Times Advocate, 1999-07-14, Page 7Wednesday, July 14, 1999 •
Exeter
Opinion&Forum
1 OYEARS AGO
July 12, 1989 - Lucan's Reeve
Norm Steeper is resigning after
seven years of service to the com-
munity. He said he had achieved
most of his goals including the
recent completion of the new
seniors' apartments.
Dashwood resident Harry
Hoffman was among the select
few chosen to meet the Queen
Mother in London on Friday.
The funeral home owner wa given a chance to
meet HerMajesty because he As a member of the
ch sang at the coronation of
n Elizabeth in 1937.
BACK P4 TIME
multi -national choir
King George VI d
20YEARS
'July 13, ' 79 .editorial reprinted from the
Wingham Advance . s es suggested Canada should
in 20 years (today) stop immigrants from Sweden
from:locating in Canada. The reason? Because
Sweden had just passed a law prohibiting parents
from spanking their children. Show us a kid who
never needed a spanking in his life and we will
show you a freak who should be in a sideshow
exhibit.
Recently honoured with a Canada Day award
from Hay Township, Napoleon Cantin was recog-
nized in 1979 for his work recording the history of
St. Joseph. The lakeside community was once envi-
sioned as a future city by Cantin's grandfather,
Narcisse.
30YEARS AGO
July 12, 1969 - The Huron County Library System
was faced with having to cut back the opening hours
of its smaller branch libraries after the Department
of Labour forced them to pay librarians the mini-
mum wage of $1.30 per hour.Those affected include
Dashwood, Hensall and Zurich.
35YEARSAGO
May 31, 1964 - Reeve Elgin Thompson of
Tuckersmith Township was recently elected a direc-
tor of the Ontario Association of Mayors and Reeves.
It is the first time Huron has been represented
among the directors of the group.
40YEARSAGO
June 13, 1959 The Times Advocate has been
awarded the H.E. Rice trophy for the best localspot
news picture in Canada's weekly newspapers this
year. This was the third national award won by the
T -A.
Mr. Clarence Down, R.R. 1, Hensall, his son Bob
and Shirley Reynolds, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. .
Lloyd Reynolds are undergoing treatment after
being attacked by a rabid neighbourhood cat.
Threatened by the Ontario Water Resources
Commission with an injunction to close the canning
factory plant, Exeter council this week purchased a
$40,000 irrigation system to dispose of liquid waste
from the local plant.
SOYEARSAGO
July 12, 1949 - A minor earthquake occurred
here at noon on Friday. Only.about half of the resi-
dents felt the tremor.
7SYEARS AGO
July 12, 1924 - The local telephone. system has
been enlarged and now accommodates 300 phones.
This includes the Thames Road System.
The first picnic of the Hem family was held on
July 30 at Maple View Farm, near Zion. There Were
about 70 present.
Mr: and Mrs. Preston Dearing of the second con-
cession in Stephen drove to town on Saturday night
and left their horse and buggy standing near Wes
Simmon's harness shop while they went shopping.
On their return they found the harness had been cut
to pieces, in fact, they had to purchase a new set of
harness to get home.
1 I OYEARS AGO
July 12, 1889 - Last Wednesday night, burglars
broke into Johnson Bros. woolen mill and drilled
two holes into the safe but were unsuccessful in
blowing it open. They were frightened away by a
beer pedlar, who happened to call at the Huron
Hotel about two o'clock. It seems this part of the
country is pasted with sneak thieves and burglars. .
The . Zurich baseball team (the Duetschlanders)
came to Crediton but did not conquer. They played
well but Crediton .played well, the score standing 19
to 11 hi favour of the Koine team. The Zurich team
left a favourable impression by their honest play and
gentlemayi manner, and. we ,hope: to see them
return again spoil....
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Plan ahead for your
holidays
Dear Editor:
The summer travel season has approached. As in
past years, this is a time when many Canadians and
their families opt to travel at home and abroad. In
1998, Canadians spent .a record $32.$.billion on
domestic tourism, and took over 100 million trips
(business and pleasure) outside of Canada.
Each of us expects to have an enjoyable time when
we travel. To this end, travellers can greatly reduce
the potential for problems by planning ahead.
Whether travelling for live days, five weeks, or five
months, preparation is important. The federal gov-
ernment recognizes that the more informed travel-
ling Canadians are the better. To assist with facili-
tating this, there are several sources of useful infor-
mation designed to make international travel easier.
A good place to start is the Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade. Through its publi-
cations, telephone help lines and web sites, the
Department offers a wealth of useful information.
This includes tips about travel documentation (get-
ting passports and visas), reports on destination
countries (with background information on matters
such as security and political conditions), and
detailed information on how to obtain emergency
assistance overseas. •
Interested individuals may contact the
Department's. Inquiry Service (toll-free) at 1-800-
267-8376. This number is a useful resource, and
offers travellers access to important publications
and information when planning trips. Travellers
might also wish to visit the Department's Website to
access over 215 country -specific travel reports at
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
To obtain a Canadian passport, travellers must
complete an application form, (found at my offices,
most Canada Post outlets, passport offices, and
many travel agencies) and supply the necessary doc-
umentation (including original birth certificates
and/or citizenship documentation): Once the form
has been completed, turnaround time is generally
five working days (for applications that have been
hand delivered to a passport office), or four weeks
(for those that have been mailed or brought to my
office for processing).The'cost to process each pass-
port request is $60, and the passport is valid for five
years. Further information on the nearest local
passport office and the application process can be
obtained by calling 1-800-567-6868 (toll-free).
