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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-10-18, Page 4PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1986 41> Renewed interest in local politics is positive controversy offshoot Most events follow a purpose and line of their own, but sometimes they sprout unex- pected little shoots which can have a healthy growth of a different kind. The recent (current?) controversy over municipal day care has shaken us a bit. There are thoughts and reasons surfacing for and against and little cracks off expan- sion appear in the smooth facade of comfor- table acceptance of things on the municipal level and in other circles.. Local politicians, appointed officials and journalists have been forced to examine their attitudes and to review their tactics. Many parents interested in municipal day care have taken a strong stand and other members of general public have responded in ways of their choice. The positive offshoot of this situation is a declared awakening of refreshing interest in local politics_ It is good to hear that more in- dividuals lntenu w rim ll! MC a`cni, aaiute•uN .. ELSA ,HAYDON election and to be active in municipalT affairs in many other ways. Some new ideas and approaches - yes, even spirited controversies - could flip us nicely and constructively out of the doldrums of an apathetic public ("it makes no difference who is on council - the garbage will be picked up" variety) paying little at- tention to unimaginative representatives spinning worn out wheels, often on ill- tempered and personal animosity and ego trips. It does so make a difference who is representing us and why. When a specific in- terest group finds itself suddenly affected, _ear; a..,, l..On ..r fs• early to run for local council. Our useful and meaningful participation in public decisions and public expenditures should not come in one -issue spurts here and there. It takes steady interest and work to improve and update perceptions of needs, attitudes and practices. Every person ought to feel that he or she can make a difference in the system, but it is important to be sure one knows how the system is put together. Recently a ratepayer, being thoroughly disappointed when the town 'council defeated the- municipal day care motion, issued a public challenge for a local by- election. He invited a council member whose vote was negative, to resign his seat and to run, on the day care issue, against the challenger. To assure our municipal rights and freedoms of the necessary checks and ii4iReeos local elections are subject to cer- tain and definite legislation. Incidentally, the provincial government is in the process of changing many of these rules on which points could be made that the changes are no improvements iii public interest, but that is another story. To start with, last year's local elections cost the ratepayers $10,000, according to figures available from the town hall. Any new election would be subject to the same mechanics and essentially the same costs. Persons who deliberately cause such addi- tional expenditures would have no chance of getting elected. Besides, the challenge is unrealistic from other angles as well. Should a council member be foolish enough to resign at this stage and for this purpose (the previous council experienced two resignations for personal reasons) it is the council's choice whether to call an election or to appoint a person tofill the vacancy. The council could F... rill.. ineTlfv fns r•rw.ior An election under the circumstances. Furthermore, the council's reaction to municipal day care is simply - it is necessary to admit realistically - a sign how seriously divided the whole community is on the issue which, by the way, the day care friends have not always promoted wisely and well. Strictly tine -issue candidates often leave the voters cold. It is difficult to be patient at times, but one's best bet is still to take a general in- terest in all aspects of municipal affairs (as opposed toleaving the council chambers the second one's own case has been heard) and to become thoroughly informed about the facts surrounding all other municipal ser- vices and subjects, not just the one of per- sonal value and attachment. The next municipal elections are in 1988. There is just enough time to become fully in- formed and interested, in order to offer your services as our representative who intends to help open doors. Opinion THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1845 $dericIi�$>EBT ALL ROUND COMMlcc- R SIGNA�T�S IdNITY NEWBPAPEP IN CANADA lrcytuuon Das, 3500 45 0 cu.r uw P.O. SOX `20 HUCKINB ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH, ONT. N7A 4BB PUBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded in 1848 and published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. 