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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1980-10-08, Page 4N~ \ ^NN':vC tt eassurin When the shock waves r -disaster at Three Mile ue to reverberate' and e minds of many, the jury is n the question of the safety of r power, it was hardly reassur- learn that Ontario Hydro has e than once allowed one of its re - S at the Bruce generating station operate without Its emergency cool- ing system. . The duration of the two incidents was not long, as we measure time: 25 minutes In one instance, just over an hour in the other. However even Limit- ed experience has shown that when a nuclear power plant malfunctions, time can be measured in milliseconds. Had the system been required while it was out of service, the hour might as well have been eternity. Esped qtly disturbing is Hydros rationai.. s continuing to operate the rector rlth the emergency system out of commission fear of the cost in- volved In replacing r which would be 'spat by shutting down the reactor. White we do not advocate tossing away money which Inevitably must come out of all our pockets, too many scenarios of peacetime nuclear disasters begin with a power utility allowing financial considerations to override its concern for safety. We nave always taken comfort in the thought that Ontario Hydro, as a public utility not concerned primarily with producing a profit, could go to the Nth degree in guaranteeing the safe operation of its nuclear power plants. Suddenly much of that comfort has been snatched away. Forget the strings Like it or not, our founding docu- ment, the British North America Act, will probably be provided with a new residence in Canada within the next few months. Prime Minister Trudeau has decided to bypass the squabbling provincial premiers and seek his man- date for patriation in the House of Commons. Along with Premier Davis of On- tario, we agree that Trudeau has no al- ternative. If he waits for all the prov- incesto reach agreement on the terms of our constitution he, and the rest of Canada, will wait forever. What puzzles most Canadians is the apparent complexity of what should be a' simple decision. The PM insists that a code of human rights and the rlghf to ed cation in one's mother tongue m be "entrenched'' in the constitvti n before it leaves the teeder loving c re of the British; government.. Some o the provincial premiers de- mand t af' their own particular Inter- ests be similarly entrenched and are ready dump the..=whole matter in the lap the supreme: court,. What.. we `wonder, Would be, so wrong about simply asking the Brits to let us have the document; bringg It to this country and argue about Ifs sec- tions and paragraphs after It has come home? Right now the only pressing point of agreement should be that the BNA is over 100 years old and needs some drastic reshaping. If the act needs some repairs and improvements today It will surely need some more basting and trimming as the years of the next century roll by. The founding fathers of the American constitution recognized that basic fact when they drew up their constitution, and Indeed were passing . amendments within a very short time after the first docu- ment was signed by the various states in the late 1700s. This column has ,previously ex- pressed the opinion that some delay seems sensible. If Mr. Trudeau Insists on becoming the lone father of confed- eration before he retires, let him hoist the BNA across the Atlantic — but leave It open for change and improve- ment. Why drag it home with strings attached? #ants are right • Last o Week •students at several Bruce County secondary schools -walk ed out Of ' helir classrooms in ;Pr :..,,,:: y. ,. over,'thef)t tment `'ttrey afe,: getti gY fro n*theirteachers - . e> rotes# Staged . P aged by the kids is aigood deal more valid ° thawthe action their' teachers have taken. A straight -forward work stoppage by the Bruce teachers would be bad enough, butthey have been alternating. days ' .of no work . 'With days of work -to -rule. Thus ,the school.. buses must operate every day because prin- cipals haveno way of knowing In, ad - Vance whether there Mil be classes for. the students to attend and every time the buses hit the roads the taxpayers have to pony up $3400. When there are no teachers in the schools the buses are reloaded and the students are returned to their homes. • • Considering that those youngsters come'from homes where, for the most part, the parents have no organized taboraffillatlon, it is a very frustrating situation. Farmers, small business OWners,. single -parents, senior citizens aflgof them are suffering from the ef- 41, fects of inflation and very, very few -of them have ever haat, a wage contract with anybody- they Must meet, today's problems ;by sheer hard work, and re- duced Spending. They have very little sympathy for a group of teachers who, even without a renewed contract with their employer's, are still among the better paid membor•s. of out -iety- it makes one we rider h N r, any people in this land er • s, ,- for a s w moments and say. ,., themselves, °'Thank. God for allthe blessings my family and i can enjoy!" Instead the universal cry seems to be, "I'm not getting as much as the next guy. Time we got together and lashed ouf with a few punches." Sadly enough the punches are Usually aimed at innocent • bystanders who can do nothing to remedy the situation.. information. at the weekend was - that Bruce County. students walked out in protest against the striking teachers. By Tuesday theword was that the stu- dent walkout was in support of the teachers. You figure It out. F.oiish economy Pressed•- by a gigantic national deficit, the Liberal government's ef- forts to cut spending should be lauded and ericouraged.'However all cut-backs should be viewed In the light of their consequences upon the nation as a whole. • Several years ago the Trudeau government launched a far-flung