Page 4, The Herald, Monday, October 22, 1979 TERRACE/KITIMAT daily herald General Office - 635-4357 Circulation - 615-6357 Published ay Starling Publishers GEN. MANAGER - Knox Coupland EDITOR - Greg Middleton CIRCULATION. TERRACE- 635.6357 KITIMAT OF FICE - 632-2747 Published every weekday at 3212 Kalum Street, | Terrace, B.C. A member of Verifled Circulation, Authorized as second class mall. Registration number 1201. Postage pald In cash, return postage guaranteed. NOTE OF COPYRIGHT The Herald retains full, complete and sole copyright in any advertisement produced. and-or any edilorial or Photographic content published In the Herald. Reproduction Is not permitted. OTTAWA OFFBEAT BY RICHARD JACKSON _ Ottawa — The danger signals are flying again warning the elderly, the poor and others of the disadvantaged that they could be in the gunsights of the new Conservative government in.its hunt for economy. Not that they say they are thinking of cutting benefits. What's worrisome is that they say they’re not. Not now, at any rate. What's even of more concern is that they should bave to deny any intended cutting spending by igging social benefit payments. For you know what political denials are — on a par with political promises, Months before the run-up to the last election when the Liberals were under heavy fire — not just from the parliamentary opposition, but finally from the tax- paying public —for their years of gross overspending, they talked of introducing the means test for pensions and other benefits. But they backed off for 1. Vigorous and organized protest. 2. The approaching election. But they did prepare legislation to reform unem- ployment insurance. * ‘To that there was litile protest, for the abuses were simply too flagrant even for some of the unions to ate. , two reasons: _ And now the Conservatives say they are prepared to _ earry through with some of the reforms and perhaps go even a step further to clean up the mess inititally created by Manpower Minister Bryce Mackasey. Back, though, for a second to the earlier Liberal threats of a means test for pensions and other measures to save at the expense of the elderly. The peril was real. For three times in the Commons in the last year of Liberal power, Monique Begin, Minister of Health and Welfare, complained of the pressure she was under from the Treasury Board to take some government gavings out of the hides of pensioners. . Such a blowing of the whistle by a member of the Jaberal cabinet on the Liberal government itself was extraordinary. ot And a sure sign something serious was up. She all but appealed there in Parliament, not just for - -a change of Liberal mind, but for Opposition and . public support in her protest against making the | an TuANAL sty pet ‘COMMENT by RODNEY WADE From the AV Times elderly the sacrifice to government overspending:. ;1\::.iWhilé*interfering, busybody do-gooders bewail the "Now — and so soon after taking power — something” appears be moving in the same direction with the | atives. How many times has Finance Minister Crosbie warned how bad the economy is and how much worse it could get? Almost daily. And how many times has Treasury Board President Sinclair Stevens stressed the urgent need of cutting government spending and his determination to slash, gash, slash? Somany times they call him ‘“The Slasher,’’'a name | he has come to take as a compliment. ’. And perhaps he should. But should the elderly, the poor and others of the disadvantaged be the first victims of the knife? Stevens Bays no. Says none of the social welfare programs — save the extravagances of unemployment insurance — are due for the chopping block. But it has to be on somebody’s mind — somebody with influence in the government, one or more of the “heavies,.” ; How, he was asked the ou:er day on his exit from cabinet, did he intend making his promised big savings without cutting benefits to the elderly when the cost of their pensions and cost of unemployment insurance account for almost a third of federal ? There is no relation between pensions and unem- ment insurance — but there they are linked, in fomebody's mind — as candidate for ‘‘The Slasher’s” a Not to worry about pensions, smiled Stevens, there was too much fat in other government operations that could be cut for the elderly to worry about their * BAAR sores ‘event, sane minded freedom lovers rejoice in’ this decision of the B.C, Supreme Court, At a time when we are ever more the victim of over-government, the court’s ruling is evidence that our basic freedoms have some protection. , In 1977 the B-C. Health Department brought before the legislature a bill designed to deal with heroin addiction. It became possible, with the passing of the bill, for the government to force withdrawal treatment on heroin addicts. What was worse, it was possible that an alleged addict could be confined without having first been given benefit of a day in court. In his decision, the judge said he was declaring the legislation unconstitutional only because the control of narcotics isa federal-not provincial--responsibility. This still leaves open the opportunity for provincial authorities to press their federal counterparts for a similar—and this time legal--law. No matter what the basis for the ruling, the reality is that suspected addicts cannot now be snatched from the streets by zealous police and incarcerated, un- willingly, in a forced treatment centre, And that is how it should remain. It is unthinkable that any free nation should con- sider allowing police or government the right to compel anyone to accept medication, treatment or surgery. , Supporters of the heroin treatment law argue it is for both the good of the individual and of sociely that