TheReview Wednesday, December 12, 1990

VICTORIA — The great unwashed have never
been more powerful. Politicians want their votes;
consumer goods manufacturers are after their
dollars, and lobbyists and activists vie for their
hearts and minds.

But in spite of all that power, the public seems
to be at the mercy of special interest groups, often
unable to distinguish between fact and fiction,
news and propaganda, right and wrong.

The political left in this province would have us
believe that all Socreds are heartless, profit-
oriented capitalists who look down on working
people.

The Socreds, on the other hand, try to make us

BI@ see the NDP as a godless bunch of socialists, bent

on destroying any individuality.

How many times do the environmentalist have
to repeat their doomsday message that the forest
industry is destroying our forests before we
believe them?

And at what point do we accept as truth
statements by forest industry officials that the
environmentalists don’t give a damn for people
and jobs.

In these fierce battles for public support, more
lies and half-truths are uttered than the average
person can examine. We, are, indeed, at the mercy
of all sorts of adversaries. Or are we? For the
answer read the last sentence.

A speech I came across the other day was a
good example of the use of half-truths to gain
public support. The speaker was Ray Smith,
president and chief executive officer of MacMil-
lan Bloedel. The venue: a meeting of the
Vancouver Rotary Club.

Smith did his best to convince the audience that
although there were some nice individuals in the
environmental movement, as a species they were
dangerous.

He accused environmentalists of appealing to

Vigilence is only answer

people’s emotions, while doing a pretty good job
of that himself.

When he was through with his audience, I’m
sure that more than one person was convinced
that the environmentalists want to close down the
entire forest industry.

Just like the strident environmentalists, Smith
spoke in absolutes. Clearcuts, he admitted looked
messy, but banning clearcuts, he hinted, would
somehow lead to a complete ban on logging.

And lest he be accused of exaggerating, Smith
said that “under other guises,” some people are
proposing a ban on logging. One of those guises,
he said, was a move by the environmentalist
movement to put a stop to logging in old growth.

Smith went on to explain that since 97 per cent
of all logging on the west coast was in old-growth
areas, a ban on logging old growth was a ban on
logging per se.

Talk about emotional arguments; talk about
half-truths. True, they advocate a moratorium in
ecologically-sensitive old-growth areas such as
watersheds, but not an outright ban.

Smith also took aim at Sweden or rather those
who keep dragging Sweden and its forestry
methods into our debates. Sweden, too, used
clearcut logging methods.

Well, I don’t know about Sweden, but while
doing some research into forestry practices in
Germany a couple of years back, I came across
some rather interesting things.

In most of the laender or provinces, they
clearcut by law, but the maximum area allowed to
be clearcut is 1.3 hectares. In the province I was
in, that figure was even smaller — 0.3 hectares.

So much for Smith and his contribution to the
forestry debate. How do we distinguish between
fact and fiction, truth and lies, propaganda and
news? Vigilance, eternal vigilance. That’s the
only thing that keeps the purveyors of lies and
half-truths at bay.

PENINSULA SCHOOL CHILDREN may be
interested in competing in the English Haiku
poetry competition, which is open to all children
in Grades 1 to 7. Known in Japanese as a haiku,
the three-line poem is a traditional artform that

of consists of a maximum of 17 syllables in each

line. In principle, the middle line should be longer
than the first and third lines. For instance, last
year's top winning entry goes as follows:

Native mother

collects healing leaves

deep in the forest.

It was written by a Tofino Grade 5 student,
Jonathan Manson, who flew to Japan with his
m her last August as part of the grand prize. All
eli. ies must by submitted by Mar. 29, 1991 to the
following address: JAL (Haiku Contest), 710-777
Homby Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1S4. Up to 20
puizes will be awarded, which will include $200

to be used on a school project.
kK *

J FAMILY PETS NEED need extra protection

from the cold and wet weather at this time of year,
the SPCA warns. Cats and short-haired dogs are
best kept inside the home in the winter season,
while outdoor dogs need a dry, elevated dog house
with clean, dry bedding and a flap over the kennel
opening to keep drafts out. Another idea is to add
a dog door to the garage and place a soft cushion
in the corner of the garage. Dogs need more
calones in the winter to produce more body heat
so increase the amount you feed your pet. On the
other hand, indoor dogs and cats get less exercise
in the colder months and will need fewer calories
to avoid weight gain.
*k KOK

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF continuous gov-

ernment service was recognized Dec. 6 in a

ceremony at Government House. Sidney residents
Marg Drier, acting deputy registrar of corporate

Student poets can win a trip to Japan
in international Haiku writing contest

and personal property registries, and Tony Heely,
architectural projects officer in the Provincial
Capital Commission, were both recognized in a
ceremony presided by Premier Bill Vander Zalm
and Lt.-Goy. David Lam. Also awarded was
Steve Lum Min, district audit manager of
Vancouver. Drier began her career in April 1965
in the Motor Vehicle Branch while Heely first
worked for the province in July 1965 with the
department of highways. Saanich and The Islands
MLA Mel Couvelier announced the Long Ser-
vice Awards, which have been held on an annual

basis since 1956.
kk *

GERMAN SPEAKING BUSINESS people
may want to get in touch with a White Rock man
who is preparing a travel guide for German
visitors. Bernd Baumgartelsaid the travel guide
will be distributed free of charge in various tourist
bureaus and airlines offices in Austria, Germany
and Switzerland. Only businesses that are able to
communicate in German will be listed. For more
information on how to get hold of the travel guide,
write to Baumgarten at 3652 Elgin Road, White
Rock, BC, V4A 2Y9.

* OR

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