Dear Editor: This is an open letter to the bus driver who enlisted help from two police officers to kick approximately 25 of my friends off his bus, the 246 Lonsdaie Quay, at 11 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4 My friends bad done noth- ing extraordinary other than talk loudly, as 25 people on a bus will. They were senior high school students, boys and girls, and some had been drinking. The bus had trav- elled about one block when it stopped, the officers got on, and they were ordered off without any explanation. This incident speaks to me in several ways. It tells me that BC Transit: 1) does not want youth on its buses; MAILBOX POLICY .* LETTERS to the editor must be legible (preferably type- writen) and include your name, full address and tele- phone number. Due to space constraints the North Shore News can- not publish all _fetters. Submissions can be faxed to 985-2104 bur still must be signed and fully addressed. MONEY Bf SINCE 19697 ‘BEDDING AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR joes: Ger SIMMONS © Mattresses, Box Springs & Bed Frames ® Sofa Beds & Roll Away Cots * Quilts, Pillows & Pads © Most sizes in stock for immediate delivery © Ask about our FREE delivery, set up and old bed WE BEAT OS CHECK US OUT v HUGE SELECTION v LOW WAREHOUSE PRICES ES COLONY 1075 Roosevelt Crescent HOME FURNISHINGS North Vancouver (2 blocks behind Avalon Hotel) Mon - Thurs 9-6, Fri 9-9 _ Saturday 9-6, Sun 12-4 north shore news MAIL BOX Teens ticked off by Transit 2) does not want big groups on its buses; 3) does not think teenagers can be spoken to, reasoned with or treated with any respect; 4) does not want people who have been drinking on its buses. What does Transit suggest we do? Go to a party, have a few beers, and then ali get in our cars and drive home? Haven’t the police just started a campaign to seriously com- bar drunk driving? Perhaps the police should talk to BC Transit about get- ting some support. On New Year’s Eve, Transit is free, so people can get home safely. Durning the summer fireworks displays, the buses are crammed with noisy, rowdy people. No police are involved in these bus rides, so why ours? Perhaps che recent fare increases that Transit has imposed to improve the sys- tem could be used for training bus drivers in more effective ways of handling situations like the one I describe. The majority of young adults are good people. If we have been partying — which will happen in our senior year of high school, as it did in yours — show us you care that we arrive home safely by Iet- ting us catch a bus without police intervention. I am dis- appointed and angry at once again witnessing this age dis- crimination. Anna Peled North Vancouver } 176 Pemberion, N. Van ted white, m.p. advertorial, October 22/97 MORE CANADA PENSION PLAN One of the things | can never under- stand about the NDP is their desire to maintain the Canada Pension Plan in its present form. The future pensions pro- duced by CPP represent a dismaily small, or even negative, return on “investment”, they cannot be trans- ferred in full to a surviving spouse (which leaves many elaerly widows in poverty), and those who have just start- ed working in the 1990s will likely receive back LITTLE MORE THAN HALF of what they pay into the plan through their working lifetime. If the NDP believes in providing good pensions for people on retirement, they should be werking to get the CPP replaced with something better. During the very skort debate prior to the Liberal Government moving closure on the CPP Bill (C-2) on October 8th, Reform MPs had taken the position that the sharply increased premiums being pro- posed are an unproductive and excessive tax on jobs, especialiy for the seif- employed who must pay both the empioy- ee and employer contributions. Reform's Human Resources Critic, Diane Ablonczy, pointed out that when CPP was introduced in 1965 a promise was made that the pre- miums would NEVER exceed 5.5% of eamings, but the new Bill now projects those premiums will reach. almost 10% shortly after the turn of the century. She went on to say that “The inevitable con- clusion is that the plan has either been badly designed or poorly man- aged, and in fact it is both.” WHAT’S THE ANSWER Although | did not get a chance to speak on Bill C-2 because of the abrupt end to debate, | did make a short statement in the House about CPP a few days before the debate on Bill C-2 began. It read as fol- lows: Mr. Speaker, Michael Campbell, host of the Saturday morning radio show “Money Talks”, recently presented his listeners with a startling itlus- tration of the powers of compound interest. Invest $3400 per year for 35 years in an RRSP at 10% and receive almost $1.2 million on retirement, enough to fund an annuity of around $98,000 per year. But workers, who pay $3400 per year, for 35 years, into the Liberal Government CPP plan will receive $88,000 LESS per year on retire- ment - a paltry $9,000 per year. If there are members in_ this House who still think they can justi- fy a CPP pension of $9,000 per year after 35 years, they had better give their heads a shake. We should be acting now to turn | the CPP into something worth hav- ing, instead of leaving it as a mas- sive tax grab which promises only poverty after 35 years of contribu- | tions. | The message | was trying to convey | was that, just like so many other projects of Government, the cost is too high, the out- put is less than satisfactory, and the private sector has already proven that it can per- form the same task more efficiently with much better results. THE SUPER RRSP The old cliches about learning from the experiences of others, and not reinventing the wheel, are just as true for programs like medicare and pensions as they are for the decisions we have to make in our daily lives. Other countries, like the UK and Chile, have already dealt with the funding challenges of state managed pension schemes by opting for the gradual conver- sion of their plans into RRSP style systems with workers having personal ownership of their pension plans. If Reform had its way, we would begin the conversion in Canada immediately. The contributions to the new Super RRSP would still be compulsory for all workers and employers, just like CPP, but the plans would be managed by Government approved private fund man- } agers who would be required to invest only in safe securities such as bonds, treasury bills, etc. Each contributor would personal- ly own his or her plan, safe from the clutch- es of Government, and could top up the plan with additional contributions if desired. In the event of premature death, the plan would transfer in its entirety to the surviv- ing spouse or relative. Those already on CFP, or with toe few working years left to build a Super RRSP plan, would be guar- anteed their present CPP benefits, just as was done in Chile during the conversion in that country. The decision by the Liberal Government to opt for the status quo CPP, and to cling to the solutions of the past, will come at great cost to the young workers of today. In a decade or so, when those workers begin to under- stand that possibly fess than 50% of the large CPP deductions from their pay- cheques will come back as pensions, they might use thelr political clout to put an end to the program. Instead of working on an answer to the problem, the Parliament of today is setting the scene for almost ceriain future conflict on this issue. Wednesday, October 22, 1997 — North Shore News — 9 7AYLORMOTIVE BRAKE SPECIALISTS BCAA. - A.R.A. - 1.€.B.C. Approved Y LIFETIME WARRANTY § on brake shoes & pads “Our 39th Year” FREE ESTIMATES & CONSULTATION = ALSO COMPLETE ™ MECHANICAL REPAIRS Quality Work TA! LK NG Trustworthy Service Guaranteed 1 year 299.9000 985-7455 t7i4iSls— (5 blks south of Marine) Unparalleled ersonal = financial service | Attend ScotiaMcLeod’s speaker series — presented by | our highly experienced team of Senior Investment Executives sty Taylor in arnation > Aiton! Srai has bled at an Phone Now! 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