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The Citizen, 1994-07-06, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 6,1994. The North Huron itizen<E> P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Orrt. N0M1H0 Phono 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, OnL NOG 1 HO Phono 887-9114 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell r«iO The Citizen is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier In Goderich, Hanover, Llstowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. Wo are not responsible for unsolicited newscrlpts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mall Registration No. 6968 E ditorial A solution looking for a problem Canada Day is over and the sense of celebration will no doubt quickly give way to more pessimistic talk about the country's break up. Before it does, however, perhaps Canadians could use a little perspective on their country. Writing in Maclean's magazine's Canada Day issue, columnist Peter J. Newman quotes a former Mexican ambassador to Canada who said Canada "is a solution looking for a problem". It's a sign of the diligence of Canadians that we keep finding problems. We have one of the most tolerant nations in the world, yet we focus all the time on the problems of the intolerant minority until you'd think we were the most racist nation on earth. We have a land of great freedom, yet we zero in on the tiny areas where there is a hindrance to freedom to the point our great freedoms are ignored. We have a land of legislated equality, yet all we hear about are the inequalities. We have a beautiful land that stretches from sea to sea, yet we've come to pay so much attention to the perceived grievances to our own regions that we have cut ourselves off psychologically from the vastness and variety of the land. Does an Albertan really want to cut himself off from the full feeling that the rugged beauty of Cape Breton belongs to him too? Does a Quebecois not want to feel that the Rockies belong to her too? We spend one day a year celebrating what is good about Canada. That leaves 364 for griping about the small things that could be improved. Canadians look at a glass that is 90 per cent full and grouse that it's 10 per cent empty. As the Mexican ambassador said, we are a country that could serve as a model for the world of how a nation should provide affluence, freedom, security, tolerance and equality of opportunity, let alone space, beauty, fresh air and fresh water, yet we see only the negatives. If we should lose this land we deserve the mess we'll inherit. — KR ‘Justice’ goes missing While the rights of the individual must be protected against the might of the state, the legal system has been undermining public confidence in the "justice" system by taking that protection to a ridiculous extreme. Somewhere common sense has to prevail or the system will break down entirely. Take the case of a Toronto woman who walked out of court free last week despite the fact she had been proven to be impaired when her car went out of control, crashing into an on-coming car and killing the driver. The woman smelled of alcohol when police arrived at the scene of the accident. In two separate breathalyser tests she had two and a half times more alcohol in her blood than is required for a drunk driving charge. Yet the judge declared that since the woman hadn't been properly informed of her rights, the evidence was ruled inadmissable. The judge then ruled there wasn't enough evidence to convince him beyond reasonable doubt that she was impaired when the accident happened. For those like court reporters, who observe the courts regularly, nothing is more frustrating than watching an accused and his lawyer try to beat a drunk driving charge. There is never any doubt that the driver was drunk. To -be charged the accused has to have failed first a roadside test, then two separate breathalyser tests. It becomes a legal game for the lawyers. The crown attorney must be careful to make sure that as he questions the arresting officer every possible legal loophole has been closed. Was the accused informed of his rights? Was he given an opportunity to call a lawyer? Was he given a list of possible lawyers? Was he given enough privacy to call his lawyer? Was the breathalyser machine properly calibrated? What was the make and model of the machine? The serial number? Was the officer who operated the machine properly qualified? Did too much time go by before the test was carried out? Too little? On and on it goes and when the crown is finished, the defence attorney pounces on any missed detail. If there are none, he tries to stretch the law a little further. Once, in local court, when a police constable talked about turning around in a farm laneway before returning to the police station for a breathalyser test, the defence attorney argued the rights of the individual were violated because the officer didn't give the accused an opportunity to enter the farm house to call his lawyer. The judge didn't buy the argument but too often judges do play this game. And public respect for justice is hurt because of it. Judges are supposed to be wise. Too little wisdsom often shows. Follow Photo by Bonnie Gropp Looking Back Through the Years — From the files of the Blyth Stan­ dard, Brussels Post and the North Huron Citizen Mark Hoba was the valedictorian for the graduating class. Blyth Midgets trounced Win­ throp 17 to 5 and Bluevale 26 to 4. Some members of the teams were Rick Scrimgeour, Bruce Hunking, Brad Cook, Dave Marshall, Ken Sierstema and Scot Stevenson. David Lear of Londesboro gradu­ ated from Conestoga Collage and received the Bob Hoffman Wood Machining Award. It was given to the student who showed the great­ est proficiency for wood machining over the length of the course. A three or four bedroom home on Morris Street in Blyth sold for $25,900 and an acre and a half with a bam and house in Morris Town­ ship sold for $24,900. Playing at the theatres in Goderich were Superman II and 13 YEARS AGO JULY 8,1981 Freers Hardware Store in Blyth opened its doors for business with a new owner. Phil Walker of Dorch­ ester took over the operation. George Radford Construction was awarded the contract for Ducks Unlimited to develop Hullett marsh. Blyth Public School students received awards. Public speaking award winners were Karli Yanchus, Kelly Cook, Lisa Watson, Kim Medd, Lori Leibold, Christina Roulston, Julie Howson, Susan Walsh, Garth Wittich and Lynn McDonald. Paul’s Perspective History of the World Part I. ONE YEAR AGO JULY 7,1993 The new director of education for Huron County Paul Carroll took a five per cent cut in salary. Blyth council had to cut $10,000 from its payroll to meet guidelines of the Social Contract. Amanda Hickey of Auburn returned home after spending a month as a page at the Toronto leg­ islature. Rev. Peter Tucker gave his last service at Knox United Church in Belgrave. Howard Bernard was chosen Brussels' Citizen of the Year. Brussels Lions Club donated $2,000 towards the purchase of new solar panels for the Brussels pool. Spring session ends By Paul Klopp, MPP Huron The session has been a long one and much has been accomplished and the economy continues to respond to our jobs program. Investment in Ontario continues to grow and this means more jobs. In Huron County the jobsOntario Training has more than 234 employers registered. Over 550 positions have been filled. Total training credit dollars issued to Huron County businesses is $1,617,300. Bill 21, a private member's bill, was passed and it will protect the owners of mobile homes who live in mobile home or trailer parks. It extends the rights under the landlord tenant act to these people. This has been an area of some concern to many seniors in Huron County and the previous law did not protect them. Bill 91 the farm labour bill was passed. It allows farm workers to join a union. Alberta is now the only province which prohibits them from joining. The Bill was written after consulting with farmers and farm groups for the last two years. It does not allow strikes or lock­ outs and clearly does not unionize the family farm. It is especially gratifying after three years of intense work with the Ministry of Finance to see changes to the financial act which help rural Ontario. The changes to the financial services Act allows credit unions and mutual insurance companies to be more competitive. This means better service to rural areas and it means more money will be available for local businesses. The Farm Plus Program introduced this session allows rural Ontario a chance to see that their savings stay in rural Ontario. Local credit unions can use the money raised through GIC's to’ provide loans to farmers and farm related businesses. It is part of our commitment to revitalize rural communities by providing them with the tools to help themselves.