pro- ject which demanded that most of the federal civil servants learn enough of the French language to make them ef- fectively bi-lingual. Since the vast majority of those whose mother tongue was English were at or even beyond their middle years the program was foredoomed to failure. Now the government Inas slashed the funds available for language train- ing, not only in the, civil service, but across the board. Money which should have been continued for French language training in our schools has been cut back — right at the only point where the program ever had any chance of success. Adults, particularly in the West, balked at what they believed to be a "ram -It -down -my -throat" approach to second language training. Most intelli- gent adults, no matter where they live, should and do recognize the Inestim- able value of a second language. Cer- tainly any person who has ever travel- led abroad has experienced a sense of loss when knowledge of French would be so rewarding. French language Instruction should begin in kindergarten. Lan- guage skills are instinctive at that age and if that sort of education was avail- able right across the land we could have a bilingual nation in one genera- tion. The only permanent answer to our present racial problems in Canada Is 'universal bilingualism, in the French speaking areas as well as in the parts of Canada where English predominates. No person should recognize that truth more clearly than Mr. Trudeau, whose success as a political leader stems in Targe part from the facf thet he can not only speak In two languages, but more important, can listen. In both. He is superbly equipped by his education and background to speak fOr both of our founding cultures. All of which makes it the more puzzling that funds for bilingual education have been curtailed -by his government. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited Barry Wenger, President , Robert 0 Wenger, Sec •Trees Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member -- Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Subscription 515.00 per year Second Class Mail Registration No. 0521 Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoc Six months 58,00 Return postage guaranteed 4 111 :i4 fi • t v 4 1. 11��..�►•►w..w %fl * ems, etters t Trustee explains his stand on honoraria= Dear Editor, • itis bad; it> it So bad that the In reply to your editorial, good news' Cannot be 'A matter of principle', I feel ,rdzed and ,gi • that some Gomment should e mirsenC e al be made as to exactly where What will alma !stand on the subject. January when it comes up Firstly, I must make it again? I do not really know: -- very clear that I speak as an ,Firstly, I could be defeated indivisual, although Lam one at the polis,1 **NW. of the two elected trustees Secondly, if 1 a i; reelected 1 'for this district. I cannot am only`' one' mere man: speak for the whole Huron Thirdly,t know that if I' am. County Board of Education. •eelected'I will have.to Move As a member of the man--°- to one of the other . coin - agement committee of themittees according to board Huron County board I was.„, policy. r `• ' as, you intimated, outspoken ' In conelusion,� 1 would on this matter of trustees' , point out that the education, `honoraria and I did vote,for of our young >is'F the, s ing)•e:. this reduction and when. lit most impd'rtan cornerstone came up unexpectedly again the next month in comnnut- tee-of-the-whole I did not change my.position. At that time I would not change my principles nor would, I put my integrity in jeopardy. The vote was lost because one trustee on the manage- ment committee, not from, this area,was absent and another trustee abstained. That it is symbolic is a matter of conjecture. Symbolic yes, insofar as 25 million is -con ed. Symbolic,nnsofar as the amount' of time and concern of the individual .trustee. A cut in pay for any individual is just that, a cut in pay. The $9,600 would have bought more text books, oil, lighting, repairs, shop equip- ment, business machines and many other,thousands of items required for today's schools. This was symbolism that I had prayed to the Lord would have caught fire and produced a positive effect, and I personally was sadly disappointed. Instead it received ridicule. However, if you analyze that ridicule thoroughly, you would realize that it is fear. Fear of an ideal. Fear of something that is different or 'novel. Furthermore, ridicule is often used in the political sense and in the political arena to get rid of someone or an idea. With the exception of your paper and you, sir, the media as a whole missed the whole point of this symbolic gesture. Instead of writing it up under a separate heading and pointing out all of its philosophical and economi- cal connotations, they: , the media as a whole,' chose to bury it in the body of their ho-huin articles. This I attri- bute to lack of experience and lack of idealism. In the media 1 realize that bad news Is cormoti and much of t enbaker foundation- r-...rredjito r, battles throughout his We- i would.: appreciate space time. His Bill of Rights gave in your paper to inform your . them equality in the Canada readership of the establish of today. ••'" Philip . Seto, a. resid .,. t I waw the foundation ants's* i. first donation of $1.00. Inhis letter he stated; "I am Ch1. f+ widatton ° es lisped to'r-etai n for. posterity _the tremendous • achieve- nients of `The Chief' during:a lifetime of dedication to his fellow -Canadians. There will be two major objectives of the foundation: To save for aU Canadians, present and future, his home in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, an,a museum;' which would 'be"open-to all Canadians who visit their ' capital; and to develop youth -oriented programs that will be asso- ciated with the Diefenbaker Centre in Saskatoon and Parliannent. Both objectives will require funding. It is the view of the executive of the