Wednesday, March 22, 1989

In 1988, according to a recent report by British Columbia’s
central statistics bureau, 29,896 more people moved to the
province from other parts of Canada than Icft B.C. for those other

parts.

In order to assist these immigrants to function effectively i in their
new home, I have prepared the following introductory primer. An
intermediate version is in the planning stage.

A - Abortion. We don’t talk about that here.

B - Bills. An acronym for ‘premier’.

_THE RE VIEW 9781 -2nd St, Sidney B. Co

‘throughout the province as in: “Geez Harry, juno what those

meatheads in Victoria said they’re gonna do next?”

K - Kill Fees. Amounts paid to retiring bureaucrats.

L - Laughter. The noise heard in other parts of the world when
someone mentions B.C., or Lotus Land.

M - Media. A biased gaggle of men and women who insist on
reporting more or Iess what happens when politicians screw up.
That’s entertainment.

N - NDP. A small band of malcontents who both crave and fear
power. If elected, they promise to put our money where their
mouths are. They can form governments only when led by a clown.
There are no clowns on the horizon. »

O - Oh. A two-letter word followed quickly by a four-letter word
yelled by Beeclumbians when reading their newspapers.

P - Pipeline. Privatization. Prayers. The possibility of a gas
pipeline to Vancouver Island is raised before every election and
dropped after the ballots are counted. Privatization means reducing
the number of arcas which are mismanaged by government.
Prayers are what Beeclumbians say every night as in: ‘Please

C - Canucks. An almost extinct sub-species of Beeclumbian
culture the members of which dedicate their lives to raising and
then dashing their supporters’ hopes.

D - Deficit. The province may. or may not have one. It depends
on whom you talk to and when.

E - Electoral Boundaries. These are measured ‘in fingers and
feet. They are moved_a bit just before each election to help fricnds
stay in power.

F - Forests. This is the ‘F’ word in B.C. Depending on whom you
talk to, there may be tures around till the end of time or they just
might all be gone early next weck.

G - Goals. This word has many uses. They are what the
government promises to set; what the Canucks can’t score; where

. prisoners escape from. We use all three definitions every week.

_ H- Harcourt. A mainlander who adopts a wait-and-sce approach
to everything. Insomniacs use tapes of his speeches to encourage
sleep.

I - Income Taxes. Now at 51.5 per cent of the basic federal tax.
Isn’t that enough to make you want to move back to where you
came from?

J - Juno. A contraction ‘of an interrogative phrase heard daily

VICTORIA — At about 2:30 pm., March 30, Finance Minister

Mel :Couvelier: will begin reading his. budget speech in. the BC.

Legislature. ae
“s. Since reporters covering: Victoria will have been locked up with.

copies of the 1989-90 budget.since 8 a.m. that day, the air waves.

vc Wil be humming | by. about: 3 p.m. “with news. of how. the © Bee
“government intends to. spend the $13 billion or: so it- will collect nee

financing,

‘collectors and sheriffs.

legislative chambers.

AE from the taxpayers of B.C.:in the: new fiscal year. :
_- While details of the budget remain under. wraps; it is safe to say.
that it will besa. “good-news”: budget. All indications are that it.
will be-a balanced budget, the first i ‘in eight! — of defi icit “aang

To the average British Columbian a ‘balanced budget is, of
» course, nothing new. They've had to adhere to.a balanced-budget .:
“policy ‘all along; those who: had a whirl at personal deficit- ©
-. financing, would -have ‘been quickly called to order r by! bill”

Governments don’t have to operate under such restrictive
guidelines, Governments can merrily spend more than they carn,
and nobody garnishees their stipends or rcpossesses their

That docsn't mean nobody will ever have to pay for all the
-moncy governments don’t have but spend anyway, Unfortunately, as
lot of governments get defeated before the day of fiscal reckoning.

Think of all the federal deficit budgets the Liberals gave us. As a
matter of fact, think of the deficit budgets the Tories are still giving. .

us. By now, Canadians owe. about $280 billion. That's $40,000 for”

a family of four.

