north shore news MAIL Box school book baitle insights Dear Editor: 1 commend Hana Mercer (One dad, ovo dads, three bad books, Jan. 29 Fair Comment) for having actually taken the time to read the three books whose use in the Surrey school system is currently in debate. However, Fd like to encourage her to take che small additional step of considering not just the content but the context of these books, Fact: Systemic discrimina- tion harnis its victims, particu- larly so when the victims are children, Fact: There are children in the school system today who come from non-traditional families. Fact: These children are suf- fering discrimination at the hands of their peers and in some cases even their teachers and school officials. Fact: These books were intended to promote tolerance towards the targets of this dis- crimination, not to promote a so-called homasexual lifestyle, nor even :o be great literature {not that I think Dr. Seuss nec- essarily Bits into that category either). Perhaps in time some writer will produce a great work of art that promotes tol- erance for these children, but until that happens, this is what we've got, and I say let’s use it to help end the kind of systemic discrimination that harms all our children. Katherine Maas McCreadie remembered Dear Editor: I «wish to offer my condolences on the passing of Barbara McCreadie and my regards to her family. [ read her column for many years” and enjoye4 many of her trav- eladventus. and recipes. I loved the way she wrote and made us feel included in her travels. We could ali relate to hee problems and she made cooking scem so easy. Iam a cancer survivor and [ am saddened when someone loses the fight. We have lost a very good person and columnist. We will miss her. Lynn Jackart ljackart@direct.ca * Transferring your mortgage? * Arranging a sew mortgage? * Refinancing an existing mortgage? Our 3% CashBack offer pays you 358 of your mortgage value’. On a $250,000 montgage, that’s $7.500. Use your CashBack bonus any way you chiese. For more intosmation, please call: 929-2525 © *Some conditions and sarisions ele Limited rime offer, Ask for complete details. Telephone Approvals 929-2525 North Vanceuver Dear Editor: T was glad to see a com- Mon-sense response to the ongoing homosexism and the heterophobia discussion. The new edition of Hana Mercer to vour newspaper is welcomed. Doug Johnstone North Vancouver djohnsto@capcollege.be.ca Let North Shore's financiat advisors help you on the path to financial security. With thoughtful planning advice and a ful! range of investment choices, we can help diversify your RRSF portfolio to maximize your returns: ® Guaranteed Term Deposits & A full range of Mutual Funds > Stocks and Bonds security, are rt quaranveed and sre not Section i a teonber CIPR. fe. petticipating credit unions and associated . "Bag necurting sold, unlese vou ere informed. to tne contrary with respect to a specific easy govarcerott OF ter epost inaurer securities and investment Wednesday, February 24, 1999 — North Shore News - 9 ted white, mop. advertorial, February 24/1999 THE WASTE REPORT Just over a week has passed since the Minister of Finance delivered his “nothing that hadn't already been leaked to the media” budget, so it seems like a good time to report on some recent exampies of Government waste. As you read through the follow- ing, keep in mind that the Finance Minister is giving you, on average, a tax cut of $143 per year, while at the same time adding more than $80 to your CPP and payroll tax bill. After the dust set- tles you will be lucky if you can afford one more cup of coffee per month! MILLENNIUM STUFF Even though the new miflennium does not actually start until January 1, 2001, iots of your money is being handed out this year and next for Millennium Projects. This despite the Prime Minister's state- ment last year that “Canadians don’t want a big millennium blowout, with nothing to show for it the morning after but-a nangover and a lot of bills.” | leave it to you to judge whether the following projects, all pur- chased with your tax dollars, are going to be worth the money spent: * A former Edmonton City Councillor will get $27,500 to travel across Canada in search of environmer:tal projects for the new millennium. * The image of St-Jeari Baptiste is going to be created, through selec- tive tree planting on a Quebec hill- side, at a cost of $257,635. Warning — if you were thinking of going