BC Politics with Hubert Beyer

THE ENVIRONMENT TAKES SECOND PLACE

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VICTORIA – When Moe Sihota was environment minister, he used to boast that British Columbia’s environmental laws were the toughest in Canada and looked pretty good, compared with most other North American jurisdictions.

Sihota was particularly proud of the province’s new vehicle emission standards, which are modelled after those in California.

Such talk tends to make one feel proud. Alas, along with pride comes complacency and a tendency to be pollyannish.

Last week, British Columbians, along with the rest of the world, got a reality check. Canada’s Maurice Strong, who presided over the Earth Watch summit in Rio five years ago, painted a very gloomy picture of earth’s battle against pollution.

Five years after Earth watch, the world is an uglier place. The air is more polluted, water has become scarcer, rain forests are disappearing at a faster rate, the global population has increased by half a billion, and more people are starving.

More than 100 countries are worse off today than 15 years ago, with 1.3 billion people earning less than $1 a day, Worldwatch says.

The immediate outlook: millions of hectares of tropical and deciduous forest are disappearing each year, carbon-dioxide emissions are still rising, and population growth is outpacing food production.

Closer to home, even British Columbia’s relatively tough vehicle emission controls have failed to stop the rising tide of carbon-dioxide. Emission of the deadly poison has risen.

Of course, Canada with its small population doesn’t play a large role in the overall deteriorati0on of the planet’s environment. The Worldwatch Institute identifies eight nations that "have the fate of the earth in their hands."

These eight nations – China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Japan and Germany -- have the greatest impact on the planet’s health. They account for more than half of its population, forests and carbon-dioxide emissions.

Worldwatch singles out the United States and the World Bank, which is controlled by the U.S., for its most severe criticism. The institute says the World Bank, which lends $20 billion a year to poor countries, touts environmentally responsible lending, but finances projects "that add to carbon emissions and destroy ecosystems."

Good for us. Once again, Canadians can feel secure in not being one of the bad guys. After all, what can Canada and its 30 million people do to counteract the havoc wreaked on the planet by the aforementioned eight countries?

Actually, a lot. Just as Canada has become one of the leaders in peace-keeping, despite the fact that, in global military terms, our armed forces are insignificant, Canada could set a moral example for the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the fact that Canada is only a small cog in the global pollution machine serves as a welcome excuse to politicians who place job creation before environmental concerns.

Our very own Premier Glen Clark is no exception. Plagued by fiscal problems, Clark has all but abandoned the Harcourt administration’s commitment to environmental standards. His appointment as environment minister of Cathy McGregor, a political neophyte and lightweight, leaves no doubt what position on his agenda environmental concerns will have.

From here on, jobs will take precedent over the environment. No more will a high-profile politician such as Sihota champion the environment at the cabinet table, providing a balance to the arguments of less environmentally-concerned cabinet ministers.

To many British Columbians, a less stringent application of environmental controls will, no doubt, be welcome news, and understandably so, if it means the difference between having a job or being unemployed.

In the long run, however, we will all lose, unless we can stop and reverse the deterioration of spaceship earth.

LIQUOR POLICY REVEW UNDERWAY

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VICTORIA – At long last, the government gave the green light for a review of British Columbia’s liquor policy.

Last week, Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh appointed Tex Enemark to conduct "a limited review" of the rules and regulations that make up one of the most convoluted and bizarre liquor policies in the known universe.

The word "limited" that goes with review has me a bit worried. I hope it doesn’t mean Enemark’s hands are going to be tied before he even starts his review. Knowing Tex, however, I doubt that he will come up with anything less than common-sense proposals to overhaul our antiquated liquor laws.

Tex is an old hand in the provincial public service. Back in the Seventies, he was deputy minister of the Consumer and Corporate Affairs Ministry, which was in charge of the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. So he knows a lot about the problems he’s supposed to address.

There’s also an old association with the ministry that appointed Enemark. Consumer and Corporate Affairs had an all-female baseball team in those days, called Tex’s Rangers, which would – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – clobber the team fielded by the Attorney General’s Ministry, known as the A.G. Strings.

In any event, Tex is definitely qualified to bring a little order into the undeniable chaos that reigns supreme in the maze of British Columbia’s booze laws.

On top of the list of matters to be reviewed is the question of what to do with U-brew companies, the flourishing little outfits where you can brew your own beer and wine.

For years now, the big breweries have been upset that the stuff brewed in these do-it-yourself booze places isn’t subject to liquor tax. I have a hunch Tex will recommend that this little loophole be plugged. Expect a big outcry over that one.

Next is the potential licensing of billiard establishments. You may remember them as pool halls. In their new incarnation, they’ve been sprouting like mushrooms. The difference is that these days, they’re rather posh places, compared to the somewhat seedy look they used to have.

Most billiard places now have a coffee counter and offer something to eat. They’re well regulated, and there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to serve beer and wine.

