X-Message-Number: 6292
Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 00:02:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ben Best <>
Subject: British Columbia, Socreds and Section 57

      I thought that because Douglas Skrecky lives in British Columbia
and because of his exchanges concerning Section 57 of the Funeral 
Services Act (the anti-cryonics law), that he would provide us with
an informative posting concerning the result of the recent British 
Columbia elections. Instead, what he has said is (or could be) quite
misleading. 

     Certainly the fact that the Socreds were trounced in the recent 
election has nothing to do with the fact that they were in power when
the Funeral Services Act (including Section 57) was passed. Section 57
was not an election issue, and was probably not on the minds of 99.99999%
of the population when they went to the polls.

      The Ministers of the Socialist NDP which was victorious in the
current election -- and who have been in power for the past 4 or 5 years
have been arrogant & dismissive of any request to re-consider Section 57.
NDP Minister Joan Smallwood's hostility and contempt went beyond that of
any of her predecessors, although she received more mail on the subject,
and she eventually became more "political". 

      Section 57 was written-by and supported-by professional bureaucrats
at the time the Socreds were in power, and these same bureaucrats have 
continued their bureaucratic lives in the NDP years. These bureaucrats
are the ones responsible for the legislation, not the NDP or the Socreds
(apart from the fact that neither the NDP nor the Socreds would consider
an appeal).

       If there is anything positive about the fact that the NDP will 
remain in power it is that the current Minister responsible has told
Douglas Skrecky that if the Funeral Services Act is reviewed, Douglas
would be consulted. The Minister also made it clear that no review is
foreseen, so this may just be a cheap promise (if not a lie).

       We may not be able to exert political pressure, but we may at
least may be able to achieve some "water-torture". The Funeral Services
Registrar, Paul Snikars, once told me how irritating it is for him to
have someone phone him at least once a month about Section 57.

     Write:

        The Minister of Housing, Recreation      Mr. Paul Snikars, Registrar
           and Consumer Services                 Cemeteries and Funeral
        Parliament Buildings                         Services Branch
        Victoria, British Columbia               1019 Wharf Street
        V8V 1X4    CANADA                        Victoria, British Columbia
                                                 V8V 1X4   CANADA

   Tell them that there is no justifiable reason for cryonics to be 
illegal in British Columbia or anywhere. Tell them that medical personnel,
funeral personel and common carriers should be given permission to assist
in cryonics cases without fear of prosecution. 

   Paul Snikars can be reached at (604) 387-9114, or FAX (604) 953-3533

                 -- Ben Best ()


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