HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-01-14, Page 5Letters to the editor THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1987. PAGE 5.
Health Nurse supports departed MOH
THE EDITOR:
I would like to draw attention to
the * ‘ Letter to the Editor” from Dr.
Harry Cieslar which appeared in
the Focus on Dec. 9,1986. Ifyou
happened to miss it or didn’t
bother to read it I strongly urge you
to do so, especially if you are at all
interested in the future of health
services in Huron County.
Dr. Cieslar had been Medical
Officer of Health in Huron County
for five years prior to his resigna
tion in July 1986. After five years of
experience, I am sure most would
agree, that would provide him with
a good understanding of the
programs arid services provided as
well as the ones that are needed in
the county. He would also be
knowledgeable about the organiz
ation and functioning of the Health
Unit and the provincial legislation
that regulates this body.
Any group, whether it be a
business or a community group’
needs strong leadership and good
organization. Without these bas
ics, the services provided could be
decreased and the morale of the
providers could be diminished. I
feel these things are slowly
Lax judges prompt
vigilante action
THE EDITOR:
In a recent editorial you postur-
ized to the recent spate of
shootings by store owners of
would-be thieves. You speculated
that because of the violence onT.V.
and in movies, we as Canadians are
developing a ‘‘Rambo mentality”.
I certainly don’t disagree with
your comments about too much
media violence, all the way from
news reporting, to cartoons, to
movies. However, our increased
sense of self protection should not
be blamed solely on the above. A
large part of the problem probably
lies in the frustration caused by our
weak-kneed legal system. For
example, a headline in a recent
issue of the Toronto Star read,
‘‘Robber’s 7-month term upsets
police, victims”. The article goes
on to state a judge sentenced a man
who had 38 previous criminal
convictions to seven months in jail
plus a fine. The fine for robbing a
Canada Trust branch of $5,000 was
$850 and he was given 10 months to
pay it. Even the defence lawyer
recommended 12 to 18 months
imprisonment. Nowifthisisthe
type of justice and protection that
we as Canadian citizens can expect
from our courts, then it’s no
wonder some citizens are becom
ing more aggressive.
1 have never been robbed or
personally threatened, but I would
think that it is a rather demeaning
and scary prospect. In the case of
the store owners where robbery
has occurred a number of times,
possibly even by the same indivi
dual, then I think I, too, in light of
the lenient sentences being hand
ed out by our “liberal minded’’
judges, would resort to some form
of self-protection.
Now, please don’t get me wrong
and think that I am advocating that
Canadians or any other citizens
should arm themselves, for cer
tainly this is not the mark of a
civilized country. But we do have
rules and regulations that we as a
country live by and when they are
broken, we as citizens should be
able to expect the culprit to be
adequately punished.
The above-mentioned case is
only one of many where I feel the
judges of our country are not using
intelligent decision making and
until the judges of our country start
taking the law and applying it more
fairly, then the greater the risk will
be that we as citizens will start to
dispense justice ourselves.
Now, maybe there are more
people than not, who think robbing
a bank is worth only seven months
in jail. I’m not one of them,
especially when it’s been pretty
well established by the 38 prior
convictions, thatthe person is a
habitual criminal. So, I as a citizen
have to ask this question, “If the
judges and the courts of our land
are not going to protect me, then
whois?’’ Perhaps the answer to
this question is why we have more
store keepers arming to protect
themselves and their families.
UPSET
starting to happen at the Huron
County Health Unit. It has been six
months since Dr. Cieslar resigned
and there is still no permanent
Medical Officer of Health who has
been educated in and who is
committed to public health. Possi
bly no one has been willing to put
up with the present county situa
tion.
The Health Protection and Pro
motion Act, 1983, governs the
function of the Health Unit and
county policy and practice, in
regards to the Health Unit, has
been in direct conflict with the Act
since its inception. How can this be
allowed?
The Ministry of Health has
known about this situation since at
least the fall of 1985 when it carried
out a provincial organizational
audit, but still nothing has been
done to rectify the situation. The
Minister even resides in this
county which makes his lack of
action even more difficult to
understand!
I think it’s high time that the
people of Huron County speak
about their concerns. Nothing will
ever change unless you do some
thing about it! Please call or write
your local or provincial politician
and let them know how you feel.
SHIRLEY CHALMERS, P.H.N.
The following is the original letter
from Dr. Cieslar.
DEAR EDITOR,
It is appropriate and timely for
the people of Huron to be aware of
the county politics and administra-
tiveissuesthatseemtobe more
important than Public Health
programs.
As former Medical Officer of
Health for five years and having
resignedfromthe postthis past
July, I can no longer witness in
silence the destruction of Health
Unit programs and objectives for
which I and many of the loyal staff
have worked so hard over the
years.
Health Unit Programs are num
erous and complex, but very
economical and very unnoticed.
From immunization, home care,
education, and disease prevention
to environmental protection, these
programs potentially affect the
daily lives of this county. This type
of work requires skilled and well
trained professionals.
By provincial statute the Health
Unit is to be administered by a
Board of Health whose chief
executive officer is to be a
physician trained in Public Health.
Huron County has chosen to ignore
this Provincial Law!
A provincial organizational
audit in the fall of 1985 recom
mended administrative and organ-
iazational changes to rectify this
long standing problem. Not only
have these changes not been
made, but increasingly regressive
actions have been implemented.
Before I resigned I found my job
as Medical Officer of Health
increasingly dominated by the
Continued on page 24
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Government mustn't sell
rural post offices
THE EDITOR:
The report of the House of
Commons Standing Committee on
Government Operations in regard
to the Canada Post Corporation’s
five-year plan for 1986-87 to
1990-91 called for the closure,
amalgamation and franchising of
rural post offices.
The committee report, which
was presented to the House on
Dec. 15,1986, recommended a few
changes and emphasized some
aspects of the plan. One point that
the committee enlarged upon was
the privitation of certain rural post
offices.
While the committee’s observa-
tionsaboutthe human resource
issues are appreciated, I must
stress that I consider the privita
tion of these operations to be most
illogical.
If, by suggesting the post offices
in certain rural communities be
turned over to private operators,
the corporation is saying that a
profit can be made from them, why
then is the corporation, which
needs money, giving them up? If
they are not profitable, what
guarantee do the citizens of these
communities have that their postal
service will continue in the future?
What will happen to the govern
ment representation in these
communities, to its ability to assist
citizens with the completion of
government forms such as UIC,
gasoline, tax rebate, income tax,
birth certificates, access to infor
mation, etc.?
The post offices in the rural areas
are the perfect example of what the
motto of Canada Post means
“Service to the People”. Service is
exactly what the people in rural
Canada want, and that is what the
government should ensure they
get.
The Rural Operations Group of
Canada Post Corporation is sup
ported by individuals mailing in
smaller communities, and through
a variety of services such as
general delivery, lock box and rural
route delivery.
Canada Post recognized that the
Rural Operations Group is a
service-oriented body, in stating
that they do not generate sufficient
revenue. It is our view that the
quality of service to rural residents
should be maintained even at a net
cost to Canada Post.
To this end we solicit your
support in writing to your federal
member stating that your post
office be saved, therefore ensuring
that postal service to your com
munity remain as it is today.
R. W. STARKEY,
PRESCOTT, ONTARIO.
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