& - Sunday, October 25, 1992 - North Shore News Referendum relief EJOICE, READERS: referendum relief is only s day away. But, .wille the temptation may be great, do ne falter in the stretch. ; For the past six weeks, you have been bombarded from the left and the right, the wrong and the overwrought. You have been told that the end of Canada is nigh, that the Canadian flag and all it stands for wili be turned upside down. . You have been told that aboriginal Ca- madians are set to embark on a course of self-government that will further fragment the country into a multitade of autosomons states. You have been told that the accord is the end of Canada; you have been told that the accord is the beginning of a new Canada. You have been told that the new Senate is rot; you have been told thet the new Senate is not rot. You have been told that the Charlotie- towa Accord means everything; you have been told that it means nothing. You have likely heard more enough. it would be a shame, then, to have ab- sorbed this great outpouring of political hysteria and patriotic passion and not have your own say at the polling booth tomor- row. So take the time on Monday to have your say: vote in the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord and help decide Canada’s future. than NEWS QUOTES OF THE WEEK “i'm prepared to admit we've- made 2 total mess of jt. I think ivs up to the next generation of politicians to try and deal with the issue again.” North Vancouver Tory MP Chuck Cook, on the proposals contained in the Charlottetown Accord, ““We're not a trailer park.” Greg Lee, Capilano Coliege’s Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Sales & Marketing Director _. Peter Speck Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Linda Stewart vice-president of career and voca- tional programs, on the issue of Capilano College students camp- ing out on the college’s parking lot. “A knock at the door and Danny would still be alive today.” Derek Possee, questioning the tactics used by police officers dur- ing a drug raid in which his son, Daniel, was shot and killed. Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Agvertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution Subscnipt:ons 986-1337 Fax Admnnistration 985-2134 “My property is the cleanest part of the whole creek. It’s a holocaust down there: That creek is dying.’’ North Vancouver District resi- dent Joseph Moinar, describing a walk down the length of Mackay Creek during a North Vancouver District Council hearing into Molnar’s construction of a -retain- ing Pia that encroached on the creek, o Pnoted or 10% recycled newsprint 986-1337 985-3227 Comptroiter Doug Foot Nerth Share News. taunded in 1965 as an indepengent supurpan newspaper and qualified unger Senedule 113 Paragraph tit of ine Excise Tax Act. ts publisnea each Weonesaay, Frnaay ang Sunday ov Noth Snore Fise Press Lic ana distrrbuted to every door on the Nortn Snore Second Ciass Mait Hegistration Numser 3385 Suosceptions Notin ang Wes! Vancouver $25 per veat. Mann fates avalabie on reques: Supnussions are welcome but we canna! accep: 443 V7M 2H IME MONEE 08 NOATN AO WELT wae OU WES news SUNDAY + rehnetaet 33 Lonsdale Avenue. Nortn Vancouver. 8.5 MEMBER oFamay SOA Division fesponsipihty tor unsoircited maternal imciuding shoula oe accompanied dy a stamped, acaressen enveiops Manuscripts and pictures wen Entire contents = 61,562 taverage circulahon Waanesday. Friday & Sunday? 1992 North Snore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved Only one cure for a morning- after hangover IMMIGRANTS SUCH as your scribe iend to have a special loyalty to this magnificent !and. We didn’t merely happen to be born here. We freely CHOSE Canada. We chose Canada because she offered self-fulfilment among car- ing, tolerant people dedicated to democracy, equality of opportuni- ty and justice for all. And we were right. Most of us owe her much. Which is why this loyal Cana- dian of 37 years will be voting NO tomorrow. Thoughtfully, respon- sibly and — yes — optimistically. l oppose numerous specific items in the Charlottetown Ac- cord: the ‘‘wet noodle’’ of a Senate — toothless to counter- balance the dominance of Quebec and Ontario in the Commons; the former's guaranteed 25% of Commons seats — PERCENT- AGE being quite different from a guaranteed minimum NUMBER of seats; a sloppy commitment to aboriginal self-rule with no definition of its form, cost or im- pact on all Canadians. But if, despite its ugly warts, the accord as a whole was clearly a step forward towards the 21st century. I might well have voted Yes — holding my nose and hop- ing for the wasts to be eventuaily removed. The truth, alas, is that the deal represents a step backward into the very history it claims to cor- tect. For two glaring reasons. My first ‘‘no’’ is to enshrining the collective rights of Quebec and aboriginals as separate from — and taking precedence over — in- dividual rights. ‘‘Callective rights”’ are simply another term for GROUP POWER and so can have no place in a democratic constitution. Every totaiitarian regime in history has shown us that collective rights, sooner or later, always override individual rights. Of course Quebec and the native peoples are ‘‘distinct,”’ like many other groups of Canadians nowadays. But all that needs to be said in recognition of this is that we are a multi-racial nation committed to ‘‘the equality of all individuals — regardless of their birthplace, mother tongue, gender, religion, cultural and legal tradi- tions.”” That, surely, covers everyone — francophones, aborigina!s, women, latter-day immigrants, the lot. Linked with the Charter, it entitles every Canadian to lawfully promote personal or group interests, just so long as they do not infringe on the rights of fellow Canadians. My other ‘‘no’’ is ta the veto, requiring unanimous consent by rb kes HITHER AND al} 10 provinces for changes to: Parliament and the Supreme Court. in practice, it makes any future amendments to those vital organs virtually impossible. It leaves them permanently frozen in their 1992: form for today’s young Canadians and THEIR chil¢ren, no matter what major changes the new cen tury brings to Canada. ° ° There [S a far better aliernative to the rushed and botched deal .. hammered together in panic by 17 Men to meet a spurious deadline set by Quebec separatists. If th No side wins tomorrow, the - |. renewal of the Constitution should be handed over as soon as possi ble after the dust settles to an in dependent constituent assembly... ie would be an elected body of. eminent citizens from all walks 0! life — but WITHOUT any politi cians, special interest group lob- byists or public servants. it. woul hold a number of referendums, first on fundamental principles, then step-by-step on more detail-*.: ed clauses. Members would be . ~ _given up to three years to finish the job, rewarded with adequat: pensions and barred from publi office for a decade. : Politicians could then concen- trate on our many other urgencies. . That's what I'll be voting FOR. | i do not believe Quebec is eager to throw away everything Canada gives it — and I see ‘‘No”’ as the only cure for the unity hangover Cherlottetown would inflict on us all. eeo WRIGHT OR WRONG: The surest way to mishandle a problem is to refuse to face up to it. ~ Siig NEWS photo Paul McGrath FOR CRIME-STOPPING contributions by CKNW the radio station’s Shirley Stocker receives a cheque for $1,600-plus from Supt. Bob Byram (right! and Sgt. Dave Barker, Crimestoppers coordinator. The money was raised by this year’s RCMP tun run. .