ESTABLISHED 1912

9781 - 2nd ST., Sidney, B.C. V8L 3C5
SECOND CLASS MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 0128

When the cat's away

Playing cutsie with your own bylaws is not a game
aldermen. normally play.

But at Sidney’s Committee of the Whole meeting
Monday night, four of the six men left in charge of the
town’s affairs while their mayor is in the East at a
meeting decided to ignore a bylaw and directed their
chief administrator to see if he could find a way around
it.

The cause is noble enough.

The people in charge of Sidney Days want to hold a
dog derby for a few hours and need access across Tulista
Park to. the federal land nearby where their derby will,
hopefully, take place. The derby is a good idea and pro-
mises to be fun for both the participants and their au-
dience.

Unfortunately, Sidney’s bylaws prohibit dogs in the
park. Period.

. The Sidney Days people didn’t want to break the law
so they asked council for permission to trot their dogs
across the park. Four aldermen Addison, Chad, Jones
and Kubek, decided that, at least in this case, the bylaw

_ should play second fiddle to the needs of dogs and their
_ masters.

Kubek said he’ d hate to see council ‘‘hung up on its

own bylaw” and have to turn down the Sidney Days’ re-
~ quest. .

We thought the idea of bylaws. was in fact to. hang
people up on them so that the order they gave to a com-
‘munity would be followed. If a bylaw. is bad, then it can

be changed using the procedures set down to make such.

changes.

-But if a bylaw is from time to.time merely inconve- .
nient and, as in the present case, gets in the way of some |
fun; should citizens, even aldermen in their zeal to be |.

good guys, be allowed to wriggle out from under:
-We think not.

: back.

Pole trouble ‘coming u up

It: s time once again! to open: up the debate’ on 1 when, if

We. wonder: what will happen when the mayor. gets

VIC SWAN, Publisher
GEORGE LEE, Editor
Proprietor: Island Publishers Ltd.

“SUCCESS: OF ST ELLY
NORRIED |

HOW IS THE |
DRIVE-THRU
CONSTRUCTION

~ ever, the five and one-half hydro: poles standing in fom ae

onto the sidewalk where they belong.

and: seems’ ‘unwilling: to mhake a decision which’ ‘way to. g

the mayor for not doing something sooner.
-Now is sooner. —_
Let's move ’em.

A week is ; not enough

The Capital Regional District has proclaimed the week
- of June 19 to 25 as. Occupational Health and Safety

Week.

That week, employers, employees and everybody else in
_the world ’are supposed to be particularily aware of the
_ dangers of finger-mashing machinery, skin-melting acids

and bone-crushing chunks of metal and wood.

Good idea.
We're sure everyone involved will do their best,

~ But a better idea would be for the CRD to proclaim the
“10 years between 1988 and 1998 as Occupational Health’

and Safety Decade: A week is hardly long enough,

»Sidney’s Beacon. Avenue gutter: will be: hauled: back up

‘They stand-on‘the-north side. of ‘Beacon between n Se ;
cond and Fifth Streets.. They. look like:a: long time:ago, »::
when they were just: ‘saplings, they hopped into the traffic:
to: play” and were never: called. back’ to: safety by their...
-parents. Actually, one pole; the. half one, sits on the curb:;)

: All are old, ‘heavy. with black wires and scared by years...
of being bumped, nicked and scraped’ by passing vehicles:
~~ which were surprised to find them in the street. They all.
ss sport bandaids in the form of reflector strips. which cover. :
vo the deeper.cuts.. — ‘i
eae ~One of these days a final bump will send one of the. old
~~ guys down on its back in a tangle of wires and sparks and _
~*~ everyone will blame the government or B.C, Hydro or

Seduce : wp ae
On: ‘behalf. of my. “classmates.

- Beyers column last week),

may I thank-you for giving us the

: supplement to. The Revicw™ on
Early -: Life.

‘on the
Peninsula.

>. Jt was. very interesting and’ en-
joyed by our friends in Quebcc.

