Hamper assistance appreciated Dear Editor: Panic almost reigned at the West Vancouver Santa Claus Headquarters. For a time volunteers worried that it would not be possible to fill food hampers for 281 fami- lies. But frowns turned to smiles ‘when, suddenly, donations start- ed to come in and faith in our West Vancouverites was restored. . We cannot thank everyone personally, but we would jike to extend sincere thanks to the res- ‘idents of our municipality on behalf of the grateful recipients. :. This organization could not operate without the services of |. faithful volunteers and the ever- -caring West Vancouver firefight- ers. » We greatly appreciate the : cooperation received from, the ‘North Shore News in making ‘the public aware of this worthy project. 7) Ruth Stout ‘|: Executive Officer : West ' Van Santa Claus Fund | Bs the eublect for an entice report ‘which are Intereeting counting ‘firm.. of KPMG Peat invick Thome, which gave $57,000 tha PCs, $24,000 to the Liberals, 960. to. the NDP..and $245 to “Reform. RBC Dominion Securities gave $135,000 to the PCs, $99,000 to the Liberals, $6,000 to the NDP, and nothing at all to Reform. “Moat of Reform's $1.0 million In - corperate donations came from the - |. small (business sector, while the balance “of the $12 million raised by Reform during 1993, came from _ individuals. This places Reform way ad of the other parties in terms of “fi ancial support trom individuals, “GRANTS * : A taw ‘interesting grants have _come to my attention lately, all trom “the 1994 fiscal year, although similar grants are still being handed out by various government departments in the 1985/96 fiscal year. The Dutch Language Program — received $15,000 for a seminar on “networking, ; “E information gathering and exchange, f and planning for the future”. The Vancouver Lesbien Connection ‘| received $21,000 “to educate ‘transition workers about battering in = lasblan‘ relationships”. The Nlegara . “Region Sexual Assault Centre =: scooped $5,000 for a. workshop on~ “anti-racism training for staff. and “volunteers. The Retired. Black Miners ‘received $5,000 to_gather , Back board in fight 47 CAP for better education Dear Editor: Midst all the school trustee, teacher and education bashing that has become so popular across Canada in recent years, what has been fost sight of is the education and welfare of millions of Canadian students. These are the young citizens who happen to be the next genera- tion who will be responsible for sal- vaging the mess we are in. It behooves us to see that they are well equipped to do the job. Congratulations therefore, to the school trustees of North Vancouver School District 44 in challenging the Education Ministry to examine the board’s books to identify areas where revenue can be raised or expenditures cut. Their only other option is to submit an unbalanced budget. Something had to be done to precipitate action by the govern- ment before our education system is reduced to a babysitting operation. The B.C. School Trustees Association has the responsibility to dig in and support such initia- tives as those taken by the North Vancouver board. ; And let us not be taken in by all the gobbledegoop about the deficit being at the bottom of all our eco- advertoria! . 24/96 -mnuterial for an exhibit end booklet on jf Dlecks. in. mining. Narindar Singh §- * recelved $1,500 to nolp hin tour Sikh tempies to promote his book on Sikhs § who came to Canada at the tun of § the century, Last but not least, The § Hmong Association, received $3,200 to hold two workshops on. § home safety: and inter-genorational § conflicts. NEW U! PROVISIONS Shorily -tefore Parliament adjourned for the Christmas Break, the Minister of Human Resources Development, Lloyd Axworthy, § announced .what were supposed to be proposals for changes to the ’ Unernployment insurance program. Imagine my surprise when a ropresentative from the Human Resources Ministry arrived at my North Vancouver office In mid December to train my staff on the new rules, The legislation tc authorize any changes has not even been debated and passed in Parllament, but the § new rules were being phased in as of § January 1, 1996. If ever there was an example of the irelevance of § Parliament, this fs It. I The thing that disturbs me most | about this Government disrespect for the democratic process, is that during fate January, just about the tire that this report is being. printed, a § committee was scheduled to travel across Canada to obtain “input” on the new proposals. If you ara one of the individuals who has spent time and money preparing a submission, thinking ycu can make a difference, § think again. Ali of the paperwork and § information brochures have been printed and Mr. Axworthy's proposals § are already being implemented. He § knows the enabling Bill will pass, even before the debate begins, so my input as your MP, and your input as an individual is pretty meaningless at this § stage. Aren't you. glad your § Government knows what is best for | nomic woes. Let us listen to what Vincent Truglia, the senior analyst spscial- izing in Canada for Moody’s Investors' Service (one of the biggest debt-rating agencies in the world) has to say about Canada’s credit crating. He points out that Moody's “assigns Canada a Triple-A credit rating” — its top rating. The risk of a default on a Triple-A, he says, is something under three quarters of 1% over 10 years. Or let us do something about seeing that corporations pay their deferred income taxes which coin- cidentally total the actual amount of the deficit. Listen also to Hideo Minoto, a statistician and chief of the social security section of Statistics Canada. He showed that government spending on social programs is not the root cause of our debt problems. The cost of social programs only increased by one to 6%. By comparison, he calculated that the rising cost of interest rates accounted for a staggering 70% of the deficit growth. And it’s the Bank of Canada, controlled by gov- ernment, that sets the rates. Education is one of our highest priorities, and, as quoted in the Jan. 12 North Shore News “...a govern- ment-appointed committee deter- mined North Vancouver had been underfunded by $1.5 million a year — atotal of $ 10 million over seven years.” Let us get together behind the schoo! board in its effort to get some positive action fer our chil- dren. Dorothy Lynas North Vancouver If you're ready to get in shape, saving money may be just the incentive you need ON ALL MEMBERSHIPS Our club is spacious and well equipped — no.over crowding ~- non-intimidating atmosphere - We promise to try our best to provide you with expect — friendly staff and a personalized what you would service,’ clean, well- maintained facility. We want to give the best value (in your opinion) for your fitness dollar. Childcare is now available Limited > Musical Recital Faculty members of Capilano College's Bachelor of Music Transfer program will be giving a recital on Sunday, January 28, 2:30 p.m., at St. Andrews United Church, 10th and St. Georges St., North Vancouver. Adults $12; students and seniors $6. All proceeds go towards the College piano fund. > Be a Better Communicator Brush up on your communication skills with one of our upcoming courses: Basic Public Speaking, College and’ University Essay Writing, Dazzling Presentations in‘ ' Power Point, — Magazine Writing, or the One-Hour-A Day |: Novel. Call Extension | Progratns at 984-4901" for more information ; of fo o register. gs Holland for a fre : information session ‘or: | Wednesday, February 7,7 p.m. atthe — | Federation of — Canadian Artists Gallery, 1241. . Cartwright Sereet, Granville Island. They will discuss their upcoming art appreciation tour of . New York, May 6 to 13, where you will visit the best galleries and earn an insider's perspective. Come and ask questions about the tour's itinerary and find out _what you can expect to see and do in New York. For more information, cail Liz . Morton at Capilano College Extension Programs, 984-4907. CAPILANO | COLLEGE » 2055 Purcell Way North Vancouver British Columbia - 986-1911