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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-09-24, Page 2OPINION ,EHuron p ositorP SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Incorporating Brussels Post 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published In SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor The Expositor Is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes. Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Guichelaar, Anne Hull, Joanne Jewitt, Danne McGrath, Lois McLlwaln, Bob McMillan, Cathy Malady and Patrick Raltis. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: Canada $20.00 a year, In advance Outside Canada $60.00 a year, in advance Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1986 Second class mail registration Number 0696 cn Action overdue While each day's news reports almost always contain news of some form of the es the media lalso ent acolntain news on by rof new action ton combatr thld, e problem eldom op ob emof global terrorism. That is why, it was encouraging to see a report of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's endorsemetanother aep optaleod interna conal anti-terrorist force, counterbalancing y n in which terrorist bombers were responsible for five deaths and 58 injuries last in an a in by Israeli Prime Minister ssSh monh ursday. The planlan,, proposed calls for p the creation of a force which could be called into action by a member country when terrorists launch an operation within its territory. The de the scope of rth Atlantic TreatY rrf an Organice zation e Western military alliance t -- because NATO Teaty 9 needs unanimity to act, said Mr. Peres. It would consist of small armed units located in various parts of the world, to be•used by countries that have no anti-terrorist teams of their own. The need for such a force has never been more evident than now, In the face of the disasterous handling of the attempted hijacking American jet in Karachi; earlier this month. Twenty people lost their lives when Pakastani police, probably not the world's best -equipped anti-terrorist squad, attempted to reclaim the jet from the hijackers. A specialized force might have been able to defuse the crisis with a lower, if not nil, body count. So far, efforts to reduce the incidence of world-wide terrorism have been futile, perhaps because the only tactics employed so far have been threats and rhetoric. Retaliatory strikes, like the American attack on Libya, only to fuel he escalation of serve heviolencetClea Clearly, distrusts of hate and such after -the -fact arednoot the solution. However, if terrorists were aware their actions would be met by reaction from a specially -trained anti-terrorist force, rather than a panic response from un -nerved local officials, perhaps they would begin to think twice before endangering lives, including their own. — P.R. Conservatives in trouble Other fish to fry FROM THIS ANGLE by Patrick Raftis Such trifling matters as politics do, notes a rule, find their way into the space between the top of this page and the scenic editorial picture below. No, usually these hallowed confines resound with news of more weightly matters, such as the current running condition of my automobile or my staggering litany of gripes about the world-wide conspiracy of abuse directed at weekly newspaper reporters. Not by accident, does this happen. I intentionally avoid devoting any of this space to political commentary, because 1 feel that far too much of the world's supply of newsprint is wasted in chronicling the antics of the politically inclined, Also, people generally take their politics fairly seriously, while the sentences contained herein usually deal with matters of a more ridiculous nature. Politicians are seldom amusing -- bemusing perhaps -- but not amusing. However, recent events on Parliament Hill, would seem to indicate that some of our most prominent politicians are trying desper- ately to improve their image with fans of comedy, perhaps in the misguided hope of attracting an offer to appear on Saturday Night Live. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, for example, has recently abandoned his image as a composed, silver-tongued leader of men, in favor of one more befitting a sulky school boy. I am referring to the recent furor over a recent attempt by friends of former prime minister, the late John Diefenbaker, to organize a dinner in the man's honor. Said dinner, for whatever reason (so many explanations have been offered it is useless to now attempt to determine the real one) was to be held without the presence of Mr. Mulroney. Someone in Mr. Mulroney's office, pos- sibly at the urging of the PM himself, took offense at this apparent snub, and set off a chain reaction of complaints which led to the cancellation of the dinner. Ross Charles, one of the organizers of the aborted dinner, tried to smooth the situation by claiming Mr, Mulroney was not invited "because he had other fish to fry." It is not known the exact variety of fish Mr. Mulroney was obligated to be frying on the night of the dinner, but it to be hoped they were not tuna fish. The prime minister has probably had quite enough of those for one lifetime. Actually, the fishy part of the whole thing, is that we've elected a man to run our country, who can't even get himself on the guest list of a function held by members of his own political stripe. Only in Canada. eh? The Liberal party, is faring little better in the way of maintaining an air of seriousness about their party. Following close on the heels of the release of polls which show the Liberals in the best political position they have been in since the party was soundly rejected at the polls two years ago, the party has been embarrassed by the ridiculous prospect of senior members calling for a leadership review. It seems that bringing the party back up to an even footing with the Conservatives has not been enough of an accomplishment for John Turner, in the eyes of party stratigist