Opinion

TheReview Wednesday, J anuary 24, 1990 Le

Quit smoking with the Hubert Beyer method, +.
air fare and accommodation not included

HONOLULU — Considering
the response I got to my recent
piece in support of smokers’
tights, I thought some of my
readers might be interested in the
fact that I have quit smoking.

Now, hold your applause. I
didn’t quit voluntarily, I had to be
taken to the Straub Hospital in
Honolulu before I swore off my
life-long habit.

This column is written from the
coronary care unit which, I am
happy to say, I’m leaving this
afternoon for the more general
quarters of my temporary $1,200-
a-day accommodation. And you
thought health care in British
Columbia was expensive.

The doctor’s verdict: minor
heart attack. More like a warning:
no serious damage to the heart, but
I'll be stuck here, nevertheless, for
another week, because the doctor
wants to do an angiogram, and
follow that up, if necessary, with

- angioplastie.

Speaking of angioplastie, the
first person I met at Vancouver
International Airport on my way to
Hawati was Grace McCarthy. She
said she felt great, had no idea
what the Zalm would do. And, yes,
she highly recommended angiop-
lastie. It certainly worked for her,
she said.

On the plane, Ray, her husband,
came back to my seat and handed
me that day’s edition of the Van-
couver Sun, featuring the results of
a poll, according to which even the
Zalm could lead the Socreds to
victory in the next general elec-
tion. Looked to me like that poll
had been paid for by the NDP. not
the Sun.

It turned out that the McCar-
thies were going to Maui, while I
was looking forward to a week of
life in *Honolulu’s fast lane. So
were a whole lot of other people I
hadn’t see in some time.

Here I was, sitting under an
umbrella by the beach behind the
Sheraton Moane Surfrider — I
love those names — when Dave
Stupich and Jim Gorst show up.

Gorst, the MLA for Esquimalt
during the NDP government, is
now co-owner of a tourist bus
operation in Victoria, and Stupich,
former MLA for Nanaimo, now
represents that community in
Ottawa. Then Stupich and Gorst
tell me that they had dinner the
night before with Dave and Shirley
Barrett.

By this time, I was getting the
distinct impression that I had
stumbled onto a secret NDP con-
vention in Hawaii. Nah, just kid-
ding. Why shouldn’t Social Dem-
ocrats go to Hawaii? They, too, like
the sun and the beaches and the
palm trees.

While nursing my second Mai
Tai, I recalled that a friend of mine,
Mauray Gwynne, lost his job some
years back as an information offi-
cer with the government, because
a reporter had quoted him: as
Saying that the reason why so
many cabinet ministers were in
Hawaii that week might be to
discuss food banks.

But let’s change the subject for
a moment. I couldn’t help com-
pare Honolulu’s treatment of tour-
ists with that visitors receive in
Vancouver and Victoria. In a nut-
shell: theirs is first class, ours is
lousy.

It seems Hawaiians are far more
aware of the importance tourism

plays in their economy. The driver
of a tour bus told me that 90 per

cent of Hawaii’s industry is tour-
ism. “You don’t fool around with
that,” he said.

What bothered me a bit was the
complete absence of any Canadian
news in the Honolulu papers. No
Matter how hard [ looked, neither
the Star Bulletin, nor the Adver-
tiser has even the smallest item
dealing with Canada, leave alone
BC.

Meanwhile, I am pondering the
slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune which relegated me to a
hospital bed, rather than the white

beach of Waikiki, less than three
miles away. But things could have
been worse! I could have forgotten
to take out travel insurance.

The very thought of getting
caught in this dilemma without
travel insurance would scare the
pants off me, if I weren’t already
sitting here, clad only in one of
those stupid hospital gowns.

A regular room at this hospital
— a private hospital — is $1,200 a
day. A room in the coronary care
unit with its state-of-the-art equip-
ment costs about $1,500 a day. A

few weeks in here, without insur-
ance, is like being condemned to
poverty for the rest of your life.

Getting back to the smoking:
issue. Some people responded
quite rudely to the column in
which I didn’t defend smoking
but spoke out on behalf of smokers
who are being pushed around
more and more.

At any rate, I have quit, and the
cost of my stay at the Honolulu

Straub Hospital is being picked up , :

by a Washington, D.C., insurance
firm. I wanted you to know that.

What are your views of the Future of our Forests?

