a second opinion THIS is a tale of two North Vancouvers. No, I'm not referring to the city versus the district: that's a debate for another day. Instead, let me draw your attention to two very different provincial electoral districts; North Vancouver- Seymour and North Vancouver-Lonsdale. The provincial election brings into sharp relief the marked differences between these two distinctive ridings. Nosth Vancouver-Seymour is a jarge, affluent constituen- cy stretching from Deep Cove to Upper Lonsdale. Back in “Our home is so cozy that we can walk around barefoot, even in the winter,” says Knapton. Piped gas warms ; Knapton’ entire home, | from its heated slate ] floors and water supply | to the outdoor barbecue and hot tub. the 1960s. il was represented by the Liberals. Colin Gablemann won here for the NDP in 1972. Then Socred Jack Davis owned the riding for more than u decade. In the last provincial elec- Won in [99], Seymour voted Liberal once again, electing Dan Jarvis. Jarvis hus been one of the lowest-profile MLAs. In fact. during almost five years in Victoria, he is known for orly (wo interven- tions in legislative debates. Apparently he is strongly in favor of mining in provincial parks, And more recently, he is reputed to have been the first MLA to raise the issue of the so-called Hydrogate caper. ft was in the estimates committee almost a year ago when he allegedly raised the supposed scandal at B.C Hydro. Jarvis rose, his face turning red as usual, and he nervously blurted out some- thing about the Grand Caymans before quickly tak- ing his seat. Hansard (printed legisla- tive record) later edited his Wise home designer and builder, Dan Knapton, has just finished building his own hand-peeled log home in Whistler's new Green Lake Estates and is quick to point out the advantages of piped gas to others building in the area. Take it from people who know — homebuilders like Dan Knapton and thousands of other homeowners in Whistler, on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, gas is the superior home heating choice. words to make them some- what comprehensible. ft was one of those rare instances when the minister responsible for B.C. Hydro, Glen Chak. could easily be excused for not answering a question. In fact, no one in the com- mittee that day was clear if there was indeed a question. There certainly wasn’) any follow-up. No supplementary question, Nothing. The committee simply moved on, The reason why this incident is worth recount- ing is because there are only two possible explanations for Jarvis’ strange behavior. Either he didn't know what he was talking about at the time — which is what Glen Clark and virtually everyone else present seemed to assume. Or cise, he was prematurely and unwittingly revealing that the Liberals were sitting on a potentially serious NDP scandal, but were awaiting a more oppor- tune moment to smear the government with the details. As it tumed out, more than nine months later, on the Centra Gas iV er eve of Glen Clark being sworn in as premier, the Liberals unveiled the B.C. Hydro/Cayiman Istind affair. And they quickly learned that those who throw mud often suffer from a backsplash. In this election, the saiil- ing. nervous Jurvis is hoping fora strong Liberal Pany vote in order to overcome serious challenges by caundi- dates from the Reform, NDP, PDA, Social Credit and Green parties. North Vancouver-Lonsdale is another world entirely, The riding is made up of a com- pact urban area stretching along the North Vancouver waterfront between the Lions Gate and Second Narrows bridges. It is the only North Shore constituency with an average family income below the provincial average and it has a high proportion of renters as well as a rich multicultural mix of population. If there is any North Shore riding that seems tailor-made for an NDP victory, Lonsdale is the one. Friday, May 17, 1996 — North Shore News — 7 Yet David Schreck won here in 1991 with only 38% of the vote and by a margin of only a few hundred ballots over his neurest rival. The toughest job in any legislature is to be a govern- ment backbencher. Opposition MLAs can rise and debate virtually any issue of concern to constituents. On the government side. however, unless you're a cub- inct minister, i's extremely difficult to develop a profile. Most of your work is done behind the scenes, away from the limelight. Given these obstacles, the energetic Schreck has done an admirable job representing Lonsdale; in fact, he has con- sistently been one of the most outspoken and liveliest MLAs in Victoria. Loathe him or love him, whether you agree with his politics or not, he has at least eared the grudging respect of most observers of the leg- islative process. No doubt Schreck will take credit for the very visible progress on the Westview exchange along the Upper Levels Highway. He will have a more difficult time explaining the frustrating delays over plans for an upgraded First Narrows crossing. And the controversy over the sacking of the North Vancouver school board may hurt him as well, th the current campaign Schreck is up against some tough competition from Reform, Social Credit, PDA and Green opponents. But his most serious challenge will no doubt come from Katherine Whittred, easily the best Libera! candidate on the North Shore. Whittred is almost a rarity in this provin- cial election: a Liberal who is actually a long-time Liberal, not an instant Grit or itinerant opportunist. Unfortunately, her own candidacy was marred by a messy nomination battle and an even messier appeal. All of this makes North Vancouver-Lonsdale an important political battle- ground. It will be keenly watched on election night and likely won by another very close margin. Next week: two very dif- ferent West Vancouvers. Our Lease has expired STORE CLOSES WITHIN 2 WEEKS ALL STOCK MUST 69! 6 cay @ LEVIS « + SHORTS « SHIRTS « + SOCKS JACKETS + RAINGEAR ALL LEATHER WORKE examples: % Terra Wildsider 6” Terra Wildsider 8” Or F Kingtread 6” 99.99 $70.00 134.99 $94.50 5 139.99 $98.00 Kingtread Ballistic Nylon 199.99 $140.00 § Kodiak 8” Kaufman 6” Kaufman 3” HLH. Broven 8” 129.95 $91.00 | 119.95 $84.00 119.95 $24.00 Bie 109.99 $77.00 Pig