6 — Wednesday, May 7, 1997 — North Shore News north shore news

VIEWPOINT

Cane enable

in favor say aye. Add too a

round of applause for the provincial government and its new campaign to do something about grand theft auto.

But no standing ovation yet, because while the realization has hit Victoria that car theft is a major problem in the Lower Mainland and across B.C., the political will to really do something to combat the crime has yet to be fully illustrated.

_ As reported recently in the daily press, 22,000 cars were stolen last year in B.C. That number represents a marked increase over the number of car. thefts in the province in 1995: 16,000. It also. costs every taxpayer a significant amount.

. ICBC, for example, reportedly

P= the brakes on car theft. All

claims last year.

The provincial attorney general has vowed to get tough on car thieves and is considering the establishment of a special police unit to combat car theft.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the attorney gencral’s idea of getting tough on car thieves is to confiscate their licences.

Scary stuff, right, Mr. Car Thief?

How about something a little more radical? Perhaps public caning of car thieves over the hood of their stolen auto. Something with a little sting to it. Something big on public humilia- tion and physical consequence.

Something that would really make car thieves think twice about smash- ing your driver’s side window and tearing off in the vehicle you have

STAND BY wiTtH THE ADRENALINE Lv. J

OKAY... WERE READY, Now You CAN ASK...

paid out $92 million in stolen car

- "THE North Shore News Free Speech ‘Defence ‘Fund has passed the $60,000 mark. : - . To press time Tuesday, donations from News readers and a. free speech supporters to the fund, which was initiated on “March 26, stood at $61,709. ; _ ~All funds received will help defray the mounting legal = costs faced by the News in its legal battle with the Human L, “Rights Tribunal over a complaint laid against. the ee: Newspaper adits columnist Doug Callins by the ' Canadian J Zon; mat :

G A hearing 3 the matter has been set for May Q a 12.Th ¢ first three days of the hearing — May 12 Soars ‘tO 14 —, will be held at the Century Plaza Hotel, Co . 1015 ‘Burrard St., Vancouver, It is scheduled to ; isk. > begin at 9:30 a.m. on May 12. a “After the first three days, the hearing will move to “8 the Police Commission boardroom, Room 407, i : 815 Hornby St., Vancouver. we “Thus far the News’ legal costs to defend it and Mr. : _¢ Collins in the Jead-up to the Human Rights =~. Tribunal hearing have been substantial: almost $70,000. The hearing will cost the newspaper ‘much more. ; More excerpts from the hundreds of respondents to the cause: : “Enclosed please find my second donation. Why? Because I believe in freedom of speech — something I thought democracies endorsed. However, our socialist

government does not believe in such fundamental issues.” . : — W.C. Jones of North Vancouver

" O00 "Good luck to Doug Collins and free speech everywhere,”

ek — Roberta and Andy Ross Donations to the North Shore News Free Speech

Defence Fund can be sent to che News offices, 1139

_ Lonisdale: Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4. Cheques

should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech

Defence Fund. ; — trenshaw@direct.ca

j north shore

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worked so hard to purchase.

independent suburban newspaper and qualfied under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press, ‘Lid. and distributed to every doo: on the North ‘Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Atal Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. ‘Mating rates avallable on request.

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61,582 (average circulation, Woanesday, Friday & Sunctay)

The only

“STRATEGIC voting” is the oddball phrase cropping up more and more often as this wacky, photo-op clection gathers speed. What does it mean?

What it means is sim- ply this: the most viral assuc of all in Election °97 has nothing directly to do with parties, per- sonalities or policies. {t has solely to do with numbers — as in num- bers on the government and opposition benches, especially the latter, in the House of Commons.

The starting point in this numbers game is that — barring a miracle akin to the dividing of the Red Sea — Jean Chretien’s Liberals will win again. And as things stand roday, they could win again big.

That’s because of the suicidal split between English Canada’s three opposing pardes which, time and again, allows a Liberal candidate to sneak up the middle and win the seat with well under 50% of the vote. Nowhere was this pattern more convincingly demonstrated in 1993 than in Ontario, where the Grits took 98 of the then 99 seats, many purely as a result of the divided Tory and Reform vote.

If you’re anti-Liberal, that’s bad enough, even though it’s perfectly fair under the Election Act. But the 1993 election also brought something new and infinitely worse. For the first time in the 126-year history of Confederation we were left, officially, with no alternative government — the role of Hee Majesty's

Bea Drala caSecot PETER SPECK Human Resources Manager Sales & Marketing Director Publisher

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Petes Manager Display

Photography (127) 985-2131 (160) 990-0511 (103)

Loyal Opposition having been hijacked by the separatist Bloc Quebecdis, a party dedicated not to governing Canada but to destroying it.

Now the term “official opposition” is no mere empty title. It brings to the party or coalition in question valuable additional funds for research and policy development, _ together with the lead role in each day’s Question Period. In short, it provides all the tools needed to hold the government's feet to the fire and prepare the opposition to take

over the government’s functions, if or when called upon.

Such a “goverament-in-waiting” opposition is absolutely indispensable for the healthy working of a parliamentary democracy. That’s why the topmost pri- ority in this election is not merely to vote for party ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ or ‘D’, but to ensure the return of a party — any party — from English Canada with more seats than those held by the traitorous Bloc Quebecois.

This does not necessarily imply aban- doning personal party loyalties perma- nently, though for some voters it may mean abandoning them just for this cru- cial election — because the very future of Canada depends on restoring a healthy government-opposition balance in Ottawa without further delay,

By the time 2001 rolls around, Lucien Bouchard will most likely have won a new mandate in Quebec and have held a

STAND BY WITH NITRO. STAND BY WITH i THE PADDLES !...

GULP... How Mucd ISTHIS AMBULANCE TRIP GOING To cost?

way to vote for Canada

second independence referendum. Under:

those circumstances there is no way a. - federal government with the Bloc 4 Quebecois as its official watchdog can be -:

trusted to guard Canada's vital interests")

— least of all the fumbling, stumbling Chretien-ites with their frighteningly: incompetent record in the 1995 Quebec «* referendum. ; , :

How to vote “strategically” just this... ~: once? If your usual loyalty is to Reform, -- NDP or Tories (seats in the last parlia: ment 52, 9 and 2 respectively), park it . somewhere until June 3, Meanwhile, fol- low the daily election reports for the he:

25 days and figure out for yourself whic! of the above three is headed for the most ; seats. Forget its platform if you must, bu vate for its candidate anyhow.

Ditto Liberals who put Canada first. Hold your noses this time and vote for: -’ the opposition front-runner, halitosis and ail. The Grits will stilt win and you'll h helped return democracy to Ottawa:

Glad to have been of help, Warre! and Phil! ; Pees

200 = HAPPY 18TH birthday today, May 7, to North Van's Kio Howard ... And _..: enjoy Jane Saborio’s “Colores” — paint. ings by the Vancouver artist at West Van. Library gallery undl May 31.0: :

oO0. ' WRIGHT OR WRONG: If you don’t: take care of your body, where else are you going to live? me. ate North Shore News believes : stronglyin freedom of speech and the right of all sedes in a debate to be heard. The

columnists published in the News present 0°: differing points of view, but those views are:

not necessarily those of the newspaper itself.

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