4 “ATS RIDICULOUS TO ASSUME” WE JUST SINGLED OUT CANADIAN D-DAY VETERANS 1 WT aD -_INGNVERIENGE.. Sy sSs rT’S 2 a.m. You’ re having severe chest pains. You pick up the phone, dial 9-1-1 and realize that the person on the other ‘end of the tine can’t understand you. It is every traveller’s nightmare. oo -But for many -Nerth Shore citizens, the inability to communicate with an operator is. “a reality. ~ Whether. they are, Iranian, Asian, or ‘another recent immigrant, the reality is a part of life in their Canada. . -The issue is one of many that a proposed “North Vancouver District multiculturalism - * policy would have addressed. But district -council voted against it, becoming the first. " Busnieipality j in Canada to say no to multicul- ~“turalism. ” Coun. Ernie Crist believed the policy,. “approved: ‘by a council-appointed task force, , tried to solve complicated j issues with a cost- Almost. Viulticult miss ly, inefficient bureaucracy. Trotting the blurred line of racism is a reality of the ’90s climate of public debate, and when explained in the vernacular of cost and inefficiency —- red flags to already over- burdened taxpayers — council’s decision i is almost acceptable. - ee, Yes, immigrants. to this country should speak, or learn, the language. And, yes, staffing local emergency lines with multi-lin- them. ; citizens. - gual operators would prove unworkable. ‘But the district’s proposed multicultural- ism: policy’ was meant to bring such munici- pal service. Shortcomings to light, not. solve Ata bargain price of less than $18, 000, the. policy could have established a forum. of understanding and friendship for all district ieTER OF THE DAY “Reader recants Greenpeace support. Dear Editor: ’ There was a time when i enthu- sidstically supported the work of ‘Greenpeace by sending them mod- est.funds from time te time. And I . don’t regret it. : But now, no more. .These people have elevated themselves to the point of dictating what is best for. the world. In Europe they have seen fit to actively interfere with international law and trade through a system of threats to those companies import- ing B.C. lumber extracted from alleged clear-cut operations. And now Bob Hunter seeks Publisher. Managing Associate Editor Peter Speck hy Renshaw “Noel Wright financial support. for a man who flouts the rule of law by destroying vessels in a foreign port, slashing drift nets, etc. ad nauseam — all in support of the dubious theory that the end justifies the means, that theirs is a higher morality, a deeper sensté of what is right and wrong than the rest of us mere mortals can comprehend. I believe Mr. Hunter is a family man. If so, what sort of message is he passing on to his children? “Don’t be misled to follow the law, just obey those deeper instincts, which will surely tell you what is right and wrong.” What Display Advertising 980-0511 ’. Classified Advertising: 986-6222 Fax Newsroom ‘ Morth Shore News, founded in. 1969 as an Independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise ednesday, Friday and North Shore Free Press Ltd. and 1o every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mait Sales - Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed Tax Act, is published each Sunday b distribute: envelope. 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. North Vancouver 8.0. V7M 2H4 North Shara Managed ae Distribution Real Estate Advertising 985-6992 Subscriptions 985-2131 Administration incredible gall — and ignorance. « The governments are failing to enforce international treaties, he allegedly says, so leave it to me. “I am your white knight, | am the avenger. I alone know what must be done.” Please, Mr. Hunter, I respect you as a reasonable, intelligent writer, so | am disappointed that you can support such a half-baked theory. I sincerely hope that the fund you are attempting to set up will bring the result deserved — nothing. ; Thomas C. Marshall North Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 985-2131 MEMBER G@cna SR. @ SDA DIMISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednusday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. VSB ADOrs u. WHAT WOULD you like first? The good news or the bad news from West. Vancouver School Board? Oh, let's take the good news first. Good — not perfect. Three months into their term, some “new” trustees are beginning to reform past practices and espe- cially to try to dispel a well-known cloud that hung over the old board, By