Page A8 hubert beyer At the legislature ~ VICTORIA — I’ve never had a great urge to trade places with Finance Minister Hugh Curtis, but I sure didn’t want to be in his shoes. when Premier Bennett came back from his recent Ot- lawa trip. During Bennett’s absence, Curtis has treated us to a rather gloomy. economic outlook, Ac- ‘cording to his third quarterly report, the deficit will go beyond the $671 million predicted in. the 1984-85 budget. “There are good reasons. To start with, the Human Resources. Ministry spent $699 ‘million, $69 million above budget. That’s 11.3 _per cent more. than during the -. same period last year. There was “nothing Curtis or any other cabinet minister could have done about that overrun. The recession has forced too many people onto welfare. -.-- Another reason for the -in- creased deficit, Curtis said, was the accelerated construction: of the Coquihalla Highway between — ‘Hope and Kamloops. The reces- sion is responsible for that item, too. By pushing ahead the deadline for construction of the.” highway, the government will put some people to work, an impor- tant) factor plagued British Columbia. “But it wasn’t. his: financial va predictions that landed Curtis in’ -'the: doghouse: ‘Tt was something oy outside his immediate mandate as ‘igh For. some. e f fi inance.: VERTICAL VENETIAN i in: unemployment- reason, Curtis felt compelled to say to reporters that Expo 86 may lose money. “I think there may be some loss. I’ve certainly made my posi- tion known to (Expo chairman) Jim Pattison in terms of what | expect Expo.to do with respect to that potential loss,’’ Curtis said. What Curtis probably forgot was that Bennett reacts to such talk the way a bishop might to a magazine salesman peddling Pen- thouse subscriptions. I» was not surprised, therefore, when some of my contacts told me that the premier raked Curtis over the coals for his Expo remarks. He “might as well have told a mother - that her kid is ugly. And Curtis certainly deserved ‘a rebuke. The success of a. pro-. ject, such as. Expo, depends heavily on the confidence factor. That. isn’t to..say ‘that proper financial. management- doesn’t count. what Jim Pattison and his board do, but there isa point at which mere. financial’ expertise. is no longer enough. That’s where the & confidence factor.takes over. ‘Remarks, such as the one ut-: ‘tered’ by Curtis, can cause he. took Of course. it’s important “Martindale Rd. Saanich from: Pat Bay Highway. to Expo.to the tune of more than | Ba ‘Value $150. 00. es :, ~ with purchase of a | BEAM Bult iH vacuum System Se aT peiegs from 3990 * - Offer Good on Demonstration Day “Only THE REVIEW $800 million. There’s no way we can go back now. We can only hope that Expo will be a roaring success, ‘and the last thing we need is people running around, saying the exposition will lose money. Any talk about Expo’s pro- fitability also doesn’t take into consideration that the project will have provided a lot of jobs ata time when unemployment hit the highest level in British. Columbia since the Great Depression. I’m_a great believer in public projects during bad: economic times. For that reason, I have never criticized Expo or the nor- theast coal project,.even though several hundred smaller projects distributed throughout ‘the pro- vince might have provided greater economic benefits than a few mega projects. . And if, in the end, it turns out that Expo lost money, and if you: feel strongly enough about it, you can let the folks who staged it know what you think of them. At the ballot box..Meanwhile, we should sell the idea of Expo and hope for the best. And speaking of selling Expo, I recently. asked Bennett why he doesn’t put. Grace McCarthy in- charge of the project. After all, she was the best tourism minister _ B.C. has ever had. Grace makes Norman Vincent Peale look like a defeatist. She’s the only person -who has ever asked me to ‘‘havea nice and positive British Colum- bia day.’’ Why not put all that hype to work? Bennett: danced around the question without answering it, but I got the impression that he _ wasn’t. seriously considering the possiblity. Driver fined, loses licence A 46-year-old Saanichton man pleaded guilty to dangerous driv- ing.in Sidney provincial court last week following a Jan. 28 accident in which his best friend died. Irving Gary Moore, age 46, was fined $300. and his driving license suspended for. a. year by Judge Robert Metzger who said into. consideration Moore’s obvious remorse: since the accident. Moore was turning left on to when his car was struck: by a van: Robert. Earle Dye, age 37, Moore’s passenger, died in the accident. ° Moore’s lawyer, Christopher.” Considine, said his client) had ‘‘made_an error in judgement’”’ in deciding to turn left, that there. ~ Start the NEW YEAR Ri; htt with a new KITCHEN CABINET from BUTLER BROTHERS seal ss in Central. was no’ evidence of dangerous driving before the accident, that Moore did not have a bad driving — record and that Dye had been one - Moore’s closest friends. During the trial Moore was visibly upset and sat with head bowed, his chin resting on his hand. Character . witnesses testified that since the accident Moore had -.done everything. he could. for: _Dye’s family and that the. two men “had been like brothers.”’ Wednesday, November 28, 1984 Page DISTRICT OF NORTH SAANICH NOTICE North Saanich Council is accepting applications from persons interested in ser- ving on the Saanich. Peninsula Water Commission. The Saanich Peninsula Water Commission advises the Capital Regional District Board on water supply matters for the area comprised of the lands within the boundaries of The Cor- poration of the District of Central Saanich, the District of North Saanich and the Town of Sidney: and acts as liaison between the Regional Board and the member.municipalities on water supply matters. One member at large from the District of North Saanich is to be appointed for.a.one year term. Interested persons should forward: their names. to Mr. E.A. Green. Clerk- Administrator. 1620 Mills Road. P.O. Box 2639. Sidney. BC. V8L 4C1 no later than Thursday. November 29.1984. EA. Green Clerk Administrator VAST LOOK WHAT'S whey AT GREAT LUNCH SPECIALS MON. - FRI. a2 $395, Christmas Seals Fight Lung Disease BRENTWOOD 4a HOUR CLEANERS — 7183 W. Saanich Rd. WEISERballle a new concept in home Sourlly, It's. 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