A8 - Sunday, March 14, 1982 - North Shore News

vaca oo x

Trudeau gov't finds friends on the N. Shore

Dear Editor

Tuesday. March 2, will be
remembered tn Canada as
the day the Tomes hiacked
Parliament and took it
hostage. They did not use
machine guns or grenades as

did the rebelhous Spanish
colonels, but in seeking to
impose their minority

viewpoint upon an elected
majonty, they unconsciously
adopted the same terrorist
morality; “Meet our
demands,” they say, “or
else.” It is shocking to find
such behaviour condoned in
your editonal of Sunday.
March 7.

You claim that the Tories
have resorted to “a 700-year-
old parliamentary tradition”.

Dear Editor:

1 am quite surpmsed that
you are not aware that the
“700 year old parliamentary
tradition” you write about in
your ‘Freedom bells”
editorial is quite erroneous.

The Mother of
Parhaments, the House of
Commons in London,
England, rings the bells for a
vote for exactly eight
minutes. after which MPs

However, in view of the fact
that the current ploy has
never been used before in
the Canadian parhament,. it
would seem more reasonable

to conclude that tradition
rules against at. Our real
tradiuuons are those of
civilized dissent — members

on their feet in the House of
Commons debating the
issues — and, finally
mayority rule.

The present issue is nol
one of substance but of
procedure. The Opposition
claims that the Energy
Secunty bill is unusually
large and complex, but then,
sO 1S Our energy problem.
The draft legislation was
tabled in June, 1981, and has
thus been available for study

either vote or abstain as they
see fit. The system as used in
Ottawa does not exist in the
U_K.

If you were to spend just a
few minutes of your time
thinking out the presently
used Tory method and what
uw would do to our
parliamentary tradition. The

Canadian electorate vote
every few years (to be
governed by a political
majority (This process,

for over nine months. One
wonders whether the Tories
have simply been too lazy or
too preoccupied with in-
ternal dissension to do their
homework. In general. it 1s
difficult to see how sphtting
a long bill into four or five

pieces of legtslauon will
make the total task any
smaller. In Parhament, the

reverse 1s more probable.

Many features of the bill
are intended to put into law
the agreements labounously
negotiated between Ottawa
and the provinces of
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and
Bntish Columbia. If the
elements of these
agreements were parted in
separate bills and some were

incidentally, 1s what makes
us different from Poland or
Russia and not your off-the-
cuff remarks.) After such
vote, it as then up to the
Opposition to oppose and
seek possible amendments.
however the ultimate
legislative responsiblity stays
with the elected mayority.
After the normal number of
years it 1s then again up to
the electorate to either
accept) oor reject the

defeated (as might occur in
theory) or significantly
delayed (as might well occur
in practice), then the
agreements might have to be
renegotiated

The point here is not to
say that the Energy Security
Bill could never be split put
only to point out that the
arguments for doing so are
scarcely overhwelming — In
fact. the government has
offered to split the bill in
returmm for modest guarantees
against a filibuster. (Such
guarantees apply routinely
in the Brtush House of
Commons.) Yet, even under
a unified bill, each member
would have the mght to
speak for as long as he or she
wished on every single

polhticians who present
themselves for re-election. It
is also at that tume thal we
take cogmisance of their
behaviour dunng the past
legislative pemod. Thatis the
way our democracy works
and let's keep it that way
Those bells now mnging in
Ottawa are at best a sign of
childish frustrauon, at worst
a sign of growing anarchism

E.J. Kingsley

West Vancouver

Let’s end outdoor burning THIS spring

Dear Editor

Tomorrow might (Monday.
March 1Sth) Distmet Council
will hear Dr Olga
Avramovic ask them (to
consider banning the two
weekend backyard burning
sprees indulged in every
Spring and Fall by District
householders

Vancouver's
Health Officer, Dr David R
Kinloch Gin report dated
September 24, 1981) states

Medical

in part “Open burning
constitutes a potential health
hazard particularly to those
ciuzens whe suffer from
ctironmie respiratory disease

and is a nuisance to many
other individuals and
concludes by recommending
that “City Council per-
manently end open burning
in Vancouver not later than
the Spnng of 198? (my
underline)

Backyard burning 1s) an
anachronisiic pracuce thatis

already banned in-= many
Canadian cities. I think it ts
ome for the Distnict of North
Vancouver to take the lead
in this matter in the Lower
Matnland and “permanently
end open burning not later
than the Spring of /942'"
May I suggest that all
eiuzens who stay

have to

2 for 1is back at
The Sundowner

Baked Salmon «.: Pan-Fried Sole

with chome of potato of rice

(he duy salad Oust

(ead

vegetable of

COffee & dessert

Plano entertalnment on weekends

2 thatiebs
tor

>4 29°

Offer e@eVWnplnes
March 41

Weocater to private panes and weddings
Peat iry barre Precast thie V9? Geason

Seville s croeth Of thorseshroec Hay

921-8161

Uf) FO BO

TA
' ; on
ficome -

indoors during ‘burning
weekend attend the Council
meeting tomorrow night at &
pm. (355) West Queens
Roadito give Dr Avramovic
our moral support

Ann Hibbard
North Vancouver

clause, and each = clause
would be voted on
separately It is difficult: to
comprehend how

democracy is imperiled by
this procedure

The aftront to democracy
in the Conservative boycott
of parhament is, conversely.

very clear. If a munority,
whether Liberal or Con-
servative can thwart
majyomty rule and te up
Parhament indefinitely
whenever it chooses, then
we are on the bnnk of
anarchy.

As Liberals living in this

riding, we are keenly in-
terested in electoral and
parhamentary reform. and

we are pursuing. within our
own party,a number of ideas
to make our governing
insutuuon both more ef-
ficient and more responsive
to public opinion than they
have been in the past. We do
think

not that extremist
tacuics serve the cause of
reform

Richard D. Scott
North Vancouver-Burnaby
Liberal Associaton

Associate
Family Physicians

Lower Lonsdale Area
239 St. Georges Ave.,
North Vancouver

are pleased to announce the opening of thetr office
tor the practise of Family Medicine

Day or Night calls

Sears

985-2551

DRIVING
SCHOOL

Now on the North Shore — Free local pick-up

fox westlynan mall

985 7/615

“CHARGE IT’
On Your Sears Account

CALL

324-5120

6602 Main, Vancouver