Police arrest three auto theft suspects in West Van A WEST Vancouver Police dog team on routine patrol early March 5 tracked down and arrested three auto theft suspects. As Const. Marv Pelkey and police dog Ferro were patrolling near the underground parking area at the fn- ternational Plaza apartment comptex on Marine Drive, they encountered a red Celica leaving the lot. According to a police spokesman, the driver, a male youth, jumped from the car when he saw Pelkey and ran off. The stolen Celica kept going and crashed info another car. The suspect was then apprehended at Capilano and Marine. Meanwhile, Pelkey and pofice dog Ferro searched the parking lot and found two more suspects hiding. Further investigation revealed 10 thefts from vehicles and resulted in the recovery of a second stolen car. Rob Severy, 19, of North Vancouver, a 14-year-old North Vaacouver male youth and a 15-year-old female youth from North Vancouver face charges as a result of the police investigation. Wilson to attend meeting at Lonsdale Quay on Friday FEDERAL FINANCE Minister Michael Wilson will meet with local business leaders Friday when he attends a reception af the Lonsdale Quay Hotel in North Van- couver City. Wilson is expected to talk about his recent budget and the future outlook for the Canadian economy. The meeting, organized by North Vancouver MP Chuck Cook’s office, will be held in the hotel’s banquet room from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call Cook’s office at 980-5185. Hagen to appear at Socred breakfast MINISTER OF Education Stan Hagen will be in North Vancouver for a Social Credit breakfast on Saturday, March 16 at Cheers Restaurant. Hagen will give a brief pres- entation and then take questions from the audience. North Vancouver-Capilano MLA Angus Ree and North Van- couver-Seymour MLA Jack Davis, B.C.’s minister of mines, energy and petroleum resources, will also be attending. The no-host breakfast starts at 9 a.m. and is open to ali. Cheers is located at 125 East Second St. in North Vancouver. Co. will restore separation packages From 1 parent company, blamed the fed- eral governinent’s cancellation of the $500-million Polar Class 8 icebreaker contract last year as one of the main causes for its fi- nancial woes. In a news release issued Tues- day, Versatile said it was disap- pointed that the federal govern- ment had not come through with $22.5 million in funding that had been set aside under an agreement that pre-dated the loss of the Polar 8. “The agreement to provide these grants became crucial to Versatile’s survival because of the loss of the Polar 8. The damage in British Columbia caused by the loss of the Polar 8 was confined solely to Versatile which had made strategic and operational decisions in good faith,’’ said the press statement. . Versatile said the loss of the Polar 8, coupled with Ottawa’s withholding of the $22.5 million, ‘*rendered the company uneconomic.*’ Transportation and Highways Minister Rita Johnston said Ver- satile’s financial problems will not affect the construction of the superferry. “It js the government’s inten- tion to complete this program and to build ships in British Colum- bia,”’ Johnston said. She added that when the pro- vincial government initially re- quested the B.C. Ferry Corp. to have the superferry built through Versatile, it was clear Versatile had serious financial problems and that assistance was needed. The government then created IFC to oversee the superferry’s construction. Versatile said it had planned to provide ‘‘generous separation packages’’ for some of its employees and included them in a 1990 business plan it presented to the department of industry, science and technology. Its revised business plan, to be submitted in the Plan of Ar- rangement, ‘‘will make every ef- fort to restore these generous separation packages presently denied by the federal govern- ment’s failure in respect of prom- ised grants.’’ Smith said the province believed that Versatile’s financial restruc- turing was worthwhile because: *it buys time to prepare for con- struction of the superferry; eit allows IFC to step in and to proceed with Versatile’s share of the superferry work; *it brings the employee pension plan up to current status; *and it supports trade creditors, taking them to a position where they could include their expertise in superferry construction. . Smith said Versatile was not bankrupt, ‘‘bur its decision to reorganize its finances...was pre- cipitated by an unforeseen cost overrun of the construction of two search and rescue vessels for the federal government, and by Ot- tawa’s assistance offer, which turned out to be too little, too late.”” Wednesday, March 13, 7991 - North Shore News — TO MISS THIS 5 SA ue 142 GETS YOU STARTED! WEIGHT TRAINING — programs and instruction co-ed and separate “Ladies Only area’ AEROBICS — all levels 630 am. to 9.00 pm. CARDIO FIT — Lifecycles, Lifesteps, Liferowers and new Stairmasters. RACQUETBALL & SQUASH COURTS SAUNAS, STEAMROOM AND WHIRLPOOL SPECIAL LIMITED OFFER HOURS: Mon-Fri. 5.45amJ0.0Opm Sat-Sun. 9.00am-6.00pm (124 West-3rd-§ Fre sh Cut Flower SPECIAL oo iNorin Vancouver _ This week Freesia 10stem: 27? Gerbera Daisy 5 Stems e Tulips 5 sums 32 Daffodils 5s... 1% Personal Shopping Only For Quality, Selection and Service 1821 Marine Dr, West Vancouver 922-4171 922-3968