OK ore consultation needed Open fetier to North Vancouver District mayor and council: At the so-called public meeting (not everyone from the com- munities involved received a flyer) held at Lucas Centre on Wednes- day, June 16, district planner Ross Taylor informed the paltry 65 or so — out of a possible 6,534 — residents assembled that it was council’s decisions to unilaterally amalgamate, without prior public hearings on the matter, the heretofore separate community plans of Pemberton Heights, Norgate, Glenaire, Lower Capilano and even the highrise dwellers from Woodcroft into one official community plan. The collective plan is spuriously being referred to as ‘tthe Lower Capilano Plan.”’ Firstly, i strenuously object to our fair community’s name being misused in this manner without the prior assent of our residents. Secondly, 1 object to Taylor’s slick but pathetic response when, asked: (A) if it had ever dawned on district council that it certainly would have been more democratic to first determine, through some kind of poll or questionnaire, whether the 6,534 members of the aforementioned communities were indeed in favor of such an amalgamation, and (B) if there exists even the remote possibility that this unilateral decision might now be perceived. by the residents as but yet another of council's high-handed, hastily conceived ideas. , Taylor’s response was certainly disheartening, because all he could . do was shrug his shoulders and glibly respond, ‘'Gee! 1 guess we could be faulted for not having asked the residents prior to our decision to go ahead with this plan.”’ I personally raised the concern ‘What's next? Dear Editor: “Do- not - be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, adulterers,. nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, aor the covetous,' nor. drunkards,’ revilers, ‘nor swindlers, ‘shall in- herit' the kingdom of God.” (J. nor fl nor ' that: (A) not only did this dubious new community planning ap- proach snack of a hidden agenda on the part of some, as yet unknown, development interests in the district, but (B) instead of this Process being a genuine com- munity preservation plan it could just as easily end up becoming one where the specific needs of one or more stronger, more aggressive, communities within the plan could be brokeraged and leveraged against the needs of several weaker ones. Finally, in the long run it could also end up becoming more of a community business plan, which | euphemistically characterized .as the new PAD-ED plan, meaning the Penetration, Assimilation and Domination hy Economic Devel- opment in all our communities. All these objections aside, no matter how administratively expe- dient or time, cost and energy- efficient such an approach to community planning may be from a district planner’s perspective, it royally stinks, in my opinion, from a local community perspec- tive, 1 personally will refrain from participating in such an unfair unilateral process until a more open process is created and we residents are given an opportunity to call into question council's wisdom in pursuing this particular approach. Jerome Irwin, founding president Lower Capilano Community Resi- dents Association fis, son, 8 hat they call ‘the political process’ WE CAN HELP ~ Ask your Doctor ¢ or call us for an appointment. Corinthians 6:9b&10, Holy. Bible, - § New American Standard version) * Whoni does the above offend? ‘Is the government going to ban. _ this publication? When? God help us! D. Griffiths 2 North Vancouver Some breath! Dear Editor: 1 must confess that I am no great fan of Doug Collins, but i did like his article on page 7 of your issue of June.23, especially the part where he mentions “tapists and racists’? — in the same breath! Pritam Singh North Vancouver Does his research Dear Editor: Often, Doug Collins is a raving racist and after a while that’s very boring. But at other times, Collins writes with style and humor on other topics and | enjoy his col- umn. 1 do appreciate that he does his research before writing and_ this sets him apart from other opinion piece columnists. Christopher Lambert North Vancouver ‘Northmount Medical Centre 302-145 East 13thSi. IG SERVICES =ISLAND ACOUSTICS 985-5552 Government Licensed Hearing instrument Spedialists and Audiologists North Shore News Mailbox policy LETTERS TO the editor must be legible (preferably typewritten) and include your name, full address and telephone number, Due to space constraints the North Shore News cannot publish all letiers. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accura- cy, legality and taste, Letters can be faxed to 985-3227 but still must be signed and fully addressed. Ted White, Candidate North Vancouver |’ Telephone: 980-5300 Herb Grubel, Candidate 1 Capllano-Howe Sound 4 Telephone: 926-6659 A CONSTRUCTIVE ALTERNATIVE This is the second in our series of articles about the Reform Party and its policies. Written by Ted White, it deals with some structural differences which distinguish the Reform Party from the old fine parties. These differences are most easily set out in point form. 1. Reformers can be clearly identi- fied as sysiem changers. They offer a constructive alternative to the lack of accountability of previous governmenis. The NDP, PC and Liberal parties are system defenders. They have had the opportunity to change our parliamentary sys- tem but have chosen not to do so. 2. . The Reform Party has built a cohesive team of Candidates by involving them directly in public meetings with Preston Manning, and by encouraging reguiar regional group work- shops for idea exchange. The Reform Party is democratically - driven from the bottom up, in direct contrast to the top-down Style of control found in the other parties. ‘ 3. a 1 Reform, Party candidates receive comprehensive training at National. Candidates Meetings where seminars cover everything from the Elections Act to public speaking. This means that Reform candidates are generaily better prepared for a role in government than are the first run candidates of other parties. Also, all Reform party candidates are democrati- cally chosen by the members in their riding. No bussing in of votes. No appointing of candi- dates by the Leader. 4, The party leader, Preston Manning, meets regularly with candidates to develop and refine policy based on the input received from both members. and non-members alike. The Reform Party realy does listen to the opinions of the voters, and the candidates influence policy ina way that is not possi- ble in the other pariies. 5. The Reform Party is the only party which already has a-j detailed, practical and workable plan for control of government spending. Others have paid lip service to balancing the budget in a certain time but have failed to place a singfe concrete pro- posal before the voters. The Reform Party concentrates on putting substance into ali of its policies. It has produced major task forces reports on Criminal Justice and changing the polid- cal system. ‘Your questions and com- ments about our policies are welcoirie and you are invited to join the Reform party for a regular flow of more dotailed information. We are asking for your vote in the the upcoming election. 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