t t 4 i By Anna Marle D'Angelo _. (+ News Reporter ua dangelo@nsnews.com NORTH Shore News lawyers wrapped up the tespondent’s case Thursday in the current - Human Rights Tribunal hearing with a researcher who tallied up the praise and criticism that has been printed in the news- paper about Doug Collins since 1989, And the pieces of published criti: clsm outnumbered the praise, “Lynda Viippola divided her study into the period before the institution of Bill 33 in 1993 and after, . The controversial NDP legislation amended the Human Rights Code to include sanctions against printed material thac “indicates discrimina- tion” of is “Vikely to expose a person or group of persons to hatred or con- tempt.” which are available to cd fines on behalf of complainants, The North Sh newspaper's rights of free expression. not tough enough. From page 1 such a service at this time. The GVRD stated: B population growth on the North Shore is projected to expand at one-third the rate of Greater Vancouver as a whole; “the North Shore contains lower household densities than areas slat- ed for light raif transit; ‘the number of vehicles in the catchment area for a Coquitlam or Richmond LRT line exceeds the number of vehicles on the North Shore; Bl additional buses and SeaBuses -can meet foreseeable demand on the North Shore (although con- cerns exist that planned bus expan- sion is insufficient and there are no plans for more SeaBuses); Ma rapid transit link would require a significant increase in planne ‘densities on the North Shore and major revisions in growth manage- ment arid transportation strategies outlined in the GVRD's Livable Region Strategic Plan. That plan aims to focus future growth in the central municipalities like Vancouver, Burnaby, Collins feedt.(H from January 1989 to July 15, 1992, than the praise... NEWS teader Barrie Moore. who danated $1,000 to the Free Speech Detehice Fuad thought a Province column dubbing Doug a dork deserved a more dignified disphfy. _ " ? ” ‘ ‘ News to do the study, said in an altidavie that there were 103 articles and letters to the editor in support of Collins printed in the newspaper NEWS photo Mike Wehotietd CIC's lawyer that newspaper space given to a coluninist far outweighs space given to letters to the editor, " ‘The press council’s code of practice states _ She counted 188 stories and letters of eriti- that: cism printed over the same period ~- 85 more Mi newspapers must guard against deliberate or careless publication of inaccuracies or statements The legislation allows for no appeal of human rights tribunal decisions and includes no tradi- tional defences such as truth and fair comment, ublications under Criminal Code libel and defamation lav, Human rights tribunals can also levy unlimit- ore News maintains that the Human Rights Code violates Canada’s Charter + of Rights and Freedoms by infringing upon the Bill 33 opponents also view the legislation as a draconian and unnecessary left-wing measure to stifle debate in a free society in which those who have a complaint can already seck redress through the courts and the 8.C. Press Council, -- Bill 33 supporters, however, argue that no a 1 | NEWS graphic Cathleen Powell The amended legislation was used by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) to launch a comphine againse Collins and the News over a 1994 Collins coluntn, The column, entitled Hollywood Propaganda, questions the widely accepted total of six million killed in che Holocaust, In the column, Collins refers to the popular movie Schindler's List as “Swindler’s List” and argues that, because there is such a strong Jewish influence in Hollywood, the Holocaust is being used as Hollywood-dri- ven propaganda that has a negative impact on post-Second World War Germans who had nothing to do with the Holocaust or the Nazi regime, A one-person tribunal is hearing the com- plaint, which is now into its third week, ‘Tribunal From July 16, 1993, to Dees 31, 1996, there were 144 printed examples of praise tor Collins and 199 criticizing the columnist, said Viippola, B.C, Press Council lawyer Roger McConchie presented tribunal chairman lyer with a pile of afidavits and paper at least six inches thick, The press council was granted hearing inter- venor status on behalfof the newspaper industry opposing Bill 33, but was not permitted to call “warm” witnesses to give evidence, "The press council has argued that the amend- ed Human Rights legislation usuups its cole as a self-regulating body for complaints against the press. CJC lawyers cross-examined B.C, Press Council executive director Gerald Porter, CJC lawyer Gerald Curtler referred toa pre- vious Collins remark about “women being raped by Russians” and whether women being raped was not a debatable issue. Said Cuttler, “Do you agree that there are designed to inistead, Significant inaccuracies or misleading staternents for which they are respon: sible must be corrected promptly: apologics should be issued when appropriate; Mi unless the information is directly relevant to the story, newspapers should not publish mater ial likely to encourage discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, men- tal or physical disability, and should avoid refer- ence tothe above in prejudicial