Wednesday, October 1, 1997 — North Shore News — 9 (em Capilano} Can “College AT CAP > Capilano College north shore news MAIL Box - Dear Editor: :... For many years backyard burning has been legal; fires on the beach were recently banned by West Vancouver council; and there are restrictions on . cigarette smoking in public =: places, ae er: ee < Participate in Our Harvest Fair’ are a major concern, it simply doesn’t make sense to allow this known health hazard to continue. Steven Davis President BREATHE Coalition for 2 Smoke-Free Environment it’s time fora tax revolt i Open letter to the Nérth Shore taxpayers: am in full agreement with the letters published in the Sept. 10 North Shore News regarding tize Preposterous proposal of government: will not f building a tunnel, probably because it will not be able x it; a tinned will pay for itself. They want to build a bridge, ut tolls in place, and promise to remove the tolls when the vidge is paid for: Does this soun :, vaguely "Tain ured of iv ense ‘accounts, ° ig these clowns my money, nsions, and for their children’s private familiar? ying for their chooling. We have becn bending over for the politicians far too i ough letters, and whined about the cur- ugh. We need to pull together as a communi- ‘and kick them where it hurts: their lai of actic: ers. step would be to hold a public meeting, and discuss ecause the North Shore News is iiclivered n the North Shore, it would be logical to orstep. ation through “Letters:to the Edizor” to help the Vehicles traveliing the Dollarton Highway seem to thiak at it is more of a racetrack, rather than a route to get to the We. Do these people have children? I guess‘not. Otherwise th might give more thought to ving habits, and to the kids who must cross there. This f Spot is an accident waiting to happen, and the children are con- #@ tinually put in danger every time they go to and from school. qz:5.-T have witnessed some pretty scary incidents myself. Cars id trucks seem to feel put out by the fact that they have to stop : for the light... oo, Many. do not bother to slow down in time and choose instead to fly through the orange — and even red — lights! One slock east, there is no cro: réndous is going to happen! at all. My God, something hor- 22. Does North Vancouver District /City not support the idea of crossing guards? They don’t cost a whole lot, compared with cost of your conscience if you hit someone. Something has to be done to ensure the safety of the chil- en ~— before it’s too late! LETTERS to the editor must be legible (preferably typewritten) ud include your name, full address and telephone number. :. Due to space constraints the North Shore News cannot publish all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accu- * cacy, legality and taste. Submissions can be faxed to 985-2104. ted white, m.p. designed to be. Dear Whomever: Since my visit to the North Shore the other week, and your unsolicited shopping trip, I'd like to locks have been changed. That leaves us with one crazy question, why take a secunty bar with no key? John McDonald Maple Ridge advertorial, October 1/97 THE FIRST WEEK The first week of the 36th Parllament began at 71 em on Monday, September 22, 1997, and the first order of business was the election by secret ballot of a new Speaker. Ail MPs are automatically on the first betict unless they specifically request In writing that their names be removed, bu thanks to the mysterious disappearanes of my written request for removal, my “ame managed to find its way on to the first balict along with a number of others who had not intended to run. . # By the ond of the first vote though, the field was reduced to four serious hopefuls, and two mare batlots produced a runoff between John Nunziata, the independent ex-Liberal MP, and Gilbert Parent, the Speaker of the 35th Parliament. On the fal baliot, Gilbert Parent won a new tera as Speaker, although a later teak of the voting result reported a difference of just four votes between the two choices. Kseping in mind that John had run on a plat- form of parliamentary reform, the close result sends a very strong message to the Prime Minister that it is time to begin changing the rules of the House to bring them into line with the realities of the Informatio: Age. Many of us will be keeping our fingers crossed that the message actually registered with the Prime Minister. ° THE THRONE SPEECH if you watched the Throne Speech live on telavision, you deserve a medal, because even ‘the most politically minded observers had diffi- culty staying awake. The Prime Minister cer- tainly looked as if he was dozing off a number of times as the Governor General droned his way through 20 pages of political rhetoric and baffiegab. By the end of the marathon speech though, the Goverment had anncunced at . least 29 spending initiatives including increased Canada Council funding, a Canada wide men- torship program, Centres of Excellence for child development, and a program to measure and report reguiarly on the readiness of Canadian children to leam. As Preston Manning said later in his reply to the Throne Speech, “The speech refers to children as if they were disembodied spirits not connected in any way, shape or form with families.” 