Park users hopping mad over plan to axe W. Van trees A WEST Vancouver parks and recreation department plan to axe five Woodward Park fir trees has drawn the wrath of park-users who allege the trees are to be temoved to improve the views of several Camridge Road houses abutting the park perimeter. By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter But said West Vancozver parks and recreation director Kevin Pike, “We've notified people that we in- tend to take down five trees in Woodward Park. We've had neighborhood complaints of an abnormal fall of needles from trees in the park. We get this kind of stuff all the time, but we don’t consider nuisance from trees all that big a problem. But we did go and have a look at them and for sure there was an abnormal! fall of needles which indicates there is a health problem.”’ Pike said the district hired two arborists to assess the state of the trees. According to Pike both determined the trees to be “deteriorating.” “They’re not so deteriorated that they’re going to fall down tomorrow, but they could be blown down in the next one or two or three yeass. They are at the edge of the park and we are concerned about safety. With two opinions on this we have been very cautious. We would not do this if we didn’t feel there was a danger from these trees. There are houses as close as 30 to 40 feet away,”’ Pike said. The second-growth trees, which are at the northwest corner of the park, are 60 to 70 years old and vary in height from 60 to 90 feet. But charged West Vancouver resident and Woodward Park user Ron James, *‘Somebody is doing a lot of lobbying. That’s what I believe it is. If these trees are gone (deteriorated), I'll put a grand right down on the line. They block a pretty panoramic view. Each tree is pretty valuable. When you knock one down it jacks up the property value there by $30,000 or $40,000. They’re all brand new houses on Camridge and worth $750,000 and up each.”” James said because the trees are located on the west side of the park, they are sheltered from the worst winter winds and therefore are not prone to being toppled ina gale. Said James: ‘‘Which wind are we talking about? If these trees are tisky then so are 200 other trees in that park close to houses. What do we do, cut down the whole park? Do we cut back 300 feet into the park? These houses build right on to the trees so it's risky. Where do we draw the line? “My wife and | have walked alt the parks here. [In an age of insani- ty and noise and racket there are very few close sanctuaries, I've always been a slam-bang guy and a builder. But when you get older you start to get a litie more sense. Unfortunately age is the only time you get a little wisdom,”* he added, But said Pike, ‘We're worried ubout these trees falling over. The people who brought this to us are on the side and would have abso- lutely no benefit from view. The people above (the trees) did not discuss this with us. it’s absolutely nothing to do with views. { decided to delay on this until everybody had a chance to complain on this, So it’s not an imminent thing, but 1 would fike to do something within the next week.” ON YOUR mark, get set, start paddling. These children learn water safety the fun way by taking swimming lessons at one of the North Shore public pools. This lesson was photographed at RecCentre Lonsdale in North Vancouver. 3 - Wednesdays, May 2. 1990 - North Share News F ico es NEWS photo Cindy Goodman | | | | Much ado about Meech WESTERN CANADA’S dreams of becoming an equal partner in Confedera- tion will be dashed if the Meech Lake Accord is pass- ed, the publisher of a British Columbia newsmagazine told a meeting Saturday at North Vancouver’s Centen- nial Theatre. By BOB MACKIN JR. Contributing Writer A crowd of just under 200 peo- ple heard the Meech Lake views of B.C. Report’s Ted Byfield and five other panel members, including North Shore News associate editor Noel Wright, in what was billed as the Great Meech Lake Debate. The event, sponsored by the North Vancouver Progressive Conservative Riding Association, was moderated by North Van MP Chuck Cook. Byfield said he was opposed to the controversial amendment to the 1982 Constitution because it would dim the West's chances of achieving future constitutional change, particularly Senate reform. ‘We now could gain what we need, with great difficulty if we could somehow persuade either Quebec or Ontario with six other provinces to bring about real change, real reform,”’ Byfield said. **That is now the law, It would be very difficult, but not impossible. **Meech Lake says ... you have to get the support of both Quebec and Ontario,’ he said. “And that is impossible.’' Senate reform, added Byfield, is essential 10 offsetting the over- whelming advantage central Canadg holds in Parliament. With a uiple E Senate cequal, effective, elected), he said, the less populated regions, like the West and the Maritimes, would have greater representation in Ottawa. Byfield balked at Prime Minister Brian) Mulroney's proposal to discuss Senate reform after ratification of the accord. “We don’t want Senate reform after we can't get Senate reform (which would be the case after the aecord is signed). We want Senate a & e~2 2b scene SUPPORTERS, FOES OF ACZORD BRING DEBATE TO NORTH VANCOUVER NEWS photo Neil Lucente NOEL WRIGHT, associate editor of the North Shore News, expresses his views against the Meech Lake Accord ata debate at the Centennial Theatre on Saturday. Pictured with Wright are (eft to right) Manitoha MP Felix Holtmann, and Quebec MPs Vincent Detla Noce and Jean-Pierre Hogue. reform with the Meech Lake Ac- cord,”* he said. But) Manitoba MP Felix Holtmann, (PC-Portage-interlake) who supports the accord, told the audience that while Senate reform is a noble cause, he remains skep- tical as to its effectiveness. “Does anybody here know if, in fact, it would change or is it just, geez, anything could be better than we've got, therefore let's just change it!’ Holtmann. said. “We're not going to change the way we've governed in one fell swoop." He added: “As much as J like (Senate reform) I've often said I wish there was no Senate.” News associate editor Noel Wright) spoke against’ the accord and said that. just as the distinct society clause is key to Quebec's signing of the Constitution, Senate reform is vitally important to the West. He said that Quebec has been a distinct society since Confedera- tion, but it should not be made of- ficial through legislation. “It is regrettable,” Wright said, “that the distinet society clause is not put in the preamble, instead of where it is now — as an inter- pretative clause which gives it a legal character.”’ But Vincent Della Noce (PC- MP, Duvernay) a Quebecer and Meech Lake booster, disagreed. “ft does not transfer any new powers to Quebee,”" he said, ‘and no powers are taken away from the federal government and it does not override the Charter of Rights.”” Holtmann said Canadians should instead be worried about a small province like Prince Edward island exerting its influence. Under the amending formula proposed in the Meech Lake Ac- cord, unanimous consent by all provinces — regardless of size — will be required for constitutional chanee. “What about P.E.1.? They have a (budget) surplus thanks to the federal government's transfer pro- gram,” Holtmann said. *‘They are guaranteed four senators and four MPs for about 126,000 people. Let me tell you, they're distinct. Much more than (B.C.) and more than Quebec is." The Meech Lake Accord, which must be signed by all the provinces before June 23, is an agreement designed to get Quebec to sign the Constitution of Canada. A new Canadian Constitution was drafted in April 1982, but Quebec did not sign the document because it maintained thar the new Constitution failed to give Quebec the power to protect its French culture and laneuage.