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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-01-19, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 19, 1994 Publisher Jim Beckett News Editor Adrian Harts Business Manager. Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord COPailiha Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES_ CANADA Within 40 ares (65 km.) &ddreeeed to non Isttar oanlw addtreeeee $30.00 plea $2.10 O.S.T. Outside 40 mise (65 km.) or any Ietto r armlet address $30.00 pins $30.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 O.S.T. Outside Canada $65.00 (Wind** $66.40 poatap) Opinion EDITOR IAL Representation at stake oderich town council has come to its senses. It was only a matter of time. That town, the largest in Huron County, is facing the prospect of being on an equal footing witl;. the smallest township. or village - at least when it comes to voting power at county coun- cil. The plan to downsize county council from 32 to 26 seats has been rife with controversy. The simplest scheme of all, to limit each municipality to one representative with one vote, is being pushed forward by the council. Unfor- tunately, because such a scheme is ille- gal under the Municipal Act, a private member's bill is needed to get the legis- lation changed. Exeter has fought the proposal, along with Howick Township, and now Goderich joins their forces. This group realizes that the image of county coun- cil being one big happy family making the best decisions for the county as a whole, is a touch idealistic. While each municipality might be equal at- the county table, the people living in those municipalities would not. The people living in the small townships or villages with populations of 1,000 or less would be the best rep- resented. They would have seven times the power of a single Goderich resi- dent, or four times the power of some- one living in Exeter or Stephen Town- ship. County councillors do not represent geographic areas of land; they represent the people who live there. If all county councillors could be counted on to make unbiased, equitable decisions in the best interest of all Hu- ron residents, we might as well appoint a group from Colborne Township and save everyone else the bother of driving to Goderich. We must not lose sight of the fact that this is also an urban/rural issue. The county's five towns are already out- gunned at the council table, and while there are few issues that do align them- selves along a rural/urban split, there are matters that do occasionally cause the towns to be concerned about how the county spends its funds and directs its policies. That is only natural and to be expected. Should, however, all the thousands of people living in Huron's five towns be reduced to a mere five votes of represen- tation out of 26 in the county chambers, one might expect the image of one big happy family to be shattered in short or- der. With both Goderich and Exeter now against this private member's bill, it will .,likely die a sudden death, as it should. There has to be a better way of making sure that each Huron County resident who pays taxes has an equal share in the voting in the county chambers. A.D.H. Lettere to'the editor Ladies Car Care sexist "Men are allowed not to know everything about car maintenance." Dear Editor; Recently, a Canadian Tire advertisement was printed with the headline "Ladies Car Care". I am sure Canadian Tire has the -hest intentions. Howev- er, this advertisement is derogatory and sexist to- wards women and men. It gives the impression' that women are mechanically illiterate. Moreover, it sug- gests that women do not know basic driving skills such as "adjusting one driving habits to varying weather conditions." It was disappointment to see the 'woman driver' stereotype blatantly displayed in your newspaper. The advertisement is also unfair to men. It up- holds unfortunate stereotypes such as men knowing everything about cars. Men are allowed not to know everything about car maintenance. As is any other human being. This is why the information would be useful to virtually anyone. I applaud efforts to in- crease driver awareness. Obviously, in today's soci- ety, practical driver education is a necessity. Finally, out of respect, the term ladies should not be used. "It is demeaning 'Woman's Car Care' or Drivers Car Care would have been more appropri- ate. Sincerely, Jenny Ellison, Exeter Saying that we live in a small community is an understatement. The place isn't even a village. It's a tiny hamlet up the creek. And yet there are always "new people" to meet. When I see them at school for the first time, I might explain how I fit into the local pictttlre and say some- thing like this; "I'm Elizabeth's husband - you know, Alex's and Duncan's and Stephanie's dad." That makes me a husband and a father. And of course, I'm also a man, a htiman being, a son-in-law and a brother -in law. And a brother, although Thy sisters live "away". And an uncle. And a nephew, and a cousin. And yes, a father-in-law and a grand- father. Are you confused yet? When I meet "new people" on the 5th Line or in the surrounding area, 1'11 introduce myself as a neighbour and villager (I reldly should be called a -hamletter). E3UuF MBE;tA'.1 A. ARD 1993 "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley rebi.b.d East Wednesday Monolog at 424 Male St., Ex.a., °Made, NOM iss by J.W. Ealy Pebllaadons Ltd. T.Mpbsee 1,61.54361 0.0.7. 