HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-02-09, Page 4PAM 4 *-- rOPERICH S !f �iN #b STAR, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9,19.8$
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Second class
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number -0716
So you've joined the more than i 5 mi
Canadians who are out of work, the dp
winter. weather has broken Year spirit, tite
family car refuses to aputter into life en cold
mornings and your mother-in-law*scorning
for a three-month vacation.
Could your life be any more miserable.
Sometimes it appears that everything 'is
working against you and your quest for
happiness -or at least semi -happiness. Could
it be that external forces are wreaking
havoc with your life plan.
Despite the assorted maladies sufferedby
Canadians on 'a regular basis, our per-
ception of our lives is not so gloomy. In fact
in a recent poll, figures indicated that most
Canadians are.enamored with their lives.
Well, not so much enamored as satisfied
with the conditions, such as they are in
Canada, compared to the rest of the world.
In fact, in a 20 -nation survey, Canadians
rated themselves the happiest people m the
w rid,Whieb is somewhat surprising and
cturbing at,the same t de,
Trololally, Canadians
hav
e been
stereotyped as cqlorless- Maple, dull in
spirit, living in a frozen tundra for most of
the yearWhich would easily account for our
dulled and lifeless spirit, .
However,. the results .of the global survey.
would, serve to indicate that Canadians, as a
people; are boring, A rather lifeless and
unsprited lot, content with the -shape of our
lives. -
Are we to assume than Canadians are so
boring that • we are content with unem-
ployment, Playboy Pay -TV, Knowlton,Nash
and an ever-increasing. cost of living- Is
there more to being Canadian than watching
the Toronto Maple Leafs lose to some ob-
scure, American team on Hockey ,Night in
Canada?
Regardless of our situation, Canadians
seem to be happy.
in fact, 90 per cent said they were either
l`
.very happy" or quite happy". Now it is
difficult to speculate whether one 'Cala talk
about being happy in terms of degreees.
Either one is happy or. one isnot-happy.
The
answers are typical of indecisive Canadians
who repfeid they were quite happy rather
than just:happy or very happy.
On a scale of• one to 10, 66 per cent of
Canadians suggested their lives rated an
eight or better on the happiness. scale while
17 per cent felt their life rated a perfect 10.
For those. Canadians who are gainfully
employed (soon to be a minority in the
Western world) the greater percentage was
more concerned about working at deal at an n-
• teresting job than making a g.of
money. .
Canadians do get their priorities out of
order at times. Regardless, an interesting
job and working with pleasant people rated
slightly higher than good pay la a list::01' f
job characteristics.
Which would lead this 'correspondent
to •�
suspect that colleagues an the pulsating
newsroom, who work with this perspnable
writer on ..a daily basis, are more than,
content with their jobs,
While we like interesting jobs and Working.
with interesting people, Canadians don't
take as much pride in their work as
Americans and the same applies for pride.in
their country. The Americans have wheat '
there too -by a wide margin-
Canadians, as the poll suggested, are
generally happy with their country, lif estyle
and family. Canadians, in my mind,. are
intrinsic gripers who take delight fromin corn -
the
palaining about everything
weather to hockey,
The world survey says we are among the
happiest people in the world. I think
someone should complain about that.
SINCE 1848
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Congratulations
There has been •criticism levelled in the past that the
press often makes more note of the wrongdoings of this
country's young people n, lect, hg to acemately reflect
the good deeds of our natio s teenagers:' •
While their accomplishments are often overlooked, 4 is
with great pride that the community extends its
congratulations to Canadian figure skating champions
Debbie Horton of Goderich and her partner, Curtis Moore
of Wingham. .
Miss Horton, 16, and her partner Curtis have put in
many long and agonizing hours of practice but their
dedication and persistence to the sport paid off hand-
somely on the weekend.
• The town of Goderich can well be proud of the ac-
complishments of Horton and Moore because their effort
speaks well of the fortitude of Canadian young people, of
the young people of Goderich. Their skating prowess also
brings with it a certain notoriety for the town of Goderich.
•
The duo has-been skating together for more than four
years at the Goderich club. Competing in , the novice -
category last year, they earned Oerth m the Canadian
Championships in Brandon, Mak4toba and 'ft 1lSh tTh
ninth position. a
.This year, however, practice paid off and1while the pair
was in second place at the end of the first day of com-
petition, they moved into first place on the final day of
competition Friday. The gold medal presentation took
place at the Maurice Richard Arena Friday evening.
The dance team will take part in several skating
carnivals and exhibitions over the next few .months in-
cluding the Goderich Figure Skating Club's annual car-
nival February 26.
7) To Debbie and Curtis, congratulations on your gold
medal performance at the Canadian Figure Skating
Championships in Montreal and continued success in one
of the most demanding of amateur sports.D.S.
