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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-11-22, Page 7Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, November 22, 1978—Page 7 Reportfrom'Queen's Park BY MURRAY GAUNT A Government survey has found that nearly a third of Ontario's municipal bridges are unsafe, Transportation and Communications Minister James Snow said this week. Mr. Snow said that inspections were carried out during the past two years by consulting engineers hired by municipal governments. A five-year program to repair or replace the most unsafe bridges is being undertaken by municipalities, and will be financed 80 per cent by the province. The Minister noted that it will be up to the municipalities to take the initiative to do the repair work. Samuel Johnston, the counsellor at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia who was convicted of kicking a mentally retarded woman in the face, has been transferredfrom the Ministry of Com- munity and Social Services to a position in another ministry, and will now longer have direct contact with residents in any provincially run institution. As a result of this settlement, Keith Norton has withdrawn a bill which would have overturned the grievance board's decision and a ruling by the Ontario Supreme Court ordering the Government to reinstate Mr. Johnston as a residential counsellor. Ontario legislation toretaliate against restrictions imposed by Quebec on construction workers passed second reading - approval in principle - in the Legislature this week. Bill 136, which allows the Labour Ministry to impose residency requirements on Quebec construction workers who want jobs in Ontario, was sent to committee for further study. The minority Conservative govern- ment backed off just enough on the controversial Cantrakon development to avoid a defeat in the Legislature that could have been considered a motion of non -confidence. Housing Minister Claude Bennett told the Legislature that he will arrange a meeting between Cantrakon Ltd., which wants to build a conference centre on the Niagara Escarpment, and ratepayers opposed to the development. Mr. Bennett did not say he would reverse his approval of the develop Bob McKinley reports from U.N. The United Nations is a changing organization, and when I returned to it this past October for a week of briefings as a Canadian parliamentary observer, I was looking for signs of change since my last visit. In Canada itself, we have seen an increase of U.N. activity in recent years. The International Civil Aviation Author- ity, for one thing, has long had its world headquarters here, in Montreal. But two years ago there was the Habitat Conference in Vancouver', and in 1975 the Fifth Congress on the Prevention of Crimp was scheduled to take place in Toronto. Canada backed away from hosting the conference at that time because of the threat of terrorism and international violence associated with such conferences, proof that Canada does not live in isolation within the world. At New York, Canada is active both as a member of the Security Council and as a member of several of the committees and commissions of the United Nations. In .the Special Political Committee we have recently made a presentation on the peaceful uses of space. Here again, we are directly involved in the question, for it was in Canada that the Soviet Cosmos 954 statellite fellto earth last year, involving us in a major operation to search for radioactive contamination across our northland. In some areas, the U.N. has shown signs of progress. The Fourth Com- mittee, for example, set up to press for the decolonization of much of the Third World, has seen great success, so much so that the U.N. has grown from 55 independent members to 150. And yet, just as the violence and repression which characterize the inter- nal politics of some countries continues unabated, despite the Helsinki agree- ments of a few years ago, so also does colonial exploitation continue in sotne countries of the world. The Fourth Commitee has recently been concerned with Namibia, where the struggle for independent self-rule continues despite the obstruction of South Africa. Canada has actively sought solutions to this potentially explosive conflict. External Affairs Minister Jamieson recently undertook a tour of countries ranging from southern Africa to London, seeking in conjunction with some of the developed nations of Europe for a way.. out of the impasse. In other areas, we are also taking the lead. Currently we are sponsoring a' resolution urging all the nations of the earth to extend voting rights to women, as the western nations have done. And. so it continues. The world changes, and with it the United Nations. At U.N. headquarters the tensions and the pressures of world problems hang in the air. And yet, in the cafeterias at lunch time, a sense of energy also prevails, as people from all nations mix and learn from each other. IIIIIflh,Ii$ IIIP4WL meet, made over the objections of the Niagara Escarpment Commission. After Mr. Bennet read a letter from Cantrakon's lawyers saying the com- pany would consider other Sites that met its requirements, .Liberal Leader Stuart Smith ,said his party would drop the motion to ' reduce the ministry's spending. Ontario Premier William Davis order- ed Cabinet ministers not to communi- cate with judges, Crown attorneys or provincial prosecutors, or members of quasi-judicial bodies about matters before them, except through the office of the minister responsible. The guidelines on ministerial conduct were released the same day as the report of a senior law officer which concluded that former Solicitor -General George Kerr telephoned an assistant Crown attorney primarily to influence the sentencing of a constituent. Mr. Kerr resigned in September over the matter. Mr. Davis suggested the guidelines apply to all members of the Legislature, although he cannot issue an order to that effect. He said he .wouldask the standing committee of, procedural af- fairs to prepare recommendations for the conduct of MPPs in dealing with the judiciary. DRIVE SAFELY farm safety association CLIFFORD EVENS conductor GODERICH PROGRAMMES 1978 - 79 Season -DECEMBER-16 Christmas Concert FEATURING 'Nutcracker Suite' Humperdinck Rimsky-Korsakov Britten Traditional carol singing Tschaikowsky Prelude to Hansel and Gretel Dance of the Tumblers Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - intermission - Nutcracker Suite FEBRUARY 17 MARCH 17 Barbirolli Elizabethan Suite for Strings and Four Horns Haydn Symphony No. 104(London) - intermission - Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 (Fergus McWilliam, soloist) Beethoven Overture to "Egmont" Glinka Overture to Russian and Lud- milla Miller Au Bord de la Foret Cable Heritage Suite for. Band and Orchestra - intermission - Dvorak Symphony No. 6 ALL CONCERTS PERFORMED AT G.D.C.I. AUDITORIUM 3 Concert .Series AFAMILY- 20 Tickets Available: GODERICH-Campbell's, On the Square or any Rotarian CLINTON-Clinton News -Record Office KINCARDINE -Kincardine News Office BLYTH-Blyth Standard Office LUCKNOW-Lucknow Sentinel Office Sponsored by the Goderich Rotary Club under the*patronnage of , the Sully Foundation