Friday, September 25, 1992 ~ North Shore News - 3

THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION cory

Electoral machine gears up for referendum

North Shore ridings need enumerators to compile eligible voters’ list

THE FEDERAL electoral machine is gearing up to pro-
cess voter response to the political question of the year: Do
you. agree that the Constitution of Canada should be
renewed on the basis of the agreement reached on Aug. 28,

1992?

- The Oct: 26 constitutional ref-

erendum will be the first for the
country in -50 years. The nation
addressed the issue of conscription
‘with a referendum in 1942.

- ‘But the two North Shore federal

H.'. electoral ridings need about 300

energetic people ready and able to
fill out forms and fill in a good
pair of walking shoes.

Enumerators can earn approxi-
“mately $300 each from Oct. 2 to
Oct. 7.7

‘Contrary’ “to popular opinion,
: ‘there i is no such thing as a perma-
“nent list of voters.

‘Said, Capilano-Howe Sound
“returning Officer Betty Smith,
“This is something the public are

uite ‘unaware of. They’ think that

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

because they’ve lived in a house
for 20 years, they are automatical-
ly on the voters’ list, and that’s
not the case.

“Each time there is a general
election there is a new enumera-
tion.”

The Capilano-Howe Sound area
includes. the section of North
Vancouver west of the city/district
boundary south of West . 23rd
Street and west of Mosquito
Creek north of West 23rd, all of
West Vancouver, Bowen Islard,
Lions Bay, Squamish, Whistler,
Pemberton, D’Arcy, Mount Cur-

rie and Britannia Beach.

An estimated 54,500 voters live
in the riding.

Said Smith, ‘Basically the rules
we are following as far as the vote
are the same as for a general elec-
tion.

*‘We are doing an enumeration
which means we will be having
people going door to door, .and
they will be wearing big buttons
that will be identifying them as
enumerators. -

‘*We have seniors who are very
leery about answering doors to
strangers. These people will be
wearing big yellow buttons with
the Elections Canada logo, and
they have an appointment form
signed by me.”

The urban area of Capilano-
Howe Sound requires 220
enumerators. As of Wednesday
the returning office had 115.

According to North Vancouver
assistant returning officer Betty.

C harlottetown Accord highlights

“BELOW is a summary of
‘the’ highlights from the
Aug... 28, 1992, Charlot-
tetown | Accord, Canada’s
‘proposed package of consti-
titional reforms...

The document is the product of
“series, Of meetings on constitu-

‘tional reform that began in Ot- -

tawa-‘on’, March 12,°. 1992, and
culini ated in. Charlottetown on
ug; 27 and 28, 1992.
Canad. Clause:
Provides a- statement of the
country’s fundamental values and
uid” guide. Canadian courts in
Dterpreting . -the. entire
nstitution, including the
harter of Rights and:Freedoms. »
Recognizes Quebec.as a distinct

ety: within © Canada ard in-.

udes a. statement of ‘commitment
2 cand: ‘their govern-

cial ‘ and ethnic eas

yual cultural diversity: gender.

"337 seats, 42 more than the cur-

ch province would be assign:
each - territory

ould «be - assigned. one” senator.
itional_ seats: would be added

62; the current total i is 104.

Senators. would’ be elected iw :

‘people or by provincial or ter-
torial - legislatures. Senate ‘elec-
tions’ .would :be held simulta-

sly with House of Commons.

; tions.
‘Allowance: would | be made for

‘provinces or territories to provide |

‘gender: equality’ or to designate
seats for specific’ purposes.

iThe “Senate would -have veto
powers -over bills involving fun-
damental. tax policy changes di-
rectly related to natural resources.
It would also have the authority
to:. block -key appointments, in-
cluding the heads of key regula-
tory agencies and cultural instite-
tions.

* @ Editorial Page
: i Home & Garden

CONSTITUTIONAL
QUESTION

The Senate’s approvai would
also be needed for bills materially
affecting the French language or
French culture. —

It could. block the passage of
the federal budget and other
money bills for up to 30 days.”

Senators could aiso initiate bills,

. except for money bills.

They would not be eligible for

_ federal Cabinet posts.
a e House of Commons: .

’ The new Parliament would have

rent 295-seat: Parliament.’ an
Quebec would be guaranteed at

- least one ‘quarter of House: of
Commons’ seats, and ‘would ini-.

tially-get an additional 18 seats.

Other provinces would initially
receive additional seats: Ontario,
18; B.C., four; Alberta. two.

A_ special reacjustment
House representation would _ take
place after the 1996 census.

The’ combined number of
Senators and MPs in the first new
Parliament (62 and 337) would be
the same as the current total (104
and 295).

@ Supreme Court:

The current composition of tke
Supreme Court would be entren-
ched in the Constitution.

The Supreme Court’s nine
members would include three
jedges from Quebec. Provinces
would submit lists of candidates
for the other six seats to the fed-
eral government, which would
make the final selection.

@ Trevor Lauiens
What's Going On

Printed on 10% recycled newsprint

‘of.

@ Aboriginal rights:

The inherent right of Canada’s
aboriginal peoples to seff-
government within Canada would
be recognized in the Constitution.
The entrenchment of that right
would not create new rights to
land.

