SSN TERE ROMER CA SCTN KADENA AAT MOOT CALETA ETS Dear Editor: The News Viewpoint in’ your June 4 edition soundly chastised me for using a poll of 302 people in my riding to determine my voting posi- tion on Gun Control Bill C-68. It also suggested that 1 would have my Parliamentary fingers in the wringer if another poll conduct ed by a different organization came up with the opposite result. !ugree that it would be i irrespon- sible to claim to know the majority position without being certain that it was a majority position. _ That is why I took the precaution of monitoring three separate polls and surveys, one of which was car- ried out for me by the North Shore News itself. Not only did the North Shore News survey confirm the poll results, but so did my own office records of voluntary calls and letters for and against the Bill. If there are any argu- ments about the validity of the sample size of the poll they should be taken up with = MarkTrend Research who are pro- fessional pollsters and who assured me_ that even a poll of 100 North Vancouver voters would give an accurate result. I was the one who insisted on at least 300 interviews. In the past year around 60 Bills have been debated in Parliament. On all but this one I made a vot- ing decision on behalf of my con- a view a Mat Oy G8 teh, iP disputes editorial ment by referendum" or “redundant” to take the ume to issue 41.000 householders on Bill C- 68 and then to measure support using a scientif= ic poll. The News viewpoint writer may not like the result, and neither do J, but’ unless it can be proved beyond a doubt that all three of my polls and surveys were wrong | have no option but to vote for the bill. The single biggest criticism of past MPs has been that they forced their will on the voters instead of representing them in Ottawa. am determined that nobody will ever be able to accuse me of that sin. Ted White, MP North Vancouver Stituents because if was confident that [ knew the majority position. It can hardly be called “govern- e Fine Carpets © Oriental Rugs © Vinyls © Hardwoods * Ceramics . Spectacular SELL-OFF before we take stock! Entire Stock! Every single item at fabulous low, low prices ‘A rare opportunity to dress in beauty and luxury from Jordans. Over 140 Fashion Leader Carpets with over 4,000 colours. Hundreds of magnificent rugs from China, India, Persia: and now a wide range of popular Vinyls, Hardwoods and Ceramics. A FEW EXAMPLES OF. THE INCREDIBLE SALE PRICES: ‘BERBERS Over 100 Colours and Styles From §5 oP equyd HARDTWIST sive $8 yd . Popular Texture Reg. $23.” sq.yd. F RIEZE Save $9 yd. Carefree Nylon : Reg. $25." sqyd. 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North Vancouver V7J 2A2 June 7/95 Telephone: 666-0585 Fax: 666-0509 BILL C- 68 — GUN CONTROL In my North Shore News report of September 21, 1994 t outlined the process by which | would determine my voting position on Mr. Rock's Gun Control Bill, | had sensed that the issue of gun control was gener- ating a lot of interest in the commu- nity and reatized that | would have to” determine the majority position before the final vote in Parliament. This is because the Constitution of the Reform Party of Canada speciii- cally requires Reform MPs to vote in Parliament in accordance with the wishes of the majority of con- stituents whenever that position can be accurately determined. This approach is truly democratic and completely opposite to that taken by the “old line” Liberal, NDP and PC parties. (Three Liberal MPs were recently punished by Mr. Chretien for daring to vote against the Government in order to represent their constituents in a vote in Parliament.) THE RESULTS The two volunteer groups which analyzed the pros and cons of Bill C-68 had completed their work by mid Aprit and a comprehensive “householder” on gun contro! had been printed and distributed to all 41,000 addresses in the Riding by mid May. MarkTrend Research then car- tied out a scientific poll on May 24th and 25th in order to determine the level of support for the Bill. They completed interviews with 302 ran- domly selected respondents for an accuracy within +/-5.6% ninety five times out of a hundred. The results were broken down into those who had read the householder and those who had not. Of those who HAD read the householder, 63% would vote for the Bill, 27% would vote against it and 9% had no opinion. Of those who HAD NOT read the householder, 56% would vote for the Bill, 26% would vote against it and 39% had no opinion. During the same week, the North Shore News alse carvied out a tele- phone survey and asked. peopie who had read the householder’ whether they would vote for or . against the Bill. Just over 44% said they would support the Bill while 35% said they would not. In addition, a count of the letters and phone calls received at my office during May showed 55% in favour of the Bill and 44% against it. MY VOTING POSITION With three separate polls and surveys showing a significant major- ity in favour of the Bill, it is my duty to vote FOR Bill C-68. | promised during the election campaign that ! would do my best to represent the majority position of my constituents and | am keeping that promise. | did my best to ensure that both sides of the gun control debate had an equal opportunity to place their analysis of Bill C-68 in fror:t of every voter in the tiding. Both sides did a great job, but the scientific poll results quite clear- ly. instruct me to vote for C-68 on behalf of the majority of North Vancouver voters. MY OPINION Even though | will vote in accor- dance with the wishes of the majori- ty, } would not be doing my job if | did not pass on to you my personal analysis of the Bill. satis my opinion that the poll in North Vancouver helps illustrate the urban/rurai differences in attitudes towards this Bill. My Reform col- leagues in tural ridings have been given a strong message to vote against C-68 and we have ended up with urban Canadians pitted against rural Canadians in a very unproduc- tive manner. Anyone who has ever been on a farm knows that guns are everywhere and that farm folk know how to handie them. They don't understand why we are making such a fuss about guns and they say that Canadu has a big city crime problem, not a gun problem. Itis unfortunate that the Minister of Justice did not accept Reform's suggestion to split the Bill into one which dealt with sensible gun con- trol recognizing urban/rural differ- ences, If, he had done so, we could have avoided all of the emotional upset this Bill is causing for both sides, | have a strong feeling that Bill C- 68 will turn out to be a big disap- pointment for those who are hoping it will give them safer streets and better crime control, Registration of handguns in Canada has been compulsory for more than .sixty years but this has not curtailed their use by criminals. lt follows that reg- istering rifles and shotguns is also - unlikely to have any effect, especial- ly when handguns are the weapon most offen used by criminals. We are going ta spend anything trom $80 million to $800 million introduc- ing and implementing this tegisia- tion. | think the money would have been better spent on catching and prosecuting the criminals who use: guns. AMENDMENTS AND PROBLEMS More than 300 amendments to the Bill have been proposed, almost . 80 by the Liberals themselves, so it is clear that the Billwas drafted very badly. In its initial form it woufd even have prevented the film industry trom making movies in Canada using replicas of firearms. In. addi- tion, the Canadian Medical Association does not believe that registration will reduce gun related injuries and deaths,. the Canadian Bar Association thinks that the Bilt is | | flawed, and at feast four Attorneys General have indicated that they will challenge or fail to enforce the Bill. .. It seems likely to me that.three: years fram new nothing in C-68 will have deterred the criminal use of guns, reduced firearms injuries, or improved the safety of your streets. All of the money will have been spent on monitoring the activities of law abiding citizens instead of addressing the real crime and social problems. White i am now committed to voting for Bill C-68-in its present form, | will strongly support amend- ments to the search arid seizure provisions of the Bill. If it passes without amendment we will be aban- doning the fundamental principal that police must have a search war- rant before entering a premises. There is always a potential for abuse when th.ute are no checks and bal- ances on when the state can enter and confiscate property. AND FINALLY... You can count on me to repre- sent the majority by voting for the Bill because that is my duty as your representative in Ottawa. However, | cannot guarantee that the Bill will be able to deliver on its promises. | firm- ly believe that the passage of Bill C- 68 has a lot more to do with politics .f . than making your community safer.