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PAGE 8THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, April 3,2002 M Editorial&Opinions FOR 146 YEARS, OUR FIRST CONCERN HAS BEEN OUR COMMUNITY Publisher - Tim Whittaker Editor-in-Chief - Joanne Burghardt Managing Editor - Chris Bovie Regional Editor - Judi Bobbitt Advertising Manager - Fred Eismont Circulation Manager - Kirk Bailey Composing Manager - Barb Harrison Office Manager - Lillian Hook ®be Canainmt Statesman Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climic and W.R. Cliinie 1854-1878 M.A. James 1878-1935 • Norman S.B. James 1919-1929 G. Elena James, 1929-1947 • Dr. George W. James 1919-1957 John M. James. 1957-1999 Produced by Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Also Publishers of CLARINGTON THIS WEEK P.O. Box 4SI, 865 Farewell St., Oshawa, Ontario LI H 7L5 TEL: 905-579-4400 FAX: 905-579-2238 E-mail: ncwsroom@durliamregion.com Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 DROP OFFICE: James Publishing, 66 King St. W„ Bowmanvillc, 8:30 p.m. - 5 pan. weekdays EDITORIAL e-mail letters to lU^vswom^'diirlmnm'^Um.com Israeli-Arab conflict has impact here Mid-east battles spawn terrorists with deadly intent The honors of death in the West Bank-occupied territories where suicide bombers and body counts grow almost daily may be half-a-world away - but the impact has been felt here. We're only kidding ourselves if we fail to see a link between the awful events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the ongoing Israeli- Palestinian wars. While Osama bin Laden and his gang of thugs may claim many grievances at the hands of the United States, one surely is the U.S. support, since its founding in 1948, of the nation of Israel. Anger at the United States and its allies, including Canada, has helped spur the growth of terrorist training camps in countries countries throughout the Arab world. Islamic fundamentalists train for that glorious day they'll get revenge for what they believe is the unjust treatment of their Palestinian brothers by the U.S.- backed Israeli army. The never-ending Israeli-Palestinian war cries out for new thinking and some kind of peaceful resolution. resolution. Those who laugh off as hopeless such a suggestion should recall that nobody foresaw the end of the Cold War or the fall of the Iron Curtain either. But 'miracles' can and do happen. The first stage would be the removal of Palestinian Liberation Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. Mr. Arafat has been head of the PLO for many decades and has failed in his task to find peace or win land for his people. A new Palestinian representative is necessary as is a new approach to the peace process. Kofi Annan, the secretary-general secretary-general of the UN and a man respected throughout the world, would be an ideal mediator to deal with Israeli leadership and a new Palestinian leader. Just maybe, an acceptable compromise, compromise, with a guarantee of a ceasefire on all sides, could be developed. developed. Perhaps, a figure along the line of Canadian Lester Pearson, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 after he developed developed the concept of having a peacekeeping force go to the war-torn Suez Canal, will step forward. Maybe Canadian peacekeepers could play a role in establishing peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The old method of having a U.S. president president mediate - be it Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush or Bill Clinton - has never worked long-term because Palestinians don't trust the United States. Let's try a new way. Continued war in' the Mid-East serves nobody in'the longterm. longterm. It destroys Israel's attempts to build a nation for its people, people, it consigns Palestinians to generations of death and misery and it leads to instability among the countries which border Israel. Israel. Closer to home, Mid-East war ratchets up the possibility of more misguided terrorist attacks like the atrocity of 9/11. We'll only begin to rest a little easier once events have calmed down half-a-world away. CLARINGTON COMMENTS Question: When the electricity market opens May 1, will you stay with your current electricity supplier and pay market market prices or go with a retailer offering a fixed rate? Kevin Nicol "I'll probably stay. I've had some bad experiences with the gas companies - I've gone back to natural gas and I'm going to do the same with hydro. .1 don't trust these other companies; they'll find ways to make it sound cheaper." Cara Gilfoy "We're probably going to stay because my Dad works for hydro. Not everyone will go that way - it is good to save a buck, but 1 don't think right away many will switch." Dennis Jeff ery "I'll slay with the one I've got right now. I work for Toronto Hydro and anytime they (retailers) come to the door and you start asking them questions, they don't have many answers at all. They just don't have the right answers that 1 know." Robin Thompson "1 think the government's going to give a rebate to compete against the open market. 