implication, the curious case of the hockey tickets that dragged like a lame footnote to the fiasco of the Sentinel Development Fund, a dream that vanished along with the departure of Sentinel secondary school principal Peter Lefaivre, isn’t likely to be repeated. Ata previously unreported pri- vate board meeting on March 7,/a motion by Ken Haycock, seconded by Chris Bird, and passed, emiphati- cally, put an end to the board’s pre- vious practice of making lump-sum payments to retiring board adminis- trators. The practice is to “cease immediately.” ‘ Interesting. What kind of pay- ments? Haycock, one of the new boys on the block, wasn’t involved in the past-decisions leading to those pay- ments, _ 66 Favoritism only has a place if it’s” based on merit, clear- ‘ly defined, known to» the public and...: shown i in public. 99. But “they could have been a bonus, severance, an encourage- ment to leave, a thank-you for ser- vice,” given to those retiring on full pension but who had not necessari- ly reached mandatory retirement age. He told me: “I obviously believe that employees should be treated . well if you want the best work from them, but I don’t believe in provid- ing moneys to employees beyond “contractual services. ... Favoritism only has a piace if it’s based on merit, clearly defined, known to the public, and the favoritism is shown in public.” That brought up the still-smol- dering issue — a flame never to wink out as long as I’m around here — of the fabled Vancouver Canucks hockey tickets, which, according to the repeated pro- nouncements of the board, were given as merit rewards for some teachers, and which, according to Peter Lefaivre’s estranged wife Gayle, were given to her husband and another principal as under-the- table bonuses when their salaries were held down by fiscal restraint. It’s my view that, one, the board didn’t convincingly refute her state- ment, and, two, the board’s credi- bility will remain under a cloud until it coughs up the names of the alleged recipient teachers. . Haycock said: “The difficully is that it’s all within the framework of the Sentine] Development Fund, black cl Trevor Lautens ‘GARDEN OF BIASES © which was an issue that the previ- ous board became embroiled in. .... ’ There was a full audit done, and. they found no wrongdoing... The’ board has discontinued the practice of (giving) hockey tickets and other monetary recognition of nmierit, for the very reasons I mentioned earli- er, aoc a “While I can’t say anything erroneous was done, I'can say that it’s instructive that the board has.” discontinued the practice.” «” ws But the “new” board was rubbed’ oa wrong by the “old” board on anoth- er running sore: changing the day. of its meetings, which conflict with © council’s Monday night meetings: and thwart citizens who want to: : attend both. In Decembi asked the board to’ cha e its day. “When Haycock; again “seconded . - by Bird, moved to:reschedule the’ _ meeting for another night; new. \ trustee. Michael MacDougall urged. _ that thé issue be tabled:under the full board’s April 18 meeting. “Qld” member Barbara Howard), supported MacDougall and the tie”: breaking vote in favor of delay was’ cast by chairman Jean Ferguson, - another holdover from the Previous Haycock’s view, ‘aired again at F an informal joint meeting of the |: board and council fast night, is that four months is long enough to’. make a decision. Absolutely right." Now the bad news: board and - council have been simultaneously . struck by an impulse. to shut up per- sistent and visible critics.) ~ . Mayor Mark Sager merely put down a regular questioner, Lionel, Lewis of the Ambleside-Dundarave Ratepayers’ Association, at coun-_ cil’s March 14 meeting... But the school board put its annoyance in writing, supporting Haycock’s motion to give prefer- ence during question periods to West Vancouver taxpayers or par- ents of children in the district's schools. 1 Fascinating, I mused. And just.) how is the chair to identify this -./.-” select group? Will they wear num- bered jerseys, like sports teams? Well, no. It appears that the measure is really aimed at one questioner: Karmel Fairchels, a . loyal attendee, a petition-raiser to~ have board superintendent Doug Player removed from his job,a _~ defeated board candidate in last fall’s elections —- and a Vancouver resident. Fairchels thinks she’s the target of the motion. Haycock didn’t exactly deny it. ; Atia guess, I'd say it’s as uncon- stitutional a as hell.