Page 4, The Herald, Tuesday, October 9, 1979

TERRACE/KIFIMAT

daily herald

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GEN. MANAGER - Knox Coupland
EDITOR - Greg Middleton

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COMMENT

By STAN PERSKY

As a typical Canadian, naturally I’m all for God,
Queen, Guy Lefleur and lots of law-and-order,

Therefore, no one will acuse me of disloyalty for
saying a few nasty words about the Pope, the RCMP,
and Her Majesty’s minions in Ottawa (as for Guy
Lefleur, well, come on now ... some things are
sacred).

Obviously Pope John Paul 11 is a swell guy, doesn’t
mind sleeping at Holiday Inns, and has a fantastic
wardrobe. His U.S. tour last week was a smash suc-
cess, as the Pontiff played to millions in major
American cities,

But have you listened to what His Holiness has been
saying? In Philadelphia he denounced extramarital
sex as “moral anarchy,” said it was God’s will that
women never be priests, reaffirmed the church’s
stand against divorce, and told priests that marriage
didn’t mix with serving God. In Chicago, he blasted
birth control.

Let’s leave aside the touch subjects like ex-
tramarital sex. (after all, the Pope’s franchise on sin is
more secure than Colonel Sanders’ stranglehold on
chickens). But really, is there anyone in 1879 who can
take the Pope seriously on the subject of birth control?

As for who can become a priest and the question af
whether priests should be allowed to marry, I suppose
the church fathers can always say it’s their ballgame
and if you don't like the rules, you can always go play
in someone else’s pew. But at least the rest of us don’t
have to pretend that the Pope is being rational (cer-
tainly not about the role of women).

Attendance at Roman Catholic mass has dropped by
50 per cent in the U.S. in the last decade; the number
of men entering the priesthood has similarly plum-
meted. While millions thought it a thrill to get a

‘glimpse of Christ's Vicar, eventually popes go back to.

Rome and the millions are left to live with a set of
ideas about sex that don't make sense to the majority.
Though the Pontiff’s presence gave a temporary
boost to the church, in the long run, increasingly
empty pews will testify that his pastoral visit only
contributed to the church’s losing fight to keep the
faithful.

I don’t mind the Pope bing plugged in to Higher
Powers, but I do object to the RCMP being plugged
into my telephone.

Last week the McDonald Royal Commission in-
vestigating RCMP wrong-doing got underway again
(actually they’re probing RCMP crimes, but moat of
the media uses the term “wrong-doing” because it
sounds more genteel),

Commission chairman Mr. Justice David McDonald
re-opened the hearings by disclosing the existence of
Operation Checkmate, a program of disruptive tactics
sincluding sending phoney letters - B.C. Socreds
please note) aimed at what the RCMP considered
subversive groups in Toronto, Vancouver and other
cities. The operation - ‘which may not have been
authorized or provided for by law," sald McDonald —
took place between 1972 and 1974. McDonald said that
the force is still free to use Checkmate-style tactics
because of a broadly-worded cabinet directive issued

195.

The directive, giving the Mounties almost unlimited
discretion to “monitor, deter, prevent and counter
individuals and groups" suspected of subversion,
came under attack at last week’s hearings by the
Canadian Bar Association. The lawyers urged tighter
government controls over RCMP national security
operations, :

The Bar Association wasn't the only group urging
moderation. They were followed by the Canadian Civil
Liberties Assn., which called for better protection of
individual rights in this country and Jess sweeping
powers for government when invoking emergency
measures acts.

“The law in this country,’ said the civil llber-
tarians, “has for too Jong been characterized by a
reverence for order as against freedom.”’ Amen.

This week Joe Clark opens Parliament and Guy
Lefleur takes to the ice at the Montreal Forum. In the
last of the preseason warmups, EXternal Affairs
Minister Flora McDonald, in a speech last week to the
Empire Club (is that a club that supports the growth of
empires’), whined about poor Third World countries
not being nice to Canada.

