Page A2 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 24, 1990

‘The following are excerpts
Srom ‘Premier . Bill. Vander
Zalm' 5. Jan,.17 speech: |

ay ‘argued then — as I do to-
day — that to have a clean en-
‘vironment, the country’s best
-éducation, good social progams
"and: the finest health ‘care. in
»Canada, we needed a Jasting
Strong economy." ... -

“ knew that if we gave ein to
“the Negative opposition, gave in
-to'the various pressure groups
‘OF gave in to those who think
only. of what the politics and
popularity for today. .... we

_ would continue to suffer and be
‘nO. better than. other
‘Provinces. ” ;

i “My optimism led many to
- ‘Sliggest that [ wasn’t listening. [

was stubborn, I was arrogant —

and those friends and foes more
interested in immediate political
‘expediency than the long term
good of the province, labelled
me the enemy.”’

"By. HUBERT BEYER
“HONOLULU — First let me
admit that I was wrong, I
thought Premier Vander Zalm
would throw in the towel. I
thought I had come up with all
the right reasons why he would
resign.

Anyway, the Zalm obviously
wanted us to kick him around a
bit longer. Fine with me. You
see, in all my previous specula-

‘tions, I tried to put myself in the
premier's -frame of mind,
something I'm not going to do

sO soon again. If anyone had -

asked me what I would do, I
would have told them right off
the start I’d stay,

His speech last Wednseday
contained all the elements I
predicted, with the notable ex-
ception of his resignation, of
course. He pointed to the pro-
vince’s outstanding economic
performance; he stressed the
steady increase in secondary
manufacturing, he talked about
the balanced budget, relative
‘labor peace, record housing
‘starts and a reduction in the ac-
cumulated deficit,

But he still accepted no blame
for any of the problems that
have plagued him, except,
perhaps, for his stand on abor-
tion, That, he admitted, might
have been a bit too overbearing,
As for the rest, it was all blown
out of proportion by known
and unknown enemies, as well
‘as the media.

Of course, his enemies tried
to derail him at every turn. His
biggest problem was trying to
work things out with them in-
stead of unceremoniously firing
them. .

For his own political future’s
sake, maybe he shouldn't have
waited for Grace McCarthy and
Brian Smith to do their grands-
tand performance, prior to quit-
ting cabinet. Maybe he should
have pre-empted them by giving
them their pink slips.

When all of Vander Zalm’s
faults and shortcomings have
been analyzed, there remains
one great barrier to acceptance
by his party peers — lineage.

Local
reaction

TERRACE — Skeena MLA
“Dave Parker says he never
doubted Bill Vander Zalm
would stay as leader and
_ premier.
:, “There was never any ques-
“tion — none,” said Parker last
--week following Vander Zalm’'s
Jan. 17 speech.
~--Parker's comments were
echoed by Skeena Social Credit
constituency association presi-
* dent John Le Sage.

“It was the best thing since
‘sliced bread,” said Le Sage of
‘the speech. “ wasn't rc bit wor-

irled. I've always'been confident
‘about the premier,”

He added there were mixed
feelings within the Social Credit
party about Vander Zalm but
that support in the north had re-
‘mained strong.

Le Sage said the government.
should . ‘now. concentrate on
“northern issues, siviiig & port at
Kitimat’ “and” a road. from
Kitimat to. Houston as -ex-
amples.

“Things will start happening
in the north,’’ Le Sage said.

“No room for dissenters”

Premier spea

“When | step aside it
will be my call... Fairly
considered | and. ‘Aaitly
made,’ ae

“But Where are we today only
three years later? Our forest in-
dustry has expanded at record
rates producing value added
products, Our mining industry
is seeing unprecedented growth
in all mineral. sectors. Our
tourism industry is the best
ever.’?

“Pye also personally made

Hubert Beyer

‘I'm convinced Mc-
Carthy will not mount
much of an offensive
against the premier,”

Vander Zatm is an im-
migrant, and no matter how
successful a businessman he has
been, he didn’t go to the right
schools and universities and
belong to the right clubs.

