6 ~ Wednesday, July 0, 1997 - North Shore News north shore news ITEWPOINT Ta eeemninaeaemmr edema ener eninnanie nase rrraanaraeeetal Big n ST Vancouver: welcome and embrace the big-box retailers, They come bearing gifts of employ- ment, increased :local retail revenuc ‘and shopping convenience. : It’s casy enough to cry foul, to adopt the stance of NIMBY hut) and cry. Some are dismayed by the’ Park Royal expansion and find theinsclves ‘sputtering invective — “obscene devel- __ opment,” “sheer lunacy” and the like. For what it’s worth, the mall’s own * public relations machine puts the case for expansion in cver-the-top terms of “Seyolution” and “revival.” - The facts: West. Vancoisver. loses a. © driving t range. There are other: options : on: the: North Shore. to pursue this’ * leisure vactivity, West Vancouver :says’. - adios © to::its -last ‘cinema. There. are, on the North Shore. Park Royal knocks down a bowling alley, Bowling balls stilt roll on the North Shore, To be honest, the millions spent thus far - by the mall’s owners have made the place look and work better, By defini- tion it is a place to shop, It’s not a recreation centre. The big-box entries coming to the West Vancouver mall near you soon should be no cause for concern on the . part of existing retailers. Although they will likely be unable to compete on price, smaller retailers will be winners if they seli unique products and back that up with a levei of service the large stores are, by their very nature, unable to provide.. The coming giants will also attract . new shoppers from across the. bridges who will shop and comparison shop at ij To press time esday, dorat “If we cannot always said all the things that most of us think, and he & isa real champion on avital issue,” —_ Sara Reid of West Vancouver oo “Donations to the | fand can be sent to: 1 139 Lonsdale Ave;, North Vancouver, V7M 2H4, Cheques should be-made out to frost over: 1 300 News héc, speech , supporte already hit-approximately. will be, Antich higher, Alt funds: received will help - defray, the legal costs faced by the News is its battle ith the Human Rights Tribunal over a.complaint. laid against ‘the newspaper and its columnist Doug Callins by the Canadian Jewish Congress, The hear- ‘ing into the matter, whicti began on May 12, con- cluded” on June '27 ‘with final; arguments at the Century Plaza Hotel; 1015 Burrard St. The decision from Nitya Iyer, the tribunal of one hearing die com: -- laint, is cexpectéd some tims later this year, the cause: ; i a & " 7 " Q00 “That what i is plain a tempest i ina seapot sould become a volcanic erm tion says volumes about the " political direction o country, all of it riegative, Perhaps union with the United States; warts and all, - wonildn nt be such a bad ching.” _ Thomas Bibcault of North Vancouver Q a QO ieale al freely what will ben next? Doug’ Collins orth Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund. _ 7 brensha w@direct. a a “F Wad Se ans inde 1969 as an __ ledependent suburtan newspare: and qualihed under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the "Erion Tax Ack, & publshed each Werinesday. ~ Friday and Sunday! ‘by North Shore Free Press 1 Ud. and exsinduted ta every dot on the North ‘ Shore. Canta Post Canadian Pubstations Mai Sales Product Agreement Ho, 0087238. Maikny rates available on request. Distribution Manager «Creative Services 906-1337 (124) © the ‘fund stood at” $103,7 09. Legal. tes’ expended thus fur. ty the News have $200,000. The final bill s. Husrart Resources Manages Sales & Matteting Director Beit sein t 2n 61,582 (average circulation, Weanesday, Friday & Sunday) , existing stores. Beware of the Prop Re = ~ “DEMOCRACY,” said Winston Churchill, “is the worst form of “government — except for all the ;, others that have been tried. » Today, more arid more pundits are also assuring us that the Canadian form of democracy is the worst of all. That our only “hope is to'swap our first- past-the=post election ‘system for some form of proportional representa- tion (PR). The PR pitchers note that Canada, the U.S and Britain are the only = democracies still electing their law anakers ._« solely by constituency majorities —. aii ore excerpts from the hundreds of respondents to. 18th century method giving mathemati- cally skewed results chat bug the purists, In June, for.example, the Liberals won "51% of the Commons seats with just 38%. = of the popular vote. Reform with 19% of the vote got 20% of the seats, while the Tories, also with 19% of the vote, wound up with j just 7% of the seats. . PReomes witha whole range of bells and whiitles. The basic model simply takes thé percentage of the popular vote won by each party and divides up the seats accordingly, Then there are hybrids — like New Zealand’s mixed member pro-* J: portional (MMP) where 65 of the ea ; seats are still elected in first-past-the- post; _ constituency contests, the other 55 being _ allotted by PR between parties with at . least 5% of the vote, At this point a hum: ble confession from your scnbe, who < once halt: “bought the PR sales pitch: On Publisher OOS-2137 (177) 980-0511 (319) 55-2151 (101) erry Pot Photography Manager S271 (10H Display Manager 900-0511 (163) . effect on countries ¢ Paem yee nneed nes nnensensaronneeeseesnonetenees ‘packages, largely shaped by local interests pase menesesnamronyenanepneniemematnmicenarimotiey ‘any puniyttnstn catiiiteran AeaYPEnrHti O/B, RYLEY Hr ssa RARER ADDICTS HELP LING: more ‘thorough analysis of its logic-and its“ i'm now convinced that, despite its math-” ematical beauty, PR is based ona funda: * j ental al fallacy and i in practice has a fural flaw. _ that it ignores ae “nation’s many‘sub- “units: ; o states or provinces,” unmunicipalities and com: | munities, It assumes”. the,total vote Gaieh Rally i ‘reflects “the pe rople’ s will 2s But “the people" $s will” —- if it’s definable ; at all, fo actually: ¢ comes in}: scores of small local, ’ ye and concerns, In other words, the firs past-the:post constituency s ystemn | “as opposed to a simple overall head ¢ count— grassroots communities want. That se enis a much sounder guide for central Bovern- , ment than vainly trying to: please individ. uals scattered. all over.the country whose ; personal wish-lists happen ty difler from those of most of their close ‘neighbors. * In short, “popular votes? it all but’ » midget’states like Luxembourg : or . Monaco, are meaningless for practical pur- poses as a governing tool. But far worse are the multiple parties spawned by PR, » Ideally, democracy works best as‘a two-party systen) -— which is what it'has predominantly remained in Britain, the *US-and (until recenly) Canada, This... makes for strong government able to ‘act decisively in the national interest, On the, other hand, PR — by aiving s seats toa ' nar have embraced it we The trouble with PR is "= “ THENDP GOVERNTIENT RaN a GaNBLNG f tiny p coalition jovernme * multitude - being held to ransom. by: five - ber groups vital Study the:s ‘PR gow “and Germ cia i the'separatio _gabinc from the le never ra ~ The Nortis Sho : ws bel me strongly in freedom of. speech. and the vig ‘of. reg sides.in'a debate to be heard: The: columnists priblished in the New resent "differing points of views but thos nor necessarily those of the wapaper itstl PETLII SPECK Comptrotier 005-2131 (133) Classified Manager , 995-0922 (282) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ltd. Alt rights reserved. Managing Editor 965-2131 (118) -’ LETTERS 10 THE EDITOR. Letters must include your name, . fulladdress & telephone number S YiA Interne trenshaw @ dliect.ca COMPUTER 88S - 960-8927 . User ID:mailboy. ”. Password:letters “ Promotions Manager 905-2131 (218)