« tos st “ot tedde its PAGE 2, THE HERALD, Friday, January 27, 1976 EDITORIAL Guest Editorial SPORTS AWARDS by DONNA Forsberg Sports Federation stages its own Inquisition - the national parachute team has been “strip- ped”’ of its award as the country’s top team for 1977. This brings to mind that venture into the absurd wherein a regiment's commander (with excessive pomp and immense flourish) rips the chevrons from the hero's uniform. At the command of Sport Parachuting, the governing body for the. sport, all honours have been removed from the team members. Some questions are raised by this judgement. Were the excelling in their chosen field of competition or for their in-depth understanding of Emily Post's homily on how to sniff’s one’s petits-fours while supping with local social dragons. Of course manners are always best when they are good, but they psychology of the situation has been neglected. Firstly, the preoccupation of leaping from untold heights with a few yards of silk secured to one’s person in hopes that it will slow gravity’s pull and elimiante the possibility of instant jell upon impact with Mother Earth, is (in my opinion) closely linked with the sincerest of death wishes. A bit like wearing a red target at a rifle range whose patrons are all near- sighted. ‘If a man taunts death why not social con- vention? \ As for flying the skull and cross-bones in a superior position to the red maple leaf, in view of our abuse to the atmosphere (pollution) it seems a most appropriate gesture, The lack of federal funding to Canadian athletes has long kept us satisfied with placing out of the winner’s circle in world sport competition. ; Finally, the charge of possession of narcotics, which is our modern answer to the old method of tarring and feathering, an excellent propaganda ploy similar to the whisper of “Jew” in Nazi Germany. Exactly what were the narcotics and more important exactly what is deemed narcotic by the government of the host country- Australia? Does it conform with our govern- ment’s idea of narcotic? How did the informed source know that some team members “had narcotics’’? Were blood tests or urine samples or any other proper tests made? This whole affair, a twen- tieth century witch hunt in thin disguise, reeks of right-win idealism at its distorted best. COP KILLER The flag at the Town Hall outside the RCMP offices is flying at half mast (or half-staff) as a photo on teday’s front page in the Herald shows, Questioning a member of the RCMP (thursday) we were told the reason. The half lowered flag is a symbol of mourning, nation wide, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for the shooting death of a fourth comrade during the first three weeks of 1978, This fourth member of the force was killed in Virden, Manitoba in what has become known in the news, since, as the Oak Lake Hostage-Taking Incident, A second member of the RCMP, injured by the same fugitive-killer, is also in hospital in Win- nipeg and is said t6 have been blinded for life. A female RCMP officer is also in hospital with severe injuries from the same shooting incident. The RCMP as a Force as well as individually is almost unanimous in its belief that one way in which to curb the awful number of killings of their force is to bring back the death penalty for “cop killers”. It is impossible, of course, to justify the ab- stention or retention of the death penalty for killers on the basics of economics alone. "But, at the present rate, it costs between $20,000 and $30,000 per year to keep one prisoner in a Canadian maximum security prison. The average killer is usually quite young - in his 20’s or early 80’s when he is admitted to jail. To maintain one such prisoner for the rest of his natural life span at the present rate is costing the Canadian taxpayer over a million dollars. (That is just for one prisoner). We are not suggesting that the life of a killer of a young, healthy RCMP officer (in this case leaving a wife and children to mourn) is not worth a million dollars. But surely - there must be a better way? E.S, TERRACE daily herald General Offlea - 635-6357 Pubtimed by Clreulation . 