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Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 13, 1992

‘Nows!Sports

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Hardly wimps

Those out there who think the NDP
government is populated with wimpy tree-
hugging environmentalist types had only to
listen to NDP Skeena MLA Helmut Gies-
brecht speak to the chamber of commerce
last week to find out how wrong they are.

If anything, industrial development plans
are full speed ahead, given what Mr. Gies-
brecht had to say on a couple of issues.

Consider the proposed PRM Resources
copper smelter at Kitimat. It’s backers, one
which is Tex Enemark, a savvy Liberal and
ex-bureaucrat, are on the search for Japa-
nese money to finance the venture.

Normally one might think a copper
smelter is the kind of thing any self
respecting NDP-type would shy away from
given the assumed environmental risks that

‘go with such creations. .

Not this. government, says Mr. Gies-
brecht. Premier. Mike Harcourt’s. words
with Japanese power brokers "apparently
sat well with some of the potential in-
vestors," he told chamber members.

And, "there’s growing recognition of
what .we have to offer here," Mr. Gies-
brecht continued in his. comments on
potential economic development in this
region.

This shouldn’t come at all as a surprise

because the NDP talked along the same
lines way back in 1972 when it was last in
power. This time the NDP also realizes
that it’ll have to replace woods industry
jobs being lost with ones in other in-
dustries,

Mr. Giesbrecht did buffer his comments
along the way by saying that only
sustainable development is wanted. Defini-
tions of that are hard to come by anyway
and besides, it’s become a ritualistic re-
quirement that this phrase be pronounced
by anybody who speaks at any kind of
public meeting nowadays about anything
nowadays.

Because this was a business gathering
and Mr. Giesbrecht does come from a
patty that is supposed to be opposite-
minded he did come in for some flack.

There was some muttering when Mr.
Giesbrecht didn’t seem on top of a govem-
ment bill to freeze compensation to owners
of land and resources pending a full review
to come.up with a policy to deal with such
issues. And he did get a light toasting on
the issue of the Mills Memorial Hospital
budget freeze.

Yet overall Mr. Giesbrecht didn’t say
anything that should have shocked those at
the chamber meeting.

Zero tolerance

‘There Should be legions of lawyers rub-
bing. their hands in.anticipation of defend-
ing: somebody given a speeding ticket un-
der the RCMP’s "zero tolerance" program.

It'll be interesting to see how the age-old
concept of reasonable doubt gets applied to

a ticket listing a speed of 92kph in a 90kph -

zone. A radar gun may be accurate but the
average speedometer isn’t that hi-tech and

so enters the idea of reasonable doubt.
“’"Th any event, the idea of "zero tolerance"

has a nasty kind of tone to it. There’s an
underlying feeling that the effort isn’t so
much directed at stopping those who speed
but at one way for the government to col-
lect more money. And if that’s the case,
the RCMP has plenty of opportunity to do
that by nabbing cyclists who ride on city
sidewalks.

The mighty MOUse

Since our cat diced of a liver

ailment two years ago, every
mouse in the subdivision has
taken refuge in our fenced

yard. Like party hangers-on Bifocals
lining up for patronage ap-
pointments after an election, by Claudette Sandecki

the wee tim’rous beastics have
quit cow’rin and boldly staked -
out victuals and accommoda-
lions.

Through

It's casy to figure.why our
lot is a mouse sanctuary. Our
dogs keep it clear of cats and
kids; the bird feeder and dog’s
dish assure the pests of year
round vittles.

My first hint ‘of their
takeover came in February
when we woke to ankle-deep
snow. The dog’s. food dish
was buried, But leading from
the house foundation to a
thumb-sized tmnel over. the
dish was a beaten path of
mouseprints, the ‘trail of one
hyperactive mouse or a horde.

It turned out to be a horde, -

Before light one ‘morning,
my. attention. was caught by
movement under ‘the porch,
Ninc mice. were in view.
Several clambered in and out
of the dog’s dish'-- a hubcap --
stealing kibble. One shinnied
up a_ porch post...

fro ona slat balaticed over a
chunk of two-by-four.

The morning. after I realized

our rodent i invasion, the dogs

stood by. in’. tense .readiness -

while I shifted the lumber and
cement bricks serving as hidey
holes, Bluc-grey |
scurried ~ “OVETY which way, -

him. But he
Reaching the front gate, he

Another
tectertottered, running to ‘and ©

bodies _

One panic-stricken Mickey
dashed headlong under the
truck, toward the front gate. I
flung a short length of
aluminum tubing after him,
but because I vastly un-
derestimated his velocity, it
clattered harmelessly behind
accelerated.

veered right and bounded
along the hummocky boule-
vard, spurts of dust markin
each tiny takeoff.I laughed un-
til I was weak and bandy-
legged,

Since then, I’ve set out
baited traps. I’ve lost count of
the number of furry beasts I've
caught, Still, signs of them
keep showing up. -- nibbled
lumps of dogfood in the grass,
mounds’ of mouse dung. in
recently stacked lumber.

