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6- Wednesday, April 24, 1985 - “North Shore News

Editorial Page —___

‘Sloppy logic
he hassle over billing numbers for doc-
TF tors is a prime example of the sloppy
Jogic that mars much of the vaunted
’ Charter of Rights.

A bid by B.C. Health Minister Jim Nielsen
to Eimit ‘the number of prectitioners in
“‘over-doctored’’ urban areas and divert
them: to . “‘under-€octored’’ rural com-

» munities by restricting the issue of billing
> munibers. (tiie only way doctors can. get paid
7 S Dy: the government) was recently shot down
‘by Chief: Justice Allan’ McEacheru. He ruled
that the legislation “offends too seriously the
al dights: in: free ‘country’ ‘and
ustified . ‘wader ° the «Charter,
arantées the ‘right “to. pursue the

eniaine ur a livelihood in any province. ”

. poe in all: ‘cases--otherwise’ we. wow
vihave- 1.5: million: ‘unetaployed.- But the harsh
laws*-of ” ‘economics “don’t “affect doctors.
Whea- their numbers | in’ urbana ‘areas exceed

. requirements, - ‘health care ‘costs (already

“|Y almost ‘one-third ‘ofthe B.C. budget) simply
+ vise still higher-without any relief for more .
isolated’ ‘communities : tacking adequate med-—

Mr. Nielsen hast ‘ROW: revised the legislation.

in: an. ‘effort to ‘conform to the court decision. © :

" roy, pe for: hun-- "
dreds of the truly “estitute, holds fits on-"

“fy. major fundraising: ‘drive of the ‘yea
the Red Shield Blitz — on-May 6. The Sall
Ann also: Operates: a-Victoria nursing hi

currently: being «struck 2by:the: ‘Hospital :
Employees Union. So now the HEU and other |

labor ‘bodies ‘are: threstening to boycott the’
Red Shiel ‘Blitz provin : wide. That is what's’

" ‘Marketing Director
» ‘Robert Graham:

Advertising Directo
Dave Jenneson

Operations Manager :
te) Bem Hilliard. -

Sales ‘Circulation Director.
os >, Bill McGown
Editér-in-Chiet

~ Noel Wright fe aan

- Production Director’

5 + Administration”: “2 "Chis Johnson
«Mike Goodsell ". .

lassified Manager

, Val Stephenson .;;

Advertising Director.

" photography Manager
o,, Tetry Peters"

Nesth Shore News, founded in 1969-as an independent suburban

‘Newspaper and quatified under Schedule HI, Pact 1, Paragraph Mit of the

Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday. Friday and Sunday by

North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North

Shore., Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Entire contents
- Shore, Free, Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

‘No 0 son ee accepted or unsolicited material ‘ineluaing
. manuscripts and’ pictures whieh should be accompanied ‘by a stamped.
: addressed envelope. .
. Mem er. of: the B.C. Press Council

55, 770 (average, Wednesday
: . Peay & Sunday)

THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE

A UR THIRD ENCOUNTER with the press
-council was a much cozier affair than the

‘judge’ ‘before. whom

you've twice been’ hauled: as -
the accused (in this cas¢ B.C.
“Press. Council chairman fan. .
: ene greets you like a‘
and.

“ lost ‘brother

“The occasion, of course,"
was very. different. from the -
“two - earlier...press  councili

of the News” for:

ailing to keep Doug ‘Collins:

n the leash..This time there:
ere no outraged professors,
0 charge: sheets; no “rot

fat guilty’’»pleas—and. we'd ‘tact-
fully left: Doug. “chained up

back home in his kennel.
Instead, ‘the News, repre-.

© sented by your humble
4 agent, was present by invita-
tion at last. week’s annual

get-together: of - Canada’s

‘media : police, hosted this.
-year. by B.C. Numerous local

newspaper luminaries turned
up ‘for the eve-of-business
cocktails and canapes. But.

“we'were the only subscribing

member ‘of the press council
to cover the following day’s

‘working session.
* Approval ‘in principle for

LETTER OF THE DAY_

Post. office
claims it's

friendly to
‘community

newspapers

uniting’ ‘the country’s six ex: ”

isting provincial press coun-
cils into a- ‘Canadian ‘Con- :.
ference of Press Councils’*-
-a tidy and harmless move--
took'up quite.a‘chunk of the.
time. But
wondering how. to -escape
winding. up in. pokey these
days: the real meat came :in
iscussion of individual’
council’ reports. © By” and
large, - it). was: ‘surprisingly :
edible meat. -
Quebec ‘(whose , council,

incidentally, allows. its “rule;
ings” to’ be appealed to ‘a °~

special ‘committee) criticized
the!.provincial justice
department for” compelling -
journaiists to testify tco
often in court.

Ontario. wanted criminal
libel- removed from the

Criminal Code and was hot ’

on <:better. access to gov-

.ermment~-secrets under the-

Freedom of Information
Act. .

Windsor Media Council
fights discrimination by .
chasing the radio-TV boys as
well‘as the ink-stained wret-
ches of the print media.

Manitoba's council is fed ©

up with’ interference from
the ‘Human Rights Commis-

Dear Editor:

Iam responding to the

item that appeared in your”

newspaper recently which ac-
cuses Canada Post of a desire
to damage smal! papers
across B.C. and the Yukon.
Community newspapers
are in the publishing
business, Canada Post
delivers mail. We have been
delivering merchants’ flyers
since the turn of the century.
Even though the service
Canada Fost offers the mer-

for: -.editors. °

Noel Wright.

‘MediaWatch and. -a*

sion,
home-grown . horror. called

_ the “Inter-Cultural Commit- ».

tee for Media Monitoring’’.
And the B.C. Press Coun-
cil revealed the ‘significant
Statistic that only 12 out of
the 63 complaints received
since its birth in June 1983

have led to’formal hearings- —
-the other 51 having been

either summarily . dismissed

cr settled, so to speak, out.

of court. Hardly the record
of a council board thirsting

chant is more expensive than
that of the newspaper, these
advertisers continue to
choose the mail service since
it assures delivery to all
households, not just those
that receive the newspaper.
Apart from being a

customer we wish to retain, it -

is the feeling at Canada Post,
that community newspapers

are an essential element of ..
our social fabric. We would '

like to see the. small
newspaper continue to
publish for the good of the

begin Police come

That “said, ~ however,
comforting to report th

their job best of all. i
single'sentence.

“Our chief. ‘value,
declared, “is in simply: giv-*
ing people.a chance to ‘blow
off steam!”

- The News‘and Mr: Collins

“ean live with that.

community.

Canada Post™ and ‘com-
munity newspapers: each-
receive subsidies from “the
taxpayers to ensure that* all
citizens of Canada, no matter
how far from the profitable
mainstream they may live,
will benefit from the vital ser-

vices offered by each.

Wayne Sterloff

Manager Community and
Media Relations

Canada Post

Vancouver