Wednesday, December 10, 1997 — North Shore News - 9 (= Capilano @em College AT CAP ® For the birder on north shore news MAIL Box Counselling contributions Dear Editor: Re: The North Shore Counselling Centre’s “The Beart Goes On.” On Oct. 4, 300 people enjoyed a fantastic evening of dinner and dancing, as well as live and silent auctions at _ “The Beat Goes On,” presented by the North Shore Counselling Centre. : Over $61,000 was raised and will be used to help the counselling centre to continue to provide affordable coun- selling to all who seck it. at This tremendously successful evening would not have ‘{ been possible without our corporate sponsors. _ We are so grateful to our major sponsors the North -Shore News, Printers Graphics, North American Property Corporation, Royal Bank of Canada, Westcoast * Energy, Canac Microtel, Sterling Pulp Chemicals Ltd., . Wood Gundy Charitable Foundation and Watson : . Gloves. It is‘so important for charitable organizations to have the support of businesses in of you ’ Shore Counselling Centre. ‘Jean Lawrence : President Board of Directors our community. Thanks to all m the staff and Board of Directors of the North " North Shore Counselling Centre NORTH SHORE NEWS MAILBOX POLICY LETTERS to the editor must f.-be. legible (preferably type- : written): and include your name, fall address and tele- phone number. __ Due, to space constraints ¢ North Shore News cannot “One of the favourite ‘attractions at ~.1S-the Musical Appreciation Hour _ Which | am happy . to ‘organize every ~ second Sunday evening. “’*On each of these occasions an hour publish ail letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accuracy, legal- ity and taste. Submissions can be faxed to 985-2104 but still must be signed and fully addressed. of classical, inspirational/gospel or alternate music to reminisce by is represented via tapes or compact discs. Tne acceptance of “these hours is evidenced by the fact that - same thirty or so residents attend each ~ session. Their enjoyment is indicated by - their applause and thank yous.” Resident Richmond’s Premier Retirement Residence if 6 ve | 7051 Moffatt Road, Richmond, B.C. V6Y 3W2 Gal for your personal tour today! (604) 273-1225 Fax (604) 273-9253 thecareguide.com/diversicare We ware just steps away from Minors Place Seniors’ Centre | Adopt direct democracy Dear Editor: . I write in support of council’s initiative in accepting North Vancouver District Coun. Ernie Crist’s motion to study referendum machinery for North Vancouver District. The idea, as successfully practised else- where, is to allow citizens the final word on any new bylaw when a sufficient number so demand by petition. Rossland has convincingly demonstrated that the idea works, and invigorates the demo- ted white, m.p. cratic process. The Pitt Meadows experience shows in turn that rules must be carefully drawn. Properly done, access to the tools of direct democracy gives every citizen a greater sense of ownership of their community, whichever way any given decision goes. North Van District would be the largest municipality to adopt this policy to date and an important example to the rest of the province. Gordon Gibson Vancouver advertorial, December 10/97 MORE WASTE AND INEFFICIENCY Last week the Auditor General released yet another report full of examples of waste, inefficiency, incompetence and patronage within the Federal Government. As usual, he also provided updates c¢n_ problems previously identified which have stil! not been rectified, or for whica there has been little in the way of meaningful progress. His review of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) was particularly revealing, although the problems he identified will probably come as no surprise to the average voter. REFUGEE CLAIMS The Attorney General observed that the average processing time for refugee claims has increased dramatically since 1993, and there is now a backlog of approximately 29,000 claims. As a result, he wrote, “A person claiming refugee status can count on staying in Canada for more than two and a half years.” The A.G. also identified blatant patronage as a problem within the Immigration and Refugee Board and stated that, “It is essential that the selection of Board members be based on merit and that the selection process be trans- parent.” tle also commented on the Ministerial Advisory Committee which has been set up to screen IRB appointments, stating that it “... is a step in the right direction ... however, we noted weaknesses in the candidate selection process that make it difficult to ensure that the most highiy qualified candidates for the position of Board member are identified.” In addition, “The current system is open to abuse and, in general, does not provide swift protection to those who really