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VIA Internet: trenshaw @ direct.ca COMPUTER BSS - $80-8027 User ID:maitbox « Password:letters Pyne o idtaeiArore: 4 i Hacbraate Read Dre hahachy Nor Mere Kew, fants) 1969 06 an inkpecert saburten and quiified uniler Schedule HI, Paragraph 111 of te Excise Tax Act, 8 publahod exh \Wodneadsy, Fridgy and Sunday by North Shure Frat Prone Lid and dlitritxscdl to every door oni the North Shore, Canada Put Canadian Publcathins Mail Saks Prdict Agroanent No. Sho aN meme —- Entire contents © 1996 North Shore Free Press Lid. ‘S All rights reserved. raped Ae Se ed CREDIBILITY GAP I$ ALL THE MEDIAS Pas We ‘Cultural EADY the Hate Crimes squad, cap- tain. The federal government has gone mad. Or maybe it’s just awakening frorn a long deep sleep. Secretary of State Hedy Fry’s sew multi- culturalism policy, outlined Oct. 29, will actually tighten the funding requirements for ierwrmei rat ethnic groups in Canada. No longer will the, trough be wide open to encourage immi- grants to maintain their cultural differences, -Zounds! How non-Canadian can you get? In order to qualify for the $18.6 million in ‘annual grants handed out to the country’s _ ethnic groups, those groups will now have to . do more than just set up ethnic associations. '. They will actually have to meet some federal - objectives’ that promote integration. Perhaps stricter rules for tapping the good financial will.of Canadians will help do away _with such past laughable grants as the ever verse differences — KEEP TELLING EVERYONE WHAT WE'RE DOING. ARIE IE ene mr Im te Ee NR GPCR A ARLE GATHER AA br etn EH Om er $24,000 tossed away on a’ film entitled Indians of Czechoslovakia; the $28,000 for a video tracing the history of Chilean poets in Montreal; and the $5,000 for the re-telling of Hindu myths. Such inane largesse is but a sampling of the over $70 million given away from 1993 to 1996 by the country’s depart- ment of muiticulturalisr. ‘And Tuesday’s announcement still does not signal a full wake-up call from Fry. . She plans, for, example, to set up a $24- million race relations foundation in Toronto; which will doubtless be another multicultur- _ al dollar drain. Canadians have for far too long paid the freight to immigrants to maintain their own cultures at the expense of Canada’s culture, It’s time to pull the plug on such feel-good frivolity and get down to the business of building Canada. Recreation referendum: supported Dear Editor: After reading Martin. Millerchip’s article ~ North Vancouver District Report Cards (Oct. 20 News) — I felt compelled to write to offer some different perspec- tive on one key issue: the capital borrowing referen- dum. This referendum is actual- ly a requirement for council, Council must get permission from the electorate to bor- row money. f hardly think council is balking at this initiative, as all councillors whom I have spo-— ken to are completely aware of the huge deficit, of facilities “ F- ye thar have been identified for over 10 years. They, F. , believe, are merely giving us the opportunity to get the job done. The referendum i is an opportunity for the people of North Vancouver District to speak up and.tell council that. we care about the health and well-being of our cople’ both young and’ ‘old. I believe strongly that itis - in our best interest to spend: «”: the money now, in 1996 dol- lars, and not wait for the “y= much higher cost we : inevitably face in the furure.- Our. young people are worth more than $1.50 a. ~ week, our seniors’ deserve'a | * | senior centre at Parkgate. ” Health and fitness are an important part of our com- munity. ; There is only’one positive ‘ answer for the people of North Vancouver, and that’s a clear-cut message to council” _on this referendum — vote Yes 10'6905 —- yes to the quality of life in North Vancouver, Les' Sinnott | . North Vancouver: By Filip Palda Contributing Writer FILLING out your tax form could be fun — if you had control over where the money was going. Instead of the dreadful T1 imagine something called “The People’s Tax Form”. ‘The first half asks you to detail how much you owe. The next half asks how you want it spent. Do you want 15% of your tax bill going to social services? How about 10% to the military, 10% to education? Since the income tax started in 1917 politicians have been answering these uestions for us. [t is time to relieve them of this duty. Opinion surveys show Canadians do not like the way government spends their money. For 25 years welfare for able-bodied men and women has rankled the majority. Yet it seems that popu- lar sentiments are no match against special inter- est groups. Ordinary citizens get their say only once every four years at the polls. Special interest groups work behind the scenes every day to defend their programs. This is how they get results in spite of what most voters want. The suggestion that citizens should have a direct say in how government spends their money is bound to meet with ridicule at the ~ highest levels. Pee tn by by ee ee ee How can an ordinary citizen decide whether more or less money needs to be spent on health care? What does he know of the needs of univer- sity students who rely on government to pay their education? The answer to these questions might surprise the people in power, Academic studies suggest that when it comes to politics, citizens” minds are like sponges. They soak up available informa- tion about good programs and bad programs. The problem is that the available information is in short supply, The People’s Tax Form would bring a healthy dose of information back to Canadian democracy. Several months before the form was due there might be a backlash against higher education, Citizens could decide it is time to stop paying for students destined for good jobs. It would be up to student societies then to make their case to the Canadian people — to explain to them why higher education deserves public support, By taking decisions out of our leaders’ hands the People’s Tax Form would force any group that thought it was “deserving” to make its case straight to those paying the bills. We would have an explosion of information. And information is what citizens need if they are to get the best’ government tax dollars can buy. We should not expect to see the People’s Tax Form soon. It would put politicians out of busi- ness and force special interest groups to be accountable to ordinary Canadians. Wes are moie. likely to sec lame exercises in “public consulta- tion” — policy experts and interest’ group spokesmen suggesting to our leaders what bud- gets should look like. The People’s Tax Form would -be a tonic for Canadians ured of being told what these insiders think is best. Dr, Palda is Senior Economist of the Fraser: Institute, a Vancouver-based right-wing economic think tank. o00 MANY HAPPY : RETURNS of today, Nov. 6, to former West Van mayor Derrick Humphreys ... Ditto Saturday, Nov. 9, to West Van Kiwanian Bert Fleming. 000 WORTH A THOUGHT: Success is 99% failure. DERRICK Humphreys ... ‘birthday Nov. 6 | — The North Shore News believes strongly in freedom of speech and che right of all sides ; in a debate to be heard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the newspaper itsel off NOEL WRIGHT ON VACATION :