AAA ARSE AON CREWS LA EBL NM fa ae CDRP AA aL LAY A ALENT SELON AMR EAT NAIL SEPM ALOME ARERR EP TNT AUST ESATRO LIEN}. placed on new drivers by introducing a pro- bationary driver's licence system, New drivers of any age will have to main- tain a driving record clear of serious viola- tions for two years before being eligible for a full five-year driver’s licence. -A good start, but the government. should HE PROVINCIAL government is heading down the right road in its new battle against bad drivers. Its recently announced counter-attack against the legion of inept, discourteous and dangerous drivers on B.C. roads is toug over- due. But it needs to shift into a higher gear to reach its goal faster. Traffic accidents — most, if not all, caused by human error end bad driving habits — already cost B.C. residents a staggering $2 billion annually. In 1993 alone, traffic accidents killed over 500 people in B.C. and injured another have gone one step further and raised the age for driver's licence eligibility from the cur- rent 16 to 18. According to the government’s own figures, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in the 15-to-24-year age cate-: gory. Requiring two more years of maturity. from driver’s licence applicauts would help . cut that carnage. And at the other end of the age ‘scale, seniors should be required to have regular retesting of their driving skills after age 70. : Safe drivers make safe roads. We are des- | perately short of both in B.C. 50,060. The provincial government's new’ traffic safety initiative will focus on speeders and drinking drivers, prime culprits in raising the death and destruction toll on B.C. roads. But it wiil also tighten the restrictions meaikbox ing of parties in trying to create _ election issues, rather than deal- ing with substantive policy mat- ters.” 4, being extremely old, have seen this movie before. Social Credit governments charged with _ corruption were also masters at declaring that they were too busy with important matters of high State to dignify the hurling of “overripe vegetables and malodor- ous eggs from the cheap seats with an explanation, such as, the truth. Surely, said 1, no issue of pub- lic policy is more important than ethics? “The integrity of government ethics are always important. That’s one of the reasons we-got elected. People were fed up with the stench from the former gov- emment. | ; “But | think it’s an enormous disservice,” Schreck continued mellifluously, and few can mel- lifle better, to equate “the allega- tions of the last two weeks with the'events of the Vander Zalm period, or .;. the matters that Bill ~ Bennett is still under investiga- tion for. - YOU MAY have noticed ‘that the New Democratic __ government has had a spot «. ‘of bother lately. So I asked Bo . the North Shore’s NDP. ° “member of the legislature,, David Schreck, about that. ‘It’s odd. I like Schreck. He’sa :.good citizen. He’s'accomplished.: -He has a good non-partisan repu- tation for hard work in and on behalf of his riding — North ": Mahcouver-Lonsdale, roughly ‘from the Capilano River to : Second Narrows Bridge south of ‘the Upper Levels Highway. He :- ‘labored hard to get the Westview verpass approved. >", He's also, | think, something ~ Of a contradiction. He has a pati- na of detachment and candor — ‘but under the'thoughtful flow of ‘words there’s a hard core of party - line. Understandable. “I’m having fun, as always,” _-he'said humorously, when U ‘inquired after the state of his _ health, “It helps to have a slightly’ ’ masochistic view of the world.” “In Schreck’s particular world, Premier. Mike Harcourt has lately he. . Cod fhe ello. Pore a —recucrelanienices | Adoption indignation premier Bill Vander Zalm and the purchaser of his Fantasy Gardens Dear Editor: | aE ‘1 am disturbed by comments from. ; — “and ‘dealing with one’s per- sonal property for one’s personal benefit, or allegations about ; insider trading” -— referring to ‘people opposing. the new adoption. charges of insider stock trading — policy. [am appalled by the number of against former premier Bill people who feel that itis unhealthy for | Bennett — “we're really rather: children to grow -up ‘in’a household ; light-years apart.” . with either a single parent or a homo- Hold on. The Bennett allega- sexual couple. Either one could raise a "|: tions have absolutely nothing to child just as well as any heterosexual ai do with Bennett's premiership. couple. >. That incident occurred years after Many opponents of the policy think’ ‘he left office. | was startled that that a homosexual couple’ couldn’ t Schreck, in these days of grave “provide: a healthy: environment: for a ., Shortage of fish, would drag this: «'}.: child, which couldn’t-bé: further from “reddest of red herrings into his * ‘the truth, Sexual preference shouldn’t © argument, Quite a stretch. - be the issue in adoption.-What should « Schreck replied cordially: “AIL: "be important is wh: ‘her they can pro- vide a lovirig and stable environment. It‘ shouldn’t be ‘any different for ; single parents either. ' : ‘Tm trying to say is that, when ‘ dealing with questions of integri- ~-4y and ethics, there are different degrees of substance.” ; if you think of all the divorces with . Tt sounds like a more combat-. ‘ children © involved . and unmarried :: ive conversation than it was. And’ ‘women who have children {hese days,’ : . it had its laughs. Such as when. giving a child to a single person ‘who. “Schreck — an obvious choice, would provide a good home for thesé- - with his deep experience, for children, in my opinion, is wonderful, People who oppose the new ‘policy. should mind their ows business. Just’ |: because’ someone ‘isn’t the. same ‘as-*]: ‘ment ties with an advertising company, NOW Communications, tun by oft-failed NDP candidate and high campaign factotum Ron Johnsoti, whose links with Harcourt led to conflict-of-inter- est investigation. - And, earlier, the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Saciety. And Matthew Vaudreuil. A fairly stiff bill of indictrnent. is there 4 siege mentality in the government?. ..., No, said Schreck, but “it would clearly be unrealistic to think that being beaten on day after day for a couple of weeks - minister of health — defended | the joys of being able to speak up forcefully as a backbencher. * grappled with a fiasco of an elec- ‘ tronic town hall meeting that was “ supposed to show the fiscal health of the province. Also opposition party revelations that . very day about the state of provincial debt that torpedoed his did not take energies away that should be going to real activities and governing, as opposed to” — here comes the party commercial - ~~ “responding to the election season. “A lot of what goes on sud- denly has to do with the position- “The worst that one could get out of the current allegations, if they are true, and I don’t believe them to be true, is that the adver- tising agency headed by a New Democrat got some business. “If you compare that to count- ing out $20, 000 i in a hotel room” | Said'he: “You can-ask any of ~ my colleagues —Iambyno | means a wilting lily.” With my bad ear. | could have sworn he would, Wendy L. Kay “you doesn’t mean ‘that they would . “ make any tess of a parent than you. - said: “i am by no means a lilting ar Willy.” Well, it seemed hilarious - at the time. oo North Vancouver _ claim. 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