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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-03-19, Page 44111. NKR 4 TNnN-Advocate, March 19, 1986 iffles- dv�cat Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exetev, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519.235.1331 . LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager eA BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY OEVRIES Composition Manager sci:4 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications limited ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year, U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' A form of blackmail While supporting the contention that the federal government's Katimavik pro- gram should have been maintained, the manner of protest being conducted by Liberal Senator Jacques Hebert is indefensible. The 62 -year-old proponent of the youth program has vowed to take only mineral water and to sleep on the marble -tiled floor of the ornate Senate foyer until Prime Minister Brian Mulroney restores Katimavik. Mulroney is correct in suggesting that the Senator's protest is a form of blackmail that is not consistent with democratic principles. To give into that type of protest would open the door for others to follow the practice to win their case against what they perceive as government im- propriety. Obviously, there are enough examples of the latter that there wouldn't be enough mineral water or space in the Senate fdyer to facilitate all the protesters. Hebert is clearly setting a dangerous precedent and it is disconcerting to note that even some elected officials have in- dicated their moral support for his actions. The Katimavik program had many positive aspects that provided challenges and worthwhile pursuits for some of the thousands of unemployed young people in this nation. It broadened their horizons, gave them some meaning to their lives and at the same time provid- ed communities with an opportunity to undertake some projects that other wise would have been left undone. At a daily rate of $1 plus their board, the young people were certainly not an undue.drain on the treasury and the pro- gram cost was probably less than the welfare option and the associated costs that are faced by society when young people are left idle and seemingly forgotten. Senator Hebert could have been in- strumental in leading the plea to restore the program, but unfortunately, his tac- tics make it almost impossible now for the government to accede to his cam- paign and he has inadvertently done more harm than good. Religious interest higher According to George Gallup Jr., veteran pollster, whose organization has conducted numerous studies over the past year, Americans are strong on religion, but weak in morality. Gallup draws this conclusion in a 100 -page report "1984 Religion in America," and says in summary,. "Religion is growing in importance among Americans but morally is losing ground." Levels of religious involvement are high and most people say they are more Interested in religion than five years ago, but "two-thirds of Americans hold the view that the level of ethics in the U.S. has declined during the last decade." What makes for the seeming paradox, Gallup adds, is that very little difference is found in the behaviour of the churched and the unchurched on a wide range of items including lying, cheating, and pilfering. Dramatic differences were found in 4 behavior of the "highly spiritually com- mitted" compared .with those of less spiritual commitment, with the commit- ted showing a much higher level of moral conduct. The studies find only 12 percent of the population among the "highly. spiritual committed, a breed apart from the rest of the populace." They are more "satisfied with their lot in life" and far happier than others, . he says, adding that they also =`place greater importance on family life" and are more "tolerant of other races and religions." "Ncrsimilar studies have been done in Canada but we imagine the same figures might apply here," notes the Huron Church News. "If ever the need for Intentional evangelism was apparent, it is certain- ly so now. What a great opportunity to transform the merely `religious' to the `highly spiritual committed, a breed apart from the rest of the populace". Do we need a greater challenge?" Few major surprises It may be shocking, but there are few major surprises in the 21 -volume report submitted last week by a committee set up to review federal government programs. The report basically supports previous reports from such sources as the auditor -general that the federal government has lost control of spending. Almost 1,000 federal government programs worth $92 billion were review- ed and the committee says the taxpayers and the economy are saddled with a wasteful, bureaucratic mess that is out of control. The review compiled a list of $36 billion worth of tax subsidies and $57 billion worth of other expenditures which the study team said gin many cases duplicate each other and are wasteful in other ways. It said that many of the govern- ment's confusing mass of programs have outlived their usefulness, but have not been ended because of faults built into the government system. It should be emphasized, of course, that the present government is not sole - Free trade - There's little doubt that the debate over free trade with the U.S. is one of the more conten- tious issues to hit Canada in some time, and as •we indicated last week, area elected officials are going to get wrapped up in the debate whether they like it or not. While it