HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-11-11, Page 5GODA RICH.S
]LpSTA, THUSI~3A1Y,NOVEM]
R 11, 191 -PAG
Henri's range of topicS____for con-'
versation is limited 'to say the least.
Usually ° the weather, polities, sex,
religion and more recently bilingualism.,
He should be feeling quite proud of
himself, having added bilingualism to
that list, but instead he's been doubly
frustrated. Its not that no one listens to
him (its always .been like that so he's
never noticed).* The frustration comes
from having developed that whole new
conversation topic.and then ,having one
of his old standbys 'taken away :.: the
weather. -"i '
The weather, .. is still . there, and as
anyone who would careTto look :outside
can verify, Wr.e's plenty of it. Trouble is
its all bad. Even a ]sore like Henri'' is
getting tired hearing himself say "What
a lousy day,"' or "Miserable again isn't
it?" or "Not fit for man. or beast out
there" or "(old again".
While the " rest of us feelmiserable,
ghim and frustrated because it's always.
cold or snowing, Henri feels the same
way` because he can't expound on the
weather as much as he'd like.
He found an explanation for this
unhappy turn of events in the newspaper
-recently. It seems the wave trains are all
out of week. Wave trains?
Apparently a long wave trough has
dominated the eastern half of the con-
tinent now since June- and is blamed by
meteorologists for the coldest October
ever recorded in parts of Southern
Ontario. Needless to say it didn't +do
much for the whole summer either,
Worse still, they say the trough is
showing no signs of moving:
The wave pattern usually shifts; fairly
regularly from west to east +with the
distance from trough to trough or ridge
to ridge averaging about -2,400 miles.
When eastern North America lies under
the influence of a;,•Iong wave,trough the
Great Lakes area weather tends to come
from the Arctic via the northern
Prairies. On the other hand, when a long
wave ridge settles in, local weather
syste.nr:s come from the southwestern
United States.
Apparently this same lack of
movement in. the wave trains was
responsible for,the hot, dry summer in
England and Western Europe and a
recent heat wave in Southern California
and Arizona. Not to mention that it was
raining during October in parts of the
sub -Sahara when the short seasonal
rains shbuld have ended in August.
Locally, the long -wave trough has
reinforced the -storms, coming in from
the Prairies and strengthened outbreaks
of cold air. It has also weakened high -
:Pressure systems that +usually bring
good weather.
The 'same northerly flow left •snow.
over central and western Ontario,
dumping about two feet of snowin the
area south of Collingwood and more than
a foot near London: '
•In fact there has not been a single
warm, spell since September 20 - almost
seven weeks. Tins fact is expected to
push residential 'heating bills upward.
Fuel consumption to date is abour25 per
cent higher than this time last ye r.
There was one glimmer of"hep.e'held
out ' though. Experts say cold waves
seldom last longer than two or three
months. So we must be nearing the end
of the tunnel. Unfortunately the same
experts admit they have no idea what
causes the wave patterns to shift:
Should the wave train' remain
stationary, Ontario could look forward to •
a severe winter while our cousin.s,on the
Prairies could plan on a series of mild
spells.
Yes, Henri studied this whole ex-
planation in great: detail. He read the •
article from. beginning to end' three•
• times: He doesn't want to admitit but he
really dbesn't understand it at all -and
he's quick to point out that ,..the
weatherman (which is what common'
folk call meteorologists) are•invariably
wrong anyway.
"But," he axplained to his wife, "if it •
has got something to do with these wave
trains I'll bet 'hkr}ew ' Ity they, aren't
moving. It's . sirup] Tiley -•won't let :us
burn" leaves -anymore, so now there's no..
smoke' going up there to move the trains'
,around.". -
-:S
;l1
There seems to be a fairly, explosive'
election campaign shaping up in
Seaforth. The issue of the community's
Public Utilities Commission has been
'injected into the campaign by an an-
nouncement last week 'in the Huron
Expositor that both the P.U.C. manager
and commission chairman 1Edmund
Daly have announced their intentions to
resign over . Mayor , Betty • Cardno's.
alleged "non-stop criticism" of P.U.C.
affairs.