or pejorative contexts. | ; The CJC lawyer suggested that Collins was let off lightly without having to apologize after a press council hearing determined that quotes used by Collins in an earlier column misted read- ers and misrepresented the original authors. Collins previously testified at the hearing on Wednesday that he was not anti-semitic and that his column was not intended to slur Jews or deny the Holocaust. The tribunal was not held Friday, It will sit” right is absolute and newspapers should be held responsible for factual errors that foster sterco- types and discrimination. They claim that court cases are expensive and the B.C. Press Council is room on ‘Thursday. Researcher Viippola, who was paid by the North Shore not in | line for rapid transit Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam, Due to limited cash, the building of fight-rapid transit lines needs to be prioritized based on the goals of the strategic plan, said GVRD bureaucrats. But Crist argues the GVRD’s reasoning is based on false assump- tions and added rapid transit can be economic, Crist said automobiles are subsidized to the tune of $2,600 a year and each household in the region contributes $600 to transit each year. “We have to shift that subsidy from the automobile over to public transportation, then we would get totally different economic figures,” he said. West Vancouver Mayor Pat Boname, who ts also on the regional transportation committee, applauded Crist for his urgency on urban transit, “I think Ernie has a poinc. The GYRD is right, the population is not here right now,” she said, “But given the length of time ir takes to plan we should start plan- ning now.” chairman Nitya Iyer was outnumbered by the nine lawyers arguing the case, About a dozen spectators were in the Hornby Street hearing taught journalism ethics, certain opinions that are not debatable?” “Yes, 1 do,” said Porter, who headed the Langara journalism program for 10 years and Porter agreed with the suggestion of the again on Monday, June 2, at 815 Hornby St. before breaking for a week. The tribunal is scheduled to resume June 9 for one week in which wrap-up arguments by all sides will be presented, Victim in long-term care From page 1 the car where her head “slapped down” smashing through the windshield, The windshield hole was so big that the woman’s head could easily have gone inside the car. Williains, 49, was hurled 29 metres (95 feet) in what was described in court as “the throw distance.” Williams has been in a vegetative state ever since she was hit by the car on Dec 11, 1995, ‘The time was 7:30 a.m. The intersection was East 3rd Street and Moody Avenue. Low was heading, west, Williams is now in long-term care at Evergreen House in Lions Gate Hospital. “Sometimes tragedies happen for no good reason,” argued Low’s lawyer Douglas Lahay. He said North Vancouver provincial court Judge Ellen Burdett should not look at the consequences of the alleged careless driving, , Low was neatly dressed in a black skirt, white blouse and a black-and-white-striped top. A seated Low looked down at the floor in front of her for most of the court proceedings. Her arms were folded neatly on her lap, Sometimes Low’s head was bowed so much that half her neck could be seen by the people behind her in the court- room. Low’s lawyer used a previous court decision to back up his argument that because an accident had occurred it did not necessarily mean a motorist had done any- thing wrong. Another previous case concluded that a pedestrian had to laok out for his own safery, even ina crosswalk. Lahay said the Crown presented no evidence that Williams was crossing safely in the crosswalk. Testimony indicated that a truck had swerved out of the way of a pink raincoated pedestrian carrying an umbrella shortly before she was hit by Low’s car. Low did not testify. Evidence presented from the North Vancouver RCMP traffic collision reconstruc- tionist indicated that Low was speeding. But witnesses provided differing testimony. Low's speed in the 50 km-h zone was estimated between 48 km-h and 73 km-h by the various witness- cs. Crown lawyer Leslie Burrell said that -Low had an inadvertent absence of thought as she drove through the crosswalk that rainy dark morning during rush hour. ' Burrell said you could expect pedestrians to be around East Third Street because it was a bus route. Low, Burrell said, should have been cautious because of the weather. The Crown lawyer said that if Low wasn’t speeding, as the defence lawyer suggested, there was more reason for the driver to be able to sce the pedestrian. “What happened was extremely tragic and it was tragic for Mrs. Low as well ... Nonetheless, she should have been paying proper attention,” said Burrell. Low was charged with driving without due care and attention and driving without consideration. Judge Burdett’s decision in the case was not avail- able to press time Friday, Williams’ partner of “a long time,” sat in the court- room as'‘somber as Low and her supporters, Outside the courtroom, the burly native man with the black cowboy hat could only get out two short answers to a reporter before his eyes filled with tears. “She was going to work,” he managed to say. He didn’t want to say more.