635-6357 Sterling ‘Publishers PUBLISHER... Don Cromack MANAGING EL: TOR... Ernest Senior Published every weekday at 3212 Kalum St., Terrace, B.C: A member of Verified Circulation, Authorized as aecondclass mall, Registration number 1201. Postage pald In cash, return postage guarantead. NOTE OF COPYRIGHT The Herald retains full, complete and sole copyright In any advertisement produced and-or any editorial or photographic content published In the Herald. Reproduction Is not permitted without the written parachutists originally lauded for - ’ representative of permission of the Publisher, “Wears MLNU IM TAAYLNOMH, TW Taw ott, pny anne Mc, J A AD AYT. GTHWIL seemed “8 Z + IE eo aS ine 7 ws ” Ottawa Offbeat by Richard Jackson Ottawa - There’s more to The Sun Life affair than ithe issue of unilingual French Quebec making cor- porate life impossible for the English business, investment and industrial community, ’ Far-more serious is the surfacing of what in Eastern Canada at least seems to be the majority - or at least the most vocal - public opinion that nothing must be done that might disturb Quebec. All else, so goes the fashionable opinion, must subjugated to- pacifying the French separatist extremists. e frighteni clusion has to be'that the |. ' day of Big’ Brotler’ has - dawned when corporate managements are - required to choose bet- ween downgrading the interests of their com- nies and shareholders political pressure or putting themselves in peril of public punish- ment. Political presure in The Sun Life cage - the in- tervention of Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Chretien and the Cabinet - has pumped up public opinion that the interests of Quebec come first and those ofthe company and its + policyholders second. é Imp management is losing the right to manage through intervention of politicians both English and French, but almost ex- clusively Liberal - that Quebec must be ac- ecommodated no matter what the cost. The principle of even- . handed treatment of Quebec. and the other rovinces becomes a loke. Ask yourself if The Sun Life were moving its headquarcers from say, Winnipeg or Vancouver lo Toronto, would there have been any outery? Or, even more io the point, would there have nm & cabinet crisis, with and his cabinet sum- moning The Sun Life executive to Ottawa if the company were moving from Toronto to Mon- treal? So what the critics of Sun Life are saying is that corporations are free to move — their headquarters where they con- -. lication is that — the Prime Minister Ca “You were lucky to get in — most hospitals have very long waiting lists for ftu cases.” Ottawa Offbeat Letters to Editor like, just as longs it isn’t out of Quebec. _ Orin other words, if the issue of being compelled to try doing an English- dominated business in French is raised, it must be ignored. It becomes the “social responsibility’? of the company to stay put - suffer its competitive edge and sustain con- sequent loss of business - or face political and socialist-union retribution. This loads the dice of political and lUberal opinion against the right of business ina free country to operate in ‘ its own - and its shareholders - best in- terests: 0... Vey tal ‘ Quebee Finance, .; -.: Minister - Jacques.-'" Parizeau, so admired by ‘the English Liberals for his “cool”, blew his stack, not really so much at The Sun Life for wanting to move out, butover the company having the courage to demonstrate that ‘it has business alternatives when it feels pushed around. That alternative still exists 1 for nnetish companies ee |, even if Sun’ Life,under. postpones its inevitable move. Meanwhile it is beyond sidiously, if slowly, it has become the “fashionable thing” in some sections of English Canada - Toronto, Ottawa, and perhaps other centres - to lorify the “French act” and jump on the English as arrogant, domineering, intolerant rednecks. It is as unacceptable in some parts of English Canada - and impossible in Quebec - to even question, muc much less criticize French language and other “demande” ag it might be to play the clown at dinner in Buckingham Palace, And to suggest that Englishieds still the languagewt the majority nadian and in- world is to utter heresy. To even advocate. a policy of fair and equal two-way bilitigualism is enough to bring. social banishment to otherwise respectable people.. nat's whatThe Sun Lite affair: comes down Oil Pipeline enquiry ' VICTORIA (CP) — The decision against reconvening the West Coast ofl ports inquir: witi! at least next fail means environmental prablems will be over- ooked, the Sierra Club _ Said Thursday. Bob Nixon, regional e the environmental organization, said in a news release the decision iol “is aaelear signal that questions of environ: mental hazards, tankers spills and fisheries losses will not recelve adequate consideration.” ‘\ The National Energy ‘Board said Wednesday ‘Ottawa it will conduct a “major study of oi] supply and demand,nbeginning with a full public in. May. quiry ‘the . record .coul Upset our way of life, The Editor The Herald. 