WTO protesters short on logic

Dear Editor:

Your Dec. 3 front page story, “WTO action
a lesson,” featured a photograph of
Handsworth students, along with their teacher,
and a typically left-wing protest sign demand-
ing “Stop The Race to the Bottom. Jobs With
Justice.”

After reading the story, I can only hope that
Handsworth’s study of “the politics of protest”
is not actually a thinly disguised attempt to
impart socialist values on students, and that
some balance is brought to che classroom dis-
cussions by making it clear that, just because
there is a protest, does not mean that the pro-
testers have logic or reason on their side.

in the case of the WTO protests, for exam-
ple, there is no logic whatsoever for the posi-
tions being taken by people like Maude Barlow,
and the Council for Canadians, who have been
100% wrong on everything they have predict-
6d or protested for the past 20 years. .

Even people who used to be their friends,
“like former, Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rac,
have: told:them that free trade’ and ‘globaliza-
tion benefit the poor, by providing jobs, and
improving living’ standards, not only: in

Canada, but also in | the countries which trade -

“with us.
_ Unforeanately, ‘he: protests in. Seattle

Thank | you for your at Nov. 16 article regard-

y. election :t0 ‘the’ Emergency Social.

ervices Associations’ board of directors (NV
an clotted: to ESSA); /
Bp

the role: of Emergency .

- isnot well ‘understood

appeared to lack any participation from people
who understand the issue, otherwise we would
have seen placards, which read “Help Poor
Countries by Breaking Down Trade Barriers,”
“Name a Single Country Where Socialist
Policies Have Worked,” “Open Borders Mean
Higher Standards of Living, Less Poverty and
Better Human Rights,” and “Closed Borders
Like Those of Cuba and North Korea Create
Poverty, Misery and Unemployment.”

Perhaps it is just as well that the people with
logic on the side were not there though,
because the socialist “civil society,” as the pro-
testers like to call themselves, were anything
but civil, and demonstrated a complete unwili-
ingaess to respond to logic.

Supporters of the activist left are certainly
entitle we to have a voice in the decisions being
made about globalization of trade, but it is
unacceptable for them to throw violent
tantrums after their socialist philosophy fails to
stand up to logical debate.

Based on the behaviour of sume of the

- demonstrators in Seattle, the society they are

condemning is one whole lot more civil than

_ the one they would design for us.

Ted White
MP
North Vancouver

(Ministry of Social Development and

- Economic Security, etc.) and non-government

organizations (Red, Cross, Salvation Army, St.
John Ambulance, etc.), as well as skille ‘and

unskilled volunteers who provide basic necessi-
ties to people displaced or otherwise affected
by .emergencies and disasters. From food,
transportation and pet care to lodging, cloth-

ing, health and persona! services (counselling),
-ESSA volunteers .are a vital “component of

. response and ‘recovery. ESSA, as

emergen
port organization for

your article stated, is a su

, individuals and commuuuties active in ESSA...
» 1 urge: your’ readers to contact the North

and West Vancouver Emergency: Program-

- (983-7440) and become involved with the

‘North Shore ESSA Team and/or register for a

Aree — or Lr emergency
re

ess course (984-8098). "

advertorial, Dacember 15/1999

A MILESTONE

Last week, in the section of my
report dealing with the new Elections
Act, | indicated that | would tell the
story this week about a significant

| amendment made to that Bill. The

amendment was significant for two rea-
sons. Firstly, it came from an opposi-
tion MP, and secondly, it as the poten-
tiz!, over time, to dramatically change
the way Canadians vote in federal elec-
tions and referendums.

SOME BACKGROUND

if you were living in North Vancouver .

in June of 1994, you may remember the ©
electronic referendum | conducted on the.
North Shore with respect to the Young
Offenders Act. During that month, every-
one on the Voters List in North Vancouver
was mailed a ten digit PIN number, and
invited to vote on three questions related
to the effectiveness of tne Young
Offenders Act, using a touch-tone tele-
phones.

At tha time | conducted the experi-
ment, which was designed to test.a rela-:

i tively new technology, many people still -.
) had rotary dial telephones. In addition,’ |..

was cbliged to offset the cost of the exer.
cise by having voters diai a 1-900 number

; to vote at their own expense. These two -

factors combined to attract a tot of criticism -
from: the media, and from anyone’ and -
everyone opposed to the idea of voters -
having meaningful input to government.
between elections. With the passage of ,
time however, there have been major
improvements in the technology, and its. -
acceptance Ly many people who previ-

ously made no secret of their epposition.

; “ In 1996, for. example, during a revi-,
sion of the Ontario Elections Act, the Mike -
Harris Govemment inéluded an electronic.
voting clause in the Bill, thereby providing=

jtas an option for futuré use in provincial

and raunicipal referendums and elections.

. Within ‘a. matter of months, in. March:
.§ 1997, as a result ‘of. the passege "of the
‘fnew legislation, the ow of North York cone.

than. 150,000 people voted via toucti-tone

telephone, in at least four different lan-.

guages, at about one sixth of the cést of a

: traditional municipal voting. event.

been widely reported in the Globe and
Mail, National Post, and iocal dailies.
What still remains to be said though, is
that the Liberal Government, te the
amazement of its own MPs, and cer-
tainly to me, on the evening of
December 1, 1998, in the dying hours of
a four week committee study of the
new Act, tinally accepted an amend-
ment | had been fighting to have
included since the Bill was first intro-
duced. ,

THE NORTH VANCOUVER
AMENDMENT
My amendment, which perhaps
should be cailed the “North Vancouver
Amendment’, for reasons which should
become apparent below, -adds a.new
clause (18.1) to the Bill, authorizing the
Chief Electoral Officer to «devise and:
test an electronic voting process for future.
use in a general election or by-election... ”
The exact text of the amendment reads: ;
' “The Chiet Electoral Officer. ms;
carry out studies: on voting, Including

in a “general election or.a : by-election, '
provided that the process may n be
used for an official (

prior approval of the committze of the
‘ House of Commons that normally co

‘Officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley,
“authori of Pat lament to investigate and

OFS