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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-02-13, Page 4T Page 4 Times -Advocate, February 13, 1991 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Published Esc,' Wednesday Morn at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 188 by J.W. E y Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-516.2351331 Second Class Mad Registration Number 0388 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; Canada: S27.00 plus $1.89 G.S.T. Per year U.S.A. 568.00 plus $4.76 G.S.T. GAT. MO5210835 • "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley E1)ITOIZI:\I. Au revoir mes amis F or years - generations, in fact - English Canada has viewed Quebec as th4. ' polled child of confederation. Quebecers reject this English conceit out of hand. English Canada is the op- pressor, they say, denying them lan- guage, culture and economic power. Since 1965 when the royal commis- sion on bilingualism and biculturalism informed us we had crisis on our hands, English Canada has spent its en- ergies trying to appease its unappeasa- ble partner. Quebec, meanwhile continues to de- mand a disproportionate share of na- tional attention and transfer payments while it offers nothing but contempt in return. Now Canadians have been given the ultimatum that has in fact always wel- tered behind the dealing and whining and complaining. Shape up Canada - or we're shipping out. Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa told reporters last week that the people of his province "are tired, very tired" of constitutional discussion. They want change and they want it now. Here is a partial list of what is cur- rently a shared or federal jurisdiction that Quebec wants direct, complete control over, according to a report re- leased a week ago: Education, housing, health, family policy, research and development, agri- culture, regional development, energy, language, unemployment insurance and the environment. It wants the parliamentary system re- designed and a new super government put in charge with control over defence and the all -mighty Canadian equaliza- tion payments. It wants to join an economic union with Canada, sharing currency and cus- toms and excise and is prepared to al- low the free movement -of people, capi- tal and goods across the 'border'. It also wants to dump the federal Charter of Rights and create a new con- stitution over which it has complete veto power. It's generally willing to share control of native affairs, foreign policy, trans- port and justice. And they want it all by the fall of 1992 - or else. It leaves one breathless. All three federal leaders reacted to this report with the kind of cowardly ap- peasement that has characterized Eng- lish Canada's negotiations with our sister province for twenty years. Prime Minister Mulroney said, "Obvi- ously there are a lot of changes that can be made..." Liberal Leader Jean Chretien said, "the time has come to look at all the powers to see where they should be placed..." And New Democratic Party leader Au- drey McLaughlin said the federal gov- ernment should surrender some powers and keep others. She then made the curious comment:. "If you don't stand for something then you don't stand for anything.": Certainly in the last few years Canadi- ans have come to expect very little worth while from their leaders and we have seldom if ever been disappointed Here is no exception. We are reminded constantly of Que- bec's unique character and place in the world,and we are beginning tp ,lieve , a it. Quebec is a distinct society, with a view of democracy not shared by many others in this country. Its language legis- lation is ample proof of that. But if that is not enough, these outra- geous demands should bring it home to every 'Canadian' that not only does Que- bec not want to remain within confeder- ation, but it does not deserve it, either. Perhaps the time has come for us all to admit that Quebec will never be part of Canada. But no lop -sided, bastardized union such as that described above should be considered as a remedy. Let them go. And meet them in court. Journal Argus Believing in love Yes, Virginia, you and all of us know there is a Santa Claus. He holds court in the shopping malls, surrounded by his mini- skirted elves, lucky devil. How could there be doubt? There is good evidence that he exists. The Easter Bunny, too, is easy enough to believe in. After all, where else would chocolate Easter eggs come from? I also believe in fairies, elves, goblins, demons, spirits, vam- pires and ghosts. How else would they have crept into our literature, art, music, movies and videos? I acknowledge them all. Does St. Valentine exist? But until recently Eve had trouble accepting the patron saint of lovers, the chap called