» The best the Tories say they can do is reduce the amount by

which we're going into the red,:and. along comes Mel with what — ~

‘will probably be a balanced budget. Now that's good news. »
Several things have enabled the Socreds to stop. deficit- .
financing, The first and foremost reason is that the provincial
economy is in good shape, but that alone doesn’t account for the
~ balanced budget. Other Canadian provinces have vibrant ec onomi-
es, too, but continue to go into: the hale.

C continued from Page AS

TS), Te was fall and detailed, and ;
confirmed all that has been written -

in recent letters to the editor

‘However. 1 think some items:
need tobe emphasized, First;
though Sidney Pier has raised

enough money 10 pay off debts, the
Municipal. Clerk Mr. Logan

~ pointed out that they have not yet

-riised the necessary. financing for
the marina and commercial devel-
opment, and of course there is still
“no performance bond,

Secondly, regardless: of the
labels permanent or transient on
the marina berths, the real issue

revealed ine your story is the fact

that the new ground Tease signed
‘ast December and still not availa.
Ye to the taxpayer is a complete

reversal of the so-called binding
igreement signed with Sidney Pier

in Nov, 1987,
Under the new lease Sidney Pier

is only legally bound to. build a.

total of 100 berths: instead of the

minimum of 200 provided for in’
the Nov 87 agreement, The Maydr

confirms this when she says a

minimum. of 100 transient and a
niaxiniua of TOO permanent,

i,
“

nent berths plus about SO transient
on Federal Government docks, and:
floats put out cach summer,
namely aol of 130. Therefore if

» Sidney Pier sticks to its new Tegal

obligation. and only: builds: 100
berths, we. will have ‘spent $3

Million of the taxpayers money on
2 new breakwater and end up with

30 less berths than we-have now,

‘es -] know: we will. be told

Sidney Pier intends or promises to
huild 200, 1f so then why did they
induce Council to amend the
agreement which specified the

200? T wonder if there will he

anymore surprises when we finally
get copies of the lease?

What does changing labels from
permanent to trinsient mean to the
local boater?

miles get to his fishing at the
Spltar James: telands-and his
permanent moorage nic, will he

“approx, $3.50 per foot per month,

that’s $84 per month,

Tlowever if he wishes to berth at
Sidney Port where he only has one
mile to go to fish the same spats,

- he will be labeled transient and
We have always had 80 perma:

pay the transient rate, which is

. If he berths his. 24.
‘foot boat at Tschum arbour he
Will have to travel some three

don’t change-a thing. We. love all this silliness. Really.”
Q- Questions. if you have any, write them on a separate piece of

paper. Swallow the paper.

R - Regional Districts. A plan which keeps dozens of town
councils and bureaucrats intact by giving them another govern-
ment layer to belong to, waste time at, pontificate over and get paid

by.

S - Schools. Surikes. These two are so intertwined that many
people think they are the same thing.

T - Teachers. Tax hikes, These two are so intertwined that many
people think they are the same: thing.

U - Universitics. Expensive holding tanks for unemployables.

Privatize them, | say.

V - Vander. This is not. what you ‘think. It is, in fact, an’
interrogative word used by recent immigrants.to B.C. as in: “I~
vander if I can really afford to-live here? I vander if I can stand it?”

W - Wacky. The man who started it all.

X - Rumoured to be the signature of several MLAs.

Y - Yelling. The manner .in which government business is
carried on.

Z - Zalm. Last but not Icast.

The difference is that the Socreds have administered our
financial affairs responsibly. Whatever the government's shortco-
mings, fiscal irresponsibility isn’t one of them.