1 think some people people looked into it and found higher prices than anticipated. anticipated. 1 guess it's like gambling gambling with your mortgage - who knows what's right and wrong. I'd rather stay with the government until the dust settles and then see what happens." LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail Idlers to newsroom® ilurhamreghm.com Hospital policy not applauded To the editor: Scene: A room at Lakeridge Health Bowmanvillc, where an elderly woman lies rendered helpless by a broken hip. She is very thirsty and her eyes stray constantly to an empty styrofoam styrofoam cup on her tray. They told her she only need summon a nurse to have the glass refilled but her finger has been on the buzzer a long time now and no on has come. Now, let's eavesdrop on a meeting in progress in the elegantly elegantly appointed boardroom. "I am very impressed with the reduction in Food Services' budget since we stopped supplying supplying water jugs to patients. It has really improved the bottom line. Could someone please pass the shrimp ring?" Couldn't sell that plot to the networks you say? Too unbelievable? unbelievable? Guess again. This little little drama is coming soon to a hospital near you. In the ultimate triumph of bean-counting over compassion compassion the powers that be at Lakeridge Lakeridge Health Corporation have decreed that food services will no longer supply water jugs to patients. At LI-10 this amounts merely to an accounting accounting maneuver. Patients will still receive water courtesy of Support Support Services Assistants. Since Bowmanvillc has no S.S.A.'S the plan there is to issue patients patients a styrofoam cup to be refilled refilled by a nursing staff already shorthanded and stretched to the breaking point. In the constant struggle to cut costs we are now going to deprive patients of what is arguably arguably the most basic necessity necessity of life, a move worthy of the most callous American HMO. Merging local hospitals into one giant corporation probably sounded like a good idea to a government struggling to control control health costs. But in the process our priorities have been turned upside down. We are forgetting that the whole point of Universal Health Care is to CARE. Barbara Abbott Bowmanvillc Some advice for premier-elect To the editor: Ernie Eves has left the impression impression he wants to have a less confrontational government. One of his first steps to do that would be not to appoint John Baird as Minister of Community and Social Services. Services. Ron Dancey Oshawa Focus on McGuinty odd behaviour Tories make sure everyone knows who he is Ontario's Progressive Conservatives Conservatives have this obsession - they can't open their mouths without talking about Liberal leader Dalton Dalton McGuinty. This was evident particularly in their race to pick a successor to Premier Mike Harris, when they had the whole province watching them, but spent much of their time speaking about their principal principal opponent and unwittingly boosting his image. Ernie Eves bounded into the first candidates' TV debate declaring declaring "I'm Ernie Eves and I'm Dalton McGuinty's worst nightmare," nightmare," like a WWF wrestler daring daring his opponent to step in the ring. Before the contest ended, Mr. McGuinty had become such a fixture in it there was no need to mention his surname. Mr. Eves assured the convention "there is one set of nervous eyes watching us this evening - Dalton, 1 know you are out there. "This will not be a good night for you, Dalton, and you can look forward to many more nightmares nightmares in the future." Mr. Eves also bragged, "I am the candidate with the experience who can and will, with your help, beat McGuinty and the Liberals in the next election." Jim Flaherty, the runner-up, said, "Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals arc the enemy," as he argued argued the Conservatives cannot win an election running as Liberals Liberals and Mr. Eves is not a true Conservative. Mr. Flaherty added, "do we want to be true Conservatives or pale pink imitations of Dalton McGuinty's Liberals? Do we want our next leader to be more like Mike Harris or more like Eric Dowd At Queen s Park Dalton McGuinty? If you want a leader who is a Mike Han'is for the new century, I'm your choice, but if you want a more polished version of Dalton McGuinty, then Ernie is your choice." Mr. Flaherty lamented for "poor old Dalton McGuinty. The people of Ontario see Dalton McGuinty for what he is and that lie's just not up to the job. What Dalton McGuinty fails to understand, understand, and what his Liberal pals fail to grasp, is that you need to have a vision and a plan." Mr. Flaherty also remembered