need it ... The department does not examine claims with sufficient rigour to establish whether eligibility criteria are met.” On the same day the Auditor General released his report, | came across a list of recent Liberal patronage appointments in the-Hill Times newspaper. Included on that list was the appointment to the Immigration and Refugee Board of a former President of the North Vancouver Liberal Riding Association, Mr. Richard Vanderkooy. All we can do is hope that Mr. Vanderkooy truly resisting the urge to be like so many other recent IRB appointees. Their history is one _ of throwing common sense out the window and approving far too many applications in the face of overwhelmingly negative evidence. SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET Other “skeletons in the closet” came to light in the latest Report of the Auditor General, including; a water treatment plant on an Indian reserve that was originally supposed to cost $26,000 but ended up costing $2.3 million; confirmation that only 4,300 of 19,000 existing deportation orders have been acted upon by the Immigration Department; the revelation that the Chairman of the Labour Relations Board spent $70,700 (almost FOUR TIMES as much as the rules allowed) on his meals expense account over an 8 year period; and that Industry Canada’s small business program lost more than $210 million between 1993 and 1995. A few days before the AG released his Criticism of the Immigration and Refugee Board, the MP for West Vancouver- Sunshine Coast, John Reynolds, obtained a copy of a Vancouver Police report on a related subject. The report listed 32 individuals identified as having been referred to immigration officials. all of whom’ were intercepted by Vancouver Police for crimes committed in just one 24 heur period on Nov. 20th of this year. John subsequently wrote to the Vancouver City Police to ask whether this was a normal amount of activity for a single day, and whether, by extrapolation this means that 9,000 such crimes are being committed each year by foreign nationals in Vancouver. He has not yet received a reply, but based on the material at hand, the failure of the IRB to promptly process claims, and to immediately deport those with criminal backgrounds, is directly responsible for a significant increase in workload for the Vancouver Police, and for the associated high cost to Vancouver taxpayers. Unfortunately, the Auditor General has once again confirmed that our Federai Government operations are riddled with waste and inefficiency. A whole lot less patronage, and a bit more cemmon sense, would probably go a long way towards correcting those HELPING THE WORLD WRITE NOW CODE Selft-sufficiency through literacy in the developing world For information, call 1-800-661-2633 * toy . ey ate ele stew tata OD ADLER OES EE SESE ES AOL AB EL EE TO ale Be Ie ESO seane your holiday gift list! Take a float trip down the Squamish and Cheakamus rivers to see hald eagles feasting on cham salmon — with biologist Dr, Nancy Ricker on Saturday, January 10, $134. The price includes a hot and tasty lunch at a local inn in Squamish. Or, Dr. Alice Cassidy will take you on a guided field rip to Boundary Bay and Reifel Bird Sanctuary to observe the exhilarating habits of birds of prey such as snowy owls, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles and short-eared owls - Saturday January 24, $40. Calf Continuing Education at 984-4901 to register and/or request a gift certificate. > Adult basic education courses available There is still room available in our part- time and full-time Adult Basic Education classes, which run from January 12 to May 1. Courses include Math, English, Science, and Biology. For further information, or to book an interview, please call 983-7578. ¥> Learn te write right for various mediums The Communications Department at Capilano College is offering practical craning in writing and speech to meet a wide range of needs. Some of the courses starting in January include: An Introduction to Commercial Script Writing in Canada (CMNS 136), Computer Writing (CMNS 145), Introduction to Technical Writing (CMNS 250) and Marketing Commercial Fiction (CMNS 280). For more information, contact Lestie Savage at 983-7515, or send her an e-mail at: Isavage@capcollege.be.ca p> Career information and admission meeting Thinking of changing your career, or perhaps upgrading? Drop by an information meeting for the Accounting Support program, the Business Fundamentals program and the Legal Secretarial program on Thursday, December 11 - at 6:30p.m. in the Fir building, room 502. Call 984-4959 for more information, CAPILANO COLLEGE 2055 Purcell Way North Vancouver British Columbla 986-1911 tee eee ete eae ete ees eevee eae ere ar or ae Re ie Wea ie ee ee ee ee ee Oe Oe eae)