“We're friends to everyone, the honest brokers,”
she moaned, “We've spent billions .. and yet last
month the non-alligned countries cheerfully branded
us imperialists." She was referring to a resolution at
the Havana Conference denouncing our plans to
recognize Israeli territorial ambitions by shifting our
embassy to Jerusalem. ,

Let’s hear that “honest broker” line again. We only
wanted to move our embasssy, thus spitting in the
faces of the Palestinians, in order to garner a few
more Tory votes from Jewish ballot-casters in
Toronto. An henourable motive, indeed.

Come on Flora, let's stick to selling Candu reactors
to ‘he Argentinians.

The Herald welcomes its readers comments.
All letters to the editor of general public interest
will be printed. We do, however, retain the right
to refuge to print letters on grounds of possible
libel or bad taste. We may also edit letters for
style and length. All letters to be considered for
publication must be signed.

, ' toa é

COMMENT

By GRACE McCARTHY

During the Year of the Child and the Family in
British Columbia, i¢ has been my responsibility as
Minister of Human Resources to introduce new
programs which recognize the importance of the

unit in our society, This year is proclaimed
International Year of the Child, by the United Nations,
and in British Columbia we have gone one step further
in including the family in the recognition.

Our provincial government has introduced new
programs which are designed to improve and enrich
the lives of children at home or elsewhere in the world.
l would ike to share information about four of these
programs in my report to you today.

to you today,

Adoption, Special Needs Children: There are still
many children who, through unfortunate cir-
cumstances, cannot find adoptive homes. The term

“special needs” covers a variety of children, in- .

cluding those who are no longer infants, are ban-
dicapped, or have health, behavioural or emotional
pr . We are undertaking an extra special effort
to see that in this province these children may be
placed in loving homes.

I belleve that in our communities there are many
parents and families who are able to make the special
commitment needed to provide love and security for a

needs child.

The Helpline for Children, Zenith 1234: This is a 24-
hour toll free telephone Helpline for children to report
child abuse or neglect. The Helpline for children will
provide another means of access to the Ministry’s
services for dealing with child abuse and neglect. It is
intended to supplement existing services and provide

access to them for people who may not be able to find
the appropriate local telephone number in a moment
of stress.

This service provides a three part service; first for
children who are abused and neglected, secondly, for

‘parents who require help in a stressful situation and

don’t know where to turn and thirdly, for citizens who

are aware of a situation of abuse and neglect. Under |

provincial law, it is the responsibility of citizens to
advise the Ministry of Human Resourcea of any
situation involving abuse and neglect. It then becomes
the minisiry’s responsibility to see that the proper
services are given to correct the problem. The
Helpline for Children number is Zenith 1234.
Watch Me Grow: Life books for children who are
permanent wards, During this year, at least 3,300
children in the care of the Superintendent of Child
Welfare will receive a Life Book. This book, to be kept
by the child, will provide a record of the child's family
background and life experiences.

Special Child Abuse-Neglect Policy Handbook: This
is a joint project of the Ministries of Human
Resources, Healtli, Attorney General and Education,
Science and Technology. The policy handbook will be
distributed throughout the province to professionals
and agencies in the field of child abuse and neglect.
The handbook will assist the delivery of a co-ordinated
and unified service in cases involving child abuse and
neglect. ;

These are just some of the programs introduced
during the Year of the Child and the Family in British
Columbia. An of course it is important to realize that
these programs are not just for this year. They are

_ ongoing and so is our commitment to the well being of

children and families in our province.
If you would like more information about any of
these programs, please feel free to contact the local
offiea of the Ministry of Human Resources or write to
me: Grace McCarthy, Parliament Buildings, Vic-
toria, B.C., V8V 1X4. _

“This is a petition to force a plebiscite
on the stupid law that makes it easy to get
"petitions to force plebiscites.”

OTTAWA |
OFFBEAT

_BY RICHARD JACKSON __
Ottawa - Brace yourself for the next ripoff from your

taxes to sweeten the already sugary benefits of your -

Honorable Member of Parliament.

Severance pay is in the works.

Balm~in addition to a lifetime pension-for the MP

o doesn’t make it in an election.
wie has to be taken seriously for the idea comes from
the office of Prime Minister Joe * Clark.

His Director of Human Resources, herself a
defeated one-term MP in an east Ottawa riding, Jean

- Pigott, came up with it. ; ;

She's not ropesing it for her own benefit, mind you,
because she's already out of Parliament if in’? at the
Prime Minister's office.