3212 Kalum street, Terrace,B.C, Dear Sir: Mr. . Homburg has periodically over the years got letters published in the Herald, all along the lines of his January 24th letter red- al baiting, calling any number of organizations communist controlled. His previous attacks on Labour Unions, schools, individuals has not been answered on the grounds that we felt that of diatribe would not be taken serously by your readership. _ . However this writer for .;., one has had enough! For o cl OMe ay socialist and an athesit, facts that Mr. Homburg or anyone else is welcome to comment on as long as they bear in mind this of course is within the law. (Incidentally the democracy that Mr. Homburg. is always talking about considers the communist party legal in Canada; _—fhis letter will serve notice t) Mr.Homburg that slanderours or libelous poison pen letters kind © his by him directed towards the Northwest Com- munity College's Labour Studies Program or my person will be turned over to my solicitors for action. As to the allegations that communism is being taught at Northwest College, obviously it is, long with capitalism, fascism and other isms, you can not ignore the act that over half the world’s population lives within some sort of communist government, ; there fore students taking diista ' sociology, ar po! ete, are made aware of that fact. ; < The:Northwest College, records'do not. show any . indication --that” Mr. - breaking ..and( Homburg has ever taken ; part in any courses of- red, if he. had he might be in a position to give an informed critique of the college. On the lighter side his statement that the Herald is a communist pa must have gotten a few chuckles around town. Sincerely, John Jensen Labor Studies Cocordinator ‘To the EDITOR: Tapologize for my inept handling of this if confrontation. You see, | lack the expertise, the finances and the media value from which to launch a campaign. - I resent the inferences and innunedos that are being heaped upon me and other professional telephone workers. The fact that the system is still running is to’ be expected, After all it was put in by professionals. I think it should also be pointed out that these ple who are doing our jobs are just showing us wW little their own jobs are worth. It appears as if the bulk of their work is redundant. They are therefore kept for one, abour’ To the Editor The work stoppage of B.C.Tel workers has ~ lasted far toolong. Being _@ member of the Telecommunications Workers for eight years has given me enough experience, knowledge and the right to make some brash statements. I believe the present provincial government Should. take over the operationsof B.C.Tel. this act would certainly improve working relations between union and managment. The first step necessary would be to axe everyone in the Industrial Relations Dept. as . well as the chief Executive Officer. It’s _ dtses so called intelligent - purpose and one. purpose s-people -that haverd0,000 A. abr slone, that is’as ‘ike maintaining force, ‘That is in excess of 3,000 e reent of the entre farceot the B.C. You figue it out.” Company expertise, money, media and a built in scab force. . i Maybe G.T.E. can snow the north for a ‘While, but surely not for ever, Larry Smith A Member of the TWU Terrace - Victoria Repor “Tt took the _ ene crisis to make ail of ae aware of how dependent our Western Soclaty-ia on - a diminishing: source of energy. Inmany ways it be a blessing in disguise, by sounding @ warning. even though it @ economies of neatly all — western nations by escalating inflation which in turn added millions to. the long lines of the unem- ployed. It is extremely unlikely that the boom days of the 1950's and 1960's will ever - Teturn and all of us must es in t the present time our sources of energy are; oil, natural gas, coal, atomic power and hydro; ten years from, now our energy sources pil ve je argely; oil, natural gas, coal and accept major cha hydro and a greater use of nuclear. power. Any one who claims to kave all the answers for energy. in the future simply doesn’t understand the problem. Many ‘new sources of energy are being tried with some success. France-is fermenting pig "manure, the British are exploring floating tur- bines to try and harness waves, Israel is growing seaweed to try an produce gil, the