Pension paupers
It is no doubt more difficult to make exceptions to rules
than it is to make the rules.- to
But government legislation isn't always equipped
handle the exception and that point, while proven time
and time again, was reinforced last week as the federal
government hastily applied the restraint program to the
six -and five formula.
Last week the Commons gave third and final reading to
a bill that will litnitpension increases to the six -and -five
restraint formula. While the Liberal government was able
to push the bill through the House with limited debate,
"7appo itibil inelibers'I=Ailed the gesture mean-spirited and
petty.
In the past, pension increases have followed increases
in the consumer price index but this year pensioners can
rn only look forward to a five per cent increase and six per
cent in 1984.
Health and Welfare Minister Monique Begin said in the
Commons that senior citizens would not suffer as a result
of the imposition of the six -and -five per cent increases.
The government's solution to inflation is not necessarily
applicable in this case. Pensioners across the country are
notresponsible for inflation and are a defenceless group.
Under the terms of the bill, pensioners across Canada
will recieve $275 a month by the end of 1984. The gover-
nment says that.the poorest pensioners who receive basic
pensions plus the government's guaranteed supplement,
will not be affected by the bill. .
Millions of people. across the country will and have
become voluntary and involuntary participants in the
government's wage restraint -program, but in the case of
the elderly, the program should not be such a rigid one.
The press has, over several years, outlined gi im stories
of the elderly trying to cope on meagre pensions.
• Canadians owe the senior citizens of the country more
respect than has been shown at times in the past. ..
No doubt there are thousands of pensioners who, having
enjoyed modest success in the business world, have no
need whatsoever of old age security. Bat for every success
story there is a widowed• pensioner in' need of additional
income. Exceptions -to the rule.
Admittedly, finding an equitable formula to distribute
the pension funds where needed would be an almost im-
possible task. But six -and -five offers no solutions and fails
to address a problem that has existed for many years and.
will not go away. D.S.
Only way to go
After several months of debate, Huron -Perth Separate
School Board trustees have voted to scale down the in-
crease in their own stipends. The decision to reduce the
boost to five per cent should be commended in proportion
to the criticism of the original decision to make the in-
crease 11 per cent.
One of the major points presented by those pushing for
the decrease; was the fact the board could hardly expect
employees to take less than the 11 per cent if members
weren't prepared to do likewise.
The entire debate over wage restraints is similar to the
age-old question regarding the chicken and the egg.
Despite the general consensus that wag restraint is the
most important factor in curbing inflation and getting the
Canadian economy back on track, most people are not
prepared to fall voluntarily in line with the proposal.
Everyone is all for having the other guy follow the
guidelines, but want to escape the same edict for them-
selves.
The trustees of the Huron -Perth Separate School Board
were clearly in an untenable position with the original
stipend increase, but hopefully their move to fall in line
will be one which others will see as a necessity to follow in
an effort to straighten out the economic problems. Exeter -
Times Advocate.
,.A. ,}p,j^ •
Twilight
By Dave Syk 1
DEAR READERS
SHIRLEY KELLER
Dr. Harry . Cieslar has good reason to be
concerned, about the health and welfare of the
people of Huron County. In figures which he
released to county council early in January, the
medical officer of health showed conclusively
what many of us have suspected for years.- that
Huron is a dangerous place to live.
Forget about the fact there's Mere deaths per
capita from heart disease 'and cancer in Huron
than in many other areas of the province. 'Don't
bother about the statistics which prove beyond a "
shadow of a doubt that we in Huron are twice as
likely to die of pneumonia or influenza than most
other people in Ontario. •
I'm talking about the staggering evidence that
there are twice .as many accidental deaths in
Huron County per 100,000 census population than
the provincial average. We have more than twice
as many motor vehicle accidents here than the
provincial average rate -.and we have more "
suicides herethan,are average. across Ontario.
Why?:
Well, that's what t)r. Cieslar is wondering. And
now he's got Huron County councillors won-
dering about it too. Maybe by now, you are even
wondering about it. Why are -Huron County
residents at such high risk when it comes to
violent death? Isn't lifein.Huron County about as
stable as life anywhere? •
• There are spine clues in Dr. Cieslar's report:
First of all, it seems clear there are more
smokers on average in Huron County than in
Ontario, ... and smoking. is hazardous to the
health. That could account for at least a portion
of the high incidence of pneumonia, influenza; --
heart disease and cancer.
But violent death? Accidents? S , rides?
Truth -of -the -matter is; -tile type of smoking was
not really defined in the report most of us saw in
our newspapers. We suspect Dr. Cieslar was
speaking mainly of smoking tobacco which can
contribute to diseases of the heart and lungs. But
what about smoking other things?
