| Opinion

Gran flying high on government aircraft

VICTORIA — Just when you
thought you had heard it all, Carol
Gran hits you with a new one.

Under fire for improper use of
government aircraft, Gran said she
wouldn’t release details of the
flight logs because it might embar-
rass the government.

The opposition, the minister was
sure, would use the information to
rake muck and the media would
probably write unflattering things

- about it.

I can understand why Gran

- balked the NDP demand that she

release details of the government
fleet logs. As it tums out, she is
guilty of abusing the system.

Government aircraft may be
used by the lieutenant-governor
and staff, the premier, cabinet
ministers and deputy ministers, but
only on official business.

Gran should have been aware of
the rules. As minister of govern-
ment services, she’s in charge of
the fleet of five aircraft. The rules
governing their use are clear.

Government aircraft are to be
used if ‘“‘no regular service is
available or the time of any sched-
uled air service is unreasonable.”

‘What on earth did
Gran think she was
doing using a

government —
aircraft to
commute? A few
years back, she

Alas, Gran’s knowledge or inter-
pretation of those rules left a little
to be desired. She used govern-
ment planes to commute almost
every day, at least four time a
week, between Vancouver and
Abbotsford and back.

She would take the regular run
on the government aircraft to Van-

couver, which is fine, but then
she'd order the pilot to take a side
trip to Abbotsford where her car
was parked. Gran says she prefers
the government planes because
she’s a ““white-knuckle flyer.” She
says she’s afraid of using commer-
cial airlines.

According to one estimate,

which may be somewhat exagger-
ated, each side trip to Abbotsford
cost $1,000. At the rate of two trips
a day, four times a week, that’s

$32,000 plus a month worth of

unauthorized flying by Gran. —
Compared with other govern-
ment scandals during the last cou-

The most comical aspect of the
issue, however, were her reasons
for not releasing the flight logs.

It was so obvious that she sim-
ply repeated fragments of the dis-
cussion that must have taken place
in cabinet.

It didn’t take the premier very
long to exercise some damage
control. He promised that the
flight logs would be released,

- although I should add that it may

take some time before we get the
details.

Perhaps the government should
consider making more use of pri-
vate carriers. I’m not saying the
fleet should be privatized, because
transporting ministers is only one
of its functions.

According to the regulations,
“the air ambulance service shall
have priority for all government
aircraft.”

I wouldn’t want to see that
changed, but the politicians can
use private catriers more often.

Serving if right

By Apmnil next year, just about
everyone involved in the serving of
alcoholic beverages will have to
have passed a course called Serv-
ing it Right.

The program is available prov-
ince-wide and will now be manda-

TheReyiew Wednesday, June 20,1990 —

Al13

A day ina wheelchair

by the physically disabled.

By way of pledges and bets,
Long raised $298, and he said he’s
matching that with his own funds.

Wheelchair-bound Doug
Mowat, Social Credit MLA for
Vancouver- Little Mountain, had
some company last week.

Two of his colleagues, Harold
Long, the Socred MLA for Mack-
enzie, and Larry Chalmers, the
Social Credit MILA for Okanagan
South, went about their regular
duties for one day, sitting in wheel-
chairs.

Long had agreed to spend the
day in a wheelchair to raise money
for the Powell River Hospital
Physiotherapy Department, and
Chalmers wanted to raise his own
awareness of the challenges faced

Buiting out

Working for the government and
smoking will soon become
mutually exclusive pastimes.

Effective October 1, 1990, all
government workplaces will be off
limits to smoking.

4 tory fe i

Pr obably didnt ple of years, this one may lack sat or all pasousssel Vine lc

even know that the pene SF our oe a The program includes a five-
government es a - Sa eo Re hour course for licence holders

d a fleet of solace In the tac co and managers and a four-hour

+. owne - a 22 ° WOES» : : course for servers. The courses
aircraft What on earth did Gran think Geaj with the responsibilities of

she was doing using a government
aircraft to commute? A few years
back, she probably didn’t even
know that the government owned a
fleet of aircraft: Now she tells the -
pilot to take her to her back door,
and never mind the cost.

We are on the “Move” ts
to serve you better!

serving alcoholic beverages to the
public and include information
about the effects of alcohol on the
body.

Another regulation stipulates
that the cost of using a government
plane must be “economical when
compared with commercial tar-
iffs.”

pe

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