Wivstic Fair

Lo f

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

‘ CARSON Gresham students are ready for the second annual Multicultural \lystic Fair to be held Thursday at
the school. Ths event includez a silent auction, fortune telling, craits sale and enteriainment.

Local emergency centre opposed

Miche! Comte
Constributing Writer
WEST Vancouver is having sec-
ond thoughts about setting up a
., North Shore 9-1-1
* service to replace the current
Greater Vancouver Regional
District-wide Z-Comm systems.

- Additional costs and concerns about
~ whether council received full and accu-
_ rate information abou: E-Comm’s effec-
“tiveness and the alternative North Shore

centre sparked the decision to reconsider

Knox is slated. to speak
_at four North ~ °° ¥
‘Vancouver high echools © |
‘this week. oo
“Knox is'a former Houston °}
police detective. and strect.
". gang expert. His talk is enti- .
“led Secrets Gangs Never ‘fell. ”
Knox spoke last year to
about 70. peopte in North
-Vancouver. that included. |
police. officers, and_ teachers.
The. talk' was held at‘ the |
North © Vancouver’ RCMP ~
-headquarters and was part cf §
several presentations Knox
made in the Lower Mainland
 Knoxis scheduled to speak:
to students at Sutherand and
Arpyle on Oct. 26. Fe speaks.
-at .. Windsor. and’ Carson -
_Graham on Oct. 27. ;
- Parents; school _adminis-
trators, counseloxs, police
officers and other members of -
‘the public are.. invited to
“attend Knox’s talk. at’ 4:30
p.m. on Oct.:26 at ihe North
ive detach:

rmton, call’
«RCMP

Const. Be iat”

985-1311. :

abandoning E-Comm.

Capital costs to set up a North Shore
cail centre and the cost of translation ser-
vices were not included in earlier esti-
mates. Also, calls made on cell phones
(which make up 40% of calls) would still
be answered by E-Comm, and West
Vancouver would therefore still have to
pay its share of E-Comm.

To get out of its E-Comm commit-
ment, the district needs a two-thirds vote
by the GVRP) board and member munic-
ipalities. Though savings could still be
made by setting up a North Shore 9-1-]
emergency system, they would be much
fess than previously thought, acting

municipal manager John Pollitt wrote in
a report to council on Oct. 5. He urged
council to stick with E-Comm.

“West Vancouver staff feel strongly
that saving moncy should not be a deter-
mining factor over that of providing a
solid, dependable 9-1-1 emergency ser-
vice,” Pollitt said.

Fire chief Ron Olson was the only dis-
senting voice. He argued that a North
Shore-based system would improve his
department’s response time.

Council deferred making a decision
until all the facts could be verified.
Discussion on the matter is expected to
resume on Nov. 1.

Sunday, October 24, 1999 — North Shore News -— 15

Williams
raises native
treaty worries

Miche! Comte
Contributing Writer

LAND concessions must not be part of any treaty
talks between the provincial government and
First Nations people in the Lower Mainland,
West Vancouver Coun. Allan Williams is urging
provincial negotiators.

“You can’t put land on the table because it would be dis-
ruptive to the existing municipal organization,” Williams said.

lastead, cash should be offered to settle land claims, he said.

The position is supported by the Lower Mainland Treaty
Advisory Committce (LMTAC) — a group representing local
municipal governments — which recently drafted proposals to
help guide the provincial government in negotiations with
native bands making claims to large urban areas in the Lower
Mainland.

On the North Shore, the Squamish maintain their tradition-
al territory covers all of West Vancouver, lands up to Howe
Sound and the town of Squamish. The Musqueam and Burrard
bands have aiso made claims which overiap some of these areas.

Other items on LMTAC's wish list include prohibiting the
expansion of existing reserves and setting limits on abonginal
self-government. New lands that might be given to or pur-
chased by native bands should not be added to reserves, accord-
ing to LMTAC, because this would make them off limits to
municipal tax collectors. And, bands secking more autonemy
should receive powers equal to municipal governments.

“As far as government is concerned, we want them to be like
other municipalities where their citizens who reside within their
land have an clection of a council and they cun their affairs the
exact same way West Vancouver runs its affairs. And their rela-
tionship with their neighbors would be exactly the same as
between any wo municipaiitics,” Williams said.

“That's one of the principal concerns municipalities have,
that there will be this area created which the aboriginal people
will manage and that they will do this isolated frosa any ob8ga-
tions (to their neighbors),” he said.

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