10 - North Shore News — Wednesday, March 22, 2000

=== === MAIL Box
Health care abuses abound Reasons for

Dear Editor:

In her spirited defence of health care
as a business best run by free market
forces (March 17 Fair Comment col-
umn) Ilana Mercer gets carried away by
her dogmatic libertarianism.

! have been living with my family
since 1965 on the North Shore and my
experiences with the health care provid-
ed here and in particular at Lions Gate
Hospital are only the best (including
my own hospital stays in 1995 and again
just a month ago). Of course, that in
itself proves as lithe as do her horror

stories about the merits or lack thereof

ofa publicly funded health care system.

Anybody will be able to dig up hor-
ror stories or the opposite in public as
well as private systems and such anecdo-
tal evidence merely shows that no sys-
tem is perfect and that every system
does also have its merits. It does
absolutely nothing to prove the superi-
ority or ‘inferiority of cither of these

approaches to heaith care. If one wants
to discuss the relative merits, one has to
look at such factors as life expectancy,
chid mortality and other global indica-
tors in places that in other respects
(availability of nutrition, standard of liv-
ing cle. reasonably similar).
Simpleminded comparisons based more
on tdeological dogma, be it saciatist or
libertarian, than meaningful assessment
of global results of public health are a
waste of time.

Without, prejudging the matter in
general, | would like to ask the follow.
ing questions:

(1) In Russia and the other parts of
the former Soviet Union iy health care
better there now since these countries
have adopted free market policies than
it was betore 1990?

(2) In Cuba is the provision of
health care for the population worse
now than it was before their revolution
in 1959?

The mistake made trequenily by free
market apostles is that there are services
that cannot be treated the same way as
buying shoes or deciding on where to
have one’s hair done.

The military and the judicial system
come immediately to mind as not suit-
able for being market driven. The
health care system may well deserve a
special status too. | readily concede that
as it exists now in Canada it is subject to
abuse by overuse.

However, the private system in the
ULS.A., being profit driven, also lias its
abuses in frequent unnecessary surgeries
and other treatments. By all means let
us address the problems of overuse and
abuse and see how we can improve the
efficiency.

Dogmatic posturing is not going to
be helpful.

Klaus E. Rieckhoff , Ph.D.
North Vancouver
k_rieckhoff@sfu.ca

City plan needs to include parking

for six or seven hours,

Dear Editor:

I am wiiting in response
to the article in the March 1
paper abour the Mayor
Barbara Sharp planning to
upgrade Lower Lonsdale.

I was so glad to read this
article because it is about
time somebody did some-

thing with that area.

{ remember when [ was
young I thought anything
below 6th Street was the
“ghetto.™

i would really Sike ro
commend Ms. Sharp for hav-
ing the guts te take on the
largest project in 20 years
and at the same time having
the wits to execute it over
the next 20 years.

We've all had a first-hand
look at the repercussioris of
rushing into multi-million-
dollar projects by watching
the “fast ferries.”

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U think this ts a great idea,
and as long as moncy isn’t
being overly-drained from
other areas, like education,
then ¢ say go for it.

My concern is, however,
shat the already limited park-
ing may decrease further.

I work at the foot of
Lonsdale and [ve noticed
that 90% of parking below
Sth Street is a one: or two-
hour limit.

When people who work at
Lonsdale Quay or other
stores in the area are on a
shift, they are probably there

9 pe. “Chery or 7 Oak finish”
dining room set.
includes Hutch, Buffet, Huge
Table with Leaf and 6 Chairs.

$1998

Custom made in Canada
Sofas, Love Seats and Chairs
starting from $499,
Choose from over 1500 fabsics
and over 40 styles.
Express delivery available.

The only place to park for
that long, | is on West Ist for
$1.25 after 5 p.m.

If West Ist is soon going
to be the new Fairmont
apartments and gardens,
then I wouid like te place my
public request for another
plot to be set aside for park-
ing longer than two hours.

Tam sure that the mayor
and lands division manager
are on top of it, bur | hope
this article confirms. with
them that parking is needed
and will be appreciated.

Jeff Pelton
North Vancouver

ICBC HAS A TEAM OF LAWYERS,
SHOULDN'T YOU?

¢ Ail claims have time limits
Z| ° Documents you sign can
be used against you.

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102-145 West 15th St. North Van

983-4371
44 S www.taylorandblair.com
FREE CONSULTATION

Graham Taylor

NEOCLEOUS & ASSCCIATES
CONSULTING INC.

Announcement

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since 1996, He is a graduate of the University of East Anglia,
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Handouts absent

Dear Editor:

By pure coincidence, a letter from Deputy Prime Minister
Herb Gray, in support of the millennium grants boondoggle,
appeared in your paper on the same day (March 1) as my page
9 report which criticized the $145 million giveaway.

Herb can be congratulated for stating the obvious when he
wrote thar the millennium = grant applicants do not share
Stephen Harper's opinion that the grants are a waste of money.
He is wrong though when he states thar Stephen Harper's crit-
icism is “unwarranted,” and he is also wrong when he claims
that the program is supported by Canadians in general, er by
North Vancouver residents in particular. The feedback to my
office with respect to such programs is overwhelmingly against
their continued existeace.

Unfortunately, not 2 single line in Herb’s letter was dedicat-
ed to explaining his reasons for approving the $288,575 hand-
out to Visions of the North Shore, or what benefit can be
expected from the expenditure by the long-suffering taxpayers
of this area. i suspect though, that he does not have the faintest
idea whar the money will be spent on, attempting to justify it
only on the basis that it “met criteria for government of Canada
funding through the Canada Millennium Partnership
Program.” Those criteria, of course, were established by Herb
and his cabinet colleagues, 2nd are very different from the cri-
teria that would be established by the tax-paying Canadians
who provide the money for his indulgences. There can be no
doubt that the $145 million he handed out through the pro-
gram, if it even had to be spent in the first place, would have
been much better spent on medical research, or crime control,
or any one ofa list of important social needs.

‘Ted White, MP
North Vancouver

Coun. John Clark’s
tunnel idea supported

(Gladys Bartow) was killed in
a head-on collision. She was
a teetotaler so there was no
liquor involved.

My husband John (Jock)
A. Clark and his friend,
Edward Keate, were instigat-
ing « tunnel but both have
passed away. Oddly enough,
West Vancouver Councillor
John Clark (no relation to
my husband) is advocating a
tunnel.

We have lived in West
Vancouver and = North
Vancouver and I support
Councillor Clark’s tunnel
implicitly.

Mrs. Patti R. Clark
Vancouver

Dear Editor:

1am writing to urge the
support of a tunnel crossing.
Not tou long after the First
Narrows — crossing — was
opened a family friend

Kevin Blair

Pushing
family
pride

Dear Editor:
Re: Feb. 15 Noel Wright

column “Gay pride” vs.
“Married pride”? *

I agree with him that
their bedroom: preferences
are purely a private matter
and not the slightest busi-
ness of mine but as an

_Anglican and a firm believer
in the Bible, I feel that we.
have a perfect right to state
our opinions.

I admire Rev. Ed Hird
that he has the fortitude to
express his views and I, like
him, have chosen to disagree
by letting the Bishop, as well
as the Archbishop know my
feelings.

I think that .an annual
married family parade would
be a super idea.

Evelyn W. Donovan
North Vancouver