The Prince George
Citizen
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19,1991
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REPORT B Y SPICER COMMISSION
More power for voters urged
by Canadian Press
TORONTO — The final report of the Spicer commission says Canadians want powers to help them oust bad leaders and curb the “disgraceful behavior” of federal politicians who have tarnished the parliamentary system.
The Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s Future, in its report to be made public June 27, says people do not believe they are being governed in accordance with their wishes and fundamental values. It says demands for responsive and
Cameras to scan city jail
by MARILYN STORIE Citizen Staff
The head of the Prince George RCMP detachment says video surveillance cameras are expected to be installed at RCMP city cells here within one week and fully operational within three weeks.
SupL Stan Wilcox said today that $28,000 was received from the city to buy surveillance cameras a year ago aher a coroner’s jury recommendation in response to the 1989 suicide of William Alan Cressman, 30, in a city cell. A further $15,000 was received for the cameras this year.
Wilcox said the delay in getting the cameras has been mainly due to a revamping of internal RCMP practices.
“Ten individual cells will now have cameras and there will be two in the (drunk) tank,” said Wilcox. He added that tenders have closed on bids to supply the cameras and it is now just a matter of receiving the shipment.
Although the lockup contains about 23 individual cells, Wilcox said it is seldom that more than 10 cells are utilized at once.
“After about 15 cells, it’s (surveillance cameras) probably a redundant measure,” said Wilcox. He said the suggestion of a jail guard who testified at the May inquest here that belt beepers could be purchased for guards is “under review.”
A coroner’s jury ruled here in May that the Feb. 21 death of a 16-year-old Prince George youth who died while in custody at the cells was suicide. The youth had hung himself on the bars of Cell 21 with one of his tube sports socks.
Wilcox said he has already made a written response to the coroner’s office here and acknowledged the recommendations made by the coroner’s jury here in May.
“One recommendation we will not be implementing is the one requesting we remove socks from all prisoners,” he said.
Wilcox said he could remember one instance of a prisoner who braided toilet paper together to make a rope for a suicide attempt. “He was noticed and stopped, but he would have had no trouble hanging himself if he hadn’t been noticed.”
INDEX
Ann Landers	.... 22
Bridge.................29
Business........20,21
City, B.C.............23,
Classified ....	26-31
Comic...................6
Commentary..............S
Crossword..............27
Editorial...............4
Entertainment .... 6
Famliy.................22
Horoscope..............29
InternaUonal	.... 13
Movies..................6
National...............12
Sports..........17-19
Television.............30
responsible political leadership un derlie deep dissatisfaction with the state of the country.
Remedies sought include refer-endums, impeachment and recall powers, proportional representation, free parliamentary votes, an elected or abolished Senate, fixed or limited terms of political office, direct election of the prime minister and the convening of a constitutional assembly.
These recommendations originate from “a desire for a more responsive and open political system
whose leaders. . .are not merely accountable at election time but should be disciplined swiftly if they digress greatly,” says the report, excerpts of which were published in today’s Toronto Globe and Mail.
The commissioners write: “We join with forum participants in deploring the mindless, sometimes disgraceful behavior of members of both Houses in bringing the parliamentary system into disrepute.
“We agree with the forum’s
participants who have pointed constantly to the fact that our system is too partisan and far too adversarial.
“In particular we would urge a review of Question Period and how it is organized. . .We agree with the many forum participants who have pointed to the fact that our system is too subject to iron party discipline.”
The forum, chaired by Keith Spicer, was created by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney last fall after
the failure of the Meech Lake constitutional accord.
Through four months of what it termed “intimate consultations” with the public, the 12 commissioners heard from more than 300,000 adult Canadians and tens of thousands of students.
The report, details of which have been leaked to the media, will be presented to Mulroney next week.
On the issue of national unity, the report notes the historic special nature of Quebec without setting
Citizen photo by Dave Milne
Planting
Ed Day's grade 7 class at Beaveriy Elementary School looks at an unusual way to plant seedlings, using a backhoe to make small mounds of dry soil during wet spring weather to help seedlings survive. Ed Brandner, who has done this for several years, can build 2,700 mounds for planting a day, providing warm, dry sites, with water filling the holes to help seedlings flourish.
SURVEY OF YOUNG CANADIANS
Large paycheques expected
TORONTO (CP) — Young Canadians have high hopes and good intentions, but they are less than realistic when it comes to predicting their future finances, a financial services company said Tuesday.
Winnipeg-based Investors Group released a Gallup poll it commissioned, indicating more than 35 per cent of surveyed Canadians aged 18-29 think they’ll be getting an annual salary of $50,000 to $100,000 in a decade’s time.
Another seven per cent said they expect to be making more than $100,000 a year.
Wayne Walker, the company’s senior vice-president, said the results were exceptionally optimistic
given that many starting lawyers and business graduates make $30,000 a year.
“There may not have been a thorough understanding of marketplace salary levels,” Walker told a news conference.
