north shore

The Herth there Mews is published by Herth

Shore Free Press Lis, Publisher Peter Speck,

from 1139 Lonsdale Avence Wert) Vancoever, B.C., V7M 214

PETER SPECK Publisher 985-2131 (101)

Human Resources Marager 985-2137 (177)

Letters mist include your r name; ~~ address & telephone number.”

61.582 (eveap craton, Wechestay, Fay ras

or)

Entire contents © 1997 North Shore

; Free Press Lid. Prone H All rights reserved. Payee

HERE is no end to our fish foofish-

fiess. Plunder, greed :and short-sight- edness continue to rule the waves. * - And on shore the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans continues to misman-

age the once-rich resource from afar.

Take the most recent revelations regarding ~ the herring roe fishery — a commercial pur-

suit that is questionable at best.

“~ Herring are a major food source for the . ailing: West Coast salmon population. In Georgia Strait alone the chinook salmon fishery has dropped to 20% of what it was in 1980. And evidence continues to roll in doc-

tion is having on the viability of salmon stocks themselves. - Readers don’t need a PhD in marine biol- ogy: to figure that out. It only makes com- =mon:. sense., But common sense is not an

IN town the weekend before last as a

~ Guest speaker (rumored fee $5,000) at : tthe NDP convention, Jeremy Rifkin:

- reportedly got along with Premier Glen

‘soul ‘brother.

reasons why.

__ Rifkin is the Washington L}.C. economic guru whose book, The

End Of Work, shook

the free-enterprise world a few years aga. His thesis is that the tech- nological revolution now replacing the industrial economy with the knowledge econonty will mean — possibly within as little as 25 years — that there'll be work for only about 20% of today’s work force.

Of the remaining 80% a few may scrape by in low-paid, dead-end, temporary work. But most, under our present system, will be permanently jobless. The blue-collar factory worker will be vir- tually climinated. An elite one worker in five will supply all society’s material needs. Every job that can be done by some technical gizmo will be.

Nor is Rifkin alone. Iain Williamson, a Toronto author, has come to the same conclusion about looming mass unemployment in his book

37%.

exceeded during the opening.

said. Great.

ill afford.

The ‘Net Effect. His solution, like Rifkin’s, is that

only government will be capable of solving the

problems by redistributing the wealth generated

by the knowledge economy ina dramatically new “social contract.”

In short, Williamson ‘ suggests the brave new world will tead toa “highly socialistic System .. if anything is going to kill off capitalism, it’s going to be this.”

So far the content of the needed new “social contract” in a brave new world of 80% virtual unemployment remains somewhat vague. Practical suggestions to date include job creation through cutting the work week by half for the same pay; slashing the frequently bloated pay of top company exccutives; and relieving companics of payroll levies — with governinent compensated by higher tax revenue from more people working.

Not that the Rifkin-Williamson scenario is exclusively a government headache. With 89% of the work force jobless, who could afford to buy all the goodies being spewed out by robots and computers?

So no wonder Jeremy and Glen hit it off. The only answer the former sees to a largely jobless future is heavily interventionist government. That’s music in any socialist’s cars. The worry is, he could be right!

000 ELECTION ALERT: Our trusty agent reports Elections Canada has renied office space in North Van for a 40-day period starting in May. As well, he

abundant resource in the halls of: federal bureaucracy. Instead of reducing B.C.’s her- ring harvest, DFO folk raised it — by almost

Fish foolishness of the first order.

Now word just in that the roe herring fishery in Barkley Sound resulted in the ° quota being exceeded by almost 60%. A fish- erics manager was quoted as saying that the department didn’t think there was:a signifi- cant risk of the quota’s being substantially -

“Obviously we were wrong,” the manager y

Another hole blasted in the West Coast fish food chain. Another miscalculation by fisheries personnel. Another case of fish fool- ishness the West Coast fishing industry can

Concerns questioned |

Dear Editor:

Re: the lerter from Dennis Prouse (No-Fault leccer in . News loaded with ICBC bias).

We can confirm that R.” Brian Caton is a retired ICBC - employee.

We can also confirm thar’, many letters appearing in’ the. press across B.C. have ‘been written by trial lawyers who have not identified themselv eS. So what?

TF Mr. Prouse i is suggesting” that someone. who ‘has* the’. temerity to offer an: opinion counter to his ‘and ‘his trial” lawyer clients is doing nothing more than creating “an ICBC advertorial,” what can we! make of his letrer?

Mr. Prouise states that he is:

victims, from ‘the crucltics 5 no-fault insurance.”

Based on some of the rd * posals currently; being' ex ined, here is what Mr. Prouse is saving ‘you from:. better immediate and’ guaranté benefits for al! seriously::

_ injured people; Ddeiiefits that ~ are determined by the injure person before a crash — o7 that he Gr she does not have to | } sue anyone to. ger;’ being: ‘Spared a premium increase“ at could easily. be 40% by th year 2000 to sustain the’ cur “rent liability-based ’ system.

yur

single-vehicle mishap; a co!

sion with an animal or becatise of poor weather and road con : ‘ditions. Those people numbe!

in the thousands: ‘each year. "Mr. Prouse. and ‘the: tr

lawyers are apparently: con-

‘cerned only about those who

have someone to- sue.

must wonder why. *--:

Ken Hardie

ICBC

tells us, . Liberals have rented office space in Ottawa for the same period. Our equally trusty pocket ¢ culator adds up those two items to a June:9.fed al election: Prepare for a long hor sprin Meanwhile, John Reyno lds will be challe for the Reform*Party nomination in Capilan Howe Sound by Danish-born Axe! Duch (Pro: nounced Duke) who settled here in 1955. - Longtimé West; Van ‘resident and airline pilot (Canadian Pacific and PWA), with time-out pei ods on humanitarian air transport assignments

Vietnam and Biafra, he has operated his own avia- tion consulting y firm here since 1984. Says he was.

moved to enter politics by disgust with the old- line parties after reading On The Take, Stevie Cameron’s classic hatchet job on the Mulroney era.

009 ON DAY ONE of his prime of life — tomorrow,

March 13 — wish happy 60th birthday to North -

Van’s own Mozart, composer Michael Conway ker.

900 WRIGHT OR WRONG: Instead of pointing a

finger :*v lerding a hand.

— 68 Nuri Shove News believes strongly in fee dom. speech and the right of all sides in a debate to he heard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of ahe newspaper isl .

SEDATE SP TE OY SHON OF