Nothing can ruin a vacation faster than ill health.
In an effort to avoid this, Health Canada strongly
recommends visiting a doctor before leaving home.
Before travelling to any destination, travellers
should find out well in advance of their: trip : if vacci-
nations are necessary. In. some cases, vaccinations
could be required at least three months prior to
departure. Information is also available, through
Health Canada, on vaccinations nad special precau-
tions that should be taken when visiting specific
locations.' It's also wise to see if you need travel
insurance. Although Canadians enjoy one of the best
health care systems in the world, it will not cover all
— or in some cases any — of your health costs
abroad if you have an accident or get sick. If you
have a company health plan, make sure it provides
foreign travel coverage. If not, consult your local
Yellow Pages. More detailed information is provided
through the Health Canada. Faxlink system,which
offers documents by facsimile and is accessible 24
hours a day. This service can be reached by calling
(613) 941-3900. Additional materials are also avail-
able through the Department's Website at
httpJ/www.hc-sc.gc.ca. It should also be noted that
many countries do not have developed programs to
aid access for people with special needs.
Information about the situation in your destination
country is often found in guidebooks, available at
local libraries, and bookstores. It is also available by
contacting the Canadian Transportation Agency
Website at http //'wvvw.cta-otc.gc.ca. The Agency can
be contacted by calling 1-800-883+1813 (toll free).
Telephone services for the deaf "are, available at 1-
800-669-5575.
When returning to Canada, travellers are required
to advise Canada Customs officials of all items pur-
chased while away. This would include goods
bought at Canadian and/or foreign duty-free stores.
It should also be noted that certain special restric-
tions might apply when transporting meats, fruits
and cheeses. In all cases, it is wise to verity, with the
appropriate border officials, if an item is acceptable
for transport, • prior ..to . leaving. Canada Customs
See TotAys. page II
Flauntingopponents
TORONTO. -- Premiers love to
flaunt opponents who join them
like trophies, but Mike Harris's
acquisition of Ontario's former
only independent MPP, Peter
North, is more of an e amass-
ment.
The Progressive Conservative
premier has appointed North,
who did not run again in the ERIC
June election, as the province's DOWD
first co-ordinator of community A VIEW FROM
sport at $90,000 a year, which Q'
should give a healthy glow to his bank account.
North had been elected first in 1990 as a New
Democrat, briefly was minister of tourism and
recreation, left the NDP in 1993 and in 1995
became the first independent MPP elected in
Ontario in 61 years.
His Elgin riding, previously a long-time Tory
stronghold, was expanded for the • 1999 election
by adding parts of neighbours, but he still could
have hoped to win, given that he already had won
once, solely on his personal popularity.
North mused publicly that he was not sure he
would run again and the Tories might have felt he
needed an incentive to go because it would offer a
better chance to their own candidate.
Certainly Harris felt he owed North something,
because nothing about his performance as
tourism minister or as an independent, in which
he could have expressed views unhindered by
party ties, singled him out as more thoughtful,
energetic or worth bringing back than other ex -
ministers.
Harris also has stuck taxpayers with paying big
money to North, with no guarantee they will
receive value, to reward an act that should have
helped his party, and oddlyhe still did not benefit,
because North's seat was won by the Liberals.
Harris has obtained greater paybacks from
other New Democrats he lured, former finance
minister Floyd Laughren as chair of the Ontario
Energy Board and former education minister
Dave Cooke as co-chair of a commission helping
push through controversial changes in education.
The premier would not have expected to win the
seats they gaveup, but he made "his government
appear more representative and was able to
respond to critics of his policies that their friends
the • New Democrats were helping make them and
undermine NDP morale.
The premier who got most out of inviting oppo-
nents on board was Liberal David Peterson. In his
minority government in 1985 he was particularly
anxious to look k receptive to all views and enticed
Bob Elgie, a labor minister in the ousted Tory
government, as chairman of the''Workers
Compensation Board. .
Elgie was so well liked as labour minister that a
president of the Ontario Federation of Labor, Cliff
Pilkey, said it was a pity his party,did not give him
:More time there and the Liberals also won the
• seat Elgie gave up.
Peterson made the former outspoken Tory con-
sumer minister Prank Drea chairman of the
Ontario Racing Commission, for which he was
• well suited, after premier Frank Miller left' him
out of his first cabinet because he had supported
Roy McMurtry for leader and Drea cortiplained he
was 'not wanted' and. would not run again. The
colorful Drea once said 'a civil servant who offend-
ed would be "demoted so' far into the basement
.he's going to need a miner's lamp to get upstairs."
Peterson also did his government a favor by
removing boisterous former NDP house leader
Elie Martel from the legislature, where he shook
labor ministers for 20 years with his barrages,
and appointing him to an environment board,
although he could not win Martel's seat, still held
by his daughter Shelley.
Martel remained refreshingly frank in that
unlike the usual shrinking violets he announced
even before his appointment "I've been promised
a job by the premier."
The appointments that most angered an opposi-
tion party were made by Tory premier William
Davis when he promised posts to Liberals Vernon
Singer and Philip Givens, a former .Toronto
• mayor, shortly before the 1977 election..
The two did not run -.again .Bud tiays wort seats
in which the Liberali were coinsidered unbeatable
and deprived the party of an effective ,critic in
Singer. Hawaii much more successful than Harris
has been with North. •