4 - Weekly Record, July 20, 1988 OPINION Scene from the Ridge - by Nancy Perkins Well it’s back to the old grind for most of us poor souls who took their holidays during the shutdown. It was great to get away, but | cannot say as much for coming back to work. The thought of having the whole summer off sends my mind into blissful thoughts. But alas, the bill man calls. _ After reading the Parks and Recreation Five Year Master Plan and the Pool report, | see that 93 percent of those polled want a pool. But the question | think we all must ask is...Do we want to pay for it? It would not be bad if the $10 or so per month increase in our taxes was all the increase we could anticipate over the next few years, but such is not the case. With the complete stoppage of overtime for Bullmoose employees, | know they are all feeling the pinch. | don't care what anyone tries to tell me, a family can't make it on a single working salary in this town without overtime. | will not try and say the wages are poor, but by the time the tax man gets his share and we make the mortgage and car payment, there's nothing left for food and auto breakdowns. | thought of selling the kids, but no one wants them at their age. After checking out the price of things in sunny California while | was there, | almost wanted to move back. Now I can hear all of you, especially the powers that be. Here she is whinning about how hard it is to make it and she has just returned from California. Well it was a trip that had to be made. My parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. It is literally a once in a lifetime event. If after having raised me and loved me, | could not see my way to going home for such a celebration, then | would be a pretty poor excuse for a daughter. Now back to the case at hand. While making considerably more than the average mine employee, | discovered that my brother still pays about $5,000 less a year in taxes than we do. That does not include all the hidden taxes they hit us with, and gasoline is a whopping 93 cents a gallon. It must be rough. Now if | could just stand their politics, their high rate of murders, smog and population density, I'd be home free. As | have been saying folks, time and time again, we are being taxed to death...And you want a swimming pool so you can all have more taxes. | guess we Canadians all get what we deserve for we still haven't figured out yet that it is us who pays for the goodies we all demand. SHE SAYS You've Bee WARNING THE Mice... s ISTHAT TRUE ? Publisher Randy Hill : | Managing editor Nancy Perkins Editor Chris Rand Paste up artist Holly Vecqueray Composition Lexcee Sims’ Advertising Judy Kramer Address: The Weekly Record Box 1508 Tumbler Ridge, B.C. VOC 2W0 Telephone: (604]242-4789 Advertising should be brought to the eek Record office Suite 207, upstairs in the Rescan Building, 235 Front Street, Tumbler Ridge, B.C. The deadline for ads is 5:00 p.m. Thursday for the following Wednesday edition. Second Class Mail Registration Number 7334 The Weekly Record is published weekly at Suite 215, Chetwynd.Centre, 5021-49th Avenue, Chetwynd, B.C. and is printed in Quesnel, B.C. Subscription rates are $15 per year for Tumbler Ridge area residents. Subscription rates for those residing in Canada outside the iocal area are $21 per year. U.S. subscriptions be are $30 per year. ~ SOMEHOW, IT SEEMED A NARA FOR Dear editor: The Pro-Choice Coalition of northern British Columbia is currently researching abortion services in northern B.C. One of our goals is to produce an information pamphlet as well as an updated informa- tion package on these services. Results will be made available to women’s centres, clinics and anyone needing or seeking the information. Our initial research on abortion and referral counselling availability to women of northern B.C. has shown a great need for these services. To improve pre and post abortion counselling the Coalition will be holding a workshop in Terrace at the end of August. For any additional background information, please call 638-0994. Helen Furmanek Donna Donnan Dana Boyce (The NPCC Challenge ’88 staff) Frank M.P. Prince George - _ Peace River by Frank Oberle, MP .i. The economic summit in Toronto of the G-7 nations is over, and it was a resounding success. That success is a testament to our Prime Minister who did us proud in his ability to get others to work together in difficult Oberle _ situations. There was a time when Canada was not considered worthy of membership in this elite group. We have certainly claimed our right to belong in the past four years! Canada now leads the industrial world in economic growtn and progress. Our country is outperforming all other economies and takes a back seat to no one. The concensus coming out of the Economic Summit shows that our government is in step with the other six leading countries in our policies on free trade, tax reform, reduction of the budget deficit, privatization of crown corporations and cutbacks in the growth of federal spending. The real usefulness of economic summits is to free the leaders for a short time for the pressures of special interest factions, and allow them to take a broader international perspective and to remind them of their global obligations. In a recent article written for the magazine ‘‘The Economist,’’ some of the world’s most famous economic spokesmen stated: ‘‘Our countries have only two choices: Accept the reality of today’s and tomorrow’s world through co-operative macroeco- nomic policies to correct imbalances and increase world economic growth and welfare—or accept that the price of fruitless efforts to follow more nationalist _for the Record | | | for the record CANADA POST FRANCHISE policies will be the reduction of our own and others’ standards of living.’’ This was the message that Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher brought to our Parliament during the Summit visit. Most of you are probably aware that an invitation to speak to a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Commons takes all-party support. It was unfortunate that some members did not care for the message of Mrs. Thatcher’s speech, but the House of Commons is the ‘‘sanctum sanctorum’’ of free speech in our country, and Prime Minister Thatcher had every right to outline her country’s experiences in joining the European Economic Community. I believe that Economic Summits are becoming essential in a world that is evolving into a global village. Our, mutual dependence demands much consultation. The reactionaries may-scream, but the world will change anyway. BELVEDERE lax | The Weekly Record welcomes you to express your view on any topic of personal or public interest. We ask that all letters be signed before they may be published. Letters should also include a telephone number, so that authenticity may be verified by the editor. We ask that letters be free of libel, personal abuse or other impropriety. All letters may be edited for space or other reasons. Written copy should be legible and under — 200 words. Your letters and opinions are a very welcome part of this newspaper. We are glad to offer this | opportunity to our readers. Mail to the Weekly Record, Box 1508, Tumbler Ridge, B.C. VOC 2W0, or bring them in.