peed SY ra are es cea ega-malls fee WHEN I read about the thousands of British Col- umbians who spent Canada Day cross-border shopping, I wasn’t surprised. Catherine JUST ADD WATER I also wasn’t surprised when | read yet again these shoppers’ reasons for spending their money in the U.S. We're being screwed by the GST. Canadian merchants have to get more competitive. ‘People are only responding to reasonable economic incentives. Balderdash. What people are responding to is an insatiable desire to acquire more consumer - goods, The fact that Canada Day is just another opportunity to burn up.ges.to drive to a mall south of the border just underlines a {hop-tityou-drop approach to ife. Very few of us, myself includ- ed, are prepared to stop gorging Stiffen young offender Dear Editor: I am angry and outraged at how our community views the job of our police officers. They have a difficult job and I commend them. : I am sorry Danny Possee’s life has been lost. It’s very sad. But | ask myseif, ‘‘what was Danny Possee doing at a house that had illegal drugs and why would he be using a BB gun in- doors, especially in somebody else’s home?’’ -If | were an officer and entered a home knowing ! was there for a drug seizure and was met with a gun, in the split second | would have to decide what to do I know * what I would have done! Many years ago my son played a number of sports. In fact, he was on a summer soccer team coached by Derek Possee. Our son ourselves, and our children, on consumer products. How many people do you know who are try- ing to lead simple, uncluttered lives? The individuals I know who fall into this category certainly number less than five. Cross-border shopping isn’t about patriotism — it’s about the values we adopt to lead our lives. If there’s one post-war devel- opment that epitomizes the steady, inexorable growth of consumerism it is surely the shopping centre. In a 1976 New York Times article, Ada Louise Huxtable described the rise of the shopping centre: “A mobile society that had estab- lished a new set of rituals focused on the drive-in anything, transfer- red the Saturday night rite of passage to the ‘climate-controlled’ covered shopping mall in all of its frigid, canned-music-drenched, plastic glamor. On old streets, old buildings were torn down for parking lots, in a bleak, gap- toothed kind of mutilation. Main Street has become a sad shabby relic, empty storefronts alternating with faded displays that looked as if time had stopped on one of those 1940s summer afternoons."’ If | wanted to get thoroughly depressed, | would walk through one of the mega-malls in our me- tropolis. There | would find the same stores in any mali in any city in this country. There | would find people walking around, look- ing right through me, living another day of their life on credit. There I would find bored teenagers who feel it is perfectly in order for them to drop $100 ona pair of shoes. And we wonder why we have vast, soulless suburbs where peo- ple don’t know each other and went on to win many trophies. Then drugs came home instead of trophies. Weeks would go by and he didn’t come home. Schoo! was out of the question, he was into breaking and entering, drinking and smoking dope. He would get caught,. be. put on probation or given a light sentencing or given community hours. Soon he would be doing it ail again. We need to stiffen sentences for young offenders and give our police more authority. I have sat through many court cases and heard some awful things these children of ours are doing. They receive a slap on the wrist and laugh at the law enforcers. We read of children carrying weapons and teachers being train- ed to handle possible weapon in- a | aa drive kilometres every day to shop. . My brother lives in one of those suburbs — one of those municipalities with no heart or core — outside Toronto. All roads lead to the mall. Think of what has happened to the centre of almost any city in Canada. It always struck me as particularly sad that Edmonton, where I lived for five years, was known mainly for a mall (even more so after The Great One departed for the south). When I think back to my own sentences cidents. To quote Good Housekeeping, July 1992: ‘by age 13 the average child will have witnessed 8,700 murders and more than 160,000 other asscrted vio- tent acts on TV.”" Perhaps the Possee Memorial that raised $50,000 could consider donating a portion of the monies to counselling for teens with drug-related problems. Oh, and my son, yes, he is alive (at least in the flesh). A great number of people that fove him have died a little inside, and I have felt a great loss. As the police put it, he is now starting to play in the ‘‘big league’? and things could get dirty. I don’t know where he is and I don’t wish to see him at present. Wherever he goes he leaves a trail of sadness and destruction. A North Skore mother Draconian doctor measures unfair Dear Editor: The Medicare system introduced some 25 years ago has served the citizens.and the medical profession of this province well over the years. However, of late, the financial restraint placed on the system by the government has run smack in- to the demands of the public. The public has been led to believe that they are entitled to unlimited free access to the best medical care possible, while the politicians are mere reluctant to fund these de- mands. . As a result, the medical profes- sion finds itself cast in the role of villain by both parties. Can you imagine the chief ex- ecutive officer of ICBC ap- proaching the Association of Repair Shops in B.C. and stating that the amount paid for car repairs shall remain the same as last year? 1f there were a rash of accidents resulting in more dam- age to cars, the repair shops would be forced to fix the cars but do the extra work for free. This is exactly what the minister of health is demanding the medi- cal profession do by arbitrary, unilateral legislation. Providing excellent medica! care at an affordable price is an ad- mirable goal. But treating the medical professions with contempt and unilateral, draconian measures is not the way to achieve this end. There are many of us who would be pleased to provide con- structive, innovative advice to help solve these important issues. I urge the government to stop ‘doctor bashing’? and meet wih us to try and prevent our medical system from degenerating to the likes of those in Britain or the United States. Leon Bard, M.D. North Vancouver Friday, July 10, 1992 ~- North Shere News - 7 d into our consumerism SICK AND TED OF CANWDIANS RUNNING DOWN CANADA... GONNA B GOOUTAND BUY TRE BISEST DARN A GNA HAGLOAN ERD? childhood, I feel fortunate that I experienced a real Main Street with local character and com- munity spirit. The French-Cana- dian family who ran one of two grocery stores in the town. The Lebanese family who had the clothing store. The elderly baker who gave every child a free bun, pulled from brick ovens with long wooden paddles. No doubt it ~~ wasn’t as idyllic as my memory paints iz, but there was definitely a certain spirit there. ‘ Malls and cross-border shopp- ing are probably here to stay. But N. Shore News LETTERS TO the editor must include your name, written legibly, your full address and telephone number. Due to space constraints the North Shore News cannot we owe it to ourselves and future generations to question our - behavior. As someone who has fallen into the trap of shopping to meet emo- tional needs I know that playing Super Consumer can never fill a void in an individual's spirit. And as a recreational activity, belching our way across city and state to “ buy things we think we need isn’t - * helping to keep this area liveable. I don’t remember our family shopping as a recreation on a reg- ular basis — we shopped when we needed things. Mailbox policy. publish ali letters. Published. . letters may be edited for brevi- ty, .clarity, accuracy, . legality and taste. Letters can be faxed to 985-3227 but still must: be signed and fully addressed. NOW THAT we've seen the NDP government in action, how do they look? The North Shoro News survey crew recentiy asked 4117 peo- ple “Has the NDP govern- ment done a good job so far?” Of the 411, 106 or 25.8% said “Yes.” A larger number, 158, or 38.4% said “no.” Sixty-four people had no opin- ion, 22 thought things were the same as before and 61 respondents did not know.