6 ~ North: Shore News —- Sunday, October 29, 2000 scare Sale CARY times are upon us. And ho, we are not talking of the fed- eral election. Tuesday night trick-or-treaters will be making their rounds — hopefully in their own neighbourhoods — to gath- er their booty. It’s a time of excitement for the young. And a time of worry for par- ents. Motor vehicles and excited chil- dren don’t mix well: so, drivers, please - slow down — a lot. And parents, hang onto those sticky little hands tightly. Be their ears and eyes. Vigilance is keen at the beginning of the evening gound but tends to wander as cold, “boredom or neighbourhood adults distract. _: Hf the older kids are going out on their own, swear them to‘ the buddy system and remind them that Heather Thomas should have been trick-or- | you said ik “Everyone kept saying, ‘So you're from Australia!” kept having to explain, ‘No, I’m not aborigine, ’m boriginal. We're actually from Canada.’” Writer Eden Robinson says the ‘aboriginal tour of Scotland” confused some Brits. (From an Oct. 27 This Week wary. ) They’r ré the best used car salesmen you can find, ; They promise a lifestyle that doesn’t exist.” Det, Const. Ray Payette of the Vancouver vice unit, on the pimps who lure young girls onto downtown streets. P! (From an 4 Oct. 29 News story. ). goo “ore, you flirt with the street, you're going to lose.” other girls won’t experiment with the “party: life”. like her t daughter did. (From an Oct. 29 -Diane Sowden: ho VIEW POINT: treating this year too. Halloween is also a time that chal- lenges parenting skills to the limit. Besides talking the youngsters through their fear of what is meant to be make-believe, how about planning to do more than reinforcing the lesson of “Hey, I got all this free candy for wearing a costume I didn’t make or pay for.” How about a family craft night that makes the costumes and some stories based on the evening’s origins? Or organizing a block party with games and goody bags for the kids? Encourage the kids to lead some family act of charity shortly after the night of plenty. As for your teen’s love of fireworks, try and talk to them when they are in a mood to listen, not when they are rushing out the door, pockets bulging. Be safe out there. prominently in the current Liberal campaign. That's because tie party as si Kippered by the 66-year-old Jean Chrétien is not big on either. Especially during federal election cam- paigns. On both issues the _ Liberals stand foursquare behind government con- trol and information suf- focation. Liberals app THE public’s right to speak its ight to know don’t figure 00 CONVINCED | CANADIANS HAVE LET GYGONES BE BYGONES, JOE ENLISTS BRIAN'S Alp ON “THE CAMPAIGN. TRAIL. ment immediately appealed Monday's decision. And while the $3,000 per-constituency spending limit has been suspended, other offen- sive sections remain. For example, anyone who wants to spend more than $500 on election . advertising must still reg- ister with Elections Canada. Why? Maybe your Liberal-can- didate can explain it to you. Meanwhile on the infor- mation suffocation front: ly info chokeho id It views the Access to Information Act as unconstitutional, and has the gall to spend public moncy to challenge the act's consti- tutionality. The commission, abandoned | even by Justice Canada, is forced to finance defence of the act out of its own . limited budget. Leading the way in confounding the Information Commission’s good works is - - the Prime Minister's Office -- headquar- :, ters of arrogance and secret society : philosophies. It too refuses to co operate. . with the commission. % Bur more than that, Reid reports, . “future careers in the public service of the Commissioner's staff have, in not so subt terms, been threatened.” And meaningful changes to.the act tc News fry. y- an expand openness and improve its useful ness for Canadians are stonewalled by the Liberals ar every turn. | * :. Reid points out that the public faces three significant road-blocks when trying Look no further than the current legal The Liberal government’s cultivation of - « dustup over election advertising restric- government as a secret society starts at the ‘tions contained in the Canada Elections top. Act and the Liberals’ outrageous approach : Information Commissioner Reid’s - . to public information access’as detailed by... 1999-2000 annual report should be: « g oa a “Any “time. you can take'a truckload of sewage off ‘the road I think that’s a good thing.” - Cypress: Bowl: Recreations marketing - manager ew. Broadbe omen oe know - they don’t have to live bully. ‘There are choices.” ‘Sargiorgis-Woodhouse on’ why she has partici- : the Crisis Services Society-sponsored art projéct, : Home Free. (From an Ort. 22 2 Sunday Frews Story.) / eines Hours: Mictaol Becker News Editor... 985-2131; Io 985-2104. am, Paragraph 11¥ of the Excige Tax Act, is publishea. . tay, Friday - and Sunday by HCN “Publications ‘Company and distributes to every door - “on - the North Shore. “Canada. Post: Canadian ~ Publications Mail: Sales Product Agreement No. average * clreulation ‘ior’ Sunday Is 64, Art. is pleased with West. ‘Vancouver .; : “council’s : approval. of. linking Cypress Provincial :; ‘Par ‘tothe: municipal sewage = system. ‘(From an Oct. 25 the country’s Information Commissioner “ John Reid. : ‘Last Monday, Calgary court Justice Robert Cairns determined the Elections Act legislation to be constitutionally sus- pect and granted a request filed by the National Citizens Coalition to suspend sections of it. : . No surprise there. - : The government knows limits 0 on how “much a person or group’ can spend during °.: elections to express themselves on issues is - * unconstitutional. . By my-count it’s the third time around - » ia the last 17 years for similar federal legis- : lation. The tactic here is to wear down the ; opposition — that’s the public — by using“ ; that same public’s fiscal resources, which. ~ the government regards as limitless. . _ Little surprise then that the govern He 2) aint Torry Peters mandatory reading for anyone interested - “in the machinations of a party that’s monopolized power in the country for mos of Canada’s existence. No dry bureaucratic plod this. |. "Subtitled Mayday Mayday, itreads more like a script from the British political satire ‘Yes; Minister.Too bad it’s not fic- tion. Good TV; bad government. - The report is rich with political -. intrigue, arrogance and executive bullyboy a "ip government decision. naling and in tactics." - How’s this. for some non-fiction heat: The prime minister’s Privy Council ” Office regards che Information * Commission as a representative of a rogue - ’ state and determines to “resist and chal- lenge almost all of the Commissioner’ s. investigative powers.” It directs its senior officials to refise to... answer conimission questions under oath. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include your: ~ fame, full address and telephone. number. - Submit via e-mail to: mbecker@asnews.com “Spf Maura Serore Tipe: 985-2181 (pred 9) Editorial Mananer 2131 (169 (pefers@nsnews.com to pry pubiic information from the gov- ernment: delay, excessive application yf. _ exemptions and the’ government’ 's inability: to find records." According to Reid, “Informatioi agement in the federal government is in such a sorry state that the term has become an oxymoron.”.. ‘He quotes an astute observation. ; -Newsweek’s George F: W: * “Government secrecy breeds 1139 Lonsdete i, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2H4