1139 Lonsdale Avenue
~ North Vancouver, B.C.
V7M 2H4

PETER SPECK.
Publisher -»
985-2131 (181)

“Chis Johnsen
Operations Manage:

Comptroller
985-2131 (133) ©

istribution Manager

‘06-1857 (124) ‘eee (iz)

Werth Shora Wows, funded ia (iV is an ae
' independent suburban newspaper and qualified“

under Schedule. Ht) Paragisph $11 “of, the,
1 Excise Tan'Act, is published cach Wedneway,
=, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press

Ltd and distributed to every door on the Nosth - ”

Shore. Canada Pust Canadian Pubtications Mail
* Sales Product ; Agreement: N
Malling Fates available on seiuest

‘met! Kae a

© 1995 North Shore"
"= Free Press Lid,
All fights, reserved.

“985-2131 (168)

of the #

joi to hide
&, 4, our own
district © or veal!

HE és Br,
1p ere,

ve fp Bess 4
Oey Rae

Lies
ana

DP is eroding your

OUR: RIGHTS. ‘of free

peech and free expression are
‘under attack by the provincial
NDP. government. ; i

That: attack comes: under ‘the
‘guise of:
Bill 28. the Election’ Act. which’
restricts the amount of money indi-
viduals..or..groups can’ spend on:
‘supporting or opposing candidates’ -
during” provincial élections: and |,
restricts’ thé ‘ability of news media
“to publish opinion poll results. :

Bill 33, the 1993 Human Rights”.
Act, which restricts the publication -

or. open discussion of material that
“indicates® discrimination” |, or is.

ikely to expose a person or group y

of: persons to hatred or contempt.
The: vaguely worded legislation:i
policed iby .an: unelected - Human’

‘

Rights Council” empowered; to:

‘apply: hefty: penalties : upon , thos Ci
ruled | 0 have Violated the legisla: te

ae: Bill 32 2, the new. Human Rights:

Amendment: Act, which empowers.
an odious; Human | Rights,
‘Commission, to” harass’: the’ press
and. other media by. secking out
alleged Human Rights violaiions or:

complaints, about ‘discrimination;: a

~. be they real or perceived, without 2 a.
- complainant. :

“Investigations can be launched _
Commissioner,: ; of
Investigation: and
. against a newspaper. without “rea-

~ sonable; and’ probable “cause”. and.
: “news ‘media can be required to to turn

. investigation

“eo ). West
independent.
»Mitcheil:

Mediation =

: Nore of free speech

-over all docuinents rei: ‘ing to any
launched by. the
unélected commissioner.

The bill provides for no trial by
impartial judge or jury. All three
members of: the Human’ Rights

_ Commission will be partisan polit- -

ical appointments by the provincial
Cabinet. ©, -.

The ‘list goes on. ‘De emocracy
and freedom ‘of expression’ won't
unless public demand: to overturn
such %
- registered loud’and clear... -
Write or phone your local MLA -
now:

jNDP MLA David Schreck
/140B Lonsdale Ave. .-
North Vancouver, RB. c
-V7M 2E8 © F

Phone: 986-2 1254s ‘Fax: 715- 1034:
* North
Liberal MLA Daniel Jarvis
“4-1561 Lyna Valley Rd.

“North Vancouver, B.C,
oV7J ABE .

Phone: 984- 2692:, Fax: 775-1061.
© West.” Yancouver-Capilano
Liberal MLA Jeremy Dalton
396-1497 Marine Dr. ms

“West Vancouver, B. Cc. ;

V7T 1B8. :
Phone: 925- 1611: Fax: 925. 9658.
‘Vancouver-Garibaldt
' MLA

219-2438 Marine Dr.
West Vancouver, 8. Cc.
VIV-IL2

Phone: 922+ 7430; Fax: T18- 1449.

anti-democratic legislation is

«/ North - " Vancouver-Lonsdale

«Vancouver-Seymour

David

1
t

n

SEMEL tte NET AS

THE LATEST chapter in
the sad saga of Robin
Blencoe shows how far our
tattered end-of-millennium
values have strayed from .
earlier standards of civi-.
lized behavior. ~
First, however, let's be quite

“clear on one point. Those stan-

dards had nothing necessarily to
do with virtue. Advances by Just-

“ing males towards attractive

females are as old as the Garden
of Eden.

What we are talking about here
is simply “class” — the social oil
that once lubricated such adven-

“tures, mostly to the benefit of all

concerned.