foundation that we should • first appeal for support from the ordinary Canadians. John Diefenbaker was their champion. Be fought their of our democratic society. With the.information ex- plosion, and our tecbnoloogy,. they, the young people of our society, need every bit of teaching we can possibly give them. They, the young, are our • most iniportant resource. Bertrand -Pp Morin Trustee OIdv.rsi�n�f '0 Cancda'foufld Dear Editor, In a copy of thegAngliean publication ;C•.ia;naditin Churchman, I fr "'.. inprint this old ver$ien - of -'O. Canada'. Y would like to know how authentic it is, and who composed ,}t: Possibly you would print It so; that your readers May be in- formed of the existence Of, the version. O Canada! Ow . fathers' land of old, Thy brow is °row�e l with leaves of red and gof Beneath the shade of the holy cross Thy children' own their birth, No stains thy glorious annals gloss Since valor shields thy hearth. Almighty God! On Thee we call, Defend our right, forfend this nation's thrall. Altar and throne command our sacred love, Mankind to ils Shall ever brothers prove •'•.' O King of Kings, with Tny' mighty breath All our sons do thou in- spire; r May no cravefl.*te 1t0 -01• - life or death E'er ' damp the <i�ti WOO' • . fire! Our mighty call loudly shall ring As in the days of old "For Christ and the King" O Canada, our land, our love, our pride— Bought by the blood of men who dared and died From East to West we loyal stand By prairie, lake and sea,, • And pledge with joy both heart and hand To God, to King, to thee! Steadfast in mind stand we combined— Mighty to serve our country, serve mankind. Rev. fl. L. Jennings Wroxeter invit s your nese .and rI am a .Canadian, born in Ottawa .. the people of Canada: should et to-. ether and gg . Dlef ' other putl[r tatM yRocko ffe world Can see the bends' of dila great Anon ; and Canadian; the man Nine-year-old Martin is as enthusiastic as his picture suggests. A healthy boy of Indian and white descent,he tackles everything he does with zest, He's at affectienate lad who likes a hug and loves: -.to receive praise and compliments. Because of some unsettled years :.he feels an adults can be undependable, =drakes time learn to trust new people, He also resist when limpsand rules are imposed on him, Ian at bonus in echos • Martin uses his boundless energy . * voce tt great' deal, on lacrosse and hockey camping, • bike riding, :skating. . and tobogganing. He is interested' in me and learning to play the guitar. Just now he is attending classes in preparation for his first communion. A friendly child, especially with children his own age, he will sometimes tune grown-ups out if he doesn't like what they're saying, and can be manipulative with older people. Experienced parents with a wealth of patience and encrg and much warmth and stimulation to give, would° prove a happy family setting for this active, appealing boy. To inquire about adopting Martin, please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices, Box 888; Station K, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2H2. In your letter tell something of your present'family and your way of life. Setting the record straight Last week's editorial, °A matter of principle', Was incorrect in stating that both. local trustees on the Huron County' Board of Education• supported the reduction in trustees' honoraria. Murray Mulvey states that he opposed the action at the time it was taken and so, although he was among those who later voted for the return of the $600, he -_did not change his vote. ' The conclusion that he had supported the cut was based on an apparently mistaken impression of the reasons why he voted as he did at the May meeting, when he voted against the proposed budget but Iso op- posed an amendment which would have re- instated the honoraria as well as adding $2110,000 tothe budget. Had reinstatement of the honoraria been made a separate Mahon, Mr. Mulvey says he would have supported it. donations from prince Albert w - steed for all of Canada .. i 4 . feel Ottawa and Canada owe • t t0 this man." . ; If you feel as Philip Seto • feels, please send a donation. .;the foundation. i ht. dation: Nd' sunt: am is too small. Let's save his:i home. Please° . send your"' donations, which can be used ' as a tax 'deduction, 'to: Ther. John G. • Diefenbaker:. Memorial Foundation, .P.O."s. Box 9324, Alta Vista Ter- minal Ottawa, Ontario, K1G Robert C. Coates, QC, MP.;, 3V1. • New Basks in the Library T E N ADA INVASION 18124813 byOF ; Plerr+eCM' Berton r • To America's leaders in 1812, an invasions of Canada' seemed the best way to.. bloody John Bull's• inose It would, as. Thomas Jefferson confidently 'predicted, be " mere matter of marching". In his remarkable account of the war's first year and the events Which led up to it,; Pierre Berton again pulls a' dusty page from our history, and transforms it into an en- THEgrossing oa Telly Which; reads like a fast -paced novel CMiITER PREsi� DENCY, AND IIE'YOND BY: Laurence H. sheep Here is a guide tO under standing on a deeper leveh the 1980 candidates, their; support groups, policy; positions and election', strategies. It reveals Just hew a wealthy Georgia businessman -- one et the local gentry -- became,. politically close, first to the., Atlanta ltablishment, them; to leading figures of the national power structure based in New York. This book analyzes '. power brokers' strategic; objectives for theiles, the' new era of energy crisis, renewed cold war and crumbling financial in- stitutions. It shows how they plan to sell the political candidates soluiiotn.who accept their , SF'cOIRThotsUNES by Mary Standing at her windows, scanning 'the land from thee orange groves below to the;, d foothilis miles away, T y 11hb Leod aoeg 1 she doe. not own, g . they last Of her fine, and orae et the richeit''wonie n In America, Now, at32 theji finding tha her gest & vete se hold the Nothings ti.,'I . most.