4 was also a slap in the face for seniors that a list of politically correct bottomless pits for tax dollars, like the Canada Council, will get increased funding while the massive clawbacks proposed under the new Seniors’ Benefit will continue as planned. In addition to the disappointing trend back towards traditional Liberal spending patterns, the Throne Speech section on unity, as usual, focused entirely on Quebec, with no mention of te-balancing powers to make federal institu- tions reflect the needs of the regions, and no mention at ali of the equality of citizens and provinces. The Government is obviously under the impression that the Premiars’ Conferenca in Calgary, by using the words “unique character”, has somehow breathed new life inio the worn out “Distinct Society” approach to Quebec. Again, more noticaab!e for its absence than what was present, there was no mention in the Throne Speech of the need to rework the Young Offenders Act, to reform the parole system, or to keep dangerous offenders behind bars. In fact, the only proposed sentencing reform would make sentences lighter, via “communi- ty diversion progiams” and “alternative sanc- tions”. Where was the response to the needs of the victims of crime, or to the families which suf- fer ongoing grief and stress because cf a justice system which has become litle more than a legal system? Unfortunately, it looks as if the new Justice Minister, Hon. Anne McLeiland, is going tv be a big disappointment, ignoring the pubiic will, exactly as Alan Rock did before her. QUESTION PERIOD Amongst the lineup of questions related to the Throne Speech on September 25, Reform’s Immigration Critic, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast MP John Reynolds, pointed out that there are more than 30,000 illegal immigrants in Canada today, and demanded to know how the Minister of Immigration could justify secret plans to deport to Vietnam onty 100 of the 200 Vietnamese illegals presently under deportation order in Canada, especially when most of them are identified as criminals? He also asked the Minister to confirm that Vietnam had agreed to take 100 hand-picked deportees only if Canada provided an $8 million foreign aid contract, which, in a typical display of patronage, is headed up by ex-Liberal Cabinet ' Minister Marc Lalonde? Minister Robillard'’s confusing reply was, “If the hon- ourable member of the Reform Party is so proud to welcome immigrants to Canada, he should not be continuing to try to create myths about immigration. That is just what he is doing with this sort of question and it is unacceptable. In the case of those who abuse the sys- tem, who come here illegally, we try to have official agreements with foreign governments so they will take back their nationals who are here illegally. This is the case with Vietnam, China and other countries.” Reading between the lines of course, the Minister has clearly confirmed the existence of a problem. Perhaps John will have an opportunity to follow up with yet another question, “Isn't it about time we put an end to retugee claims at our border entry points, and insisted that refugee claimants apply for entry at an embassy abroad, or from bona fide United Nations refugee camps, where millions of GENUINE refugees are waiting to find a new country?” Ted White, M.P. ; #302-1200 Lynn Valley. Road, North Vancouver, B.C. STel.: 666-0585 :. Fax? 666-0509, Internet: hittp://www.reform.ca/wi Do you have some crafts to sell, or are you looking to clear gut some household items? You'll have a captive audience at our Saturday, October 18 Open Howse. Tables to sell your items at our Harvest Fair in the Child Care Centre are available for $15 each, with these proceeds going towards equipping the Centre. carticipants will keep any monies they make from selling their wares. To reserve | your table, call - 983-7587 by Friday, October 3. Remember, we're expecting between 8,000 and 10,000 guests on campus that day! » Unemployed and Frustrated? The Capilano College * Community a Employment Access: Program (CEAP) starts. early October. Training allowance is available. Wage subsidy opportunities. Prove yourself to employers. Call Terry at 984-1711. p> Resident Care Attendant Upgrading Program Are you working in a continuing care facility? Do you have a LTC certificate? If the answers are yes, then come to the information meeting at Capilano College on Wednesday, October 8 in the Cedar building, room 347 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm, or from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Find out what the Resident Care Attendant _ Program can do for your career! CAPILANO COLLEGE 2055 Purcell Way Nerth Vancouver British Columbia 986-1911