At the same time, 37 per cent of those surveyed said they’d be able to accumulate up to $100,000 in savings by the year 2001.
But another one-third said they only contribute a maximum of $1,000 a year to their own registered retirement savings plan or other investment program.
The survey also indicates about one-third think they will have paid off the mortgage on a house or
condominium in 10 years, with another 49 cent saying they will be buying property. Currently, about 62 per cent of Canadians own or are buying a home, he said.
“Many individuals, especially younger Canadians, are not being entirely realistic about how well they’re going to do, either in terms of income or asset accumulation,” Walker said.
“This can lead to a social and political backlash if Canadians now in their 20s and 30s find in another decade that they’ve been grossly over-optimistic in their expectations.”
Walker said investors get a better grasp of their financial realities as they get older.
But even then, government statistics indicate about 48 per cent of senior citizens require some or all of the guaranteed income supplement to augment their old age pensions, Walker said.
He said Canadians have to learn to pay themselves first by setting aside money for savings before paying bills or spending money on a vacation or car.
The Gallup poll was conducted in May among more than 1,000 people 18 and older and is said to have a sampling error of between two and four percentage points.
With about 40 per cent of Canadians not in any company or private retirement savings plan, the burden for saving lies with the individual, he said.
down any hard recommendations, the Globe reported.
On the economy, it seems to do little more than note concern about the free-trade agreement and regional economic disparity.
The commissioners urge the federal government to borrow mechanisms developed by the forum for regularly consulting with the electorate: “Politicians of all parties should consider using some of our techniques to greatly increase their grassroots consultations....”
Tax reform didn’t work, study shows
by Southam News
OTTAWA — The Tory government has not only broken its promise to shift the tax burden from the shoulders of individuals on to corporations — it has done exactly the opposite, a Statistics Canada study released today reveals.
And spending on social programs is not the villain that has kept the annual federal deficit above $30 billion and driven the debt to more than $400 billion, the study says.
The analysis of how Ottawa sunk so deeply into debt blames increases in the deficit on tax revenues that have not kept pace with economic growth and rising • debt costs.
“It was not the explosive growth in program spending that caused the increase in deficits after 1975, but a drop in federal revenues relative to the growth in gross domestic product (the value of all goods and services produced by the economy) and rising debt charges.
“Social program spending has been stable since about 1981, except for the increase associated with the 1981-82 recession.”
If unemployment insurance — financed entirely by employers and employees — is excluded, spending on social programs as a proportion of the economy has not increased in 16 years, the study noted.
But neither are individual taxpayers to blame for the debt problem, at least in recent years.
Since 1986, personal income tax as a proportion of the economy has "risen sharply to its highest level of any year in this study, continuing the upward trend that began in 1978.”
“This partly reflects tax reform which shifted the tax burden from corporations to persons, and from income taxes to consumption taxes,” the study said.
That was not what Canadians were promised by former finance minister Michael Wilson when he unveiled his income tax reforms in 1987.
“By shifting more of the tax burden from individuals to corporations. . .the reforms make fundamental changes in who pays and how much,” Wilson said in the Commons at the time.
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‘MYDAUGHTER WAS BLITZED’
Soff cider sales prompt complaint
by SHERRYL YEAGER Citizen Staff
The liquor control board is looking into the sale of soft cider in comer stores, following concerns raised by local resident Claire Lamber.
Lamber is upset about promoting alcohol to children and teenagers after her nine-year old daughter and a friend purchased a bottle of Growers soft pear cider at a Mr. G store.
Soft cider is de-alcoholized and the label is similar to the regular product, but says it contains not more than 0.5 per cent alcohol.
The cider is available in pear, apple and peach flavors, and is sold in the juice and drink sections in many comer stores.
“My daughter was blitzed” Umber said. “Her face was flushed and her eyes were all sparkly.”
The children thought they were buying a pear drink, Lamber said.
After Lamber’s concerns were raised with the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Board, it decided to purchase some of the cider and have it analyzed, said senior inspector Rick Clements. Because the cider has less than
one per cent alcohol, it does not fall within the Liquor Control Act, and comer stores can legally sell it.
While that amount of alcohol shouldn’t be enough to create intoxication, Clements said, the cider will be tested to make certain its contents are properly represented.
Lamber said parents should be aware of the product.
“What about (religious groups) that don’t drink? Alcohol is a big enough problem in our society, and here we’re letting little kids buy it in the comer store.
“I’m concerned about my child.
I don’t want her growing up thinking alcohol is the best thing there is. Lots of teenage alcoholics start out sneaking drinks from their parents’ liquor cabinet. If kids are allowed to buy this in stores now, don’t you think it’s going to get worse?”
The cider is sold at several locations, including Mr. G stores, some 7-Eleven locations and Day and Night stores.
Larry Hyette, co-owner of Mr. G, denied selling the soft cider promotes drinking, and suggested Lamber take her concerns to the government.
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