HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-09-01, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 1.1993
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opinion
"Men are never so likely ,.
to settle a question rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
... Thomas Macauley
Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St.,
Exeter, Ontario, NOM 3f8 by l.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Telephone 141!,235-1331
GALT. 1R1052101535
Education needs to be accessible
H
eading off to parliament, ei-
ther federal or provincial, has a way of
changing the perspective of elected rep-
resentatives.
The NDP MPPs who swept the 1990
provincial election were all left-wing,
socialism oriented people who prom-
ised to represent more fairly the aver-
age folk living in the ridings.
Three years of weag well -pressed
suits in the legislature, witnessing the
endless tide of limos and luxury cars
that sweep around Toronto's financial
district, and being able to finance two
residences (one at home, one in Toron-
to) makes it hard to remember that not
everyone back home lives in such style.
To be fair, the MPs who get caught up
in Ottawa's highly -financed diplomatic
circles have a harder time keeping a
But in Ontario's case, we now see the
same government that slashed into pub-
lic sector wages taking a stab at higher
education.
For years now, our governments have
been warning us that better education
was the key to keeping Canada out of
third -world status. Yet, education min-
ister Dave Cooke last week warned he
will be raising the price of admission to
Ontario's post -secondary schools.
We've all heard of students who were
given brand new sports cars to take to
university; of others who bought new
stereos with their student loan money.
We feel annoyed, forgetting such
spoiled brats are in the minority.
Behind the shiny cars in the student
parking lots are long lines of those who
walk to their classes or ride bicycles be-
cause their budgets do not allow for bus
fare. Behind their youthful flamboy-
ance and enthusiasm you can glimpse
the fear that by the time they graduate
they will already be in debt fifteen or
twenty thousand dollars. Medical stu-
dents often graduate fifty grand in the
hole.
Every time Bill Davis' or David Peter-
son's governments considered college •
and university funding cuts, forcing tui-
tion hikes, the NDP howled longand
hard. They sympathized with student
unions who accused the government of
making Ontario's universities into
"country clubs" to which only wealthy
parents could afford to send their chil-
dren.
Post -secondary education needs to be
accessible to everyone's children, they
said. A high-school diploma is not
enough to land most jobs, and certainly
not those in the all-important high-
-VI/biology {_ -, -'t
Higher tuition fees will mean more
dent debt, which will naturally scare off
some students, and lead others to take
the shortest, least expensive route
through college or university.
When did the "look out for the little
guy" NDP suddenly become neo -
conservative?
What happened to the realization that
better education supports the economy,
and keeps more people off unemploy-
ment lines? It's no guarantee of success,
but it improves the odds.
An Ontario that earns more, pays more
taxes. The college graduate who uses a
diploma to get a better job soon pays
back what it cost to get her there.
The bright lights and million dollar
homes that surround Queen's Park make
it obvious that anyone can afford a few
more thousand a year to attend school.
Back home in the riding, it doesn't
seem so obvious at all.
ADJI.
By Adrian Harte
A boy in blue, not me
If I weren't a journalist - that
is to say one of those who sits
on the sidelines with a notepad,
watching the world go by - I'm
not sure what I would rather be
doing.
I can be sure; however, that I
wouldn't want to be a police of-
flar in this province. I don't
even think anyone can properly
give a definition to "police offi-
cer" these days. There's prob-
ably something written down in
a manual somewhere, but prob-
ably out of date -and
Thernlices.oll s L
1r�ve see their graduates as fine •
representatives of a quasi -
military organization. A tough,
lean, efficient group of profes-
sionals who stand up to guard
society from anarchy and chaos.
The current government
would rather view the police as
more of a social agency, pre-
venting crime not through the
threat of certain capture and in-
carceration, but through good
public relations and trendy
crime prevention programs.
The Ministry of the Solicitor
General wants police forces to
be accountable to the laws of
the province. Municipalities
want their forces to be accounta-
ble to budgetary limitations.
The public wants crime fought
by grabbing thugs off the streets
and putting them behind bars.
The government wants to make
sure criminals aren't alienated
by not seeing their race or sex
properly represented by those
doing the arresting.
The police officer is expected
to spend months preparing a
case to go to trial. Every con-
ceivable piece of evidence is ex-
amined in court for weeks on
end. If a conviction does result,
the sentence is often far shorter
than all the time spent on get-
ting it.
A gun, a clubby lump of metal
is a requited part of every offt-
cers uniform, hanging on the
belt, digging into the ribs. The
Officer can quickly learn to hate
it. They have to carry it, but
aren't to use ii14eoipecte:Winsleasw
to use a,peppertr mill,orne. ,
thing to knock down [fi, 9che. %frith
guns and knives. If they have:to
draw it, they may see their ca-
reers destroyed.
If it sounds like 1 think there is
an identity crisis in today's po-
licing, then I have made my
point.
Certainly, the past sins of dec-
ades of police doctrine have had
their ill effects. The United
States still reels when cops are
put on trial for beating or killing
members of society, particularly
when racially motivated. Simi-
lar situation do raise their ugly
heads here in Canada.
