6 — Sunday, April 27, 1997 - North Shore News HEY are far more than just a fond memory. They are a sym- bol of how short-sighted thinking can short-change future generations. They are the strectcars of North Vancouver, and, as outlined in an April 23 News feature, until 50 years ago they provided an efficient, non-pollut- ing transportation system that, with . -_ foresight, could hae been in use today. ae They also added an element of char- . aa acter and local transit identity that is sorely missed. The mothballing of the North Shore’s streetcar fleet should be a cau- tionary tale for today’s transportation visionaries. Or lack thereof. The Lions Gate Bridge debacle is a prime example of vision eclipsed in political myopia. free ~ speech defence fund AS the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund closes in on $50,000, some more excerpts from the hundreds of respondents to the cause: “T will be bappy to make a token dona- . tion to the North Shore News as suggested in Sts batrle with the forces of. sociation cen- sorship. I a your (Doug Collins’) colssnns. I still beliove ‘you're the best writer anywhere.” — Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zaln Q00 . "You're wonderful. Keep up the good work, We'd like to be part of a huge congregation of freedom fighters at your trial.” eens Frecion fo — Lifa O. Stanford 000 “I don’t admire a lack of civility, pornography, statements whith "increase divisions between peuple, groups and races and blind preju- dice, but I cannot accept the right of self-appointed monitors to decide A these issres on my behalf. It always becomes avi exercise in self-interest fool and self-rightcousness.” : — Dr. and Mrs. E.A. Allen, of West Vancouver . Donations to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund / Bl can be sent to the News offices, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North . Vancouver, V7M 2114. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund. — trenshaw@direct.ca north shore orth Shors News, founded #: 1969 as an independent subusban newspaper and qualdied under Schedule 111, Paragraph #11 of the * Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Share Free Press. Ltd, and chstributed to every door on the North ‘Shore, Canada Post Canadan Publcabons Mat Sales Product Agreement No. 0987238. ‘Maiting rates avaiable on request. Back tracking What could be a long-term trans- portation vision for generations to come is fast headed for the worst kind of short-term band-aid imaginable, complete with punitive tolls and inade- quate overhaul. The streetcar issue has long since been dead, but an element of what has been fost could still be revived to bene- fit the North Shore. Bring car 153 out of its long retire- ment and put it on a line up Lonsdale. As the only remaining North Vancouver streetcar still on the North Shore, it would provide us with an invaluable link to our past and an invaluable conduit to draw tourists and other visitors further into the heart of the North Shore. A streetcar named desire? How about common sense and opportuni- ties reclaimed. 61,582 {average ciculation, Wednesday, Friday & Suntay} north shore news NEWS VIEWPOINT THE IDEA OF Pay = MAKING EVERYBODY PAY ON EVERY BRIDGE IN B.C. WHEN THEY ALREADY PAY TAXES, - FRANKLY, 700 MANY “TAXES... THINK 1S OFFENSIVE. UNLESS, OF COURSE, THEYRE “¢z A BUNCH OF WHINY, UPPER CLASS, NORTH SHORE SNOTS WHO WERE Too STuPip To VOTE FOR ME AND THEREFORE Ag peserve it! 7 3 Alternate gov't vital vote issue WITH the election call expected this weekend, the North Shore Reform and Liberal gladiators are girding for battle. Tories and NDP may have, at best, small walk-on parts. kceeecseeee In both ridings Reform is tielding political pros against Liberal novices, but whether that will play any major role in the results is far frora certain. Elections always bring their fair share of surprises. In B.C. and on the North Shore, how- ever, this one is shaping up as the most unpredictable in decades. For that blame the disappearance of two-party contests. Prior to the 1990s the majority of the clectorate voted cither Conservative or Liberal. True, there were other parties ~~ the NDP and, for a sea- son, Social Credit — but they never grew to anything approaching official opposi- tion size. The government-in-waiung, always Grit or Tory, was always there awaiting only the voters’ nod. The unprecedented problem since 1993 is the absence of any government- in-waiting. The bad joke known as Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition — the Bloc Quebecois — is a single-province party and dedicated to destroying Canada into the bargain. Reform has a growing claim numerically ta official opposition status. But without a solid breakthrough in Ontario and the Maritimes, while retain- ing its strength in the West, it can never hope to replace Jean Chretien’s Natural Governing Party. Compounding the TER SPECK Publisher Barbara Emo jonathan Bell ; Distribution Manager Creative Services Manager Display Manager 986-1337 (124) 985-2131 (127) 985-2131 (160) 930-2511 (103) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press (id. All rights reserved. problem for local and B.C. veters is a per- ception that the Reform Party they enthu- siastically backed in 1993 has turned in a more disappointing performance than some of its individual members. Certainly, West Van's Herb Grubel (now retiring) and, in particular, North Van’s Ted White have proven highly competent MPs gen- uinely dedicated to serving constituents’ interests, . Where, however, hither asks our confused and ‘jon ant-Liberal voter, do 1 get by electing an etlicient, personally popular MP belonging to what others see as a Peter-Principle party that nationally has reached the level of its own incompe- tence — doomed to remain a parliamen- tary rump indefinitely? On the other hand, no other party presently comes near having Reform’s theoretical chances of becoming a government-in-waiting oppo- sition. Certainly not the NDP. Nor, in B.C. and Alberta, Jean Charest’s two-seat, born-again Tories, dedicated to “distinct society” status for Quebee. But winning a quarter or more of Ontario’s seats plus a handful in Adantic Canada — while hold- ing on to all their present western seats — could put Preston and his Reformers firm- ly in the government waiting room for a return match (and, as they hope, the keys to the cabinet office) by 2001. Meanwhile, the Grits have their own problems. Faced with losing seats in Ontario and possibly Quebec, they are desperate to increase their B.C. represen- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. VIA tnternet: trenshaw @ direct.ca COMPUTER 88S - 980-8027 at Office Manages 985-2131 (105) Angew McCredie - Sports/Comsmusity Editor tation and will be conducting a no-holds- barred campaign here. . Whether it will be enough to reverse a 24-year right-wing (Tory-Reform) tradi- tion on the North Shore remains anyone’s guess at this point. Nevertheless, the Liberals will, of course, be returned nation-wide, the only question being the size of their majority, or even whether they might just conceivably wind up as a minority government. Small wonder many non-Liberal voters have every excuse for being a tad confused right now about where to mark their “X”, but one thing is crystal clear. A govern- ment-in-waiting is the vital element in any effective democracy. For nearly four years we haven’ had one. Uncil we get one again, democracy in Canada remains badly flawed. So much for clection math and philosophy. But individual candidates — their records, promises and personalities — are equally vital to our choice-making. We'll zero in on them in a future column. O00 MANY HAPPY returns of tomorrow, April 28, to North Van’s Jim MacNaughton ... More of the same Tuesday, April 29, to West Van Kiwanis birthday boy Dudicy Samuda. QQ00 , WRIGHT OR WRONG: Thc fine print can be highly educational — whether or not you read it. — The North Shore News believes strongly in freedom of speech and the right of all sides tn a debate to be heard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are. not necessarily those of the newspaper itself. WOsrnailbox Distribution Password:lettess qicatay & Real Estate Fax 985-1435 = Hewernem Fax | 985-2104 Classified, Accosnting & Main Office Fax "85-3227 Michael Becker - News Editor 985-2131 (114)