Page 4, The Herald, Friday, January 23, 1901

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dail vl

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Go fight yourself

It has often been sald that Canada Is the
mest over-governed nation In the world
and there Is a plethora of evidence to
suggest that the proponents of that theory
could be right.

Considering that we're only slightly
over a 100 years old as a nation; that
there are a mere 25 miillon of us at best;
that we're blessed with a huge land
mass; and that those 25 million people
are spread over 10 separate entitles? you
might have to go along with the theory.

The area of the country not-
withstanding, since you don’t govern
land, you govern people, Canads is a
relatively smiail country.

Consider, If you will, that for those 25
milllon people, we have the House of
Parliament In Ottawa; the Senate In
Ottawa (both presumably acting In our
best Interests); the 10 separate
legistatures for the provinces (again
assumed to be doling their best for all);
the thousands of city, municipal and town
councils across the nation (somewhat
more area-orlented but again ostensibly
the guardians of the good for thelr own);
regional districts, school boards, parks
boards and what-have-you. You then
begin to get the Idea. And that’s not even
counting the bureaucrats, who really run
the country.

All this leads up to the fact that the
federal government yesterday proved the
too-much-government theory to be

at Indian Affairs Adinister John Munro
@nnounced Thursday that the feds have
given the Nishga Indians $150,000 to help
them fight the provincial government of
- B.C. over the Amax mine dumping plans
for Alice Arm.

To carry the scenario farther,
remember that Alice Arm is part of the
country, the province and its county, All
three have one form of government or
another and here, In effect, Is what has
happened:

The federal government, supposedly
representing “us”, has sald “here's
$150,000 of your money, take It and use Ii
fo fight yourself.through the provincial
government.” ‘

The various governments are elected
(and well-supplied) to act In the best
Interests of the country. If they can't
come to a conclusion between them, It Is
simply an abdication of that respon-
sibility to throw the ball back fo the
citizenry that elected them. And, even

_ worse, It is an utter waste of huge sums of
money, since the provincial government
will no doubt ante up at least an equa’
amount to present Its stand.

if the federal govarnment, in its
questionable wisdom, truly belleves: the
Nishgas are right, It should support them
through legislation, negotiation with the
province, or ‘any of the hundreds of

> means avaliable to it. ; ,

If not, It should then support the
province with equal tenacity. .

When any government refuses to
govern It becomes simply a. helpless
lamb, feeding of the teat of ewe and me.

That, Mr. Munto, would seem to be the
case here.

herald

\ permission of the Publisher. A

| OTTAWA

Tempers flare, insult

“ a

OTTAWA (CP) ——

Tempers flared and
insults New Thursday as
MPs ani senators on the
special constitution
committee stumbled
through a maze of
contradictory

arguments
amendments.

Alter more than two
months of listening to

_ witnesses and debating
government = con-
stitutional = proposals,
MPs were down to their
first full day of detailed,
clause-by-clause Study
of the proposal.

But they were hit hit
by a blizzard of
amendments: to the
constitutional resolution
from ali three parties
and some complained
they found if difficult to
follow the proceedings.

While each opposition
amendment will be put
to a vote, the Liberal
majority on the com-
mittee guarantees that
only thoze acceptable to
the government will
pass and be recom-
mended to Parllament
in its report due Feb. 6.

But the Liberals were
caught off guard. when
Solicitor-General
Robert Kaplan, sitting
in for ailing Justice
Minister Jean Chretien,
announced the govern-
ment ‘would accept a

and

aA

i) BONING UPON
( QONSTITUTIONAL
» REFORM, AL?

Ye

é

s

\, FASCIST COUNTRIES /

NOPE... IM ‘
CHECKING AIRFARES
TO VARIOUS BALMY

bumian rights charter.

The Conservatives
argued against it,
saying a peison is
defined by the Canada
Criminal Code as one
whois born and that this
could affect Parlia-
ment's right to chang

abortion jaws. 7

When Liberal Bob
Bockstael, MP for the
Manitoba riding of St.

member for Lincoln,
suggested a free vote,
that is, a vote not along
party lines.

But ‘when they
returned more ‘than
three hours later, all
Liberals. voted against

- the NDP amendment

and the matter was
defeated.

Later, the Liberals

s fly

something NDP justice
critic Svend Robinson
sald is appropriate for a
country like Canada
with so many im-

parllamentary
secretary to Chretien
and MP for the Ontario

‘riding of Sault Ste.

Marie.

The Liberals also
voted against a can-
bined NDP-Con-
servative attempt to
entrench the‘ right to
freedom of information
in the constitution,

; despite , the fact 2.
"freedom. of information *

‘are far more capable of

determining proper

rules than judges.”

“This is one of the
most acrimonious
sessions I've seen at this
committee,”” NDP con-
stitutional critic. Larne
Nystrom, MP for
Yorkton-Melyille in -

. Saskatchewan, -sald-
later. “L guess “people

are getting tires.”
But he said the
committee is already

‘to delay

the ap
pointment of an

The 10 aldermen and,

the mayor tried for four ©

hours Tuesday night to
choose among five
candidates for assessor.
Charles Hunt — himself
a former alderman —

nominated Hunt, Louis

Georgopoules, ab-
stained on every ballot.
Georgopoulos, a
property owner, said he
wanted to avold the
appearance of a conflict
o€ interest.

