——MAIL Box———

| Cars are tax-subsid

Dear Editor:

What the Angus Reid poll
did not tell Corrie Kost (mail-
box July 28 TransLink refer-
endum needed) was how
much in tax subsidies was
needed to support all those
car trips in the GVRD.

Back in 1993 the GVRD
commissioned a study that

Canada’s
abortion
laws
defended

Dear Editor:

Every time I read a letter
like Jeannine Henderson's
(July 30, Judgement day will
come) on the abortion issue, I
feel very forrunate to live ina
country that has a division
between state and church. The
government is not spending
extra money protecting doc-
tors whom happen to provide
abortions. Any extra security
in the clinics is with a private
security firm. And to set the
record straight they aren't
abortionists but doctors who
provide abortions to women
who don’r wish to become
parents.

Abortion is legal and will
always be legal in a democrat-
ic, developed nation where
women are regarded as more
than just baby machines and
chattels to the men in their
lives. As well, I find it the
height of hypocrisy to even
suggest that by. providing
abortions a doctor deserves to
be attacked or murdered.

I hope all these good peo-
ple who are so against abor-
tion have . adopted seriously
handicapped kids or have
become foster parents and let
unwanted children live in their
homes.

Ms. Henderson further
reveals her character when she
takes a swipe at gays and gay
marriages. In not a single
teaching of Christ's. does The
speak out against gays or any-
one else for that matter. I
believe he actually saved a
women’s life with the immor-
tal saying, “He who is without
sin cast forth the first stone.”
The religious right need to
take this saying to heart.
Marlene Morton
_ North Vancouver

poe

Please,
return

was carried out by Todd
Lipman. He determined that
the amount of subsidy to sup-
port the car’s urban usage ‘as
$2,400 per car per 4 This
study, titled Cast of iranspart-
ing people in RO Lower
Mainiand, came up with an
economy of scale whereby the
per transit passenger

hed as total number of
passengers increased. It is the
reverse for the car. The more
in the GVRD the

ubsidy required tor

I think that the

latter subsidy had risen from
$2,400 to $4,000 in 1998 —
67% in five years. Current
auto population in GVRD is

about 1.2 million and at

$4,000 that would be total of

S4.8 billion annually.

But that’s just half of it, At
TransLink’s meeting July 25
with the five North Shore area
councils, one councillor had
to feave early but betore he
left he was heard to say that
the annual car subsidy was
over $7,000 which would
total more than $8.4 billion.

The only way to dec
this cost is to deerease the
number of trips by car in the
GVRD and for TransLink to
sell more fares to thase who
live within a three-block
radius ofa wansit stop.

To the many like Mr. Kost,

ized tt

West Van councillor Durman

and BCAA who protest saving

5 is unfair, lee’s put it

Ww: S75 a vear bveaks

down to $6.25 per month or
about two lattes.

For this modest levy, no
referendum = at taxpayers”
expense, is needed.

Let's get on with the job of
moving people rather than
moving more and more cars
during, peak periods. It’s a
win-win goal. Fhe more peo-
ple on transit the more room
on the read for people in their
cars

See you at the bus stop.
Lorraine Fisher
North Vancouver

Knight’s opinions reasoned

Dear Editor:

Re: Knight’s attack a
Nazi-like strategy, July 30.

Reading Richard Dow's
hair-on-fire diatribe, aot-
with-standing his references,
brings to mind a “chicken lit-
de” the sky is falling seen

Richard, like many of his
mind-set, sounds to me, like a
dedicated alarmist. While
Leo, who ve followed for
many years in the North
Shore News, puts forth rea-
soned opinion, | share almost
all of what he has had to say.
Our group has even invited
him to speak at our annual
general meeting, you see, we
are a grass-roots bunch.

Unlike Dow, Leo speaks
what most of us feel, that the
criminal justice system is just
that: criminal.

I have no idea what life
experience Dow. has, or even
if he was old enough to live
through the Nazi era, but we
all suffered, in our way from

Organized programs for moms,

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that war.

To somehow connect Leo
with an event which occurred
before he was born is reach-

ing.

Myself, [am a veteran of

the Canadian military, (10
years RCAF) and have served
my country since as a police
officer. [ happen to nor only
agree with much of what Leo
says but would call you into
question for fecling comfort-
able enough to libel an hon-
ourable person like Leo
Knight, who as a former
police officer probably knows
far more of what he writes,
rather than calling upon our
Canadian Centre for Just

for statistical backing. After
all, it was a parliamentary
committ who falsified
police statistics regarding the
effect guns had upon the
deaths in Canada, presented
these co the Liberal govern-
ment who had commissioned
the report, and passed the

bs

oe .

i” Madeleine & $3 month old Ethan
The Kuddt

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hated Bill 68. In my opinion,
a law which will make crimi-
nals out of honest gun own-
ers while plea bargaining
away the criminal use of guns.
No, Mr. Dow your dia-
tribe will not carry out here
in the West, especially in
North Vancouver, where live
a very enlightened popula-
tian,
I invite you and Warren
Kinsella to keep
noses out of a newspaper
which I happen to like!
Len Miller
Det. Retired VPD
Vancouver

oe, <> nt?
Square Two
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Sunday, August 6, 2000 —

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