Page Ad — Terrace ‘Standard, Wednestay, April 22, 1992

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Publisher/Editor: Rose Fisher —

—

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EDITORIAL _ 6;

a

TH

Price of justice

When the lawyers go on strike, you’ve
Ontario, that prosecutor makes $70,000.

got to be worried. But that’s exactly
what could happen this spring.

In a move that threatens to snarl the
province’s justice system, B.C. pro-
secutors have voted 96 per cent in favour
of striking June.15, Not quite the man-
date the NHL hockey players gave their

‘union leaders, but it’s close.

Crown prosecutors, of course, are the
lawyers for the province. Along with the
police, they’re the grunts on the front
lines of the justice system, putting
evidence before judges that ultimately

puts crooks behind bars.

Drop into one of the court-rooms at —
the Kalum St. courthouse-sometime and —
watch the case loads. Stacks of files,
masses of information and endless pro-
cedures as defence and prosecution parry

before the bench.

Now lawyers generally get little sym-
pathy when they complain about not
making enough money. But have a look
at the facts: A’B.C. prosecutor of five

HOw reget to bye dae 4

ast ats Mane cong! “ae
arth

: themselves a “ane poorer. -

_ It’s all because :the New Democrat
provincial government ‘has decided to
end the supplementary homeowners
grant introduced’ by the Socreds.

That grant. was intended to ease the
burden of school taxes on householders.
But, so Finance minister.Glen Clark’s ra-
tionale went, it. favoured the well-off
because the greater the value of your
home, the bigger the «supplementary
‘grant and tax’ break you received. -

‘esult, ; : - they’ hi ‘ find: ae

cre

The average defence lawyer collects
considerably more, as does the judge
presiding over each case. According to
the newly formed Crown Counsel
Association of B.C.,
make an average 50-per cent less than
legal aid lawyers.

If the government hopes to keep‘quali-
ty prosecutors, that kind of discrepancy
must be eliminated. -

Ironically, it may be possible for the
government to find some replacement
workers for striking prosecutors in the
Lower Mainland. But that scenario is
very unlikely here in the northwest.

Private bar lawyers, who already have
plenty of work, wouldn’t work for the
wages prosecutors are paid. Victoria
would have to pay the going rate to at-
tract replacement workers — and if that
happened local prosecutors would hap- —
pily scab for themselves.

We’re all rich -

When this year’s tax notices arrive in.
the mail next month, more than three-
quarters of the city’s homeowners are
coin to find they are officially classified

In other words, the system favoured
the rich and therefore had to go.

According to figures released by city
council, 78 per cent of all homeowners in
_perrace will see their taxes rise,ds @ result

of the abolition ‘Of the grant...

“That’s because the change effects.
anyone with a house with an assessed .5.-Canada Free Trade pact
value ‘of $50,000 or more.

It’s a figure that? s ludicrously low if
the wealthy are indeed the target. After
all, these days it costs in the area of
$95,000 to build a standard, three-
bedroom, far-from-palatial home. _

The NDP may pay lip service to mak-
ing the rich pay. But ultimately, it’s or-

_dinary people who are footing their bills.

Ss
=

. Y SENSES,

P

their members

VICTORIA — Ever get the
feeling we got snookered by
Yankees when we entered into ~
_the Free Trade Agreement with
_ them? And have a sneaking
"hunch things will get worse if
Mexico get dealt into the card
game? I do.
~ Don’t get me wrong, I’m
what Garde Gardom, our:
agent general in London, calls
_ 2 free trader. 1 firmly pane
“that ‘the future is in eliminatin
“trade. ‘barriers, not shoring un
them up or erecting new ones.
It’s the rules of the

that bother me, or rather the
interpretation of the rules by
the Americans,
It seems that, according, to
the Americans, everything that
-works in their favour is con-
sidered to be governed by the
agreement; everything that
works in Canada’s favour is.
being challenged..
Canadian lumber exports to
the U.S. are perceived to be a

The tube trance

Media handlers do ‘their best
to help people look good during
television interviews, but their
efforts can be erased bya few
casual movements from a fringe
person who.doesn’t realize he’s
in the camera’s view, .

Last week, David’ Milgaard
was interviewed‘on (The Jour-

nal) following. -the Supreme —

Court's decision to grant him a
new trial. While he spoke direct-
ly to the viewer and camera,
behind him stood a man, visible
only as a torso with left hand

resting on the back of David’s

chair.

While David answered ques-
tions concerning his’ future, the
man’s hand spasmodically clen-

ched, every few words, giving,

an impression | of anger or ner-
vousness, ..
I wanted::to- know who the
hand belonged to. © .
Milgaard’s lawyer, itching. for

a re-trial?’ An uncle thinking,,

“Quit, David,” -while you're
ahead,’? Or a Stoney Mountain
penitentiary guard on- duty
without visible means: of
authority?

Handlers. help. politicians. to

look: ‘persuasive, oentertainment
notables to look stunning. They::-
dress them. in non-reflective -
clothing, no glittering jewelry or.

zebra’ stripes. to detract from.”
their TV image. But-the star’s.
media moment can be ruined by.’
one background: individual
fidgeting... ‘Tapping - a. pencil,
even ;; chit+)..p
chatting to a neighbour, draws *

shuffling papers, ~

the viewer's eyes, away from th
star's message: * “

threat to their own forest in-
dustry, and a countervailing
duty is slapped on our soft-
wood lumber entering the
States.