Walter Scott, who has been manager
of the commission for the . past nine
years, claims that Mayor Cardno has
been "wielding a pretty big stick". Daly.
says, "It's been nothing but frustrations
INFORMATION, BACKGROUND AND OPINION
HERE:,
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and insinuations month after month. Her
reports back to council were non-stop
criticisms of what we were doing."
Scott accuses the mayor of questioning
things to which most councils would.
devote only 'nominal time. He told the
London Free Press, "We don't have time
to deal with unnecessary headaches."
In a..separate story, Mayor Cardno
noted that she would like to see "a'better
working relationship developed between
the Totvn and the PUC. Both the Town'
Council and the PUC were and are
elected to provide -services to the Town
of Seaforth and funds for the respective
services come from the same people, but
IN
HURON
in different manner."
"The services for the Td.wn of Seaforth,
come through taxes, the PUC revenue
through the electricity and . water
billings," she added. : ' • .
° Councilonly. has . authority over
debentures, the remuneration of com-
missioners and • per diem -allowances
given for carrying out commission
business, Mr: Scott says. He adds. he'has '
become tired of having his technical and
management judgments constantly,
chalienged.
He . also claims 'lie would not have
looked for another job if the frustrations
hadn't become unbearable in the past
two years, (Effective November 30 he
•
will work as a field safety supervisor for
the Electrical Utilities Safety
Association.)
Mayor Cardno is council's only
representative on the commission but
Daly says -he will not be a candidate in
the -upcoming elections unless the mayor
is removed from the. commission.
Mayor Cardno says the resignations
are backing her into a political corner.
She feels that if she does not run for re-
election this December it will appear she
was pressured out of th0 job.. She said
that would reflect badly on her'and.look
as if the resigning commissioners were
right. -
"I wasn't sure if I was going to run
again," she said•in a recent interview,
"but it's getting'harder not to."
The mayor does admit there have been
"personality. clashes" •and "tension"
between herself and the commission but
explains she . was only trying to do• a
b "conscientious job. •
Apparently the.- mayor . feels the
eom.mission was. not always keeping.her
fully informed and points' out that they
did not always provide an agenda for
• Meetings. Both Scott and Daly claim she•
was.given monthly reports and financial
statements which they feel was enough
' information'for council to:do its job.
Mayor Cardno says she has been more
critical about how- things were presented
than what was done.',
•On another front Mayor. . Cardno's
administration has come under fire frorn -
Robert ,Franklin who served as Town :
Clerk -Treasurer for 17 months before he
was asked to resign because council said
he couldn't handle the work ` load.
Franklin says the council treated him
like a "foreigner and a "secretary" not
a clerk -treasurer before replacing -him
with•former councillor James Crocker.
According to Franklin, -Crocker had no
experience as a clerk -treasurer. Crocker
resigned from council on July 13 citing
"personal reasons''., and was appointed •
-
'clerk -treasurer on August 46. .•
Recent moves to establish guidelines
in Alberta ' and Quebec for the a„d-
ministration ' of suchpyschiatt c.
treatments. as '.shock treatment and
psychosurgery have led to a call for
similar safeguards in Ontario.
The Citizens Commission on Human'
Rights has approached Health Minister
Frank Miller urging high to instruct the -
College of Physicians and Surgeons to -
draft guidelines which will guarantee
that Ontario mental patients are fully
informed' of potential side effects. of
.shock ofp`sychosurgery before the
PROVINCIAL
treatments are administered.
Already the Commission was told this
week, the Canadian Psychiatric
Association is working , on general
guidelines for the practice of psychiatry
in Canada. Dr..A. Cote, secretary to the
CPA, said the guidelines will be released
in about six months time.
J.ast month in Quebec,;Claude Forget,
Quebec . Minister of Health delivered
what is regarded as a critical address to
the Canadian'•and Quebec Psydhiatric
Associations. Mr. Forret stated that he
felt an "urgent need for the order of
_doctors• to give a' true .meaning to in-'
formed' consent” -. •, for he added, . a
government mental health committee
investigating the effectiveness of shock
treatment and psychosurgery found
"the professional :mechanisms for ob'
taining consent - in Quebec were not in
use. -
Alberta's .'College of Physicians and
Surgeons enacted guidelines over a year
'ago which restrict the use of ECT and
provide for informed consent.