Mr. Harris in the 1999 election, "demolished a guy who made pleasant noises, but didn't really stand for anything, Dalton McGuinty." Elizabeth Witmcr complimented complimented Mr. McGuinty by saying voters arc looking for consultation consultation instead of confrontation and, "that's why Dalton McGuinty's last dinner (when lie raised $1 million for his parly) was so successful, successful, because he has tapped into what some people say they arc looking for." Tony Clement revealed he had "a plan to beat Dalton McGuinty," McGuinty," and went on to say the whole campaign is "about winnability." The Tories arc naturally worried worried Mr. McGuinty leads in polls and most of their references to him were coupled with warnings, such as Mr. Eves saying the nightmare he will give "Dalton" is nothing compared to the sleep Ontarians will lose if Mr. McGuinty and his "merry band of taxers and spenders," get in government. But many will discard" some of the political rhetoric and the net effect is they made Mr. McGuinty better known, when it is hard for an opposition leader to raise his profile, and suggested he is a serious contender to win an election, which implies he has some abilities. They will encourage some to want to learn more about Mr. McGuinty and those unhappy with the Tories after their seven years in power, the majority of voters, will feel he is the one they should support. One danger to the Tories is that by their constant pointing to Mr. McGuinty they have designated designated him as their only threat and opposition. They never even mentioned the New Democratic Party. The NDP is weak, having won only 12 percent of the votes in 1999, and has been even lower in the polls. But the Tories have hung on in government over many years because because votes against them were divided divided reasonably evenly between the other two parties. Past Tories even tried to boost the NDP when it was down and Mr. Harris used to acknowledge at least it had policies and voters knew where it stood. The Tories, who have made sure everyone knows who Mr. McGuinty is, have given him help toward winning an election and one day they may wish they had made him pay for his own advertising. Crystal : Crimi j Sta ff writer ccrimiui durhamreglon.com ' Disabled have transit ; needs .i A simple trip to the mall this j week made me think about the new > Ontarians with Disabilities Act in-1 troduccd by the provincial govern- ; ment. 1 The new act requires municipali- •; ties listen to handicapped residents ! and make plans and changes that ; would enable life to be as easy and - convenient as it is for people with- : out disabilities. J It wasn't the mall entrances that j started me thinking, or the wash- * rooms, or the handicapped parking.: spaces. It wasn't until I was leaving-, I realized what really strips the dis- j abled of their freedom. When I got into my car I stuck ! my key into the ignition, but instead-j of hearing the roar of the engine,!-] ready to take me on my way, I heard;: a bang and watched my engine;! smoke as it spit out a spark plug. How does a busted car relate to 1 the problems of a handicapped per- » son? The freedom I've taken for j granted since I passed my driver's j test was stolen; I was stuck. > A handicapped man told me it t doesn't matter how accessible pub- j lie areas are if you can't even get j there. In my situation, I could have called a cab or taken a bus. Instead, V I called my dad to pick me up,, but many handicapped people don't j have the options of an able-bodied person. Many handicapped people are on the lower end of the income median and a cab isn't always an option. A conventional bus is not an option either either considering someone in a . wheelchair can't get on to it because it's not accessible. There's Handi Transit buses but they are by-appointment only and à primarily used for medical appoint- '] ments, school or work. If Handi • Transit has the time, it will take ! clients to social outings such as the ,] mall, but only according to its ] schedule. Instead of going to the > mall for an hour, a person could be ! stuck there for four or five hours, ] watching passing traffic and per- ■] haps regretting leaving home in the ; first place. What good are accessible buildings buildings if handicapped people can't get to them? Under the act municipalities will have an annual responsibility to the disabled and the first thing they should look at is making transit accessible accessible and affordable. Without it, -, many of the handicapped are robbed-! of their freedom - the chance of a - (close to) ordinary life sliced to al- ! most nothing. ; What if you ran out of milk and couldn't get to the store? How'- would it feel to be stuck? THE CANADIAN STATESMAN is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing Publishing and Distributing group of newspapers. 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