The tor hors ‘ew is lished by Moth Shore Free Press Ltd., Publisher Peter Saeck, * from 1139 Lonsdale Avenus Hort Vancouver, 8.0., V7M 2H¢ PETER SPECK Publisher 985-2131 (101) * pera Dea Dhativeal ‘Huma Resoutoes Manager 905-2181 (177), < Comptraties 885-2131 (133) Linda Stewart ‘Sales & Marketing Ditector S00-0511 al 4) Managing Editor 985-2131 (116) Valeria Steghenson Display Manager - Classified Manager sab atT - Birbora Emo oenine tee. Production Manager 08-1837 (124) 985-2151 (127) 685-2031 (114) - Andraw WicCretie-Sperts/Corm wai 985-2131 (147) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Lettsrs must include your name, full address & telephone number. via Intemet: trenshaw @ direct.ca ' COMPUTER BBS - 980-8027 _ User ‘(D:malthox * Password:tanors i" ‘th lef, Genesee $.con “Wor Share Sv, farce in 1007 as an inkgert* suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedde 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is publishad oxh Wedhcalay, Friday and Sunday by North Shure Free Press Lad. and dismibvsad tn every door on the Nevth Shore. Canseha Post ‘Canadings Publications Mail Sales Product Agnetment No. OK7234, Mating ts aval in) raga. EER Goya 6x soa a Se ee ee Entire coments © 1996 North Shore Fiee Fress tld. All rights reserved. v2 AND THANK YOU LORD, FOR ALL THOSE WONDERFUL BRITISH COLUMBIANS [WHO VOTED REFORM } nderwa "T'S disturbing how undervalued the arts remain in ‘the public eye. In the North .Shore’s case, music is getting the shaft. ‘North Vancouver secondary school stu- dents worked the media last week getting out their message with what they hope will be a successfui pre-emptive sirike in a bid to main- tain music programming. A. day of performances on Sunday at Argyle sounded the alarm. North Vancouver School District 44 trustee Bob Smith is scrambling to slay the district’s $5-million debt dragon, = One of the cost-cutting strategies is a pro- posal to limit students to eight courses annu- ~ ally, Students in North Vancouver can currenily take up to 14 courses, including music. An eight-course maximum would reduce ‘ the number of electives available to students 5 wed arts who must take academic courses to meet graduation and university entrance require- ments. . Music is not a frill or luxury item. It has . been shown that children whe learn an- instrument are doing much more than mak- _ ing pretty sounds. Students who play music actually enhance their abilities in other areas. The brain is wired to learn. However, there is a line of thinking: ‘out’ there that goes something like this: elective courses such as music do not directly enhance employment skills. ; Music is frivolous and musicians are stack- ers who we begrudgingly tolerate as if they are a strange species of children who have simply refused to grow up. Wrong. Music is essential. Let’s support it in our schools, SRIST one The’ ‘Is unworke ee SOO ores cay oak Overhaul charter Dear Editor: The recent provincial clec- tion coverage by the News was more extensive than ever before. Undoubtedly this was one of the contributing factors for the high voter turnout on the North Shore. Hopefully the News will be able to give equal coverage to the upcoming municipal election in November. ; Compared with municipal- ities in other regions of the province, voter turnout in the . City and the District of North Vancouver during municipal elections in the past has been abysmal. We need all the help we. can get to change this sad sit-" uation and we look to our own community - paper for assistance, greater’ influence .. -‘onour * J daily, lives: than any © other level ; of g govern- ment... Let's: also hope that the NDP will: pursue the proposed replace- ment of the/archaic Municipal Act which has guided munici pal-provincial relationship for ’ the fast 120 years with a new. community charter. The idea advanced by - ... Gordon Campbell i is an idea Municipat Act able. “whose time has come... Hopefully the NDP.will tise to the level of statesman- — f. ship required to make ‘it reali- ° | ty. The current Municipal Act. ” js simply unworkable. Ernie Crist North’ Vancouver District” Counellior HOT on the heels of the right-wing parties’ gift to B.C. -~- up to five more years of NDP govern- ment —- Preston Manning’s federal Reform Party hits town tomorrow. Dogged with the same headache. Noel The occasion is the party's annual “Assembly” Thursday to Sunday at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre — with Manning's keynote speech ata $10-a-ticket, everyonce-welcome rally Saturday at 5:45 p.m. Though Manning rejects provincial Reform parties and is hardly on speaking terms with B.C. Reform leader Jack Weisgerber, they share a common, politically life-threatening problem: how co bring about an election-winning merger of squabbling right-wing factions. Weisgerber failed with cocky Liberal leader * Gordon Camptell — last year riding high in the polls and confident he needed no help from B.C. Reform. Manning hus failed with federal Tory’ leader Jean Charest who regards Reform as a nuthouse for redneck extremists. Meanwhile, Manning's recent hasty suspen- sion of two Reform MPs for anti-gay comments Wright — plus the resignation of a third who chastized her allegedly red- neck colleagues too Joudly in public — hus badly weakened the caucus. Many grassroots members are now asking where the party that promised to let its MPs speak for their constituents is headed, The root of the problem is, : of course, the nature of the hither boast, Centre-to-left parties —- the NDP and Chretien-edition Liberals — are conformist and opportunist. In grabbing for power they bend backward to be all things to all people and stroke every spe- cial interest able ¢o yield a few extra votes. They rank party discipline above personal principles and make political correctness their supreme law. By contrast, supporters of centre-to-right par- ties are all over the map — their key characteris- tic being individualism and a stubborn insistence on thinking for themselves. They are far less amenable to party discipline and solidly dedicated to freedom of expresston, They may agree fairly easily on certain items like job creation, taxes, the debt, and law and order. But on other red-hot topics — gay rights, women’s rights, abortion, parental responsibility, and yon Manning's moment of truth nears immigrants aiid refugees, aboriginal claims, the future of medicare and, as always, how to han- dle Quebec — right-wing opinions can differ widely and sometimes (e.g., on gay rights and abortion) intractably. It takes rare political genius to build a work- ing consensus on ail these issues araong party members who dentand, as an MP's basic rights, freedom to put his constituents first and freedom - of speech. In contrast, all the NDP and Chretien need do is crack the party whip. By Sunday we may get some inkling of whether Preston Manning has that gertius, It will take much longer to discover whether, such genius exists to forge a party that speaks for B.C.’s 60% of anti-NDP voters. But in a growingly complex world the real question may be simpler. Is workable govern- ; ment any longer practicable unless MPs and MLAs are ready to check their personal princi- ples at the caucus room doar? Can Reforin's founding ideals of individual- ism and the supremacy of constituents ever pre- vail against politically correct party machines? aaa. MANY HAPPY RETURNS of today, June 5, to West Van's Edna Morse — hope she’s a Tory, since she shares her birthday with former PM Joe Clark! mag WRIGHT GR WRONG: The boss says “Go; the leader says “Let's go!”