_ & Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 5, 1988

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... And they’re off

Adding yet another burden to the climactic stresses

of November in the Northwest, we’re going to be sub-. jected next month to not one but two elections... three, if you follow U.S. presidential politics.

On November 19 and again on November 21, those of us who care about voting will be trudging off in wet gear and gumboots to the polling stations, making decisions that we won’t know the consequences of un- til it’s too late to change our minds. Civic elections to choose school trustees, city council members and regional district directors take place on the 19th, and we devoutly hope the higher-profile federal campaign doesn’t totally overshadow the efforts of candidates

for local offices.

As we trudge into the balloting booths on the 21st to decide who to send to Ottawa, heads reeling with promises, propaganda, invective and innuendo, let’s hope there are a few frail facts from the campaigns to which we can anchor a reasoned choice. National politics too often focus on personalities and rhetoric, and we'd like to call at this point for intelligent discus- sion on the issues that affect this region and exposi- tion of intelligent policies that we can expect to be

realized.

Let’s be critical, but let’s also be glad that there are some people among us who confident enough of their convictions to undertake this gruelling and often unrewarding road to professional politics.

— It cuts both ways

In the past few weeks we've scen a lot of finger- pointing and head-shaking from members of the Social Credit cabinet over what they consider informa- tion distortion and slanted reporting by the press and -boradcast media. Meanwhile, in here we're still labor- ing under the ongoing deluge of government press

releases.

Don’t get us wrong — we like to be kept informed

‘about what the government’s doing, but if our leaders in Victoria are on a vendetta against inaccuracy perhaps they should start it a bit closer to home. We -recall Finance Minister Mel Couvelier having to ex- plain to reporters on the day following the release of - the budget in March that in fact the $450 million Budget Stabilization fund contained no money. Mon- day they announced that there is some in it, but... gee,

can we really believe that?

VERIFIED GACULATION

PAID

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AND NOM... HIGHLIGHTS OF FRR THE 1988 SEOUL OLMPICS..

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Ling

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by Victoria correspondent Mark Collins

. ‘The B.C. Legislature prob- ably won’t sit again until next

year but the committee system .

has given people from all over the province a chance to see Members of the Legislative Assembly at work.

Visitors to the Legislature sometimes come away with a bad impression of government in action. Most of the time only a dozen of the 69 MLAs are actually in the chamber. When a majority of the MLAs are there for the daily question period, the atmosphere tends to be rowdy and unbusinesslike.

The legislative committees operate in a more dignified manner on the road because a lot of the partisanship seems to disappear when they leave Vic- toria. Faced by people who would like some help with their problems, there’s a greater tendency to work together

rather than trying to score

political points. The committee on Labour, Justice and Intergovernmental -

. Relations has been touring the

province to look into the Builders Lien Act. It involves a

lot of technical issues like the

size of holdbacks and time ~ limits but it affects many British Columbians. Organiza-

tions like the B.C. Construc-

tion Association and the con-

struction law section of the bar. association are affected, as are. the Legislature, the Solid Waste

the thousands of independent —- contractors‘and sub-trades in- volved in the building industry. The committee meetings around the province have given those people a’chance to ex- plain their position directly to _

‘the MLAs who will make the

laws.” .

The committee on Finance, Crown Corporations and . Government Services has been investigating the Financial Planning and Advisory In- dustry. Attorney General Bud © Smith, deputy chairman of the committee, said they are lean- ing away from the idea of © regulating financial planners as a professional group because a wide variety of professionals such as stockbrokers and lawyers are already in the field. The plan is to regulate the function of financial planning instead. .

This task is particularly in- teresting because it parallels work being done elsewhere in Canada and in the United States. Quebec has completed | its hearings and is drafting new legislation. Ontario and Alberta are still involved in the hearing process. Financial planners are also being investigated in - Washington, D.C.

The B.C. committee, which includes Finance Minister Mel Couvelier, has a hearing » scheduled in Kelowna on Oc- tober 18 and in Victoria on Oc- tober 25. Considering the large number of angry Principal © Trust investors in the province, I expect the hearings will be very well attended.

The Committee on Forests

and Lands has finished its tour

of the province to hold hear- ings on Timber Harvesting Contracts, The special commit- tee on Electoral Boundaries which is looking into the report of the Fisher Royal Commis-

mS iy

Where the real work gets done :

sion is also expected to tour. : 7

In addition:to committees of -

Task Force has scheduled public meetings in 17 B.C. communities during October and November.. The Terrace meeting is October 26 in the Terrace Hotel. ‘The committee system is good because it brings the

_ decision-making process closer

to the people and because it...

_ gives backbench Socreds plus

the NDP MLAs an-opporutnity to make a meaningful contribu- tion. The MLAs receive no ex- tra pay for committee work, just their actual expenses. Clerk of Committees Craig James — says 80 percent of the cost of operating the committees is advertising the meetings.

BCGEU seeks donation | from “essentials” . John Shields, president of the B.C. Government Employ- ees Union says the pickets had to stay up even after the ten-_ tative deal with the government — so the membership would not be pressured to vote to ratify the deal. That’s a-nice thought, but the additional two days pay they will lose takes away almost one percent of the first year’s wage increase. _ The union has asked its members who stayed on the job in positions designated ‘‘essen- tial” to donate 30 percent of their pay to support the strike action. Government payroll of-

‘fices will cooperate by deduct-

ing the money and forwarding it to the union on behalf of . each employee who provides. a signed waiver. One government manager I spoke to was so sure - his employees were against the’ idea that he volunteered to con- tribute 30 percent of his own pay for ihe strike period if 100 percent of the union members. . in his ‘essential’ institution signed the waivers.