6 - North Shore News -— Friday, May 26, 2000 Supreme Court of Canada should do the right thing and let the American justice em proceed in the case of Glen Sebastian’ Burns and Atif Rafay. An extradition hearing took place earlier this week in Ottawa concerning the two North Shore residents. Burns and Rafay have been in jail since their arrest in North Vancouver in 1995. The pair are charged with the planned murders of Rafay’s_parents and handicapped. sister in Beilevue, Washington, in July 1994. An wnder- cover police investigation yielded. con- fessions from the pair, who were 18 at the time of the crimes. Burns allegedly bludgeoned the family members to death with a baseball bat as Rafay watched. The motive was Rafay’s ‘inheritance of fife insurance and his mailbox Editorial a wake-up call for NV residents y? jtorial regarding the North Vancouver District budget was on the mark. Although the zero increase important step many could argue and with justification ee at the expense of the District ‘that! it. was’ a Hi ey Deel poral Fund wil be the test. .Usin up this VIEW POINT-— Justice delayed { parents’ house. Washington State has the death penalty as a possible sentence for conviction. Former federal Justice Minster Allan Rock issued an extradi- tion order without asking for assur- ances from the United States for no death penalty. Two of three judges in the B.C. Court of Appeal disagreed with Rock. The case was appealed fur- ther to the Supreme Court of Canada. Earlier this week the Supreme Court reserved judgment in the case. Lawyers for the pair argued that sending the two back to the U.S. to - face the death penalty would shock the Canadian conscience. Our government is not obliged to protect those who face extradition to face capital crimes in foreign states. In this case it is not the Canadian conscience we should be worrying about. Blood was brutally spilled south of the border. Dip YOU KNOW OTTAWA HAS FA DATABASE WITH UP S ABOUT To 2000 DETANS AB [ EACH OF 33.7 MILLION CANADIANS? | OIRRECO Give ‘EM A CALL. ASK ‘EM WHERE MY OTHER Soe Js. WV rec centre is done de deal rusty, crystal ball, I predict: cum-community centre will be built. It’s all over but the talking. And the talking is mostly win- dow-dressing. In their hearts I sus- pect that all members of West Van council have - made their decision. It’s a done deal, folks. (Don’t ho-hum over this issue, North STARING into the Garden of Biases’ ever-trusty, if slightly West Vancouver’s western recreation- dealing with the recreation facilities mas- ter plan. His words, as always, are mea- sured and seasoned by decades of political experience: “I'm becoming 1 more convinced that it’s (building the centre) an af appropriate step to | Pausing to laud planner Nichol as vi ‘a damned good profession: Williams emphatically ; underlines that not all” the facts are in, no deci- . sion hasbeen made, “and that’s why we’re going through this excruciatingly careful instead of allowing it to accumulate and using te cover capital ¢ 4 inter- itures, a9 was originally planned, is ¢ most elementary business principles. has corrupted every aspect i poltdchs did so in the ' mumunity is too apathetic to tc ve No problem accepting fiscal «: competence in Victoria, ‘recognizing such shortcomings in / their ow difficult. 5 anica hail has | proven more ght.claim that they: ‘who have read your editorial chat wake-up call. The rest is up Pte represen tives on mt district council. H especiaity che popul. There are no barriers prohibiting or "» inhibiting citizens of all three North ‘Vancouverites. Many of . you will use the new centre, just as many use the present one at 22nd Street — jar Seiziors Centre. Shore towns from nipping over the bor- ders to use the others’ toys, libraries etc.) After the emotional rejection of the 1998 menu of possibilities for the site on ’ Marine Drive around, and on, Glencagles . Golf Course, the political momentum is . now % unstoppable. A rejection again is unthinkable. If any councillor has lingering doubts, they'll be __ short-circuited by reflections on n pol itical " self-immolation. That’s my reading of the i issue after a _ Closer look at the documents and 2 thor- 2 ough sessic session last Friday generously given : “by y Plannin g director Steve Nicho! ; ¢ mi ‘ost telling evidence comes from os Allan Williams, who commands more process.” My doubts remain: Item: I say we're incrementally mov- ing along the process and, in effect, are ast the municipal equivalent of approval in principle. Item: The 22nd Street pool is lightly patronized at many times including week-: day afternoons . Item: Ditto the splendid weight room at Eagle Harbour’s small rec centre. Its users on a recent afternoon: One young, woman. I checked again a few days later. A 100% rise: Two young women. Item: A number of rec centre courses © are cancelled. Not enough interest. Granted that a new centre would draw _~ patrons who ignore little Eagle Harbour. And tireless council-watcher Carolanne ' Reynolds stresses the point that its facili- ties should complement, not duplicate, : the 22nd Street centre’s.-” Item: In 1998 the cost to move that short stretch of Marine Drive to create a ©" $19.95), produced with fine profess ns - tism by, . respect than any other political figure in our town, and who chairs the —.take a - th —- standing committee of council — estimated $665, 000, services included. “ LENTERS TO TRE EDITOR iriust include your » name, full: address and. telephone. number. * -Subalt via o-mail tr: treashaw@asaews.com.. Now it’s a stunning $1 9 million, of which, says Nicholls, $900,000 would be. — necessary anyway to “update old services. _ Still a huge jump. Item: Proponents have roundly slagged opponents — notably Keith -. Bower of the Gleneagles Area Ratepayers Association — for claiming that some of © * - the land could be sold for residences and some trees removed, Fact: Both “pro-. posed” and “possible” residential devel-. opment areas are clearly on the map, : andiec: * some — not all — such options require - cutting trees. I’m less bothered by that pros rospect 0. than I am by the denials that't the ee bil ities even exist. I still strongly favour the plan fora “reborn, sparkling 22nd Street: I’m not ° et convinced that our towr: of 42,00 far the highest-taxed in the Lower : .Mainland — badly needs a $6-millior and-counting second major centre: ; 400 1 don’t. have space todo justice to our. own Charles Campbell’s timely new. book’ Betrayal <> Deceit: The Politics 5 Canadian Lue: ievation, (Jasmine Bi ism by West Van’s Gordon Soules Book . dtin proof and endorsed it. “tes s a preat labour of love and petri well-informed Campbell, Brel it circumspectly « details the ‘shenanigans : Vor immigration ‘aLusés th our newspapers: =. y Sp: S ac G more practical site for the centre was an ©: |.