Volume 76 Issue No.52 - Christmas Day: Remember why we celebrate This Christmas season there is no shortage of topics to discuss among friends. The controversies over golf courses versus farm land, native land claims versus school use, initial performances by new councils, opposition to highway upgrading and a looming provincial election are all hot topics for conversation. For many, the days leading up to Christmas have been hectic. Pressure from work, coupled with coping with the cold, has resulted in high stress levels. The process of buying Christmas gifts for the people we love is again an experience in commercialism. It’s a boom time for local business who have stocked their shelyes and had Christmas decorations flying since November. Because of a downtum in the economy, this Christmas season seems to be especially important for some businesses. The difference between high and low sales during December could be the difference between survival and defeat. Some families are spending Christmas with the realization that the principle wage eamer may not have a job to go back to in 1991, following layoff announcements by some businesses. Most people are thinking about these sorts of things at Christmas time. But the church community on the Peninsula also wants people to remember the spiritual side of Christmas. Because of the busy lives many people lead, the true meaning of Christmas is sometimes lost, prompting the church to urge Christians and people in general to make a conscious effort to remember the basic reason for the celebration. A local Anglican Church minister said: “If you wish to take the commercialization out of Christmas, you have to put Christ in.” This Christmas, attend a church service and take a few minutes to remember that Christmas is a celebration of Chnist’s birth. a Goods and Services Tax: What should be exempt Peninsula community groups arz unsure what aspects of their operation will be subject to the new Goods and Services Tax, effective Jan. 1. —~ Reams of literature explain the new tax but volunteer workers are having difficulty extracting specific information that apnieés to their particular situation. _ After the tax goes into affect Jan. 1 the situation will likely be resolved on a piecemeal basis. We're hoping that the community groups that do so much valuable work will not be affected by the new tax. To suggest that an additional seven per cent should be skimmed off the top for the federal government is ludicrous. Seven per cent would be a big blow to many non-profit community groups and would definitely affect the programs and projects they fund. , Letters to the editor must be signed and contain the writer’s address and telephone number. Letters should not exceed 500 words in length and may be edit- ed for clarity, legality or taste. TheReview Serving The Saanich Peninsula Ss Since: 1912 9781 2nd Street Sidney, B.C. V8L 4P8 or PO. Box 2070 Sidney, B.C. V8L 385 Second Class Mail Registration #0128 Published every Wednesday 656-1151 Publisher: Vic Swan Editor: Glenn Werkman AN ISLAND PUBLISHERS NEWSPAPER Ba PRIZE WINN De CCNAY ROLAM COM my = oe Ire : & ae vy, CDNA NERIFIED _ = CIRCULAT:ON Weir << Good siart for the new council Editor: Our new council is off to a fine Start. There is a fresh atmosphere in the council chasnber; a policy of interaction with the public is already in evidence; subtle altera- Uns in approach and attitude are = apparent; and — dare I say it? — the unstoppable Beacon Avenue/ Pat Bay interchange has been stopped! Congratulations to our new mayor and her team. Congratula- tions also to the new Sidney Rate- payers’ Association, whose man- date it was to collate the concerns of its members and to use the strength of that membership to put action behind their requirements. The first step was a new broom. In spite of the difficulties encoun- tered with the voting arrange- ments, residents declared over- whelmingly in favor of change. It has been said that we now have (for the most part) an inex- perienced team with an inexper- ienced leader, and this is undoubt- edly true. But we have seen where experience has led us, and | am sure we are all prepared to be a little forgiving of initial errors so long as it remains obvious that our council are still dedicated to fol- lowing the democratic wishes of the electors. A committee has been formed to study the whole question of the Port development, which was a primary concern of the S.R.A. members. : Town planning as a whole is also a priority, as is the future of -Sanscha Hall, closely followed by many other institutions which must be reviewed if the wishes of the majority are to be carried out. Sidney Ratepayers’ Association has shown what the strength of -numbers can do: The pursuit of its close liaison between the Town council and the residents will con- tinue to be successful only if the concems that are brought before them have the backing of a strong and involved membership. So help us — and your new council — to keep up the good work. Renew your membership in 1991 and remember that your input is necessary and valuable. Here’s to a very happy and fruitful New Year for us all. Dorothy Smith Sidney _TeReview Monday, December 24,1990 — A6 & AL m 4d Ris Sioney |) eee AND READERS SF eg OS eS -s© 67 -smt —-= 2.8 Way tg0 quick to Juage alderman Editor: “ Your editorial questioning the wisdom of the appointment. of Ald. Clarence Bolt as chairman of the planning and zoning commit- tee was both patronizing and pre- judiced (Planning committee: Equal treatment for all, The Review, Dec. 12). Literally ““pre-judged” since Ald. Bolt has yet to make any decisions as committee chairman — either to justify or refute your accusations of bias. Anyone who regularly reads your pages knows that Clarence Bolt is a man of strong convictions who has consistently expressed concem for the quality of the local environment. That may be why he was elected to council. However, why assume that a person with such concerns will be any less fair or competent in assessing planning issues than someone with a background in, say, business development? At higher levels of government, we have been subject for years to the decision-making of people whose roots lie almost exclusively in corporate law, economics, busi- ness administration, or political studies. Are you suggesting that this traditional mold of politician does not represent special interest groups? That they are more even- handed and representative of all members of the community? That they are less subject to “‘philo- sophical arguments about mother- hood issues?” That they are more competent at governing than others? ~ I suspect that many people are tired of having their community, their province and their country run as so many branch plants of a remote economic machine that appears to be increasingly out of control. If nothing else, the recent elec- tions were about the issue of local politicians listening to and acting on the expressed desires of the majority of residents. You must assume that all those now on council were elected because their platforms appealed to most elec- tors. A perceived shift in ideology on council from the status quo or ““business-as-usual” school to one more concemed with the quality and sustainability of our way of life in no way justifies your asser- tion that we will be less well served by such politicians. I believe you were way to quick off the mark to impugn the capa- bility and integrity of our new politicians, and your comments are an insult to all those (the majority g- who helped elect them. Eric S. Grace Saanichton No sacred cows like CBC or VIA Editor: : 4 The letter from former BCTF | president and NDP candidate for = Saanich North and the Islands P Elsie McMurphy (NDP critical of PM for CBC budget cuts, The | Review, Dec.-12) in which she |} laments over the $100 million ; budget cuts to the CBC, typifies the NDP policy of spend spend 7 spend, and are the same people § who complained when Air Canada was privatized, and cuts WEL Ege, made to Via Rail. While our hearts go out to the laid-off workers, the fact of the matter is that the CBC still receives $1 billion per year from a bankrupt federal treasury whose debt is increasing at the alarming = % rate of $57,076 per minute. If this country ever hopes to get its financial house in order, privati- zation-or even more cuts to. the -CBC andi other federally-funded institutions will have to be made. There can be no sacred cows! What McMurphy and others ofa like mind: had better realize and realize quickly is that spending = billions of taxpayer dollars on sucha things as official bilingualism; “>| planes, trains, and a national broadcasting corporation will not unite this country. National unity can and will only be achieved when the federal goy- emment comes to the realization that Canada consists of ten prov- inces and two territories, not just Quebec. It can only be acheived when, “outer Canada’ MP’s muster enough courage to stand up and represent their constituents in Ottawa instead of representing Ottawa to their constituents. j When, the Canadian version of — the British Parliamentary system is Continued on Page A8 hv tee arent tictemma Ren F OR