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General Manager Editor SHIRLEY J. KELLER DAVE SYKES Advertising. Manager DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES...Please phone (5191E24 -2E14 Second class mail. registration number 0716 Member: eNA CCNA A matter of trust In the end they just weren't ready to trust each other. American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General - Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev almost reached an historic deal to eliminate all mediwn and long-range nuclear missiles over the next 10 years. But the Americans decided they could not meet the Soviet demand to limit research on the Strategic Defence Initiative to the laboratory for 10 years. In his address to the American people Monday night, Reagan called it their insurance policy. An insurance policy that would guarantee the Soviets would live up to their commitment. Only by maintaining the ability to defend themselves against nuclear attack, argued Reagan, could they dare to trust the Russians and reduce their missiles. From Gorbachev's point of view the American position was an offer "only a madman would accept". As the Russians were dismantling their missiles, the United States would be developing a system that would make the Russian arms obsolete. The United States would become invulnerable and the Russians would be left open to U. S. attack. How close the world came to abruptly ending the arms race, we'll probably never know. Over the two days of talks in Iceland, the two sides agreed to a 50 per cent reduction in strategic missiles, followed by their complete elimination over 10 years, virtual elimination of intermediate-range missiles in Europe and a phased reduction of nuclear tests. Such accords would have ended the mutual fear that one or the other might launch a first strike, but in the end Reagan could not trust that the Soviets would live up to their commit- ment without the "insurance policy" of Star Wars as a defence. The Americans say Gorbachev set them up. Convinced Reagan would not .give up Star Wars, he came to the bargaining table prepared to offer reduction and elimination of nuclear missiles, because he knew Reagan would not agree to give up Star Wars. Now the Russian leader can stand back and tell the world he tried to stop the arms race but Reagan would not abandon Star Wars. How much of the Gorbachev position was political posturing and how much was an earnest attempt to reduce his country's expenditure on arms so he can spend more on the economy, is difficult to determine. ' All is not -lost, however. The talks have brought the two superpowers together and any discussion is better than continuing a cold war. How close they came to not only reducing the missiles but eliminating them is amazing, considering how far apart the two sides have been in the past. What remains is how close the two leaders came to rewriting post war history. What also remains is the hope that Reagan and Gorbachev can learn to trust each other. Failing that, when a new president comes to power following Reagan's term, the Reykjavik summit will be the yardstick against which new talks will be measured. 'For Reagan it is a sad commentary on his presidency that he seems to be unaware how close he came to being written into the history books as the president who made peace with the Russians rather than a warmonger. S. D. Shelter the homeless Have a seat by Corinne Boyle The cold spell in recent days is a warning of the winter weather that approaches and for the homeless who cannot afford the cost of housing, October's cold snap is chillier still. • Toronto hostels are filled to overflowing with singles and families who cannot afford to pay the rent. Working class neighbourhoods have disappeared as the middle class bought up the old homes and renovated. They lobbied politicians who pushed back the apartment developers to keep their neighbourhoods safe from apartment developers. But the single people who had rented the rooms in the houses were turfed out by the mid- dle class renovators and as singles, they do not qualify for apartments in subsidized housing. They had no place to go and many seek shelter in the city's hostels. Finally government is creating programs to build apartments for singles. But it takes time and two projects underway will only create 97 units. It's worth reminding all levels of government that singles and families require more sub- sidized housing, now that the United Nations has decided 1887 will be the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. S. D. Reader thinks Carl DeGrandis' statements about the Bluewater Centre misleading and ambiguous We welcome year letters Dear editor, Carl peGrandis' statements concerning alleged "misconceptions" on the part of concerned citizens about the Bluewater Cen- tre for Young Offenders reported in the Goderich Signal Star (Sept. 24, 1986) are ambiguous and misleading. First, on Mr. DeGrandis own admission, it was always the policy of the Ministry of Cor- rectional Services that the Young Offenders Institution in, each region be responsible for housing all young offenders from that area regardless of the Seriousness of the crime. This can be confirmed by anyone who wishes to take the time and trouble to con- sult the Young Offenders Act and related documents. It is little comfort to be told that the max- imum security units now being constructed at the Bluewater, Centre will "not necessari- ly" house 26 rapists, murderers and ar- sonists" at any one time, especially in view of the recent breakouts by "young of- fenders" who were not considered to be security risks at all. Even if serious crimes, such as murder, arson, and rape "can be No one, to my knowledge, ever suggested moved to adult court" what reason do we that young offenders at the Bluewater Cen have for assuming that this will in fact hap- ire should be "beaten up" but in view of the pen? The basic assumption appears to be - exceedingly light penalties apparently for young offenders at least - that there real- , handed