| Value of
alliance
proposal!
debated

Frost page 1

“The name it will go
under is Canadian Alliance,
that’s going to be the name
on the political signs, the
name on the ballot.”

On Tuesday, officials qui-
etly changed the name to
Canadian Reform
Conservative Alliance.

The Canadian Alliance is
what the Reform party wilt
become if the proposal is
accepted by Reformers in a
March referendum. It’s tout-
ed by Reform leader Preston
Manning as the way to unite
the right, especially in popu-
lous Ontario, to defeat the
Liberals in the next federal
election.

Manning has pledged to
guit ifit’s not accepted. If it is
accepted, he will run for lead-
ership of the new party.

Reform party members
voted 75% against reviewing
Manning’s leadership on
Sunday.

“The weekend was fantas-
tic,” said Reynolds, who sold
11 new party memberships.
Those who sign up before
Feb. 16 get to vote in both
the Canadian, Alliance refer-
endums.

White, MP for North
Vancouver, is less enthusias-
tic.

He anticipates some
Reform loyalists will vote
against the new party because
its constitution has loopholes
that could lessen the priority
for Senate reform and allow
the leader more power in
determining policy.

White fears the impor-

. tance of the grassroots could
be diminished.

In the wake of the conven-
‘tion, Manning _ repiaced
Reform house leader Randy
White with deputy Chuck
Strahi.

_ Reynolds said the caucus is
united behind Manning.
White isn’t so sure.

“Now that (Manning) has
been given a solid mandate to
lead us into the next election
and/or the new party with a
leadership roie, he has the
right people. on the job that
she feels most comfortable
with,” Reynolds said.

Said White: “I think it’s a

shame, because I think Randy
was ideally suited for the
house leader position.
“It’s just the risk now that
he'll be the thorn in the side
:* Of Preston for the next two
© months.”

a

NEWS photo

CHARLIE Liu (I-r), Jamil Karim, and Rob Jackson have a few tips up their sleeves
for the next CNBC Student Steck Tournament.

W. Van students turn
siock market mavens

Kaiharine Hamer
News Reporter

TIP to local brokers:
three West Vancouver
secondary students are
hot on your tail.

Grade 12 pupils Robert
Jackson, Charlie Liu and
Jamil Karim used their busi-
ness sense to score big on the
stock market last December.

The boys are all in the
International . Baccalaureate
(IB) program and members
of the school’s Investment
Group.

The IB program — recent-
ly described in Maclean’s
magazine as “the equivalent
of educational boot camp” —
is a fast-track curriculum
offering university preparation
courses (several universities, in
fact, offer first year credits for

NEWS photo Pau! McGrath

“ FEDERAL Health Minister Allan Fock spoke at a West
” Van gathering Saturday at the Park Royal Hotel.

2

IB courses) for the brightest
students in Grades 11 and 12.
An ‘A’ or ‘B’ average is
required to take part.

After narrowly missing the
top slot for several weeks,
West Vancouver’s IB trio
topped 4,999 other schools
across North America to the
post before Christmas, taking
first place in the CNBC
Student Stock Tournament.

The boys ended up second
overall in the 12-week com-
petition, in which students
track an investment portfolio
using only their wits — no
money ever changes hands.

They returned over 68%
on their portfolio, which
included leading Canadian
companies Core! and Perle
Systems.

“We did it all by our-
selves,” said Liu — who was
“surprised” by the win. “We

Catherine Barr
Contributing Writer

FEDERAL Health Minister
Allan Rock said it will take

just looked at the stock mar-
ket and read news articles and
gathered information.” .
“lve invested myself in
internet stocks since Grade 10
with earnings I’ve saved from
working at Wal-Mart,”
Jackson said. “Now my
father’s friends are all asking
me for investment advice!”
Jackson, Liu, and Karim

‘are all intending to study at

universities with what Liu
calls “rigorous business pro-
grams” —- such as MéGill,
Queen’s, or Pennsylvania
State.

Meanwhile, they pian to
take part in the next round of
competition, which _ starts
Feb. 15.