Senator Keith Davey. • The Liberals are now wasting a valuable chance to gain political ground on their opponents, while they spend their time brushing the mud slung by Mr. Davey, off the usually -impeccable suit coat of Mr. Turner. At the same time, the liberals are doing their best to discredit the Senator, with the ultimate result of making the whole party look incompetent. The NDP meanwhile, who should be taking this opportunity to stand up and point out to ' the voters of this country that they are at least the only major party in the country not currently embroiled in a heated battle with itself, have taken another approach. They have announced they will reduce their efforts to attract voters in parts of the country where people actually do occasionally cast a ballot their way. Instead, party boss Ed Broadbent has stated, they will be making a concerted effoi't to swim upstream and capture at least one seat in the province of Quebec, where the other two parties have a virtual stranglehold. And so, the question remains. While the Tories squabble over who will be invited to the next fish fry and the Liberals attempt to sell the television rights to a new sport called WWF Grit Mud Wrestling and the NDP bones up on its french -- who, praytell, is running the country. Not these guys,. that's for sure -- they've got other fish to fry, Free to be -, Just me! - St. James ptiara a Sctogi Lack of foresight costly As I sit down to write this column I have no aches and pains, but i know they'll soon set in. I attended my first broomball practice Monday night. Admittedly it wasn't a hard practice, but as out of shape as I am at this point in time, anything requiring the least amount of movement can be classified as overly strenuous in my book. i moved some muscles that haven't seen movement in such a l00000ng time. My first obstacle was remembering how to put on the equipment, but once that was overcome and I finally straggled onto the ice L was sure it would all be a downhill ride. And actually once the initial shock -of the cold air hitting my ill-ppreppared lungs wore off, things didn't go too badly- I guess. Once i figured out it was broomball I was playing, and not golf, and quit trying to take divots out of the ice, things progressed a little easier. And my shoulders and elbows rejoiced. Unfortunately i was no spectacle to behold. Much as I wanted it to my performance wasn't hot enough to melt the ice in the least. My shots rarely hit the net, and when they did Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his Conservative government marked the midway point in their mandate, September 4 with a deluge of polls that said the government is in trouble. Despite the polls, Mulroney says he remains confident that he and his government are doing good for Canada and that their achievements are being overshadowed by Insignificant things such as a case of rancid tuna. Canadians must be pretty well off, sayh the prime minister if people can become preoccupied with tuna scandals. Indeed, the Mulroney government has achieved a new energy agreement with the western oil producing provinces, a sense of national reconciliation between the provinces and the federal government whose relationship was terribly strained during the Trudeau years, deregulation of the transportation industry, new divorce laws, and the possibility that Quebec may be willing to negotiate its entry into the constitution. The two years since the election which gave the Conservatives the largest mandate ever in Canadian political history, have seen steady economic growth, lower interest rates and modest Job creation. Whether these improvements are a result of government policy or the side effects of the recovery after the recession, depends on who you ask. While Mulroney says Canadians are overlooking his government's achievements, the undeniable fact remains, the government is in trouble where the electorate is concerned and Mulroney knows it. He has appointed Dalton Camp, former president of the national Conservative party, as special advisor and Camp will become the first person to sit in on cabinet meetings who has not been elected by the people. The prime minister's integrity is being questioned and this perhaps more than anything will continue to cause him concerri over the remaining two years of his mandate. The broken promise on de -indexing seniors pensions, his abrupt change In support of free trade, the privatization of government corporations, the sacred trust of university in social programs and his own exaggeration leave Canadians concerned they cannot trust their prime minister. - The government appears to be flying by the seat of Its pants. Mulroney knew how to win an election but he has no agenda for ttoverning and his government seems to stumble along from one crisis to the next. Preoccupied with his own - popularity, Mulroney appears to be conducting one endless election campaign. His priority appears to be winning the next election and staying in power rather than Setting forth policy objectives on a clear agenda and then proceed�,lg toward a goal. When he does set out his policies and objectives, .h1S government is always sidetracked by the next scandal or crisis. His government cannot manage its own timetable even though the opposition has been particularly disorganized. Once the Liberals get their act together as they are sure to do before the next election, the government will be even harder pressed .to manage the show. While Mulroney Is dedicated and he works hard, it seems the Tories lack experience in being a government, the type of experience gained from years In power. Unfortunately unless they can pull things together, they may find themselves ousted from power or shifted to aminority y situation before they have time to gain that experience. Signal Star SWEAT SOCKS by Heather Mcllwraith they kind of whimpered along the Ice • hardly a tough shot to stop. All my scoop? shots skidded along the surface of the ice, and all my slap? shots rocketed for the ceiling - or sent the ball into. retreat (you know • in the wrong direction). What an athlete! Who introduced me to this game anyway? When after45 minutesof practicing, and in my case getting nowhere, our coach decided we should put our skills to use and - scrimmage, I thought he must be daft. After all, I hadn't any skills 1 felt were worthy enough to put to use and Ididn't want to make a mockery of the game. He insisted that I and the other 11 equally deplorable souls at practice, follow his initial instructions. The scrimmage began. 