to see it, an admissica fee oi $4 will be charged. *A mods of the world’s largest dinosaur is going to be built at the tourist centre in Drumheller, Alberta, ever. chough the real thing is already on display. The cost — $250,000. * A “Canada Tree” will cost $915,000. it is a sculpture 35 feet high and weigh- ing 10,000 pounds, decorated with 600 Canadian artifacts such as shin- gles from the Anne of Green Gables House, and a toy mallet from former CBC announcer, Peter Gzowski. * You will pay $250,000 for The {nternationai Arts Society of Alberta to produce a sculpture made from old firearms. * For a mere $200,000 you are funding 2 miiiennium ice show in Jonquiere and Charleville, Quebec featuring gigantic puppets. xin tiny St. Mary's, 150 km west of Torento, $176,867 will build a perma- nent home for the Canadian Baseball Halt of Fame. (Last season, e whop- ping 4,006 people visited this Hall of Fame). As none of the above appear to have anything at all to do with the millennium, the Millennium Project Fund is clearly nothing more than a government pork bar- rel set up to facilitate a special interes: group feeding frenzy at your expense. FROM HERE AND THERE Just in case you missed the news flash, Senators have a new $612,000 cafeteria in the East Block on Parliament Hill, but no one has ever eaten lunch there. It was not until Public Works had completed con- struction and installed all the equipment in 1997 that it was realized that the cafeteria was not needed. Meanwhile, all the nega- tive comments about the Senate in the last year have inspired Senators to spend $3.3 million on a public relations campaign to convince you that they are doing a good job. (In fairness, they are probably doing the best job they can as an unelected and unaccountable group of appointees.) You can kiss $6,885 goodbye siter the Solicitor General !ent the money to some ex-cons and surprise, surprise, they never paid it back. Obviously not a lot of dollars in the grand scheme of things, but wasted money just ihe same. Along simitar lines, a prisone: who did not want to do his time in Kingston recently sued the Solicitor General. He lost, but so did we, to the tune of a $50,000 bill from his lawyer. The new, American designed, stair- way alongside the American Embassy in Ottawa is going to cest taxpayers $1.7 mil- lion, or $38, 370 cer step, yet it is not even wheelchair accessible. It will, however, be “tastefully aglow with street lamps and beautifully landscaped.” There was 2 very strange expenditure by the Canadian Embassy in Washington last year — it forked out $2,160 to replace lost Indioar passports. Meanwhile, the Federal Government as a whole lost $1.3 -nillion worth of computers. The Department of Veterans Affairs, for exam- ple, when it moved offices a year aao. packed $6,300 worth of cornputers in boxes, and is still waiting for them to arrive. in terms of advertising expenditures, the Federal Government spent $1,875,000 to promote Canadian athletes on Canadian television during the Nagano Olympics. However, more than half of the ads were on French language ielevision Stations in Quebec, even though Quebec has less than 20% of Canada's populatian. Similarly, $14 million was spent adve-tis- ing sporting events in Eastern Canada such as the Montreal Grand Prix, and the home games of the Montreal Canadiens, Expos, Allouettes, and the Ottawa Senators. Did any of the western-based CFL of NHL teams receive any money? No, not a dime. (n the past three years, Foreign Affairs has spent $113,223.69 on Royal Doulton China, and $258,328.26 tor Centauri ster- ling silver knives and forks. And finally, no teport about waste would be complete without a Sheila Conps example ~ Canadian Heritage is spending $150,060 to pay for a travelling “Child Abuse and Survivor Monument”, After reading all of the above you might afready have a hangover com- pliments of the Prime Minister. If so, you can always spend your newly found tax reduction on a couple of aspirin instead of a cup of cofiee. Ted White, MP, , #302-1200 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver, B.C, V7} 2AZ : “Tel: 666-0585 Fax: 666-0509, Internet: hiroufaww.reform.ca/white-t/ Cast your vote in today’s paper! — You'll have a chance at winning either a trip to Las Vegas ora Sony WEGA Flat Screen TV. Las Vegas trip courtesy of BCAA Travel Park Royal North and Park &Tilford and Signature Vacations. Sony TV courtesy of CGM Electronics.