6 — Friday, September 17, 1999 —- North Shore News HOW us the money. North Vancouver District Council] chickened out on Monday night when it wrestled with the wording for a referendum question on the future fate of its waterfront. In the process, the voting public of North Vancouver District will be missing an opportunity come the municipal elections in November. The question as decided: “Are you in favour in principle of the rec- ommendations on ways to increase . public access to the district’s water- front. as described in the Waterfront Task Force’s Phase 2 report?” No mention at all is made of the estimated $53 million expenditure required to realize the vision as pre- sented by the task force. : The. public will be left to attempt north shore news VIEWPOINT devoid of some necessary informa- tion: How much will this cost us? Over in West Vancouver D.strict the municipality’s own long-term plan to open up its waterfront between Ambleside Park and 18th Street has stalled with the munici- palizy now reviewing its policy regarding the purchase of eight remaining properties on Argyle. The issue: cost. The North Vancouver plan is far more ambitious than West Vancouver’s plan for Ambleside. Much more property, now in private hands, must be baught. It’s dishonest and a waste of time to pose a referendum question with- cut offering voters a best guess cegarding the cost implications of the policy that’s under considera- IT DOESNT oN Like OTTAWAS GONNA | HELP US OUT Wit ALL O) THOSE BOATLOADS OF CHINESE MIGRANTS. WHERE ON CARIN ARE WE GOMMA Pat THEM AUT ~\ to confirm or reject a statement tion. mailbox - Prohibition won't win war on drugs Dear Editor: o Re; Tough love for the public (Sept. 12 Noel Wright col- umn). Former 8.C. attorney general Allan Williams? notions of stopping drug dealers by.“throtying a 10-ton book at them” demonstrates an.utter lack of understanding of the nature of - ‘drug prohibition. . Here in the United States prosecutors, regularly throw. 20- ;,ton books at drug dealers and the drug black market thrives, For every dealer arrested, two or three jump.up fighting to his ‘place. We've filled our prisons to overflowing wich drug prisoners and there’s no ond in sight. --The.idea that police and prisons can 2 trola prohibited . roduct after failing for decades. is completely abs _ Prohibition is responsible for the conditions —Williams laments for: the’simple reason. that the: “drag provicns” w~ _ now have never existed before mindless prohibitionists began oudawing drugs “for people’s own good.”..” No one was robbing, whoring and murdering over drugs | n addicts could buy all of the heroin, Cocaine, opium and anything else cheaply and legally ac the corner drug storc.. When drugs. were -addi 1d. al jobs, raised amilies and) were, indistinguishable ‘from: their teeto- by drug prohib trol ee is by legalizing them and. ‘reputed markets for adult use. Canada should have ‘learned this lésson from its disastrous fling with alcohol prohi-- bition ,earlier in. the: century (1916-1923). when a. » Tunatic _attempt to ban alcohol’ cased 4 a crime wave. Robin Givens : . Wutth Shore Nowe, fomnded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and gushed ‘under Schedule 111, Paragraph 113 of the * ” Excise Tax Act, published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by HCN Publications = Company and distributed to every door on the ~ Nord Shore, Canada Post Canadian F-untications ‘Mai Sales Product Agreement Ho. 0087238. . Mailing rates aveNtable on request. ~ Faneter Creative Services Director. , S211 ¥ rar 61,582 (average circutation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Distibution Manager ‘385-9337 (124) SPARE me! Well, don’t bother. I can always use another laugh. And the gush and tosh about our des. ignated Governor-General, Adrienne Clarkson — and especial- ly about her (are you ready for this word?) con- sort, John Ralston Saul — is funnier than the McKenzie Brothers. Clarkson is of course very Toronto, very CBC, and very well known to. the Toronto media. So _even her friendlies have stories to tell. Not all of them very Governor- ’. General-ish. Fascinating to know, for example, that Clirkson and Saul have been living together since the carly 1980s, and hastily got inarried — how long ago? Recently enouga for it to still be 3 honeymoon, long enough to be respectable, Clarkson coyly said. - A wedding whose shotgun was the _ promise of this job? Seems so. Even the Liberals’ Canada may not be ready for “shackin’ up at Rideau Hall- .