Michael Ward
‘Mount Newton School

Grade7, Brench tarmcrsion,

Glen, not Ney

: Editor:

T agree | that: there. are fewer
~ people who can. generate. more
hype than Frank Ney. But once —
-again the idea for the Nanaimo

Bathtub —
credited

‘Races has... been ac-
‘to. Ney. (In. Hubert

‘The actual instigator. of the

_ races was Glen Galloway C'The :

Great Glen"'),
Galloway. suggested the. race to

his boss, Ney, as part of the 1967 ©
- Centennial celebrations. He tried

us adiversionary tactic...

COMI NG ALONG?

Saauen

“Island's
munity trying to compete in the :

uit Ll

etal, ;

“came up with a fiberglass ee tha ~

was bordcr-line seaworthy.
-thought © up = such’ a
ridiculously funny event! ©

More bathtub race information
(but not the. whole story) can be

found in Reg. Watt’s book ‘‘The:

Bathtub Races’’, Watts, RJ., &

Associates Ltd: ; West Vancouver.

Lisa Galloway
Saanichton, B. c

Hike unfair

Editor:

‘The recent hikes in the cost of

B.C. Ferry prices is not fair to the

average citizen living on. Van-
couver Island, nor is it fair-to the
small. business . com-

market place,

Vancouver Island residents are
constantly subject to increased

travel. costs at the whim of the
government. Small businesses arc
also faced with: increased trans-

Opinion

Wednesday, June 8, 1988 Page A4

os spon “and . bleach- botlle- ”
“ballast . tubs. before he “finally”

'G SCHOOL “CAFE” HAS. LOCAL RESTAU RATEURS |
T COMPETITION...

IY gerter THAN WE

: “Taxpayers, all help maintain the
highway -sysicm

Coquihalla Highway. I believe

that. the B.C. Ferry service be- —

tween Vancouver Island and. the
mainland is an extension of the

hve

Therefore, the B.C. Ferry Cor-

‘poration should receive a subsidy

similar to. that. applied. for road

-maintenance:
This is not a new idea. It is in-
deed returning to a formula that -
“was in place once and clearly out-

lined. and justified how ‘prices

were set. and how increases to

those prices occurred,

It's not fair when’ we, as Island

residents and taxpayers, must pay

a disproportionate share of the
cost of transportation in B.C,

Daryl Bar nett

will Premier keep his, promise o on ) dual ridings?

‘. ymong the Socred ranks; although some of them mie criticize Wee

tt there's

Ad Sra: ra
ee WHPABEHA NSA

PLANNED! THE PIST
PAYMENTS FROM THE FRANCHISEES
ENOUGH Leet OVER > ADD THE
ERO . a NEW DINING ROOM
lh BND THE WINE
" CEUAR. ! .

1a

“portation ‘Costs ier goods, Weaving » ey
~ them with little. choice other than.
passing those’ costs: on to us, the 7
oso? Consumers: :
~ Nobody ©: but my father could:

“have

Editor: : “

including the.

stand indefinitely --
provincial. highway system in. |

President-. -
oo Sannich and Islands NDP .-

WITH

il

= Sad state.

"May we bring to the attention of a

"your readers, the sad state of our."
“tennis facilities in this area. .

‘Firstly, the two courts al they
Panorama Recreation Centre have.
been closed down -- we under-. ;
owing to ~
cracking and. ~ -under-water
damage. Also, the two courts at:
the Iroquois Park, are badly in-

“need of repair. -- many. fissures .

and holes. =

That leaves the four courts. ‘al
Parklands School which necd to -
be re-surfaced urgently and are
scldom used because of their con-
dition,

We understand the Recreation.
Commission. members. are trying

to obtain: funding to. construct.

four courts there, with help from ¢
lottery funds and other: means,
These will - be — indoor-outdoor

“courts; therefore, preventing the
necessity. of players travelling to

Victoria in inclement weather.”
When you look at the many fine:
Continued on Pago A5

s anything Vander Zam hates it is the: risk ‘of being

VICTORIA “ Judge Thomas. Fisher's ‘protiminary. report on =

electoral boundaries has been released, and every pundit has

rushed into print, predicting a quict. burial for. the final version,

“expected sometime this fall. Pbeg to differ,

-- Thave a hunch Premier. Vander Zain is. prepared to live with : m
~ most of Fisher's recommendations, even if his own colleagues ©

~ don't like them, Only: an open: revolt amoernig: his cabinet and
- caudus will make the premier reject Fisher's report.

