north shore news

VIEWPOINT

| Fire fusion

EWS out of West Vancouver

this week presents as good an

argument as any for 4 North Shore-wide municipal amalgamation of fire services,

The West Vancouver Firefighters Association has sent out a flyer to select residents decrying what they regard as a woeful — and possibly dangecous — funding shortfall.

‘In addition to citing equipment shortfalls and the suspect stability of municipal firehalls in the event of an earthquake, the association contends \ their: sole aerial ladder truck is too old to be effective. They want a new $850,000 truck to battle possible firés in one of the city’s many high- rises.

But the present ladder truck has - been needed just four times in the | past 20 years, and with North

you said it

Ii tibéds to be brotight int thie 1990s before the *90s

Vancouver detachments and _ their ladder trucks just a few minutes away, one has to question the logic in spending nearly a million dollars for something that is used so little.

True, “a few minutes away” in the world of a firefighter is a long time. (Even longer if you’re the one stuck on a balcony with smoke and flames curling around your head.)

But with municipal councils charged with slashing budgets, or raising taxes, to balance the ledger, such expenditure seems unnecessary, if not downright frivolous.

Amalgamation of West Van, North Van City and North Van District fire departments would be a logical way to maintain the high quality of fire service the public expects, while keeping operating expenses within reason.

‘WOULD John Cleghora be

2, ‘pein Taney enter Wer Or vow Paces oc. iat Caesehtitemn top

the completed questionnaire within two

«North -Varicouver Recreation Commission vice-president

mmission treasurer Roger Nelson on the need to

28 Nex Story.) O00

Yancouver’s Centennial Theatre. (From a

d (because) we live in the area. I ‘not in my back-yard but this is bedroom.”

resident. Erwen Smith speaking in opposition . fest Vancouver. :

for the ‘Dundarave area of

‘addressing a 27-year-old heroin

of turning his life around. (From “

‘Canada’s. “big

starting to suffer a mild attack of the jitters? Mr. Cleghorn (if you arrived late) is chief executive officer of the Royal Bank, who earlier this year, announced an upcomin; merger of the Royal wi the Bank of Montreal. A couple of months fater a second pro; murger — this ime between the CIBC and Toronto Dominion — hit the headlines. Suddenly, the Prospect. . was _for five” banks to be reduced to two Godzilla-like

mega-banks, with only the Bank of Nova’

Scotia left to remind us of the good old

_ days.

But the two merger plans have run into stozmy weather. Finance Minister. Paul Martin has poured regular dollops of.

_... cold water on them, warning he may kill:

proprested from ‘employee to r bookstore, Sign of the Fish. (From a

‘ Tt rt Argyl and: B.C. "School Hi Spon Scholarship winner t ie pt C she some U.S.A. ip nner

, Why’; UBC. (From a July 1 News story.)

Meth Shave Mews, founded in 1989 as ant

independent suburban

‘ewepapor and qualified

under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the

Manager 908-1337 (126

Creative Services Manager 906-2131 (127

61,582 {average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday)

~ , the projects ifa

ial banking commit- . tee study fails to convince him of their.”

~ ‘merits. Meanwhile, public reaction has

been equally sour.

So it was with more than usual inter- est that —- for the first time in 43 years as a Royal Bank customer —- I received a personalized letter and questionnaire the

veepee, personal financial services, beg-’ ging me to tell his Cal; based survey’ _ company what I thought of his bank. Morcover, Mr. Rager offered mea chance to win $5,000 F for my. pains and a chance of anther 82; 500 if T returned"

Photography Manager 906-2131 (108)

weeks.

Some questionnaire, too! Sixty-four separate questions, most with five alterna- tive answer boxes ranging from “Very

Dissatisfied” to “Very Satisfied”, and covering every imaginable ser- vice areca — from ‘whether bank staff treat me “like a person” to + whether the bank

“gives something back -

to customers.”

Estimated completion” .

- ‘tine for sincere and accurate answers: up to 30 minutes. led em all of hich on one is led to suspect t Captain Cle: — with icebergs looming on the on (including the banking committee study © expected this fall) — is now shouting orders from the bridge i in an effort to save his h -fur financial Titanic. Cer ly; if any representative number

- of Royal customers completed the quiz

even half favorably, he’d have ample

Answer to mega-banks still

economic woes, whi

petitive advantages

“market and th enh

material for 2 last-minute advertising and — t

public relations push showing what a. great bunch of guys they are at the Royal in its present form.

But this is something entirely different ~

from attempting 1 to brainwash

* ‘antry into accepting that bigger is berer other week from James Rager, the Royal's. after all.

: The fact is that, however imuich sense"

7 ie is beautiful” makes to major banks

rations, itis ‘°° i¢ moment ‘by the the Asian

transitional co:

ly distrusted at r eh at large — due mainly. to

economic collapse and Japan 8 ‘deepening

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .

Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number.

VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca

Managing Editor 906-2131 (118)

Entire contents © 1997 North Shove Free Press Lid. Ail sights reserved.”