Dear Editor: I world like to applaud North Vancouver City council's vote in favour of appealing to the federal government to change the age of sexu- ai consent to 18 years of age. No adult should be able to use this law to justify sexual activities with children. The pre- sent aw allows such injustices to take place. The law should state that no adult can engage in sexual activity with a child under 18 years of age. This statement is in harmony with otter laws such as child pornography laws; the child abuse faws; UN definition of a child; sex tourism laws; child prostitution laws; child wel- farc laws. The present Age of Consent law (which is 14 years of age) is in contradiction with all the above. If the faw stated that no adult can engage in sexual activity with a child under 18, this would not criminalize teens having sexual rela- ’ dons with other teens which is the concern of ‘many on this issue. . ¢ facts arc, adults make child porncgra- phy, adults use under-age prostitutes, adults lise the present Age of Consent laws to justify their actions, . Adults need to be responsible for their actions. Adult judges and lawyers use the pre- sent Age of Consent Jaws to criminalize the “child, not the adult. For example, Vancouver's past is one of pedophile paradise. A Vancouver study has stated that in the past police have largely over- : looked men who buy sex from juveniles. From 1983 to 1994, the study said only six charges were laid against people who bought sex from children... > “Inthe same period, however, 354 juveniles Accident photo ‘Dear Editor: : . As an avid North Shore News reader, | ‘applaud your thorough coverage of all events . and. occurrences on the North Shore. -However, during the ‘past few weeks, I have _Tepeatedly been subjected to unnecessary pho- _tos of injured and/or dead pcople‘on the front page of your pape Sos, Lfeel: ch this, is, extremely insensitive to and family members of the people ictures. Not only have some d through great pain f their beloved family really. necessary? Friday, September 18, 1998 — Norin Shore News— 9 north shore news MAIL Box Support city council’s School fees a necessary evil age of consent stand were charged for selling sex. And the courts are typically tough on prostitutes and Jenient on their customers. John Twiney, who runs the Downtown Eastside Youth Activity Society, coramissioned the study. In Vancouver's impoverished downtown Eastside, men are commonly seen arranging (0 have sex with children. He estimates that from 50 to 100 children are selling sex on Vancouver streets on any given night. The study found that 25% of adult prasti- tutes started selling sex at the age of 14 or car- lier. The city police force has been charging both males and females under federal prostitu- tion related laws. “The majority of women who were charged were severely fined or imprisoned and only a small percentage of men received anv kind of penalty.” (Globe and Maal, Feb. 4, 1997) Adults should not be pretected by our nation’s laws when having sex with children. Adults should net be given legal permission to have sex with children. Adults are in a position of power and authority over children and have a responsibil- ity to nurture, respect and protect them. Adults must never feel entitled to sexually exploit a child. The present law needs ro be changed for the sake of the children. T hope that others will join in supporting North Vancouver City council in speaking up and will take action by writing to the Justice Minister Anne McLellan and copy the letter to their MP — House of Commons, Ortawa, Ontario KIA 0A6 (no postage required). Our children are worth it. Lynn Armstrong North Vancouver upsets reader For a newspaper that prides itself on cater- ing to the best interests of our community, I feel that displaying these photos on the front page is solely for the best interest of the news- paper to gain shock value. T urge you to reconsider the message that you are portraying to the public regarding the sensationalization of car accident scenes, train . accidents etc. The victims of these unfortunate incidents have gone through horrific experiences. The last thing they or their family members need is to re-live that time when they sec the front page of your paper. ; Petra Davis North Vancouver petra.davis@mailcity.com x & € 4 Dear Editor: The North Shore News rightly raises the question of fees charged in a2 public educa- tion system. When [ first ran for the school board in 1993 I was committed to the elimination of fees but it is obvious that our parents accept the need for fees due to chronic underfund- ing of school programs, in other words, with- out fees, particularly at the secondary school level, some courses and extra-curricular pro- grams sinply would not exist and this is not acceptable to our community. Your story reported on the concerns of the North Vancouver school board. In West Vancouver we have developed board protocols for the approval of fees to address parenzal concerns: M@ any fee must be set in consultation with, and with the approval of, the school’s Parent Advisory Council; @ fccs must be discussed and cstablished Holland Bulbs early in the spring for the following schcol year; @ any and all tees must be approved by the board in one document tor all schools in May at the latest, for the following school year; approved tees are to be announced to par- ents and the community before the end of the school year; B® no student shall be excluded from any course or program for which he or she cannot afford the fee; @ this notice of opportunity to participate, regardless of ability to pay, must be commu- nicated co all parents by individual schools at least once each year. This is our attempt to develop an inclusive process for a necessary yet unfortunate rev- cnue source. 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