Film jobs From page common sense approach by maintaining, the starts quo and the more than 10,000 jobs cre- ated in this province,” said Leitch. Lions Gate Studios is cur- rently hosting a feature film White Ont starring Sylvester Stallone and TV & series Millennium, Both are American productions. “While it’s difficult to argue special tax treatment tor high income carners, in this particu- far case the economic activity they bring with them is so great as to justify it,” said Peter Mitchell, director of the BC Film Commission. According to figures provid- ed by Televector Enterprises (a film industry payroll firm), approximately 2,750 North Shore residents were directly employed by the film industry last year. Collectively, they earned approximately $35.2 million Caster told to ‘tay low’ From page & ensure Mirhadi held no grudge against him. “T said, ‘Tell Mo I don’t have any problem. What hap- pened ts forgotten about.’ Everything seemed {ine,” Caster said. Caster told Stephenson that he learned of the shoot- ing when Darmadi came to see him at Metropolis. “Mo was downtown at movies, somebedy shot him eight times, that’s what he said, that’s when I found our about it.” Caster said he told Darmadi that people might think he was involved in the shooting because of the argu- ment. Darmadi told him to “lay low for a while.” “I can’t hide from any- body,” Caster told Stephenson. “Ive got a job in the mall. 1 don’t want peo- ple to think anything.” Caster said that a man claim- ing to be Mirhadi’s brother came to the store an hour before police arrived. The man said he knew about Caster's argument with Mirhadi and was intent on finding the perpetrator. Caster didn’t get the man’s name, but he said he had a rash or cut on his face. Caster told Stephenson he knew who Mirhadi and his assoviates were for three or four years, “since they were kids and troublemakers with long hair and stuff.” He said Mirhadi was “known for pushing people around and beating people up.” He speculated that Mirhadi was shot because he may have had a dispute with one of his associates. Caster said the people Mirhadi was hanging around with were “the wrong people to hang around with.” Near the end of the inter- view, Caster asked Stephenson about Mirhadi’s condition. “I’m just wonder- ing if he’s OK, what I've heard is what P’ve heard,” he said. “Is he OK, or gonna be OK?” Said Stephenson, “The bottom line, Mike, is he’s passed away.” dollar. There were 109° pro- ductions on focation in North Vancorver alone last vear. North Shore members of the film industry, like Betty Thomas, owner of Thomas Special Effcets, have started a letter writing campaign te Members of Parliament. “Right now we're really attractive because we have a double whammy, the low dollar and tax incentives. To remove the tax incentives would be dis- astrous because we would be depending solely on the low dollar and historically we know it will go back up,” said Thomas. North Vancouver Reform MP Ted White said he tears a major economic downtum in the film industry because of the new tax policy. “The direct expenditures in B.C. are $600 million in each of the last nwo years. That doesn’t include all the spinoffs,” said White. Dave Dyer builds sets for the television series Viper. He's in jeopardy concerned he might lose his job if U.S film: companies leave Canada because of tax laws. “No Amencan will come up here and remit 54% of their income to the Canadian gov- ernment. The only reason they are up here right now is they have an economic advantage,” said Dyer. Marion Dodd works in the film industry producing elec- onic press kits for productions like The X-Files. Her husband also works in the industry and she fears the tax change will ruin their liveli- hood. “If the federal government thinks that by taxing foreign film workers and actors and eliminating the federal tax cred- it is in any way going to pro- mote indigenous production, they are sadly mistaken,” said Dodd. Minister of Nationa! Revenue Herb Dhaliwal met with film industry representa- tives in Ottawa on Friday. DEMCGCRACY IS JOB ONE North District Councillor Ernie Crist wants public GVRD elections MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATION TO THE GREATER VANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT (G.V.R.D.) BOARD AND ITS COMMITTEES SHOULD BE THROUGH DEMOC- RATIC PUBLIC ELECTIONS RATHER THAN THROUGH A SYSTEM OF POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS, WHICH IS THE CASE NOW. BUT A MOTION BY COUNCILLOR ERNIE CRIST TO THAT EFFECT WAS DEFEATED WITH DISTRICT COUNCIL- LORS DEERING ROBB, HARRIS, CAROLAN AND MAYOR BELL VOTING AGAINST. A MOTION TO ASK THE UNION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MUNICIPALITIES (UBCM) TO CONSIDER THIS MATTER WAS ALSO DEFEATED WITH COUNCILLORS DEERING ROBB, HARRIS, MURI AND DON BELL VOTING AGAINST. FILLING GVRD POSITIONS DURING MUNICIPAL ELEC- TIONS WOULD BE TOO CONFUSING TO THE PUBLIC, STATED DISTRICT COUNCILLOR HARRIS. A MESSAGE FROM ERNIE CRIST Invest today. Avoid the taxbite. Each Spring most RRSP investors face the task of viewing dozens of investment alternatives. But in the confusion, a simple truth is ; :- Often overlooked: in a: ”: _ World of unlimited RRSP pee choices, its the investment " process that really makes the difference. As one of Canada’s largest private client Ftje@ invesTMENT EXECUTIVE 4:877!220-1199. NEWS photo FEDERAL tax law changes may bring a reduction to the amount of B.C. film work, such as the project Leslie Neilsen worked on in West Van a few years ago. OSTEOPOROSIS: are You at Risk? (Second in a series) voramnececes Over 2.5 million Canadian women are at risk for Osteoporosis. Many women who are careful to get enough : calcium and exercise think that Osteoporosis is someone else’s’ problem. Unfortunately, none of us can control hormonal changes or the effects those changes have on our bodies. Early prevention or detection now can make a world of difference later. The present ‘Gold Standard’ of bone density measurement is DEXA. This scanning tool is the answer to early prevention and detection. The process is quick and painless and provides precise, accurate results. $ 140” no referral required Call for an appointment 921-2624 #104 - 2419 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver 1847 ROGERS BROS™ Revival Sale! 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