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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-07-09, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, July 9, 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of t:ommunity newspapers "'AN co,„ Business Manager: Don Smith �" "�"� providing news, advertising and information leadership Production Manager: Deb Lords_ Advertising• Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir, Craig Bradford Brenda Burke, Kate Monk, Ross Haugh Production Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transoortation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & AccoUntirlg; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollins, Ruth Sl JK Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple, Carol Windsor • • Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 tlliBICHIP11Qtt RATES; One year rate for Canada subscribers - $33.00 + QST Two year rate fdr Canada subscribers - $63.00 + QST • Q/11211.1141121 Outside Canada • $102,00 • Published Each Wednesday Morin at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S8 by 1.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 819.233-0788 0.5.T. aR105210835 OR1.k1. New CF fundraising campaign hen one looks into the bright, shining eyes of Kaitlyn Verduyn one sees the face of what appears to be an average 10 -year-old girl. The -image of Kaitlyn'ssweet smile beaming from a bright -colored poster would never lead one to suspect that she suffers from Cystic Fibrosis -- a fatal inherited dis- ease that is destroying her lungs. Kaitlyn's'image is.what the Distict One southwestern Ontario Kinsmen & Kinette Clubs hope will encourage peo- pie to donate a dollar towards finding a cure, for Cystic Fibrosis -- a disease that affects 3,000 Canadians whose current median age of survival is 31. years. - The 'Just send us a dollar ...' cam- paign will deliver its message to'the 143 clubs and their commtinities • throughout District One by distributing posters featuring Kaitlyn'.s photograph and donation boxes. "Everyone has a dollar =- it's about the same price as 'a cup of coffee. -It's' very easy for people to support this campaign," said District One Service Director Bruce Lloyd. "An average of $8 million is spent on CF research annually. If -30-million Ca- nadians each donated $1, that would in- creasethe funds for CF research by over three -fold," said Lloyd: Lloyd hopes that the simplicity of the campaign will encourage club members and their communities to makedona- tions. "Each club doesn't have to create their own fund-raising campaign. This strategy is simple so that everyone can participate," he said. "Every penny makes a difference." Lloyd and Brenda Dineen of the Pal- merston Kinnette Club are co-ordinating the fund-raising campaign that they hope will also spread to the 800 Kins- men and Kinette Clubs across Canada. "We're .trying to appeal to as many peo- ple as possible," said Lloyd. The 12,000 Kinsmen and Kinette Club members in Canada have never raised more than $1.8 million in a year and Lloyd hopes that the 'Just send us a dol- lar ...' will double this amount. Lloyd and Dineen plan to jointly. visit the 143 clubs in District One to promote -the campaign and help raise awareness 'of CF. A four -minute video produced by Elo- ra resident Larry Peters will•also be dis- tributed to Clubs and features a se- quence with Kaitlyn. Every dollar donated to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be used to help find a cure for CF, an inherited, progressive disease that affects primarily the respiratory, digestive and reproduc- tive systems. One in 25 Canadians carries the gene for Cystic Fibrosis and although the de- fective gene responsible for the disease 'was first identified in 1989, CF remains fatal, taking the lives of more young Ca- nadians than any other inherited disease. By giving $1to the campaign, Canadi ans can help prolong the chances of Kaitlyn seeing her 20th birthdl y;.. ; ` As the campaign poster states: 'You hold the cure in the palm of your hand.' ' Fergus -Elora News Express Your Views Letters to the editor Merchants respond generously 1 'trust that people in our area will reflect on their attitude before they take off to patronize the , many adjacent malls. Dear Editor: • As the ,Hensall and District Horticultural Society prepared -for its first "Garden Tour". it was decided that a few door prizes would add.interest to the gar- den party. Al each regular meeting it is customary to have 3 or•4 draws, prizes being donated by mem- bers: I would like to .share with you the response re- ceived front the local merchants and trust that peo- ple in our area will reflect len their attitude before "they take off to patronizethe many adjacent malls. Of the 20 calls- to merchants made all responded graciously and generously. One merchant comment- ed on the great work the society was doing. Huron Apothecary. and Shoppers Drug Mart -- who deliver medication in our area, an invaluable service to sen- iors -- also donated prizes. As we only needed a few gifts, many merchants were not approached this time. I'm sure their time will come to have'the opportunity to add their sup- port, and, to the people who donated gifts, thanks so much for being so kind. ,• Sincerely, Janeth Sangster., Secretary, Hensall and District Horticultural Society. A View From Queen's Park TORONTO - The watchdogs are barking at Premier Mike Harris and he will find them more difficult to ignore than political oppo- nents... No fewer than Three of the commissions set up by the legislature,to.monitor Whether the government does its job have complained Har- ris's Progressive Conservatives are letting it . down... ' • . This sets all. sons of records. Commissions mostly are deferential to government and it is unprecedented. for three to criticize it at the " same time. Environmental Commissioner Eva Ligeti, ap- pointed to provide an independent view of how • the province fights pollution, reported Harris ministries have demonstrated an .'r:;rming lack of environmental vision. Ministries have failed to achieve stated envi- ronmental