enn PREMIER: Well, theré. has’ béen: no application’ for wanium Page B14 THE REVIEW 9781-2nd St., Sidney B.C. | Wednesday, June 29, 1988 On the eve of the byelection in Boundary Similkameen, our Vic- toria correspondent Hubert Beyer sat down with Premier Vander Zalm for an exclusive interview. Thirty-six hours later, the premier was given a decisive message by the people in that riding, and he lost a bet with Beyer, who will collect his cup of coffee. The interview touches on.a wide range of subjects from the premier’s scrapping with the media to the increased burden placed on seniors, from the plight of fruit growers in the Okanagan to the privatization of highways maintenance, from decentralization to uranium mining. BEYER: Arc you a betting man? PREMIER: Not particularly. I’m not really a gambler, but I'll ‘take a bet. BEYER: How about a cup of coffee. This is the eve of the ~ pyclection in Boundary-Similkameen. What’s your prediction? Not that I expect you to say the Socreds will lose that scat. PREMIER: It'll be close. I believe I can say that objectively. 1 have been in the constituency a number of times, and every time I’ve been there, the reception has been good, but as is ‘so often the case in byelections, the opposition will drag up issucs they can best create controversics with. They’ve had a fairly effective campaign that way. They haven’t gone aftcr Russ Fox; they have gone after Bill Vander Zalm. And in fairness, that’s: what one might expect in a byelection. BEYER: Considering that, don’t you think you went out on the limb, campaigning so heavily in this byelection? Traditionally, leaders stay away from byclections where the outcome might be in doubt, because they will invariably be tarred with the brush of _ defeat, if things go wrong. - PREMIER: Well, I suppose if you lose they’ll say it’s because you were there. If you weren’t there and you lose, they’ll say you were afraid. It’s a bit of a no-win situation. BEYER: Regardless now of the byelection outcome, your gov- ~ ernment has problems in that area. The grape growers are worried, and I don’t think they’ve bought your assurances. PREMIER: Well, there hasn’t been too much opposition on that issue. The policy, while. not perfect and obviously lacking num- ‘bers; has been reasonably well received. There are a number of people who sce this as an opportunity to expand their operation. If they’re smart and find their niche, they could do well. ~. BEYER: Fruit growers arcn’t doing so well either. The market ~ “place ‘is ‘usually a good indicator of how the entreprencurs feel. ’’ Prices for orchards have dropped alarmingly. -‘ PREMIER: I know. I really feel sorry for the tree-fruit growers — |. generally, but. apple growers particularly. They’ve just come 1°. through a. terribly tough year. They’ve been getting two. cents. ao _.-pound for their apples, while they’re still selling in the stores for - 69-cents a. pound. There is obviously something wrong in that “whole process. We need to find out what it is and what we can do ‘about it. We intend. to’ get on :with .that'very quickly after the byelection. We will have meetings with the growers and the ” _marketing ‘board, the. wholesalers and: the retailers to find out” “where it’s gone wrong.) 5 ee ENP b tee eon “*, the: moratorium on uranium mining.-The public remembers your ne |. promise that you would. listen to the people.. There have been a. “number of referenda on the matter, but you: haven’t listened very © e “mining either. So, we really haven’t had to deal with it yet. We a know the views of the people and they will certainly be listened ~ to, should we: get-an application for uranium mining.. When you institute.a ban, you eliminate, in fact, the opportunity for mining ‘whole areas where there is a uranium presence. We think we have without really diminishing the amount of prospecting or mining mining, I don’t think uranium will be mined here for as long as I ~ = Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Review: provides this com: uranium? . oa, ‘ene PREMIER: | suppose from a simple reading of it, we could, al- though, mind you, these regulations were prepared by the ministry of energy, mines and petroleum resources after. considerable con- -. -gultation and research, I have to belicve. that of all the options, the — one we chose is the best one, Politically, of course, it may not have been the best onc, - BEYER: You don’t think some bureaucrat might have. put one over on you? | . ‘the best control of the situation. If-we could stop uranium mining © for other minerals, I would have no objection to banning uranium “can foresee, It’s so readily available and plentiful in places like - ~ BEYER: Given: that, why doesn’t the government simply allow ; for the mining of other minerals in areas. that show a uranium: - presence, but explicitly ban the exploration and mining for -PREMIER: Well, | don't know for sure, and it’s not been a” 2. Misor, ae peninsy community: | munity calendar. free of» charge, space permitting. Preference will be given to local non-profit clubs and. ‘organizations.’ Deadline for adver: . ~~ tising. upcoming events is noon Frie day... tage os oo MOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Hf youwenjoy children, the Sidney ~ Health office needs volunteers, tn NUTS > supers quire, 656-1188, "POLICE CHOIR...” Sreater. Victoria. 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IMAGE PROCESSING EXPERT U-of Toronta: professor speaks. . on Non-Linear Signal/lmae Pro- cessing, 10;30-anr July 3, and: Cure “rent Trende dn Tange dA nalysie, 2240 pm ily Gat room asso ot UVie + Science and Engineering Complex, ; ‘TENNIS LESSONS ~ o Repiners ands patermediape lessons, youth and adult, buesdity and © Thursdiy = evenings: trough HS Qbbd, HISTORICAL INSTRUMENTS "EE hibiion atMaluwwood Gidlery. UVic. oper full cen daysy Aagunt 7° PLAYGROUND PROGRAM Kids fis Centra! Sagnieh conden “mula, baby blankets: 382-3213. Over etegion necd Dig “Humboldt St. 384-119 Lo ~ Hall, 781 View St. 7:30-1E pm duly 3 $3, - Fuchsia Soviety pliant display, cu .§e6, - Royal BC. Museum, WA por + BABYSITTING TRAINING a ceNNRR * , .) _ problem, except politically. You're right, it probably will be held against us, because some people still think there could be uranium mining. BEYER: I take il that the privatization of highways maintenance is still going full steam ahead. PREMIER: It’s still proceeding. We'll be getting our proposals back staring at about the middle of July. We should be ready to Iet the first contract within. six weeks after that. Much of it will pro- ceed fairly quickly, BEYER: Will it go fast enough to have the private sector look after our highways this winter? PREMIER: Yes, absolutely. . . BEYER: And are you prepared for the fallout that may be trig- gered by this move? PREMIER: There will be some difficult times initially. 1 sup- pose every time acar goes into the ditch it will be the fault of the private sector. I’ll grant you, we’ve not had those types of com- plaints under the present system, but we will continue to insist on those high standards. That will be spelled out very specifically. We'll demand that the work be donc in a certain way, to certain standards. We hope the service will be at Icast as good as that which we have seen in the past. BEYER: What's the bottom line? How much can the taxpayers - save by turning this service over to the private sector? PREMIER: ‘Till all of the proposals are in, we won’t really know. In all fairness, we’re groping a wee bit at this time, because ~ it has not been.done before. We have nothing to compare it with. - BEYER: But you hope that the privatization of highways maintenance will go a long way towards climinating the deficit. PREMIER: It certainly is to play a great part in it. I think there will be considerable savings. There will also be a potential return to government if we were scll certain components, like highways equipment, sheds and the like, but we may not do that.. We may keep all of that in place. BEYER: You’ve said more than once that perception is as im- portant as reality, If that is so, you must be aware that a large seg- ment of the public believes the highways maintenance caper will end up in total disaster. This issue could lose you the next clection on public perception alone. If the whole thing actually ends in dis- aster, you’ll get your butt kicked with even greater certainty. PREMIER: We nced to move very quickly. It has to be done this year, so we have a few years to prove that it's successful. But you’re right, people can probably relate more easily to the snow- plowing or the cutting of the weeds or the picking up of the litter ~ or the patching of the potholes than they can to the dollars saved..- — So, if we have problems in that regard, $200 million in the budget wouldn’t mean that much. os ce BEYER: I’d like to move on to one my favorite pet peeves -- “decentralization, Like a lot of other people, I regard it as a smoke- and-mirror show. You have really further centralized the provin- cial government's. power, not decentralized it, haven’t you? You “have. centralized it in cabinet and in your office. Your MLAs sup- " port-you, not. surprisingly, but the NDP. has made'a good case ... -° against your decentralization scheme... “PREMIER: Well, that’s been the position of the NDP, although.