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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-01-22, Page 111, APRIENDLY EUCHRE GAME — Ruby Beaver and Jean Hern of the Exeter seniors enjoy a game of euchre with Pearl and Maribelle Mawley of Chatham at the South Huron Rec Centre, Tuesday afternoon.T-A photo 'the only consolation after looking at those huge snowdrifts along our road is that this, too, will pass. It cannot last forever. We have friends who live in town and some -- yes, we do have a few friends — who live in a nearby city. We were supposed to visit them one night. We drove out the lane to the sideruad, went a few hundred yards and found a lane in which to turn around. We telephoned our city friends. "The roads are bad. Too many whiteouts," I told them he "What are you talking about? It's as calm as a mill pond here. Nb snow. No blowing," he said. "Why don't you tell the truth and say you just don't want to see us tonight?" No amount of persuasion could change his mind. He didn't even know there was a winter going on in the country. But we did. In the city, it was calm. in the country, it was a dread- ful night The older I get the less I like Cana- dian winters. Yes, I know. They are supposed to make us hard and in- dependent. Winter in Canada is sup - To the editor: The concern expressed by most of Ontario's 7,500 Family Doctors who oppose the Peterson government's proposed Health Care Accessibility Act deserves special attention. Unlike many of our physician colleagues, most Family Doctors (greater than 95 per cent) are not opted out, and do not "extra bill". Our concern is for our patients and the future of our health care system, and our fight is for the freedom of those of us living and practicing medicine in a country which once took pride in protecting the rights and respecting the integrity of individuals such as ourselves. - Over the past decade, the costs in- volved in maintaining a quality health care system have escalated and the public 'purse hat been 'stretched beyond its capacity to afford the resources required. Rather than ad- mitting its failure to come to grips with this scenario, governments have found it politically expedient to create the myth that paying doctors is the problem. As Family Doctors whose role each day is to act as advocates on behalf of those for whom we care, we are asking our elected officials to review the facts and to address the real issues of concern to our patients. ENGAGEMENT Mr. and Mrs. Bonnell Ling of Calgary, Alberta and Mrs. and Mrs. William Heather of R. R. 1 Kirkton are pleased to announce the engagemnet of their children Laurie Marie Ling to Kevin Michael Heather. The wedding is to take place August 30 at 400 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour in Calgary, Alberta. Egg board awarding trip The 1986 world swimming cham- pionships are to be held this summer in Spain. World champion Alex Baumann, along with his Canadian teammates, expects to bring home a fair share of the gold. To help with the vocal support in Madrid, the Cana- dian Egg Marketing Agency is ar- ranging for a dozen Canadians to he there to cheer them on. The Canadian Egg Marketing Agency is giving away three trips for four to Spain. Each trip, worth $16,000, includes seven days in Madrid, tickets to the World Cham- pionships, as well as four days leisurely spent on the Canary islands. What a way to cheer on the Canadian team! • We applaud any discussion which honestly addresses the issue of "accessibility"— but, surely, when we. speak of better access, we must be speaking about issues such as im- provingthe facilities and resources available to care for the elderly, the disabled, the abused and the under- privileged; surely we must be refer- ring to the need for increased com- munity services, improved home care programs and more appropriate utilization of our hospitals for both in- patient and out-patient care. Surely were must recognize that it is in areas such as these that the real problems with accessibility to health care exist. For most Family Physicians, passage of the Peterson government's health bill will have little or no impact upon our incomes --but will have ma- jor impact upon our freedom and our rights. For most of our patients, passage of this Act will make little or no difference with respect to their ac- cess to doctors --but it will also do nothing with respect to improving their access to other vital health care needs. The real problem, facing not only doctors but all Canadians, isnot "ex- tra billing". It is the ongoing trend towards underfunding and the resul- tant deterioration of our health care system. The real dilemma facing the population of Ontario today is not related simply to accessibility to health care --it is rather more significantly the question of ac- cessibility to political wisdom. Sincerely, Calvin Gutkin,MD, FCFP(EM) President posed. to be e i arating, character - building. Hogwash. Poppycock. Humbug. Bullroar. Stick 'em. Way, way up where it is neither frostbitten nor sunburned. Canadian winters are for the ski fraternity and those horrible, stinky, noisy