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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-03-11, Page 5ion etenti C" e habitualt ,..' f _w Dear Editor, Having read in the Signal -Star of January 21, 1987, the article in section -A'' entitled "You. Could Make the Difference", 'an.i other related items, 1 found that 1 wished to say "well done" to those persons volunteer- ing at Bluewater Centre. To be a volunteer is an honourable, rewar- ding exprience which too few people Aare. Even while wishing to volunteer, many lack the courage to do so. Also some who would try .to help might be discouraged by the maladjusted young ,people being dealt with in a detention centre. The need for' "listeners" cannot be overstressed when working with delinquent. youth, 'It is my ex- perience from dealing with young offenders ( or adult offenders ), that disastrous home lives are at the root of almost all crime, utrr s akers However I would like to come to bat for young people at large, and comment on a statement reportedly made by a volunteer, "The only difference• between -the boys here and those who are on the outside is that the ones here got caught." ... To the person at- tributed with this statement, and to your readers, let me say that if you believe this.to be true, you have indeed been misguided! The youth currently lodged in Young Of- fender dentention facilities are those who have habitually broken the laws of Canada, those who Piave exhausted other routes of Separate school cle 'se Dear Editor: The following letter is sent to you with the request that you include it in the "Letters to the Editor" section of your paper. It is sub- mitted by the Renfrew County Chapter of the Coalition for Public Education, Box 491, Pembroke, Ontario, K8A 6X9. The contact person is Renton H. Patterson, phone 613-735-5069. An open letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. During your recent visit to Zimbabwe, you expressed the sentiment of millions of peo- ple throughout the world when you abhorred apartheid in South Africa. Although a stand .against such an obvious injustice is laudable, the statement, your person, your . office, and Canada lose credibiltity because of the hypocrisy involved. Rill 30 is now an act 'of . char clntario Legislature which segregates Ontario high- school students into two groups by creating a duplicate, publicly -funded, secondary school system for Roman Catholic students. This is government-sponsored segregation. It is, also descrimination. This segregation and discrimination in Ontario is no less repugnant than South Africa's because of the substitution of religion for colour, and indeed, to some it is considered even more repugnant because of its subtlety. When, sir, are. you going to address this violation of social unity and human rights in your; own back yard, Ontario? Until you do, continued statements about human rights abuses in other ' countries embarrass Canada on the world stage. As well.as being against section 15(1) of our own- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the abuses in Ontario and South Africa are both con - reform. The only difference between the residents of Bluewater Centre and those of any other prison of equal security, is their age. Don't., for goodness' sake, mistake what you see on a tour of a fresh new facili- ty, with the reality that has ended in in- carceration. Many young people do come in- to "scrapes" with society's laws; but th,e young men of Bluewater Centre have violated the most serious of our laws, and repeatedly. Your quoted volunteer owe§ the :;eneral youth population an apology. • Congratulations to the volunteers at Bluewater Centre; and I urge others of your local population to follow their example. The rewards can be large! Respectfully, John G. Williams • Eden, 'Manitoba egation' trary to article, 2 of the 'Universal Declara- tion of Human Rights. This Declaration was adopted by the U N General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948, was siigned by Canada in 1948, and states that "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and „freedoms set forth in this declaration, without any distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language. religion, political or other opinion, national , or social origin, property, birth, or. other status." We suggest that you concentrate on the establishment of equality and.human rights in this country, and tnaket an immediate start by insigting on the repeal of Bill 30 in Ontario, so that' your criticisms of other governments can be taken seriously. Coalition for Public Education Renfrew County Chapter "' Box 491, Pembroke Ont, K8A 6X9 Alcohol freedoms not needed Dear Editor: - • " • .. The Government of O.htario appears , ready to laugh in the face of all research and the best advice"of.organizations involuted in the prevention of alcohol abuse. That, at least; would be the result of an acceptance of many of the proposals submitted by the nine -member .government committee_ in- vestigating.Ontario's liquor legislation. • Several recommendations i i.e. • BYOB restaurants, round-therclock alcohol service `% to hotel guests, relinquishing control of drinking at private event and the extension of tavern . hours I, seem determined- to in- crease alcohol consumption in Ontario. With the cost of alcohol abuse already ex- ceeding $2 -billion; one wonders how much more government alcohol promotion the citizens of, Ontario will 'tolerate?! Sincerely, • • K tr•1•N. Burden •' xe.cutive Director•of Alcohol and Drug Concerns,Inc. • Raise for town councillors unnecessary Dear Editor: As budget time is rolling around for the Goderich 'own 'Council, I am wondering if ... the'Council is considering giving themselves a raise again this year? , . I know that taxes will rise this year, h;+! - think if the .Council is working for the in- terest of the people they will consider cut- ting down unecessary expenses. They •con- tracted for the job for. three years, so if they're unhappy with their pay they should not run in another election. . I feel they are doing a good job, but I don't think that anyone 6f them.. really nced raise,if they are expecting one.. Sincerely " Vern Smith Mayor rebukes Searls for comments Mayor Eileen Palmer publicly rebuked Councillor Jim Searls, for comments he • . made in"a letter to the editor published in • the March 4 issue of the Goderich Signalk Star, during 'the March 9 session of Goderich Town Council. Searls' letter criticized the Police Com- mission' for "spending $383 of the tax- payer's money"on a retirement party for a former member. He also stated in the let- ter that since police commissioners are ap- pointed by the provincial government, and not elected to office by the public, that the ,partyshould have paid for by tne.provin'' cial government, not local taxpayers. "Certainly all councillors are free to voice,whatever opinions they' have at any time. However, there are proper channels for handling complaints. and I would ap- .preciate it -if in future they were followed," said Palmer.. "It ethe letter) reflects poor- ly on council. Palmer also insisted that Searls estimates of party expenses.($40 per per- son I were inaccurate since the total bill was later reduced by $°100 toward the bar tab, which the Mayor "contributed per- sonally out of my own pocket." "Your Worship, my figures were cor- rect,". replied .Seals,, notingthat the $100 was not donated at the time of the party, but submitted at a later date, after Searls ' had checked on the expenses. "1 think somebody is covering their tail,".Searls stated. - "Whatever functions have been held, 1 always pick up'the bar tab and it doesn't matter that the money is not paid at the time, but put it later," replied Palmer. • GODEHICH ti1t:NAL STAR, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1987—PAGE 5 B nmiller � u A Star! emirlllle1 Inl1 \\ ill 1>t' (1Iniing tt'H.Islorl • ( ()wilier( I,,l'. on \1a( h O it the Inn, •\ncl est' nt't'r1 innit'I', \'\e nt't'd htlth Vuonit'n WO nn'n iu't\'t'en the ages of ' > and 5(). \1/t' need hu h,lu•t' th,)V1)usint's-, look. \\e'll p.I\ \tltl Itis tilt' tl.t\ .incl &Teri !al\ \xxl lint h ti(), it you'c.l like t() Irt,lke you .i st,rr, drop by the Inn at: 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 18, 1987 for an, interview For more information call: , Rhonda at 524-2191 between 9:00 am - 5:00 pm PIONEER AYS 'S7 MARCH 16=30 Cirm for the ®/® cash savings, ®gyp i** lea +e h a eesL. jacket! 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