boundari MESsSion nits es hore NORTH SHORE residents will have an opportunity to present proposals and opinions on the equity of their pro- vincial government representation when the Royal Com- mission on Electoral Boundaries rolls on to the North Shore later this month. A public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 in the River Room of the Park Roval Hotel. The commission, under Judge Thomas Fisher, has been ap- pointed to conduct a province-wide inquiry into the current provincial electoral divisions and recommend their appropriate number and the accompanying number of MLAs for the province. The West Vancouver public hearing is one of 24 scheduled to be held around the province over the next four months. Using the old electoral poptlation quotient of 41, 873, all three North Shore provincial electora/ districts have populations that Jar exceed their MLA TEpresentanion. Terry Julian, the commission’s chief administrative officer, said Monday residents wishing to make oral submissions should arrange a time for their submissions through the commission office prior to the Jan. 28 hearing. Those interested should call Julian at 660-4169. There are currently 52 provincial electoral districts in B.C., 17 of which are dua! ridings, resulting in a total of 69 MLAs. Julian said Judge Fisher has provided, as a preliminary estimate, an updated total of 75 MLAs. The commission’s updated elec- toral population quota, or the population per district if all could be divided into the same number of residents, is 38,523, which is calculated by dividing the new recommended number of MLAs Weather: Sunday, rain. Highs near 6". Monday,. mostly cloudy with showers. Tuesday, rain. Ry TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter into the provincial population of 2,889,207, In addition to population changes, recommendations as to new clectoral district boundaries and MLA representation will be based on historical and regional claims; special geographic con- siderations such as a region's size, shape, accessibility and the special community interests of its inhab- itants. Using the old electoral popula- tion quotient of 41,873, all three North Shore provincial electoral districts have populations that far exceed their MLA representation. North Vancouver-Capilano's 51,776 is 23.7 per cent over the population quota. North Van- couver-Scymour, with a popula- tion of 53,502, is 27.8 per cent over, ‘while West Vancouver-Howe Sound, with 54,943, is 31.2 per cent over the old population quota. The provincial electoral district with the highest over-the-quota percentage is Surrey-Newton with 68,347, which is 63.2 per cent over the 41,873 quota. Auin, with a population of 5,511, has the lowest population- 10-MLA ratio. It is -86.8 per cent below the old quota. Julian said the commission's mandate is to try and reconcile such dramatic differences in MLA representation. . A preliminary report, using in- put from the 25 public hearings and the results of visits to all 17 of the province's dual ridings, will, he said, be presented in May. Additional hearings will subse- quently be held in those areas that disagree with the preliminary report’s recommendations. A final report, Julian said, should be ready by the end of September. Written submissions to the commission should be sent to the Honorable Judge Thomas K. Fish- er, 580-625 Howe St., Vancouver, B.C., V6C-2T6. . INDEX les Bawlsy..........94 Business............ 36 Classified Ads........44 Doug Collins......... 9 Comics ............. 22 Editorial Page........ G Fashion............. 17 Bob Hunter.......... 4 _lifestyles............41 flew Year's News.....23 Sports ..............29 TV Listings..........34 Travel ..............32 What's Going Gn.....22 3 - Sunday, January 10, 1988 - North Shore News MEWS photo Mite Wakefleld CITIZENS UNITED For Sufety and Justice members Fred Bodnaruk (left) and Noreen Provast are taking a stand on what the group considers too lax psrole standards. Residents band together to fight violent erime WHEN NOREEN Provost heard about the triple-murder allegedly committed in Chilliwack by Allan George Foster, a man previously convicted of brutally slaying an 18-year-old girl, she says she was ‘‘disgusted.”’ The founding member of the North Shore branch of Citizens United for Safety and Justice (CUJS) has spent the last six years trying to stop the parole of dangerous criminals and Foster's release really irked her. “Ie's just beyond our com- prehension that they would let him out after committing such a heinous crime,’’ said Provost. “We're demanding a full inquiry to find out how they could have made that decision.” Foster, who died Dec. 27 after stabbing himself in the heart with a pen, was on full parole after serving seven years of a life sentence for the rape, beating and murder of Gwen Ann Lingor in 1971. On Dec. 16, he was charged with murdering his common-law wife Joan Pilling, her 12-year-old daughter Linda Brewer, and Brewer’s friend Megan Sue Mc- Cleary, also 12. Provost said the incident in- dicates the need for parole board panels to be more aware of the crimes committed by convicts up for parole. “The board has to be remind- ed of what (the criminal) did,’’ said Provost. CUS] is therefore insisting that pictures taken at the scene of the crime be distributed to the panel before they grant parole. “If you saw a picture of that girl’s body, how would you feel about letting the guy out?’’ Pro- vost said. ,. The .group also wants Bete « By KAREN GRAM : Contributing Writer automatic inquiries whenever a paroled criminal ‘‘does some- thing serious again.”* CUSJ was founded six years ago in Duncan by Inge Clausen after her daughter Lise was killed by a man out of prison on man- datory supervision. The organization has since focused on parole law repeal, especially mandatory supervision. Provost said mandatory super- vision has resulted in a genera! belief that life imprisonment ac- tually means 10 years. : “We really and truly feel that for premeditated murder, ‘life’ should mean life imprisonment,” Provost said. The organization, which has branches in Duncan, Victoria and North Vancouver and a pro- vince-wide membership of be- tween 2,000 and 3,000, has also been very active on behalf of crime victims. “We're not victims so we can’t give the same kind of sympathy as victims of violence, but we're citizens who want to speak up before we become victims,’’ Pro- vost said. ‘‘We help victims who are frustrated with the way things are going. We tell them who to write to.”’ But CUS] also helps victims in other ways. Through a letter-writing cam- paign, the group lobbied B.C. Attorney General Brian Smith to initiate the recently implemented Victim Assistance Program and takes some credit for the move to hear victim impact statements during trials, ‘The judge can refuse to hear (the statements), but the attorney general has urged justices to hear them,'' said Provost. ‘That's very rewarding.’’ As a measure of the organiza- tion’s credibility, Provost reeled off a list of review badies to which CUSJ has been asked to present’ briefs. It is currently preparing one for the federal justice system review. Provost said members have also met provincial bodies and meet ‘quite frequently’? with the B.C Parole Board. Federal Solicitor General James Kelleher is the target of the cur- rent CUSJ campaign to have scene-of-the-crime photos distributed to parole board members, and the group has in- undated Members of Parliament with letters asking them to pass a law requiring automatic inquiries of. parole board decisions when a parolee commits another serious offence. Provost got invoived in CUSJ after hearing Clausen speak and because “I’m a mother.’’ She founded the North Shore branch, which boasts about 900 members, 25 of whom are very active, and has never looked back. / “IT haven’t had much of a social life in the past six years,’’ she said. Although Provost has received “a few weird phone calls’? as a result of her activities, they haven’t stopped her frorn speak- ing out. : “The silent majority must get up off its apathy,”’ she said. poe ee eet ee te es i