; ‘Act of a desperate man VICTORIA — As if the cabinet shuffle wasn’t embarrassing enough, Premier Vander Zalm had to refer to it as “a cabinet for the 21st century.” If this is what the next century has in store, Arthur € Clarke had better rewrite his bestsellers 2001 and 2010; lest folks be too optimistic about the future. It’s difficult to decide what's most embarrass- ing about the cabinet shuffle, the return of Bud Smith, the appointment of an absolute political rookie to the all-important environment portfolio, or the equally disconcerting choice for labor minister. Smith’s return to cabinet is somewhat =y_bewildering. True, I never expected the premier to be too worried about his former attorney general having mixed politics with justice, but consider- ing Vander Zalm’s preoccupation with everyone else’s morality, I thought that Bud might remain a has-been. Cliff Serwa’s elevation to environment minister is a Vander Zalm classic. The MLA for Okanagan South has never held a cabinet post. His only experience is four years as a backbencher. The environment portfolio is, by far, the most important job in any cabinet today. The job demands an experienced politician who can go a round or two with Ottawa, ride herd on industry and keep the environmental groups happy. Serwa isn’t it. I will ‘give Serwa credit for honesty. He admitted that he doesn’t have much of a clue about his new duties, but said he’ll learn. I also admire his candor. Asked what he thought of his predecessor’s ‘® resignation, Serwa said he respected John Reyn- old’s decision and added that under the circum- stances he would have done the same. Honesty and candor, are admirable character traits, but they won’t necessarily make Serwa a good environment minister. Next to environment, labor is the most tricky portfolio in this province. A bad or ineffective minister can trigger labor unrest, he may be unable to prevent strikes that a stronger minister might have avoided. Like Serwa, Jim Rabbitt is a political neophyte. Elected on his leader’s smile four years ago, Rabbitt is probably destined for the political scrap heap. Like many of his colleagues, Rabbitt will tum out to be a one-term wonder and that’s not much of a qualification for the job he holds now. The third newcomer to cabinet is Harry De Jong, the new minister of agriculture and fisher- ies. Although equally inexperienced, De Jong will have the time to learn on the job. His path won’t be strewn with as many land mines as those of Serwa and Rabbitt. The other changes were inspired by the game of musical chairs. Stan Hagen, former regional development minister, takes over the education ministry from Tony Brummet, who was dropped from cabinet because he’s retiring from politics. Ivan Messmer moves from parks to solicitor general. John Savage, former agriculture minister, is now in charge of parks. The 14 other cabinet ministers keep their jobs. lam reminded of a number of cliches, including the one about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Really, the questions does arise: who on earth would want to be appointed by this premier to this cabinet at this time? The answer is, every backbencher. But one should be thankful for small mercies. There will be no more cabinet shuffles before the next general election. And even though the assessment of the shuffle by Vander Zalm’s critics as the last act of a desperate man is not without its platitudinal flaws, it does describe the situation rather well. TheReview Monday, December 24, 1990 — A7 “ Discount Senior 10% Mon.-Sat. 8-5:30 P.M. _ For Your Convenience We Will Be Open BEACON l= ==) ——4 Sunday, Dec. 23rd and BAKERY Freshiiecs Glarsniced Sunday, Dec. 30th 656-9411 Save Christmas trees for mulching SAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS tree until Jan. 5 so the Sidney Lions Club can use it an part of their environmentally-friendly project. With all the concems about backyard burning and what smoke is doing to our air, the Lions Club came up with a plan to dispose of Christmas trees, project chairman Brad McCluskie said. ““We don’t want to burn the trees as we have done in the past so we are going to mulch them,” McCluskie said. Trees yg can be dropped off at Tulista Park, Jan. 5 Starting at 8 a.m. and they will be mulched from 12 noon until 4 p.m. “We need to inspect each tree before it is put into the mulcher for nails, as they will damage the machine,” he said. The Lions will be asking for donations upon accepting trees and will be selling bags of mulch in the afternoon. The mulch is excellent to put on gardens or in composts. Money raised will go toward commun- ity projects. * kk x THE REVIEW OFFICE will be closed for an extra day this week, but not because of staff enjoying holidays. Friday (Dec. 28) will see Review staffers packing boxes and preparing for the move to new digs at 9726-First Street. We apologize for an inconvenience this may cause readers or advertisers. xk x A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS message from Her Majesty the Queen will be aired on CHEK television’s Channel 6 broadcast at 5:50 p.m. Christmas Day, immediately following the 5:30 p.m. news. The ten-minute message will be repeated at 11:50 p.m. as well, right after the CHEK 6 late news. * * x THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT of giving imbued the Santa helping out the Sidney Association of Merchants from the top of his hat to the bottom of his boots. When Santa wasn’t available, Bert Stevens was hired to fill the jolly elf’s shoes over the season. Saturday morning he signed his paycheque over to the Lions-Review Food Bank. * ok OK * ke * LET THE BUS be your designated driver on New Year’s Eve. B.C. Transit is providing free evening service starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 31 until 1 o’clock in the moming. This New Year’s Eve, plan to take a bus for a safe journey to and from your evening’s celebrations, a B.C. Transit press release said. For information, pick up a special New Year’s Eve timetable from your bus driver or call Transit Information at 382-6161. * * WITH THE END of 1990 just about here, the 676 Kittyhawk Air Cadet Squadron is thanking all the people who have volunteered their time as instructors and to all the service clubs of the community who have supported them. The list includes the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 37, Army, Navy, Air Force Veterans 302, the Lions Clubs and the Vancouver Island Officers’ Association. All the support is greatly appreci- ated by the officers and cadets and will certainly help make 1991 even greater, squadron spokes- man Sandra Fullbrook said. * OK x AND THE WINNERS WERE Eva Townsend, who received the ceramic tree; Millie Anderson, who picked up the Gingerbread House and Mt. Newton Centre client Mr. McAdams, who won the topiary tree in the recent Mt. Newton Centre Auxiliary raffle. Proceeds go to support the seniors’ day care and services centre on Mt. Newton Crossroad in Saanichton. kK INCREDIBLE SAVINGS _ 73% OFF ¢ SELECTED DRESSES e SKIRTS - PANTS COORDINATED GROUPS IN STORE C SPECIALS > GREAT BARGAINS BE SEEN, BE SMART, BE SPECIAL 7105A-West Saanich Rd. Brentwood 652-3143