Bi. ATS JEAN. LISTEN, |
WINS WOKING THROUGH THE
NAFTA DEAL YESTERDAY .

"YOO, THERE ARE A
COUPLE OF THINGS WIT
THAT iM NOT TOD KEEN ON...

“TW ENERGY CLAUSE FOR >
BAAIILE. IT SURE GES
ve GS A HERA.

HE . LATEST | salvo fired. in the
spublic ’ relations. battle between en-
‘ vironmentatists ‘and. the forest. in-
7 dustry has exploded in’ the breech of the
-industry’s public relations cannon...

_ After an j1-day: tour of Brazil’s forests,
'. the: Forest Alliance of B.C. has determined
that there is ‘no basis for calling ‘B.C.: the

“Brag. -the North.”? A preliminary
“report” ‘detailing the’ eight-person, Jack
_.Miunro-fed- excursion into the Amazon and
Atlantic rainforests notes some striking dif-
- ferences. between Brazil and B.C.: there is,

‘for exaraple, ne area in Brazil that is simi-
/Har.to B.C. in climate, and only 5% (17.9.

": pillion hectares) of the. Amazon rainforest
-- has. been deforested, while 36% (2.2 million
‘sheetares) of. the 2.C;.-coastal forest bas...

- quite, . different,

}

control

been cut.

“The .report. concludes, therefore, that
there is little foundation for labelling B.C.
the “Brazil of the North.’

Munro ‘stated earlier this: year that the
forest industry had to learn the lexicon of.
successful. media. campaigns. —. a language
in which environmental groups are. fluent.:
The industry’s past atterapts‘2t good public
relations. —: the .donation of. Cathedral
Grove for conservation, for. example — no
longer have the impact they once did. :

But a week-and-a-half trip through 28:

"states in Brazil to confirm that. — surprise, .

surprise — ‘Brazil and British Columbia are
is an insult. to the in-:
telligence of the alliance’s membership and
the general public. .

————""TETTER OF THE DAY
; A Collins carol: hungry brothers i in the dust

Dear ‘Editor:

: “As.. the holiday. season’. ap-
a proaches, 1 take down my well-
: thumbed copy of Charles Dickens’
classic, A°Christmas Carol.

|. pause to reflect on what
- Bickens: had to ‘say about the.
“lifeboat .theory’’. (or as it was

Spared,”’

these shadows remain unaltered by —
the Future, the child will die."’

“No, no,’ said Scrooge. ‘Oh,
no, kind Spirit! say he will. be

“If these shadows remain’
unaltered by the Future,
other of my race,’

until you have discovered What
the surplus is, and Where it is.

“Will you decide what men
shall live, what men shall die?

“It may be, that in the sight of
Heaven, you are’ more worthless
and less fit to live than millions
like this poor man's child. * :

none
’ returned the

_then known, the Malthusian doc-
 trine of surplus population), for
_ which Collins professes such a
fondness:
“Spirit,”’ said Scrooge, with an
? interest’ he had. never felt before,
“tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”’
“4 see a vacant seat,” replied
the Ghost, ‘‘in' the poor chimney

Ghost, ‘‘will find him here. What

then? [f tie be like to die, he had
better do it, and decrease the
surplus population.”’

Scrooge hung his head to ‘hear
his .own words quoted by the
Spirit, and was overcome with
penitence and grief.

fan,’’ said the Ghost, ‘if

“Oh God! to hear the Insect on
the leaf pronouncing on the too
much life. among his hungry
brothers in the dust!”

May each of us, of every creed
and color, find it. in our hearts to
hope: with. Dickens. and his poor
man’s child: God bless us, every
one! :

WHATEVER THE final solution to the Lions Gate Bridge -
problem, it seems we’re cutting it pretty fine time-wise. oe

The venerable crossing has been
given a life of only five more
years before really nasty things
could start happening to its 94,000
daily users. Yet the timetable -
unveiled by the highway ministry’s
consultants on the project doesn’t
see construction beginning before
late 1996, with the new whatever
hopefully ready by mid-1999.
That's SIX years — even if
everything comes in on time,
which it never does.

The biggest hang-up, of course,

’ is the one we're in the middle of

right now. But when you boil the
10 options down, a choice may be
rather simpler than it first ap~
pears.

Three of them are really non-

starters: (a) replace the present

bridge’s crumbling deck; (b) widen
a replaced deck for vehicles by
putting the sidewalks outside; (c} ~

’ widen the Second Narrows Bridge.

