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6 — Sunday, January 7, 1996 — North Shore News

1199 Lonsdate Avenue
Harth Vancouver, B.C.
V7M 2H4

PETER SPECK
~ Publisher
985-2131 (01)

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” Ente contents :
© 1996 North Shore , 3
1.” Free Press Ltd.
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tre over Iranian

centre misplaced

Dear Editor:
. When Citizen Ray Gooch picked

up the North Shore News recently .
-and read that the’ Iranians ‘want to

build a community centre in/North
Vancouver, he took off. for the
moon, but not before phoning me'a
piece of his mind and depositing a
piece of his ire on the letters page of

the News first. See News, Sunday,

Dec. 10.

What set him off was iny North
Vancouver District Council motion
that we assict the Iranian communi-

.’ ty in identifying a suitable location

for sucha centre. That.was enough
for’ him to phone: and:call me a
racist. I was merely doing my job of
treating everybody equalty fair, a |

“tried to explain; = //

Such a service, I suid, was rou-

> tine and -available fo everyone,
‘including him if he hed enough mil-
" lions to spend.

The Iranians, I said, are not ask-
ing for something they are not enti-
tled to and there vas no taxpayers’

money involved.:

It is not such a big deal, I per-

i sisted. After all there are not that

many places which would qualify.
But it was all to no avail. He had

news viewpoint

Comununit

made up his mind that I had com-
mitted an act of treason and that was
all there was to it.

I still tried to reason with the
man. But by that time he was
already far out into space, although
I could still hear his cracking voice
hurling i invective down to my earth-
ly plane.

And that’s when I hung up on
him but not before giving him some

advice of my own.

As I was partly educated at a
local shipyard I felt eminently qual-
ified to do so. I don’t know whether
he heard me.

[don’t even ‘know. whether Mr. :
Raymond Gooch has returned from’

space yet or whether he did as I sug-
gested and joined the birds (0, fly
south.

Still, I found his: idea that I
should pose as “Sunshine. Boy”
interesting. .

What can I say? You know how it
is in politics. Anything for publici-
ty! How else will people know
about their hard working and dedi-
cated servant. Thanks Ray, wherev-
er you are.

Ernie Crist, Councillor
District of North Vancouver

mee nemereenamantontemnene ad

linority
government

still

WINSTON CHURCHILL,
once said he’d often had to
eat bis own words and found
them a wholesome diet. Your.
scribe may yet need to join
him.

For months I've assumed that
B.C.'s scandal-plagued NDP would
wind up toast at the 1996 election -
— repeating the history of Rita
Johnston and her tattered Socreds
in 1991. Suddenly I’m not quite so
sure.

Much hinges on the immediate
sequel to the NDP’s crowning of its
new leader — and B.C.'s interim
premier — in mid-February. He or
she has until Oct. 17 to call the
election, but the smartest move
would almost certainly be to call it
right away, with the vote in April. -

This would take advantage of
the temporary momentum a new
leader always creates for a party,

even when it has previously, lagged _

in the polls.

Rita Johnston squandered that
momentum and, after a few lack-
lustre months in power, paid for it
dearly at the ballot box.

As once-obvious candidates for
Mike Harcourt’s job drop out like
dead flies, the shoo-in for the lead-
ership is expected to be tough,
ambitious Employment Minister
Glen Clark, an ideological left-
winger who believes firmly in the
interventionist role of government.
With a strong organization already
in place, ‘plus the backing of the

unions, he already holds some use-
Me whisker, v wi th most Le

ful chips for election day itself.
Alone they ure not enough, of

course, given current polls showing ;

at least 65% of voters to be anti-

NDP. But two other factors still ...
’ offer the party some hope in a snap

election under a new leader.

First, Ottawa-bashing, the latest
political flavor-of-the-month. The
vast majority of British ;
Columbians reject the Chretien
Liberals’ bumbling “unity” policy
based on appeasement of Quebec.

They're also mad at the feds

over cuts in Ul and other transfer:

payments, not to mention a $47
million “fine” as punishment for
the 13-week waiting period B.C.
has imposed on out-of-province
welfare applicants.

On all these beefs the NDP is
happily acting as B.C.’s loud, clear

voice, The more 80 Siace the
threat to the party's future
same label as the Ottawa “ enemy. i
No matter how hard Gord
Campbell strives to'distance him
self from his federal

for many voters a Li

22% Reform. But in‘o
the-post” ele
mean little.

Where 40 s. stro! 1g
B.C. north and interior,’ it cou!

» well split-the right-wing- vote in

enough ridings to let the NDF
sneak up the middle and;-b

NDP government could 5

of course, a very differe

your ammunition.

crime

HEN iT comes to youth crime,

communities need to take the

law into their own hands.
B.C.’s neighbor to the east is ponder-

ing doing just that. ©

A program scheduled to begin in
Alberta some time this year would give
communities a real say in what happens

‘te some young offenders in their neigh-

borhoods.
The Alberta plan would involve non-

‘|. violent offenders in the 12-to-17 age
group, who would appear before com-
munity panels made up of adult volun--

teers.
The panel members would consider

..youth confessions. to such crimes as

fem

theft, neighborhood vandalism and
property offences.

Sentences meted out by the panel
would range from ordering delinquents
to make restitution to their victims and
apologizing for their misdeeds to per-
forming community work service.

However, what needs to be added to
the above punishments to arm them
some real lasting impact is a liberal dose
of local public consequence:

Community work service that is of
some real value to the community as a
service and of some real value to the
offender as a ‘deterrent; a warning to
first-time offenders that subsequent
crimes they. commit will be made public

along with their names so that the long-
lost sting of public embarrassment. can
be harnessed.
As US. Justice. Lester Loble ‘so-elo-
quently. . observed. ..in
Delinquency Can Be Stopped, whic was
published in the late 1960s:
-“The twin enemies of crime are fear
of punishment and fear of publi city.”
The coddling, of young ‘scofflaws.with
anonymity, meaningless suspended ‘sen-
tences and probation has left. communi
ties powerless to nip criminal c

‘Communities everywhere. need
regain that.power if they.are to r
worthwhile places in which to live