HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-03-20, Page 4n
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PUBBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING
ROBERT G. SHRIER — President and Publisher
DONALD A.A. HUBICK — Advertising Manager
DAVID SYKES — Assistant Editor
SHIRLEY J. KE,L'LER — Editor
P.O. BOX 220,
Industrial Park,
Goderich
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Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE (519) 524-8331
_.._ You help improve east -west relations
The Ontario Minister of Tourism and Infor-
mation, The Honorable Larry Grossman; knows
what's keeping the west's prairie provinces and the
east's Ontario and Quebec apart. He even knows
how to get the whole of Canada together again. But
he's nQt too optimistic that it will happen in time to
prevent a major confrontation in the nation.
Grossman says the problem is a complete lack of
understanding between the east and the west. He
says the solution is better understanding between
them. But he doesn't know how to bring about that
understanding intime to workout a sensible and
affordable energy policy for the nation.
In a nutshell, the westerners of this country
aren't like the easterners. They don't think alike.
They don't have the same philosophies. They aren't
even taught the same things about Canada.
Grossman told a_ group of Ontario newspaper
publishers'and writers and ad`vertising sa1'eTifi'e ra-t--"_
the annual Ontario .Weekly Newspaper -Association -
convention in • Toronto recently, that school'
teachers in the westernprovinces iI-ave "drill
home the message that we in Ontario and to so
extent in Quebec have victimized goods in that
dire to the cost of shipping such long distanc
manufacturing plants in central Canad
Wingham Advance Times, March 12,1980
Grossman feels Westerners are co
mistrust easterners,,and he thinks it '
that westerners. are now excited an
the energy squeeze in Ontario an
going to help even 'the scor
Saskatchewan and Alberta at
If that's true, it helps exp
r..-ttf a few ,years back whi
originated in Alberta:
freeze in the dark."
On the other h
Quebecers too, h
path +-4 r -thee'
the majority o
thought abou
Saskatche
had to be
survive
peopl
C
e
rea
from
(The
ditioned to
only natural
delighted over
Quebec which is
, in the eyes of
ast. -
in that western slogan
was supposed to have
Let the eastern bastards
d, Ontarions and probably
e little knowledge of or sym-
ints-of-the' westerner
easterners' in Ontario hardly ever
the prairies until recently. Manitoba,'
an and Alberta were just -flatlands that
rpssed to get British Columbia. How they
was' hardly the concern of Ontarions. Why
wanted to live there was anybody's guess.
portunities for growth and development are simply
tremendous. Equality right down the line.
Democracy at its very best.
Now, because of these differing backgrounds in
understanding, according to Grossman, there's a
wide gap of misunderstanding between east and
west which threatens to rip the country apart. And
he contends the only way to dissolve the differences
between them is to get them talking - and listening -
to each other.
And Grossman doesn't mean only the politicians.
He means grassroots Canadians like the folks who
live in and .around Goderich. He says westerners
and easterners. have to visit back and forth; they
have to exchange viewpoints; they have to get to
know how each other think; . they have to com-
prehend that the other loves Canada dearly, albeit
from a different vantage point and with a different
_ -iet-aPstandards.
'How -does this. rtiuCh�'needed two-way,person�to
nei
person ghmmun
borly coication start? And, how
does it continuedong enough to bring about a policy
that will derive the biggest benefit for all Canadians
wherever they live for the greatest length of time?
You guessed it.. It starts with YOU and it depends
on YOUR commitment to' a united Canada. It
begins with thinking about westerners as
Canadians who are dissatisfied; with finding out
what their actual grievances are; with explaining,
the eastern expectations; with sharing experiences
and walking a mile in the other's moccasins.
It takes something as reasonable as travelling to
western Canada on vacations; exploring western
customs. and learning western ways; striking up
western affiliations; carrying through with an
exchange ofletters'and cards, telephone calls and
visits. ,
When you think about it, that kind of brotherhood
s In fact, among„the provincesaarould.-do-na-iash.-to.-h. al -many
of the. regional riffs that exist. It's only good
common sense. But remember. It involves
'everybody, not just Pierre Elliott Trudeau'and Joe
Clark and Bill Davis and Pe -ter Lougheed and a few
other parliamentary bigwigs.
And time is running out. Faster than most
Canadian's would like to believe. There's a host of
mistakes from the pat to be forgotten and a batch
of new goals and objectives to be set.
Are you up to the challenge? - SJK
tainly'Ontario school children weren't taught
to ate westerners. Or love them either for that
atter. In Canada, . people are all brothers and
isters in a land rich in resources where op -
Vial for Life coming to Goderich soon?
The Mount Forest Lions Club has an interesting
project underway there. The club has purchase 500
Vials of Life and members are .distributing them to
the residents of Mount Forest.
According to The Mount Forest Confederate, the
supervisor of the Mount Forest ambulance, Bob
Plamondon, approached the Lions Club about
taking on the project designed to save lives.
It involves a plastic cylinder which comes with a
fill -in -the -blanks form. The form is filled out by the
homeowner with such information as the names of
all family' members, the name and telephone
number of the family physician or individual
doctors caring for family members, a reference to
where the medical staff can obtain a detailed
medical history of the victim etc.