such steps rhust be taken. Yet, blinded by their good intentions, do-gooders miss the importance of a far greater truth. For it is the experience of history that once given a power government-and police—by their nature and goals work to expand that power. While it is the nature of normal, decent folks to trust in the integrity of government and police, only a simpleton would believe abuse of power unlikely. . Having once succeeded in making a social norm that heroin addicts should be forceably treated and with- drawn-and if that program proved effective--the bureaucracy would look for other evils which might be similarly treated. Obesity, for example, is detrimental to both the individual-who has increased risk of stroke-and society, which has to foot much of the bill for hospitalization. The overweight might well find themselves enduring forced dieting. - ; Smoking is another health hazard. Again there are costs which must be borne by society; the financial costs of medical aid and the danger to rion-smokers obliged to inhale a neighbor's fumes._A period of detention might well be the lot of these pulfers. Alcoholism might be similarly handled, as might those practitioners of incautious acts of procreation which-unhappily-prove productive. Forced vasec- tomies have already been proposed in parts of India. While most reasonable people might be inclined to consider these suggestions preposterous, it is worth remembering that tyranny advances by single steps. steps ba rely heard above the trampling hooves of ever ¥ life, Once forced regimens have become acceptable-- even fashionable—the next stage would be to cure other social ills by involuntary treatment. Prostitution might well be treated with electric shocks, as would . theft, assault and any other section.of the criminal code, Eventually, those who take issue with, or militate against government and its programs, would be judged insane. Treatment-involuntary, of course-- would involve prefrontal lobotomy and regular, government-subsidized injections of a substance designed to keep the troublemaker happy, and dazed. Heroin, for example, Yukon natives win control of education By VIC PARSONS WHITEHORSE, Yukon (CP) — Sam the Rat Trapper and rabbit stew eooking iessom will jon writing and math on the school curriculum under an educational test program being conducted this year at a echool 220 kilometres forthweat of here. An agreement signed Monday between the Yukon gevemment and the Kluane thal Brotherhood gives parents in the Indian band at rwash Landing authority to set their own educational programs. The group plans introduce courses on mative culture and language. Although the one-year pro- gram appeara to accept de- mands by Yukon Indian groups that they be given constitutional control over education, Yukon Educatlon Miniater Doug Graham says the agreement and the land clalms isaue should be kept separate, ‘Any agreement reached would be non-prejudiclal to the land claims settlement,” he bald. i te deputy ary Easterson, depu' chief of the band, said parents in the community will have the final] decision on the curriculum. “We will take a wait-and- see attitude and see how it | works out,” she sald. Graham said that along with the special course on Indian culture and language, Alandard courses which meet educational standards outside the Yukon will be taught so graduates can go on to univerally, Responsibility for the school will be given to the Kluane brotherhood, which has provided the building and is to staff the school, select courses and set up an education committee. The territorial govern- ment is to pay all ordinary operating costs, estimated at $150,000. The agreement can be re- newed when its term expires in August, 1980. Graham said he hopes at the end of the year that elther land claima will be settled or a new agreement can be reached, Pressure fram the Kluane brotherhood began last year when the group produced 4 ' proposai complaining that they had “no control and littte influence’ over the education of their children, “The curriculum la based on British Columbia's which ‘ applies to a southern, urban way of life, which has nothing in common with Kluane culture.” The group said ils own tribal school would provide an opportunity te teach chitdren native skilis, values and language. The Grade 1 primary reading Includes two serles of readers and among the titles are: Sam the Rat Trapper (rat refers to muskrat), Helen's Fish, Sam's Moose, Tracks in the Snow, and the Animal Book, There is a book of legends, students in Grades 4 to 8 will 0 on a week-long trapping field trip and the budget includes money for auch items as snares, 150 bows and arrows — there are 17 students — and pots for making rabbit stew and stretching boards for animal ng, Government leader Chris Pearson, who has led the recent push for reaponsible government In the territory, called the “monumental,' “It's going to show everyone, Indian and white, and the federal government, that we are capable of coming to an amicable agreement on constitutional matters without federal government help or inter- vention," ; agreement - IN VICTORIA By ALLAN KRASNICK VICTORIA - Gordon Townsend awoke the'morning of March 20 to discover he'd become a Soclal Credit letter writer, He was surprised, So After all, Townsend was a life-long soclallst, an active member of the NDP since 1946, and a member of the party’s Esquimalt constituency executive fu six years. But there it was, his name, where it hac appeared so many times in the past-on the letters. to the editor page of the Victoria Colonist. Only this time, the tone of the letter was uncharacteristic for Townsend: he was blasting not the Social Credit government, which he abhores, but