While details of the budget-are still shrouded in secrecy, it’s
fairly safe to make a couple of assumptions. There will, in all

’. likelihood, be ‘some relicf for the housing market.
_ . First-time home buyers will probably be exempted from the
-much-hated real estate tax which funnels one: cent for cach real
estate: purchase ‘dollar into’ provincial coffers. It’s. no big deal if.
s a hardship for young couples trying
- t0 scrape up the downpayment for their first home. :
The budget will probably also. contain: money to case the
“pressure on rental accommodation. There. is a severe shortage of
. Fental . housing, particularly - in the urban cenues, and. rents have oe
“«) imcreased: dramatically asa result.) 908 .
My guess is that the. government, perhaps in. n conjunction with -
the: federal. government, will: make funding ‘available to non- -profit”
organizations for the purpose of building rental housing. I wouldn’t.:
great boost for co-operative housing. The Socreds 2 aren a
into co-ops; they smack too much of socialism. i
~, ‘The budget. will also continue funding for a number of programs :
- introduced i in previous ycars to aid the small business sector. There. *
may even be some additional tax breaks’ for ‘small businesses. I’ m
~ sure the government realizes that small business is still the major
economic gencrator and that most new jobs aren’ t created by big
- industry bul by: small businesses...

Two. things. we shouldn’t expect are a cut’ in “the srévincial
income tax and a reduction in the sales tax, although the latter was
promised a couple of years back. A general tax reduction would
cut. too big a hole into. revenucs and send the balanced budget out

~ the window. Instead, I expect the government to give tax breaks to

~ you’re Jimmy -Pattison, but it’s

expect a

specific sectors of the economy.

One major recipient of further. tax brodks | may be the mining
industry. Even though the industry has had a relatively good year,.
it’s still laboring under a somewhat unfair tax structure.

 For-years, the Mining Association of B.C, has tried in vain-to get --

_. major concessions from Victoria but Tom -Waterland, the new
_ president of the association, may very well succeed where his
predecessors failed. A former mining engineer and Socred cabinet

~ minister, Waterland is still well connected to the party. ,;
‘The Socreds have a lot riding on this budget, namely their future,
Their good fiscal management notwithstanding, the Sacreds have,
so far, been unable to capture the hearts of voters. Every poll taken
by the Socreds indicates a sound defeat if an clection were held at

the time of the survey.

The government hopes that this budget will turn things around,
Whether or not it does, we'll soon know.

usually around 50 cents: per foot.

per day, which is 8360 per manth,

Building fewer berths lowers: Sid-
ney Pier's capitd costs and chan:
Ing transient rates increases thelr
‘income. No wonder they wanted a
new To ase, Tow sweet it is for
Sidney Pier, .

“almost deliherate: misinforma-

tion” being spread. Surely: the
Why does she >

answer is simple,
not write or phone the editor and
correct the alleged misstatements
of fact? Tn the. last, 16 months 1
have written one article and two
letters ty the editor and not once
“has she challenged any item | have

written, Methinks the Tady doth.

protest too much, For the record,
in Nov, 1987 the Mayor announced
the Sidney Pigs Vinings agrecgic ul
saying it provided: for a minimum

of 200 berths, Next day the media.

revealed that was not tre and four
days Tater after heavy public pres-
sure the Mayor was forced to sign
‘anamendment to the agreement 10
provide the minimum af 200

berths, Did someone say Risin ;

mation?

Now to your editorist, C'We efaly i

yea," The Review, March 15),

The Mayor. complains oof

Shades of Social C redit, Remem-

ber when Bill Rennett called all
.thase who opposed, his money
losing mega projects bad Baus

Columbians?

Now The Review is using the
kame discredited tactic by: calling

all who. oppose the Mayor and her

policies “anti-port, anti Scaley,. .
“and. naysayers” surely bad Sid- ~
“neyites foo! Again for the record, :
we have argued for both types of
berths, 100 minimum of each, I

Must. now confess Toam-anti-

Sealey, In fact Tam one of 804
persons who dared to commit the —
unfargivable sin of voting against

her in the Jast election,
Tam also anti-Huberts and Cour

-velier because our local, MLAs, |:
$1 million of the |
Laapayoas money Into Whe brcak war
ter, are not supporting the local:
boaters. However 1 know that.

after pouring 4

unlike their potitionl colleagne the.

“mayor they will not stamp their:

feet and go into a snit merely
because Tam critical of their

policies, For one thing they are too

busy counting byelection votes, .

You say The Review has been -
privaicly criticized for printing too.
Continued on Page A6 -

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