Nertih sh Dear Editor: Re: Ernie Crist answers his critics: Feb 6 News. Tt is not surprising that we see ever more frequent head- fines about the decline of feadershin in our society, espe: cially when Tread of the vitri- olic, potsoned pen attacks bei.g made by Councillor Crist. Ernie should read his own words. He says, “Little people ore Mews MAIL Box Poison nen letters perturbing will always assail vou not on the issues baton personality.” One could be forgiven for concluding that this is exactly the content of his own letters, menios and ¢-mail, Ernie says“) will never back down.” Presumably this means be vill never back off the direct, insulting and defaming attacks he makes on anvone who opposes him. Leaders laa. Pretenders only eiaim to lead. Only the weak detend their victousness in.acloak of necessity. Evers time [read or hear of Ernie To see a righteous, minor man who has found a crowd running down the street and has pushed his was to the front and is velling “Follow Me.” Paul Thomas marguerite_moroz@be.sym- patico.ca Books unsuitable for school Dear Editor: I wish to thank Hans Mercer for her review (Jan. 29 Fair Comment) of the three ~ books thac the Surrey school board has decided are not suit- able for use in elementary schools in their district. From the — deseription given, I agree with their deci- sion entirely and feel chat Alzheimer’s ad was in bad taste Dear Editor: As a daughter of an Alzheimer’s patient I am disgusted by the ad you allowed to run in Friday's (Jan.22) North Shore News, entided Destination — has Pauizheimers. Surely you must be aware of the aging population in both North and Wese Vancouver, some of whom suffer from and live with Alzheimer’s or any number of the umbrella dementias. Wich = January — being Alzheimer’s Awareness Menth, this is extremely poor taste of you to publish this particular advertisement, All residents of the North Shore with aging relatives . should take exception te your ad. { guarantee you, there is nothing amusing about visit- ing and caring for an Alzheimer’s patient. Tam reading the paper to my father as I feed him lunch as I do three ar four times 3 week. He is not laughing. It is not funny. Nothing about this disease is amusing. May I suggest you donate the moncy Destination paid for their ad to the Alzheimer's Society of B.C. This may make the pill a little less bitter to swallow. Diane Malamas North Vancouver ¢ SOFAS © LOVESEATS © CHAIRS ¢ SOFABEDS * HUNDREDS OF . FABRIC OPTIONS Designing Comfort 1405 Pemberton Ave, North Vancouver, 988-8271 those who opposed the deci- sion and started legal proceed- ings have wasted a good deal of money and time. These books are obviously part of the gay lobby groups’ strategy to try to indoctrinate children into accepting same-sex rela- tionships betore they are old enough to understand about the meaning and purposes of sex and the consequences of sexual relationships which go against natural law. Tam delighted that the board has decided to appeal Madam Justice Saunders’ deci- sion in the case, as it is an affront to. religious freedom and parental rights. Jessica White West Vancouver Our Bouquets Lasi Longer! ¢ Valentines Day Specials for preorders. te * Our prices are very refreshing. \. Beautifi orchids are available Yeddings are our specialty. : We will work within your budget. ‘4 The Green Zone “For the urban gardener” 985-7673 ZHiL ONTAMaS- JHYOHS HLRBON: TSMV aR GE -ades © GREAT VARIETY OF STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM i anc, Ave, N. Van Open 7 days a week -FOR 35°°YEARS: sNuO-R TH. S HO.RSE RVING. Tet « Have ir Your Way IN APPROX. 4-6 WEEKS OPEN DAILY: MON-SAT 9:30AM-5:30PM, SUNDAY 12-5PM Wednesday. February 10. 1999 — North Shore News - 9 ted white, m.p. advertonal, Fedtuary 10/1999 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES On December 2, 1998, the Veterans Aftairs Minister, Hon Fred Mifflin, intro- duced to Parliament his long zwaited C-61, An Act to amend the War Veterans Allowance Act and related legislation. A few days later, on December 7, 1998, the Immigration Minister, Hon Lucienne Robillard, intro- duced C-63, An Act Respecting Canadian Citizenship. Unfortunately, but consistent with a pattern we have come to expect, neither of these pieces of legisiation adc quately deals with the problems they were supposed to address. WAR VETERANS ALLOWANCES You may recall hearing about the hunger strikes on Parliament Hill by a number of Merchant Navy Veterans last October and November. Their protest was in support of the position that those who served in the Merchant Navy during World Wars | and Il, transporting troops tor exampte, should be entitled to receive the same recognition, compensation, pen- sions and benefits as other war veterans. As you can imagine, the