8 - Sunday, December 8, 1996 — North Shore News Vv coverage insensitive Dear Editor: All of us at BC Transit are heartbroken over the death in North Vancouver of Ruth Erikson. The safety of our pas- sengers and employees is our number-one priority. Each day in the Vancouver region, BC Transit pro- vides transportation for almost 400,000 people. Most days we do so with- out incident, in spite of the numerous proble:as that confront our opera- tors. When we fail, it is taken personally and everyone here feels the effect. | That being said, we believe the North Shore News, with its sensational- ized coverage of the trial, needlessly aggravated the pain of those associated with this incident. Intentional acts, that we all consider reprehensi- ble, may well belong on the front page below one- inch headlines. But docs an accident that could have been caused by a momentary lapse in atten- tion really warrant that kind of coverage? Incidents such as this are.taker: very seriously by BC Transit. We all learn from therm and do every- thing we can to prevent them from happening ‘again. We would have ‘|vappreciated your newspa- per showing more sensitiv- ity in this tragic situation. Derek R. Corrigan “BC Transit chairman Dear Editor: It may be petty to raise my lowly voice above the throngs of letters you probably receive, but I felt it imperative to tug your sleeve over one particular corner of the newspaper that has some insidious messages couched within its text. This is in regards to the Nov. 29 Inquiring Reporter: “Have you started your Christmas shopping?” Why give the readers facts we've all known for years, that of the media’s pre- mature banging on kitchen supplies and perfume bottles months before the thankless task of replacing faded red and green light bulbs begins? Halloween involves cheap candy and costumes, not much profit. But Christmas provides hundreds of options for spoiling those near and dear to us, and at the same time locking people into cycles of relieving guilt. Christmas has been adopted by cus- tomer outlets as another gimmick. Plain, BABYLON TT TAIT I Qe maa kb Xmas schi simple and predictable. The statistics of whether North Shore residents have been buying could easily have been replaced with a giant graphic of S. Empty “information” Who cares? Are we mall drones mildly curious about our fellow plebeian’s progress? Unlikely. Therefore, the numbers comparing eight North Shore communities are useless. White noise in newspaper type adver- tising nothing in particular, just promot- ing the idea of “i appy shopping!” Christmas i: a good excuse for expressing love; why take the casy way out to [et a CD xr pair of slippers do the . work. Make a collage, write a letter! I sure hope our emotions haven't been sacrificed to hollow carols and sup- per deals. The management spirit of jolly St. Nick, third in the list of interviewees, told us (“we”) to “keep shopping con- tinuously”— in other words think little, or think only with our wallets. ock Why ask members of society if they have commenced the purchase process? Why not instead ask for a short anec- dote about their fondest Christmas memory? At least the readers would have an image, a glimpse into the life of a stranger, and pot the answer to a yes or no question. More recently, the Dec.1 issue pro- vided “Survival tips for shoppers.” Aside from the conflicting messages condemning impulse-buying and keep- ing one’s eyes open for deals on items they don’t need, J found it doubly iron- ic that the article was placed above the advertisement for a television special on channel 30 (Shopper Teleguide Network) on “The Transcendental Meditation.” I guess between ads for cosmetics we can fuse with the great beyond for 20 minutes and come back before our soda goes flat. Daymon Macmillan North Vancouver Wondering about Orwell award Dear Editor: { was most interested to read Doug Collins’ report of the mecting, which Collins attended, at which Doug Chrisne’s Free Speech League made the George Orwell award to Mr. Ron Gostick of the Canadian League of Human Rights (News Nov. 17). I do not know how much Deug knows about Gostick, but according to Warren Kinsella’s well-regarded Web of Hate (page 353), Gostick “has rallied to the side of virtually every single white supremacist and neo-Nazi this country has produced in the past 30 years.” And