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Entire conténts io © 1996 North Shore... Free Press Ltd, - All rights reserved,

AEN teh BRN ECP APONTE NES LATE RESSSRUCEENTS SCRE RIR LIAS METERING RANG CLE HOT

Court ruling _— marks sad day for democracy ©

MICE HARRIS PAYROLL REDUCTIONS , MOVE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

“As predicted, and warranted due to his asteep-at-the-switch

* vole as'a Hydro director, Schreck

was excluded from Cabinet. Bis

““Ibnddy Glen Clark had to hand’ . hin some carrot and created this

first-time-ever parliamentary- secretary role. It’s a shell game.”

_ West Vancouver-Capilano MLA |

Jeremy Dalton, on the. appointment of North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA David Schreck to the posi-

«tion of parliamentary secretary. -* (From a March 1 North Shore " . News story. ) ‘

cat “Gy am fluttered ‘py the atten... a tion thst they all seem to want to -; Shower in this riding”.

“Incumbent, North Vancouver. oa ‘Lonsdale NDP MLA David

Schreck, on the six declared “Liberal candidates vying for. party, _/ Romination in the North Vancouver

tax tales -

., THE. FEDERAL goveriment just

can't resist being in the ‘business

| of business. It spends. billions of - our: tax dollars ‘on. businesses.

Government, however, has a truly

‘ appalling record of picking losers.

The Atlantic Canada Opportuni-

‘ ties Agency, for example, handed . outa staggering $974,495,000 “from 1993 to 1996, Here are some of the handouts the agency made (a

taxpayer year is the amount of total

personal income tax an average

taxpayer pays in one year — about

quotes. of the week

riding. (From a March | North Shore News story.)

“I feel that if I can get’the place rocking on a face-off when we're down a goal I’m doing my job.”

General Motors Place hockey organist Michael Foster, on his job. (From a Feb. 28 North Shore News stary.) eo :

“I cannot accept that Korean

_culture honors and venerates 20-

year-old gang members.” -:. North Vancouver provincial

’ court Judge Bill Rodgers, to

defence lawyers. who claimed - Korean culture influenced the way three teenagers accused in brutal © robberies at Waterfront Park

‘respected the gang's recruiter.

(From a Feb. 28 North Shore News story.)

$4,800):. . $6,000 for Phase 1 of a feasibili- ty study for “Hank Snow Museum. ”

(one taxpayer year). .

$31,000 to the “I want to be a Millionaire Program.” (six taxpayer

years). . @ $3,510 for a fact-finding mission regarding turkey farming (one tax-

_ payer year).

— From Tales from the Tax Trough ill, a National Citizens’ Coalition publication.

news viewpoint

JIM KEEGSTRA — the Alberta ex-teacher who suc- cessfully appealed a hate law conviction for telling students the Holocaust was a hoax — has had his appeal overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. A sad, sad day for democracy. Let me once more explain why. The primary essence of democ- racy is “freedom of thought, . belief, opinion and expression,” enshrined in Article 2 of the Charter of Rights and (with differ- ent wording) in the First . Amendmenttothe US' Constitution. Please consider the

- meaning of those words carefully _ especially new Canadians from “

nations with no such personal freedoms.

What the words meari are this:

In anything you say, write or publish you have the right to be right and the right to be wrong. You have the right to be wise-and the right to be stupid. You have the right to try to influence others

and the right to make a complete .

fool of yourself.

There is — or was — only one

exception to these rights under. the

~ centuries-old British system of . -

Common Law which has served _ Canada and, with minor modifica-: | tions, the U.S. well for over two | centuries. You may not libel or: defame another person’s character.

", OF reputation by publishing mali

cious lies without risking. a ‘co civil action.

Back to Keegstra whose con: | viction under Canada’s latter-day’

“hate” laws will now presumably

stand, with a severe penalty to be ‘ paid. ‘ First, Keegstra is clearly a: wrong-headed foolto have j preached, in particular to school students, that the Holocaust never happened. F The great majority of i Canadians know he talks utter. nonsense. As a teacher he richly

deserved dismissal — if simply _

for incompetence. But that’s no excuse fot crimi- nal “hate” laws passed by Liberal

governments for the sole purpose. .

of winning the votes of minori- ties.

If. Jews or non-Cauicasian immigrants feel aggrieved by © idiots such as Keegstra, they have.

perfectly adequate recourse in a civil class action under the: basi Common Law of libel ‘and’... ;

_ defamation: Criminal, “hate” Ian

have no place whatsoever in, genuine democracy.

Much less so, insane legisla: tion like the infamous’ Bill 33" enacted by B.C.'s temporary. NDP dictators,’ which outlaws writing or saying anything deemed eve “likely” to bring @ person or group into hatred or contemp For this you can be hauled befo a non-judicial: Hanian Righ bunal of NDP-appointed hacl and fined-up to.$100, is Such a fate now: threaten Jeague Doug Colli ‘Second World War,

| Nazi tyranny, and i: Shore News Canadian

Niemoeller,

‘told h how such laws kill

: Cammunisis nd I said noth ng.

- because I was, nota Communist

the Jews ai I said not ing because Iwas not a Jew. The

‘ they came for me — and

‘time there was nob dy left to sa

"today, March’3, to Mt. Seymour

Lion Dadier} Ki:

‘up! Today'is the to

, “worried about yesterday.

out swinging in his new job. But he is hitting more air than anything

else in the top political ring. Deceptive swings at reducing the size of government have served only to con-

Paces GLEN Clark has come

‘ fuse the mathematically astute.

About, 400 government jobs are to be chopped, announces Mr. Clark, but the’. size of the civil service gets larger.

And the Hydro affair continues to

“short-circuit Clark’s quest to plug into

full premier power. Clark appointed

. Brian: Smith the chairman of B.C.

Hydro and demanded a' “thorough and

detailed analysis” of the Hydro scandal

— a logical step to ensure that the pub- lic’s interests are looked after and that a similar scandal is avoided in the future.

But Clark, as the Minister of |

Employment and Investment, was the minister responsible for Hydro and

well-briefed on the investment scheme |

at the same time that NDP and Hydro insiders were jumping at the opportuni- ‘ty to realize a large return on their investments. Clark now appears to know so little about what happened that he needs someone from outside to get to

' the bottom of it, which, if nothing else ©

betrays a lack of leadership. That lead- ing NDP’ members would take advan-

tage of a private offering to Hine

own pockets on a Crown corporation

ing far beyond sleeping politicians, With Clark firing Hydro:executives

and spreading the blame as far afield us

possible, it’s hardly a ‘surprise: th

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA David

Schreck, a Hydro director and a Clark::

supporter, failed to get an. expected

Cabinet appointment. The move:

have redoubled media focus back

Hydro scendal and back on. the shad

boxer at the centre of this heavy

ring. who has already: exhausted his

share of rope-a-dope tactics.