& — Sunday, June 28, 1998 — North Shore News

north shore news

VIEWPOINT

Rain on parade

O North Vancouver City council-
lor Barbara Sharp wants North
Vancouver RCMP to bring some
order to impromptu celebrations like
the one that took place on Lonsdale
Avenue last Sunday following Iran’s 2-
1 victory over the United States in
World Cup soccer action.:
Councillor Sharp reported to coun-
cil Monday night that she received 2
number of calls from concerned citi-
zens decrying the loud shouts and
impromptu parade down Lonsdale
Avenue. Some of the revelers, she
learned, were even hanging out car
windows waving flags.
“The good councillor has asked the
. RCMP to present to council a report
on the event, and has also referred the
issue to council’s police liaison commit-
tee.
Tes wonderful to see’ a politician

dents?

Jacks?

ae “a(The captain) spun the stern of the tug into the bow
of the'ferry and steel met aluminum and steel won.”
.C. Ferries spokesman Clay Suddaby, on a minor colli-
sion between a tug and ‘the new fast ferry during the launch
of.the aluminum vessel. (From ¢ a June 26 News stary.)

thing, he does it well.”
us Jane’ Martin, after ‘tece that hit her house
sliced into the kitchen just a few feet from Martin’s head and
Jodged itself into a wall decorated with collector plates. The
‘plates,which‘her husband had. mounted to the’ wall with
Te Noes emained i in + place, and undamaged, (From a June
: civ:

Bre X mines "There aly is no gd
uver as tisk

“But Yd pe coun 29, becouse there’s all these

bea tiful ‘girls there (in the malls; and they’re all rich.” _

Sixteen-year-old’ Erich Darr, on ‘his life on the streets and
andling for money ‘at North Vancouver malls. (From a
Vine 21: News story. d° : \

| MLA « ‘Jeremy “Dale
off ng opinion on North Vancouver District environmen-
tal protec manage! Mel Kotyk. (From a June 2 21- News

‘My inner. peace went to outer sj ace.”
Gillian : Guess, summa “feelings after. she. was
guilty’ of ‘Obstructing justice (From a June 24 News

North Shore News, founded in 1969.95 an

subuiban newspaper and qualdied ‘

independent
1 nde Schedule $11, Paragraph 111 of the

san " Edgemont Sesident,.

take swift action on behalf of her con-
stituents, but was the [ranian celebra-
tion any different from past Stanley
Cup parades or Blue Jay parties that
took place here earlier this decade?’
Why wasn’t the issue raised back then
if it is of such concern to local resi-

The bigger,.more important, and
more uncomfortable question is would
councillor Sharp have received similar
complaints had it been the English side
that won a big game? If the flags flying:
from car windows had been: Union

The North Vancouver RCMP
reported no problems associated with
last Sunday’s celebration — save some
traffic snarls. If anything, the Lonsdale
Avenue party brought a little sponta-
neous life to an otherwise lifeless
Sunday afternoon.

THE medicare c crisis.is like Mark
Twain’s weather. Everyone talks
about it but no one does any-
thing about it — the only idea
around being to

fling more taxpayer

money: at it.

In Canada, at any
rate. South of the bor-
der, where they have
medical coverage prob-
lems of their own, the
imagination | flows more
freely...
“One example is an.
entirely new way of .
delivering health ‘care: :
services, now being tried in the U.S. —
health care allowances.
Meanwhile, the Toronto-based —
Consumer Policy Instinite has just

released a feasibility study on introducing .

such a system in Canada. It suggests the

system could save medicare $6 billion a

year, while giving Canadians a wider
choice over health services. How would
this seeming miracle. work? .
Every Canadian would get a yearly
health core allowance based on age and
gender. A “threshold” would also be set,

above. which governments would pick up,
the rab for all additional health care costs.

The novel, cost-saving feature is that the’
allowance would be lower than the

threshold: © 2. ,
For example, says the CPI study, 2 a 30- :

year-old-male would have a yearly

“allowance of $416, while his threshold

would be $520. So if his medical costs
exceeded $416, he. would’ have to © pay the

Excise Tax Act, is published each Wadnesday,

Friday and Sunday by North Shere Free Press
,_. Utd and distnbyted to every door on the North
‘Sales Product Agreement fo, 0087233.

°, Meadin} rates available on request.

* Disuibution Manager
6 988-1337 (24);

PETER SPECK’
Publisher =: :
“985-2131 (101) -

“IMPRISONED FOR YouR OPINIONS?
TORTURED FOR YOUR POLITICAL
BELIEFS? You THINK

FOR A NON-

UNION FIRM! /

next $104 our of his 0 own pocket until
medicare kicked in at $520. From then
on all approved treatment would again be
free. In effect, therefore, the $104 gap
between allowance and threshold would”
be a Kind of insurance
deductible —— and
could be waived for:
low-income earners.
The scheme is geared
to the sacred U.S.
~ belief in personal incen-
»., tive. Ifour'sample male
» didn’t use up all his
-. $416 by the year-end,
| half the oalance would.»

“go to government, with .

‘the other half carried
oo over to the following
year — to be used either for non-

medicare’ services (¢.g., chiropractic, den- 7

tal, ete.).or to cover any future ®

be invested in an RRSP.’

This, they estimate, would ‘cut ‘dows :
on many unnecessary doctor's s office v vis
its. .

.. But — the critics ask’

ignoramuses who postpone getting pre-
_ Ventive care in order.to save. on their

allowance, thus leading to much costlier’
“treatment.later? Not so, say the scheme’ s

backers. Routine check-ups, cancer,’

screenings and similar. preventive. se

would be put on cost-free medicare.

. Reduced fraud and ‘abuse are othe

financial pluses promised by health | care 7

allowarices. .
Admittedly, it would be: quit

plex operation (although nothing tha

today’s computers couldn’t handie);: Eve

in the States, howe ever, it is still bein,

"more taxpayer. dollars.i

~ birthd

“demerits of the systema
the point. . ;
‘The importance of che cance
simply. in the fact that someone has bot
ered to figure out an entirely new theory
for financing health éare:that could sav
total costs Ww hite serving onsumers be
ter. 7
Ti his i is in stark contrast to Canad
‘where — aside from a suggested :$10 fee
for doctor’s Office visits —~ all thin!
date appears confined to. pouring ever:
s.into, medicare:
Largely. overlooked this side‘Gf.t
- border is that medica:
lems aise less:from the
of the'system than’
which it function
Trvi

- “deductible.” Accrued moncy fight even “ch

" grats to focal Tealty ic
“who last. Tuesda

“Wee Vani Major Pat Boname.
28 i

y today, June:

misty
g does not:necessarily signify.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters must include your name,
full address & telephone number,

VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ divect.ca

imothy Fi
Managing Editor

985-2131 (116)

° Gall Sneigenve
. General Office Manager”
995-2131 {105}