FOSTORIA, Ohio
(AP) — When Leslie

were taken captive in
Iran — the couple
thought nothing of it.
But when their second,
daughter was" born
Tuesday, only hours
after the hostages were
réleaaed, both parents
calied ita “strange and
incredible’ set of

. events,

New Democratic Boniface, objected to his voted against an NDP considering sitting ex-
amendment changing party supporting the amendment that would tra long hours, including
- the word “everyone’’'to NDP amendment, have made lawfully weekends, to complete
“every person” in a veteran Liberal Bryce obtalned citizenship an its report by the Fed. 6
clause in the proposed Mackasey, Ontario inalienable right, Aeadline. ;
. A
MANCHESTER, N.H.  ] 5 ® Tuesday started
sns"s It’s ODD, sn't it? S822
ballots, 21 motions to 9 ° @  whosaid she went for a
table, six motions to doctor's exam about
adjourn and five fell one vote short of the and Mike Droll’s first a.m.
executive sessions — all necded seven votes on child, Dana Ann, was
in one meeting — city every ballot. born on Nov. 4, 1970 -- Shortly after she got
aldermen have decided The alderman who the day 52 Americans to the physician's office,

_ Mrs. Droll beard on the
radi that the hostages
had been released.

That's when the labor
pains started, Ten hours
later, Angela Renee,
was born, 12 days late.

. Both mother and
daughter were in good

conmiltion Wednesda:

ST I TEL VASAKE ITS NOT MY FAULT THE LOGGERS SHOULD
fo NE veR CUT EM DOWN WHEN THE WIND BLOWS;

=

=

~

 OFTAWA — Whether or not Florida stock
analyst Joe Granville’s midnight “‘seil’’
“telephone calls were justified — a oulja board

| can forecast stock market moves as well a5
-| ‘any analyst —his action and even more so the

market's ‘reaction to It, do make a useful
point: Everyone these days Is as jumpy 68
hell.

Skittishness about the stock market Is easy
to explain. Share values have soared and so
must sooner or later slump. But the. market
still Is floating along on the euphoria of the

-| election of Ronald Reagan. So Investors are

jumping about, like acrobats leaping from

swing to swing, but In the dark and without a ©

safety net.

The jurnpiness is more general, though. One
year, one month, one day, everyone is into
gold. Then into silver, until the Hunts overdid
Ht. Then Into commodities, like pork bellies
and soybeans. Then Into art and *“‘collec-

“fibles’’. Last year, and until last week, the -

stock market was the place to be, essentially

- because everyone already had bean

everywhere else.

This restless search for a place to hide, and
even, if the omens are favorable, to pocket a”
profit, has been going on for about five years.

The difference, as the Granville incident .
showed, Is that the general public Is getting ©

into the act. Investors who a few years ago
contented themselves with accumulating
Canada Savings Bonds deducted from their
payroll, now are jumping about I!ke market
Insiders, reading books like Crisis Investing.
and ‘scanning the Financial Advice columns
that now run in every large newspaper. ;

Until the mid-’60s, $1,000 left In a sock would
be worth, at the year’s end, $1,000. Today,
lhflation will shrink it to at best $900., not
counting the “lost opportunity cost,” In the
economists’ [argon, .of slapping the original
$1,000 Into a-term deposit at 14 per cent in-
terest. Or perhaps gold would be e better
Investment. Or real estate. Or stocks. By
questing for the best resting place, Canadians
are demonstrating that they'd rather fight
than shrink. .

(A buck saved Is as handy as a buck made.
To the consternation of credit card companies

“who depend. upon,thelr interes} charges. for...
thelr revenues, one-half of North American |

subscribers now pay all their bills on time.)

At the root of this restlessriess Is the
realization which the general public now has
come to, that Inflation isn’t an aberration
which theright remedies and incantations will
cure, but a “condition” ofour capatist system,
In the phrase of U.S. economist Robert
Heilbroner. No (ess than the poor, Inflation
will be with us always. :

In a brilliant paper prepared for the Con-
ference Goard In Canada, Willlam Mackness,
vice-president of the Investment firm Pitfleld,

MacKay, Ross, explains what has happened. — -

He makes three points. First, we should stop

_ searching for scapegoats, because none exist.

The popular culprits have been government
deficits and the printing of money. But, as
Mackness points out, total government

. deficits (federal and provincial) are no larger,

relatively than during the late ’50s and early
‘605 when Inflation crept along at 2.5 per cent,
while the printing presses have slowed to the
same pace a8 a decade ago. :

Next, we should stop searching for cures, —
because none exist. The textbook remedy for
Inflation Is an economic recession, because
high unemployment lowers the pressure for
wage Increases and forces manufacturers and

_retallera to cut prices to move thelr goods.

‘But, as the record shows, “recessions have
‘been of Sittle or no benefit in controlling In-

_flation.”” Instead, recessions come at a cost In

jobs, particularly of the politicians who cause
them — Jimmy Carter baling the tatest
example, while Britaln’s Margaret Thatcher
may turn out to be the next one.

Last, and now for the good news, “The North
American economy has adapted to sustained
rapid inflation with stunning ease and
alacrity.” Other than some fixed income
pensioners, writes Mackness. few people
“have bean serlously disadvantaged.” Indeed,
he continues, ‘Although It is not considered In

good taste fo admit It, jarge numbers of North -

Americans belleve themselves, as Individuals
fo have been profiting handily from the new
Inflation.” . ,
From analysis, Meckness moves on fo
thesls. On the ona hand, politicians and
decision-makers have given up on Inflation:
“One hears no more talk of wrestling Inflation
fo the ground of similar bravado.” On. the
other hand, so has everyone else: “Inflation in
North America has become Institutionallzed,
and now forms an Integral part of the entire
economic and social fabric.”

My oulja board tells me Mackness’ forecast
ig better than Granville’s. Mind you, he-
doesn’t say In which bunk-holes Investors

should hide. Ail he says Is the tongterm bonds:
_. gre the pits, which we already knew.

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