north shore news MAIL BOX a time of respect Dear Editor: "Perhaps one of the oldest festivities that have ever been cel- ebrated in mankind's history is Norooz. Norooz means ie New Day or the Year’s Day. A day that is being celebrated by everyone in the Persian community. Every year, on March 21, which is aio known as the first day of spring, millions of” Iranian, Tajik, Afghan, Ismacli, and many individuals around the world celebrate this magnificent occasion. They greet Norooz on the evening of the last Tuesday of every Persian year by setting up seven bushes of fire then jump- ing over them, decorating their houses and businesses, sweep- ing their homes, and buying new clothes for themselves anid the “ young members of the family. . The celebration of Norooz goes back to between 4,000 and 7,000 B.C. Norooz is a day respecting friendship, giving love, : hoping for prosperity, being forgiving, wishing health and sate ~ ty, for the commencement of a new life in the year ahead. After greeting Norooz at the precise hour, every member of the family shakes hands, exchanges kisses and presents, then phones or visits close and remote family members, friends, neighbors aid relatives to wish everyone a happy, enjoyable new year. ° Every year thousands of Iranians living in B.C. as well as other Persians around the world will celebrate their new year at the precise hour of 11:50:32 a.m. on Thursday March 20, 1998 (Pacific time) and everyone will keep the festivity as a valuable : tradition of all times. "One of the key elements of every family’s Norooz is havi ‘ing -an especial new year table known as Haft-Seen. Hati-Seen is a ., table that holds seven items starting with the letter “S” in the Persian language. Beside Haft-scen, some people use candles, fish, and also a holy book of thcir belicf. “The celebration will carry on for thirtcen days and on the : day of the thirteenth the entire family goes on picnics to parks, and public places and generally enjoys nature. This particular day i is called Sizdah-Bedar. ‘au celebrate Norooz, then based on everyone’s political or reugious belief, the calendar year also changes. For instance, the upcoming year for-Moslems will be the year of 1377, for ‘Arians 2706, for Zoroastrians 3736, for Rovalists 2557 and for ¢ Mitrais 7020. Nowadays, the official calendar year which is kta ed i in Iran is 1376 and will change on March 21 to lappy. Norooz to you too! Kaywan Dashti -o President, The Iranian (Persian) Foundation _ Publisher, The Iranian Newspaper N. Van creeks are closed to anglers ear Editor: - Re:. Ian -Noble’s Friday, -Feb.'13, North Shore News article,- “Creek trash catch irks‘ pair.” I read this news ‘aiticle with a mix of emo- tions. T- used to live on:a street “that backed on to Mosquito Creck and fished there often as'a boy. The Bosco brothers are to be applauded for their cleanup’ efforts, and: 1 per- sonally would. like to ‘thank them for evoking fond mem- ' ories of favorite fishing » haunts. Because of their efforts to right others’. wrongs, I ‘ignored the DFO’s _(Department of Fisheries - and Oceans) Observe and _* Report Hotline number chet 2° Valways carry in my fishing __ vest, refraining, from report- ing them for fishing in closed svaters. ‘The only “creck” in North Vancouver that is not ‘closed to fishing is Lynn Creck, which has a year- round bait ban (ic. no worms, boys!). The days of old when fish were plentiful ‘are for the most part gone. And Mosquito, MacKay and many other North Shore » ereeks are extremely sensitive fish habitats, subject to the “no « fishing” rules that should be observed. Pulling a two-pound trout from closed waters is just as illegal and probably as damaging to the fish habitat as all the garbage you just pulled out. Te the Bosco brothers, if you are as environmentally concerned as you seem to be, please visit your local tackle shup for your free copy of the local freshwater fishing regulations. We self-regulated fisher- men will sleep better know- ing that closed waters are not being illegally fished. Tight lines in waters! Justin Campbell North Vancouver “ADVERTISING CORRECTION. In our Deaim Event Flyer included in this newspaper the week of March 2, 1998 PLEASE NOTE: Page 7-Tommy Hilfiger Slides, Incorrectly Shown- They are men's slides and are only available in Men’s Shoe Sizes. We sincerely apologize to our valued cusiomers and regret any inconvenience or confu- sion this may have caused. legal EATON’ S ted white, m.p. Wednesday, March 18, 1998 — North Shore News — 2 aivertonal, March 18/1998 A LETTER FROM THE BLOC Late last month ! received a ietter from an unexpected source, the Leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Gilles Duceppe. | wasn't the only recipient of the letter though — it was sent to all MPs, asking us to speak out oublicily agains: the reference to the Supreme Court of Canada of Quebec's right to separate. | decided to reprint the contents of the letter in this report so that you would have an opportunity io write to Mr. Duceppe, if you wanted to, with your reactions to his request. Dear Mr. White: By inviting the Supreme Court to rule on Quebec’s right to decide its own future, the federal government is imperilling democratic institu- tions dear to us all, and from which we, as elected officials, derive our legitimacy. We feel the situation is serious enough to bring to the attention of all members of the House of Corsmons who owe their very posi- tions to the public will, We must forcefully denounce this mujicious abuse of the Supreme Court by this government. You are undoubtedly aware that in recent days the federal govern- ment’s tactics have been widely denounced by democrats of all polit- ical leanings. Among those whs hove spoken cut are the former leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Chairman of the NO committee in the 1380 referendum, Claude Ryan; the current leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Chairman of the NO committee in the 1995 ref- erendum, Daniei Johnston; senators Jean-Claude Rivest and Pierre- Claude Nolin; as well as the consti- tutional advisor of former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa, Andre Tremblay. Moreover, as you are aware, in a vote held last week in the House, three of the four oppesition parties reaffirmed Quebec’s