6 — Friday, May 16, 1997 - North Shore News north shore news VIEWPOINT Party time great debates for this year’s federal election have come and gone. Across this great country, the electorate is primed. Party leaders have pushed the appro- priate agenda buttons, Promises have been made. Our choices are clear. We _Inow which leaders, and by extension, : which local candidates, to vote for. This is what party strategists would like to think. It isn’t necessarily so. Add to apathy, cynicism, disdain and distrust. Many of us still can’t under- stand why this election is even happenin; in the first place. It was still relatively early days in the mandate of the ruling Liberal party. It seems we have been rushed into this based on the optimistic polling numbers for the Liberals. During Monday’s debate Jean Chretien weakly argued that he was pushed into calling the election THE North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund keeps growing. "To press time Thursday, donations from News : readers and free ters to the find, which was initiated on March 26, stood at $75,796. All funds received will help defra dhe mounting legal costs faced by the News in its iegal bartle wi the Human Rights Tribunal over a complaint laid against the newspaper and its columnist Doug Collins by the Canadian Jewish Congress. The hearing into the matter began on May 12 at the Century Plaza Hotel, 1015 Burrard St., Vancouver, It has since shifted to the Police Commission boardroom, Room 407, 815 Homby St., Vancouver. More excerpts from the hundreds of respon- dents to the cause: ST never thouglst I would live to see the day when I feel obliged tn spend ‘money to defend free _ Speech in my own country, A few years ago we in the West were smiling to see the U.S.S.R. and its sauellives throwing off the yoke of authoritarian Sovernments, secret police ..» and bere we are under a know-it-all and cynical government slipping into that very environment.” -— John Longstaff of North Vancouver .000 “If ever there were shades of Hitler and Stalin the Human “Wrongs” Tribunal has gor to be it. No Judge, no jury, just a bunch of NDP hacks pronounc- ing you guilty. God help us —~ when is the public ever Soing to wake up?” - BK. Tarling of Courtenay, B.C. Donations to the North Shore News Free Defence Fund can be serit to the News , 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 244. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund. — trenshaw@direct.ca . northShore now rather than later because the oppo- sition felt it was time to crank up their election machines. The truth is the sum- mer is beckoning and the golf links are awaiting. One of Canada’s worst natural disasters of the century — the cata- strophic Red River Valley flood in Manitoba — could aor alter the course set in Ottawa. Yet now that we are faced with the challenge to exercise our right to vote, we should do so. Hew the party leaders performed on TV this week is irrelevant. Get to know those competing for the vote by attending at least one of the upcoming all-candidates meetings. Look beyond the pat answers on the big issues. Ask the questions that will reveal the measure of the man or woman trolling for your support. They are asking for the right to govern aver your life. The privi- lege shouldn’t be granted by default. A quick and dirty debate debriefing A quick-and-dirty (as journalists call such things, though of course net in public) on Monday’s party leaders’ debate: Alexa McDonough, New Democrat: Raised her recognition level sharply. Which was badly needed. Mucked in pretty well with the (quarreling) boys while keep- ing her dignity. (Not surpris- ing. She’s a patrician lady. Solid bourgeois background.) But after 2% hours her one- nate socialist message — health and education, tax the rich —- wore thin. Was amused the morning after to hear a hip young woman lower her voice and say apolo- getically that she’s attractive. She is. Nor “sexy,” but hand- somely attractive. Only in these drab “politically correct” times would that be seen as an embar- rassment needing to be. suppressed. Gilles Duceppe, Bioc Quebecois: Whar can you say abour a man leading a movement that (hello, Jacques Parizeau) clearly is seditious and duplicitous even with its electorate, and about a country that politely hears him out on national television? (In Texas, where they do things somewhat differently, they recently hunted down, shot and killed a man proclaiming an independent Republic of Texas.) Wonderful moment when he described the Bloc as 2 national party, because “Quebec is a nation.” Preston Manning, Reform: Impressive in person, a reflective and much deeper man than most politicians and with an engaging ability to chuckle at himself — attributes unsuited to the glibness of the small screen. The elaborate attempt to restyle his hair and general image would | have been better served if he’d simply North Saore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspapes and quabied under Schedule 111, Pazagragh 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press ‘LtG. 2nd Visinibuted to every door on the Nenh Distribution 906-1337 (124) 61,582 (average cuculation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) wa «CO . de Stews Human Resources Manager Sales & Mareting Director PETER SPECK - Publisher t Beveve DOUG COLLINS’ BACKGROUND AS A WAR HERO To BEA f HOAX PERPETRATED ON THE CANADIAN PEOPLE To HIDE HIS TRUE IDENTITY ASA ECROSS- DRESSING TRANSSEXUAL 7. i BORN OF A TASMANIAN WOMBAT AN D A RHODESIAN ese had a head transplant. ‘That would have looked after the voice too, which is'like fingernails on a chalkboard but provides rich fodder for Double Exposure. Got in a couple of the best shoes of the night at numero uno. Jean Charest, Conservatives: Entirely at case, great gift for cransforming any question from the audience into a one-on-one, arguably the night’s winner. Has lost his baby-faced chubbiness, almost gaunt now, looks as if he'd die for a Big Mac or pommes frites in the Quebec style. My fondness for Charest gets in the way, and Pve lived to ruc confident predictions chat he was on the brink of the Big Breakthrough after years of political purgatory. Burt I'll uta small bet on this horse again: Charest could be the surprise of the elec- tion if the chemistry goes right. Jean Chretien, Liberals: Warning: Don’t underestimate his performance Monday. As prime minister he had a lot to lose, and he did- n’t fose it. And don’t underestimate the residual Canadian sympathy for the overdog: We are smart enough to know that of the five people in that studio, one had a record and the others inad ambitions, What’s been done never sounds as good as what could be, should be, oughta be done. And don’t underestimate cither the absent debater: Finance Minister Paul Martin, whose kepr promises would themselves ensure the Liberals of a hundred seats. And you can take that to the bank. 000 Closer to home: Mother's Day. Sunny. And what were the candidates doing? (And what was your correspondent doing, if not cruising around to campaign offices with his old con- i () 2) WHO, IN REAL'Ty, MOONLIGHTED INTHE 60's AS GRANDPA MUNSTER. AND 1S PRESENTLY A CLOSET FAN OF ELLEN DEGENERES: C) ™~= vertible and his black dog?) I caught up to a couple, missed others. co Liberal Phil Boname was knocking on doors in - Ambleside. Reformer John Reynolds was work- ing the upper side of the unwieldy riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, from Sechelt to Powell River. North Vancouver riding’s Reform: incum- bent Ted White, who has a fine ane head- - i uarters tucked away on Mountain way, showed off nearly-depleted piles of lawn signs and spoke of having 200 volunteers, more than ' in 1993. Naturally we discussed the just-short- of-fistfight tension between him and Liberal Warren Kinsella, replete with threats to sue.” Has Kinsella burt himself raising these rather elderly matters? “Badly,” said too on Sunday. But [can say that [met him ~ last fall after he sent me a, shall T say, classic let- ter, and we had a good old political gossip for a couple of hours. Found him charming, unlike his letter, and I suspect he found me charming, unlike my column.) Finally | interviewed New Democrat Martin © Stuible, who gleefully said of the White-Kinsella . fight: “I think it’s helped me. The mud-slinging | ° has brought some attention to the riding.” |. Very bright, open young man, Mr. Stuible (rhymes, perhaps unfortunately, with able). | : at 31 an NDP veteran a3 a student NDPer; - | constituency president and camai the riding in 1993, only 7%. Watch his future. — The North Shore News believes strongly ins. ~: Sreedom of speech and the right of all sides ina... debate to be heard. The columnists published in. - z: the News present differing points of view, but™ those views are not necessarily those of the newspa- per itself ee LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letlers must include your name, full address & telephone number. MRA Intermet: trenstiawe & direct.ca Timothy Rens roller Managing Editor Compl S85-2131 (177) 9CO0511 (319) GBG+2134 (101) 985-2131 (133; 985-2131 (118) ealueaion tat nes vi 985-2131 (127) 05 2131 (160) The North Shore News Is published by North Shore Free Press Ltd., Publ BRAAMIASASATIASPISIPDEAAAANTINIS ASD D0 Or STE Krarestrom Display Manager 900-0511 (163) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Lid. Ail rights reserved. om 1139 Lonsdale Ay Se a a ee a i EL Sa San haha Sakata Beatie internat: ity/ferww.nenews.cors COMPUTER BBS - 980-8027 User [D:mailbox 1237 Display & Real Estate Fax 965-1435 Kewsroom Fax 995-2104 & Main Office Fax 908227 : Michael Backer - News Editer - - Office Manager 885-2131 (114) a 805-2131 (105) Androwe MeCrodin - Sports/Ssaamnity Leiter 085-2131 (147) ' enue Morth Vancouver, B.C., V7M 2N4 ite. As well he. might, of course. But I think he could be right. (Alas, I unsuccessfully tried to reach Kinsella ~:. worker for! * Darlene Marzari, Tom Perry, David Schreck. °°: Sure to improve on the NDP’s popular vote in... Se CE OR RUT RENT, AD trate cern, bea palaaptie: ieee cee ee