and help preserve the place of the corner store.

Alas, provincial govern- ments have been slow to act

on the touchy political issue

And Ontario, of = all

anes

7 Noel Wright Hie

The mayor of Burnaby presently earns $37,265 for presiding over a population of 131,000. Vander Zalm would give him only $26,000. The mayor of Richmond (now at $30,000 for a population of 80,000) would be cut back to $22,000.

With plumbers paid well over $25,000 p.a.. Hydro bus

drivers well over $20,000 and IWA base laborers almost $19,500 — not to

mention MLAs with $33,516 — it would be comforting to think that) the” minister's proposed salanes for mayors and aldermen merely meant that he had lost touch with

reality, as the psychiatrists say

The truth, unfortunately , may be decidedly sinister

more

Almost simultancously with Mr Vander Zalm's proposals came the tnitial draft of a bill to be presented by Finance Minister Hugh Curtis to the legislature in V98t Enutled A New Finan- tal Administration Act, it sechs to “invoke varying degrees of financial and administrative control” over municipal councils,

among other “pubhe bodies”

provinces, has regretfully taken the opposite tack. The

~ Conservative government in

that province allows wines to be sold in more than 125

supermarkets, but not by independents. Alberta, though, is

considering a system similar to that in Quebec, and other provinces are at least looking at the options available.

In a country where a handful of supermarket chains have a stranglehold on the grocery business, smaller operators deserve a bit of a break.

Allowing independent grocers and entrepreneurs running corner stores to sell wine would be a move in the right direction.

(Roger Worth is Director, Public Affairs, Canadian Federation .of Independent Business.)

Those new controls by © Victoria would = affect municipal management, | personne! and salary rates, according to a spokesman for the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

COOL THEIR ARDOR

Finally, there's a_ third piece of proposed legislation in the wings — again from Mr. Vander Zalm — which .- seeks to control land-use decisions by municipalities.

The aim of these various moves by the Bennett government seems all“too obvious. The moves are » designed to shift traditional -. municipal powers to Vic- ~ toria and relegate municipal | : councils to largely ceremonial functions. In ©: light of the three-pronged |» attack in recent weeks by Vander Zalm and Curtis, no other conclusion makes sense.

In particular, 60-hour-a- ~. weck mayors who fight hard © for their communities’ in- .. terests are often a pain in the

neck to the provincial government. So, says | Victoria, let’s cool their

ardor by limiting (heir pay to less than half the figure theit — responsibilities would command in the private sector.

That way, if candidates can eventually be persuaded to take the job at all, most won't be disposed to spend enough hours a week al it to make trouble for their provincial masters.

Make no mistake, theres © a serious threat here to the whole concept of municipal government — which many regard as the last remaining bastion of true democracy. You'll be hearing a lot about ) that threat at next weeks annual mecting of the L/BCM in Prince George

te A EON,

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