The issue of entertainment and games in the restaurant industry is another matter altogether. Anything to do with gambling will almost certainly meet with public resistance. If, on the other hand, the government decides to let restaurants install a pool table of dart boards, already allowed in pubs, there should be no problem.

Also on Enemark’s agenda is the question of opening liquor stores on Sundays and statutory holidays. This one will raise the ire of cold beer and wine stores, which have now a monopoly on beer and wine sales on Sundays and holidays.

I suspect the government would look favorably on a recommendation to open liquor stores on Sundays and holidays, because it would mean more jobs in the liquor distribution branch at a time the government is forced to lay off thousands of public servants.

And finally, Enemark is to deal with the issue of accepting credit cards at liquor stores. This could be a touchy one. Credit cards are notorious for getting people into debt, and they don’t need the government’s help to do that, and certainly not to buy booze.

Dosanjh knows he’s walking a tightrope. That’s why he said that "government policy must continue to balance the objectives of limiting the harm that can be done to individuals and communities as a result of alcohol abuse, and supporting the hospitality industry and the rights of individuals to enjoy their leisure without undue restraints."

For that reason, we won’t see the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores for years, if ever. On the other hand, any improvement is welcome, and Enemark has a chance to bring about a whole series of improvements. His review is expected to be completed in two months. We’re eagerly awaiting the outcome, Tex.

THE OLD MAN AND THE PAPER

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VICTORIA – The old man stood at a street corner in downtown Victoria, selling some sort of tabloid newspaper.

I had just passed him when I observed a merchant approach the old man and berate him for what he called "obstructing business." I turned back, bought a copy of the paper and asked the merchant what he had against the old man.

"Nothing, but he has to learn that he can’t obstruct business." By the time I had finished telling the merchant what I thought of his attitude, the old man had shuffled off.

The paper I had bought is called Red Zone. It is published by the Victoria Street Community Association. The Red Zone isn’t your average newspaper. It doesn’t cater to mainstream society, but I found its content at least as educating and enlightening as the latest issue of our daily newspaper.

The Red Zone is the voice of the poor, the disenfranchised and the street people. It gives hope and self-respect to people the merchant I mentioned above would rather see disappear.

On page four, there is a photograph of Blayne Helmer. The caption says Blayne used to be unemployed and on welfare, but had become one of the most successful Red Zone distributors. "I’m not a panhandler, I’m a vendor," Blayne is quoted as saying.

Blayne used to be homeless, but after selling the Red Zone for a month, he was able to rent and apartment. "People should give the Red Zone a try before they criticize," says Blayne.

I’d like to quote from another story in the red Zone. Contributed by a woman identified only as Rose H., the story gives the reader a powerful insight into what it means to be poor.

She used to be on welfare, but upgraded her education and got a job. In December, after working for two years, she was fired. Merry Christmas and back on welfare.

"I hate thinking about Christmas and about what I cannot give my family (a husband, also unemployed, and a young son). It is even more difficult knowing that I should buy at least one special gift for my child who has the misfortune of having his birthday on Christmas Eve.

"Then there’s the problem with school and its extra expenses. How do I escape that request for extra school fees for the Christmas concert, the class party, the Christmas craft fair? All the other kids are taking part, so where do I come up with this extra money?

"My questions are never about whether I should get the latest CD or the newest style of pants or a new pair of shoes, so he can be accepted by his peers.

"We are out actively looking for work, submitting at least three resumes every day, six days a week, while we’re receiving welfare. We don’t talk about the powerlessness and humiliation we feel. We know that even together, we cannot triumph over the almighty wrath of our government’s actions and cutbacks."

Another contributor, Glenda Fleming, writes a poignant account of being inundated with flyers, advertising the most beautiful things for Christmas, only to be reminded of the reality of her life.

"What was I thinking? I don’t even have enough for a two-dollar present. I’m hoping that if I get a food hamper from the Christmas Bureau, I’ll be able to arrange for a ride to pick it up. That hamper’s food might be all my son and I have to eat.

"My heart dropped and I felt deep despair. I felt as if I was separated from the majority of people who were preparing to take part in the act of Christmas giving. No present to give, not even a card, not even supplies to make one … what kind of person am I?"

She went to bed that night, crying herself to sleep. In the middle of the night, she awoke, with memories of a dream still fresh in her mind.

"My dream reminded me that I give gifts all year round – a smile, a hug, kind words, a song, laughter, listening ears, helping hands, not only to my friends but strangers too. What kind of person am I? A kind person. The joy I felt inspired me to share my dream – a gift of goodwill."

It’s been nearly a week and I can’t help but think of the old man who was trying make an honest dollar by selling the Red Zone in downtown Victoria. He looked a little frail. I wonder how he made it through the worst blizzard to hit Victoria in decades.

I hope I see him again when I look for my next copy of the Red Zone.