right to make its own decisions about its future. The Progressive Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party sup- ported the Bloc Quebecois motion reading as follows: “That this House recognize the consensus in Quebec that it is for the people of Quebec to decide freely their own future.” Beyond our differences, beyond the desire to keep Canada as it is or establish a new partnership tetween two sovereign states, Quebec and Canada, we each shere something very important: respect for the democratic will of those who have entrusted us with their support and faith in their judgement. This is not just about Quebec. It is also about Canadian democracy. The time has come to remind the federal government that Quebec's future is a political matter and must be resolved through political means. The Supreme Court has no legitima- cy in the area. We cannot let our selves be governed by judges. Allow me to add that any such use of the Supreme Court by the fed- eral government could be negatively received in the international com- munity, which has always perceived Canada as a country where democ- “Ted d White, M.P. ; 3 4302-1200 Lynn Valley Road, Ni ratic rights are respected. In this regard, the Chairman of the United Nations International Law Commission. Mr. Alain Pellet, had this to say last December: “Iam deeply disturbed and shocked by the partisan way the questions were asked and sug- gested that it was the duty of a court of justice to react to what cleariy appears to be a blatant political manipulation attempt.” Today | would invite you to speak out against this hijacking of democ- racy and partisan use of Cenada's legal institutions that the current government is attempting to impose. The judges must refuse to pro- nounce themselves on the matter. In Canada and Quebec, democracy means debating ideas and letting peopie decide with their votes. It does not mean stifling the will of millions of citizens. On behalf of the people of Quebec and the Bloc Quebecois members who represent them in the House of Commons, I would like to thank you in advance for your coreful consid- eration of this issue over the next few days. Yours sincerely Gilles Duceppe Leader of the Bloc Quebecois PLAYING POLITICS?? It is impossible to know for sure wether, in the above Setter, Mr. Duceppe is simply paying politics, with the am of bolstering support for his separatist cause, or whether he is genuinely concemed about democrat- ic process when he says, “We cannot let ourselves be governed by judges.” Either way, i know from the letters and calis | have received over the past four and a half years that mst of you have little faith that politicians are capable of finding a workable solution to the unity problem. With this in mind, perhaps the following idea, adapted from a proposal by Mediated Solutions Inc of Toronto, might be worth trying. A major television network should sponsor a series of debates, over a num- ber of months, between a few of the most weil known and articulate non-politician separatists and a few of the mos’ weil known and articulate non-poiitician feder- alists. The public would be asked to par- ticipate by sending in their written ques- tions for inclusion in the drates, and the series would continue as long as there were still issues tc discuss in detail. | per- sonally like this approach because it has the potential to dispel all manner of myths surrounding the separation issue, while possibly leading to a new sense of direc- tion based upon points of agreement and togical discussion, rather than on rhetoric, medila fittering, and political spin doctor- ing. In addition, if it became obvious that a long term solution was emerging from this truly grassroots exercise, governments at all leveie wouid be forced to jump on the bandwagon, abandoning for good the “old tine” approach which has only served to worsen the problern. You can write to Mr. Duceppe at The House of Comracns, Otiawa, Ontario, K1A OA6. His fax number is (613) 954-2321 and his email address is ducepg@parl.gc.ca North Vancouver, B.C... V7). 2A2 Tels, 656-0585 | Fax: 666-0509, Internet: http://www.reforni.ca/white-t/ ~ Sure! The Peopie Get Seat Gelts.... but what about USI Please be a responsible pet owner and provide your dog with a protective kennel fastened to the centre of your vehicle. Better yet, leave your dog ‘at home. EJ A message from your tocal SPOA. Cam Capi jlano ,<_@ College AT CAP 3 Sixth annual Capilano College Chira summer schol Travel to Beijing, China from May 16 te June 8 foran all-inclusive fee of $2,800. The program includes more than 60 hours of language instruction in Chinese Mandarina, round trip airfare, tuition, accommodation aud meals, transportation and sightseeing. Applicants accepred on a first-come first-served hasis until March 15. Call 986-1911, local 2423 for information. Information Meetings There wil! be an information mecting for - the Co:nmercial Animarion program on . Saturday, March 21 ar] p.m. in the Library building, room 316. For more information, call 990-7820. There will also be an information meeting on Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fir building. room 503 for the c-vo- year Legal Assistanr diploma program. For more information, call 983-7596. > Textile arts on exhibit Capilano College. Textile Arts students will be holding their annual stu¢ent exhibition at the Canadian Craft Museum, 639 Homby Street in Vancouver, from Friday. March 13 - to Wednesday, April 1. There will also be an information session for peuple interested in the - two-year diploma Program or one-year advanced certificate program in Textile Arts. Ie will be held on Thursday, April 16 ac 6:30 p.m. in the Arbutus building, room 124 at Capilano © Callege. For more information, call 984-4911. > Acquire skills to work in the film and tv industries Learn the basics of . working on set for local film and television production companies at our Production Assistant Workshop this weekend. An instructor form both the Assistant Direecors and Locations departments will be in class throughout the weakshop. The course, which costs $115, cuns on March 21 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cedar building, coor 148. Pivase call Continuing Education at 984-4901. CAPILANO COLLEGE 2055 Purcell Way North Vancouver 986-1911 -