snowmachines. You are, by 'low, I'm sure, aware that I got up in a snarky mood this morning. While heading to the washroom in the middle of the night, I missed the doorway and hit the wall. Yesterday, my doctor said he wanted to take x-rays and wouldn't tell me why. 1 poured a bowl of cereal, open- ed the refridgerator and there was no milk. I turned around, tripped, look- ed back and found nothing to trip over. Next thing you know, they'll cancel the Cosby Show and spoil the only quality show on the boob tube. My daughter has a huge poster hanging in her bedroom which fits my mood today. You know you're going to have a bad day when: Your horn gets stuck when you're behind a group of Hell's Angels. You walk to work acknowledging all kinds a of admiring glances and then discover your dress is stuck in the back of your pantyhose or you feel great about how wonderful the" students were in appreciating your jokes and then discover that your fly is open. You wake up and your braces are locked together. You call Suicide 'Prevention and t they put you on hold. You look for the clothes you wore to the party last night and there aren't any. Your horrible -tasting toothpaste turns out to be Preparation H. You put both contact lenses in the same eye. You dream that you ate the world's biggest marshmallaw and wake up to find your pillow is missing. You jump out of bed and miss the floor. Now, that, my friends is a bad day. Mine also included backing into a snowdrift that would not budge. It cost $20 to get pulled out of my own laneway and I was almost an hour late for work. So, you can take your country liv- ing today and keep it. And your Canadian winters. too. Dairy challenges outlined at event Speaking to about 700 dairy farmers ducts at competitive price levels over at The Ontario Milk Marketing the long-term". Board's 20th annual meeting in On behalf of all agriculture, not just Toronto, board chairman, Kenneth G. dairymen, McKinnon also stressed McKinnon, identified a number of how vital it was to agriculture's long-term challenges facing the dairy future - and to the Canadian con - industry in the future. sumer's ablity to obtain high quality foods at reasonable/stable prices -that` the Federal Government ensures farmers have access to reasonable sources of long-term finance through the Farm Credit Corporation. In the marketplace, McKinnon said, "our industry must be even more aggressive in fighting back against those vested interests who would have the general public believe that the dairy cow is a health hazard extraordinaire, instead of being a ma- jor contributor of sound, human nutri- tion since time immemorial." "I cannot stress too much," he con- tinued, "how important it is for our in- dustry's future to continue, and ex- pand if necessary, our heavy invest- ment in putting over to the public and to the health professionals the true story of milk." Ile also stressed that the board has to consider bold new initiatives in Research and Development relative to dairy product development and marketing. After a recent visit to the United Kingdom where a greater emphasis is being put on this area, Mr. McKin- non stated that, "it is clear to me that producers must motivate private enterprise to formulate, package, and market new ideas and products with the interest of the milk producer in mind, or we will have to do it ourselves." Other speakers at the annual meeting included the Hon. Robert tetra: -Advocate, January 22, 1986 Page 11 So-called "free" trade was cited as the number one issue. McKinnon, who represents Grey, Bruce and Huron, emphasized that "free' trade has became a highly emo- tional subject and there is currently a lot of confusion and contradictions. He said that, "milk producers have a right to know the facts," and that the industry, "must have a commitment that provides for involvement and consultation in the on-going trade diseussions in order to preserve our vital interests." "1 believe we will get a long-term dairy policy," said McKinnon. "This will give ug the opportunity to devote more time to the task of evaluating where the Canadian dairy industry fits into trade talks and to assess whether some changes would benefit dairy farmers and Canadians in general." . Aside from trade, McKinnon in- dicated that the industry will have to grapple with other tough issues in the future and meet the competition, both on the farm and in the marketplace. The willingness of dairy farmers to utilize on their farms advances in computer technology, farm equip- ment automation, herd health monitoring techniques, biotechnology, use of ultrafiltration techniques and energy conservation will indicate how competitive the milk producing sector may be over the long-term. Nixon, Treasurer of Ontario; J. "Your board has an important du- Boucher, President of Dairy Farmers ty to ensure, where possible, that new of Canada ; and Dr. Lew Mix, Direc- technologies and their application are tor, Farm Management Research made known to producers. The goal and Development Department. will be to keep our milk and dairy pro- Agway inc. All Remaining Ladies ROHDE Romika Clogs Reg. to 59 95 Now 1 i