number of people who would be affected by a change at this late stage is relatively srnall, so it is a bit of a mystery why the Government has been refusing to allocate the tiny fraction of one percent of the annual budget which would be needed to take care of the issue. There are a number of worth- while initiatives in Bill C-61, but it does not appear to contain any monetary compensation for the Merchant Navy Veterans, and there are no changes in benefit types or amounts. As a result there have already been veterans’ sit-ins at the offices of Liberal Cabinet ministers, and the hunger strikers are threat- ening to return to Parliament Hiil for a third time. Reform will try to get amendments made to the Bill as it passes through the House, but as we do so, we expect to speak in support of the following aspects of the Bill: % The opportunity for many surviving spouses of disabled, deceased war veter- ans, including Merchant Navy veterans, to apply for an increase in survivors’ pen- sions. * The. opportunity for former prisoners of war to apply for special allowances, including an allowance for an attendant, even though they are not in receipt of a disability pension. * The inciusion of Merchant Navy veter- ans in the benefit program for those who -were domiciled in Canada prior to the outbreak of World War | or fl, and who served with any allied force, but whose home country does not provide equiva- tent benetits. C-61 has yet to be scheduled for debate, so it could be several more months before the Bill comes into effect. I will do my best to keep you posted. A COMPLETE FLOP Unlike Minister Miftlin's Bill, Minister Robillard’s Bill is a complete flop. It Ted White, M.P. , #302-1200 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver, fails to address even one of the major concerns urban MPs hear fro: their con- Stituente on a daily basis. * There is nothing in the Bill which would facilitate the prompt deportation of criminal refugee claimants — like the Honduran’ drug traffickers on Vancouver's East Side. * No action is being taken to stem the flow into Canada of criminals who claim refugee status at our border entry points by destroying their papers, even though CSIS recently announced that Canada has become the haven of choice for the world’s criminals. * Nothing is being done to bring public accountability to the Immigration and Refugee Board — the system of patron- age appointments to the Board remains in place. * The system of patronage appoint- ments to the position of Citizenship Judge continues, but judges will now be cailed Commissioners. * The Bill gives the Minister the power, without the approva! of Parliament, to define who is a “spouse”, and what constitutes a “parent and child rela- tionship” for the purposes of entitle- * eat to citizenship. Four and a half years after the Minister first received legislative recom- mendations from Parliament's Standing Cammittee on Immigration she has failed to deliver anything of substance in Gill C- { 63. Uncountable hours of Parliamentary consideration of the problems, and enor- mous public pressure for change, have gone unheeded. Bili C-63 represents noth- ing more than a complete and utter waste of time and resources, all paid for with your tax dollars. SHEILA AND HEDY My December 16, 1998 report dealt with some of the waste, and the lack of accountability for money spent, uncov- ered by the Auditor General in the Heritage Ministry, which fs run by the Hon Sheila Copps. Yet another example to add to the list — apparentty Sheila's Depariment gave a $96,000 grant to a Montreal publisher to subsidize the printing of a book of dumb-blonde jokes. ! hate to think what we dan’t know about the Ministry of Heritage and its grants programs. And to close this week's report, a Christmas story about the Hon Hedy Fry, Secretary of State for the Status cf Women. In early December she held a Christmas Cocktail Party on Parliament Hill, but the invitations which were sent to every MP's office stated that the party was for women only!! Can you imagine the scraams of protest we would have heard from Hedy if anyone, anywhere in the entire 4 country, had tried to run a “men only" | Christmas party? : The irony of laying a formal com-. plaint with the Human Rights Commission didn't escape me, bit there are too many other more impor- tant things to do. B.C. V2] 2A2 /, Tels 666-0585 Fax: 666-0509, Internet: http://www.reform.ca/white-t/ [From time to tme, "Chrysler, "Dodge, Jeep yor fl Plymouth vehicles are recalled. Your vehicle may § y have an outstanding recall notice. It is very important to these outstanding Mountview to comp! recalls. If you own a 1989- lete 1998 Chrysler vehicle, lease call 980-3431 and have your vehicle serial number ready. There is no cost for this service.