FOR A bureaucrat, Robin
Dedson either has a

i remarkably short memory
-or,else has privately under-
-- gone.the kind of conversion
..’ historically reserved for
_travellers'on the road to
Damascus.

Lok "Mi. Dodson — Chief Federal
Negotiator for. Indian land claims
in southern B.C. — ‘slaps your
_ scribe sharply on the wrist
(“Wright's treaty’ treatise chal- .
lenged,” March 31, 1995) for stat-
ing that treaty‘negotiations are .
: being held behind closed doors.
_ How, very odd! This is the same
“Mr. Dodson who, on Sunday, Feb.
- §, took part ina two-hour TV
2 “panel show on the Indian treaties
“~ process at the Centennial Theatre,
-. Carried live by The Knowledge
“Network, °°"

’-He and B.C. negotiator Linda
olson were repeatedly asked by
ublic-interest panel members if :

affected non-native third parties”
7 could sit in on the negotiations — -
vin'an advisory Or even merely an:
observer capacity, The answer
always was. an unequivocal “'n

Mr. Dodson’s letter. oebuking

Wright makes much of the.

” Framework Agreement concluded

_. .Jast year with the Sechelt Band

wa during public meetings. What he

- omits to state is that these open -.

“~~ Ineetings were completely differ-
“ent from the actual negotiation of

: treaty terms.

1-natives!

set the agenda for the closed-doors
negotiating rounds that follow,
without revealing any bargaining
positions. The intent to keep the
negotiating itself strictly secret
was re-emphasized by ‘/ancouver
East Liberal MP Anna Terrana last

, September at a meeting of the
Treaty Negotiation Advisory
_ Committee.

The government, she said, will
let the public know about general
principles that guide negatiations.
“Canada cannot, however,” she

' added, “release its negotiators’

detailed mandates to the public. To
do so would limit opportunities to
explore creative options — there
ust-be room at the table for true |.
negotiations tooccurn”
In short, shut up, you non-

- natives! Your betters in Ottawa and

Victoria know what’s best for. you
and wil} tell you in due course.
You can then biow off steam via
the Regional Advisory Committees

. with such treaties for ever because,

' them simply by throwing the

: put in the position of trying to

"Ron Irwin and B.C. counterpart
“ John Cashore can’t seem to grasp

HE PROVINCIAL government has no
problem tinkering with regional transit
except when it comes to (he tough ques-
tion of what to do with the Lions Gate Bridge.

Government officials talk at length about
contmuter rail to Mission, major bus routes
in Vancouver and they even float ideas about
SeaBus expansion across the Burrard Inlet.
Yet they are dragging their feet on the Lions
Gate Bridge issue.

The bridge, it would appear, has become a
major political football.

More than a year after the original bridge
plan “short fist” release was due and well
after the Community Focus Group passed on
its recommendations to the Ministry of
Transportation and Highways the govern-
ment has yet to make a decision.

A reasonable explanation for the glacial
pace of that decision is the impending provin-

they are kindly setting up for that
purpose. But with no guarantee
that your steam will affect much
— if at all — the Agreements In
Principle that the secret wheeling
and dealing eventually produces.
These AIPs will finally be rati-
fied in Parliament and in the B.C.
legislature by government majori-
ties. There'll be no free votes by
MPs and MLAs, much less any
local non-native referendums.
What's more, we'll be stuck

Dear Editor:

once ratified, they become part of
the Constitution. We can’t change
said:
scoundrels out at the next clection.
That said, I’m sorry for Mr.
Dodson — a loyal civil servant
doing his duty, who shouldn’t be Restricted.”

defend the politically indefensible. warned me:

That's a job for his political boss-
What Indian Affairs Minister

is that they have NO MANDATE
from voters to decide finally, in
secret, how much of the store is
given away.

violent,

MANY HAPPY returns of tomor-

I have given up going to the
movies. I don’t go very often any-
way, but when I do go, I try to
select carefully. 1 conscientiously
read reviews and ratings.

I went to the Park and Tilford
Theatre to see Shallow Grave. 1
had read two reviews, and both
gave high ratings — one, five
stars! This is what one review

“The darkest shade of comedy
suffuses this witty, stylish mur-
der-mystery set in Glasgow.

I guess two words should have

“restricted.” The latter didn’t-
es, . ‘| worry me, because 1 thought it
meant frank sexual scenes, and
that dicsn't bother me, But dark |
it was — disgustingly horribly
with tiny. specks of

cial election. No matter which option is select-
cu, many voters will be upset. Some insiders
near the selection process believe the NDP
will opt to scrap the suspension bridge design
in favor of the cable-stayed design of the Alex
Fraser Bridge.

Transportation system improvements
already announced by the government scored
same easy points. They were people-pleasers;
the Lions Gate Bridge issue, however, will
generate only negative publicity for fumble-
fingered incumbents.

Meanwhile the bridge ages and receives
increasingly expensive repairs, renovations
and modifications to maintain its safety.

But nothing has improved.

It’s a political football too slippery to han-
dle for the worn and waffling NDP, whose
oniy hope of survival in the next election is to
put off as many tough decisions as possible. «

malibox mum

Reader repulsed by
moder movie gore

humor that got washed away in
the revolting torrent of stupid acts
of terror.

In addition, at the start of the
movie, we saw previews of three
movies, all filled with horror and
gratuitous violence. ;

I'm left with a bewildered
question. Why are. we-so. sur-:

‘prised at the increase of violence .
in our communities? Is:no one:
prepared to discuss community «
standards? The newspapers could .
help here, I believe. ° a

As for the theatres themselves,
I suppose. they don’t make‘ con-
nections between what is seen on.
the screen, and what takes place °
in the community, I'm not aly
believer in censorship, but there .
are such things as taste and dis- -
crimination —I hope. ; ‘
Sheilah Thompson’

North Vancouver”

“darkest” and

North Shore News Mailbox policy

row, April 6, to North Van's Rev.

. Ray Murrin ... Ditto Friday, April
-7, to West Van's Martha Brueckel

'--« And again Saturday, April 8, to
Park Royal's Lord of the Haggis, —

Peter Black.

oe

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