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ASA “TAXPANER, | AVE ONLY ONE

quotes of the week

“This is right up there with ‘Industrial Park’. There is no such thing as a casual heroin

ae North Vancouver Crown coun- sel Jay Straith, to'a claim made in North Vancouver provincial court that a female who had pleaded guilty to heroin possession was a - casual user of heroin. (From a Feb. ‘“ 16 North Shore News story.)

.000

“I£1 were you ... I wouldn’t cat dewn one more tree.”

“2 West Vancouver District Coun. - __ Victor Durmaa, on the removal of ~ trees from ¢ sesignated green belt in Caulfeile’s Rockridge devel develop- Ment area by's.e Cascadia Group

company and his advice to the com-

: Mie pay. (Prom a Fk 19 North Shore ews story.

- goa

“We can’t amoke, we can’t

_ drive a car, we can’t use a fire-

place — what car we do?”

North Vancouver District Coun. “Lisa Muri, duzing district council _ debate. over a motion to restrict the

“use of wood-burning fireplaces and —

‘oves in the municipality (From a . Feb. i North Shore News story.)

O00 . “Once you get o

groups net negotiating on behalf of rs, kids get squeezed

» ident Rob McCarth

amen enamanesan

Parent Chrislana Gregory, dur- ing the recent labor disruption in North Vancouver District 44, call- ing for a declaration that education be considered an essential service. (From « Feb. 9 North Shore News sory.)

900

“They want to live in some- thing that says ‘home’ and not ‘factory’.”

Polygon Development vice-pres- y, on the origi- nal design for a Lower Lonsdale development. (From a Feb. 9 North Store News story.)

oa a

“We've got more rters than we have kids in the day camp.” ;

North Vancouver recreation cen- tre coordinator Perry Kulak, on the attendance at a hastily arranged day camp for children displaced by the one-day CUPE strike in No. Vancouver Schoo! District 44.

(From a Feb. 9 North Shore News story.)

o00 -“T bowled 300 ... over five

games. ”

Legendary clothier Murray Goldman, helping promote Big, Brothers’ Bowl for Big Brothers Classic. fiindraiser, on his bowling. prowess. (Jom a Feb. 16 North Shore News fashion story.)

950 RACAL PARE PILATE ND ORNS, ‘

Don’t let the —

confuse you!

PAUL Martin’s election budget still leaves much confusion about those two “D” words. Confusion designed to win votes for the Liberals.

Smiling Paul is bathing i in the glow of hav- ing reduced this year’s deficit by at least $5 billion — possibly $7 billion — below target.

We'll be overdrawn by only $17-S19 billion instead of $24 billion.

Wow!

So the Grits can “afford” a few smal! election goodies: the odd tens or’ hundreds of millions — partly to be spread over future years — for health care, poor children, education and scientific research. No tax hikes. And no’ new spending cuts, although those announced in earlier budgets continue this year, with B. C. docked a further $300 million. ;

All due to smart Mr. Martin achieving a $5-$7 billion “surplus, of, and publicly promising “the era of cuts is ending.”. Why, next’ provided we re-elect the Chretien Liberals — we should be able to. rei start splurging again, just like in the good old Trudeau days.

But hold your horses a moment. Able though Mr. Martin may r be; he’. also enjoyed extraordinarily good luck. Very little of the current desi : reduction comes from any major cuts in Ottawa's own spending.

It comes from a low Canadian dollar, record low interest rates, highs tax revenue, higher unemployment i insurance premiums and cuts in p ments to the provinces. In short, it’s we ordinary Canadian ci paid for 90% of Mr. Martin’s so-called 1996-97 deficit wiumph.”

And what does his “criumph” amount to? This year it means $17-$1 billion added to our $600 billion national debt. - .

Neat year, if fortune still smiles on the Grits, we'll go a further $12. lion or so into debt, The year after we'll likely sink a final $6 billion’ isto she

red — hopefully heralding in 2000 the first balanced budget since.1970

Only then — and this is a “best case scenario” — coul we start to pay off, over long years, Canada’s crippling $630-$640 billion debt, on which: the interest now eats up over 33 cents out of every tax dollar.

‘Don’t, therefore, let the Grits confuse you over those “D” we

“D” is for deficits which plunge us deeper and deepcr into debt.

“D” is for debt which eventually has to be retired — plus intere: some $46 billion annually, which must be paid cach year up front.

That’s $46 billion’of our taxes that go straight into the pockets lenders without providing a cent to ruo the country. Cause for cheers:

Qa a: . THE THINGS they say! Cypress Bowl Recreations pl : Booth in an interview with your scribe rted in this column on Feb. “To suBgest we’ re trying to develop ano er Whistler is a falsehood i ed to deceive the public and discredit the public process.” ae Same Wayne Booth, interviewed by reporter Alison Appeibe in th Oct.28, 1992, Vancouver Courier. “The i intent here is to try.t rovide facility which becomes a ‘working man’s Whistler’.” Thank reader Al Wallace for alerting us to Mr. Booth’s interesting Bit f for doublespeak,

- Oo a a.

woe

THE LAWSON funily, an inescapal ble of West Van's story, subject of West Van Historical Socery” 's Wednesday, Feb. 26; meeting at: 7. P m. in West Van Seniors Centre with Lawson chronicler. Mary.

.. And wish happy birthday that day to North Van Kiwanian’ Hugh

000 WRIGHT OR WRONG (according to Thomas L. Masson} No brain is stronger than its weakest think.

— The North Shore News believes stron, gly i in freedom of. speech and of all sides in a debate to Se beard. The cabs mnists published in the News pri sent differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the new: paper stself.

one it of the the equation.

news viewpoint

MOKE but no fire. In the battle of

fireplaces that briefly reared its

head in North Vancouver District, the debate was over the former but for- tunately did not generate much of the latter.

“Coun. Ernie Crist’s motion to limit the use of fireplaces and wood stoves in the district was extinguished in a recent council meeting before the issue’s tem- perature got too high. .

For the residents of North Vancouver District that outcome is best.

Crist is as passionate a member of council as the district has seen.

No matter to him that such a motion

- Fire fight might have been controversial or run against the grain of resident sentiment.

He rightly considers smoke to be one

of the despoilers of life in the urban environment. Who cares if a few fire-

places have to be snuffed out along the -

way to cutting smoke content in local air? In his ent fer the motion, Crist talked of leadership from munici- pal politicians. He also pointed out that burning wood produces particulate matter that can have 2 negative impact on the health of urban populations,

Good points both.

But setting the dogs of bureaucracy

upon the family hearth is misdirected.

Were the burning of wood in fire- places and stoves a major source of locai' entertainment and heat, Crist’s motion... might have packed more weight. ©."

But most residents of North Vancouver District and the rest of the = North Shore are not dependent upon - wood for either entertainment or heat.’

And the process of policing such. a: °.~

residential fireplace crackdown would _ have been almost impossibie to apply: equitably or practically.

The urban environment needs all the | friends it can get, but on this issue the .

ends would not have justified the -

means.