“ : gone wrong horbiiag ES auhseobes.t ee 2 ol notieed - that, recently in Boundary-Similkamcen, in a meeting “BEYER: Another bone of contention in that particular arca is -with the mayors, Mike Harcourt said that he is not really opposed. - Pos “to decentralization. The only difference is they would do it in an-— “this whole problem of an aging population. In a few years, 70:per': t Be ee ae : : cent of the health care budget will go to those 60 years and.over.. © People who can afford to contribute more should contribute more. BEYER: There’s just one problem: Taking all the changes into. ~ consideration, that is the increase in user fees for long-term care. * and the increase in the GAIN ‘supplement for those with insuffi- © - - ~ cient means, those at the bottom end of the income scale are still. | ~ about $28 a month poorer than they were before. You’re not just’. ~hitting the ones who can afford to pay. You’re hurting the ones © _ other-way. ~ BEYER: Come tiow, you. know what Harcourt meant. He said. . he is in favor of real decentralization, which would involve the © -- ~ transfer of central:power,to other, lesser levels of government. . good deal of favorable comment from the outlying regions, It’s a _ grass-roots movement. We have been concentrating on economic «development, Hopefully, in the near future, we'll be looking:at .- -- health programs, social services and educational programs. BEYER: But so far, you haven’t got much to show for the $8 million allocated to the decentralization program. .- : ‘PREMIER: Yes, we have, To give you an example, there is a new tree-fruit processing plant in Summerland, Here was a party that had an idea of how to better process fruit and get it to market. ~The party was lacking some money. By providing a simple guar- antee, we were able to get this plant operational. They now have . -°$4 million worth of orders. That was made possible through the » “minister of state for the region. He heard about it from a local” group and was able to take it directly to cabinet and get approval for the guarantees, all in the course of a couple of weeks, 9. | ~ BEYER: But the infrastructure to get these things done. has al- ways been in place, It isn’t the first time in B.C.'s history that a plant was estiblished, fruit-processing or any other. You have a -minister.of economic development. Grace. McCarthy is a- great: booster. of ‘anything economic, or anything clse she’s been in charge of, for that matter, If anyone in any community has a good idea and needs a bit of a boost from the government, Tm sure — Grace would be more than willing to go to bat for them, She could adventure. programy: at Centennial Park, 94, Mon-Fri, July 4-Sept 2.0 day csessions duty : 941 Pandora, 388-5505, - DONATIONS NEEDED -DEFENDING. A> TRAFF St. Vineents de Paul — needs ryt ee een hil epee TICKET. toothpaste, toilet tissue, baby: fore: BIG BROTHERS opm July Qs s! 100° fatherless ~ boys Gin FAM TL Brothers, -Tnife night 7-9 pmo dily $, Rm ata 835 “Panorama, © Sundays in duly. 686-7271 00 3. LA LECHE LEAGUE — - CLUB DANCE People Meeling People dane. - with’ Cheekates,: ANA! Vets PLANT DISPLAY. ~ Greater Vietoria Geraniin and - 658-3228 oF 652-2707, lings for sale, Hillside Mall: Aupast OLD PHOTOS is VIC HIGH REUNION Chass of 1058 call S98-6209, $92. 6043 for October reunion, - — GUILDOE HBALIN : Victoria branch members Invited: to. Thursday morning. Maly.» Bucharistcat St. John's Charehe © 1H -Quadra lOO am ine JO, RSVP Awad ask, PA, - AMAZON EXPEDITION ©. Share the Draailian advance. Sidney Days display. 654-1322 o). HOMES NEEDED. RG me ; yi with Di Pall bing de awond paa uN gi tyme 30, Marltime: Museum, Base pe tion Squire, Fee admission... : “ESKIMO DOLLS Collection Sor dd handerafied ~ dolls from’ Aliska, Fannin Gallery, - WHAM Le DAW we aw Qh Take care of children aafely, aN ‘ “PREMIER: Whatever, I believe it’s coming together.. We get a 7 ‘have handled the fruit-processing plant deal just as well as your — minister of state. If you really want to decentralize, give local . government more autonomy. PREMIER: That’s happening. You’ll see a number of legislative changes that grant more autonomy to regional districts and to municipal councils. Hopefully, you'll also soon sce greater autonomy given to school boards. , . BEYER: You have been