out, such as payment for damages ly is no great difference between stealing so- out of money given by the institute to the meone's property and murdering or young offender in the first place, perhaps there is something radically wrong with the perhaps maiming them for life. According to the Young Offenders Act the whole system as it stands. worst that can happen to a young person It is difficult to see what "discipline" is in volved when apparently an offender cannot convicted of Violent crime, including murder, attempted mr, ml, even be made to attend school against his criminal negligence, assurdeaults, robbery aughterand (or her) own will: "`We're, not going to say sexual offences, is a few months - possibly a to someone who has come to the school for few years - at a place like the Bluewater breaking the law we're going to break it", Centreenough to by forcing them "to go to school. Surely for those "unfortunate" anyone convicted of breaking the law to the have been caught breaking the law. There extent of being locked up for it can expect to they will be attended by a battery of social forfeit some of their rights and privileges workers, psychologists, chaplains, teachers, community volunteers, and . a under the law which they broke. Apparently totally sympathetic advisory staff prepared not at the Bluewater Centre. to defend their "rights" at the expense of the legitimate concerns of the public. The argument that it is counterproductive The fault does not lie entirely with Mr, to lock up young offenders in adult institu- tions because they will be adversely in- DeGrandis; rather it is the result of recent fluenced by older, hardened criminals evades the issue of violent crime among changes made when the Juvenile Delin- young offenders. According to the Juvenile quents Act was replaced by, the present " justice" inr'�a system that fails to Court Statistics for 1982 there were 4,801 Young Offenders Act in 1984. Where is the violent crimes (male and female) commit - loss of life or permanent injury and. petty ted by persons under the age of 17 years, of distinguish between violent crime involving east which 1,294 or 27 per cent of total were in On - where a "young person".is involved �n tario. Naturally we all hope that the crime crimes such as break and enter - at l dismissing the feasibility of a completely statistics will go down in the future. LETTERS separate maximum security institute for violent crime to serve the 'entire province - an eminently reasonable solution - Mr. DeGrandis is simply following the party line. Mr. DeGrandis did not deal with the alleg- ed "misconceptions" contained in letters to the editor in the Signal Star simply because no such "misconceptions" ever existed. Again anyone who will take the time to read carefully what Mr. DeGrandis is reported to have said in the recent published interview ' will see that there is little or nothing in the Young Offenders Act or in the actual "discipline" described by Mr. Degrandis which would serve as any real deterrent to young persons coming into conflict with the law. But there is no doubt whatever, in spite of what Mr. DeGrandis says, that the new maximum security wing at the Bluewater Centre is being built to house an undeter- mined number of these violent offenders. If the purpose of the Young Offenders Centre is to isolate and protect the young offender from the influence of the hardened adult criminal, what is to prevent the petty of- fenders there from being adversely in- fluenced by the violent offenders in their midst? At the very least the message to these young persons will be that there is really not that much difference between stealing so- meone's property and murdering him, since everyone gets sent to the same place anyway and even those convicted of the most violent crimes will eventually be mov- ed out of maximum security and given the same privileges as everyone else. Where is the deterrent in this policy? Finally, Mr. Degrandis' accusation that those of us who oppose the present policies of the Ministry of Correctional Services lack "compassion and understanding" for the "young human beings at the centre" is un- founded and unfair. In all of this discussion nothing is ever said about the responsibility of the young offenders for their own actions which got them into trouble with the law in the first place. Where was their understan- ding and compassion for the innocent people hurt by their illegal actions? If Mr. DeGrandis really wants to present both sides of the picture fairly let him reveal details of the offences for which these "young offenders" are now in custody and let him again reassure us that the Centre will not pose an additional threat to the Security of local residents when it has its full complement of truly violent offenders. Let him guarantee us that there will be no further escapes from the Bluewater Centre and that "discipline" at the Centre is something more than merely depriving a resident of certain privileges to which he should have had no Tight in the first place because of the offence committed. Above all, let him stop shifting the respon- sibility for the offences committed by these people and put it back where it belongs, on the shoulders of the young offenders themselves. Perhaps then we can put an end to this war of words and get back to the relatively peaceful existence we enjoyed before the Bluewater Centre for Young Of- fenders was forced upus. on Township taxpayer.