aft sy Opinion TheReview Wednesday, May 8, 1991 — A7 ee Harcourt’s $10 billion dilemma | VICTORIA — After a long drought, there finally is some good news for the Social Credit government. The $10 billion deficit budget Bob Rae is trying to sell to Ontarians as that province’s blueprint for economic recovery is the best thing that’s hap- pened to the beleaguered Socreds in British Columbia for months, if not years. Mel Couvelier didn’t waste any time exploiting @ntario’s malaise for his party’s benefit. Not only will the Ontario NDP’s budget deficit — the largest in Canadian history — spell doom for that province, it places every other province in finan- cial jeopardy, the B.C. finance minister and Saanich and The Islands MLA says. The $10 billion deficit in Ontario, he said, will keep interest rates high throughout Canada. We’ll all be paying for “Ontario’s adventure,” Couvel- ier Says. It’s the stuff Socred dreams are made of in this election year. Forget about the scandals. Forget about the lack of integrity for which our previous premier has made us so famous. Take a look at the Ontario NDP and weep. That will be the Socred credo between now and the election. Mike Harcourt’s NDP is trying hard to make _the best of a very bad situation. Finance critic Glen Clark says the Ontario NDP’s deficit budget won't hurt the British Columbia NDP. I think it will. British Columbians came through the last recession better than any other province, thanks largely to former premier Bill Bennett’s restraint program. Even at the time, few people disagreed with restraint; the furor was over the harshness of its implementation. Most British Columbians firmly believe that it’s dangerous at best to try to spend one’s way out of a recession. The only way to do that is to save in good times and spend when the economy is in the doldrums, but neither Ontario nor British Columbia have saved any money. There is one way for Harcourt to control some of the damage his Ontario counterpart has done. He can go on record saying that he is totally opposed to deficit spending other than that which a sagging economy makes unavoidable. Will he do that. I don’t think so: I believe he will try to waffle on the issue. It’s very difficult if not impossible for one NDP leader to criticize another in so basic and vital a policy issue as finance. But unless he wants to be a sitting duck during the election campaign, Harcourt will have to come clean on the issue. Sitting on the fence and claiming that he won’t tell Ontario how to run its business will not cut it with the voters. They want reassurance. The voters have a right to know what fiscal policy the next government will pursue. It’s questionable whether Ontario voters would have brought the NDP to power, had they known that Bob Rae would saddle them with a $10 billion deficit. Rae told his province that the government had a choice between fighting inflation and fighting the recession and choose the latter. That’s perhaps very humanitarian, but it’s wrong. In the weeks to come, you will probably hear more about the Ontario budget than ours. For the government, the $10 billion question came along at just the right time; for the NDP it’s not so good news. But in the end, I don’t give much of a damn whether it’s good for one or the other. What counts is whether it’s good for the public, and I believe it is. Ethics in government are important, and on that score, the Socreds surely deserve to be defeated, but fiscal policy is equally vital. New British Columbia voters have a chance to assess the two parties on issues other than ethics. Questions should and will be asked of both the Socreds and the NDP. DESIGNING A FLAG for Central Saanich is the challenge behind a contest sponsored by the municipality’s recreation department. Three flag poles stand in front of the hall on Mt. Newton Crossroad and recreation coordinator Bonnie McKenzie wants to ensure the district is repre- sented along with the province and country, First prize for the flag design selected by a special committee will be a crisp $100 bill. Sketch your colored design on a five-inch by eight-inch card, put your name and address on the back and drop it off at the municipal hall before June 14. McKen- zie suggests that those looking for design ideas should drop by the municipal hall for a perusal of the district’s coat of arms, on display in the lobby. There is no restriction on the number of entries one person may submit. * *k OK THE TOP PRIZE of $21,000 was won by Sidney resident James McMahon last month. The University Hospital administrator bought a Blackjack instant lottery ticket in Burnaby to make the long commute home less boring. While scratching the ticket McMahon discovered he had a winning hand, beating the dealer, to qualify for the top prize. He planned to surprise his wife Deborah with the win but has no immediate plans to spend the money, the B.C. Lottery Corporation said. kK SATURDAY IS AN open house at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital to help celebrate Canada Health Day with guided tours of behind-the- scenes activities. It goes from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the 225-bed community general hospital on Mt. Newton Crossroad. Among the attractions is an operating room equipment demonstration, an information display on health care careers and a body mechanics demonstration. The national - theme this year is Protect Your Health and the Environment, and complimentary seedlings will be given away courtesy of the Canadian Forest Products Ltd. operation in Saanichton. * Kx * OK O* THE 48TH ANNUAL TEA sponsored by the Sidney group of Save The Children Fund of B.C. raised an incredible $1,226.64 April 27. Organizer Patsy McAvity says the money will help finance nine sponsorships the group has in Africa, India, Central America and Asia. Dona- tions were also received for emergency relief in the Middle East and Africa. A recognition certificate was also presented to Sidney Mayor Marie Rosko and accepted on behalf of the citizens of the Peninsula for their outstanding support over the years. 55 23.53 WHAT CITY WAS THAT, in a column by Stelly’s Scout, Brandie Weikle, last week? Fredricton is the correct spelling of the East coast city. The reference to the province of New Brunswick was an attempt at a bilingual version. The French version is actually Nouveau- Brunswick. (Thanks to the reader who dropped off a map.) Meanwhile, there was another error in last week’s Review. Columns of type in a story continued to page A2 from the front page (Design work for Beacon) last week were juxtapositioned during production. Rod Clack’s quote continued near the bottom of the first leg of type, instead of at the top as intended. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused readers. x kK nbmdled nationalism, as distinguished from a An Extract Unbrid ional an > 92 sane legitimate patriotism, must give way to a FROM Baha u wider loyalty, to the love of humanity as a whole, STATEMENT Baha’u'llah’s statement is: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” ON PEACE For further reading material and/or contact Bahai community. Please call... 656-3599 656-0601 652-5922 FATHOM’S LOUNGE is pleased to announce This week’s winner in our weekly BUSINESS CARD DRAW! 2537 Beacon Avenue Sidney, B.C. ES the waterfront Rotel Sidney \ WHARF DINING REGM The original desktop publishing ,.s system..... 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