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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-10-30, Page 4Ready and waiting Photo by Janice Becker Letters THE EDITOR, Today I had a lovely conversation with two members of The Citizen's staff. We were talking about my great-grandfather, Thomas McGillicuddy, ana his brother Daniel, both of whom were involved in starting the paper. Well, our family is trying to trace more about their background. -We know that their father was, Daniel McGillicuddy, who was an officer in the Imperial Army, and decorated twice for service in the Crimean. He came to Canada with his wife, Catharine Brennan McGill, and their four children in 1856, when Thomas, the youngest, was two years old. They were Irish Catholics; Thomas became a protestant as a teenager. We would like to know more about the parents when and where they died, where they came from in the U.K. (two of the children were born in England) and where they settled. Ultimately we'd like to trace back even further — to the next generation etc. Meanwhile, we are searching for more information on Daniel Sr. and Catharine, as well as the younger generation — Eleanor C., b. 1848 and Daniel b. 1850 born in England; Kathleen, b. 1852 and Thomas b. 1854 in Ireland. Perhaps one of your readers knows about the McGillicuddy's. We'd like to know. Thank you so much for your help. Sincerely, C. Homes Stewart, 1600 Stonehaven Dr. Mississauga, ON. L5J 1E7 THE EDITOR, As you cannot help but be aware, drastic changes are imminent for public education in Ontario. For months the government has been putting out trial balloons to get reactions from educators and trustees. We thought they would have acted on recommendations from the Crombie commission by now, and we would all know which model for school system governance would be implemented. It is time (and perhaps past time) to make sure that parents understand which are the three most likely models from which they will choose, and what each will mean to students, parents, and taxpayers in Huron County. 1. Some form of amalgamation, perhaps with Perth county (as per the Sweeney Report). 2. Some variation of the 'British' model where a new 'board' or 'committee' is attached to the second tier municipal government (ie. County or region). 3. A large and unwieldy regional council operating under the direction of bureaucrats out of one of the MET District Offices with no local governance body. The first model, amalgamation, would be similar to what exists today, but larger. There would still be trustees, although many fewer, representing much larger geographic areas. There would be fewer superintendents dealing with curriculum, special education, etc. and helping teachers. This scenario represents the least amount of change, but is also seen as not saving much money in the long run. (We need to remember that this government is trying to cut another BILLION dollars out of public education!) The second model, becoming part of a larger municipal structure, would see educational decisions made at the same meetings as those about sewers and street repair. If there are no elected officials with specific concerns about education, how will program and curriculum choices be made? The third model, which sees local boards abolished in favour of large regional councils, would likely see no trustees, no director for Huron County, and all of our superintendents being moved to work from a far-away city office in Continued on page 21 PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1996 C o The North Huron cn itizen ut P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil NEIRRRO CIRCULATION PAID The Citizen Is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A. and $75.00/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscrlpts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Doctors in classic struggle The apparent showdown between the Ontario government and the province's doctors could be the classic struggle of the1990s: the rights of the individual versus. the duties of the individual toward society. Strangely, for a government with such a right-wing agenda, the government is on the side of duty. Doctors, backed by urban media, are horrified that the government is proposing to limit the right of new doctors to locate in areas of the province (Metro Toronto, London and Ottawa) that already have too many doctors. If these young doctors want precious OHIP numbers that allow them to bill the government for their services, they'll have to move to areas where there is a crying need for doctors, rural Ontario and the North. Generally, rural areas lose businesses to urban areas because there are more potential customers, but not in medicine. In Toronto, there is one doctor for every 600 residents. In rural areas, there is one doctor for every 1,300. Economics would seem to be on the side of rural areas, except that doctors with OHIP billing numbers are guaranteed a good income unless they can't find any patients at all. The fewer patients, the more time they have, the more extra visits they are likely to book with patients, the more extra tests. And the cap on billing by doctors means there is no advantage to rural doctors who have to work harder, doing emergency room service, etc., to gain the same income as city doctors. As a result, doctors continue to crowd the cities while other parts of the province go without proper medical care. But the government's attempt to force doctors to practice in under-serviced areas goes against the grain of the independent-minded medical community who already see themselves as abused, particularly when they look south to the greener pastures of the U.S. system. They've started their own campaign against the system, with one ad featuring a doctor who says "I've seen what practicing in the North can do to a doctor". But wait a minute, isn't service supposed to be the guiding principle of doctors? Don't people in rural Ontario and the North deserve care just as much as people in the cities? Doctors have always been well rewarded for this service but, unfortunately, some doctors now take the reward as their right without recognizing the commitment to service. The government's proposal that new doctors practice for two years outside of the three medically over-crowded cities is an abridgement of the freedom of doctors, but it is only for two years. Ontario taxpayers have invested a lot in educating new doctors and surely it is reasonable to ask for some kind of public service in return. Who knows, once they get out in rural communities the young doctors may find out it isn't as much like being exiled in a Siberian salt mine as the urban media would make it seem. Who knows, they might even find they like us dumb hicks. —KR Enough already! There's a certain irony in the fact that the best friend Mike Harris may have in maintaining political support is the labour movement that wants to pull him down. Every time labour, and its supporters, stage another attempt to shut down a city, as they did in Toronto on Friday, they rally more-support for the government from people who might not like Harris's entire agenda, but don't think labour is right either. It's easy to understand the frustration of unions and supporters of social programs because the Harris government seems immune from any kind of public influence. We have never had such an ideologically blinkered government — even the NDP could be persuaded to change some policies by business. Harris, however, isn't listening to anybody but a group of like-minded people. Trying to be heard by this government is like the peasants hammering on the steel doors of the king's castle: it isn't going to get you very far. But the days of protest are counter-productive. Shutting down the Toronto Transit Commission so millions of people can't get to work doesn't hurt Mike Harris, it hurts millions of little people. Those millions of little people could be what keeps Mike Harris in government after the next election. For the best of everyone, it's time to put this tactic to bed. — KR E ditorial