HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-09-26, Page 5�j.
Letter to Prime Minister
Dear Editor:
Earlier this fall, Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney made national head-
lines with a comment that Canadian
education was failing to keep pace
with technological needs. That
prompted Jim Head, president of the
40,000 -member Ontario Secondary
School Teachers' Federation, to
respond on behalf of teachers acro s s
the country.
These were his comments to the
ge minister.
Dr Prime Minister:
Your recent condemnation of
Canadian education, widely quoted
in the media, both hurt and con-
fused many of our members at a
time of year when they would like
to re-enter the classroom with a
sense of purpose and renewed
enthusiasm.
As the president of the Ontario
Secondary School Teachers' Federa-
tion, which represents 40,000 mem-
bers, I also found your remarks
confusing.
1. Your government fervently
supports increased immigration.
Yet, by reducing transfer payments
to the provinces, you make it more
difficult to provide extra funding
for badly needed English -as -a -
second -language resources and -
teachers.
2. You speak of the need to
encourage technology in Canada.
Yet it was an earlier Conservative
government which axed the Avro-
Arrow space program 30 years ago
and made this country a bystander
in electronics.
3. You speak of the need for
more research in this country. Yet 1
note that Northern Telecom is moll-
'.;ing to Texas because of your gov-
ernment's free trade policies.
4. You speak about the impor-
tance of education. Yet the pro-
posed 9% national sales tax will
have a significant negative . effect
upon education thrOij t,�t Ora
'hididen"costs` wh'ich`'O'er cnig 'acid
students will have to bear. Hardest
hit will be single parents and their
children.
5. A federal government which
seriously believed in encouraging
the highest possible standards
would help establish a Canadian
equivalent of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in
each province.
6. How often have you taken the
time to visit schools like Marc
Garneau Secondary School in
Metropolitan Toronto (East York),
which is named for our well-known
Canadian astronaut and which
encourages student interest in
space technology? I could point to
scores of similar examples of excel-
lence throughout this entire
province.
Your remarks, sir, sound like a
Six permits are
issued at council
Six building permits were issued
last week by Morris Township
Council.
Kir Renick of Lot 27, Concession
7 received a permit for a new gra-
nary. David and Dorothy Wharton
of Lot 27, Con. 1 was granted a per-
mit for a new storage shed.
William Richards has been given
a permit to put up a large hay stor-
age facility on Lot 11, Con. 6, and
Jim Shaw of Lot 47 and 48, Con. 1,
was granted a permit to build a
storage shed.
New residence permits were
issued to Cordon Edwards for the
south part of Lot 20, Con. 8., and.
Frank Radford of Lot 13, Con. 6, on
County Rd. 16.
Public meeting
is October 3
A public meeting will be held -for
Mortis Township residents Oct. 3 to
discuss a re -zoning proposal for
five<building lots on the outskirts of
Bel ye. "
T '.of
dteota, at the eats
of•B nd l44.**fcdlr t
few "restrt�d i inti ie, Tie
thseed i change would e -deli nate.
the loots to the -One residehtia1
zoning of the rest of the village. The
property is owned by Ron Cook.
Two other tots, also at the easi
end of the village, are to be re-
zoned as residential in accoitlafice
with the townshi 's efflclal ;pl'an,
The lots are own '
Barham Black ai1f1'
Malhiot.
Stamina is it
stick to•lt why
smoke screen tor a move to cut
back on public funding for educa-
tion while moving towards privati-
zation Of the education system; fol-
lowing Margaret Thatcher's lead.
Surely, students and parents
across this country deserve better
than that.
Yours truly,
Jim Head, President,
Ontario Secondary School
Teachers' Federation
TORONTO DIRECT DIAL
222-2886
TOLL-FREE OUTSIDE OF TORONTO
1-800468 0128
• ni.o
FiMlnancial
Ontario InstltutstryIlansf
b s
V 4.14
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