Still, there is a sense that crim-
inals are slipping through the
cracks as modem`policing tries
to mold itself into being all
things to all people.
The police officer has long
stood for being an icon of hon-
esty, strength, and justice in
western society. If you doubt
that, consider your impression
of a cop in, say, some Central
American country.
I think our police still repre-
sent us well: Unfortunately,
they ane'ttow expected to stand
for so n rich more. Some of itis
good, some not.
In Exeter, our soon-to-
distlppear.police force has been
dee: sUbject of much public dis-
cussion.-
scussion. We've all been witneea'
to financial battles between the.
town and police, the town and. I
province; we've heard testimony
ofinfighting and personal con-
flict that hasn't helped the
on utw,�mriT
!still to come. 11
Caught in the middle, it's no .
wonder the police
office
have
been trying to keep a low probe
in town for quite some time - !,
leaving the battles to wage on i
around titan. They're constant
lypestered°by citizens eagerto
discover some new tidbit of in-
formation; but as they've told
me, they know less than most. ` ,
Small police forces ate disap-
pearing at an alarming rate all
over itis province. The OPP
have a whole branch dedicated
full-time to disbanding small
forces and replacing them with ,
contrnets. This didn't come •
about because of specific issues
like we've seen in Exeter. Each
town has its own story to tell.
.All, no doubt,'atise from the
pressures for change inpolicing
in general. •
I'm just glad it's not me in that
uniform.
A
Amonwthe first t b p visitors to North
America notice is the large number of flags
everywhere for no particular reason.
In most other countries, the flag is unfurled
on national holidays or for occasions of great
national pride or sorrow. On a daily basis flags
fly only from government buildings. But in tate
USA and Canada, we display flags - lots of
flags - anywhere, any time for a variety of rea-
sons:
* we always want to show how proud we are
of our country, no matter what kind of a pickle
we're in.
* We want to remind ourselves and others
that this is our country and not somebody
else's.
* We enjoy seeing colourful bunting flutter-
ing in the wind.
* We're too lazy to constrantly hoist the flag
and bring it down. So we leave it up perma-
nently.
* We believe that showing our colours is
good for tourism, good for business and good
for morale.
So the time had come when we, too, needed
a flagpole and a flag. Elizabeth bought the flag
and the associated hardware kit as a birthday
present forme. A111 had to do was to put it up.
I'm no technical genius (this may be the under-
statement of the week), but I thought that sim-
ple operation like sticking up a flag was within
the range of my capabilities.
We had decided that the newly painted gar-
age would be the best place for displaying the
symbol of our family's patriotism.
I had promised to perform this duty on Fri-
day. At noon, Elizabeth reminded me. and I
said yes, 1 would do it after supper (thinking
she might forget). She didn't, and when I final-
ly psyched myself up for the job, it was almost
getting dark. But there was still enough light to
do this simple little job. I armed myself with a
step ladder, a hammer, three screws and two
different screwdrivers.
The instructions were brief enough. "Hook
wood toggle at top of flag through open eye-
bolt. Fasten bolts to pole before attaching flag
to bolts. Tie rope lead at bottom through closed
eyebolt with nut through both sections of pole
slid together..." - this little grammatical prob-
The Maple Leaf forever
lem didn't phase me - "...Make sure that the
bracket is securely attached with the proper
type of screw or bolt for the m tin surface.
Avoid overhead wires when installing."
Well, there were no overhead wires to worry
about, and in spite of my fear of heights, I felt
secure enough standing on the third rung of the
step ladder, attaching the metal bracket to the
garage wall. .
But when I tried to slide the two-piece pole
with the attached flag into the bracket, I real-
ized (a) that I had inadvertently fed the rope
through the wrong eyebolt, and (b) that the
mosquitos had discovered me.
It was getting a little too dark for the job, but
I didn't want to admit yet another defeat. 1
turned the yard lights on (they're right above
where the flag was to go). Well, I disassembled
everything and began to reverse the process,
looping the rope through the other eyebolt. But
now, attracted by the bright lights, an entire
-Squadron of mosquitos was attacking me vi-
ciously in some of my most vulnerable regions.
I fitted the altuninum flag poles together and
stuck them into the bracket. There. Done. With
a degree of satisfaction I climbed down to view
the result from below.
Then I called Elizabeth and the jlti4s. They all
came out to see.
"Who is going to tell him?" Elizabeth whis-
pered.
"Not me!" said Duncan.
"Not me!" said Stephanie.
"Dad! Do you realize what you've done?" Al-
exander, who is now taller than I am, didn't
mind telling me: "The flag is flying upside
do , Dad!"
I v%as speechless. All I could do was to stand
there, allowing hordes of mosquitos to bite mc,
I was so frustrated Alex took everything apart
again and fixed the problem in less than two
minutes.
"Why didn't you call me in the first place,
Dad?" he asked me.
"Ya, why didn't you ask Alex to put the flag
up instead of me?" 1 turned to Elizabeth. But
she had already, one into the house.
4