- When, on the other hand,
British Columbia places a limit

Through
Bifocals

by Claudette Sandecki |

Once, at the conclusion of a
. First Ministers’ conference,

_while Prime Minister Mulroney

was earnestly summing up the
conference’s attainments and
predicting the sorry state of
Canada’s prospects, my atten-
tion was glued on a woman:
Seated behind him, ;

Knees crossed, she bounced
her highheeled foot up and
down. Her. bobbing foot
“mesmerized me until my head
nodded up and down with her
foot like a kitten getting set to
pounce.

What if her shoe clattered to .

the floor? Was the -floor

carpeted? Suppose she was sw-

inging her foot.in Morse code?
If so, what message was she sen-
- ding?

No matter if a politician im-

- peccably dressed in.a banker

blue: suit. ‘delivers, a. stirring”

“speech calculated * ‘to. the last
nuance, my mind will focus on
“the functionary behind © him
wearing earphones. .

‘Is the: functionary listening to
a--Prench translation of the
politician’ s talk ‘on conference
room equipment? Or to CBC
‘M..Stereo. or a play-by-play of
_ baseball. ‘game -on
joweréd portable: radio

a
i. tucked in his coat pocket?

‘on the amount of raw logs
leaving the province, the
. Americans cry foul, pointing
» to the free trade agreement as
’ an excuse for wanting
unimpeded access to our raw
logs.
Not that I can blame them
— for wanting to get their hands
If the functionary’s eyes on as many raw logs as possi-
brighten and a satisfied look ble. Asa result of a number of
flits across his features, I con- court-imposed environmental
clude his favoured team scored, constraints on logging, Oregon
and I don’t mean the and Washington mills will be
politician’s party. If Mulroney facing a severe log shortage,
scored a telling point, chances and access to our raw logs
are I missed it in my keen would ’be just the ticket for
analysis of the fuctionary’s them.
behaviour, In the latest development on
My curiosity in perepheral that front, some U.S. politi-
people probably comes frommy cians have hinted that they
years as a mother. Every Mom, would drop the countervailing
becomes skilled at focusing on duty on our softwood lumber
the main action while monitor- jf we lift the ban on our export
ing fringe folk for signs of of raw logs. Fortunately, |
menace, misbehaviour or Forest Minister Dan Miller.
mayhem, nipped that little scheme in the
Fringe TV hones my skill and putt, No deal, he said.
fascinates me. Meanwhile, the Americans

NO SHELTER! No FVELI
No GAME! “ust ROCK
HARD SNotd AND A
BitinGe winD!!

i

Pf al iD EY SETTLED...

E ASHTRAY IN MY
ORSCHE. WAS JUST
ABOUT FULL...

> Fi

ws

\ Pe
3 al

—

se S ‘free trade
American- style —

From the
Capital

by Hubert Beyer

are also taking a run at our

fishing industry. That con-

troVersy started back in'1986, }

when the Americans first’“?°" 7

demanded that we'drop our

regulations which required
salmon and herring cought by
our fishing fleet to be landed
and processed in Canadian

_ plants.

In 1989, the Mulroney
government, like a good little
free-trade partner, gave in to
those demands, allowing the
Americans virtually free access
to our unprocessed salmon and
herring.

_ ‘The new regulations require
only that fish be landed at.a
designated landing station for
counting prior to export, The
U.S., however, wasn’t even
satisfied with that, threatening
retaliation under its trade laws,
unless Canada guaranteed that
our fish could be purchased
and exported by U.S: buyers
without ever touching Cana-
dian soil.

Somewhat unsettled by the
prospect of fosing a potential .
4,000 to 5,000 jobs, if it acced-
ed to that demand, Ottawa of- ~
fered ta send the issue to ar-
bitration under the disputes ..
mechanism of the Canada-US. .
Free Trade Agreement.

And that’s where it stands at

_ the moment, If the arbitrators
determine that our regulations
aren't consistent with U.S.
laws, we will have to do exact-
ly as the U.S. trade authorities
tell us. Not a happy prospect.

’ Last week,-a delegation of
the United Fishermen and
Allied Workers Union and the
Prince Rupert Amalgamated
Shoreworkers and Clarks
Union came to Victoria to.
plead their case. ~

While sympathetic to their
cause, there isn't a lot provin-
cial government officials can
do to help them. Free trade.is

HES URES
APPRECIATE THAT:--

co Bae

. a federal matter. |

yeh

~ all levels of government. They: *

: municipalities to undertake

_ ing of Canadian fisheries

‘Still, the two ‘inion’ have ah op
extensive list oF ‘Suggestions for.

are asking coastal Poa
economic development in-

itiatives that encourage
domestic processing industries .

» and discourage the location
_ within their boundaries of lan-
‘ ding stations or unloading .

facilities for direct export.
’ The unions are also urging -
municipalities to put pressure .-

- on the federal and provincial |,”

governments to implement...
policies for domestic process-

resources.

They want provincial
governments to develop legisla- . .
tion similar to U.S. laws that -.
would ensuire full utilization | .
of domestic processing capaci-.
ty | before raw fish leaves the : .
province. * ”

They also urge provinces to.

delay any‘amendments to pro-

vincial legislation required by.
the Free Trade Agreement un-
til Canadian authority over the
processing of‘fish resources is.
guaranteed.’
And finally, the unions are.
demanding that Ottawa in-
troduce further regulations re-
quiring fish landed in Canada
to be eviscerated, counted and
graded prior to export, place...
export taxes on unprocessed | .:
herring, and serve notice of
Canada’s intention to -
withdraw from bilateral
fisheries agreements until our’
right to fully enjoy the benefits
of our own resources is
assured,
Given the double standard |
the U.S. applies to the inter-
pretation of the Free Trade
Agreement, I'd say the unions’
demands are worthy of public”

support.
THS ISA 6K
Ecosy STEM! N

FRAG ILE