of course ioug Christie is himself also a most interesting fellow. Not only is he the brave lawyer who defended both Zundel and Keegstra, but he is also the Business Administration e Department f Fall 1996 Information Meetings Tuesday, December 10 ay Cedar Building, Room 148 7 to8 p.m. ‘Meet All Three :Slarting in spring 1997 will be answered. We offer a full range of programs to suit your f needs: * Accelerated Program Part-time Certificate Twe-year Diploma Co-op Work Experience Diploma ¢ Accelerated Computer Systems Management Diploma * Advanced Diploma * Degree (in cooperation with the Open University) ¢ Retail Marketing Certicate § For further information, call Marilyn Taylor, Business Administration Department, at 986-1911, ext. 2223 (@ Capilano Ce ‘College: Capilano College 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver, B.C. V75 3H5 Step into your future with us today! founder of Western Canada Concept, with which Ted White used to be associated. This is a very interestin organization. ‘ Not only does it propose a separate Western Canada, but it is also very sympathetic to sep- aratist Quebec — rather like the type of thing which was proposed at Ted White's recent meeting on Quebec separatism. I find it perplexing that such strong defenders of free- dom of speech and freedom of the press excluded the media — other than Doug Collins — from their meeting (Oct. 27, 1996, Vistoria Times- Colonist). CHRISTMAS GIFT Jewellery under $75.00 § Gold & Silver XN. Van 1637] anaale Ave. WoVen $730 Maria . opan a dayata as yok 5 Vertical Blinds 50% off receive a Free Valance with every vertical blind order ORDER BEFORE DEC. 31/96 (this promotion valid on in-coming orders only) pilus . — SHAD BETTER Specializing in window coverings for over 10 years Vahi.117 949 W, 31a. St. 984-4101 (behind Cap. Mall): Ph. Cog, 942-3911 Von. 264-7255 Longley 532-8859 Squamish 898-5252 Whistler 932-6617 Surely such an important event as the award of the pres- tigious Orwell Awards is, like the award of Nobel Prizes, a legitimate matter of public interest. Lionel Kenner North Vancouver wo Roger Latta Certified Financial Planner enewal of GIC’s brings inasicial shock to many people when they realize that interest rates on 5-year terms have dropped from 9% to 5%. This drop can mean financial disaster to many people, especially seniors, where a swing this great is critical for their financial health. Thankfully, restructuring investments can often result’ in’ an increase of an additional 3-5%. The restructuring process is relatively easy when an individual works in conjunction with 4 pro- fessional financial planner/- investment consultant. Many people think that if they meet with a pro- fessional, they will have to buy a product or service. In mont cases this is not truce. A Language logjams Dear Editor: Quebec is not distinct’ French-speaking, Canadians are disunct, because unlike ii other language groups' within Canada, they did not! come to Canada as immi-3 grants expecting to require the leamung, of a new lan- guage to be a part of the Ry Canadian mainstream. Native Canadians are alsofi distinct but it is not practical to consider offering perma nent language guarantees tof so many languages with rel-¥ atively few speakers. a We can refise to recog: i nize that ¢ Canadians have zs many § cross-country —_ language i rights as anglophones.and risk that they, as a majority group in Quebec, would be better served by being in'a separate country, or we can 4 offer the same rights to francophones outside | of| Quebec that we . consider just for the anglop of Quebec. . Each: province must ask pantie ieves the Engtish-speak: ers of Quebec should: be § " treated and do likewise. for J its French-speaking inhabi tants and tourists. -- North Vancouver -° simple redesign of currently owned financial’ plans’ can . significantly improve: an‘: individual's’ position. Con- servative investment objec- tives should be 8-10%. Coordination of asset groups, held inside ~and outside RRSP’s, may.. be considered to reduce your tax burden and to increase’ your yields. An hour spent. with a financial planner may be worth it’s weight by up to © 5%. Please call Roger Latta é& - Co. Ltd. at 983-2235 for information on how we can help. Roger Latta & Company Ltd. is located at #430-172 | West Esplanade in North Vancouver francophone fa ’