" Paint technique to— fiven interiors: © 13° . It Weekty Real Estate. “fistings: a Auto.. a Classifieds..........29 : @ Crossword : Entertainment... acid D . a Heritage... : ey inside Stories. & INSIGHES. coon [BE Lautan. ccna 8 “‘g Mailbox.... BN, Shore Alert.........-8 2 P| Shore Shots. neon 24 a) SPOrts. eens 12 ; Sunshine Girl... 18 7) Tide Charts.. .34 © BTV Listings ocnonn22 * Cocal cops look forward “to DNA investigative tool.” 37 — 68. te y poeta, Speed za NORTH SHORE mayors welcome Victoria’s decision not to introduce gambling machines, but a focal RCMP officer notes the problem of illegal video lottery terminals (VLTs) remains. By lan Noble News Reporter The three’ North’ Shore. municipalities opposed provincial yovernment plans to intro- duce the revenue-generating VLTs. On Wednesday, the NDP government heed- ed that .opposition. Government . Services Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced VLTs would ‘not’ be introduced anywhere in the .. province. That didn’t surprise West Vancouver District Mayor Mark Sager. Sager said the vast majority of people clear- ly do not want VLTs introduced. _ His municipal council pulled the plug on _VLTs before the ‘province could introduce them by tightening zoning regulaticns. “West Van is aJready zoned so they couldn't be put in... but I suppose (the provincial gov- asad aa EAS Illegal video gaming continues: ~ermment’s) recognition is a good thing,” said Sager. - ; Noting the Greater Vancouver Regional District's unanimous opposition to VLTs, North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks said, “It would have been unwise of the gov- ernment to put them in.” The province’s ambitious gambling plans had called for 5,000 of the machines ‘in the province. ; By bringing in legal VLTs, the NDP hoped to halt the spread of iNegal gambling machines and boost government revenues. - In announcing the demise of the province's VLT-introduction efforts, Dosanjh said the NDP bowed to public pressure. ; : “We have received hundreds of letters from groups and individuals. opposing VLTs, and municipalities. representing about 55% of B.C.’s population have stated their objections,” Dosanjh said. ; : North Vancouver District Mayor Murray Dykeman said the province should have. con- sulted the public before announcing plans to introduce gambling machines. - “If they had done that before, I don't think we would have an announcement of them backing down,” he said. ; Dykeman. who also opposes VLTs, added Weather Saturday: Sun and clouds, Highs 21°C, lows 10°C. a NEWS photo Terry Peters NORTH VANCOUVER RCMP Const. Steve Pettit takes aim at a suspected speeder on Mount Seymour Parkway as Const. Scott Simpson fooks on. Pettit holds a:laser gun, which uses a narrow light beam to measure the speed of a specific car.’ _ he hopes the government has a plan to deal with underground VLTs-in establishments such ag arcades.) 7 - North Vancouver RCMP. Corp. Gord Oke said such machines remain a problem in North Vancouver. : : He said the police know of six machines that are likely still operating and there are oth- ers police probably don’t know about. Oke, a member of the Special Projects Unit that looks after gaming machines, said regulat- ing VLTs likely would have prevented fraud because all machines would. have been con- nected electronically. Now, machines can be easily tampered with to move the odds in the house's favor, “not that they aren’t already,” said Oke. ‘He said the machines are illegal under the Criminal Code, but prosecution is difficult. . Possession of VLTs is not prohibited. - Along with legislation to legalize approved VLTs, legislation to outlaw existing gambling machines was also in the works, Oke said: He hopes such legislation is still in plan B. “So I guess 1°] just wait to see what plan B is,” Oke said. ‘ ; ce Dosanjh said the government will offer more details on gaming policy in B.C. within a month, The decision to not introduce legal VLTs to B.C. comes: just weeks after. the province cancelled talks with provincial Indian bands on gambling on native land.