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. . . ........ .W d: die., fflP ýi-- ............ Q -tr. ., -.1 .......... .......... From Pa rliam ent Hili Alex Shepherci Do Canadians suifer froin a long-terni inferlorlty com- plex? After reading a recent Conference Board of Canada Report that would be the inescapable conclusion. While some in society bemoan the fact that our standard of living has stag- nated, It 15 clear that as a nation we are not doing much to alleviate the problem. It is disturbing because it is long teri in nature and the trends are compelling," says the report. Canada's gross domestlc product per person was sec- ond only to the United States six short years ago. Japan surpassed us in 1991, Norway ti 1992 andi Germany, Swederi and Australia are poised to soon do the saine. We have allowed artificial- ly low foreigri exchange rates to justify our increase ti export trade which has fueled economic'growth and job recovery. But on the more important question of increasing pro- ductivity, using both our brains and our machines, it appears that we are lagglng way behind. Some day the foretgri exchange rate wtll find its nat- ural higher level. With that we will qulckly notice job growth wfll stop and our stan- dard of living may well decline. This doesn't mean Canadians are lazy, but it means they are reststing the need to grasp science andi technology for the truly won- drous tool it can be. At 15 per cent our school drop-out rate Is scandalous. As' one of- the report's authors writes, "lack of edu- cation is a low-income life sentence.» In addition many of our youth have taken post-sec- ondary courses which have little relationship to the requirement of employment. "Too many post-secondary students are consigning themselves to low income by not taking the right subjects," the Report points out. Parents, students and especially educators are, grossly mismanaging our human capital. Business is also responsi-, ble for tis stle Of affairs. For instancê, 30 per cent Of U.S. factorirs Use five or more advanceci manufactur- tng technologies. such as arti- ficial intelligenice, compared with only 20 per cent ti Canada. Our companies spend pre- clous littie ti training andi developinent o-p the skils of their workers. Why does al! of thîs occur and why do wè appear to be stalle intrithe gmiddle of the road while al other nattons are ractig arotiric us? I was struck when speak- tng to one of ouf Olympic gold medal swin-im@rs years ago, wheri she saici dur chances of success interntionllY were not that gooci because the Canadian psylic was hold- ing thein back. Quite simply put Canadians doï.'t think they are good enougIl. How.strange to see this attitude crop Pp once again ti the Conference Board of Canada Report- Clearly takirig the path of least resistarice is not gotng to work over the long haul, We have to irivest more effort in our youth and ensure that they are tttng the target of economtc prosperity as opposed to mis§ ing the target aIl together. Our busines@ leaders have to wake up and invest in the new technologies. That means investing in hUMan SUIlS as well as the hardware if we are to be competitive in the next millenntuin. Rock'n Barn - Launcli 97 Finally, after being rained out the first time, the Durham Central Agricuiturai Soc iety,1 and the Launch 97 committee crowned a winner in the tal- ent search for young music entrepreneurs at the Orono Fairgrounds on Saturday night. In semi-uncomfortable cold weather conditions, the two finalist bands squared off, "Accident Prone" and "Ferai Child". the second set of judges in this competition compiieci their marks which were added to the first set of marks, awarded each group based on their video presenta- tion. The winners were Bowmanviliè's 'Ferai Child', a gothic-metal band who exhibited great showmanship and musicianship in their It also means teachers: have to take more responsi- bility for being plugged into the real world instead of wor-ý ring about how non teach- ers glvinig technology classes will affect their jobs. We have to start believing ti ourselves and i our abli- ty as Canadians to be the best at anyth-ing ti the world we set our mincis to. FInally, we better get out of the middle of the road before somethlng smashes into us. chosen style of music. Ferai Child, as winners of this competition, were award- ed $500 from the Durham Centrai Agricultural Society which will go towards the production of their CD. As winners of Launch 97, Ferai Chilci will have a num- ber of cultural responsibilities as well. It wiii be their duty to promote the Orono Fair throughout the year. They must also sit on the Launch 98 committee for next year and help with the Qrganiza- tion and presentation of the event. The bandi must also thank and promote ahl the spon sors of Launch 97 on their CD when it is finisheci. In yet another stoke of good fortune, Ferai Child were aiso chosen to be one of the 14 bands featureci on this years music compilation of Durham bands put ont by Elipse Concerts. The CD is calleci Swingin' Sounds and Rippin' Rockers. Pushing a strotLer 2.5 km for 30 minutes can do wonders for your healtt. If's that simple SlaigaHealiliier Futr~ WMP97RTIt/pà(iOfl- RE-ELECT BOB WILLSHER Public Sechool Board Trustee The New District 14 Public Sehool Board Municipality of Claringl on On November 10, 1997 Leadership-Dedication-Integrily For information cal Bob at 987-4845 1 1 ....................... ... 1 , .......... ...............