is a national issue, the ramifications of free trade will have an impact on every municipality in this nation. For some, there is every indication that the impact will be positive, while • for others, it will un- doubtedly be negative. • The question that federal and provincial politicians must answer is whether there will be More winners than losers. Municipal politicians ate faced with the same challenge. The issue ended up on Exeter council's agenda last week and thatls noteworthy and praisewor- thy from many aspects. First of all, the three delegates from the United Auto Workers who arriv- ed to seek support for a resolution contentious calling on the federal govern- ment to halt bilateral talks on free trade with the United States should be commended for poin- ting out their union's position. The ramifications of free trade Batt'n Around ...with The Editor were expressed very clearly from the union's standpoint and the opinion that a firm such as Fleck Manufacturing could be shut down emphasizes the point that this is very much an area issue that could have serious im- plications for many area residents. By the same token, council acted wisely in tabling the resolu- tion on the basis that it is premature to dismiss the concept out of hand without hearing all the pros and cons. As Mayor Shaw pointed out, there are many positive sides to the idea of free trade between the two nations and emphasis must be placed on his point that the growing protectionitsm in the U.S. could have devastating effects on - Canada and that the negative points of free trade may actually be better than being shut off from the U.S. market entirely. • If the United Auto Workers or one area plant constituted lone consideration in the subject of free trade, then the decision would be easy. However, a number of workers and factories will feel the impact, and perhaps of more, or certain- ly equal importance in this area, is the impact that free trade may have on agriculture. Unfortunately, at this stage of Please turn to page, 5 ly responsible, nor can the finger be pointed directly at any particular govern- ment of the past. That emphasizes the point that all three political parties must share some of the blame and therefore must act in concert to correct the problems, forget- ting their political bias in favor of the na- tion as a whole. The mess should be treated as an emergency. The Commons should be recessed for two months so MPs can read through the reports, talk to constituents and bureaucrats about the proposed recommendations and then reconvene to decide point -by -point in a free vote what action will be taken to cut through the jungle of waste. It's taken a number of years and countless politicans and bureaucrats to create the mess and to even compound it when it was already evident. The time has come for bold, in- novative, non-partisan action. Every Canadian should sit down right now and write or phone his/her MP and demand that the mess be given the priority and emergency treatment that is required. Small gains When you are dealing with severely handicapped children small gains are very important. One has to constantly bear in mind that you are looking for long term improvements,, For example, one child had been in an institution for a couple of years as opposed to a smaller classroom situation. During that period of time she lost the ability to feed herself simply because the over-worked staff in larger place had to get ma children fed. Rather than watt patiently for the child to help herself the food was just shovell- ed in. We are fortunate in that we have d` number of volunteers, many of them senior citizens, who come in throughout the week at lunch time to help with the feeding program. Through their efforts we are able to follow the procedures laid down by the speech and occupational therapists. If you think back to the way very small children learn to speak you begin to realize that the movements for speech are similar to those of eating. Conse- importan t quently, if we can teach the children to eat properly, then it not only saves time and labour for those who will be caring for them farther down the road but may teach them to say some very basic words. There are many different types of therapy going on in this room in other areas ranging from By the Way by Syd Fletcher physical exercise to -music pro- grams. The classroom has a water bed in one corner. Since the children are in wheelchairs a good portion of the day their arms and legs tend to get stiff and cold. The warmth of the water bed is a good solution to that problem. To help the stiffness in the children's joints, the staff massage the arms and legs a great deal. They also have a huge 'balloon', almost four feet in diameter that they roll the children back and forth on to help the children stay supple. Imagine the excitement of the staff when a little girl who had not made a voluntary movement before, ac- tually stood up for the first time in the whole school year. Believe it or not, these children even use the computer each day. They have a special program which uses a voice synthesizer to call the child by name and ask her to "help me catch the fly" which is flying slowly across the screen. When one of these children makes a voluntary response to reach out and touch the screen or the button which catches the fly (and they do) there is a tremen- dously gratifying -feeling as you realize that somewhere inside that little child there is a stirring of life, a small eagerness to res- pond to the outer world. And therein is the reason for teaching that child. 4 /•