_ After-a junco died in a trap, I
reduced my trapline to one,

pushed decp within a tunnel in |

the heart of a scrap lumber
pile,

To our pup, mice are

. toy food, Whenever I check the
“trap, she sits primly at the end

of the tunnel, expectant as a
gourmet watching a chef grill
a steak. She’s missing only
napkin and Visa card,

- the pup: plays with a dead
“MOUSE for hours before eating
city: dangling its tail ‘from be-

tween her lips, like the re-
searcher in Never Cry Wolf.
While she cradies it between
her paws, rolls it in her mouth
like a hard candy, or races to
keep it safe from the older
dog, we enjoy a respite from
her puncturing of garden
hoses, unearthing of rusty met-
al from an ancient backyard
dumpsite, or creating confetti
from styrofoam.

Respite from puppy mayhem
would be motive enough for
trapping the destructive
animals. J also worry word
will reach the Regional Dis-
trict and the Animal Control
Officer will ask me to buy a
kennel license. Highways
could post Drive Carefully;

Mouse Crossing signs on ei-

ther side of our driveway.
How belittling.

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There's two sides
TO patronage Issue

VICTORIA -- Let’s talk
about patronage. Everyone
else docs. Well, maybe not
everyone, but the Liberals
certainly do. Last week, Her
Majesty’s Loyal Opposition
issued a press release with the
names of more than 50 NDP
patronage appointments.

"The premier clearly misled
the people of B.C. when he

; promised there would be‘no

more special deals for friends
and insiders of the govern-
ment.," said Liberal leader
Gordon Wilson.

The 54 names on the list of
the "official opposition’s
patronage watch,” said Wil-
son, all had direct or close
connections to the NDP.

And given that the NDP has
been in power for only six
months, the number of
patronage appointments
should top the 400-mark in
about four years, he added,
Great math, Gordo. That’s out
of roughly 30,000 people
working for the government.

For some time now, it seems
that the Liberals are con-
centrating on the patronage is-
sue to the exclusion of any-
thing else. Last week, Wilson
showed up in the legislature

. with a lie sporting pink pigs,

and promptly launched into
another series of patronage in-
quiries,

Now, let me tell you where I
stand on patronage. I got no
problem with it, absolutely
none. Never had and never
will. The only problem I’ve al-
ways had with patronage ap-
pointments is the song and
dance they elicit from the op-
position of the day. And that’s
the only area in which the
NDP slands to be criticized.

When the Socreds appointed
former cabinet minister Jim
Nielsen chief of the Workers
Compensation Board, the
NDP opposition howled. Same
with Jack Heinrich, same with
any other appointment the
Sacred government made from
the ranks of supporters, former
MLAs and defeated candi-

OKAY BUSTER! WHERE'S
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From the
Capital
by Hubert Beyer

dates.
My position at the time was

_ the same as it is today. A

government must be able to
depend on the loyalty of
people in sensitive and impor-
tant positions. I wondered
them, as I do now, whether the

critics would have the govern- °

ment go out of its way to find
people who don’t share their
political and philosophical
views? Surely not.

Let’s look at the list of
government appointments the
Liberals are touting like a
trophy. How about Andy Orr,
former CBC reporter, ap-
pointed press secretary to the
Premier Harcourt.

How about Linda Baker,
principal secretary to the
premier? Baker had been ex-
ecutive director of the NDF
caucus for a number of years
before she was appointed to
her present position.

Again, every premier has
and needs a principal secre-
tary, Vander Zalm had David
Poole, who turned out to be
bad news. Perhaps the Liberals
are suggesting that Harcourt °
bring back Poole just to avoid
appointing Baker?

There’s Marcus Davies,
working in the premier’s of-

_ fice as a speech writer, Now,

whether you like it or not,
premiers don’t write their own
speeches. They simply
wouldn’t have the time, So,
someone has to do the job. Is
Wilson trying to tell us that he
would hire an NDP supporter
to write his speeches if he
were premier?

Also on the Liberal hit list is

- Evan Lloyd, government com-

munications guru with associ-
ate deputy minister status.
Yes, Lloyd has an undeniable

YOU AIN' TEN ING THIS
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OAY' OKAY!
YOU REAL“UGH
GUY MARTEN!

NOT GOOD ENOUGH ARN E' Hm

OUND FoR YOUR TABLE! ie

* NDP background. His father

was premier of Saskatchewan. -

But Lloyd is also a very"
capable chap. He was in
charge of the NDP communi-
cations machine when the
party was in opposition, and
he had more than a bit part in
the election strategy that took
the NDP to power. Do the Lib-
erals expect the NDP to get rid
of Lloyd now that the party is
in power?

Now, for a really big
patronage appointment -- Dan
Barrett, son of former premier
Dave Barrett. Dan was labour
minister Moe Sihota’s former
constituency assistant, and
now works for Sihota as min-
isterial assistant.

Patronage? You’ve got to be
kidding. Sihota happens to like
Dan a lot, was happy with his
job performance, and needed a
ministerial assistant. I suggest
it would be not only stupid but
disloyal to the extreme if he
hadn’t given Dana crack at
the job,

And that’s the point I’m
trying to make. Gavernment’s
would be extremely ill-advised
and more than a tad stupid not
to appoint loyal supporters to
top positions.

It goes without saying that
the people must be qualified. I
checked the list and J would
be hard-pressed to name any-
one who isn’t qualified for the
job they got, .

If Wilson ever finds himself
in the position of premier, he
will do exactly the same thing,
and I promise now that I won't
criticize him. What I will do,

however, is remind him of

some of the dumb things he
said about patronage when he
was opposition leader,

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CoMPETE witTH cur:
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