. MONDAYS

Pregnant Moms support
group. meets every Monday,

. 819 Chesterfield, N.V. For.
those who are jow income,
‘single: parents,
. aboriginal or ‘new
“ ‘Brants. Info: 990-9401.

<The Clansmen Pipe and”

adolescent,

N.V. For pedpic' in’ search of *

healthy: clationships. Infc
84-7430. .

Support Group:
For families with a survivor -
of eumatic brain injury. For!

Friendship Toastmasters
meets every Monday, 7:15
p.m. at the Capilano Library,
Potlatch room, — 3045
Highland Blvd., N.V. Info:
Brad at 444-0845.

Trail Trekkers: Challenge
yourself to a fast-paced hike

on the trails of the North
Shore every Monday and
Wednesday, start 6:45 p.m
Info: Barbara 980-4492.

Logos Toastmasters mects
every Monday, 7:30 p.m. at

“W.V. Baptist. Church. Info:

Bill Clark at 922-1983.

MADD Support Group:
Meeting for victims, family
and friends effected by drunk
drivers. Held the _ first
Monday of every month, 7-8
p.m. Info: 515-9212,

TUESBAYS

Sunday, July 4, 1999 ~ North Shore News — 29

Seymour Community
Services: Weekly parent and
child drop-in for 0-5 years.
Coffee, play and parenting
discussions. Tuesdays at
6:30-8 p.m., and

. Wednesdays at 9:30-11 a.m.,

1055 Premier St., N.V. Info:
Sue McDonald at 983-6700.

North Shore = Stroke
Recovery Centre: For
North Shore residents who
have survived a stroke. Mects
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays, 10 am. to 2
p.m., 105 W. 12th St. N.V.
Info: 929-5803.

p.m., at. KinderHouse, -

immi-~

Katherine Whittred, MLA

North Vancouver — Lonsdale .

: “303 '- ‘126 East 15th Street

"North Vancouver, BC V7L 2P9
Fe OSES ; Fax: 981-0022

-Mid-Session Review
‘Although I call wis 4 mid-session reviews it is
‘really a report about a session, shat started in
| March 1998 and has stopped, started, and
~barched for 15 mani, The House was called
‘bach late last November in order to continue

with the Nisga’a debate. We rose in mid-

agai on january 13, 1999. Nesgaa debate.

continued until the end of, ‘January. During th this
Hime the teestion 1 periods were dominated by:
; fast. cost 0 overruns, The.
i rreren spt on calling for a 4 ‘public

deficit budget. For the fiscal y year 1999/00, the
rovince is projected to-have a deficit of $890.

nillion: Add to this the taxpayer-supported . -

losses of thé, crown corporations and agencies

and you are looking : ava rue deficit of $1.5

billion. There is no debt reduction plan : and

“not even a hint of a balanced budget until the: -

“year 2002/03. is the past 8 years, BC's total debt

“has increased from $17.2 billion to $34.7 billion
and ont enna de servicing cost have roared by

changes alone. This interest ‘charge represents

7 “nearly half the revenue from personal income
‘taxes and is more than all the combined

“revenué from business incomie caxes, fuel taxes,
_ Broperty transfer taxes,-and corporate capital .
- taxes. It is mind boggling whar the province

: - could have done with the money it now wastes

“on interest payments,

Closure Motion — In fate April, with 11

chapters (out of 22) still remaining, the
government used a controversial closure
motion to shut down the debate on the
Nisga's Treaty. Apparently, time was needed for
introduction and debate of new bills. But the
very first bill introduced after the closure,
Tuition Fee Freeze Act, came more than two
weeks later on May 10. So far, only 2 handful
of the bills have been of a substantial nacure.
The rest, I think, were too inconsequential to
warrant stopping debate on an hi torical
treaty.

No Sessional Agenda ~ Traditionally, a

session of the legistacure begins with a throne
speech at which time the lieutenant governor
of the day reads the legislative agenda as
written by the government. The Throne
speech is a constitutional device, which allows
the government to share its vision with the
province without going inro the details. One _
may call ic the government's road map or ,
agenda, sc to speak. We have had 36
parliaments in the history of this province and
up to 5 annual sessions in each, All of chose
sessions were opened by a-speech from the
throne. This year is the first time since BC
‘became a provincé that we’ did ‘nor. have a
throne’ speech.. (Technically, this session is a
continuation of the session that started ih the.

. spring of 1998.}’ ;

1999% New Bille — As of Fchis writing the"
‘government has introduced 35 new bills. Wich

- the exception of a few, all bills have been of a.’ :

-pretey inconsequential nature. Bill 60, the Fire.
~ Services Amendment Act formally recognizes

— gwo medals thae are awarded to firefighters:
ill 61; the: ‘Consumer Protection Amendment... - °
. Act allows you to change your mind on what on’ recall,

= you have purchased from direct-sales outfits.
> Bill 65, the Labour Statutes ‘Amendment Act;
corrects the nonsensical technicaliry : that made

- ivillegal for. hairdressers to actually cut hair!

~ Bill 63, the Wildlife Amendment Act, makes‘
it illegal to feed dangerous w wild animals: ‘And
the list gpes on. - :

robate Fes:

“Introduced on April 19, this bil ‘confirmed i in’
law the Practice of charging probate feeson =~.
“estates over $25,000 in value, This came in...‘
“Lae view of the fact thar the Supreme Court of

; Canada had ruled chat probate fees could 7 Rot oe

’ be levied by. regulation. The BC Official °.
~ Opposition ¢ debared againsé Bill 35 arguing -

~ thar this ix fact was a ‘form ‘of double or even - -

* eriple taxation. When | you impose a fee on the ”.

value of people's estates, you are taxing what”
- has already been taxed. at least once. This *.

- amounts co:double taxation. Now, if an os ,

- already | taxed i income was invested in: some
“assets, which appreciated over time, then at.

* some point those assets. ‘may have been

_ subjected to a capital gains tax. In this case, aa

the probate fee becomes triple taxation.
“Fee” is really'a misnomer. The Supreme,
Court of Canada made it pretty clear that :-
the probate fee is really a tax and, as such, .
must be legislated. This Sill then, by
legislating retroactively back to 1988, rankes
it Legal for the government to collect what.

" ‘was collected illegally before! The bill passed”

-on May 5, 1999, with h government voting for

and opposition voting against it. One wonders
if this legislation would open the door to the
concept of a “wealth tax”.

Pension Benefits Standards Amendment
Act (Bill. 58) — Introduced on May-11, this
bill gives pension plan administrators)
authority to suspend the pension benefits of
an early retiree who goes back to work for a
non-union employer in the same field. The_

.. government introduced this very same

measure in its ill-fated Bill 44 in 1997.
Although che minister in charge insisted that |
the bill only applied to 33 multi-employer,”
plans, during debate; he’ conceded ‘that ‘sh
provision could indeed be extended to oo
include others, That extension would be done.

by regulation and through a Cabine : rrde :

favast nos ne other jurisdiction
Cs tada has enacted such legislatio t

: thi; BC Official Opposition vehemently *

2

agued against this bill. And again, the hot so"
maajority 1 nuled.

FF "you baie experienced governm

- bike to ‘hear from 3 you,