ary Collins’ one step closer to success A PRIVATE member’s bill to amend Unemployment [n- surance Act regulations originally introduced March 10 by Capilano MP Mary Collins was officially tabled Wednesday in the House of Commons by Minister of Employment and Immigration Benoit Bouchard. The bill, which is expected to be passed by Parliament next week, will amend the regulations so that maternity benefits can, in special cases, Start when a newborn leaves a hospital rather than immediately following birth. It witl also provide unemploy- ment insurance benefits to fathers forced, because of family tragedy, to leave work and take over full- News Reporter time care of a newborn child. The more flexible maternity benefits will allow mothers, whose infants must remain in hospital Jong after birth, to postpone their maternity Ieave until the child is well enough (o leave the hospital. Fathers will be eligible for up to 1S weeks of Unemployment In- surance benefits if the child's mother dies or becomes so inca- pacitated that she can no longer care for that child. Bouchard tabled ments following requests Collins. “tm really excited,’* Collins said Wednesday from Ottawa. ‘'[ did a lot of lobbying on this thing. The way the regulations were writ- ten seemed to be unjust.’’ Regulations under the current Unemployment Insurance Act provide up to 17 weeks of materni- ty leave benefits, but onty during a period commencing eight weeks the amend- from 3 - Friday, March 18, 1988 ul prior ta, and cnding 17 weeks fol- lowing, birth. Collins said Wednesday's tabling of the unemployment amendments showed whai the introduction of a private member's bill could do. Private members bills, which are usually given little or no chance of success, take much longer to reach government debate than standard government bills, because they arc selected to be debated by lottery from among other private tnembers bills. When she originally introduced her bill, Collins cited the case of a Vancouver mother disqualified from receiving benefits because her NEWS photo Terry Peters KAYAKER NORM Roen removes his craft from the Caulfeild Cove government dock. Reen discovered the body of a North Vancouver man floating in the waters near the cove Wednesday. At the dock’s end, wrapped in a body bag, the body awaits removal. Classified Ads.......32 Home & Garden......25 Horoscopes..........24 Fflailbox............ 7 Horth Shore. How....17 TY Listings..........14 What's Going On.....15 Friday, cloudy fut mild, Highs near 13°C, Saturday, showvers. PUBLIC ALLOWED INPUT 'V reaffirms acquisition policy THE REAFFIRMATION of West Vancouver District’s waterfront acquisition policy was presented to council by Ald. Mark Sager Monday, and then tabled for a week to allow for public input. Copies of the staff report outlin- ing the policy to acquire water- front property between i4th and 18th streets for park purposes are available from municipal hall. ’ The report was drafted in response to Supreme Court Justice Mr. John Spencer’s judgment that council’s reasons for acquiring the 1734 Argyle Ave. property through expropriation were unclear. Municipal staff recommend that council confirm that all of the lands between 14th and 18th, below the B.C. Rail right-of-way, are to be acquired for park pur- poses. Council will also confirm that ‘park purposes’ should include “public open space and greenbelt, playgrounds and community rec- reational facilities, seawall and seawalkway, public use buildings such as changing rooms. and By MAUREEN CURTIS Contributing Writer restrooms, public meeting rooms, food services and concessions, and ancillary parking areas, and that no new residential construction be permitted on such lands once ac- quired by the municipality.”’ The existing policy ‘of referring to council all building permits for the defined area valued in excess of $15,000, will also be reaffirmed. In these cases, council will decide whether or not to acquire the property. : : These policies, which have enabled the municipality to acquire 25 out of the 41 properties ‘in the area, mean that owners of the re- maining houses can continue to reside there until they wish to sell out. Some residents have sold their properties and are permitted to lease them back for as long as they wish, Discontent has been expressed by those residents who feel con- stricted by the $15,000 renovation limit and the fact that there is ultimately only one buyer for their land — the municipality. North Shore News CAPILANO MP Mary Col- lins....‘The way the regulations were written seemed to be unjust."’ son had been hospitalized for seven months. The new regulations, Collins said, will add no extra cost to unemployment insurance budgets. TWO KAYAKERS out for a sunny day’s paddle on the ocean discoverecl more than fine scenery when one of them spotied the body of a man. floating off Caulfeilid Cove in West Vancouver, Vancouver resident Norm Roen noticed the body minutes after setting out to sea before noon Wednesday with “North Vancouver resident Roger Jakubiec. . “*] noticed something Noating,”’ Roer said. ‘At first 1 thought it was a dead baby seal," But as he got closer he saw it was aman. “My first instinct was to find out if he was still alive. | uried pulling the head up and the whole body rotated,’’ he said. The two quickly paddled back to the cove to alert West Van- couver Police, who called in the Coast Guard to bring in the cor- pse. West Vancouver Police have identified the victim as a 65- year-old North Vancouver man, and are treating the death as a suicide. The dead man had not been in the water long. Police recovered clothing belonging to the man under the Lions Gate Bridge. Ambleside area, increasing use of the Ambleside Park/John Lawson Park area as a community-wide park, and the potential loss of 26 acres of parkland in the Ambleside area, A third expropriation bylaw has been put in place towards the ex- propriation of 1734 Argyle Ave., which was sold. to Thorcon Discontent has been expressed by those residents who feel constricted by the $15,000 renovation limit and the fact that there is ultimately only one buyer for their land — the municipality. But according to the staff report, there is an identified need for additional foreshore park land between 14th and 18th streets. Not only is there an ‘‘historic and con- tinuing desire’ for such, but other seasons include: the increasing population of the district and Development, a company that has applied to build a duplex on the land. The first two bylaws failed due to insufficiencies in wording. The public has until March 28 to comment on council’s reaffirma- tion of its acquisition policy for the area.