A. Tam convinced that most people still don't know whit makes

ooo Mander Zalm tick. They compare him to the only-ather Socred >

premiers most of them have: known +» Bill Bennettand W.A.C..
Bennett, They expect him iw act as those premiers would have. a

‘nected, and that’s a big mistake,

There's litte doubt that the twa Rennetts would have. politely.
~ discussed Fisher's report, praised the author lor his dedication 10.
the task, and ther filed the document away on some dusty gove

eroment shelf. They would have considered some of the tecom-
meniations: 100 risky for their party's survival at the polls.
Fisher's recommendation to add six: more seats to the legista-

the nceambly hringine the totalto 78, won't stir tr much unrest :

By uilking about the added: ‘burden on the. taxpayers who will
have to foot the bill for six more MLAs, they might try to kill the

Those fears are rooted in another of Fisher's rec ommendations,

He. says doubleemember ridings. should be eliminated, and all

constituencies should elect one member, »

Now, if you just think back to the last election campaign, you
may remember that the abolition of dual-member ridings was one
of Bill: Vander Zalm's stated aims, Considering the few specifics
the premier raised in that campaign, Um sure. you Mc forgot:

ten. Neither has the premier,

True, a lot of Socreds weren't thrilled by Vander “ alias

“report without having to talk too much about their real fears.

sistence on single-member. ridings, but that had. never wore a

‘their man before, Sa, he continued peonniaang to dy awiy with

'» donble- member ridings.

The same Socreds aren't any.. happier now that Fisher's :

preliminary report is out. They: have the same reservations as be

fore, The abolition of double-member ridings + there: are.17 of
them» was. and is believed to benelit Uie ew Detowralic: Pasty,

_ which: is' more than enough reason for the Socreds to reject Bee

’ Fisher's report.

The rest of the report i is: probably accepluble to both sides. andl

could, therefore, be adapted, So what's. wrong, with adding six

more members, changing a few boundaries and forgetting about

the single. member riding idea? One thing is wrong, with that. The

premier promised to get rid of single-member ridings. It was that:
specific promise which ted to the appointment of Fisher to start.
witty He’ v no to extraordinary lengths takecp that promise. es

isn't the only one to determine the’ price of beer,

Vander Zalm' 8 promise to eliminate double-member ridings
was a serious one, based on his belief that,they don't give the.

people fair representation, It will take more than a few grumbles .

_ from his caucus to make him go back on that promlse,

The last time Vander. Zalm: retreated into. a fox hole and
furiously defended his own-beliefs against friend and foe was on
the: issue of abortion, MWe stubbornly held 10 his position, even

perceived asa sly and devious politician, He dikes lo be seen as.
~ scrupulously honest and trustworthy, 7
Ah, but he broke his promise of lowering the price of beer,
an didn’ the? Well, T'd say. that isn’t quite the same, That promise --
was more of a tongue-in-cheek remark, Also, the government se

when his own cabinet began to revolt, The only thing that saved

the day for Vander Zalm-in that issue was the federal yovern-

ment, In the end, the premier had tn admit that he doesn't have.”
the rinht to disobey the law. To this day, however, nobody can»

accuse him of having gone back on his word,

_ This time:around, there will be no Supreme Court of Canada 10
—.felieve him ofa decision, Judge Fisher's report is for him and his:
: BOVGFHMNEAE tO adopt or reject, By virtue ol the Sacred miyonity

inthe legislature, cither ean happen,’

The. government has already taken the: first step towards
eventual implementation ~« the cynics will say shelving «« of the
Fisher report, Provincial Secretary Elwood Veitch has announced
the forming of a legislative commiltce to deal with the report,

The NDP has responded favorably. to Uhat announcement, but.

warned that such an all-pary committee of the legigtatire: must

~ deal with all of Fisher's s recommendations, not just those that sult
the kovernment,