6 - Wednesday, August 3, 1994 - North Shore News Your N THE brilliant glare of semmer sun- shine, North Shore residents should bchold their hometown. To all but the most hardened cynic, the exercise will be an uplifting experience. As chronicled in Our Town, a special July 24 North Shore News feature, the North Shore is a community to be preud of by any standard. It is doubtless one of the best places to live in what a recent United Nations report rates as the best country on Earth in which to live. . The North Shore is a vibrani collection of _ established neighborhoods peopled with resi- dents who possess a diverse set of talents. it is home to over 50% of major Vancouver port harbor facilities, including major. coal, grain, ore and wood products terminals and major Lower Mainland ship- yards.. town It alone handles more commodities annu- ally than the entire port of Montreal, Canada’s second biggest deep-water port. The North Shore is also home to three major recreational mountains, two impor- tant salmon and trout-producing rivers, countless fish-bearing streams, vast areas of wilderness and outdoor recreation facilities, prime beaches and a host of Lower Mainland historical landmarks. But being good is hard work. . The North Shore’s industriai vitality and its natural attributes are complemented by the great pride of place that most North Shore residents have for the area and invest in their homes, their neighborhoods and their communities. Perfect, of course, it is not. But on a warm and bright summer day it comes pretty close. Vegan vanquishes meat-eater Dear Editor: Open letter to Mr. Donald M. Currie of North Vancouver. Wake up and smell the tofu, Mr. Currie! Few people suddenly discover vegetarianisin, as you presuppose. For most, it is a gradual process, a change in eating habits which often accompanies other improvements in lifestyle and health. This is true for my wife and me, for many of our friends, and, I suspect, for Mr. Hunter and Ms. Hogan, whom you attempt to tidicule in your recent drivel (Juty Managing Editor .. Associate Editor... 6 North Shore News Mailbox). Feeling just a bit insecure about your own food and lifestyle choic- es? Is your knowledge of food and diet based on what your mother toid you, and what you read on the back of the Fruit Loops box each morning? I wonder... Do yourself a favor (not to mention the rest of us): take some time to learn about the foods you eat. the effects they have on your body, and on the environment in svhich they are produced. You may be surprised, even Display Advertising 980-0511 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax Distribution Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subscriptions shocked. You may decide to make some changes. And you may not, which is OK, so Jong as the choices you make . are intelligent, informed, and right for you. Gh, and about the methane issue: May you oue day find yourself surrounded by a large herd of flat- ulent cattle and be moooved into Positive action and self-discovery. Good luck: Patrick Thrift North Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Newsroom Doug Fat North Shore News, founded in +969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 11 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shure Free Press Lid. and distributed io every door on the North Shore. Canada Pos! Canadian Putlications Mail Sates Froduct Agreement No. 0087236. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions ara welcome but we cafinot accept responsibility for unsolicited materiat including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. V?7M 2his be 2 8 QUNDAY + WYENRMGAT -PMIURE 1139 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver B.C. Nowth Shore Managed 985-2131 Administration 945-2131 MEMBER “ Gu SY SDA DIVISION 61,582 {average circulation, Wednesday, Fnday & Sunday) er er Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights resend. | Big bucks for treason earned only in Canada IF YOUhad just landed here from Mars, you might well be a litte mystified about the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in the House of Commons. You'd probably have some slight difficulty in understanding how such a title could be bestowed on Lucien Bouchard and his 53 fcltow MPs from Quebec, whose avowed goal is to destroy Canada. Unfamiliar with Canadian cus- toms, you might wonder why the whole bunch hasn't been banished 7or life to Ellesmere Island in leg- irons — lining up traitors in front of a firing squad being no fonger fesh- ionable in these parts. But if you found all that confus- ing, you'd be left gasping for breath about the arrangements for M. Bouchard’s Golden Years. In June he qualified for a lifetime, fully indexed MP’s pension which will take effect the moment he retires or is defeated. Not that he’s starving right now on $113,500 plus $21,300 in tax- free allowances, for a grand total of $134,800. You'd think he might squeeze a few bucks out of that 66 Long overdue reform of the scandalously open-handed pension plan for MPs is at last on the horizon... 9? towards an RRSP. But I digress. If Bouchard — now aged 56 — "had quit last month, after the mini- mum qualifying period of six years as an MP, he would have immediate- ly started collecting more than $26,000 a year for the rest of his life. He would still collect it eveu if he took another government job. And from age 60 it would be fully indexed against inflation. But Bouchard, of course, is not yet quite ready to quit. Even if Quebecers voted in 1995 to separate, he would iikely remain in the Commons for at least two further years from now. And every year as an MP increases his pension entitle- ment by another 5% of his salary. By mid-1996 that entitlement would be around $35,000 annually. Ata modest average indexing of 3% from age 60 onward, the total pay- out to the nation-wrecker by age 70 would be about $617,000; by age 75, about $882,000; by age 80, some $1.2 million. That's a stiff price to pay some- one for robbing us of Canada, espe- cially when you remember that Canadian taxpayers kick in between seven and 10 times more than MPs contribute to buy the latters’ gold- plated pensions. “But if Quebec goes,” asks our guest from Mars, °M. Bouchard wil! be a citizen of a foreign country. Surely he can then no longer feed at Canada’s trough?” Wrong again. There’s not a word in the Meribers of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act to preclude the sending of pension cheques to citizens of another country. And Lucien Bouchard has made it crystal clear he hitends te collect. “| have earned it,” he says. “It will be one of the liabilities of Canada towards a former citizen, an obligation of the government of Canada.” Long overdue reform of the scan- dalously open-handed pension plan for MPs is at last on the horizon, though still progressing at a snaii’s pace. Needed are nct only healthier, more realistic dollar figures but now also, it seems, an “entitlement can- celiation” clause for treasonous MPs working to break up the nation. “Ys this kind of thing a problem in Earth’s other countries?” our Martian visitor inquires. “No,” we reply sadly. “Only in Canada.” WRAP-UP: Enjoy all the fun of the fair highlighted by bagpipes and kilts this Sunday, Aug. 7, at the North Van Kiwanis 7th annual “Day In Scotland”, 1 i a.m. to 5 p.m. in Waterfront Park ... If you qualify for th: Carson Graham Class of ’74 reunion Sept. 17, call Sandra . Delaney, 987-1209, or Abbie Fru, 986-4356, for info ... “Design For Living: Westcoast Fibre,” an exhibit of fibre art in everything from wear- ables to wall hangings, opens today, ug. 3, until Sept. 4 at the Seymour Art Gallery, Deep Cove ... Also today, happy birthday to North Van’s Ernie Earnshaw ... Same again tomorrow. Aug. 4, te West Van Kiwanian Rod Vosper ... And warm wishes Saturday, Aug. 6, to North Van’s Charles (95) and Lena (88) Phillips on their 70th anniver- sary! WRIGHT OR WRONG: Middle age is the prime of life. It just takes a litte longer to get primed. : Ss LUCIEN BOUCHARD ... stiff price for nation-wrecking.