north shore)

The Hct Shere ews is pubshod by North

Steere Free Press Lod., Publisher Peter Speck,

from 1139 Lonsdale kronee
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pan) seezisi (17)

Zhore Noun Gunn! in 1960 men edt

‘darter’ nswapaper acd cpelified under Sctecés 111,
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‘Wockacachy, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Preas Lad

Entire contents
© 1996 North Shore
Free Press Ltd.
All rights reserved.

THE SWISS RUN-AROUND ORME

quotes of the

“The goat obviously didn’t

<kaow ‘what it was deing in the
woods,”

Judy Stone, president of Animal
Advocates } Society of B.C., after
encountering six men anda goat
around a bonfire in the pouring

*“rain on the banks of North

Vancouver’s Lynn Creek, on the
state of the goat. (From a Jan. 31
North Shore News ry a

therine Galliford, after. police
investigated the case of the six men
andthe’ goat, on what the men ‘told
the police. (From @ Jan. 31 North
Shore N News story. )
_. “Birds it in an the saddest

is a symbol of ©

feedion to. yeiten beings and
then they.put them in cages in a.
room and thc poor «thing sits
there till it dies.”

“pao
“Riding around the North

* Shore after we came back from

the Olympics we were shocked by
the number of kids who were
excited about what we did. They

ine a us and they were ask-
ing for advice from us, if they

THEY'RE SUST
HIDING -LETS

Dad GIVE EMA Tew)

Ba MORE YEARS |
By TO MAKEA
aE WITHDRAWAL J

IF ONLY THE
NAZIS HAD GIVEN OU
Be, VEATH CERTIFICATES]

Week

could ride with us; we even start-
ed getting phone calls from some
of them and some were hanging

out on my front lawn.”

Olympic mountain bike silver
medailist Alison Sydor, on the reac-
tion of local youth to her and other

lympic competitors on their
ph the North Shore. (From a

Nee eget emanate et ameee tal

. Jan. 31 North Shore News story.)

Q00
“After 16 months of being

treated like a non-person, living
with constant pain and watching
how quickly famous sports stars
receive treatment, T have run out
of patience, This is not a personal
attack on the doctor or the hos-

. pital but an attack on a sytem
~ that is not working fera middle-

class person.”
North Vancouver resident Lorrie
MacGregor. who suffered cartilage

-damage, torn ligaments and a
- sprained knee while playing road

hockey in October 1995 and is still
waiting for surgery, on the
inequities of the medical system.
(From a Jan. 31 North Shore News

story.)

: . 000

“This isn’t just NIMBY, this is
NIABY — not in anyone’s back-
yard. I wouldn’t wish this on
anyone.”

Gordon Rose, opposing a plan
to build an outdoor sports court
near the Karen Magnussen arena in
North Vancouver’s elynn Valley
area. (From a Jan. 26 North Shore
News story.)

SI a ITI We!

Second look at
no-fault — and
Cypress Bowl

NO-FAULT auto insurance has been
a bust in provinces and American
states that have tried it. But Aussies
say it doesn’t have to be.

In Ontario, premium hikes over six years
of no-fault have reportedly averaged 10-12%

annually. In Manitoba a promised 20% premi-
um reduction became a 6% increase, Similarly

~ in Saskatchewan and points south.

The reason? No-fault — by cutting out lawsuits — pays innocent vic- ”
tims less but bad drivers more. So costs even out, then tend to rise again.

However, the Australian state of Victoria seems to have effectively fine-
tuned no-fault in several ways. All injured parties get 80% of lost income -
and treatment for as long as necessary. Injury causing 30% disability or a
threat to your livelihood entitles you, after an interval, to sue in court for a”
further award of up to $1 million. La

What you can’t sue for is “pain and suffering” from minor injuri (e. 4
whiplash) — a major cost item. But the Aussies credit one other factor for
much of the success of no-fault in Victoria state: a no-holds- barred safe
drivirig program with vigorous enforcement. -

Permissible blood alcohol level is .05 versus our own 08, And an in
sive TV campaign features sickeningly gory emergency ward scenes with :
the punchline: “If you drink and drive, you’re a bloody idiot!” :

Accidents there are down significantly. Premiums average $272 —
one-third of the average ICBC equivalent. Could it be that all no-faul
needs to work fairly is a lide brainpower backed by real muscle?

O00 - ;

“PLEASE LISTEN!” says Cypress Bows Recreations president jayne
Booth in reply to your scribe’s commenti last week on CB 's expa
sion plan.

We do = and he makes a soothing case for the plan, even though it’
unlikely to convert the West Van environmental lobby overnight.

Basically, Booth does not dispute the facts and figures quoted in my
two prec ing columns. Yes, there will be 2 restaurant, retail stores and
few other buildings (“lodges”?) where you can get in‘out of the cold. But :«:

this merely means housing such facilities — which are already there — in

permanent, as opposed to the present temporary accommodation, .

But “there'll be no overni, Ee accommodation whatever,” he stresses.
“To suggest ‘we're trying to Sevelop another Whistler is a, hood
ed to. deceive the public and discredit the public. proc

And yes, 24 hectares of forest would be logged fo
trails. But these are all within “the controlled re
Parks 1979 Master Plan: Nothing outside will be touche

On the upside Booth points out that CBR provides 001
passholders, mostly local families; employs over 600 le, a majority.
young North Shore residents; and generates over Pnilio a year in fed
eral, provincial and municipal taxes and fees.

At this without a single proper biffy up there! Still unanswered i
whether or not West Van's sewer system Joes have the capacity to’
the overflow from the proposed expansion —~ and how much other
nition the Enemies of Cypress Bow! Recreations are armed with. Stay
tuned.

ano
NCRITIS VAN REFORMERS pick their federal candidate We eaday,
Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Coach House’ Inn — likely present hardworkit
MP Ted White ... And happy birthday Mondjy, | Feb. i to West 1
Kiwanian Joe Lindsey.

000
WRIGHT OR WRONG: No one.ever drowned i in sweat.”

— The North Shore News believes strongly in freedom of. cech and thi
right of all sides in a debate to be heard. The columnists published in the
present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily. those * of the:
nersspaper stself.

news viewpaint

“HE provincial government
* "appears set to make the North
Shore pay toll to the troll.

Penance perhaps for shutting the
NDP out in the last election. Whatever

. the reason, the talk of a fee for using an

upgraded Lions Gate Bridge or replace-
ment is picking up steam.

In recent discussions about the much-
delayed decision on the bridge, highways
boss Lois Boone continued to make
unpleasant noises about the use of a toll
on the span.

The smart money is on a band aid
solution at best for the bridge’s replace-

ment: four lanes instead of the current
three. A bit of paint and polish at best.

Cost will be substantial, regardless of
the short-sightedness of the final decision.

But it will be a cost borne by North
Shore residents directly if bridge tolls
become the reality they appear to be.

Serves the North Shore right, resi-
dents elsewhere might argue.

But if costs are to be borne directly by
users on the North Shore for a Lions
Gate Bridge upgrade then costs for other
highway and transportation upgrades
should rightly be borne directiy by users
of other upgrades around the province.

Money to fund the multi-miilion-dol-
lar Vancouver Island Highway : proj
should, for instance, be extracted: fra
user tolls even: ‘though’ ‘the Island ‘is
place. of great fricndlinces: for “NDP:
forces. . ;

- Sound fair, ‘Islanders?

‘No? Thought not.

Far more equitable for the province as
a whole to pay for improvements to the
system of highways and roads that all its .
citizens use and benefit from.

A gas tax would spread the economic :
pain equitably across B.C.

That’s as fair as it gets.