Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-07-19, Page 4Page 4 July 19, 2006 • The Huron Expositor Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK IWO Itwas a big week for the local medical commu- nity last week as high school students filled the hospital, clinic and other medical offices during the MedQUEST camp and Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman toured through the area handing out home care funding and meeting with local doctors about emerging family health teams. Smitherman came to Seaforth to talk about the increased funding to the Huron Community Care Access Centre for its "end -of -life" care, home care for hip and knee replacement recipients and increased wages for personal support workers. But, 25 high school students practising their bone -mending skills as they learned how to apply a cast at Lions Park during the MedQUEST camp certainly caught his attention and he had nothing but praise for the forethought of a program that could create a homegrown solution to the local healthcare professional shortage. As well, Smitherman gave the go-ahead to both • Seaforth and Clinton to pursue their own sepa- rate family health teams, a move that will better serve the different visions of each community. •It's been a long and sometimes rocky road as those creating a business plan for the new provin- _cial model debated the best ways to serve their patients and those still trying to get by with a family doctor. The decision increases the number of family health teams in the Huron -Bruce riding from seven to eight - something that can only be good news for the estimated 1,000 orphan patients in the eastern Huron County region. While the challenges facing rural healthcare are far from over, last week's events made it clear that plenty of people are working very hard to find solutions. Susan Hundertmark J Your Community Newspaper Since 1660 E-mail us at seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com OUEBECOR MEDIA "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." Canada 110 • SUN SA I get a nervous stomach watching Bush and Harper together Is it just me, or did any- one else get a sick feeling in their stomachs watch- ing clips of Prime Minister Stephen Harper smiling and shaking hands with U.S. President George Bush during their recent meeting at the White House. I can't be the only one who was thinking, "What are they up to?" But maybe my worries were are all for;: not. It's been reported that the two right -winged leaders focussed their time discussing, among other things, trade and security. And while I'm sure President Bush gave Harper a hearty pat on the back for the Conservatives' recent pledge to boost military spending by billions of dollars, it appears as though, for the most part, Harper stuck to his guns - so to speak. Harper responded to the U.S.' plan to start requiring that travellers have a passport or other secure documents while entering the country by air or sea, starting in January 2007 and then extending to land borders in 2008. He said to reporters, "I would hate to see a law go into place that has the effect of not just limiting or endangering trade or tourism, but endangering all those thousands of social interactions that occur across our border." In response, Bush described Harper as being impatient on the issue and that stiffer border security would not nega- By .Teff tiveiy affect trade between the two countries. But rather than applaud Harper for not bowing down and conced- ing to Bush's wishes, Liberal opposition mem- bers criticized Harper, call- ing the entire meeting nothing more than a politi- cal move - to hopefully per- suade left-wing voters, by showing he wasn't just tbe compliant little brother of the U.S. And while I'm usually the first to jump on the bandwagon when it comes, to criticizing our current Federal government, I can't help but applaud our Prime Minister in this par- ticular instance. While I don't necessarily think it's a good idea to build upon the strain that already exists between the Canada and the U.S., thanks to former Prime Ministers Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, this doesn't really hurt. President Bush even said of Harper, "He doesn't mince words. He tells me what's on his mind." And who knows? Maybe there is some truth behind the Liberal opposition's assumptions that this was all to gain more voters. We've entered an interesting time in Canadian-U.S relations. It would be easy for Prime Minister Harper to `buddy -up' with Bush, but would almost certainly be securing a Liberal victory in the next federal election at the same time if he did so. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 36.18 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. SENIORS; - 34.17 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. Fes: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $181.48 postage, G.S.T. exempt U.S.A,: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $92.56 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Sun Media at 11 Main St., Seaforth. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occu- pied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT 40029693 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 7605 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO Circulation Department P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, ON., NOK IWO Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association & the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Tom Williscraft Publisher Bernie Pugh Advertising / Office iikotAN Susan Hundertmark Editor Jeff Heuchert Reporter Dianne McGrath Marcie Riegling Front office Composing Editorial and Business Offices - 11 Main Street.,Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527-2858 Mailing Aiddress - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1 WO