HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-04-24, Page 1single copy 35c
Published in I.vcknow, Ontario, Wednesday, April, 24, 1985
•'24 Pages
Board supports
religion brief
By,Sharon Dietz
The Bruce County Board of Education
has supported a ,brief which. recommends'
religious education courses be taught as
• part of the school curriculum. The courses
are not to teach a particular doctrine, but
rather give the students' an understanding
of an appreciation for the major religions
practised in their communities. .
Keith Waldie and Rev: Robert Shaw,
representatives of the Ecumenical Study
. Commission on Publiccation, present-
ed the brief, RieligiouiEEducation in the
Public Schools of Ontario - Elementary and
Secondary, to 'the Bruce County board at
their April 2' meeting. .The brief was
prepared by the Ecumenical Study. Com -
•mission on . Public Education, which has
been Commissioned by the major christian
denominations. to secure the teaching of
religious education in elementary 'and
secondary public schools in the province.
Formed in 1969, the commission is a
unique Anglican, Protestant and Roman
Catholic task force with representation
from Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Presby-
terian, Roman Catholic and United Church
es.
• The brief is addressed to Bette Stephen-
son, former minister .of education •and the
Government of Ontario.
The commission does not want a
particular religious doctrine taught in the
public schools. It believes cultural, Moral
.and religious history, values or principles •
should be presented in an objective factual .
Turn to page 3
Karah Kirkland (right) and Mrs. Jessie Kirkland admire some Spring flowers when. Karah and other members of the Ludmow Pathfinders
came for their monthly visit with the residents at the Plnecrest Nursing Home Thursday. 'The•girls,' aged 12 -16,, chat with the residents and
play euchre and bingo. Karah has been visiting with her "grandmother" since January., Incidentally, they're not relined.•
(Photo by Alan Rivett)
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Candidates address separate school funding question
By Margaret Arbuckle
Extended funding to Roman . Catholic
.high schools was the main topic of discus-
sion at an all candidates meeting held last
• Tuesday evening at the 'W ingham Town
Hall. • 1
Although the issue of extended funding
largely has been ignored by the three party
leadersthroughout the campaign for the
May 2 provincial election, the , three
candidates in Huron -Bruce all addressed
the matter at last w ek's meeting.
New Democratic Py candidate Norma
Peterson said her party supports the
principle of extended separate school
funding, but not at the expense of public
high schools and teaching positions.
• liberal incumbent Murray Elston said
his party also supports. extended, separate
school funding in principle. Since no'
details regarding the cost or manner of
implementing the plan.have been released'
since former Premier William Davis'
announcement of last June,' Mr. Elston
said his party and the people of the
:province are at a. "great disadvantage".
• "There are times when you can't toe the
party line," said Progressive Conservative
candidate Mike Snobelen of Ripley, who
added he is very concerned the legislation
may create division along religious lines.
Mr. Snobelen predicted the matter
eventually will end up in the courts. ' `The
province might just as well refer the case to
a court of appeal for a ruling."
The candidates were pressed again later
in the evening about a recently released
TV -Ontario poll which claims the majority
of residents are opposed to extended
separate school funding, contrary to
government findings.
Mrs. Peterson said perhaps people are
annoyed by the way Mr. Davis made the
announcement, while Mr. Elston said a
referendum on the matter "might be of
some benefit".
"Give me a chance to be your repres-
entative and we'll see what we can do,"
said, Mr. Snobelen.
OH1P Premiums
• Mr. Elston was asked about his party's
proposal to eliminate OI1P premiums and
;how the government would pay for such •a
program.' •
A liberal government would end extra
billing by doctors and therefore be eligible
to receive $50 million in transfer payments
being withheld by the federal government
since Ontario ' refuses to outlaw extra
billing, he answered.
Mr. Snobelen was quick to point out the
two levels 'of government are negotiating
over those payments; which are' now
considered "lost" until 1987 and they will
not be ilost, according to Mr. Snobelen.
Mrs. Peterson said her party has the
same commitment to eliminate OH1P
premiums as the liberals. •
On' the question of how to stop foreign
Tium to page 3
Agricultural initiatives no help, Federation' says
By Sharon Dietz
Agricultural initiatives announced by
Premier Frank Miller during his swing
through southwestern Ontario last week
will do little to help the plight of area
farmers according to the president of the
Bruce County Federation of Agriculture.
"Farmers have had , their throats cut
from ear to ear and the government is still
playing around with a box of bandaids,"
says Wayne Robertson of Part Elgin,
president of the Bruce County Federation
of Agriculture.
'These government programs do not do
anything for agriculture but rather operate
on the back of agriculture. "There's always
a perimeter group that ,gathers up the
money." •
Funds from the Ontario Farm Adjust-
ment Assistance Program went to the
bk, explains Robertson. The cheque is
issued to the bank and the bank directs
where the funds will go.
The program announced by Miller last
week to link agricultural drains to municip-
al drainage is a repeat of previous
programs which helped farriers construct a
facility to get rid of surface water. But
elaborate engineer's reports were required
to get funding approval. By the time the
"parasites', the engineers and the acad-
emics were done, the program only paid ,
their fees and the farmer ended up paying
for the ditching, saga Robertson.
The Conservative party plans to combine
the Farm Adjustment Assistance Program
with the Operating Loan Assistance Pro-
gram to form the Fami Operating Credit
Assistance Program. The. new program will
subsidize interest rates to a maximum of
five percentage points.
While they are starting to recognize
agricultureneeds lower interest rates, if
you look at the•market place, it won't cost
the government a dime to offer this
program, says Robertson. .
The prime interest rate is already down
and it looks like a mortgage war is develop-
ing among the trust companies. This type
of program should have been announced
three years ago, says Robertson. Many
farmers, who need this assistance have
already gone by the wayside or are on their
way out.
"How will this program help hog
produce -is who are getting 50 cents a
pound when it costs between 80 and 90
cents a pound to produce a hog?"Robert-
son asks. "The operative words are price
for products and I don't hear anything
about price."
The Farm Operating Credit Assistance
Program does nothing to address the major
concern farm groups had about the OFAAP
program, the criticism of Section C of the
guarantee provided by the government on •
a portion of the loan, he says.
/ W hat is happening, says Robertson, is
the bank makes sure the farmer is placed in
Tuan to page 3
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