British Columbia is rich in land and resources, in particular our forestlands. There are many
differing values and views of the forests, and many opportunities for the use of our forestand
range land resources.

Views on the management of these resources are varied and often diverse because people place
different values on the way they, and others, use the forest. Some of the issues regarding ee
lands include:

® community economic dependency;

° umber harvesting;

° traditional aboriginal practices;

* quality and quantity of fish and wildlife;

¢ water quality;

° environmental quality;

¢ recreation and tourism;

e wilderness preservation; and

° range-forest interface.

When these activities are not compauble, difficultland and resource use decisions have to be
made. The B.C. Forest Resources Commission needs to understand how the forests are viewed
by the citizens of the Province and how the public can be involved, so that we can plan for the
integrated use of the forests.

In the words of the Minister of Forests, *...many of the issues I must deal with are brought _
about because we have no clear view of exactly what the forests of British Columbia represent...
I view this to be of paramount importance because I believe thatuntil we havea generally
accepted vision, it will be extremely difficult, ifnotimpossible, to resolve many ofthe other
issues facing us.”

The Commission wants your views on the future of British Columbia’s forests through
the 1990s and into the 21st century.

The Process

The Commission is currently requesting written submissions from British Columbians. This
Spring, community meetings will be held in locations across the Province to hear fromall those
ae have submitted written briefs. Based on these submissions and the community meetings,
the Commission will prepare an Options Paper outlining alternatives and theirimplications for
B.C.’s forests. A aeino the Options Paper will be distributed in the Fall, 1990 and you will be
asked for your response to this Paper in a second series ofmeetings. Yourcomments and
suggestions will be included in the final statement which will form the basis of future planning

and decision making for the Commission.

Timing

March 16, 1990
April-May, 1990
June-August, 1990
September, 1990
Mid September to
mid October, 1990
Winter, 1990-1991

Written submissions due

Community meetings to obtain input from the public
Develop Options Paper with alternatives and implications
Distribute Options Paper to the public

Community meetings to discuss Options Paper

Submission to Minister of Forests

The First Step : Wrife us now

Your written response must be tous by March 16, 1990 so thatcommunity meeting locations
and umes can be established.

How to Submit

The Commission wants to hear from British Columbians. We are asking you to write a letter or
prepare a formal briefand fax or mail your submission to:

The British Columbia Forest Resources Commission

700, 747 Fort Street

Victoria, B.C. V8W3E1

Attn: Derrick Curtis

Phone:356-7885 Fax:356-7888
‘The Commission wants the widest public input possible. We encourage you to submityour
written material now. Besides hearing from those who submit written materials, there will only
be limited time for others who want to make presentations during the community meetings.

Future

of Our
Forests

The Commission’s Mandate

The British Columbia Forest Resources Commission was
established by the Minister of Forests on June 29, 1989.
The Commission is anindependent body reporting tothe

Minister witha mandate to review and make recommendations
on a wide range of issues of concern.
The Commission hnsbeei given four specifictasks:

©fo recommend ways B.C.’s forest and range lands
may be managed to protect and enhance differing values:
eto review the effectiveness of Tree Farm Licences
as a form of tenure:
eto recommend ways to improve public participation in
forestplanningan management; ani

eto review andrecommend waysto improve forest
harvest practices, focussing on clear-cutting and
associated forest practices and their impacts.

Commission Membership
Chairman: Mr. A.L.(Sandy) Peel

Commissioners:
e Peter Burns, QC, dean, Faculty of law, U.B.C
© Roger Freeman, M.D., co-chairman, Recreation ond Conservation
Committee, Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C; Director, Outdoor
Recrection Council of B.C.
e Joyce Harder, mayor of Lillooet and businesswoman
© David Haywood-Farmer, rancher
Bob Kennedy, PhD., dean, Faculty of Forestry, U.B.C.
e Jack Munro, president, IWA-Conada
¢ Carmen Purdy, president, Kootenay Wildlife Heritage Fund:
industrial relations manager, Cresthrook Forest Industries; and
former president, B.C. Wildlife Federation
¢ The Honorable Bob Rogers, 0.C, former Lieutenant Governor
of British Columbia ond retired forest industry executive
© Cyril Shelford, former MLA and retired businessman
e John Szauer; registered professional forester ond retired manager,
Cariboo Forest Region, B.C Forest Service
Matt Vickers, member, Tsimshian Tribal Council

Executive Director: Mr. Derrick Curtis

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