The completed form is put inside the vile and the
vile is placed in the refigerator, underneath the top
_:.
shelf un tlte-right-hand-s,__
-A--special--logo•-+s•-at•._-_
tached to the refrigerator door to let any medical
staff in the house in an emergency know the vial is
in the refrigerator. These vials are particularly
helpful to ambulance attendants who, according to
Plamondon, go through the kitchen 90 percent of the
time when answering an emergency, call..
The ambulance attendant simply picks up the vile
and transports it with the patient to hospital. It
makes no difference if the patient is conscious or
, ot. If the vile is in the refrigerator and if the logo is
'n the door, the ambulance attendant will find it.
And the vile becomes a life saving instrument in
some cases.
Naturally, the first priority is to get these vials
into the homes of senior citizens or others who may
not be in the best of health, and who are living
alone. But anyone who wants a Vial for Life in the
home should certainly.look into acquiring one.
A quick check around the pharmacies in
Goderich and with the ambulance drivers at
Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, reveals
the program isn't established in Goderich area.
But it is probably on the way. A spokesman for '
the ambulance drivers said the Goderich crew
know about the program and expect it will be im-
plemented here within a month or so. That same
spokesman said in the opinion of ambulance drivers
h.e-re,.-the-pre-jest-is- worthwhile, particularly -when
dealing with senior citizens living alone.
' It shouldn't be difficult to create the interest in
the Vial for Life project here. Hopefully there will
be more. information on it shortly, and that Vials for
Life will be found in many refrigerators in this
community before too long.
It sounds like one inexpensive way to add just
that little extra measure -of security, especially for
persons living alone. - SJK
Spring rush
By Cath Wooden
ild abuse, neglect reality
ri ruraicbnservative Huron
BY PAUL ROSS
Several years ago I worked on a'case
that involved a man charged with incest.
The charge arose from a man's sexual
involvement with his 15 -year-old
daughter. The facts of the case were
somewhat mirky; and it never did,
become clear whether the accused' was
the natural lather of the girl, to what.
degree sexual contact had taken place,
or what went on during the weekend he
and the girl disappeared from home.
Ultimately the man pleaded guilty to .
contributing to juvenile delinquency and
received a relatively minor sentence.
The case raised many questions in my
mind.
Why would this ma,n cross over a strict
moral barrier, 'on a par I would have
thought with cannabalism?' For one
thing, the man was not such a bad sort -.
not the dark, seedy character I would
have imagined - and his kids (or were
they someone else's?), seemed • to •
genuinely like.him.
Was the mother innocent? Where was
she when her husband was dallying with
her 15 -year-old daughter? Was the affair
unnoticed by her --or just ignored?
How often does this kind of thing
happen? -
The Council on the Status of Wornen.
estimated that sexual abuse of children
is carried on in. more than 10 percent of
Canadian homes.
Most known victims are girls around
the age of puberty, and despite popular
belief, most sexual abuse is not carried
out by strangers in trench coats, but by
the natural father, step -father or family
friend - the man next door type.
The reasons for such acts by adults
vary widely, but often it is the result of
an adult seeking- sexual gratification or
affection and not necessarily basetd on
hostility alone.
Physical abuse of children has
reached epidemic proportions too.
Right here in Huron County, at least 50
cases of physical abuse or child neglect
are being investigated by the Family
and Children's Services at any given
Abuse varies from parents who ignore
and neglect their children right from
birth, to the more violent forms of abuse.
Some time ago, I represented a
mother whose child had been taken into
kcare by the Family and Children's
'Services. ..
.The mother .steadfastly denied being
over -zealous "with her four-year-old
child, until photographs of the child's
back and buttocks were produced
showing clearly, by the bruising, the
type ofinstrument used for discipline.
'The Mother then admitted that she had
disciplined her child in order to assist in
the arduous task of .toilet training; she
never did admit that perhaps she had
been a bit heavy-handed. ,
In 1978; the Child Welfare Act was
revised in an attempt to better deal with
this widespread problem.
Section 49 of the Act provides that
every ;professional person or official,
such as teachers, nurses, doctors, social
workers, and police shallreport any
cases of suspected child abuse to' the
Family and Children's Services. Failure
to report can, lead to a fine of up to
$1,000.00.
Hardly earthshaking legislation you
might think, yet this legislation has
Caused some problems.
Doctors like to think of themselves as
safe havens for information. Patients
can confide in their doctor without fear
that the authorities are going to swoop
down on them. '
Now, however, if a patient confides in
his doctor, or a minister, priest, or
nurse, that"he has a problem dealing
rationally with . his child, the official
must report this confidence to the
authorities. The onlygroup not required
to report are lawyers.
Doctor Brian Lynch, Director of the
County Health Unit is responsible for the
Public Health Nurses in Huron County.
Lynch concedes that the new legislation
places" his staff on ,the horns of a
dilemma. If they report suspected cases
of child abuse, they lose the confidence
of the troubled parents and if they don't,
they are breakingthe law.