St. Valentine. I just couldn't pl him in the scheme of ngs. Reading about him in the en- cyclopedia was very unsatisfy- ing My doubts hardened when I leamed that there may have been two saints of that name, neither of whom had anything to do with St. Valentine's Day. Confusing? Read on! Britanni- ca thinks our tradition of send- ing Valentine cards may ,come from a Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia. It was held on February 15. But the version I like better is that the custom cel- ebrates the mating season of birds. PETER'S POINT • by Peter Hessel Valentine nothing but hum- bug? The whole thing sounded so suspicious to me that I decided to lay the matter to rest. Saint Valentine? Bah, humbug! But a couple of nights ago my sleep was disturbed by a strange sound. I glanced at the clock: half past midnight. There was the sound again. I slipped out of bed and looked out the window. No moon. But a flickering light was dancing up and down me driveway. Then another sound: a loud knock on the door. I rushed down in my house- coat and peeked out. At the door stood a bearded old man. I haven't met too many bishops in my lilb, but I recognized instant- ly that this guy was one. He wore a peaked hat and a long, richly omamented 'cloak. In his hand he held a tall crook with which he was knocking against the door. I don't know what made me open the door, but I'm glad I did. Imagine my surprise! "How do you do?" he said in English with a Greek or Turicish accent. "I want to straighten you out about my existence. Eve come all the way from Asia Mi- nor. I'm St. Valentine." Imagine my surprise! "Why me?" I asked, "why do you hon- our me with your appearance, your Excellency?" "Call me Your Grace, if you don't mind," he said. "I came be- cause you have doubts. And I want you to tell your readers about me and about love." I asked him in, and he walked straight over to the living mom, slushy boots and all. Good things Elizabeth was fast asleep upstairs. In a mini -sermon, he told me about his job, his mis- sion. St. Valentine's mini -sermon "Centuries ago everyone be- lieved in me and in love. The trouble began when too many Please tutu to page 5. Lunchtime, with the police It's not every day one gets an invitation to a luncheon to be surrounded by the police, but I went anyway. OPP District 2, of which the Times -Advocate covers the go- ings on of the Lucan OPP de- tachment, held a media day in London last week. It's a charm- ing idea, in which the police and the media informally get togeth- er to better understand one an- other and their respective jobs/ The police don't want to be por- trayed by the media as donut munching goons who thrive on intimidation. The media don't want to be treated as irresponsi- ble leeches whowill exploit any grain of truth for a headline. While the media were outnum- bered by OPP, the newspapers of the district were well repre- sented, along with several radio station reporters. Nevertheless, I heard one re- porter say that, all things consid- ered, police and joumalists are on the same side, they both want to see the bad guys caught. While one officer seemed to dis- agree, I thought it more or less an accurate assessment. The media, of course, not only want to see the bad guys caught, we want to let the public know they've been caught. Which is where the new Freedom of In- formation Act (oxymoron any- one?) is getting in the way. Since January, several police or- ganizations have drastically cut back the amount of information they are giving to the press all in the name of protecting the innocent, so the police will no longer release the names of (still living) victims of crimes. As was revealed at Friday's meet- ing, the degree to which those regulations are being interpreted varys widely, posing a definite problem for both media and po- lice. Hold that thought... By Adrian Harte It's an endless source of fasci- nation here at the T -A to discov- er how many versions of a story you can hear before you get your hands on the facts. It's worse with crime reporting. False rumours can circulate wildly cn what happened here or there and who was involved. Part of the role of a newspaper is to set down in writing the public record - to stop the specu- lation once and for all. With vi- tal pieces now missing from the news, the number of people who are believed to be victims or sus- pects will far exceed reality. Somebody fixed something that wasn't broken. With the ex- ception of a few rabid reporters in Toronto who delight in put- ting video cameras in people's faces seconds after a crime, most crime reporting has been a civilized affair. The media gen- _ orally have looked to the police as a source of accurate and sen- sitive information about crimes and accidents. As those chan- nels of information are closed up