Criticism within and without the
psychiatric field has led to restrictions;
POINTS
recently, 'the United Kingdom govern-
ment stopped , a $100,000 grant . for
psychosurgery research following in-
tensive lobbying from, groups, and in-
dividuals, and the television screening of
an hour long case history of a woman
whose brain was sliced '.up by,
psychosurgeons. • ;
• Criticism of shock treatment has also
come from several psychiatrists. in
Canada. Dr. Martin Korenburg, a
Montreal .psychiatrist, says of ECT,
"Death may be .the :-.result .• of the
anesthetic drug, orof the actual ECT
itself. Pathology studies of brain tissue
have shown petechial hemorrhages as
well as.
,actual cell damage." Dr. Luc
Blanchet; another Montreal psychiatrist °
-is • not in favour of ECT• or
psychosurgery. •-
For the Church of Scientology spon-
sored 'commission, Doug Pearse 27;
stated previously,' "Reform in mental
health has had to be brought about from
without. Too often many' psychiatrists
have' not perceived any need;"and those:
in.the profession who did call for reform
had their views regarded in a jocular
vein, although widely respected but -
side." -
'"Change is now on the. way. It is good
to see the CPA working on guidelines",
and that there is nowa definitive body of
professionsals within the, practice of.
psychiatry taking .a long; hard look at '
what is needed," the Citizens Com -
Mission on Human Rights says.
• "We for our part will give all the help
wetan," they promise. "We . have •
already congratulated Mr. Forget on.his
stand in Quebec, and now hope that in
Ontario a similar move will lie made.
The climate is right -. there's no time like
the present."
Grants totalling $163,50.0 have been'
awarded to Professor Paul Park of the
Faculty of Education at the University -
of . Western Ontario for a project
designed to give , one group of Indian
people control ,over primary and
elementary education in their • own
community. •. .
Professor Park is now working- with
the Saulteaux Indians in Fort Alexander,
Manitoba duringkthe three year project.
Teachers in the school serving the
community of 2,500 will test and develop
curricula based on their own culture and
traditions while equippixag the children
to compete in white man's) society:
Professor Park became involved in
the project at the invitation of the Chief
of the Fort Alexander Band,. Philip
Fontaine.
Not only. are the Indians contributing
their moral support, they also have
awarded him $43,500 to direct the '
project...
W-henfinished, the program will cover
kindergarten to Grade 12 and . will
provide standards and levels of
knowledge completely: comparable to
those in schools throughout the province.
Features of the program include
primary reading materials which stress
the heritage and values • of the corn-.
munity, curriculum units which focus on
local resources such as fishing, potential~
land use, and local artisans and
educational' c),bportunities in the com-
munitysuch as adult education and new
crafts. J
To assist other .bands to follow suit,
Indian Affairs has contributed- $120,000
to produce a series of documentary films
oft' the UWO project. A recent. Faculty of
Editcaion graduate who is now working
as a teacher in Fort Alexander will be
the subject of one.film, the experience of
a native teacher taking part in the
project' will be the subject of another;'as-
well the history and future of Indian
education.
One example of the way the
:curriculum would' be made relevant to
the children is through the use of folklore
and local history. Elders of the band will
SEVEN
be interviewed and some oftheir ex-
periences and stories which might
otherwise be lost will be translated into
-English-language readers appropriate
for six or seven year-olds, Professor
Park explains.
"They want to develop a program with•
a high degree of relevence to Indian
-children," he said. "Now their
educational system reflects white values
a'n'd norms which are just not part of
their culture. The Indians are 100 per
cent behind the project."
