Jan. 1 - Salt Spring Island Archives

Wednesday, January I, 1986 GULF ISLANDS DRIFTWOODPage 21WillB. C. experience labour peace in 1986?Provincial preview offeringmore questions than answersBy FRANK RICHARDSIn a province where electionshave been as regular as thenewspaper, the prospect of aprovincial ballot in 1986 surprisesnobody. Indeed, the prospect fillsevery B. C. political heart withgreat joy. The Social Credit partyknows it can retain power. TheNew Democratic Party knows itcan wrest the government from thecontroversial Socreds. The onemanUnited Party, represented byGraham Lea, knows it can drawnumerous supporters and theLiberals and the Conservatives,buoyed by hopes overflowing fromother regions, are confident that agreat new support lies around thenext political corner.In the meantime, the noncommittedvoter is saddened bythe sliding descent of theprovincial economy from threedecades of brilliant prosperity toyears of unemployment and woe.It is the uncommitted voter whowill decide the next government.What else does he see?He sees Expo 86, the path toVancouver in this new prosperousyear of 1986. That Expo is destinedto bring a shot in the provincialarm this year cannot bechallenged. The hopes ofgovernment and sponsors of thefair are hopeful that many of thebenefits will live on beyond theclosing date of the exhibition. TheB. C. voter shares that hope.Beyond Expo, what is there tosee?The last several years havebrought the decline of theprovincial economy. Two of B.C. 's great industries—logging andmining—have been asleep on themat while the rest of the worlddecides which way it is going. If thedemand of industry for metalsshould increase, then the miningindustry could be back on its feet.Such an increase in demand wouldbe the signal for a generalimprovement across the continent.The lumber industry is facingacute problems of presentshortages of orders and likelyfuture shortages of timber.And the fishing industry iskeeping apace of the fish, reducingits numbers and falling back fromits century and more of feeding theworld.When the construction industryslows down, B.C. slows down.First to be hit by recession, theconstruction business brings downmany other businesses, besideslogging.B. C. machinery is rusting forlack of use. B.C. workers aresearching for signs of calluses ontheir hands. B. C. employers arestriving to remain in business.The election, when it comes, willbring various political partieseager to prove they have theanswer.The Social Credit governmentmust convince voters that therecession in this province wasadequately met by its sweepingrestraint program, and that theeconomic decline was not born ofthat program, as its opponents willinsist.The Social Credit governmentwill have to convince BritishColumbians that it possesses thestrength and the vision to steer the'The New Democratspokesmen must convincethe voters that it will fight itspolitical battles on the floorof the legislature, and not inthe union halls of theprovince.'province back to the prosperity itknew under the Social Creditgovernment of W.A.C. Bennett.Social Credit speakers will carryExpo banners and seek to convinceus that this giant undertaking hasmerited the confidence placed in it,and that it will float the province toa new placid lagoon of economicplenty and industrial peace.The New Democratic Party, theonly party with the strength toform a government in the event ofa Social Credit defeat, has a lot ofconvincing to do before theindependent voter is a convincedNew Democrat.The party comes to the nextelection with a new leader, avirtually untried leader in BobSkelly. If his opponents point outthat Skelly does not come over as astrong man, the obvious retort isthat Bill Bennett has lived througha decade of power without everconvincing the public that he is astrong leader, but rather the leaderof a strong party and a stronggovernment.The New Democrats must tellthe voter that the Solidarity era isover. The New Democratspokesmen must convince thevoter that it will fight its politicalbattles on the floor of thelegislature and not in the unionhalls of the province.If the New Democrats canconvince B. C. that its political armis stronger than its labour arm,then it could change the shape ofthe province's future.Graham Lea remains theunknown factor, but few voters,committed or otherwise, are likelyto jump into the Lea bed unlessthey know, very clearly, the termsof their new mating.In the wings stand the nationalshadows, the provincial Tories andthe provincial Grits. Thirty yearsago they were the force governingthis province. Today their strengthis knitted into the fabric of SocialCredit. Even today, nearly 40 yearsafter the death of B. C.'s Coalitiongovernment, there remain yetunidentifiable one-liners in theprovincial house, sitting on thegovernment side. The practice ofsupporting Liberal or Tory innational elections and SocialCredit provincially is desperatelyannoying to provincial administrationsof the old-line parties, butwhile memories are short, politicalconvictions live strong and longand support of Social Credit isseen by many otherwiseunconvinced voters as the barrieragainst Socialism, or NewDemocracy.If the Social Credit administrationwere to soften its voice and itsstand and to meet on equal termswith the spokesmen for labour,and if, at the same time, the NDPwere to take a less militant stand,the future of B. C. politics might beimpossible to predict. But while wehave the unyielding, uncompromising,silent forces of left andright; Socred and NDP; industryand labour, the freely-floatingvoter will turn to the force he fearsleast and it is that action which willdetermine the result of this purelyspeculative election the world hasdreamed up for B. C. this year.NEXT WEEK: The federaloutlook.Firearms chargesresult in jail termAt Ganges provincial courtDecember 17, Brian Percy CarsonHandson of --Salt Spring wassentenced to eight months in jailand and two years probation afterhe pleaded guilty to two firearmsrelatedcharges.Handson, 43, was charged withpossession of a firearm whenprohibited from doing so, and carryinga firearm in a careless manner.Charged were laid after anApril 20 incident which sawHandson point a 12-gauge shotgunat another person after anargument at a local drinkingestablishment. Court was toldthat in 1978, Handson had beenprohibited by the Ontario courtsfrom carrying firearms for 10years.oo\ilAT|0A/...atthehospitalIt's time to call your WelcomeWagon hostess. She will bringcongratulations & gifts for thefamily & the NEW BABY ICallMARION 0 , v?3 A 7 R 2 K 4 S 53lteLOOMSCourier Service"The community of Salt SpringIsland has no use for people whouse weapons in the mannerpresented to this court," JudgeR.E. Hudson said.The judge also ordered thatHandson be prohibited from possessingweapons, ammunition orexposives for five years.K n o t h ' sB r a t w u r s tNo preservatives, no fillers,available atGANGES VILLAGEMARKETV e s u v i u sGulf IslandTrading Co.rwTO COOK: boil for 5 minutes,- then fry over low heat.INGREDIENTS: pork, eggs,salt, pepper, spices.GOVT. INSPECTED MEATSalt Spring Island 537-9760Office at McColl's Shell, McPhillips & Lower Ganges. 537-2023WAYNE LANG LEYGulf Island Tree Service• Dangerous tree removal • Topping • Falling • Bucking• Lots landscaped • Hydro lines cleared • Fully insured• Prompt, fast & efficient • Free guaranteed estimatesBox 416, Ganges 537-9662ISLAND WELL DRILLING LTD.Red Williams, owner-operatorAIR ROTARY EQUIPMENTServing the Gulf Islands since 1959. Call collect: 2 4 5 - 2 0 7 8WOLFE-MILNER & HARDIEBRITISH COLUMBIA LAND SURVEYORSP.O. Box 1219,B.G. Wolfe-Milner, BCLSGanges, Salt Spring Island537-5502BUILDINGCONSTRUCTIONCEMENT FINISHINGTrelawney ContractingEd Armstrong537-5229Harry Williamson537-2322ELECTRICHEATING, WIRING & LIGHTINGRESIDENTIAL &COMMERCIALCall DAVE ABLEY at 537-4364CERTIFIED ELECTRICIAN