A& - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 17, 2002 A ‘yes’ treaty vote won't bind the gov't, Dear Sir: There has been some mis- CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD says minister A “yes” vote does not mean that the government understanding around the im- plications of a “yes” or “no” vote in the treaty principles referendum. British Columbians have been asked whether the province should adopt principles to guide its participation in treaty negotiations. As a matter of law, the answer to the question on each princi- ple is binding on the government if. more than 50 per cent of the validly cast ballols vote the same way. Under the Referendum Act this means that the gov- ernment is required to take steps that it “considers ne- cessary or advisable to implement the results.” If a principle receives more “no” votes than “yes” votes, the province will not adopt that principle as a guide in treaty negotiations. In the event of.a “no” vote result, the province would advance negotiating positions that are consistent with the provincial public interest without necessarily being linked to any particular princi- ples. The use of a binding principle to guide treaty negotia- tions does not pre-determine the outcome of the negotia- tions. There could be a variety of agreements that would be consislent with all of the principles. The Mail Bag is legally prevented from considering possible ex- ceptions to a principle, For example, in rare circum- stances the expropriation of a parcel of private property may be the difference be- tween reaching agreement or not, and the public interest in achieving certainty, finality and equality may require a limited exception to the principle against expropria- tion, In all cases the preferred course will be to seek agreements that are consistent with the principles. Ulti- mately, the voters will hold us to account for our own adherence to these principles. I believe we will make better progress with principles supported by a direct electoral mandate, than without them. Spoiled ballots are not validly cast within the mean ing of the Referendum Act and do not count as “no” votes for the purpose of determining the outcome of the referendum. Geoff Plant, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations, Victoria, B.C. Let’s vote on other issues, too An open letter to: Premier Gordon Campbell Dear Sir: ] am pleased you are finally taking a stab at exercis- ing demacratic process by holding a referendum, albeit a bit late in the day, as the citizenry seem tired by the paternalistic and self-serving attitude toward what your party feels the province needs. Still, its a start. Although having a referendum concerning treaty te- potiations is a glowing example of an election promise actually kept, judging by the growing opposition to it by British Columbians, white and aboriginal alike, it seems these treaty issues can be put on the back burner for now. Instead you might want to consider posing some questions on changes to health care, education and so- cial services and how best to manage those. J am sure by posing the right questions you will be well guided in your future decision making. While it can be argued treaties affect all British Columbians, cuts to services are more damaging. Let’s prioritise a bit. Robert Baker, Terrace, B.C. About the Helicopter Torture Harald yelled at his new gardener. “You're trampling the flowers! Why did | ever hire an slupid ex-convict like you?" “Because I'm cheap and so are you,” Sean muttered. "| didn't build my helicopter business by throwing money away,” Harold stormed off. Sean called his friend. “At least as a bank rabber, | got some respect.-Hm... Speaking of robbery, Harold's got these amazing all-ter- rain vehicles... Thal evening, Sean stole the vehicles. He sold one and hid the other one. Harold noticed them missing the next day. He called Sean. “Gome by. | forgat to pay you.” Harold then called his business partner, "Time for a little fun with my criminal gardener.” When Sean arrived, suspecting nothing, Harold ‘grabbed him by the ‘neck. “WHERE ARE.THEY?" "What are you talking about?" Sean said in a panic. ‘Come, let's jeg your memory,” sneered. Harold duck taped ‘Sean's hands and ankles and brought him to his helicapter pad. Harole's partner look the controls.” Harold shoved Sean into the helicopter. “This wiil teach you. I've removed the door sa you can get the full experience," Tears flowed down Sean's cheeks as the helicopter hurtled through the sky. “Please! I'm alraid of heights! Okay... took your vehicles." Harold scowled. “You better show me where they are. It's a long jump down.” Sean agreed, shaking nervously. The heli- copter landed and the captive gardener led Harold Harold to the hiding alace. Harold balked. “Where's the second one?”