“I’ve got my E-Trade
account open,” confided IB
co-ordinator Hilary Matts.
“I’m going to follow their
advice and make big bucks!”

Sier on a heal

Allan Rock visits
West Van Liberals

leads in art
theft case

Jade, marble pieces lifted

Anna Marie D'Angelo
News Reporter adangelo@nsnews.com

A case invo}ving the theft of over $100,000
worth of art remains unsolved.

The Morgan Dawne Gallerv in Lower Lonsdale has been the
target of about five break-ins in 12 months. A Crime Stoppers
reenacument on TV this week will focus on the thefts.

The first large break-in took place on Sept. 19, 1998.

Thieves cut an alarm wire, held the front door open with a
Piece of wood and took expensive art works from the store in
the 200-block of West Esplanade.

Paintings, jade sculptures and marble carvings were taken
in the 1:30 a.m burglary. Three thieves left in a beige Nissan
Multi van.

The gallery had been open for less than six months at the
time.

Exactly one year later on Sept. 19, 1999, burglars smashed
the store’s front window with a ruck and stole three wall hang-
ings, according to the North Vancouver RCMP.

The next night yet another rock was thrown through the
store’s window. Two art works by the same artist were taken.

Glen Powell, whose wife Dawne Bringeland owns the
gallery, said a B.C. Rail employee who was on a break during
a night shift spotted the thieves. Powell said the railway
employee gave chase and was able to reach in the thieves’
teuck and retrieve a bag with the stolen glass sculptures. The
suspects got away ina red Mazda B2000 pickup.

Powell said the gallery no longer carries glass sculptures or
other types of art that seem to be favoured by the thieves. He
said security has been increased in the store. The gallery rep-

See Reward page §

Convent murder clues sought

A North Vancouver Mountie is planning to knock
on doors within the next two weeks in the hopes
of gathering more information about a 1973 _
murder.

Const. Lee Gregor is investigating
the death of Albina Christiana LeQuica.

LeQuica was 96 when she was sexu-
ally assaulted and strangled in her bed-
room at the Convent of The Child Jesus
on Dec. 16, 1973. LeQuiea was not a
nun, but lived at the convent.

The convent at 524 West 6th St. is
just east of St. Thomas Aquinas high
school.

In January 1998, the News pub-
lished a detailed story about LeQuiea’s
death.

The story was part of a series of six
murders still unsolved in North
Vancouver.

After the 1998 convent murder story
was published, local Mounties received a
tip about a car reportedly used in a failed abduction of a young
girl in the area shortly before the murder.

Gregor said that tip was followed up extensively, but did not
help further the murder investigation.

Gregor said she planned to knock on doors in the convent’s
neighborhood. She wants to talk to people who lived in the area
in 1973.

“My avenues are getting limited 27 years later,” said Gregor.
The police officer said police still want to solve the case.

COMPOSITE
drawing of 1973
murder suspect.

—-Anna Marie D’Angelo :

it.” -
In an interview before the Saturday
meeting, Rock admitted Canada’s

health-care system is in dire need of
assistance. :

spending more, it’s the way you spend’

more than an infusion of cold
cash to heal Canada’s health-
care system,

Rock addressed a crowd of fellow
Liberal party members at West
Vancouver’s Park Royal Hotel on

Saturday.

“I chink the fact that a Canadian has
got to go to the United Scates (for treat-
ment) is a national embarrassment,” said

Rock. “We should make sure that the
money is there.”

About 40 people turned up at the
West Vancouver/Sunshine — Coast
Federal Liberal Riding Association lun-
cheon to hear the minister. The stop was
part of a three-day Vancouver publicity
tour that saw the minster hand out
about $43 million in research funds.

“Money is part of it, there’s no ques-

tion,” said Rock. “But it’s not just

“Unless we fix (the system), we are
going to lose it,” he said. “And I think
we should start talking about standards
of quality.”

Rock said that he is committed to
restructuring the way funds are current-
ly being used by each province.

“People (think) they shouldn’t have

See Rock page &