ivth deta Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter adangelu@usnews.com THE North Shore's chief medical health officer plans to review medical charts relating to 23 babies born last year at Lions Gate Hospital with congenital limb deformities. _ The number of documented cases of congenital limb detor- mities almost doubled from the 12 cases recorded the previous year at the hospital, according to North Shore Health Region (NSHR) information _ The number of deformities increased despite 220. fewer hirths at the hospital compared with the previous year. From March 1999 to the end of last month, there were 1,449 chil- dren born at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH). In 1998-1999, 1,669 births were recorded. The 23 congenital limb deformities recorded last year are aiso significantly higher than the 15 cases recorded in 1997- 1998 when 1,637 babics were born at LGH. Congenital limb deformities include “severe cases” in which children are born without limbs or part of their arms and legs. The category also refers to babies born with web toes, club foot, inward or outward turning legs and hip clicking. NSHR chief medical health officer Dr. Brian O'Connor was " unavailable for comment to press time. But NSHR spokesman Clay Adams said O'Connor will take approximately qvo weeks to complete his review, Author leads GH food fight in North Van. Genetically modified food debate fills Centennial Theatre Chi Bryan . Contributing Writer IS wur food safe? Axcording to Brewster Kneen, we can’t be sure. “At best, we can say we don’t know,” said Kneen, author of Farmugeddon: Food and the Culture of Biotechnology, speaking Wednesday night at a forum on genetically modified (GM) foods at North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre. About 100 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the Council of Canadians, a non-partisan public interest group. The evening was intended as a debate featuring a speak- cron each side of the issue, bur Hennie Van Vuuven, who was “slated to speak in favour of GM foods, didn’t show up. The Raging Grannies kicked off the night, singing songs such as The Chemical Restaurant and The Jolly Gene Giants. Kneen said a recent booklet entitled Food Safety and You dis- tributed to 15. million households by the federal government amounts to “a piece of propaganda.” The booklet was produced at a cost of $2.53 million, said Kneen, and fails to mention that there is no longer such a thing _ as independent testing of food in. Canada. Testing is contracted out to the same companies — such as Monsanto — who seek certification, he said. . “Here we are, guinea pigs, exposed to experiments without controls, and they call it sound science?” said Kneen, who farmed in Nova Scotia for 15 years. Most of the people who addressed the crowd Wednesday, _ including, Kneen, called for clear labelling, so customers could decide for themselves. “If this is so good, why don’t we have labelling?” Kneen said. “The fact that you’re hiding that from us makes me deeply suspicious of what you’re up to.” See Labelling pane S increased number of babies born at LGH with deformities “Right now, given the potential for public concern and alarm we do want to do this as sean as possible and we will be very open about it,” said Adams. Adams pointed out that in carly 1999 when the higher number of cases began to be recorded, LGH started to use a computer system and data base that B.C. Children’s Hospital operates. The system is used throughout the province. “Lt requires us to be much more thorough in documenting, any birth anomaly,” said Adams. Adams said that among the 23 babies, two had missing parts of their limbs. North Vancouver resident Jackie Coupland said she ts aware of three North Shore babies born last year missing a part of their arms. Coupland’s own daughter Siri was born last May at LGH missing her left hand. Coupland had planned her pregnancy and was careful about her health, She and her husband Bruce have no family history for a limb anomaly. “When it happened I was completely blown away ... And I am not the only one who had that experience,” said Coupland, who also has a four-year-old son. Coupland, 33, said she was aware of another North RAGING Grannies opened a forum addressing genetically engineered foods on Wednesday night at Centenniaf Theatre. Friday. Aprit 14, 2000 - North Shore News - 3 tiated Vancouver baby born missing part or an arm A West Vancouver mother contacted Coupland dns week abour her baby who was abo born with a missing parlor ae arm, “Pd like to know af there as anything in the environment thar is a potential hazard.” said Coupland. Coupland’s father-in-law is a medical doctor hho has worked at LGH tor years. Her brother-in-daw is famous author Douglas Coupland. Jackie Coupland expressed concerned about three ultra- sound scans taken while six was pregnant in which her daugh- ter’s missing limb below her forearm was apparendly not detect- ed. She had one sean early in her pregnancy ata North Vancouver clinic and two scans at LGH when she was seven months pregnant, Jackie said counting fingers and toes is done at Children’s Hospital and her Internet research appears to show it being a standard part of the ultrasound test. Jackie said that if a baby’s fingers and toes are not examined in an ultra- sound, a mother should be informed and have the option of paying for the information in another ultrasound. Jackie said thar she could have been more emotionally pre- pared had she known about her daughter's missing hand before the child’s birth. She noted the lack of support and information given to her at LGH after Siri was born. Meanwhile Adams said that residents should not speculate about the limb deformity statistics. “When people look at these numbers on face value they start to think there is something strange happening in the environment,” said Adams. Katharine Hamer News Reporter khamer@nsnews.com TREVOR Slobogian, the 21-year-old son of Eron Mortgage Corporation principal Brian Slobogian, was found dead on Sunday. The body of the young man was located in the Folkestone Way townhouse in West Vancouver where he lived with his mother, Onalee. According to the Vancouver coroner's office, West Vancouver Police are investigating the case. West Vancouver Police refused to comment. Eron was registered as a mortgage broker from early 1993 until Octuber 3,1997: the day its licence was suspended by regulators. By then, over 3,000 investors had given Eron a total_of $220 million for a number of develop- ment projects including the Seasons Memorial Park mau- soleum in North Vancouver. Investors have banded together as the Eron Lenders’ Committee and have been pur- suing a class-action lawsuit against mortgage registrar Robert Hobart and the province of B.C. They allege that Hobart was negligent in filing to suspend or revoke Eron’s licence at an earli- er date. ” t is likely that only $40 mil- lion (18%) of the $220 million owed will ever be recovered by investors from the security taken trom the loans. They want the NEWS photo Jutle Iverson Charges approved against promoter “27227 . Katharine Hamer ruled Feb. 29 that the mortgage registrar did “not owe a duty of News Reporter CROWN counsel has approved 15 weapons-related charges against a West Vancouver stock promocer. Nik Markovina, 57, is charged with three counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, four of unau- thorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon, hve of careless use of a firearm, one of con- travention of storage regulations, and two of posses- sion of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammiu- nition. Markovina, described by police as being involved in the jewelry and art business and by former associ- ates as an avid gun collector, was the resident of a 2200-block Argyle Ave. house raided by West Vancouver police on December 2 last year. Local police were acting on a request to assist U.S. authorities. Police in King County, Washington contacted the West Vancouver force during the course of an investi- gation into extortion and death threats reported by a Seattie area woman. At the time the search warrant of Markovina’s home was carried out, West Vancouver Police Sgt. Tim Almas said the department was working on an investigation alongside the U.S. Bureau of Alcohel, Tobacco, and Firearms and municipal police in King County. , West Vancouver police seized six high sowered rifles, five shotguns, five handguns, four prohibited knives and a stack of ammunition. Charges were also laid against Markovina's busi- ness associate Angela May Noir: one of possession of a firearm or prohibited or cestricted weapon at an unauthorized place (a location other than that indi- cated on a licence), and two of transfer of a firearm without authority. Noir is scheduled to appear at North Van provincial court April 19. A date for Markovina’s first appearance will be set at that time. care” to the lenders. The fenders are now hoping to take their case to the Supreme Court of Canada. Brian, Onalee, and Trevor Slobogian were all among those named by the registrar as third parties in the lawsuit. Brian Slobogian — who no longer lives in B.C. — was sus- pended for life and fined by the B.C. Securities Commission ear- lier this year. a