under this new Act, more mistakes are bound to be made. Police routinely withhold cer- tain information to protect their investigations or to keep one step ahead of suspects. As long as the media are notified of what is being withheld and why, eve- rybody gets along fine. But as was suggested at Friday's meet- ing, the press are going to have to do more of their own investi- gating from now on. Unfortu- nately, that means the news may unwittingly spoil an investiga- tion, or tip off a criminal that the police are ontohim or her. That's bound to , lead to' `band feelings somewhere along the line. Friday's luncheon was a pleas- ant pause for both police and media to remind each other that they are just doing their jobs, both believing they are working in the public interest. The po- lice want to let the world know that the bad guys get caught. The public want to 'read about the capgire. The media sits in the middle, keeping score. But along comes Queen's Park with a new set of rules, well in- tended, but destined to spoil the game. As far as anyone can tell, the new restrictions on police re- ports (keep in mind• the media are still free to print nearly any- thing they can find out) were in- tended to protect victims of sex- ual assault, but the media haven't been publishing the names of those victims for years. Somebody fixed something that wasn't broken. Letter to Editor How do we work for peace? • Dear Sir. The numbness which spread through me with the onset of the Gulf War has passed. I am func- tioning normally again, but a deep part of me is preoccupied with the events in the Persian Gulf. I am not alone in this state. Many have told me they feel a similar way. This preoccupation, at a feeling and thinking level, necessitates that this report be centred in the war. -There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant who has per- formed many acts of torture, bru- tality and assassinations in order to develop and maintain his posi- tion. There is no doubt that his vi- sion must be curbed. mere is pave doubt about how this is be- ing done. Sanctions were working. In De- cember William Webster, director of the C.I.A. iepotted to conven that sanctions had reduced Iraqi exports by 97t and imports by 90 permit. � figures show how effective the embargo had be- come. Whyy then, did Mr. Bush, Mrs. 7ltatc er and Mr. Mulroney, lead the world down s hasty path to wit? Mr. Binet said be could not afford the economic cost of ng American troops Indefi- i in the Middle tit. Was this a good enough reason- to plunge into war'/ The United Nations succumbed to U.S. pressure and agreed to the use of force after January 15th. However, the subsequent military assault on Saddam Hussein is not being led by United Nations gen- erals but by American generals. Britain and America have consis- tently refused to• activate the U.N: s Military Staff Committee, under whose auspices a truly au- thentic U.N. campaign would have to be controlled. And so, the haw- kish energy of the human psyche is being acted out again; this time in the Persian Gulf. It's interesting how rhetoric can be changed to suit new situations. Mr. Reagan once described the U.S.S.R. as: "that evil empire A few years later, as Russia skies with America in the Gulf crisis, 1 wonder if Mr. Bush would care to update Mr. Reagan's earlier com- ment? In what way does this kind of rhetoric manipulate our collec- tive response to war? In the 1980-1988 Iraq - Iran war, billions of dollars worth of U.S. military `\\ res were sold to req. Mr. Bush re - candy said. "rve got k boiled down very clearly to good versus evil". It helps Mr. Bush to be that clear in his mind. What is clear in my mind is that when Saddam Hussein was bomb- ing Iran, he was "good" in the eyes of the Pentagon. Now that his war- mongering threatens American oil supplies, he is "evil". How quickly good and evil can be exchanged to suit one's point of view and a coun- try's oil supply. Political rhetoric is one thing; the use of God's name is another. God's name has been repeatedly invoked by politicians and militarists on both sides. If God has ears, I sus- pect He/She has shed many tears over the past few days. At this criti- cal time, there are many quotations that are relevant from the world's Christian and non-Christian wis- dom literature. The following quo- tation ressonates with me: "Blessed are the peace -makers, for their shall be called the children of God". This is reassuring until one realizes that is a contemporary fashion for those who wage war to describe them- selves as peace -makers. The human suffering is already great. Civilians, military personnel and their families on both sides are affected Here in Huron county, parents are reporting high levels of anxiety and sleeplessness in their Please turn to page 5. 1