6 — Sunday, October 26, 1997 — North Shore News — Crist takes a hit | NE has to wonder if Ernie Crist inhaled or not when considering the North Vancouver District councillor’s recent performance in council chambers. In calling on his fellow councillors to endorse the decriminalization of possession of illegal drugs for person- al use, Coun. Crist performed a grand-standing act of self-righteous- ness that did little but waste precious council time." ~ Wisely, other councillors declined to be dragged: into the fray, saying instead: that-they needed more infor- ion if ere to make a respon- sible recommendation. __ A; municipal: council producing a drugs’ is:as’ meaningful to their ats as would be their shared afterlife. Impotent Shore News Free Speech Defence growing. north shore news VIEWPOINT words dead on a page. And while we're all for spirited debate in council chambers, we don’t believe the taxpayer’s interests are well-served by ivory tower debates by ivory tower debutantes. Coun. Crist’s motion was little more than a rehashing of a subject that emerges every now and then, reeking like the stale smoke that is produced when a complex problem is tackled by well-meaning, and unin- formed, elected representatives. To be fair to Coun. Crist, B.C. Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh lit the end of this twisted tale when he called on municipal councils to get behind his call for decriminalization. Such toe-dipping in critical issues is typical of the current provincial regime, Just say no, Ernie. THE poor are seldom welcome guests at the tables of the rich —- especially when their better- STEPHANE DION EXPLAL heeled neighbors are squabbling NAN i 2 $ NEED THE MONEY. oN ___ @NRICERT 4 WHY, AS A QUEBECER, HE WANTS TO KEEP B.C. IN CANADA. No monopoly here on headaches! French influence naturally preponderant. The Germans, on the other hand — who twice in this century have paid a heavy price for political superpower status — reject the “European world power” policy, rejecting entry during 1999.In | fact, Britain could be a determining factor in whether, over the long haul, the EMU ultimately flies at all. ; Aside from all this, one feels quite at ~ an and British home reading the Euro papers. Sex scandals and violent youth crime stcries abound. : Britain leads all Europe in pregnant: schoolgirls (100,000 a year) and the gav- ernment is “zeroing in” on the disgrace. ~ MPs with zipper troubles adorn the front pages of the lurid tabloids. . vigorously among themselves. That’s the dilemma currently facing casterr: Europe’s former Soviet bloc countries — 10 in all, led by Poland, concept and prefer sim- ply to concentrate on moving towards an integrated European market big enough and loose enough for Germany to continue dominating it economi- ) iday, donations from over 2,000 News R ¢é! speech supporters to the fund stood at 40,6! can fees expended thus far by the News have already exceeded $200,000. The final bill will be much higher. All funds received will help defray the legal costs cd by the News in its battle with the Human ights Tribunal over a complaint laid against the a ‘Hun newspaper and its columnist Doug Collins by the Canadian Jewish Congress. ::, The hearing into the matter, which began on May - 12, concluded on June 27. with final arguments at the Century Plaza Hotel, 1015 Burrard St. The decision from Nitya Iyer, the tribunal of one hearing the complaint, is expected some time later ._ this year. Extra copies of the - News’ offices. - » Another excerpt from the hundreds of respon- Free Speech .- Supplement, which was originally-published in the -- ‘Aug. 20 News, are now available at the News gary, and the Czech and Slovak Republics — as they dream of being admitted to the European Union (EU) and all that membership in that economic power- house promises. ing their club by adding weaker economies — and also abouc the EU’s ultimate role in the world. But the present 15 EU members are _ deeply divided on the question of enlarg- cally. Ultimately that can only mean moving eastward. Meanwhile, as the for- mer East Bloc countries wait and hope, boom- ing Britain holds a key to the success or failure of another vital EU project — the European Monetary Union (EMU) scheduled to be launched in 1999. Countries adopting its common currency, the “euro”, must hold any budget deficit a. -dents.to the cause: “] didn't always agree with Doug Collins bus I > support bis right to say whatever. We live in a dif- ree. ferent world now and our immigrants add a very : | ¢- worthwhile contribution for the most part. Many of them are disgusted with our immigration department’s pro- cedures Pm sure just as we are — in allowing low types in * through lax screening.” ~— Leonard H. Berry of Parksville, B.C. Donations to the fund can be sent to: 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund. : — trenshaw@direct.ca Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shere Free Press (Lid. and distributed t every door on the North ‘Shore. Canaita Post Canackan Publications Mei ‘Sates Product Agreement No. 0087235. ‘Mailing rates available on request. farhara Emo Distribution Manager 906-1937 (124) re? Creative Sete ena * GBS-2931 (127) 61,582 {average circutation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Germany, its majority “shareholder,” is prepared to admit only Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic at this stage. But poorer EU members like Spain, Portugal and Greece are dead against any eastward expansion at all, fearing it might lead to cuts in the huge farm subsidies they now receive from the Union. They are backed — though for a quite different reason — by France, Italy and Belgium. These three oppose any enlargement until the EU “reforms” itself by adopting a fundamentally new world role. France’s President Jacques Chirac wants it to become “a political world power” equal in clout to its United States ally — with bec Linda St PETER S Human Resources Manager Sales & Marketing Director Publisher 985-2131 (177) 960-0511 (319) 985-2131 (101) Photography Manager 985-2131 (189; PECK Classified Manager 908-0222 (202) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. to not more than 3% of their Gross Nationa! Product, which already, for the time being, is expected to rule out partic- ipation by Italy and a number of other EU financial basket cases. Even France and Germany — with 13% and 11% unemployment respectively, compared to Britain’s 5% — are having to run hard to get their budgerary houses in order by the deadline. ; But while Britain, its economy grow- ing by a healthy 3.5% annually, would today have no problem with the EMU. conditions, some stiff domestic opposi- tion to junking the pound sterling for the “euro” almost certainly means the UK government will adopt a wait-and-see The new Tory boss, vote-hungry young Willy Hague, has outraged Iron. . © Lady Thatcher by cozying up to gays and” same-sex “parents.” Six army officers win =: technical acquittals on charges of gang- raping a barmaid. | a . Six months into his electoral honey-. ..” moon everyone still loves smiling Labour . Prime Minister Tony Blair, who enter- tains pop bands at 10 Downing Street and is recruiting business tycoons for his “partnership with private enterprise.” Only the silent, cowed unions await their © J moment of revenge. Back home in the world’s best coun- try, it’s good to know we’ve no monop- oly on headaches! O00 WISH MANY HAPPY returns of today, » Oct. 26, to West Van Kiwanis Club’s birthday boy Len Roth. O00 WRIGHT OR WRONG: Heroism con- sists of hanging on one minute longer (Norwegian proverb). LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your sume, at] Managing Editor 905-2131 (116) Phe 985-2131 (133) Promotions & $85-2131 (218) interact: http//www.nsaews.com full address & telephone number. WA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca Michael Backer - Hews Editer 985-2139 (114) Andrew McCredie - Sperts/Community Editer 985-2131 (147)