The first two would cost up to .
$85 million for no improvement at
all in traffic conditions except a
slightly smoother ride. The third

does nothing for West Van or the: -
.. western portion of North Van, .

and will probably happen even-
tually anyhow. Forget all three! _
Then there’s the choice between’

_ an entirely new bridge or a tunnel:

=— the former built next door to.
ithe present bridge or running from

“Brockton Point to near Capilano .

* Road at a cost of anywhere from
$360 million to $600 million.

In either case the scenic harbor:
entrance would be messed up |;
unless the present bridge was torn
down. And that would be a pity
when you consider it could still

~ have an indefinite life if reserved’

for cyclists and pedestrians.

Of the several tunnel proposals,
similarly or higher priced, the
most attractive comes from the
engineers responsible for the

George Massey Tunnel in Delta, . *: -

‘Hans Beatzen and Kurt Helin. -

They claim it could be made
virtually self-financing by creating
an island in Coal Harbour from.
excavated seabed and selling the
resultant real estate.

That's tempting, except for one
nagging little question On which |
can’t recall the experts having yet
pronounced. What happens when —
the Big One strikes? A single :
crack in that concrete tube and I
imagine you'd get very wet very
quickly and very permanently.

Does a bridge give you a slightly .

more sporting chance in a major

-earthquake? If so, put MY money

on the remaining option, a full-

Noel
Wright

HITHER. AND YON
The towers (now certifi ed i in’ my
- sound shape) would be heightened : -
and the structure cable-stayed in-.:
stead of suspended. Extra lanes,
maybe double-decked like.the
Golden Gate in San Francisco,
would be added. !
True, the appearance would vest
' differ from today’s span. But it.
would still be a no fess elegant and :
striking gateway to Vancouver.
And best of all, STILL our.own.
. beloved Lions Gate Bridge ~— only .
vastly improved for all its users...

POSTSCRIPTS: Learn all about «
Outward. Bound -— its physical; vv

. challenge, group cooperation and -
personal development — Satur-
day, Dec. 11,'frony 10:30 a.m. to...
noon with Jara Popelkoya.in the -
Speakers Unlimited series at the.”
Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle, West oa)
Van. Call 926-3266 to preregister, ;
.-» Theatricks presents its. | 0°: ”

- “Cinderella” family show again at |
Presentation House Saturday and
Sunday;.Dec, 11-12, at 2 p.m." oa
and 6 p.m. — 986-3318 for tickets:

' and info. ... Enjoy “A Festive In-

ventory.Of Merry Christmas -
Music"! with Pandora's Box vocal
ensemble Saturday, Dec. 11, in
West Van United Church, 21st
and Esquimalt — for tickets and
info phone 922-2147 or 922-0393.
... And many happy. returns of .
tomorrow, Dec. 9, to West Van
Kiwanian Mel Hinton.

@eo6
WRIGHT OR WRONG: Mast:

folks would gladly pay as they go,
if they could only catch up with

scale modification of the present

¢ where they'd been.
bridge costing up to $240 million. ws =

man you be in heart, not ada-
mant, forbear that wicked cant

corner, and’a crutch without an
owner, ' carefully preserved. If

_ Stephen Aberle
West Vancouver

i

&

This newspaper

Distribution 986-1337 Goes
Subscriptions 986-1337

Publisher...

Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Sales & Marketing Director. Linda Stewart
Comptroller Doug Foot

North Shore News, founded in’ 1969 as an.
independent suburban newspaper and qualified -
under Schedule 111; Paragraph Ill of the Excise :
Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and
‘Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and
distributed to every door on the North Shore.
Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sates
Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates
available on request. Submissions are welcome but
we cannot accept. respansibility lor unsolicited
material including manuscripts and pictures which
should be accompanied «. by a stamped, salt-
addressed envelope, .

Lo. Peter Speck
. Timothy Renshaw
. Noel Wright

Gisplay Advertising 980-0511
Real Estate Advertising 985-6982
Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax 985-3227 AWAY contains
Newsroom 985-2131 Administration 985-2131 Po&a recycted fibre
: North Shore managed
MEMBER

SR"e

fare eaened core

oY AMO WERT vancouvest
ww” se

qo SS
SUNDAY s WEORERDAT + ewe 5

1139 Lonsdale Avenue, SDA DIVISION
North Vancouver, B.C.

V7M 2H4 61,582 (average citculation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday) ¢
Entire contents © 1993 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights reserved. | ;

LIONS GATE: Bridge Vancouver's

gateway.

at dusk... elegant, striking