LETTERS to the editor must be legible (preterably typewritten) and include your name, full address and telephone number. Due to space constraints the North Shore News can- not publish all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accuracy, legality and taste. Submissions can be faxed to 985-2104 bur still! must be signed and fully addressed. Dear Editor: T have to admit that it’s hard tor me to teel sorry fora couple of teenage beys who have to suffer the inconve- nience and indignity of hav- ing their parents purchase their guns (Teens troubled by gun age rule, Jan. 22 North Shore News). As a dedicated peacenik from day one (1 was a peace- ful baby), I say brave to any restriction of weapons, be they handguns, target-shoot- ing rifles or nuclear missiles. And I admire these two for their tenacity in getting their word out and presenting their case. With all the strife in the world today, we must broad- en the path to peace by reducing the number of weapons. I heard the message thar Jonathan Boudin and Devin Dickson were express- ing. For them, these guns pro- vide the opportunity to prac- tice precision shoeting. Nothing wrong with preci- sion. But could they not apply this desire to be precise to something other than shoot- ing — drawing intricate designs, shooting basketballs, writing outstanding liters- ture? The boys alto referred to the 16 hours of safety educa- tion required. Perhaps that course might improve itself by suggesting more peaceful alternatives and encouraging potential gun purchasers to reconsider their decision to purchase a firearm. By their nature, guns are violent, aggressive and Celebrating 15 Years as your local community fitness Club Ail memberships include one-on-one trainers. © We guarantee to exceed your expectations with our | friendly, non intimidating club atmosphere. The return on your Scotia G7 Stock-Indexed GIC is linked to the key stock markets of the G7 nations. Now your money can take advantage of the economic strength of the world’s most power- ful economies: U.S.A., Japan, U.K., France. Italy, Germany and Canada. It's foreign exposure and international diversification. Your money could earn up to 30% over a 3-vear Lerm. $1 Tanning sessions Wolff super beds brand new bulbs 3 sessions max per day 3 month racg quash ‘Only es Plc qulel. potentially deadly. Even the most conscientious gun owner may act impulsively in a moment of fear or anger. We read about these instances every day in the paper. Even if the gun owner is always calm and composed, his or her gun left in the car for a mument, set aside dur- Wednesday, March 19, 1997 — North Shore News ~ 9 Peace required for survival ing a conversation, or stored sately in the house, could become a tool of violence for someone else. I say raise the age to 45! My true intent in writing this letter is to encourage the Jonathans and Devins of the world, who have the courage to speak up and raise con- sciousness around an issue, to take a close, precise look at the world situation and to recognize that our survival here on Earth requires each one of us to promote peice, cooperation and goad will. Peggy Stortz. Green Party Representative West Vancouver \ ted white, m.p. advertorial, March 19/97 SECTION 745 AND CLIFFORD OLSON During Question Period in Parliament on March 11th, Preston Manning, Leader of the Reform Party of Canada, stated that the Olson appeal for early release under Section 745 of the Criminal Code “would not be happening if the Government had acted sooner and if it had repealed Section 745 instead of tinkering with it." He went on to ask " ... how could the Government be so utterly insensitive to the families of Clifford Olson's victims as to permit this hearing?" In his response to Preston, the Minister of Justice, Hon. Allan Rock said, "Perhaps most important of all, by behaving as they are, Reform Party members are giving Clifford Olson exactly what he most wants, the only thing they can give him, a platform on which to become even more infamous." In a later response to a questinn posed by Reform's Justice Cniic, Jack Ramsay, the Minister of Justice stated “Whatever else can be said of Clifford Olson's application, it would be proceeding in obscurity now ... if it were not for my honourable friend and his colleagues in the Reform Party ...". iS REFORM TO BLAME??? My observation of the Minister over the past three and a half years has led me to conclude that he is very sincere in his statements in the House, but he must be very naive if he thinks that Olson's application would have been proceeding in obscurity if it were not for the ‘| Reform Party. Reform clearly has no control over the media, and | doubt that the media would have permitted the Olson situation to proceed in obscurity. My opinions aside though, here's the text of a fetter dated March 13, 1997 from Gary Rosenfeldt, a parent of one of Olson's victims: “As a parent of one of Clifford Olson's victims lam shocked and dismayed that Justice Minister Allan Rock and the Government. of Canada would state that Members of the Reform party are exploiting us and 1 giving Clifford Olson a platform. The exact opposite is true. John Nunziata's Bill to repeal Section 745 passed second reading in | the House in December, 1924, despite | active opposition by the Literal ; Cabinet. I know, | was in the House § that night and I! watched the proceedings. The Government then stalled the Bill in Committee and failed to introduce its own legislation until the last moment ‘in June of 1996, | immediately before the summer recess. The Bill was not able to be passed because the Government did not give it high enough priority and thus required all party consent. it is unconscionable to suggest that a Government with a 50 seat majority should have to rely on the consent of the Opposition to get its legislation passed. The Bill failed to pass because the Government of Canada and its Justice Minister failed victims' families and all Canadians in its priorities. At that time Mr. Rock tried to blame the ‘Bloc. Today he tries to blame the. Reform Party. if Mr Rock is locking for responsibility for the Olson Hearing proceeding, he need only look in a mirror. We are confident tist Canadians will remember that Clifford ; Olson's platform was built and | maintained by the Liberal Party of Canada.” : Letters similar to the above have also been’ written by family members of other Olson victims, many of whom feel that meetings with “Ms. Rock are unproductive and a waste of time. A quote from 2 sister of one of the victims was used by Myron Thompson during Question Period on March 13, 1997. “Actually, we met with the Justice Minister last year. He had the chance to stop this. He basically spat on all the graves of these kids." SCRAP IT oe The overwhelming majority of people across Canada want Section 745 scrapped. because it has failed to live up to the [- promises made by.the Liberal Government which introduced it. Originally intended to be a "faint hope clause” it he-> evolved into a “sure bet clause” for 80%: of sriminels who choose to use it and is new regularly. short circuiting the sentences . being handed out at the time of conviction. The people of Canada were promised, when the |. . death penalty was eliminated in 1976, that a life sentence would mean fife, and. that Section 745 would only apply to the most unusual of cases. The promise has been broken ~ it is time to scrap Scctien 745. | Ted White, MP, ; #302-1200 Lynn Valley Rd., North Vancouver, B.C. V7J-2A2, Tel: 666-0588 (The worst that can happen is nothing. But your principal always stuys intact.) You get stock market action in the security of u traditional GIC. It's called the GIC with guts. We think of it.as the GIC with brains. 1-800-387-6507 tia. The G7 Stock-tndexed GIC is issued by Sci ° & ° Scotiabank 3 What to do” www.scotiabank.ca rust, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank o} Nova Scot