NEWS VIEWPOINT Judging judges HE DIVISIVE U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Clarence . Thomas is a good example of why Canada should not ‘“‘open’’ up its process of judicial appointments. . While the appointment of judges in Canada — at all levels — can be colored by political and philosphicai affiliations, it is difficult to.see how 2 mere open pro- cess, such as elections or a quasi- parlisraentary hearing, could provide 2 less _ political appointment or produce a more pristine candidate. In fact, the U.S. example shows that an open process produces more problems than it resolves. in the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill debacle, ao one emerged from the more than 106 days of hearings unscathed. The nation lost respect for the Senate Judiciary Committee as millions watched senators interrogate a defenceless Thomas; Thomas himself will never be able to polish his besmirched image; and Hil}, the accuser, will never be able to shake the belief of some that she took vengeance for unrequited leve. All this, and yet the seme resuit: Thomas sas confirmed, if only by a nar- row mazgin, and no one was the wiser abovt the “truth”? of the allegations. As the hearing reached its climax, many people may have looked at their own his- tory and wondered how they would have stood up under such moral scrutiny. While Canadians may never be treated to a ‘“‘made in Canada’’ judicial soap opera, at feast our process of judicial ap- pointments will not deter credible can- didates from wanting the job. Proposal obscures real issues Dear Editor: been turned down in Meech Lake, and ill-favored documents ever The average citizen, who might otherwise be moved to repond to the federal government’s pro- posals for constitutional reform, is ‘almost certain to be deterred by the sheer volume of self-serving platitudes, rhetorical argumnet and historical revisionism in which the proposals are couched. The proposal document, ‘‘Shap- ing Canada’s Future Together,”’ has been carefully crafted to obscure the real issues and to play on the loyalties and sensibilities of Canadians. It attempts to desen- sitize them into accepting a politi- cal agenda which, having once Publisher Peter Speck is being re-tendered in new clothing by an unscrupulous gov- emnment. While the government purports to have listened to Canadians and to have responded to their con- stitutional wishes, there is little reai evidence that this is so. It has virtually ignored our insistent de- mands for major reforms to parliament and the electoral process and for an open review of such national policies as bilingualism, muiticulturalism and immigration. It has affirmed its commitment to a Charter of Rights which has become one of the most devisive Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution foisted on an unsuspecting public. The matter of a veto for Quebec is conspicuously absent from the governiment’s proposal. Under questioning, Mr. Clark has acknowledged that this item is still on the government’s agenda but is being deferred until after substan- tial agreement has been reached ou its proposal. This because the veto requires unanimous approval by the provinces, whereas the proposal items do not. So much for putting all the cards on the table! W.A. Burton West Vancouver 986-1337 Qua North Shore Managing Editor. . Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director .. Linda Stewart Comptroller Doug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragsaph {11 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distcibuted to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscrions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept fesponsibility for unsolicited material inctuding manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. Newsroom \ V7M 2H4 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classitied Advertising 986-6222 Fax ‘YO8 VONES OF MONTH ANID WEST VACCRIVER 986-1337 ' 985-3227 Kor 985-2131 MEMBER <> SN Subscriptions 985-2131 Administration SUNDAY © WEDNESDAY - FRIGAY s 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. SOA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday Friday & Sunday} Entire contents © 1991 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Time to can our | winner-take-all voting system? WITH POLITICIANS having trouble finding fathers-in- law these days more and more people are askiiuz why they must also suffer, for five years at » time, a government the majority of them didn’t vote for. Democracy’s inventors little dreamed of the problem popula- ition growth would pose 25 cen- turies later. The typical Greek city-state, after all, was only about the size of a modern eicc- tora! riding. So when the citizens ‘gathered in the market square for decision-making, their personal votes and the ‘‘popular vote’’ were one and the same. But Oct. 17 saw 68% of B.C.’s MLAs headed by Mike Harcourt — our elected dictators until 1995 — chosen by a mere 41% of B.C. voters, The riding-majority system all but guarantees such wacky results, In £984 precisely 50% of the electorate gave Brian Mulroney 75% of the Commons seats. [n 1988 he kept 58%, back- ed by only 43% of voters. Unlike zcient Athens, the problem {e¢ provinces and nations of millions is simply too many voters. In theory, one compiete solution is proportional repre- sentation which allocates seats almost exactly in step with the popular vote. Unfortunately, it also means you have no personal MP or MLA to speak for your local concerns. {n addition, ‘‘prop.zep.”? — by enabling an almost unlimited number of fringe parties to win a seat or two — makes for unstable coalition goveraments, too busy placating everybody to get any- thing done. Some countries, like Germany, have a mix — the riding-majority system combined with a certain propo-tional representation ele- ment, This can work better than pure “‘prop.rep.”’ though again somewhat at the expense of local and regional representation. But probably the best all-round system so far is the Australian preferen- tial vote. Instead of putting ‘*X”’ against a single name, Aussie voters mark their ballots with their first, se- cond, third, etc. choices. On the initial count the low candidate drops out and those who voted for him have their votes transfer- red to their second choices. Then, this process is repeated for as long as it takes, until one candidate emerges the winner — who well might be everybody’s second choice. The count, of course, takes longer — maybe up to a week. But the delay in arriving at resulis is far outweighed by two big pluses. HARCOURT, MULRONEY... enough votes. Noel : Ae HITHER AND YON No individual vote is ever wasted. So the seats finally won tend to relate much more closely to the overall popular vote. Joe Clark is now begging us for ideas on how to make Canada work better. Preferential voting would be one big step forward. But don’t expect Joe, Brian or any premier to touch it-with a 10-Foot pole. For the politicians already in _ power, Our present winner-take-all ~ system is sacred. Without ii, they’d never have become our bosses! WRAP-UP: As the Legion gears for its annual Poppy Campaign the week of Nov. 4, a local direc- tor reminds me that what you give | is what the needy get. Unlike some major charities, the thou- sands donated each year by North Shore branches to vets, seniors, youth and community services are raised and administered by volun- teers — with no paid overhead diluting your gifts. Nice thought!... Open House from 10 to 5 tomorrow and Sunday, Oct. 26-27, at the Capilano Hatchery, where you can learn all about in- cubation, spawning, tagging and its many other fascinating fishy activities... And wish happy bir- thday today, Oct. 25, to Seymour Lion Glen Mari. WRIGHT OR WRONG: The labor-saving device most popular with many people is tomorrow. elected