HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-08-03, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News, August 3, 1978
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Dollars well spent
While treasurer Darcey McKeough is wrestling
with what departments should get the axe or at
least have their activities severely curtailed as the
MPP from Chatham moves onward in his quest for
a balanced budget for this province, there is one
government agency that has more than proven its
worth.
The establishment of the office of the Om-
budsman has proven a boon for those individuals
frustrated by the mass of government red tape and
bureaucracy that we all have to contend with today.
According to a release from the Ombudsman
office, in the period from October 1, 1977 to March
31, 1978, over 3600 complaints were received, an in-
crease of 38 percent from the previous six month
period.
Arthur Maloney suggests that the increasing
number of complaints indicates that the public is
becoming more aware of the jurisdiction of the
Ombudsman and what the office can or cannot do.
An indication of the increased profile which the
office has assumed is the proposal by the Om-
budsman for the establishment of a branch office to
serve the residents of northern Ontario. Maloney
says he receives many more complaints from
northern Ontario residents than from any other
part of the province.
The establishment of such an office appears to
be a good idea what with the costs involved of ac-
commodations for staff and the rental of facilities
while working in the northern part of the province.
The Ombudsman's annual budget of a little
over four million dollars per year is but a mere
drop in the bucket as far as the province's overall
budget is concerned and are.dollars well spent.
A weird concoction
• One of Canada's foremost constitutional ex-
perts has called the federal government's proposals
for constitutional reform "a nightmare". Senator
Eugene Forsey, himself a member of the Liberal
Party, feels the constitutional package is such a
"weird concoction" that he would be ready to have
the Senate throw it out if it reaches the Upper
House.
That's pretty strong stuff when you remember
that the Senate hasn't thrown out a bill for more
than 40 years. Mr. Forsey finds fault with many
areas of the proposals that were presented to the
Commons last month under the title. "A Time for
Action".
He contends that the constitution program is so
badly drafted that proposals would turn
Canada
into a republic and make the Queen a sort of deputy
of the Governor General. That should raise the ire
of monarchists and staunch defenders of the throne
such as John Diefenbaker.
But Forsey doesn't stop there. He speculates
that the constitutional proposals were drawn up to
keep the provinces from demanding that the
federal government transfer much of its decision
making power to them. He figures it this way: The
provinces would be appeased by allowing them to
make appointments to the Supreme Court and the
Upper House. But the government would have to
think that the provinces would curb their demands
for a greater say in the running of the country simp-
ly because they are allowed to make a few more
political appointments' (defeated candidates?) to
yet another government body.
The translation of the proposals into each
language also leaves something to be desired. Cer-
tain things included in the English version are left
out in the French. It looks to Forsey as if the docu-
ment had been drafted first in French and then had
been very incompletely translated into very poor
English.
The Prime Minister hopes to have his proposals
for constitutional reform adopted in two phases.
The first, dealing jurisdic-
tion,
matters of federal 'urisdic-
tion, would be dealt with by July 1, 1979 and the se-
cond, needing provincial approval, by 1981.
It's obvious a lot of work has to be done before
any changes are made to our constitution. When a
Liberal Party member and constitutional expert
shoots the existing document full of holes, imagine
what the opposition will do.
The Prime Minister'obviously wanted to get the
hastily prepared initial document in front of the
people before calling a federal election. Forsey's
remarks lead us to believe the move could backfire.
Peterborough Review
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Miscellaneous
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By
TOM CREECH
It just proves
we're human
There are times when some criticism has been
directed towards this newspaper in terms of what
we covered or how we covered it. Many times this
criticism has been justified.
What this column will attempt to do is to ex-
plain or highlight some of the boobs which this
newspaper has propigated on you, the reader.
If you'll take a look at this past week's paper
and look at the photo on the front page with the cap-
tion "Precocious Pigs", you will see the word
"bovine" used as synonym for the word pig.
My apologies to the hogs of Canada.
According to some of the staff at the newspaper
who are more farm oriented than this writer, the
correct word for our swine friends is "porcine.”
In what could be termed as two sins of omi-
sion, I failed to mention or show a picture of
agricultural society president Vince Doyle being a
member of the official party that opened the fair.
I can't use the excuse that the president was
still dressed as "Big Bird", although his foot ap-
parel was of a yellowish tinge.
Among the goofs which have happened this
year, on more than one occasion we've failed to
change the date on the mast head. It's always fun
filing back issues of newspapers in a proper se-
quence when you have two editions with the same
date.
Another problem which cropped up in the
earlier editions of this newspaper which this editor
was responsible for, concerned the words "loose,
lose and loss." For some unknown reason, I find it
damn difficult to determine which word is which.
Back a few months ago such a lack of proper usage
found its way onto the editorial page which is one
place that you do not want to make errors.
Continuing along the theme "my most favorite
mistakes", there was time back in May and June in
which it was virtually impossible for this writer to
take a half -decent picture. Either my equipment
continually blew it or its human operator did
likewise.
To those subjects who waited many a minute
for this writer to get his act together only to find
their picture not in the paper, I offer this belated
apology.
Now, all you'll have to contend with is a
photographer who's not all that familiar with a
camera that he purchased last week to replace the
much maligned (from me) twin lens reflex which
has been sitting in a camera repair shop for the
past five weeks. I hope it enjoyed its vacation
because when the camera doctor gets around to
making it feel better, the Yashica will find that it's
out of a job.
The inspiration for this column came from Jim
Hagarty, a cohort in arms over at the Mitchell Ad-
vocate.
Mr. Hagarty had experienced what one could
call a bad week back in the colds of January and
took it upon himself to purge himself of the devil
known only as "Mistake" in his column.
The following quote from that column is ditto
as far as this writer is concerned. "I would like to
exonerate the other members of -this newspaper
staff by pointingoutmy most recent mistakes. This
is not a particular looked -forward -to exercise, but
maybe by detailing some of my slip-ups, the frazzl-
ed feelings of those who have been disappointed can
be soothed."
If nothing else, mistakes prove that one is
Please turn to page 5
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100
Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Member:
Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association
Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association
News Editor - Tom Creech
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
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