We haven't been hearing too much lately aboqt
drug abuse, especially here in Huron. At one
time, we got lots of information about it, to the
point that parents here lived in fear for their
youngsters. But there's little doubt that drug
abuse, particularly the smoked variety, is still a
problem here although nobody talks about it
much. Maybe it is just more commonplace now.
More acceptable by society as a whole.
Alcohol abuse continues to be a big problem in
Huron, although I seriously believe that for a
great many people, it is less of a problem when
the economy is tough. Add to that the ef-
fectiveness ,of the Ontario government's "you
are your own liquor control board" advertising
campaign, and there does seem to be some light
at the end of the tunnel. . a
But as Dr. Cieslar points ,out, alcohol con-
sumption had a lot to do with the motor vehicle
accident statistics. Canadian stats show that a
full 50 percent of all fatal motor vehicle ac-
cidents are alcohol-related.
while young people - the group between 16 and
25 perhaps - tend to be the top offenders when it
comes to alcohol abuse, alcohol dependency
knows no age limit. And if it doesn't kill the liver
and -destroy other .bodily functions in time, it has
the immediate properties to dull the senses,
sharpen the tongue and empty the pocketbook ....
all contributing factors when it comes to the
social problems that are weighty considerations
'in most -suicides and other violent attacks on life
and limb.
But there's more.
While we're sitting in front of the fire or astride
a motorized vehicle puffing our cigarettes and
sipping our booze, we're getting softer and
flabbier. We're just not in good physical shape to
fight off illness when it strikes or to keep the
body healthy and happy. We -start taking Shor-
tcuts to safety for instance, which can end in
tragic accidents on the farm, at the plant, iii the
home..
Dr. Cieslar senles all these things, and it may
be part of the reason he has recommended and
got approval for the hiring of a fulitime health
educator. He and county councillors appear to be
hoping such a person will be able to save us from
ourselves through a common sense program of
education about living healthy lives right where
we are. .•
It's a big job and one that shduldn't need to be
done at all if each of us were using our heads.
But alas, we are our own worst enemies. In a
time when communicable diseases are almost
unheard of and when there's the greatest
potential ever for longevity, we in Huron con-
tinue to do ourselves in with too little self-
discipline and too much self-indulgence.
And we the taxpayers of Huron County will foot
the bill. It's justice after all.
Group organized to represent concerns
Dear Editor,
On January 18, 1983, a
Toronto Butcher, Michael
Desborough, filed %suit in
federal court charging that
Canada's metric laws are in
violation of the Charter of
Rights. Mr. Desborough is
represented by one of
Canada's best-known
lawyers, Clayton Ruby.
What many of the news
reports failed to mention la
the fact that Mr. Ruby -was
retained by an Ontario -
based organization fighting
forced metric -- Measure
Canadian — and that this
citizens' group is paying all
Mr. Desborough's costs.
Measure Canadianwas
founded in February,190 bY
a group of Mall
businessmen in Brockville,
Ontario. Since that time, we
have grown Ito have
members in all provinces of
Canada and froth all walks
TiERS
of,T must get in-
volved.
Canadians in-
volved. We are fighting a
Metric Commission with a
$26.5 -million dollar budget
and the only effective way
we can combat them is with
our own money.
of of life, and age groups. Canadian are all responsible. Measure Canadian has
Measure Canadian was and respected members of provided Canadians with a
formed because of our their community. They in- credible, viable and
frustration with the failure elude several city aldermen, respected vehicle of protest
of political institutions, and a a ' newspaper editor, a
multitude of other organize- member of the Ontario
tions such as the Consumer Legislature, a former M.P.,
and Civil Liberties Associa- a police sergeant and an ac-
tions and the Canadian countant.
Labour Congress; to repre- Measure Canadian is com-
sent the concerns of Cana- mitted to paying all costs for
diens over the way in which the first stage of Mr.
metric was being im- Desborough's challenge out
plemented in this country. It of funds raised primarily in
was obvious that Canadians eastern Ontario. The direc-
needed a credible vehicle to tors of Measure. Canadian
carry the fight to the govern- have given freely of their
ment and Measure Canadian time and money to carry the
grew out of that need. fight to this stage, but to con-
" 'The directors of Measure tine. a much larger number Your efforts on our behalf
against force
against forced 'Metric. Our
court case is providing Cana-
dians with their first day in
'court, and I urge caring and,
concerned citizens to help in
the fight; Get involved!
Write: Measure Canadian,
P.O. Box 415, Brockville, On-
tario, K6V 5V6.
Yours truly,
Steve Yeldon, Chairman,
MEASURE CANADIAN.
IODE thanks
Dear Editor,
I'm writing on behalf of
the Maple Leaf Chapter of
the IODE to thank you for
the excellent coverage you
have given our chapter and
its activities during the past
year.
are sincerely appreciated.
Mrs. R.C. McCallum,
Assistant Secretary
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