:- Either the lady reciprocated the
advances, swiftly bringing the
adventure to a happy ending for
both parties in her bedchamber, or
she. shricked “Unhand me, vil-
lain!" and pulled the nearest bell
cord. summoning the servants to

“come and throw the luckless .

Casanova out.” :
If he persisted in foisting his

‘unwelcome attentions on her, ”

there was always a brother, fiance
or other admirer ready to pay a

"visit to the cad with a horsewhip

—-'or just occasionally, in the

~ more upscale cases, invite him to -

pistols: inthe park at 6 a.m.
“Inconceivable, of course, in -
those simple, far-off days was a:
“news conference called by the
outraged lady more than two

“years later in order to spread inti-

would have

mate, tongue-in-mouth details of ©
her alleged unwelcome encounter
across the front Pages of the daily
tabs. ys:

Even more inconceivable
been her belated
application to a politically) |.
appointed star. chamber to drag.

“the: wretch before it and possibly

order him to pay her thousands in’
damages. .
Especially if, metaphorically

speaking, said wretch already lay :

bleeding — publicly, disgraced,’
his career destroyed and his fami.
ly devastated. gerbe Oe

‘All of which, ‘guess, proves.
how far we've progressed since
the pre-laundromat age when dirty

linen was still washed in private -

and the worst fate awaiting overly
persistent swains was usually a,

* few welts on the back ora blood-.

ied nose.

1
'
)

i

OSG TBM INNS NI LSE AES SEONG SAE LUTE SECOND

But the case of Robin Blencoe’

»— effectively” ruined without

being given his day in court 5
raises more important questions
than alleged hanky- panky i in hotel.
bedrooms.

The spotlight on the fired NDP

~~ minister is also a spotlight on the |

media, on those who manipulate .”

“the media and on how all this: ’

affects the political process. °°“
Holding politicians’ feet to.the |

fire, when clearly. deserved, is a”

prime duty of the media i ina”

' democracy... -/:

4 But the down side i is s that ”

‘many of our. most capable citizens:

in’ business and the professions :-”
refuse ever to consider offering ©

» themselves for elected Public

office.
They simply decline to ‘accept

._ the kind of personal hassle and.

grief that media-smart enemies

_ can cook up, today’ for politicians

and their families: —~ even in what
may eventually prove to be quite’

_ innocent contexts.

In this. way the pubtic service

is deprived of a huge reservoir of,
“talent and we are’ all the losers as

a result..

“It’s a. problem easier to’ state

‘than’ to solve, But maybe its basi

cause is simply the frequent: lack:
nowadays — alike’in politicians,
in the media, and in those, bent on:
exploiting both for their own ends .

. of one invaluable little ‘old.

fashioned ingredient. « :
- That missing touch of “class

WRIGHT OR WRONG: In mid

die age never worry about avoid-"

_ ing temptation. It will, soon start -
avoiding you. no,

ORTH,
Council should ‘drop its summer
meeting schedule until it shows

itself capable of completing the munici-

pality’s . business “during its. regular
‘schedule.

“Because ‘right now the job is not pet-""
ting done, and that. ina ability, to get the
. job done is inconveniencing a lot of dis-

“ trict.residents. .
Consistent “with its: traditional sum-

“mer approach to the Aistrict’s, business,

council now meets every second Monday
Y instead of every Monday. » 9. © :
That’ means twe .weeks’- ‘worth of

agen da items, must now be dealt with at

VANCOUVER District

: a single « councii meeting. oe
At the district, this is a recipe for dis-

» aster, because at the best of times, coun-
, cil has a.tough time ploughing through
‘its agenda items when it meets every,

week.

agrees that it would be beneficial to have

- more bike racks in the district to’ pro-
“mote alternative forms ; of transporta-_

tion, district council deadlocked 3-3 on

“the issue, not once but twice ‘on Monday °
_night. ;

No decision; — no crisp - exécutive

Take bike racks, for instance — a
motherhood issue if ever there was one. :
Even though’ everyone -on council.

action. More delay.
' And now more meetings. - Pan sy
| Instead of one meeting in two weeks, Fi
council was forced to meet twice in one
week — Monday and Wednesday
-try to digest the mounting agenda pile.”
‘| Residents: expecting to -have. items /

“dealt with on Monday were ‘forced to.

return on Wednesday, and that’s if they
happened to find out that an additional

° oe had been scheduled. petal

‘District council is not getting the: jo
‘done. Meeting less is not the answer. ©

Ditch the summer schedule or ditch
“the rhetoric and: rid’ council decks: of
‘uni nished. business. oe