PPA UR SS RNGR SPAN NPBA OP LT dem bl Leet ee LS Three brass balls n his dual capacity as premier and minister of finance, Premier Bennett enjoys a very unique position among socalled ‘‘democratic’’ governments. He can tell the’people fror. the floor of the Legislature or elsewhere, just how much — or little he wants them to know. Moreover, whatever he may deem it advisable to tell them, that much is always geared to Socred partisan interests, and not for the public weal. As finance minister, Premier Bennett’s books always **balance’’ — to the satisfaction of Bennett and Co. When, as it often occurs such “balances’”’ are questioned by his parlia- mentary Opposition or by the public generally, WAC gets . most “indignant”, as much as to to say “what do laymen knew about the fine techniques of high finance anyway?” Thus when the moulting Columbia River sell-out chickens are now “coming home to roost” and the B.C, taxpayer faced with the stark reality that he has not only lost a vast natural life giving resource in the give-away of the Columbia River to U.S. monopoly, but must now fork out millions of dollars to store Columbia water for U.S, needs, Bennett showers them with a deluge of unsubstanciated “figures” hoping thereby to lull them back to sleep. Earlier “figures” dished out by B.C.’s top financial juggler promoted the gigantic illusion that the U.S, dollars received for the Columbia River would go far to financing the Peace River power project, etc, etc. That illusion is now exploded, with a brand new set of Socred “figures” built up around B,C, Hydro — “figures” which by no means answer those key questions the public would like to know, viz; how many millions of extra dollars will the taxpayers have to fork out to cover the catastrophic. losses incurred by Socred financial deals, giveaways, bungling and trickery, before a low-cost kilowatt comes to the B.C., economy? m4 By the end of 1971 the total debt of the Peace may reach $686-million or more, with an annual interest charge of $46- million or so on that debt . . . which the kilowatt consumer will have to pay, either by excessive power rates or increased direct taxation, or both. All neatly obscured by the Bennett technique of “figuring” — or his silent reluctance to reveal all the authentic figures. Then there are those periodic trips to Wall Street for a few extra millions to keep Socred books “balanced”, No one in * B.C., including many of his own back-benchers, know what’s been tossed into the U.S, grab-bag to get that ‘‘loan’’, What B.C, badly needs at this precise moment is a royal commission to inquire into Socred stewardship of provincial finances, with very special emphasis on the Hydro balance sheet; such a commission to provide the facts for the people, rather than “whitewash” for WAC. Otherwise instead of B.C.’s Dogwood emblem, we’ll have Three Brass Balls, Tom Mc EWEN t is a law of the jungle that when an old and battle- scarred lion, long an unchalleng- ed leader of the herd begins to falter and weaken in the chase, the hyenas, (always trailing along hoping to feed on the offal of the kill), close in on the old leader for a kill themselves. The same law would seem to apply in the upper echelons of the Tory party. The current cam- paign to ‘dump’ national Tory leader John Diefenbaker has now become something of a ‘race’ to see which contender can grab off the Dief leadership toga.Some fine specimens of Tory scrubs are coming forward to enter the tourney, most of them with little claim to leadership, and less to merit any support from the elec- torate or others, This particular Tory race for party leadership has many prece- dents‘ in natural and political his- tory. Not only does it bear a close resemblance to a pack of hyenas seeking to make a meal of an aged and near-spent lead- er (who still stands head and shoulders above those’ snarling at his heels), but is also rem- iniscent of the Roman senate amphitheatre with Brutus plung- ing his dagger into the neck of Ceasar, meanwhile loudly pro- claiming ‘he was my friend’, Thus as the saying goes, ‘with such friends, who needs enemies?’ Two special contendersin par- ticular now in the official running for the Dief toga are the Hon.(?) George Hees and the Hon. (?) Davie Fulton, our ‘very own’ Davie from up Kamloops way, Gorgeous Georgeisthe‘glamor boy’ of the Tory party, richly en- dowed with a ‘gift-of-the-gab’, enough to turn a Fuller Brush saleman green with envy, And as one newspaper columnist de- scribed him, “the lion of the service-club circuit”. That he is, with all the ‘savor faire’ of a back-slapping stock broker out for a quick buck. Hees it will be remembered was trade minister in the Dief ‘Canada First’ water — program urged on B.C The idea of a continental ap- proach to development of Can- ada’s water resources was re- jected last Thursday night in a speech by a federal cabinet mem- ber at a banquet which high- lighted the 17th B.C. Natural Resources Conference, meeting in Victoria February 22-24 on the theme, “Water... A Fun- damental Resource,” John Turner, minister with- out portfolio, told the more than 200 delegates and guests that Canada’s water resources should be developed on a Canada First: basis and urged B.C. to join with ALASKA ,/ ee . a MEXICO \ federal authorities in planning an east-west development of water resources, He said he hoped that B.C, would agree, nce its own needs were met, to future diversion of surplus water to the prairie provinces, While the U.S, consul general, who significantly travelled from Vancouver to hear the address, listened, Turner said the U.S, should clean up its own water and that as far as he was concerned *‘continentalism was not in my vocabulary.’’ * UNITED STATES U.S. PLAN FOR WATER DIVERSION. The above map was published in the Jan. 31 issue of the Christian Science Monitor in Boston, U.S.A. It shows the NA- WAPA scheme for diversion of Canadian water on a continental basis to meet U.S. demands. This map, reduced here, along with a big front page story told how U.S. politicians are pushing for B.C. water. government before he deserted his post and his chief, because the latter had expressed some harmless views anent Yankee domination in Canadian affairs; harmless of course to what they were. supposed to be ‘opposing’ . . » acommon practice of most politicians, Tory and Liberal alike, It will also be recalled that Gorgeious George ‘‘had an ac- quaintence’’ (according to the of- ficial record) with the now famed and beautious West German blonde, Gerda Munsinger. But the official report, astounding in many of its conclusions, merely - questioned George’s ‘discretion’ rather than his “acquaintance” with the amorous Gerda. Most elegantly put; Like the strong ‘he man’ he aspires to be, Gorgeous holds strongly to the opinion that his *“acquaintence” with Gerda shouldn’t be any handicap in his race for the Tory leadership. And just because it is a Torypartyhe hopes to lead, so say we all, ‘Faint heart ne’er won fair lady’ . . - nora Tory leadership toga, Then there’s our ‘very own’ Davie from Kamloops, also an aspiring contender in this cava- lier (?) campaign to ‘dump’ Dief. Some years ago the national Tory party, in close consultation with its B.C. provincial replica, sent Davie back to his home province post haste, to take over the provincial leadership of that political corpse, and if at all possible, drag it out of the poli- tical wilderness where it had been decaying for years, At the end of a couple of years or so, plus a few dozen orations super-charged with ‘optimism’ and Tory flapdoodle, Davie ap- parently came to the conclusion, (unstated of course), that not even the most skilled political quack could instil life into a poli- tical corpse. Davie left the pro- vincial Tories just where he found them — in the bush, and headed back for the more‘ lush’ pastures of Ottawa. What all these Tory contenders Turner did not make it whether he was outliniNb adopted policy of the LM” government, or whether Me expressing his own point of 4 But the speech is seen tol! of the growing struggle insid Liberal government aroum) issue of resources and 1 ownership. Turner said every ©@ ought to be concerned with! extent of foreign owners Canadian industry andres | and added that Canada fa@ choice in its Centennial ¥® being either a ‘‘footnote in tory” or “a glorious pag& In an early part of his °F Turner was critical of state™ of Socred government which expressed ‘‘go it “a, ideas, or which separated " from ‘the rest of Canada opinion B.C, should not @ the movement of water t0 and Saskatchewan if BeCe® are first met. “Spread the, fits of our resources acro® ada for the goodofall Canal he urged. : Dr. Deryck Sewell, Um of Victoria economist, % the massive dimension NAWAPA plan which, h& would create a 500-m reservoir in B.C.’s Rockey tain Trench, a lake big en? ’ supply 200 cities the siz@ ’ York with their, water nef ’ year; a complicatéd. seri i dams, one of which W° three times as high 2° Coulee; and to distribute most of it Canadian, 1 7 provinces, 33 states a Mexican states. He said there is no shor water in the U.S., only 24 See WATER, Pg. 12 and their ‘non-retirii®: seem to overlook in the Pt inaries of this ‘race’ ™ History has not only call with them, but already 1@" far behind, As with thei! twins, the ‘cause’ of TOF as dead as all its pa tains from MacDonald t0 rf an; only in their case ca neglected to completely punt remains, q i? That ‘rite’ will be full? pleted in the first decade® ada’s ‘second century’, 5? not vital to posterity wh?” ig: who loses. If you put you! on Hees you’ll get ‘glamor ‘discretion’, on Davie the exact reverse, or on® horse Dief, neither, Just th of a fighter who didn’t have enough to know when t0 even when the gong rang! ef! Mest Coast edition, Canadian Tribo" Editor—TOM McEWEN Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH ings Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hasting Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288. 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