1 was glad rd decided to wear my knee pads for the practice, and helmet for that matter, since I found myself, as 1 often did last year. skidding in the horizontal or near horizontal position towards the nearest boards, or menacing broom. For the most part too, I found I was able to pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on. Things of course felt a little better once my hand stopped bleeding. That is until.... We shout d have been more insistent when we requested a no dieeking rule for the scrimmage. But we weren't and had I known how easy it teas to forget the fact we were only in a practice, and competing against our own team members, I might have insisted that 1 be on the same squad as our team's foremost checker. But 1 didn't. I paid dearly for that lack of foresight. The (Continued on Page A31 Ontario's training strategy Fbr Ontario to compete on a world scale, it must have a workfare, that is trained to be the world's best. A year ago, Premier David Peterson promised to put in place a contemporary Otitis training system as part of a balanced. economic policy for Ontario. Now, Skills Development Minister Greg- ory Sorbara has announced Ontario's Train- ing Strategy, a bold new initiative which follows on an extensive review of previous skills training programs. It complements the successful FUTURES program introduced by the Ontario liberal Government as well as the apprenticeship system of long-term training in traditional industries. "Ontario's Training Strategy doubles our investment in the skills of our working people by committing $100 million annually," said Mr. Sorbara. This matches the funding dedicated to Ontario's technological, scien- tific and educational infrasfrruc-rure through the Premier's Council. Over the next five years, more than a million workers will benefit from Ontario's new skills training programs. Ontario's Training Strategy will increase the participation of business and workers in ongoing, work related training. It will help make training and retraining a regular experience in the workplace. It will strength- en the competitive position of Ontario industries. And it will nurture the develop- ment of a training culture in Ontario worthy of our outstanding traditions in education. In the past, little attention has been directed towards the critical need to upgrade and modernize the skills of the employed workforce. This provides the Ontario Liberal and Government with both an opportunity responsibility to demonstrate leadership in workplace training. Ontario's Training Strategymakes training and sidles development a planned strategic investment that is essential to Ontario's JACK'S JOTTINGS by Jack Riddell, MPP future prosperity. The training strategy has five vital components. Together, they will help Ontario maintain its competitive posi- tion. 'The foundation of the training strategy is a professional training Consulting Service. This will provide expert advise to Ontario firms, allowing them to take advantage of competitive training strategies. Funding is 615 million. To encourage an investment in training, the strategy provides incentives to business. The Ontario Skills program offers financial assistants to firms that provide training for their employees. Small ant' medium sized firms will be the principal benefidaries of this program. Funding is $43 million for all Training Incentives to firms. To help maintain a competitive skilled trades base for the economy, a Trade Updatingprogriun offers short-term courses to those already in skilled trades. Funding is $4 million. Training Access programs are a corner- stone of the training strategy. Their goal is to makesicills training an ongoing activity of the workplace and to give Ontario workers fair Literacy, numeracy and equitable access to that training. other basic skills training is essential to training access, Funding is $32 million. . The "fifth eontponent is an Institute for Skills Training, to be established in 1987 in partnership, with business, labour and educators., It will develop high-quality training materials and professional -training personnel. Funding is 66 million. "Through this training strategy, we are presenting a concrete and urgent challenge to the private seder," Mr. Sorbara said. "We are saying that training must become a normal part of doing business." ADVISORY COelMTrri �ONLIQUOR REGULATION In an attempt to get as much public input as possible, the Ontario Advisory Committee on liquor Regulations began on September 2 and will tour 18 cities throughout the province, seeking public input on existing liquor regulations. The committee which is a pint effort of the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial he Liquor Licence Board of: Ontario ah ndtthe Liquor Control Board of Ontario, is oemposed of representation of the two boards and will be charged by Stephen Offer M.P.P., Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations as well as taking written submis- sions, the committee will seek verbal briefs front the general public at several locations close to the riding of Huron -Middlesex. They include: Monday, September 22, 9 a.m. Owen Sound City Hall; Thursday, October 23, 9 a. -m Kitchener City Hall; Wednesday, October 29, 9 a.m. London City Hall. ARTS GRANT I am pleased to announce on behalf of my colleague lily Munro, the Minister of Culture and Recreation a grant of $6,000 to the Seaforth Harmony Hi=L ites under the Mini- stry's program to purchase new uniforms.