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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-09-19, Page 44 Times—Advocate Wednesday, September 19, 2007 zkocna TIMES ADVOCATE Editorial Opinion PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. Canada Jim Beckett — Publisher Deb Lord — Production Manager Scott Nixon — Editor .F CNA 2007 BLUE RIBBON NERES YouR ALLOL -NEXT! Si ft The Times -Advocate is owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Media Group Ltd. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL Dion hurting Monday's byelections in Quebec can only be seen as a major blow to Stephane Dion and his Liberals. On the same token, the Conservatives and NDP are happy today as both parties picked up seats in La Belle Province. The byelection was built up as an important barometer of what kind of inroads Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were making into Quebec and how successful Dion and his Liberals have been at improving their party's reputation. Today, Conservatives are happy; Liberals, not so much. Of the three byelections, the Conservative, NDP and Bloc Quebecois each won one seat. The NDP came up with a big victory over the Liberals in the Outremont riding, a riding that has nearly always gone Liberal in the past. And on the plus side (for those of us who want Quebec to remain in Canada), the Bloc lost sup- port in all three byelections. Whenever the Bloc loses, it's a good development for the rest of the country. And that party is now looking in the mirror and questioning its direction. They're probably also troubled by Harper's success Monday. But the biggest story developing out of Monday's byelections could be the poor showing of Dion and the Liberals. Dion clearly is still struggling in his role as leader and, while he is well respected as a thoughtful, intelligent man who seems to have the country's best interests at heart, he may simply not have the personali- ty to be a successful leader. Dion kept a stiff upper lip Monday (he had no choice), saying, "It's clear that many people did not vote for us tonight, but they listened to us and they respect us. Respect comes first. The support will follow." Even if that's true, can the Liberals afford to keep Dion as their leader while they wait for that support? Or do they put pressure on him to step aside and make room for another Liberal, someone like Michael Ignatieff, who has much support among party faithful? There isn't any immediate pressure, because Harper is in no hurry to call an election until he gets into majority territory, but the clock could be ticking on Dion's leadership. About the Times -Advocate Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate Crime and no punishment It's an odd feeling looking at a crime scene. Especially when it's your truck that is the scene and what used to be your CD player is nothing more than a hole in the dashboard with the wires cleanly snipped and the rest of the plug- ins still dangling Statistics Canada believes that break-ins and thefts are non-violent crimes. Maybe they are. But whoever decided that prob- ably never had that punched -in -the -gut feeling of seeing a gaping hole in the con- sole where a stereo used to be, or the scattered bits of wire and debris on the floor. To be honest I was and am more puz- zled than angry that someone went to the effort and risk of carefully removing what seemed to me a stereo not worth that much. I could have understood a smash and grab more than the way it was done. It wasn't just the pro- fessional way in which it was removed, somehow opening the locked door as well having to pop open the glove compartment to fmd the faceplate, especially since the glove compartment wasn't wrenched open, but carefully popped open from behind so as not to damage it. As well as doing as little damage as possible, our thief thoughtfully locked the door behind him so as to prevent any other passersby from remov- ing whatever was left. I didn't bother calling the police. My stereo is probably already on the way to Japan or whereever else cheap stereos go, where it will be enjoyed by some slightly balding middle-aged Japanese guy who can use it to listen to his coun- try and western music, although whoever removed it from my truck mustn't have been a fan since he/she didn't bother to take my prized mixed version of truck driving hits of the '70s. Was there a point to bringing a constable to the parking lot for half an hour to write down my information when he could have been on something more important? Was it worth telling the insurance company about the theft just to be told that the stereo doesn't equal the cost of the AMY PAT B BACK 40 VIEW OLEN deductible while also having another note put in your file about `incidents.' And even if the evil -doer was somehow apprehended, after seeing the 'go forth and sin no more' punishments handed down in Exeter Court on a monthly basis, the point of trying to track him down is even less worthwhile. Like too many other things, crime has become disposable. The throw away society has been extended to the point where it's easier to simply move on and buy another cheap stereo instead of demanding or even hoping property be returned. Dime a dozen thefts are essentially unsolvable and in the end, it will go into that mysterious cat- egory called non -reported crime, like it never happened. By the way, the stereo scratches CDs. Enjoy. Anybody got an AM radio they're not using? Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. Contact Us By Phone or Fax Classified ad & subscription sales 519-235-1331 24-hour automated attendant 519-235-1336 Fax number for all departments 519-235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $42+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $75+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada:$160+GST Call 519-235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $12 for 20 words, 20(t for each additional word+ GST. Notices (births, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $15 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. 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