What gave he the idea, she says quite frankly, was
“sympathy” for a defeated Liberal MP who came
looking to her, as the Prime Minister’s Human
Resources Director, for her assessment of the political
job market for recently unemployed parliamen-
tarians. oy

She says she felt “sorry for him, and presto, the
idea of severance pay for parliamentarians popped
into her head. ;

This has got to be pretty redickle-dockle. ;

Even the Liberals, in running up parliamentary pay
to an annual $1,300, never thought of it,

And they pretty well covered the waterfront on
parliamentary pay and benefits, including a pension
that pays for life after only six years in the Commons
and starts out at something approaching 4,000,
peaking at an annual $18,000 with cost of living in-
dexing at 65. ; ,

A quick check of the Finance Department’s
Estimates and a handy electronic calculator sets the
cost of each MP for one year in Parliament at $297 ,560.

The Commons costs $83,912,000 to operate annually
and there are 282 MPs. A straight question of division
of dollars by bodies.

And that's not counting grants, the cost of the
Senate, and the bill for various subsidies and services
beyond the already lofty standards.

Now severance pay.

When you're an MP, it seems, party politics don’t
matter all that much, because you're all good pals
together. os

On this very point a lovely letter appeared on the
editorial page of Ottawa’s leading ‘newspaper the
other day. =... AW Teens

It read, in Part: ~
_ “] gee where Joe Clark has generously granted

Pierre Trudeau, at taxpayers’ expense, &@
housekeeper, cook and a third person to help him cope
in Stornoway." :

(Stornoway’s the official residence of the Leader of
the Opposition, and the party usually pays the
freight.) .

“Where can I apply for such service?

“Surely P.E.T. should not be the only one to benefit
from such taxpayer generosity

Lot. abnahea.

|...“ qualify: Like Pierre 1 made a mistake in

.*judgment ‘and am a single parent, with three small
children. — .
“4nd I can well understand his problems because I

face and try my best to cope with them daily.

“Mr, Clark is correct~it is too much to expect a
person living alone with three children and an outside
job too.

“T, too, need the satisfaction of contributing to

-4 “society free of any feeling of guilt for neglecting m:
Hthildren. ene electing my

siti Sa LA SN aR
igo how do I go “about applying for my three
government paid household staff?"

To which the editor replied:

“Better go into politics. Pollticlans know they
cannot cope as well as the average taxpayer and so
give themselves special care and privileges.

“To be sure, it is often hard to disagree with their
claims of incompetence, The evidence is all around
us. Few Canadians dispute it.”

Hear hear!

ATRILL THINKS

By THOMAS ATRILL

Democracy, anyone?

Now, there is a word with a clean, wholesome,
sound, Like motherhood and the flag, something in
which to believe, smug in the knowledge that its
blessings flow throughout our national fabric.

What is democracy? By definition, ‘rule by the
people’, or more correctly, a form of government that
conforms to the wishes of the majority of its citizens.
Our system of government is said to be democratic,

Trudeau mouthed phrases such as participatory
democracy, while he imposed metric conversion,
abolition of the death penalty, PetroCanada, and

firearms control], all against the wishes of most
Canadians.

So much for democracy!

Now, Broadbent and his true believers are trying to
prevent the welling of all or part of PetroCanada and
other Crown corporations. We are told that the people
demand that Clark reconsider and go back on his
word. We are now being told that the people of this
country did not, in fact, elect Clark’s government to
govern according to his promises, but instead, ac-

cording to the wishes and philosoph: '
the defeated Liberals. philosophy of the NDP and

Because I believe in democracy and the wisdom of
an informed electorate, I cannot condone the actions
and efforts of the two socialist parties

If] would criticize this federal government
be because of its lack of action tocorrest the ten ot
the former government, I would be In favour of
referendums to gather the ideas of the people. I would
favour a more rapid exchange of infortnation between

government and its electors. T
idea of democracy, his would promote the

And it would take the wind out of the sails of those
rabble rousers who, without popular support, would
try to interfere with the carrying out of needed and

“
L