Hah, if that is so, why was he
elected party leader at the
Whistler convention, you ask?
Because the power brokers lost
control, Vander Zalm was the’
choice of the hundreds and hun-
dreds of delegates who had
never met any of the Secred
power brokers. They wouldn’t
know Peter Brown if they found
him in their cornflakes. They
didn’t care what schools the
Zalm went to,

And it was mainly because
the power brokers withdrew
their support from him ~- if

mistakes and I apologize for
that and I apologize especially

_ to those who feel I've offended

them,’”.
“Contrary to the lies told,

I’ve not catered to special peo-.

ple, friends, the establishment,
the rich or big companies ... an
maybe that’s why: my political

party now.depends so much on

small contributions for ‘its
finances.**

“It’s deceitful to suggest I’m
trying to impose my religion
and standards on others ... I
respect all religions and people
of goodwill, fair minded people
who know me know this.”’

‘(The abortion issue) was

Vander Zalm keeps hold»
of his bucking horse |

‘they ever gave it in “the first :

place. that Vander Zalm was
finally abandoned even by the
grass roots. I’ve often said that
he didn’t help matters, but what
really did him -in.was.-not the
media reporting and ‘commen-
ting on his follies, but his own

people. But now, the Zalm says
“the plague on, all your houses.
‘T’'m going to stay.”

Opposition leader Mike Har- :

court says he’s sick and tired of
the . premier’s “‘self-indulgent
preoccupation with his future,”
He says this nonsense has to
stop. He says it’s ‘‘arrogance of

power’ when people “believe J
they are the only ones: ‘who can

govern,
Well, unless I'm mistaken,
Harcourt believes that.he is cer-

tainly the better one, if. not the

only one, to govern right now,
and 1 don’t really see Vander

_Zalm's decision so much as one ~ |

of arrogance, than one of anger
and stubbomess. ;
Vander Zalm has. ‘told his ©

critics where to go and what to

do with themselves when they
get there:’ He says he was duly

elected in £986 and he intends to
place hiniself before the voters:

as party leader in the next elec-
tion.

critics’ court. I’m convinced -
that McCarthy will. not: mount
much of an offensive against

‘the premier from her vacation

spot on Maui,

What the other Zalm enemies
will do remains to be seen. In
the. meantime, it looks like the

Zalmis ‘still in the saddle with

the. horse’ bucking just a little

Jess than before.

than taking

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The ball i is now clearly. i in his__

CALL TODAY FOR A FREE HO-OBLIGATIN COMBULTATION . |

§38-1800

Ofer expirte Jan. 31, 1850, °

very agonizing for me because
of my honest and strongly held

personal beliefs, It's not so
much a religious view as'a pas-
sion I tiave for the Preservation
of life.” -

schools, ‘This was not'a judge-

ment of. condoms or-no 'CON- -
doms but rather a recognition

that. the. for of a precautionary

my contacts tended to blame the &

dissenters or the media. I’m not

fi ingerpointing but. I do know
. that my supporters would blame
; and: castigate | them: while my §
_ 3} detractors would hail and credit |
7 them.” .

The NDP was terribly upset :
because I did‘not-support con- : -
dom: ‘vending ‘machines’ ‘in °

“Should | any ‘single. ‘group

have the influence or power.to : a
. depose a leader for good.or bad .
2 or for not bending to their bid-

ding? If we allowed such ... who

“ would be next and why?!

program should. be. decided by ~

parents and the community.”

4p the last month, most of

‘. In ‘order’

effectively the caucus must

adn a

os for good
‘government to function most

Bit Vander Zalm

. stand united through good and

bad. There’s no room for
dissenters."”

“When I step aside it willbe -
my call... Fairly considered and .
fairly made. ”

HEAD LETTUCE

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*

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Fresh baked. Available only in store with
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SUNDAYS|

40 am.-& pt

am,- dpm.
Sam- apm."
Pam.- Spr.
10am. - 5p.

Jan. 26 a & a7.

“We Reserve
Tha Right.
To Limit Quanitities

Sma at