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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-03-18, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, March 18, 2015 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company MARIE DAVID Sun Media Group Publisher - Grey Bruce Huron Division 519-364-2001 or 519-372-4301 NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max.bickford@sunmedia.ca TARA OSTNER Reporter clinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca TERESA SMITH Front Office clinton.classifieds©sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GS1) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous dem together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services ata wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Govemment of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Al ocna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association editorial Vets deserve equal treatment QMI Agency It boggles the mind that the support a wounded veteran receives changes based on their status. Why would a reservist get less support than a member of the regular forces if the injury they're both deal- ing with is the same? It just doesn't make sense. Once someone is out there serving their coun- try, we know they give it their all regardless of their status. That's why we owe it to them to give them everything we can if they get injured. They look out for us and we look out for them. That's the pact that citizens and taxpayers must have with the men and women who protect us. On Friday, Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole announced that starting next month injured veteran reservists along with the families of fallen reservists will be paid the same benefits as full-time Canadian Armed Forces members. This is on top of the announcement O'Toole made on Monday for new payments for disa- bled veterans over 65. It's clear what's going on here. This is an election year. The government is mak- ing nice. They're reading the tealeaves. They're making up for all the negative press Julian Fantino received when he held the cabinet post. Fantino got a lot of heat, especially for the decision to close regional Veterans Affairs offices. The government clearly wants to earn back respect and do the right thing. Back in January when Fantino was shuffled out, the Royal Canadian Legion welcomed the appointment of O'Toole. In a statement Tom Eagles, Dominion presi- dent of the Legion, noted: "This is a politi- cal move and we will not concern ourselves with the reasons behind it." Wise words and ones we agree with. These latest announcements are clearly political as well. Does it matter? Liberal Veterans Affairs critic Frank Vale- riote said in a statement that, "Canadians see this government is only provoked by public pressure, not concern for those who have served. The Conserva- tives have let this gap in benefits persist for nearly a decade." It's pretty clear public pressure is the motivat- ing force. But if these moves are political, at least they're the right ones. In this instance, better late than never. r column MPP DiNovo should be applauded Tara Ostner The Clinton News Record Last Wednesday NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo announced a bill that would officially ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children and teens. Conversion therapy, namely, therapy based on pseudoscience, aims to change sexual orienta- tion from homosexual to heterosexual. "Most people in Ontario would be shocked to know that there are psychiatrists who are trying to turn queer kids straight and that taxpayers are paying for it," DiNovo states. "This is who these children are - if they are trans, or gay, or lesbian - and forcing them to go to someone who thinks that that's a disease is tan- tamount to abuse." If passed, the bill, called the Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, would also prohibit OHIP coverage of con- version therapy for adults. DiNovo should be applauded for bringing this issue to the table and the passing of this bill would be an entirely necessary step in the right direction. Indeed there are adults who feel confused, ashamed and even frightened by who they find sex- ually attractive. It is truly sad and unfortunate that people feel this way as they should feel no more shame about being attracted to the same sex than they feel about the colour of their eyes. Nevertheless, if adults feel this way and they want conversion therapy that's their choice. What makes conversion ther- apy so disgraceful, however, is the message that it sends to young people hence the neces- sity of ensuring that children and teenagers never have access to it. Telling children and teenagers that there is something wrong with them when they feel attracted towards members of the same sex, for instance, is, as DiNovo describes, no different than abuse. It is teaching chil- dren and teenagers that their natural feelings are an illness that has to be cured. This is not the 19th century; it's the 21st. We should be instilling in our children the confidence of character to know themselves and be themselves, not change themselves, and as parents and a society it is our obligation to pre- vent another generation of chil- dren from falling victim to igno- rance and hate. If we fail at this imperative task we will, again, end up with another generation of confused, ashamed and frightened adults or, in other words, another gen- eration of lost souls which is, undeniably, a tragedy in and of itself. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL ILO. 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