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The Times Advocate, 2004-03-17, Page 66 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday,March 10, 2004 Opinion Forum News Lambton-Kent- Middlesex MP seeks misleading -mailings explanation Dear Editor: I am writing to ask for your assistance in clearing up a matter that has recently been brought to my attention. Early last week, I began receiving constituent com- plaints regarding a mailing being sent to residents of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex by several Conservative - Alliance Members of Parliament, including: Stephen Harper, Carol Skelton, David Chatters, James Moore and Chuck Cadman. The said mailing read, in part, as follows: Your Member of Parliament, Rose -Marie, likes to boast that she voted against the Liberal gun registry in 1995. If Rose -Marie is so opposed to the registry, why didn't she vote against WASTING ANOTHER $59 million on it in 2003? Now instead of scrapping the costly gun reg- istry, Paul Martin has put Rose -Marie in charge of `improving' this billion -dollar sinkhole. On the back of the postcard -like mailing, printed under the words, "Office of the Leader of the Opposition" was the official logo of the Conservative Party of Canada. It should also be noted I have also been informed of a sim- ilar mailing advising my con- stituents that Paul Steckle is their Member of Parliament. As the Member of Parliament for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, I felt the need to clarify the misleading and inaccurate information that was contained in the mailing. While I am not asking you to help forward partisan information to your readership, I am requesting your assistance in clarifying the blatant misinformation that is being circulated by the Conservative -Alliance at taxpayers' expense. 1. I am the Member of Parliament for Lambton-Kent- Middlesex. I know that some residents of Lambton-Kent- Middlesex have been told by the Conservative -Affiance that Paul Steckle is their Member of Parliament; howev- er, this is simply not true. 2. I voted against Bill C-68, the Firearms Act in 1995 and continue to oppose the gun registry today. I would like to clarify that I have never voted for any funding going into the gun registry and do not plan to support any new funding in the future. 3. The Prime Minister has not placed me "in charge" of improving the firearms registry. If I were in charge of it—it would be gone! The Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Paul Martin actually placed the Honourable Albina Guarnieri, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Civil Preparedness) in charge of reviewing the gun registry. As I have been a vocal critic of the gun registry, Minister Guarnieri did ask for my comments and sug- gestions about the gun registry, which I have provided to her. However, it is important to note that only Minister Guarnieri will be providing the Prime Minister with her final recommendations on how to deal with the problems associated with the gun registry; which hopefully will take into account my recommendations. It is my hope that the government will acknowledge the reality that the long -gun registry is not effectively meeting its objectives or its budget and will act accord- ingly. I continue to advocate eliminating the registering of long guns and rifles and instead, would like to see the government focusing funding on other areas such as Customs (to reduce the flow of illegal weapons into Canada) and police services (to deal with the growing hand -gun problems in cities such as Toronto), just to name a few. In closing, your readership should be aware that I have brought this matter to the attention of the Speaker of the House of Commons. It is my hope that he will instruct the Members of Parliament involved that this is an inappropriate use of public resources. In the meantime, all constituents should know that I am their Member of Parliament and that I will continue to work on this issue closely. ROSE -MARIE UR, MP, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex SH PeeWees-- A good group of boys Dear Editor: To all South Huron Hockey Fans, In last week's paper, there was a letter submitted by a Tavistock hockey parent that reflected some negative comments that I would like to address. I am the proud coach of the South Huron Sabres PeeWee Rep team plus the father of four hockey players in our associa- tion. Please be assured that the South Huron PeeWees have represented our centre well all season long. They are a good group of boys that show respect to all opposing centres both off and on the ice. I was sorry to read that a Tavistock player received an injury while playing a game against our team. However there are two views and/or two opinions to each story. It appears that our PeeWee coaching staff shares the same opin- ion as that of the referees that called our game. The incident that the Tavistock parent referred to was NOT a hit after the whistle to end the game. Please do not read between the lines. The South Huron PeeWee player made a nice clean body check at the time of the whistle, NOT after the whistle. There is a big differ- ence. In all fairness to the wonderful game of hockey, the wrist injury to the Tavistock player probably occurred because of the positioning of his arm as he went into the boards or by the way he fell onto the ice. Rest assured the South Huron Sabres PeeWee Rep team will continue to represent our centre with skill and pride as they complete their hockey season during the upcoming weeks. Best regards, PAUL OVERHOLT Harness and Shipley seek Conservative nomination MIDDLESEX-KENT-LAMBTON — Brad Harness and Bev Shipley are two of the candidates seeking to repre- sent residents of the new federal riding of Middlesex- Kent-Lambton for the Conservative Party of Canada. Brad Harness Conservative Party of Canada candidate Brad Harness says voters across the riding are worried about the ethical and financial behaviour of the gov- ernment under the Liberals. "I have been speaking with voters across the riding and they are telling me that this latest Liberal fiasco — the sponsorship scandal and its loss of $100 million federal tax dollars — may just be the tip of the ice- berg," says Harness. He adds voters have not forgotten about the $1 -bil- lion HRDC scandal or the Federal Gun Registry, which was supposed to cost about $80 -million up to now, but instead will cost Canadian taxpayers at least $1 billion. One recent estimate says that figure is modest: The real total will be nearly double that. "Taxpayers in Ailsa Craig, Nairn, Lucan, Granton, Ilderton, Denfield and Arva are saying they are dis- gusted with this latest scheme, and want to know who called the shots, where the $100,000,000 went, and want to see measures put in place to ensure nothing like this ever happens again," Harness explains. "They are clear on one other matter: They will take a look at all their options when they head to the polls this spring, and not give the Liberals carte -blanche again." The Liberals have dropped 15 per cent in public opinion polls in the month since the scandal became public knowledge. They now stand at 42 per cent to the Conservatives 32 per cent, and if those numbers hold, will be lucky to form a minority government. In the riding the race is even closer, with both parties neck and neck. Bev Shipley Bev Shipley of the Denfield area has also thrown his hat into the ring to seek the nomination of the Conservative Party of Canada for the electoral district of Middlesex-Kent-Lambton. "My background in public and private business, I believe, will be a very positive asset to the Conservative Party of Canada. I will also bring to the party a strong understanding of financial and management issues, and an open and decisive attitude that will consider the best interests of all the constituents of the Middlesex-Kent-Lambton riding." Shipley is currently the Mayor of Middlesex Centre, a position that he won in the fall election of 1997. He was one of the promoters in the amalgamation of smaller townships within Middlesex County, one of those being the successful formation of Middlesex Centre. Shipley has been involved with municipal poli- tics since first elected as a councillor for Lobo Township in 1986. He was Warden of Middlesex County in 1995 allowing him exposure and experience with several surrounding counties in the Western Warden's Association. While serving within the political arena, Shipley kept busy operating Greystead Farms, a purebred dairy and cash crop farm located within Middlesex Centre. In December 1997 he got out of the dairy business, leav- ing him with the crop land. Shipley has been and still is involved in a number of community committees and volunteer positions, some of which include: • Current vice chair of Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System • Current director and volunteer of the Western Fair Association • Current member and a past president of Ilderton Agriculture Society • Volunteer for 2002 International Plowing Match, Middlesex County • Current member and past Chair of Deacons' Board of Community Bible Church, Middlesex Centre • Past Executive Committee member of Middlesex Federation of Agriculture • Past Chair of the Provisional Joint Board of Lake Huron Water Supply System • Past Chair of Middlesex County Milk Board • Past committee member of London -Middlesex United Way • Past founding committee member of Komoka Seniors Home The nomination meeting will be held March 23, in Strathroy, at the Bear Creek Golf Club. The club is located at 571 Metcalfe Street East. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. What's one to do? Well, after only a few short months, the inevitable has already happened, I've run out of things to talk about. I mean sure, there's plenty to discuss; it's just a matter of deciding what to do. For example, I could talk about how much I would really like some sort of reliable vehicle that I could call my very own. Unfortunately, the constant financial aspect of post -secondary school is an ever present discouragement that only depresses me. So that's a no. There's also this whole Martha Stewart issue, but in all honesty, I don't care, not even a little. All I really have to say about it is that it's about time she was put away; she's made uncrafty people, such as myself, look bad for long enough. Living in Canada, the topic of weather is always available no matter what time of the year; it's too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry. I could go on about how I felt horribly let down by Mother Nature last week when my balmy 17 degree weather turned into snow. But on the bright side, I can still get a little more use out of my winter clothing, which delays me from spending money on new sum- mer attire. I've also been having a problem lately with certain people constantly bombarding me with requests of "Hey Toonk, why don't you write a column about me?" at least four times a day; mind you, it's the same person every time. I hope that this will finally put an end to it, because I can assure him that this is the best he's going to get. Being that March Break is just next week, I could complain about all these people who are going down south for the holidays while I remain here, but in all honesty, it really doesn't bother me too much. I can wait until the summer to spend a week floating around a pool, that way I could put money towards a trip that would have a little more of a cultural experience to it, instead of over staying at a resort with nothing but fellow North -Americans just looking for a good tan and the coveted "all inclusive" drink package. So all I have to say to all of those people is wear sunscreen, and of course, don't drink the water - or at least don't have ice cubes in your drinks. I could also take a political side to things, such as the situation in Haiti and how I find it odd that there doesn't seem to be really that much of an interest in it on the American side. Here you have a leader who was run out of his country while rebels attempt to take control. Being that Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, it's obvious that no good is going to come from this, especially when it forces those who were already foreign volunteers to flee, leaving orphan children without the care they need. For a country that seems to feel like they should be involved in the affairs of every country in world, the U.S. hasn't really seemed to be terribly interested; maybe someone should claim that Haiti is secretly rich with oil or some other resource, that will make America think of the well-being of those citizens for sure. But being that I'm still just a high school student, I'm sure that my political views will be of little interest to many people. So, I suppose for the time being I'll have to accept that there's really not too much to talk about; maybe next week. DEBRA TOONK