Aboriginal government would
be recognized as one of the three
orders of government in Canada.

Governments , and aboriginal
pecples would be committed to
negotiating agreements that would
set outs how the right to self-
government would be im-
plemented.

@ Fedral spending:

Wavs of eliminating the
duplication of federal and provin-
cial spending would be sought.

A framework for the future use
of federel spending powers in
areas of provincial
would be established.

-Future., uses would be in pursuit
of national objectives and. aimed

at reducing overlap and duplica- -

tion.
e Immigration:

Provinces could choose to ‘have
more control over immigration.
The federa? government would be
obliged to negotiate and conclude
agreements on immigration mat-
ters.

* @ Calture:

Provinces would have exctusive
legislative jurisdiction over cultur-
al -matters within the province,
while recognizing the continuing
responsibility of the federal gov-

ernment in Canadian cultural af- .

fairs.

@ Provincial jurisdiction:
Exclusive provincial jurisdiction

would be recognized in the areas

of forestry, mining, tourism,

housing, recreation and municipal

and urban affairs.

@ The Amending formula:
Changes to the Senate and the

House of Commons wouid require

unanimous consent.

Changes to the composition of
the Supreme Court would also re-
quire unanimous consent.

Weather
Saturday, cloudy, 60%
probability of precipitation,
Sunday, sunny. Highs 18°C,
Lows 8°C.

Canadian Fublications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 9087238

jurisdiction —

Hodgson there are approximately
64,000 voters in the North Van-
couver riding.

The North Vancouver returning
office is in need of 200 additional
enumerators for the 350 required
to cover the riding, which includes
all of North Vancouver City and
District east of the  Capilano-
Howe Sound boundary.

Enumerators will be attempting
to identify the name, sex and ad-
dress of eligible voters.

Added Smith, ‘‘You must be a
Canadian citizen and 18 on or be-
fore Oct. 26. If a person’s birth-
day is Oct. 26, they may be put
on the list.”*

If a householder is‘out when an
enumerator first calls, the
enumerator will leave a card in-
dicating what time and on what
date a second visit wiil be made.

Said Smith, ‘‘What we’ve found
in the past is that quite often resi-
dents treat these things we leave at

their homes as junk mail.

“They don’t pay any attention
to them, and then they phone,
and they’re quite irate. It’s very
frustrating. :

“If the elector isn’t home at
that time, it is then the responsi-
bility of the elector to get the
name on the list,’? Smith said: :

She advises that eligible voters
missed during the enumeration.
period can call the returning office
and a revising agent will be. in-
formed.

Revising agents will be working
from Oct. 8 to 19 to pick up any-
one missed during the enumera-
tion period.

Voters can also go to a return-
ing office and register themselves
until Oct. 19.

For more information, call. the
Capilano-Howe Sound office ‘at
988-9452 or the North Vancouver
office at 985-7582.

OPPOSITION to and support for
the package of reforms. to
Canada’s Constitution known a3
the Charlottetown Accord is now

being rallied across Canada.

Anation-wide referendumon @
the accord has been scheduled “™

for Oct. 26.

On Sept. 13, The North Shore
News asked 509 North and West
Vancouver ‘residents if they
planned to vote in the referendum
and if so ‘‘Will you be voting yes

or no?”’

Eighty-six per cent of those
surveyed said they would be voting
in the referendum; of those who said -
they would be voting, 16.3% said
thay would vote yes; 22.2% said
they would vote no; and 45.5% said

they were undecided.

A further 1€% declined to give =

an answer.

DESPITE THE well-publicized absence oF salmon in ..
the Fraser River, North Shore hatcheries: are, eporting .
that.a steady number’ of coho salmon. are arriving - .

daily.

But the low water levels that
plagued the human residents of
the Lower Mainland this sum-
mer are continuing to affect
the fail run of chinook saimon
to North Shore rivers. .

Lesli Shubert, Capilano
River hatchery’s acting manag-
er, said that while over 6,000
adult coho have returned to the
hatchery so far this year, no
chinook have made it up the
river.

“It’s been a. good year with
our coho stocks, but our-only
problem is that the lack of rain
has kept the river level down,

which in turn has kept the —

chinook away,”’ said Shubert.

Chincok salmon are larger
than coho and therefore need a
deeper water depth to travel up
rivers.

Since they were introduced .

into the Capilano River in
1969, chinook salmon have
never approached the numbers

of cohc that return to the —

By A.P. McCredi.
News Reporter

river 5 hatchery each year:

. If no’ chinook. make! their’. |.
way up the Capilano River; the
hatchery has plans ‘to \ receive”
chinook eggs from elsewhere i in -
the province, ~

The good news for. “the
hatchery is that‘it has surpass-
ed the number of. adult coho
needed for next year's brood
stock. -

“We need about’ 5,000 coho
for next year, and as of Sept.”
22, 6,183 had returned to the
hatchery,’’ said Shubert. -

Meanwhile, Seymour River
hatchery..manager Janis Jervis
reported: that 1,500 coho: and
four chinook. have been
counted in pools at the com-
munity-run hatchery to date.

“We're seeing some en-
couraging numbers of fish that”
indicates we are on par with
Fust years,”’ said Jervis, :