The Lucknow Sentinel, 1996-01-17, Page 4Page 4— Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, January 17, 1996
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mbiu$ bill reeks of elitism;
lack of respect for democracy
omatter where you stand on the
• Harris government's spending cuts,
• the quiet introduction of an
' omnibus bill the -clay after the economic
statement should worry you.
'
The bill reeks of elitism and a lack of
respect for democracy. •
° An omnibus bill is a„piece of legislation
in which changes brought on by the eco-
nomic statement, along with a myriad of
other subtle changes to legislation, are
rolled into one huge.document which can
be passed all at once. This allows' the Tories
to circumvent some debate on issues in the
Legislature.
This is not the first time an omnibus bill
has been used in Ontario, The NDP did. it.
The Liberals used it,But this bill accrues
new powers to the cabinet and brings in
other pieces of ideologically -driven legisla-
tion that should be more open for public
debate.
•In an age. when Canadians. have been
calling for more public input into important
legislation, this bill is a risky step backward
for the Tories,
• The Toronto Star reported that the bill
had twen prepared with 'great secrecy.'aiiit
Conservative backbenchers had to scramble
to -find` out aboutthe bill on the day it was
introduced. For -a riding which sent a non -
• cabinet minister to Tdronto we should be
concerned about the startling lack of input
some backbenchers have been given.
A piece of legislation rolled into the
omnibus bill brings in changes to the
Freedom of Information and Protection of
Privacy Act. As a journalist, information is
• our lifeblood. The freedom of Information
Act has provided journalists with the ability
to get documents the government would
rather the public not know about.
• Changes to section 10 of the FOIA
would allow refusal tia request for access
to information .on the grounds that that
request is"frivolous or vexatious."
,Both terms are extremely subjective, and
conjure up visions of a bureaucrat gleefully
stamping requests alternately 'Frivolous' or
'Vexatious'.
The costs of requests for access to infor-
mation will also increase. For the first time,
we will be charged to find out personal
information ° about ourselves that the gov-
ernment has in its archives. •
- Another area of the omnibus bill that
scares me is the alteration of useful'-envi-
rotunental laws that reined in pillaging of
• the environment by large industries such as
mining and forestry.
For example, mining- companies have
nuke chance.to pollute. They will no longer
be accountable to the government for clean,
. ing up. toxic waste produced during a min-
ing operatibn when the company leaves.
The company needs only to approve the
shutdown plan itself and tell the govern-
-mem it has reached acceptable standards.
There will be no outside evaluation, except
' for random checks.„
That's like telling *child to tell mom or
dad when they've snuck some chocolate
chip cookies. Mom only finds out if she
474heckS the bag each day,'
The bill also reduces time required for
environmental assessment of projects. The
damming of rivers and clearing of forests
will be easier. •
The rhetoric coming from the mouths of
the opposition parties when they found out
about the omnibus bill was as vitriolic as
anything that has been seen for a while in'
the Legislature. Liberal 'leader Lynne
MacLeod-- and NDP leader Bob Rae were
ejected from the Legislature.
They may have overdone it, but we all
should be concerned and keep a wary eye'
on the Harris cabinet, which is pulling more
and more of the decisions of government
behind its own closed doors. --(John Greig
Signal Star)
The story
behind
• bureau - this word started
life as meaning a "desk,"
•because French writing
tables in the 17th century
were covered with a coarse
woolen colored cloth called
burel, from the French word
for "dark red." From
bureau, meaning a writing
table, it was a -short step to
calling the room or office in
which the table stood a
• bureau also.
And from there the word
came to be a applied -to gov-
ernment departments Or
• agencies, and to other agen.4
• cies,supplying a particular
• service, like a travel bureau.
•The word bureau was
combined ,with the Greek
word kratos meaning
"power," to produce
the word
"bureaucracy," a centralized
form of government by offi-
cials (bureaucrats) responsi
ble only to their departmen-
tal chiefs. • •
Both "bureaucracy" and
"bureaucrat" are words that
are now used dismissively
or contemptuiwsly.
Mysteries of the Phone
from 19/6
Little Dolly, who Was
staying with her aunt, heard
her Mother's „voice through
' the telephone. She listened,
and looking 'carefully at the
mouth of the telephone said:
"Olt, auntie, how will inoth4
er get out of that little
hole?'
•
• 'Twat. "the life of Riley' •
young. Cullen 'Hackett
was enjoying fast
. Wednesday when -mom
GKathy.; laced up the
•skates • and °Noted-
.
some time, at the MOMS
and„.tott,sessinnt at
the:Sports.:conviex,.,
Mom did aPI the work,
puiling fiele:sioungest:
on the sled with Cullen
thoroughly enjoying, it.
(Pat Livingston phOt0)..
,i• " ,
. • . , • . , • ,
•
•
The Sentinel Memoirs
•.cars ago
A. 21,1926
04;e4.1 skunk -
blew...) get 100 skunk skins -
Provincial Constable Bone of
Walkerton has been working on a
rather extensive theft case at Port Elgin.
It seems that sometime early on Jan. 12,
thieves entered the warehouse of Beube
Zelkind, in Port Elgin, and stole 200 skunk
hides valued at nearly $500.
It is- thought that the thieves had an
inside knowledge of the situation, taking
advantage of Mr. Zelkind's absence to
commit the robbery.
Those revenue stamps - It appears to
be as much trouble now to keep revenue •
stamps off cheques and receipts as at first
it was to put them on.
Nobody regretted the changewhich
made stamps unnecessary on cheques °for
amounts under $5, and on receipts for
mounts under $10, but the man who does-
n't write many cheques or receipts forgets
about the change. In order to make sure
that he is giving the Department of Finance
all that is coming to it, he puts a stamp on
anyway.
There are others of course - there
always has been - who for fear they give'
the said Department a cent too rnueh, don't
put a stamp on even the cheques and
„receipts that require them.
50 years ago
•Jan. 171945
urs home and business here - Spr.
Herb McQuillin, who recently
returned from overseas, where he
spent than five years with the Royal
Canadian Engineers, has bought both a
home and business in Lucknovv. '
Herb has purchased the fixtures in
'Donald McCharlest fruit store and obtains
possession of the premises on Feb. 1,
where he Will conduct a business similar to
what Donald did. The building is owned
by the municipality. •
The home which Mr. and Mrs.
McQuillin have bought is that of the late
Wm. Armstrong, Sr., on the gore road near
tho flaxrnill.
Rail debt nears retirement - Ashfield
ratepayers in the Western Division have
but two more payments to make to retire
the debt of the ill-fated West ,Shore
Railway, on which they have been paying
a levy of approximately five mills for
about 40 years.
• Recently the right-of-way was sold to
• the .province and Ashfield's share of this
sale was $198840. •
Throughout these years, this railway
debt has meant on the average 100 -acre
farm an annual levy of about $20.
15 years ago
Jan. 21,1981
harles Webster receives plaque -
The Lucknow Agricultural Society
presented a plaque to Charles
Webster, Lucknow,, in appreciation ,of the
Work he has done to coordinate the Miss
Mid -western Ontario pageant held in Con-
junction with the annual Lucknow Fall
Fair. The presentation was made at the
annual meeting Jan. 15.
Mr. Webster created the idea of the
pageant to stimulate interest in the fair and
the first pageant was held in 1965. Until
last year, the winner of the pageant went
on to compete in the Miss Dominion, of
Canada pageant, which is no longer being
held, •
This past year the Lucknow Agricultural
Society obtained a five-year franchise for
the Miss Mid -western Ontario pageant to
assure that it will continue in conjunction
With the local fair.
s