US. is studying a mile high mirror in the sky to try and capture :the sun's energy withoul being cut out by the clouds. of these may some day produce enctrgy | on quantity, but ihe realities me, Cyril Shelford of life are that both oll and natural as production b 1980 will be ar short of our needs; and other sources will atill be a long way off and up to six, times. as ex- pensive. | The Wall Street Journal reports that solar energy ‘will cost five times that of. gas and oi]. headlines on solar energy — were energy, we would be driving solar powered cars ext week. . Wind. power, even on a limited scale, will cost three times present energy costs; and ini the foreseeable future} will .not contribute more than one percent of the energy 1s of North America. Tidal power such as the Bayof Fundy with'a tide of 36 feet would only compete with present ene costs when. oil reaches $22 per barrel, $4 more than the present Price. Geo-thermal energy generated'in in California will not: likely help us much in B.C. The least glamorous ofall, yet with the mest potential in thenear future, is methane gas produced from waste material. Methane gas was first produced in 1929 from sewage, and Quebec City uses over - 350,00 tons a° year to ‘produce steam - making it the leader: in Canada. Wood waste has the greatest potentlal of | _ all waste material, -* The Science Council is optimistic that the energy needs’ of the 21st century will be filled by nuclear’ fission, the cheapest of all: forms of energy. It is expected that by 1090, hydrogen, nuclear fission, solar and wind energy, des and other possible new sources of energy will meet less than three percent of our total needs. All of these together plus our possible production of oil, gas and coal, including the Tar’ Sands which will be very expensive, will still leave us Short by one million barrels of oil daily. This will have to be imported from off share unless we quickly go into strict rationing and controls. The MacKenzie Delta Pipe Line was one possible alternative tc is immediate problem of shortage and a doubling of prices has already beer caused b the Berger Report which .. Will no doubt will go dow in history as Canada's greatest mistake. Most of our outspoken critics of oil pipe lines and other types of transport will not open their eyes until the lights go out, and will be equally as critical when rationing and even higher Prices hit. our economy, plus workers losked:wut alock:;cout,,.afthein workisituations. .. My reasoning for these Statments are: B.C, Tel received a 15 percent rate increases granted by the in 1977. The perhaps will receive 6 percent ina wage in- crease for the same period. The Industrial lations Dept. in its wisdom knew the union ~would be held to the 6 rcent granted under e AIB, War was declared by the company and the battle ever alnce the union defending the right te retain a contracting our clause . that we've had for many ears. I used to think the dustrial § Relations Dept. were there to solve problems not create em. . with a govenment ap- polnted mediator {Noel 11) who submitted his report in June, 1977. This report was publicly. ac- cepted by labour Minister Munroe, Manpower Minster Cullen and M.P. Simma Holt as well as government _ appointed eoneiliator @ Collins. B.C.Tel has flatly refused it, Now they sit and fonder why production fell, and why workers have lost their faith in the company. I then ask three questions. Why aren't we as members of ‘the TWU _back. at work?... Why _ hasn't.’ the | Federal Government forced the company to accept the Hall report? Why do [, after eight years with the telephone company have to sign-an affidavit and beg to come back to work? . 7 The answers. to these quesions should be easy -to answer, but I'm not an intelligent Industrial Relations Manager.’ for B.C.tel, who seem to have all the answers, « Doug Gent, Editor's Note: them to keep thei brevity and qood taste, caly ard fetter that, In Wis opinion, are rit ir languaee with! my their own personal convictiana, Wr should reciind afl (etter weitere that | peblicalions Of their letters in any newspaper pidbehin absolut then inert action if they are libellous, slanderous or fraudulent. anid Wall HA published, The cdltor reserves ther only be exercised after varetul consisenatioy ih hegre when 1} appears there inno alterivative, | _ AMta i ' ‘are . 1 the bouitets of chacenny Jf they iNT ft Jott to actit foe PUTAS OF fhe right to retube gaditivation oF 9 U1 bo print, “This right haw. will