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The Wingham Advance Times, 1995-01-11, Page 4WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11,.19: 5 Oppose changes to gun legislation In the upcoming weeks, we Cana- . dians will receive a number of very important messages from our federal government_ First, Minister of Finance Paul Martin is going to explain how all government sectors and programs must share the responsibility of re- ducing Canada's deficit and eventu- ally Canada's debt. Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Human Resources, will tell us how these cuts will affect his department, specifically unemploy- ment insurance and welfare, and Minister of health Diane Marleau Will have to explain why transfer ,payments for health care will be un- der the knife in her department. The list goes oti. My concern, and tic motivation for this correspondence, is for the contradictory message being sent by Justice Minister Allan Rock with his proposed firearms control legisla- tion. A package of legislation (sup- ported by Prime MinisterJean Chre- tien) the intends to create a new level of bureaucracy, further control- ling our legally and safely owned firearms and those responsible citi- zens who keep and use them. At a time when police budgets and manpower are 'being stretched dan- gerously thin, Allan Rock and his Liberal associates have decided that Canadians have the time and money to enter all legal rifles and shotguns and their owners into a national Fire - by LEN LOBB arms Registry. I disagree. This is far, far from a priority. Canadians have asked- their gov- ernments for an increase in cost- effective crime control, not a frivo- lous squandering of more tax dollars on a registration system (bureaucra- cy) already proven to have little ef- fect on the actual reduction of crime in canada. Some 60 years of hand- gun and automatic rifle registration in Canada have done little to reduce the violent use of these weapons by criminals. • 1 urther to this, the most, common- ' ly suggested cost of registering rifles and shot guns is an initial 2 to 3 bil- lion dollars with an unknown amount needed for future renewals and additions. We know who pays. I'm sure most police forces could offer suggestions of hig1ier priority expenditures and time commitments than those proposed by Allan Rock and Jean Chretien. Equally as offensive as squan- dered tax dollars is the inevitable continuation of the legacy that has resulted in_thousands of Canadians unknowingly become offenders 'un- der the criminal code of Canada. Thanks to Kim Campbell, and the PC's many firearms owners (your friends, neighbors, relatives) are nolo in contravention of the Criminal Code of canaria because of improper storage of firearms in their home's. Safely stored for many years, mind you, nut now illegally owned. No, courtesy of Allan Rdek anti' Jean Chretien,' two' new offenses have been proposed for honest, law- abiding Canadians. I) Possession of a firearm,, by a person who does not have a Firearms Possession Certificate (FPC). 2) Possession of an unregistered firearm (no FRC - Firearms Regis- tration Card) by a holder of an FPC. This will sarry a mandatory I year imprisonment. If these don't burn a lot of gas, time, and tax dollars I will be sur- prised. sadly, the end result is that a lot more of your neighbors will be- come criminals themselves by virtue of non-compliance. Over a decade ago, New Zealand abandoned a system similar to that proposed by Allan Rock. Excessive cost, bureaucratic error and a burden Please see GUN/14 Media has no funny bone TORONTO — Premier Bob Rae has hit where it really hurts by saying the news media have no sense of humor. The New Democrat premier, down so low in the polls that journalists need a bathysphere to find him, did not explain fully what bothers him. But he must have affronted a whole industry of columnists and editorial- ists who do their best to inject some light-heartedness into the seriousness of Ontario politics. Rae probably has even smiled at some of their efforts. He would have liked a columnist's observation that "to call Progressive Conservative leader Mike Harris wooden is to be mean to trees." Rac must have chortled at an- other's quip that "listening to Liberal leader Lyn McLeod speaking is like enduring the drone of an air condi- tioner. At first it's annoying and after a while one ceases to hear it." Rae surely enjoyed the witticism that interviewing the often vague McLeod is like "trying to grab air." Rae would have appreciated these both because they hit his opponents rather than himself and because he fancies himself as a stand-up comedi- an. Rae once confessed in Hamilton, where he has family roots: "You may think that I'm a son -of -a -something - else, but I'm the son of a Hamiltoni- an," Rac, after one exaggerated Harris a claim, joked that the Tory leader "re- minds me of the person who sings the national anthem before the hzsck- ey game and thinks that he single- handedly caused the game of start." A Second Loo Ire 'CUR lillingbom Zbtiartrt-Zim s Published each Wednesday at: -Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road. Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0 • Phone (519) 357-2320 Fax: (519) 357-2900 J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 We are: Jim Beckett - Publisher Audrey Currie - Manager Cameron 1, Wood - Editor Norma Galley - Ad. Rcp. Jim Brown - Reporter Stephen Pritchard - Comp. Eve Buchanan - Office' Louise Wclwood- Office Mcmbcrof: OCNA CCNA • o decision hurts he perpetual circle of debate on the matter of waste disposal in Wingham will continue with the decision by town council to pass the respective user pay system and tipping fees by-laws back to com- mittee. Granted, town council is making a wise choice in al- lowing the newly established waste management com- mittee to play catch-up with the whole process. By grant- ing only first and second reading to the already often amended proposals., council has left the door open for more alternatives to come forth. A fine example of clear thinking in municipal politics. However, by extending the debate, council also erodes some of its own credibility in the eyes of the public. The issue of waste management in the community gained prominence last year when the property commit- tee began an extensive investigation into future handling of local trash. They met with several advisors from with- in and without the community. And, after some months,' put forth a proposal to the town. That proposal called for the establishment of tipping fees at the Landfill site in East Wawanosh Township; to offset the costs of operat- ing and maintaining the site when the Ministry of the En- vironment finally said no more garbage. In addition, the public was also advised through two public meetings that the committee was recommending a user pay system, or bag tags, to help offset the plan to di- rect up to 50 per cent of the town's trash to a second landfill site in Morris Township. We were told at these meetings that the proposed $1 per bag was not unreason- able in comparison with like communities in the prov- nee: Nor did we protest. In fact, the majority of the people who attended the meeting ,seemed rather unsurprised by the whole pack- age. Their main concern was the expansion of recycling ventures so that curbside waste could be further reduced. There was talk of a municipal composting site. But somewhere -in this process now, there is little dis- ussion of what we, the public asked for. No one came ut strongly against the user pay system. Sure, there AA/ere concerns over how the tags would be handled: how id they attach to the bags; would they stay on; what bouttheft, etc: Few argued the fact that heavy users hould pay equally as those who were light users. But the consumers have now been left confused. Peo- le were expecting a January 16 implementation date for ser fees. Good decisions require very careful thought. No one an discredit council for taking the opportunity to fully . xamine the waste management issue. But equally so, in, ecision undermines the good work that many good peo- Ie have put into this. Now is the time to take a stand and make a decision or the community. Do we pay, or not? — CJW c 0 a s p u c e p A Huron County Reeve Bruce Machan. Machan warned his department heads in Goderich that,they had better come in a zero per cent increase for 1995. Fiscal responsibility. The W Ingham Adv ancc-Times is a member of a family of community newspapers pro- viding news, advertising and information leadership. Letters to the Editor All letters to the editor must bear the writer's name, telephone num- ber and address. The Advance -Times wel- comes letters. We re- serve the right to edit, but will endeavor to preserve the author's intent. Deadline for letters is Monday before 10:00 a.m.. Some exceptions may apply. Fax: (519) 357-2900 or mail to: P.O, Box 390, Wingham, Ontario,. NOG 2W0 with Margaret Stapleton JANUARY 1948 When the Wingham General Hospital Association met for its annual meeting last Friday night, members learned that 1947 was a record year for the local hospital with over 1.1,000 hospital days, an increase of two and one-half times from 10 years ago. However, the association also learned that a nurses' residence is desperately needed at the hospital . At present, several of the staff are forced to seek outside living quarters. Last week H. P. Carmichael purchased the clothing Store busi- ness of Mr. M. Bader and will take possession Feb. 1. Mr. Car- michael, who, until a few months ago operated the North. End Gro- cery, needs no introduction to the people of Wingham. A double funeral was held for a highly respected Wingham couple, Mr. and Mrs.' Sam Tindall, who died a few hours apart. Realizing the need for a shcd to accommodate the farmers while shopping in town, ttic retail mer- chants took up the matter a year ago and now the shed is open to the. public. JANUARY 1961 . Brian Alexander Hastie was the first arrival at Wingham General Hospital for the year 1961. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Has - tie, RR 1, Gorric, little Brian was both Jan. 6. and weighed seven pounds, iwo ounces. He has two brothers at home. "Slim" Boucher, familiar to tele- vision viewers as leader of the Golden Prairie Cowboys, will leave Wingham at the first of next month to take a position with the newly -opened station in Halifax. Mrs. Boucher, the former Shirley Nethery and their three boys will move to Halifax with him. Brent Davidson has been elected president of the Junior Conserva- tion Club for 1961. Doug Hamil- trirt is vice president, Ken MacTav- sh, secretary and Jim Mitchell, treasurer. There are several student teachers from Stratford Teachers' College at Winghatn Public School this week, including Miss Guelda Stapleton of Wingham. JANUARY 1971 The Wingham Public Utilities Commission is considering updat- ing its billing system by moving into the computer age. It was decid- ed to speak to other utilities which use computer billing. Mel Craig was installed as master of the Wingham Lodge AF & AM. Six girls are seeking the title of Kinsmen Winter Carnival Queen and are Bonnie Feagen, Shirley Gray, Marion Willie, Gerry Ben- nett, Gail Remington and Marlene Jamieson. A social gathering was held last Friday evening at the Wingham Le- gion Hall to honor Elmer Purdon on his retirement from Maitland Redi- Mix. , James H. Currie presented East Wawanosh Council with a framed picture of his grandfather, Robert A. Currie, first reeve of the town- ship at the inaugural meeting of township council. JANUARY 1981 Selena Ann Campbell, born Jan. 6 at Wingham and District Hospital, is this year's New Year's Baby. She is the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Campbell, RR 2, Wingham. Members of the Wingham Baptist Church recently started their own school in town, offering an alterna- tive to both the public and Roman Catholic school systems. Howick Township Reeve Harold Robinson had the honor of cutting the ribbon to mark the opening of the new Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building at Wroxeter. Plans are now well underway for Frostyfest '81, a winter weekend of fun and activities being organized by the Wingham Kinsmen Club in cooperation with other service clubs and community groups. Events in- clude a casino night, dances and pancake breakfast. Rae, more pertinent to his current concern,, also once lamented: "If I trained my dbg to walk on water and asked the media to come and they watched it, the headline the next day would be 'Bob Rae's Dog Can't Swim'." But Rae and his party may have been less amused ''by some recent banter. When the NDP held its last big conference before an election, one newspaper recorded somberly that "the New Democrats gathered last weekend to view the corpse," sounding too close to an obituary for comfort There was the pithy putdown that "the NDP has had a learner's permit for the past four years and is still finding it hard to steer the ship of state." And the jibe that "Bob Rae gets all the advice he needs every day from his bathroom;m.irror." Rae, like many others, may have failed to detect humor in a cartoon in the right-wing Toronto Sun which depicted his mitiltrired attorne3t- general, Marion Boyd, discussing preventing sexual assault while a male in the audience scoffs: "Surely she can't be speaking from experi- ence." MPPs in all parties similarly failed to see anything funny in calling a minister so unattractive that no one would rape her and missing the point that many victims of sex assaults are not physically attractive. Rae may not have seen humor in the paper stepping up its campaign against the minister and wittily dub- bing her "Boydbrain" and running another cartoon showing Rae in storm-troopgr helmet and speaking with a German accent. There is not much humor (or truth) in portraying Rae as a Nazi. The premier also may not have found much humor or perspective in his newest row with media in which the Toronto Star is indignant because the NDP put out a paper crammed with stories praising Rae's goveflt- ment and with a name, the Ontario Star, and format looking suspiciously like the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star says it is afraid readers will confuse the NDP publi- cation with its own purer pages, but the Toronto Star has spent a century supporting virtually any Liberal intel- ligent enough to know his own name and no one who ever' read the Liberal Star is likely to mistake it for the NDP's propaganda sheet gut the Toronto Star is now on its high horse and says it is consulting its lawyers — Rae may be right in say- ing the media do not have much sense of humor. 0 1