0111062101135 "Apparently you're unaware of our tougher new GUN CONTROL laws..." Your iews Letters to the° - _ Lqter to health minister "More hospitals faced with "top up" remuneration for on call coverage" Dear Mrs. Grier: The representatives of eight hospitals in Huron and Perth counties meet regularly to discuss shared issues, concerns and opportunities. In recent months, the meetings of the Huron -Perth Hospital Liaison Committee have focused on the critical is- sue of payment of physicians for on-call emergency room coverage. We are dismayed at the lack of progress that has been made by your Ministry in re- solving this problem. On call services are funded on a fee-for-service basis. Due to the low volume in emergency depart- ments in rural areas, physicians feel that the effort required to provide the service is inadequately reim- bursed. This attitude affects the provision of on call services in our area and directly impacts on the re- tention and recruitment of physicians for our hospi- tals. Emergency departments play a crucial role in ser- vice provision in smaller communities. Fee for ser- vice payments are determined by the Ontario Medi- cal Association. Hospitals do not have the ability to ensure equitable reimbursement to physicians in low volume emergency departments, particularly in light of severe financial restraints due to the Social Contract Act and other cost"pressures. "At the sante time. more and more hospitals with low volume emergency departments are being faced with de- mands for "top up" of remuneration for on call cov- erage. One of the hospitals in our area has already en- tered into an extreinely costly arrangement to,pay its physicians for on call coverage from hospital funds. Two more face deadlines of January 31. 1994 from their doctors to pay for these services or else on ca!I emergency coverage will cease. Letters to you from hospitals in our area appealing for action to resolve this issue have gone unan- swered. At our January 12. 1994 meeting, the Hu- ron -Perth Hospital Liaison Committee passed the following motion unanimously: "In as much as the payment of physicians is the re- sponsibility of the Ministry of Health and not of hospitals, the Huron -Perth Hospital Liaison Com- mittee demands that the Minister of Health itersonal- ly intervene to resolve the issue of physician on call remuneration before the January 31st threatened withdrawal of emergency on-call services inrthc af- fected communities in Huron -Perth". We look forward to your early and effective reso- lution of this pressing problem. Yours respectfully. Huron -Perth Hospital Liaison Committee (Chairs, Vice -Chairs and Chief Executive Officers of Huron and Perth Hospitals) In town, I'm known as a customer (stores), a pa- tron (library), a patient (emergency ward), a client (lawyer), a guest (restaurants). a volunteer, an offi- cer (of two organizations), a card-carrying member (of too many organizations), a reader (of papers and books), a browser in the local bookstore, a support- er of many causes, a donor, a sponsor, a contributor, and even an award winner. "I'm also a voter (or elector), a citizen, a purchaser (of just about everything) and a vendor (of very lit- tle). - Professionally I'm a journalist, a syndicated col- umnist, a writer and author, a local historian, a certi- fied translator and an editor, a computer hacker, and a WordPerfect user. Financially I'm both a debtor and a creditor, a de- positor and an investor, an account holder, a proper- ty owner, a policy holder, an insured and a benefici- ary. All that and more I'm a tax payer (on far too many levels), a former federal public servant (please don't break my win- dows for this), a contracting party, and often an in- nocent bystander. I'm a movie goer and a TV viewer, a radio listen- er, but not always what you call a good listener. But a talker. I'm also a spectator, a sports fan (my fa- vourite team: the Redmen), an athlete (mostly ping pong and cross country skiing), a cyclist, a pedestri- an, a walker, sometimes a jogger, but mostly a driv- er and a chauffeur, and on rare occasions a passen- ger. I'm a chess player and a gardener, a collector and a diarist, a deltologist, an ex philatelist, a bibliophile (please look it up before you jump to the wrong con- clusion), and a heterosexual. Are you still with me? If I could draw a salary of $ 100 a year for each of my titles, I'd be a millionaire, which 1`m not. I'm also not a pauper, and 1 don't know what you call a person who is neither. I'm a friend and companion, a host and a visitor. a tourist and a traveller, a photographer and a video camera operator in spite of the fact that I am basical- ly a technically challenged person. I'm also a night person and a workaholic, a slob in personal appear- ance, and a perfectionist when it comes to my work. I'm a dieter because I'm a diabetic, an eye -glasses wearer because I'm a myopic, and I'm sure my doc- tor's file includes a bunch of other clinical terms for me. So now you know who I am. Well. not really, be- cause 1 belong to a lot of other groups which I didn't mention here because (a) I'm too embarrassed to ad- mit them, or (b) I didn't think of them right now this instant. In a few short years 1'11 be a senior (an old maxi), and then one day 1'1) be a goner. a dear departed, a deceased, a memory.