HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-12-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1986.
Editorials
There's proof the
amendment's needed
If ever there was proof of the need of an amendment to the
Ontario Human Rights bill to protect people from
discrimination on the basis of sexual persuasion, the battle over
the amendment in the last few weeks has been it.
In their campaign against the amendment, many of the
opponents resorted to disinformation, exaggeration and
downright hate literature. They portrayed accepting the
amendment as the first step in the total moral decay of Ontario
society. Guaranteeing there could not be discrimination on the
basis of sexual preference was deemed to be giving approval
not just to homosexuality, but to such extremes as bestiality,
and child molestation.
In truth, all the amendment means is that we must treat
people like human beings. It protects “straight” people from
discrimination in housing, etc. by homosexuals just as much as
it protects “gay” people from the rest of us.
Fear of things that are different has fueled much hatred over
the years, from discrimination against blacks, orientals, Jews
and native peoples to violence against Catholic and Protestant
minorities. The fact is that many of the very people who are
most against this amendment may have met homosexual
people and never known the difference.
You don’t have to wantto be black to think there should be no
discrimination against blacks. You don’t have to agree with the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church or a Protestant Sect to
agree that there shouldn’t be discrimination. And one doesn’t
have to agree with the lifestyle of homosexual people to agree
that they should be treated like human beings.
Paying as you don't go
While it seemed like a good idea at the time, one wonders how
long it may be before there is a rebellion against the new rage of
having big public events “break even” by selling everything
but the toilet paper in the washrooms to commercial sponsors.
Canadians, faced with the huge deficits of the 1976 Montreal
Olympics looked at the financial success of the Los Angeles
Olympics in 1984 with amazement and envy. The rediscovery of
the business ethic in Canada has seen us follow the same path
with the Olympics in Calgary and other events.
But Canadians are quickly learning there ain’t no free lunch.
First of all the general public found out that if they wanted to go
watch cross country skiing or some other not-very-popular
events at the Calgary Olympics, there were plenty of tickets still
available. If, however, their idea of attending the Olympics was
to see the best figure skaters in the world or watch the top teams
play in hockey, they were out of luck. Nearly all the tickets had
been taken up by Olympic officials and the official sponsors of
the Olympics.
Similarly, the people who mightwanttogotothe NHL
All-star showdown with the Russians this winter in Quebec city
had better know somebody with connections. After the official
commercial sponsors of the event and the Quebec Nordique
season’s ticket holders have been accommodated, there will
apparently be only 500 tickets left for the general public.
Seems we just can’t win. We either don’t get to watch at all or
we get to have the secondary sport of deficit watching at the
same time.
Old/new backroom boys
It would be nice to believe the myth the federal Liberal party
managed to create on the weekend that the “backroom boys”
have been removed from the politics of the party. It would also
be nice to believe there won’t be any snow this winter.
John T urner set the tone of this pleasant day-dream in a
speech where he said the new Liberal party headquarters is a
marvel of architecture because it has no back rooms. All
weekend long the forces seeking a re view of Mr. Turner’s
leadership were branded as the old backroom boys. Supporters
of Mr. Turner talked of the “new” party he had built as if to
dismiss all that was past in the party.
Yet, it was Mr. Turner who turned to Senator Keith Davey
(the most despised man at the convention for Turner
supporters) in the last election when, after he had ignored the
advice oftheold back room boys, he went to the polls before his
party was ready for a battle. It was his new team of people who
failed the party miserably.
In the naming of delegates to this convention there were
many incidents that would have embarrassed even the old
backroom boys as Turner supporters stacked meetings and
manipulated delegate selection.
But the Liberal delegates want to believe that somehow they
can project a new image, away from the bad old days. Either
cynically or naive they feel that they can gain election as the
government of Canada without tough strategists behind the
scenes to make an election campaign work. They’re either
fooling themselves or trying to fool us. The only way the
Liberals will regain power is by building up a new “backroom”
full of political planners.
The sad things is that in living this myth of a ‘ * new” party, the
Liberal delegates have cruelly dismissed as old backroom boys
people like Jean Chretien and Eugene Whelan who haye served
their party and their country well.
r~ ---------------------------------------------
GTp/ie world view
cL-ip from Mabel’s Grill
------------------------------------------------ . - -J
There are people who will tell
you that the important decisions in
town are made down at the town
hall. People in the know, however
know that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel’s
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town (if not in the country)
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Sincenotjusteveryone
can partake of these deliberations
we will report the activities from
time to time.
MONDAY: Tim O’Grady said he
was down in the big city and the
politicians are having a big fuss
there about the cost of getting your
car back if they take it off to the
pound for illegal parking. Heck, he
says, they cost more to keep your
car in the pound than your dog and
they don’t even have to feed it.
Ward Black said he got his car
towed away one time when he was
down visiting the Parliament
Buildings. It cost him about the
same figurethe papers are quoting
to get it back: $85.
Heck, says Billie Bean, until
about five years ago he’d never
even spent that much money to buy
a car.
TUESDAY: Hank Stokes was
talking about the five Soviet
soldiers who got out of Afghanistan
and into Canada a few days back.
Funny thing, Hank says, these
guys arc delighted to get into
Canada just at the time when
thousandsof Canadians can hardly
wait to get out of the country and
down to southern climates.
Yeh, says Tim, they found
Afghanistan too hot for them and
they’re glad to find someplace to
cool off.
Julia Flint thought maybe they
won’t be so happy to be in Canada
when they sec how much it costs
them to get through our merry
capitalist Christmas.
WEDNESDAY: Billie says after
reading about the provincial audi
tor’s report he’s had his mind busy
again trying to come up for a
scheme he can get a loan from the
Ontario Development Corpora
tion.
Billie was reading about the
government agency giving a
$15,000 loan to a company that
wanted to manufacture fur coats
from tiger, leopard and jaguar
skins even though it’s illegal to
even import the skins because the
animals are on the endangered
species list.
“Ifthoseguys are stupid enough
to give a loan for something like
that, 1 figure I can surely come up
with a scheme that will get them to
loan me some money. Maybe I
could propose to buy Ball’s Bridge
or something.”
THURSDAY: Tim was egging
Ward on this morning about the
accusation that some of the old
Tory staff members made off with
some of the equipment from their
offices when they had to turn them
over to the Liberals last year down
at Queen’s Park.
Ward claimed the stuff was
probably still there but just got
missed when the Liberals did an
inventory. “You know Liberals,
they never could count very well. If
they could, maybe they wouldn’t
have run up such a deficit under
Trudeau. Once they ran out of
fingers and toes they were over
their depth.”
Tim say s he was interested in the
fact the auditor found over
$700,000 worth of booze missing
from the LCBO inventory. The
Tories can't give their friends jobs
in the liquor stores anymore, Tim
says, but the ones that arc left in
there sure seem to be having a good
time.
FRIDAY: Billie says he’s working
on one of those party board games
after hearing about how the former
weather girl on channel 10 invent
ed a game that’s making her rich.
Since Canadians seem to be
making all big games these days
like “Trivial Pursuit”, “A Ques
tion of Scruples” and “Balder
dash,” Billie figures he should be
able to come up with one since he’s
as typically Canadian as you get.
Billie’s even come up with the
name and the concept. It’s called
Confusion and it works by you
pulling a card that contains a
politician's election promise and
challenging your opponent to come
up with all the possible excuses
whey the politician can’t keep his
promise.
Tim says it won’t work. Even if
you could possibly be as inventive
as a politician in coming up with
excuses, the game would take days
to play.
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informing.
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