the New Democrats, whom he adores. “ He had reason to be astonished. He had not written the letter. a Townsend was a victim, one of only a few so far identified, of the “Lettergate” scandal, a strange and sleazy saga of dirty games that has dominated discussions in the provincial capital for the past two weeks and implicated officials in the Office of the Premier and the Social Credit caucus. The scandal surfaced recently when a senior Social Credit caucus researcher, Jack Kelly, told a local party meeting that “playing dirty” — in particular, signing false names to letters to the editor~was an ‘ acceptable, indeed recommended party practice. It was later discovered that the party had earlier institutionalized this bogus activity by including, in one of three, pre-election, organizational tap recordings distributed to party workers around province,similar directions Kelly profferred at a September, 1978 provincial meeting, Kelly says he didn’t realize his September statements were being recorded, the people respon- sible for distributing the tape say they didn’t realize the malfeasant comments were contained in It, and party officials present at the meeting say they didn’t realize what Kelly was saying. Their excuses don't hold water. Listening to the tapes, one doesn’t detect the background silence of indifference but rather the laughter and hooting of participants taking great enjoyment in Kelly’s presentation. And somebody must have listened to the complete tape recording of the meeting in order to edit the comments and determine which showd he distributed province-wide. Somebody must have heard what Kelly said and decided that party mem- bers throughuut British Columbia should be so directed. The fake letters campaign was not an isolated in- , cident, but part of a concerted and continuing effort through which hundreds of letters were written over a period of at least three years. According to former Esquimalt Socred MLA Lyle Kahl, Kelly told his riding meeting that at one time, the caucus office used more than 50 fictitious names on letters. The-names were selected from phone books and then used with real addresses and phoney initials. One source has told me that many MLA’s “were screeching” to the caucus staff for letters. And Kelly's heroes coniplied. If you watch this drama's actors squirming before the press, you see a group that, as yet, feels no remorse abdut their conduct, no sense of morality betrayed, only a simmering anger about having been - ‘eaught-their ‘attitude suggesting that the New Democrats won't fly on this one because they, too, are guilty of similar tactics. The dirty games mentality was so pervasive that the Socreds just assumed the other parties were invalved in equivalent tactics. This Socred attitude explains the genesis of the Townsend letter. a + Gordon Townsend is a familiar name to those who tead the letters section in the two Victoria dallies ; his ' anti-Socred letters have appeared for years, and vthey’ve provoked sincere, equally vehement, antl- NDP replies. But the Socreds did not believe Town- send existed. They felt that Gordon Townsend was the New Democrat alias, Ron Greig, an assistant to Bennett's com- munications chief, Dave Brown, and Ellen MacKay, a researcher in the premier’s offlce, and perhaps others, decided to one-up the NDP. Having established that Townsend didn't exist, they would sign his name to a pro-Socred letter, . Their investigations were comically inadequate. Townsend's name does not appear in the phone book, so MacKay looked up his supposed address in a city directory and found the corresponding phone number. She called the residence and asked the woman. who answered the phone, “Are you Gordon Townsend's wife?’ . The woman said no, so MacKay slammed down the receiver, assuming from the weak evidence: that Townsend did not exist. : What she did not realize was that the woman who answered the phone, while not Mrs. Townsend, was the person with whom Townsend had been living for years. : Townsend believes the Socreds knew who he was. He says that his name has appeared on the yoters’ list for years, and notes that each candidate receives a dozen copies of the list prior to elections. . He underestimates the stupidity of the Socred’s operatives in this campaign. So far, the people who could have set the recor’ straight on this entire affair--Caucus Chairman Jack Kempf and Human Resources Minister Grace Me- Carthy, acting premier during Premier Bennett'strip to the Far East--have been more intent on deflecting reporters'.efforts and covering up circumstances; than on coming right out front and providing an ac- curate picture of what transpired. a A directory to the characters so far involved in Lettergate: - . . - Jack Kelly, the Social Credit caucus’ research chief, who resigned after his advocacy of-a “play dirty’’ campaign became public; , - Ron Greig, assistant to Bennett's communications consultant, Dave Brown, who resigned after he was linked to the bogus Townsend letter; To - Ellen MacKay, a caucus assistant, who has also heen linked to the Townsend letter; oo - George Lenko, MeCarthy’s executive assistant, who authorized taping Felly comments on a Sep- r Socred organizational meeting during ¥ Kelly condoned dirty tricks; ng a which - Ian Craig, an important official in the Socred’s alectlon campaign, who distributed the tape recor- Z ’ : - Dan Campbell, director of the premier’s Office of Inter-Governmental Affairs and chairman of the party’s general election committee, which authorized distribution of the tapes; and - Glen Mitchell, chief of the caucus research staff when the dirty games strategy was strongest, and the parly caucus-to-clection committee liaison during the campaign. a