| “NEWS VIEWPOINT inning rink -T’S been a dinky rink ado, but the debate over the lalf-sized skating fa- ciiity in North Vancouver District’s - Lynnwood ‘industrial area has come down -on the side of free enterprise, which is good news for young skaters in the im- mediate area and elscwhere in the two North Vancouver municipalities. Concerns’ raised by rink opponents in- cluded. the traffic hazards for children that . ‘could result from: building a recreational facisity in’ an ‘industrial area and the ar- ‘bitrary bending of existing zoning to allow the project. Valid objections both. . But surely the installation of highly visi- ble signage would alleviate most traffic concerns. And the positives thai would be generated from the rink surely offset the negatives ‘ associated with the zoning change. . \t is no secret that ice time on the North Shore is at 2 premium. And while the smaii rink is not likely to satisfy demand fer hockey ice time, it will provide a much- needed area venue for recreational and fig- ure skating. it will! also tap the tzlent of former world figure skating champion Magnussen, whose services have been mysteriously declined by local recreation programs in the past. The rink will be installed in a duilding that will eventually revert to industrial use. And it will do all of the above at no direct cost to the municipality. It sounds like a winning rink in. any league. | LEYTER OF THE | Collins on Jaffer: real men don’t batter Dear Editor: painful issue. Doug Collins’ article of Oct. 6 was full of hate towards women They should ' be commended for their effort. Mr. Collins, strong men don’t been to support groups for bat- tered women, Abusers come from all socio- economic aad ethnic groups; con- Karen .. THE WELFARE STATE eveated by ihe boom times fol- lowing the Second World War is coming unstuck — every- where. That’s the message from the worid’s most advanced countries where it has hitherto flourished. They are the 24 member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — all of them growingly concerned about the ultimate cost of being one’s brother’s universal keeper, according to a survey by Financial Times of London. Thé reason: like Canada, most other OECD nations are now burdened with defecits and rising government debt. At the sarne time, spending on pensions, health care, unemploy- ment benefits and family support continues to soar beyond the abil- ity of taxpayers to fund it. In all of them the biggest culprit is publicly provided pensions — partly because schemes launched after the Second World War are now maturing, partly because of improved benefits like indexing, most of all because of the rapid rise in the number of elderly peo- pie. Health-care systems also became more generous during the good times prior to 1969, with procedures regarded as experi- mental 30 years ago becoming routine, Meanwhile, the global recession of the 9Cs has caused the cost of both unemployment benefits and help for low-income families to skyrocket. Sx now, in most OECD coun- tries, the drive is on to bring welfare spending under control before it becomes totally insup - pottable as the population ages over the next 50 years. Insupportable because the 100 million over-65s in the 24 OECD mernber-states in 1990 will peak at 190 million by about the’ year 2040, equivalent then to 37% of the working population aged 15 to 64. Already Germany and Italy are moving to raise the pension age. Germany is cutting back on the automatic indexing of pensions. Britain has.ended it altogether for the basic flat-rate pension. And even tougher welfare controls are being examined by the OECD family. High on the list are the end of “‘universality,’’ greater targeting of benefits to the most needy and user charges for those able to af- ford them. All seen as necessary to stave off eventual bankruptcy. To put it into a Canadian perspective, average government debt in the OECD countries is now around 44% of the Gross and minorities, and towards Mobina Jaffer in particular. _ All those who served on the Ca- nadian Panel on Violence Against Women were dedicated, concerned citizens grappling with a. very Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Sales & Marketing Director Comptroller Doug Faat North Shorea News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph fll of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door an the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but .we cannot accept fesponsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied addressed envelope. : Peter Speck Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Linda Stewart need to express their male power as you suggest, only losers do. Real strength comes from within, not from the fist. I stayed at a shelter for batiered women and children’ and have Dispiay Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advernsing 985-6982 Classttied Advertising Newsroom 985-2131 108 ONCE MET AREY EST ACUI SUNCIAY = WEDNESDAY renOAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, ~ North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 by a Stamped, seif- Distribution Subscriptions 986-1337 986-6222 Fax } Administration 385-2134 § 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents ©) 1993 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. | trary to your suggestion, geogra- phy has nothing to do with it. Real men don’t batter. Shanaz Eduljee North Vancouver. 986-1337 { & Bae Tris newspaper conians facycled fore. Norin Shore managec 985-3227 — MEMBER SIN" eretorenry 5 [sin 7] SDA DIVISION Van birthday boy of the week. . DERRICK HUMPHREYS... West HITHER AND YON Domestic Product. Canada’s total” debt is now over 49% of its GDP — making us already twice as . close to the brink as our average OECD partner. - . : So when Reform leader Preston Manuing calls for more streamlined and cost-efficient social services as one means of fighting the deficit, he’s in highly PRESTON MANNING... in good company internationally. respectable company interna- tionally. Today, rethinking the welfare state holds out the only hope of saving its essential virtues. eee SCRATCHPAD: Speakers will abound at the West Van Chamber of Commerce 7:30 a.m. breakfast meeting Tuesday, Nov. 9, in Pep- . pi’s Restaurant, Dundarave, where all West Van candidates in the current municipal election will present their platforms and answer questions from the floor — reserve today at 926-6614 ... Also on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Chartwell school, the guest speaker at the British Properties & Area Homeowners Association a.g.m. is Hans Bentzen, P.Eng., designer of the ‘'self-financing” Bentzen Tunnel proposal for a third crossing ...And very many dhappy returns of tomorrow, Nov. 6, to former West Yan mayor Derrick Humphreys. oee WRIGHT OR WRONG: — John Wayne’s definition of courage: Being scared to death — and sad- dling up anyway.