goals, slashed staffs dealing with the environment and dumped responsibilities on municipalities, with little or no forethought, she said. By Eric Dowd Student Employrnent By Carrie McCone A few things employees should know Before you start a new job, there a few things that you as the employee have the right to know. These sort of things in. elude; -When must I get paid? I Vast Happens if.I -_show *"abut *odds notzvailable? -How many hours . must I 1_ work before I receive overtime pay? -Am I entitled to lunch and coffee breaks? -If I have to wear a uniform, do I have to pay for it myself? - Can an employer take money from my wages if I accidentally damage something on the job? If an employer does not com- ply with the regulations for your province,- contact your local Employment Standards office. The Canadian Human Rights Act is a legislative act of the Parliament of Canada. ' The act applies to employment policies and their dealings with the pub- lic as providers of goods, ser- vices, facilities or accommoda- tion customarily available to the general public. - • The CHRA prohibits discrimi- nation based on the following: * race national or ethnic ori- gin * color * age - except for legal mini- mum/maximum age P.� * sex - includes pregnancy or childbirth * marital status * family status * disability *criminal conviction for which pardon has been granted An employer has -the right to define objectively valid qualifi- cations necessary and relevant for satisfactory job performance and job -site safety. Essential qualifications should focus on the requirements of the job, not the characteristics of the person required to perform the tasks. Health and safety laws are also very important for the em- ployers and the employees should be up to date on. - Occupational health and safety laws in Canada set out the re- sponsibilities of both employers and employees. . -Employers must ensure the safety and health of their em- ployees by complying with Fed- eral and ProvinciaVTerritorial standards. - -Employees ,must take all rea- sonable and necessary precau- tions to ensure their own, and their co-workers' health and safety. -For most occupations, you may refuse to do work that you believe is likely to endanger yourself or. another worker. If you refuse to do such work for ' reasons of safety, andin good faith, your employer must re- spect your decision. As An Employee, you must: -Comply with safety instruc- tions specified for your job. -Ekercise your responsibility and right to participate in iden- tifying and correcting workplace health and safety problems. -Report to your supervisor any - defective equipment, absence of protective equipment or any other hazard. -Use equipment or machinery in a safe manner, and for the function it was designed for. -Usesafety materials, protec- tive equipment and clothing which your employer -must pro- . vide. . These are all very important issues that both employers and employees should be aware of. In a case that either parties are unsure of their rights, contact the Ministry of Labour at 1-800- 387-5494. Next week I will be -writing about why education is impor- tant and what routes society take to learning. Until then, if there are any questions, please. do not hesitate to contact me at 235-1711. The commissioner criticized particularly cuts in monitoring acid rain, allowing owners to monitor their quarries, reducing funds which encouraged public comment on developments and transferring tests of drinking water to mu- nicipalities without consultation, so they had to find private laboratories to test and money to pay when neither was readily available. The Liberals and New Democrats, pleased to have a commissioner as ally, said Ligeti provid- ed the clearest indictment yet of Tory down- grading of environmental protection. Ombudsman Roberta Jamieson joined opposi- tion parties in complaining the government failed to ensure money paid into its family sup- port plan was passed on to needy spouses: The govemment maintained there were only isolated failures due to computer glitches, but the ombudsman said it was to blame because it fired most of the plan's staff, closed all regional offices, left too few to administer it and caused hardship to many spouses left unable to pay rent and heating and buy necessities for chil- Commissioners criticize Harris government dren. Jamieson went further and warned the Tory government is cutting staff generally so it is in •danger of being unable to provide many other services and the NDP called her appraisal 'damning.' Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton has poked his nose in government affairs twice in a week: Norton went to a legislature commit- tee to protest against a provision of its new rents law. - This would allow landlords to ask a prospec- tive tenant's income before deciding whether to lease. Norton said this would be discriminatory and unfair because it suggests people on low in- comes are high-risk tenants when many, includ- ing seniors, the disabled and single mothers, devote a higher -than -average proportion of their incomes to rent and never default. Norton said landlords can already protect themselves through credit checks. Norton next wrote to the Harris government warning that despite court rulings it still has more than 60 laws which define a spouse as a person of the opposite sex and some deprive homosexuals of rights to partners' employment- related and other benefits. Harris's Tories have constantly lacked enthu- siasm for rights for homosexuals and Norton. said he would not be doing his duty if he re- mained silent. Harris has to be furious over the interventions by the commissioners who are listened to more than politicians because they normally are ap- pointed with the support of all parties. Norton was installed by Hams only a year ago and is a former Tory minister and election adviser and probably safe in his job for a while. But Jamieson was appointed under a former Liberal government and Ligeti under the NUE' and both their contracts expire in 1999 and they would he wise not to think they have careers for lift. i