Huron Expositor, 2014-04-23, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 23, 2014
www.seaforthhuronexpositor com
aforth
Ion Expositor
PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860
P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street
Seaforth Ontario NOK
phone: 519-527-0240
fax: 519-527-2858
www.seaforthhuronexpositor
SUN MEDIA
A Quebecor Media Company
NEIL CLIFFORD
Publisher
neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca
MAXWELL BICKFORD
Advertising Rep.
max.bickford@sunmedia.ca
DIANNE MCGRATH
Front Office
seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca
WHITNEY SOUTH
Multimedia Joumalist
seaforth.news@sunmedia.ca
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST)
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)
Publications Mail Agreement
No. 40064683
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
P.O. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO
For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns:
phone: 519-527-0240
Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical
error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together
with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the
balance of the advertisement wit be paid for at the applicable rate. In
the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a
wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely
an offer to set and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor
is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts,
photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes.
We acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical
Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.
Canacra
editorial
Government bungles
digital security, again
0 ur country being one of the most digitally wired
nations on the planet, Canadians need no lectures
on how to protect their sensitive personal informa-
tion — online or off.
But our governments need to be read the riot act on
privacy protection.
Even before the Heartbleed bug became a household
word, with the federal tax agency revealing the private
information of about 900 people was compromised by
hackers exploiting the software security flaw, we'd seen
one too many gaffes by digital dough -heads in the pub-
lic sector.
In Ontario, a privacy breach at its elections agency in
2012 stood to compromise data on up to four million
voters when two small computer storage devices inex-
plicably vanished.
Worse, the public wasn't even told until nearly three
months after the gaffe was detected.
Across Canada, 583,000 student loan borrowers were left
potentially exposed the same year when it was revealed a
hard drive from a giant federal department had disap-
peared, containing social insurance numbers, dates of
birth, addresses, phone numbers and loan balances. An
investigation found employees had flouted privacy laws
and mishandled sensitive files. Taxpayers were left on the
hook for millions of dollars in credit protection.
Nationwide, the bureaucratic bungling goes on and on.
The Canada Revenue Agency did not send out or lose the
files on the village of taxpayers burned by the Heartbleed
attack on its website. The Mounties have charged a
19 -year-old London computer science student with
exploiting the security bug to swipe taxpayer data.
Still, Canadians are entitled to ask why their federal gov-
ernment — one that's actively encouraged electronic filing
of income-tax returns — was using software vulnerable to
attack by a bug we now know the digital world has known
about for at least two years.
Tax returns are not like applications for hunting permits
or tourism brochures provided by government websites.
They contain some of the most sensitive data we have,
especially social insurance numbers — gold master keys
to ID theft.
Canadians not only need — but also are entitled, by pri-
vacy laws, right across this country — to better protection
from their governments.
Hopping down
the bunny trail
For a self-confessed city girl like
me, Easter morning usually took on
a pretty consistent theme.
A chocolate rabbit, copious
amounts of jellybeans and maybe
a foil -wrapped novelty egg or two
would show up sometime in the
early morning hours, ready to be
devoured in a chaotic display of
indulgence. This was usually fol-
lowed by a trip to church in a
flowery dress and a screening of
my all time favourite, Irving Ber-
lin's Easter Parade.
So imagine my surprise when I
learned all across our great
nation, and for our neighbours
down south, giving the gift of a
live bunny, or baby chick, is actu-
ally a really common thing.
There are even companies out
there who will dye these animals
for your special colour -matching
needs.
A hot pink bunny? Sure.
A bright purple chick? No
problem.
Because of this time-honoured
tradition, thousands of parents con-
tinue to spend their hard cash on
cute little fuzzballs, only to have
them lose their appeal after just a
couple days.
So what do they do with them
after the novelty wears off? They
toss them in the nearest farmer's
field, or ditch them at a local ani-
mal shelter.
Needless to say, the SPCA is not a
fan of the trend.
On their website, the organiza-
tion asks people to refrain from giv-
ing rabbits - or chicks and ducks -
as Easter gifts. Explaining while pet
guardianship is rewarding, getting a
pet as a gift for someone else,
whether at Easter or any other time
of year, may not be a good idea.
They go on to remind people
adopting a pet in a long-term
commitment, and not one to be
taken lightly.
Column
Whitney South
Huron Expositor
In fact, the Ontario branch has
even set up a website in an attempt
to find these neglected rabbits a
happy home with their Adopt a
Retired Easter Bunny program.
I just keep picturing Peter Cot-
tontail sitting in a rocking chair
having his dinner brought to him
by a little bunny nurse while he
wonders why his grandkids
haven't visited in a while.
No one can say I don't have a
vivid imagination.
Anyway, this topic continued to
encourage deep discussion
amongst my family and friends,
leading me to preach the dangers of
impulse animal shopping.
One person who actually lis-
tened to my babbling was my
cousin, actually taking what I had
to say to heart.
So, in an effort to help stem the
flow of unwanted animal abandon-
ment, she actually offered up some
rabbits and chicks from her farm for
rent on Exeter Buy and Sell.
That's right, Rent -A -Rabbit
Now, I may be a little bias, but girl
is a genius.
So on Good Friday, we traveled
around Huron County, delivering
chicks and bunnies to parents
who wanted to give their kids a
treat on Easter.
Talk about a great day.
And if the smiles of those par-
ents were any reflection of what
their kids would experience on
Easter morning, the plan was a
resounding success.
SEAFORTH HURON EXPOSITOR — HOURS OF OPERATION
MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-527-0240 • FAX: 519-527-2858
www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com
LET'S MAKE CANCER HISTORY
For information about cancer,
services of tcMake 2 darl2tielli
1.888.939.3333 • www.cancer.ca
Canadian
Cancer
Society
Saci6t6
cEutadienne
du cancer