Historically, the Fprt Alexander Band
was one of the first in .Canada to take
over the. adininistration of their own
education prograrns. This -.was done in
1973 when the -Department of Indian and
Northern Affairs handed over to them.
the responsibility for their own schools:
The Sagkeeng Education Authority, as
its called, has since 1973 initiated
community seminars t� identify
,problems - and establish educational
goals, taken surveys of community
attitudes, priorities and adult education
needs, and established' comprehensive
school records:
The independence isa reflection of a
new policy of the. Department of Indian
Affairs, which is now encouraging native
people to assume control • of their
•
educational systems.
Six hundred children are enrolled in
the school. Fort Alexander, is located 80
miles north of Winnipeg near the lumber
town of • Pine Falls.' The unemployment
rate. along with'the drop -put rate in the
schools is high. • • •
There is a high teacher turnover in the.
community and it's difficult.. for 'the
s•ehool to attragt.high cridibre instruetars,•
who are willing to stay. -
Professor Park has been involved With
curriculum development before: since
1968 he has been awarded over $400,000 '
by the, Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education and. the Ford Foundation to
• carry out a , study: focusing; on the
evaluation of .curriculum materials..
imp.lernenta•tion •strategies for
curriculum change and an analysis of
alternative teaching styles. , -
,I make an effort, in these columns ,..to
cover as varied a range -"of subjects as
possible. It is un;f ortunate that I am
epeatedlydrawnback to the situation in
southern Africa, but there seems little
doubt that it is one of the most, if not the
most, pressing issues facing the world.
It is also possibly the most misun-
derstood, confusing and poorly reported
story appearing daily in the media.
A letter which recently appeared in
Time magazine brought these facts
horse to me once again. .]tinder a
headline 'Paying Iissinger's Bill" it
,asks, "Can you give me erne good reason
•
•
WORL�WEE
why American taxpayers should 'be
obligated to spend so much as a penny
upon Ii;issinger's Rhodesian solution?"
"The Rhodesian whites are of British
origin," the letter says, "and the white
investments there have been British,
Britain should pay the fulll $2 billion." ($2
billion refers: to the estimated 'cost of
compensating Rhodesian whites for lost
property, and forrelocating many of
theta.)
Almost every day I see the same
sentimentexpressed in the 'Letters to
the Editor columns of various
newspapers or in their`editorials. "Why
•
should Canada abae'pt -Rhodesian im
migrants? There are not enough. jobs in
this country for Canadians. Th"
Rhodesians got themselves into till's, lets
them get themselves out of it," they say.
But did they?
In terns of one race colonizing the
lands of another, we can hardly pass
judgement. Such events are nothing new
to history and we might do well to
remember, that we too represerft the
descendents of those who colonized this •
land.
But more important, we seem to so
it the
easily ovcrloo , fact that. by sup-
porting
porting the British .. instituted United
•
P Rq.
Nations trade sanctions during the past
10 years we have done far, far more to
'threaten white Rhodesians with the loss,
of their' homes, businesses, farms and
indeed their lives, that have all the
glorified black bandits we so roman-
tically know through the press as
freedom fighters:'.
We have deprived. Rhodesians, both
black and white, of the economic base
from which they could build toward
development of their own national
• destiny: Through those trade sanctions
we have driven both sides into a corner,
not just the whites.
r+.
01.
There is no denying that the majority
of Rhodesians do not have an equal say
in the government which makes their
laws. There is,,no denying that this is
wrong. But Rhodesia is not 'a country of
black slavery, chained road gangs and
exploited cane cutters. All Rhodesians
enjoy a standard of living far above that
of any other " country in Africa. To
a demarnd a policy of one man one vote', at
this point in --history, is paramount to -
driving that country back 200 years in its
developitent. To support those demands
by economic sabotage,irs both ill advised
interference in the internal affairs of
M
another "state and capitulation to the
'threats of a block of black dictatorships. ,- -
We are bowing to- pressures from
governments who represent •the very
style of government we so idealistically
pretend to oppose in Rhodesia.
Why should taxpayers be obligated to
spend so much as a -penny upon
Kissinger's Rhodesia solution? Why.
should Canada accept white Rhodesian
inimigrants, especially at a time when
we are facing economic adversity of our •
own?
Because, to paraphrase the old ear-.
pression; he who calls the tune, must pay
the piper. _