Dr. Lynch sees his role and the role of
those who work for him as assisting the
people of Huron County and not as a
vigilante group__
"- The -legislation goes further in
requiring any person (that means you
to report any information of the aban\
donment, desertion, need of protection
or abuse of a child to the Family and
Children's Services, Goderich.
While this Section of the Child Welfare
Act seems simple enough, its • im-
plications are not.
First of all, many of us believe that the
' raising and discipline of our children is
no one's business but our own. Is it right
for a parent who doesn't believe in
• spankings to report on a parent who
does?...When does discipline become
abuse? _ '
Remember, a child abuser might in all
other respects, be quite decent. He or '
she might even` be a close friend, your
n.eighbbur, or your spouse. Our free
society has discouraged us from in-
fnrmAing On each other _We think of dace
behaviour as the tactics of.a,police state,
yet Section 94 of the Child Welfare Act
orders us to report on each other; if we
have a reasonable suspicion that
something is wrong. That's`because it's
trying,to.protect kids.
The ,Child' Welfare Act even gives
certain authorized persons, the power .to
enter any house, by force if necessary,
and without warrant, to remove a child
they reasonably feel is in need of
protection.
You can almost see the big black boot,
going' through the front door in order to .
"put the snatch" on someone's child.
Have the legislators gone too far? -
ordering us to inform, break confidence
and allow entry without a warrant.
Many who remember the recent case
in Sarnia of young Kim Ann Popen who
died horribly because of neglect and
abuse, say that the legislation is the least
we can do to protect our children.
John Penn, Director of Family and
Children's Services is chiefly respon-
sible for carrying out the Child Welfare
Act. He stresses that his agency is not
interested in prosecuting parents. Pilnn -
says he' can't remember a case where
his agency has prosecuted'a parent in an
abuse case.
Penn sees the job of the agency as
treating children and helping parents,
not in establishing anyone's guilt.
Th ma-y..-be--se,,•-•but the -legislation
stands, and it -is important that each of
us understands when we give up our
basic rights, we do so for the right '
person. Our children would appear to be
the right reason. — from The Huron
Expositor
For Letters to the Editor. , .. See Page 5
DEAR
READERS
BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER
•
While most people are cursing in-
flation for making their lives
miserable, some people are apparently
basking in the sunshine of inflation and
getting rich. As one sharpie, put it last
week: "Inflation is for fun and profit. If
we're very lucky, we'll have several
more years of inflation to enjoy."
Who knows if he's right or not? I
certainly don't. But it sounds good.
While governments everywhere are
trying to wrestle inflation to the
ground, this guy is hoping politicians
lose the match. He says he's never
made so much money.
How does he do it?
Not by investing in ,government
approved retirement savings plans for
one thing. My economy expert says
these income tax shelters aren't what
they are cracked up to he. They may be
fine fortoday, but by tomorrow, the
tuna, you've saved so lovingly won't
buy a set of wheels.
And not by Canada Savings Bonds
my friend . says. They aren't
moneymakers either.
And that fact is borne out by another
source which I trust - a column entitled
Dollar $en$e. Canada Savings Bonds
may he just the thing for someone who
wants to he able to liquify assets in a
hurry, but for a serious investor who is
putting money out for the sole purpose
of making more, Canada Savings
Bonds are only one alterntive - a very
poor one too. The interest rates they
pay are just too low by today's stan-
dards to be lucrative.
So what's the secret?
Well, according to my monied in-
formant, real estate is still the way to
go. Hang the interest rates, he says.
Forget that it's going to cost you 14
percent or better for mortgage money.
It's a bargain when you believe, aa he
does, that within the decade, mor-
tgages are going to cost nutl+euw„ers 40
percent or more.
That's right. He thinks interest rates
are going to go to 50 percent by 1950.
Can you believe it? Fifty percent! Can
you imagine what that's going to cost
you per month on your modest
bungalow in Canada's prettiest town?
But if he's ••right - and who is to say
he's not? - then everybody would be
doing well to buy as much real estate as
the budget will allow. Right now.
Look at it this way. A man bought the
family 'home four years ago for $80,000.
Nice place. He paid $30,000 down and
took a mortgage for $50,000. If he were
to sell the house today, he expects he'd
get $95,000.
His realrofit would be only about
$10,000 since he would have to pay
about $5,000 in agent's fees if he sold it?
Right?
Sort of. In calculating the worth of
any investment though, the rule is to
compare your profit to the amount of
money actually invested. In this case,
the investment was $30,000. If he earns
$10,000 on $30,000 in four years, he
hasn't done badly at all.
Incidentally, he shouldn't have too
much trouble unloading the house. His
four year old mortgage is going to look
very attractive to a buyer right now.
True, it would very likely have to be
renegotiated in a year or two at the new
rate, but in the meantime, the new
buyer will have the distinct advantage
of a cheaper mortgage than most.
In the long run then, houses are a
good investment, even at the higher
interest rates. And the idea that one
cannot afford a •house because of in-
flation is probably a misconception,
especially if your income is keeping
pace with inflation as many incomes do
today.
So jump right in to real estate folks.
Have a fling at homeownership. If you
haven't tried it, you may like it, say the
experts.