scrapping with the media latcly, premier, What’s come over you? a PREMIER: I’ve been having mectings throughout the province with the editors, the reporters and the pcople representing com- munity newspapers. Those mectings have been very effective. After all, community newspapers have the largest circulation in B.C. They also do a much better job than the big city newspapers. _ BEYER: You get no argument from me on that. PREMIER: Two weeks ago, I decided that I should meet with the editorial people of the big papers and the Canadian Press people in Vancouver. I pointed out to them some examples of what I considered to be dangerous ucnds such as cditorials and columns presented as news. You may sce, for example, a front page story in the Vancouver Sun with a bold-type teaser, directing you to page whatever for further comment by a columnist. So, they’re tying the column into the news story. The average person reading that secs what’s on the front page as news. If they turn to the columnist on page-11 or whatever, they tie the two together. I thought that was a dangerous trend. It’s very misleading at best. BEYER: How did the media representatives with whom you conferred respond to that? PREMIER: Well, I didn’t get an awful lot of response from the worst offenders, unfortunately, but I did get some interesting remarks from some of the other people there, from some of the other dailies, and certainly from the people that were there from Toronto, who understood my concern. Whether I gain anything by _ this is questionable, I suppose, but at least it makes me feel better when I can vent a little on the subject. I should add that there is an- | awareness developing out there that the big city media have gone overboard. I think we saw evidence of that on a tclevision pro- gram last weck which made it clear that more and more people are turning to their community newspapers, which are growing in strength and are picking up much of the advertising. - BEYER: Let’s move to a different topic. An awful lot of seniors _are upsct about the increases in user fees for long-term care. PREMIER: I’m glad you mention that. That’s probably. the best example of poor packaging, poor selling and poor presentation on our part. We unfortunately Iet the program get-out in bits: and “pieces. So, the first thing people saw.was where we increased the © - fees from $16.70 a day to:$19.20 a day. Then, within days, we brought in a provision for increases in the GAIN supplement for . those inneed... 0. von ; BEYER: That wasn’t a voluntary move. You know as well as I do that this later change wasn’t planned. That was pure damage ~control.-The GAIN increases were quickly introduced in response ois - to the outcry over the increases in.user fees, ces ~~ PREMIER: No, that was overlooked. What. we're really trying . | “to. do is move: towards a system. where those with insufficient . : - } “means are left with cnough comfort money, but-at the same time, | * “those who can afford it will:pay,more..We must begin to address... who have got little or nothing to start with. To those people, $28 a -“-month means the difference between being able to buy the odd. - little bottle of perfume or doing without it. So, somewhere along the linc, you or whoever, goofed, and you should take another look at the problem. oer . ~ PREMIER: If there’s a-hardship, certainly it needs to be ad- dressed. I don’t know all the details of what people have Icft in’ the way of a comfort allowance, butit’s not unreasonable. BEYER: What's so reasonable about it? The poorest of the poor SS are still about $28 poorer than they were before you raised the. fees. I suggest that when you have worked all ‘your life, part of your productivity has gone to the betterment of society. When that socicty takes another $28 from the very limited income that’s left ". you, something is very wrong, It just isn’t fair. I think you should take another look at it. Someone should. i. PREMIER; The minimum, as I understand it, a person is left “with is about $5 or $6 a. day in comfort money, Yes, we may definitely have to sce how all this is coming together, I'm not saying that we shouldn't reassess it, BEYER; Thank you for this interview, premicr. renee _ “days a 2330 pm 632-0336 helping course and: first aid, fours ogo Ft i deAnge 9 22.. $IR/ week. Children $-10 years ol... Register at St dobn Ambulance,» moo 0 oo pe ‘Summer program for children with earning » Disabilities Assn, S98-S611, Y° DAY: HIKES = @ ML Finlayson, Sidney. 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