The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 5

A7 The Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, May 23, 1989 JSJ Drunk driving charges hit 1 5-year low mark Peace groups march to protest weapons show ZMA riA. fi '-j i lis Ha IrW'Kf Mi Canadian Press TORONTO The incidence of impaired driving has fallen to its lowest level since national figures were First collected 15 years ago, says Statistics Canada. In 1987 the last year for which figures were available about 128,000 people were charged with impaired driving offences, a 21 per cent drop from the peak year of 1981 when 162,000 charges were laid. It was the fourth consecutive annual decline, reflecting increased efforts by police, community groups and governments to stop drinking drivers, observers say. "My own feeling is that these public-awareness programs seem to have been working," said Holly Johnson of the Ottawa-based Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

"But although the message is getting through to the great majority of people, there still is a group of chronic offenders." John Bates, president of the lobby group People to Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere, said the figures are a function of the strictness of enforcement by Canada's police forces. "The much-vaunted government crackdown never came and people eventually realized it." He said he believes the proportion of accidents involving alcohol is about 60 per cent. In 1987, the average number of impaired driving charges across Canada was 500 offences per 100,000 residents. Alberta was the leading province in charges with 830 offences per 100,000 people. sored by the Toronto-based Baxter Publishing is expected to draw as many as 15,000 buyers, sellers and soldiers from around the world, organizers say.

Some 400 companies from 16 countries are expected to set up booths to display their weapons, nulla crM AmMore mfl.a rtO'rv. wiivw -mi tnnTc. H'acserf -c exnfon Canadian Press OTTAWA Waving black flags and chanting anti-war slogans, some 1,500 peace activists marched Monday to protest ARMX '89, the international arms exhibition opening here today. The demonstrators, from tots to teens to seniors, halted holiday traffic as they marched from downtown to Lansdowne Park, site of the controversial trade show first organized in 1983. Upon reaching the park, they gathered in an area cordoned off by police and listened to speakers denounce Canada's involvement in the arms trade.

Blockade planned Nearby, a dozen people involved in the exhibition stood quietly in the late afternoon sun and watched. "My message is for the people in there," yelled Natalie Turner of the Student Christian Movement of Canada, pointing to the stadium. "We don't want to see our planet destroyed by bombs, by garbage and by hatred." Today, members of the Alliance for Non-Violent Action say they will block the entrance to Lansdowne Park, and spokesmen say they expect some will be arrested. Richard Sanders, spokesman for the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade, said Canada's reputation as a peacemaker is called into question by its involvement in ARMX. The demonstration will "show the world that the statement that Canada is a peacemaker is a myth," he Mvrgr fill f- communications equipment, tents and computerized simulators.

The exhibition is held every two years. But this year, Ottawa city council decided it will no longer rent municipally owned property for the show. The defence department is a major participant, although the federal government no longer organizes the event. In the Commons last week, Mary Collins, associate defence minister, said the exhibition was a cost-efficient way to bring the department up to date on the latest in training technology. 'Stop the arms race But the demonstrators said ARMX promotes the arms trade, and thus, promotes killing.

They say Canadian weapons often end up in the hands of some of the world's worst human-rights violators. "If we can stop the arms trade, we can stop the arms race and if we can stop the arms race, we can stop war," said Leonard Johnson, head of the peace group Project Ploughshares. Members of peace groups and political movements waved placards, shouted and sang protest songs from the 1960s. As they marched, youngsters ran alongside, stopping now and again to scribble "Stop ARMX" on the sidewalk in chalk. PI rii a.

uii i REUTER NOVEL WAY of against ARMX by youthful protester (right) is one of many ways crowd (above) showed its opposition to the exposition in Ottawa. sin 25 rK. vizi I Sis tgi fMVw? A I IL told protesters before the march began. "Canada is anything but a peacekeeper." The three-day trade show, spon Do 1W .1 w- Mr fjy 1 1" Diesel-electric subs considered, navy official says "4 ft. wCi.

VOW Canadian Press TORONTO Diesel-electric submarines have not been ruled out as replacements for a fleet of Canadian nuclear submarines, which were scuttled in the recent federal budget, says a Canadian rear-admiral. "We're looking ai all the possibilities," Rear-Admiral John Slade said in a recent interview. Canada's $8 billion project to buy JO to 12s nuclear-powered boats was cancelled in last month's federal budget. Slade was asked for comment on a story in Jane's Defence Weekly last week saying Canada may renew a joint project with the Royal Australian Navy to buy diesel-electric submarines. Slade said the navy wants a system that would let submarines operate under Arctic ice.

Nuclear-powered submarines can run indefinitely, governed only by food supplies and crew endurance. Diesel-electric vessels have to surface, or snorkel via a tube extending above the surface, with the boat submerged periodically to. recharge the batteries that drive the electric motors when the boat is underwater. Once surfaced, a submarine can be spotted by satellites. Britain's Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered boats would have cost up to $500 million each, while the other competitor, the French Rubis-Amethyste, would have cost about $350 million.

A Canadian submarine expert estimated the average price for a diesel-electric boat at around $300 millions ti nit K'rs Australian Commodore David Campbell said in an interview his navy has undergone an enormous evaluation process as it goes through the process of buying Swedish-designed diesel-electric subs, anci could advise Canada on buying such vessels. After cancellation of the nuclear-powered subs, Canada's navy was told to come up with options for cabinet consideration. rA i eA 0oretse ah win jvj fyu mmm mm CIBC INVESTOR'S RATE ACCOUNT The higher your balance, the higher your interest rate. I I $59,999 $100,000 PLUS No interest is paid on balances under $5,000 "Offered by CIBC Mortgage Corporation 0 competitive with the leading savings account rates in Canada. If the idea of earning daily interest at investment rates appeals to you, look into a CIBCs Investor's Rate Account today.

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