Mad Hatter Page 6

 

 

The Man Behind. the.

Minister

The Honourable William Nicholas Vander
Zalm describes himself as a "workaholic".
He says: "I like to work myself and I
somehow expect other people to like it
as well." He believes that society has
a responsibilty to support those who
can't support themselves, and that the
able individual has a responsibility to
be a productive part of the communi ty.

He opposes public support to those who
can support themselves because this re-
sul in "the needy suffering in the
hand s in the greedy."

Bill ender Zalm's faith in hard work
and self reliance comes from the work
ethic he acquired ina hard-working,
self-reliant Dutch family.

He was born in a small village (Noordwy-

kerhout, Z.H.) in Holland five years be-

fore World War II broke out. His father
and two uncles grew bulbs in the sandy
reclaimed sea bed a dozen miles from
Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and travelled
to seed their crops.

Bill's father was in Western Canada when

| the war broke out and didn't get home,

for six years. Asa pre-school youngs te
Bill saw the Germans running down the

s

remnants of the shattered Dutch army.

In the later years of the war, which he

spent under German occupation, tulip

bulbs became a mainstay in the diet of
the straving countryside...despite their
terrible taste.

Bill's father had established a bulb
growing business in Bradner, B.C. during
the war. The family emigrated in 1947,
when Bill was 12, and spoke no English.
He worked his first months in the bulb

fields while he picked up enough English

from local boys to start school in Grade

| 8.

ae . 3

|. field

Western Canada ina five-year-old Ford.

hind a store.
Bill Vander Zalm got into local politics
when he was recruited..

park be turned into a gravel pit.

years as Mayor.
mania in 1968, he ran unsuccessfully as

had become known province-wide for his

feated NDP Provincial Secretary Ernie Hall.
He was sworn in as Minister of Human Re-

al shift in Cabinet postings in the year
Municipal Affairs and Minister responsible

elected in May, 1979, he was appointed
Minister of Education and Minister respon-

When Bill graduated from Phillips Shef-.
High School in Abbotsford, he
wanted to be a lawyer. But his father
had a heart attack. Bill, just under 18,
had to take over the job of selling the
family bulb crop, ‘travelling all across

He branched out at 20 into the nursery
business. He left the family home when
he married, and set up housekeeping in
Surrey in a 10-foot trailer parked be-

because he was
in the nursery business. ..in an attempt
to persuade Surrey Council not to let a

He ran successfully for Councillor in
1962, and served four years, then six
Captivated by Trudeau-

Liberal candi date for the provincial
Surrey seat.

In early 1975, Vander Zalm announced ne
would not run again for Mayor...where he

outspoken battle against welfare abuse.
He joined Social Credit because he be-
lieved it offered a chance for a united
party to oust the the NDP Government.

In the December 11, 1975 election, he ae-

sources on December 22, 1975. Ina gener-

1978, Mr. Vander Zalm became: Minister of

for the Urban Transit Authority. Re-

sible for B.C, Transit in August, 1982.