. "Uhh," Sean hesitated, unsure of what to sav. “It was here yesterday." Harold tied Sean to a tree. “Take some timé to think: I'll be back.” Hours jater, Sean managed to untie him- self and timped home. ‘He was 4 nervous wreck. He kept expect- ing Harold to storm through the door. The police came to arrest him. "I'm not the only criminal here,” Sean complained. Sean was convicted of thelt. Harold was convicted of assaulting Sean. Everyone in town heard about the inci- dent. Someone even printed up T-shirts showing Sean dangling from a helicopter. Sean sued Harold for all his suffering. "Your Honour,” Sean argued nervously in court, “I suffered emotionally for weeks. | couldn't sleep, | was vomiting and my self- confidence was shot. My reputation in town is ruined. | deserve punitive damages.” Harold balked. "I!’s his fault for stealing, Your Honour, He should pay ME for lost income while | was in jail for assault. And how could | damage the reputation of a criminal?” Is Harold Hable for damages? You! Be The Judge. Then look below for the court's decision SPONSORED BY TERENCE WRIGHT LAW OFFICES TRIAL LAWYERSINcE 1985 Serving the Pacific Northwest TERENCE WRIGHT Criminal and Family Law and Civil Litigation Support the Li Dear Sir; Imagine that you were asked to manage a compa- ay that was losing millions of dollars cach year. this company had five workers in the field creating in- come for the company. They are private sector employees that have no medical, dental, pension or any other such plans. They are the backbone of this company. yy This new company you skilled workers that have a full pension plan, full medical and dental cover- age, plus counselling and support for job replace- ment. Most importantly, they have huge guaranteed severance packages. The first thing any good manager would do is to downsize head office to a manageable ratio of work- ers to head office staff. We have-asked our new Liberal government to take*"+ of eg berals To all the downsized government employees we say, “Welcome to the real world”. The NDP created this reality for us. Now we have to pull together to support the Liberals in fix- ing the. terrible wrongs that have been done to all of us. Lorrie Alvey, Terrace, B.C. Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail standard@kermode.net. No attachments, please. We need your name, address and phone number for verification. Our deadline is noon Friday or noon Thursday if i's a long weekend. Free Initial Interview for LC.B.C. and Personal Injury Claims 201-3219 Eby Street, Terrace, B.C. V8G 4R3 Phone: 638-0354 Fax: 635-2919 YOU! BE THE JUDGE - DECISION: “Harold owes punitive damages,” held Judge Fabian. “The court must discourage such outrageous vigilante behaviour. But Sean's reputation wasn’t damaged since the incident accurred in private. Besides, Sean didn’t exactly have an admirable standing in town. Harold isn't respon- sible for T-shirts that he didn’t produce.” Todiy’s column ig based on « case from Alberta. if you have a sienilar problema, please consult a Wright & Mardiros In Terrace, B.C. We are proud to bring you some of the current legal issues from sicrass the country for discussion snd debate. To provide compelling enter- tainment, we have fictionalized (he umes, the characters and the scenarios in the case, Any resemblance to real people Is spuely coin cidertal. Inthe interest of clarity and brevity, the legal tssues In the case have been greatly reduced and simplified, Claire Bernstein is a lawyer and nationally svndicated columnist.Copyright 2001 Haika Enterprises. C28-7 Z on o a to ag ee tt Dae wee HE ie Be Aiea are managing also has a head office. Head office has 30 highly educated over management of our grossly oul of control pro- vince. a proud sponsor of CREVIE gull STOPPERS Terrace Crime Stoppers are asking for your. help to solve a break & enter to the Thornhill ° Community Centre in Terrace, B.C. Sometime overnight on April 4th/Sth, 2002, :a river kayak was stolen from a carport of a home . on Lazelle Avenue in Terrace. - " The kayak is a-9 foot river version rade by “Prijon” and seats one, It is purple and made of moulded plastic. It had been laying in. the. carport. No witnesses to this event have yet. been identified. . : Terrace Crimestoppers wants - your information, not your name. Call if you know the” identily of those responsible for this or any other’. crime. Any information is valuable and may lead ~ to the arrest and conviction of the offenders. . Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $1,000.00 for information loading to an arrast and chargas being lald against |" an Individual In this or other unsolved crime. If you have any |’ information cali Crime Stoppers at 635-TIPS that's 635-8477, |. Callers wil! not be required to reveal thelr identity nor testify In court. Grime Stoppers does nat subscribe to call display. Call 635-TIPS TERRY’S TIPS KEEP THE CODE New vehicles are delivered with a small numbered tag that has the key codes stamped on it. Be sure to record these .important numbers. If your keys are ever lost or become very worn, locksmiths have special equipment to cut a new key to manufacturer's specifications from these code numbers. ® Commorcial, Risidential, Automotive Locksmithing » Safes - Bales & Seevice » Emergency Openings ® Rooded & Insured ® ASSAL MIWA High Security Locks 4624A GREIG AVENUE, TERRACE, B.C. 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