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10- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 21, 1995 "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" iy TOWNSHIP OF SCUGOG Public Notice REGARDING THE PROPOSED STOPPING UP, CLOSING AND CONVEYING OF THE ROAD ALLOWANCE BETWEEN CONCESSIONS 1 & 2, TOWNSHIP OF SCUGOG (FORMER CARTWRIGHT TOWNSHIP) SHOWN AS PART 2 ON DRAFT REFERENCE PLAN OF SURVEY. NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 297 of the Municipal Act, R.S.0., 1990, Chapter 45, that the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Scugog proposes to pass by-laws to stop up, close and convey the road allowance known as part of a road allowance between Concessions 1 & 2, Township of Scugog (former Cartwright Township) and shown as Part 2 on draft reference plan of survey. Approximately 120 years ago, the site was used for a school house which was subsequently converted into a single family dwelling. The subject lands have never been used for municipal road purposes. The terrain is not suited for road purposes and has been realigned to the south. The proposed plan and description showing the lands affected may be viewed in the Clerk's Department, Township of Scugog, 208 North St., Port Perry, Ontario. On Monday, March 20th, 1995 at 4:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Municipal Office, 181 Perry St., Port Perry, Ontario, the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Scugog will hear, in person, or by Counsel, solicitor or agent, any person who claims his land will be prejudicially affected by the said By-Law and applies to be heard. Any person who wishes to be heard should, as soon as possible, make application to: Earl S. Cuddie Administrator/Clerk Township of Scugog Clerk's Department 208 North Street, PORT PERRY, Ontario L9L 1A7 (905) 985-7346 * First Published February 7, 1995 s=s==x | =zm=ftbhexzdan VIN ER ¥ ® 7 tae = sefween CONCESSIONS | aN NO REGISTERED PY -- LAW To aLosg NPR'2990'S Subject Road Allowance Opinion The language of hate By Rebecca Voth FTER I received aletter from my member of parliament, I was compelled to put my feelings in writing, since the shock, anger and hurt I felt was very great. The letter concerned Bill C-41, the hate crimes bill, and also the amend- ments to the Human Rights Code of Canada, pro- mised by the government. As a lesbian, both of these issues will affect me greatly. I should begin by saying that I have lived in Whitby and Port Perry for 10 years now and my partner, three dogs, and I have a wonderful home and family. I have a loving, supportive mother who lives in Toronto and many great friends and family. I have a good job where my sexual orientation is known by all, and has only served to help both my colleagues and myself. I firmly believe that only by "coming out," can we have a chance of greater understanding and love. I am an active member of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, a place where it doesn't matter who you have sex with, or who you love. The emphasis is put on how you love. Concerning Bill C-41, I am not familiar with the actual document, and I am sure that I do not fully understand it. My understanding is that it will leagues at work don't need to worry that way about their families. They pay a little extra, and they get coverage. lam not allowed that option. Some might say that I am not part of a family, but they are wrong. Absolutely wrong! The definition of family, according to Webster's Dictionary is "1: a group of individuals living under one roof... HOUSEHOLD 2a: a group of persons of common ancestry: CLAN b: a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock: RACE 3a: a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation: FELLOWSHIP." I could go on, but the point is made. It is a very broad term and I can't think of a better example than the hundreds and thousands of strong com- mitted relationships among my friends in the homosexual community. . I expect to be able to come and go from my part- ner's side when she is sick in hospital and not have to worry about whether the staff will let me in. I expect us to be treated as a couple in every respect, if that is the commitment we have made. Now, I would like to quote my MP's words. Put yourself in my place: "I can not support an entrenched system of "rights" which would elevate the homosexual com- include sexual orientation, along with other things, such as 'When we ignore heterosexual community." race or religious belief, and that crimes motivated by hate will | {hese incidents, dice really surfaced. It told me have more serious consequences. we are saying that| personal prejudice and hate, Hate is a powerful thing, and should not be tolerated at all. it doesn 't rea Illy tive reflection. [ have an acquaintance who was walking down the street h a ppen But it gave me great pain. It hurts. It when some men pulled up, yelled "faggot," shot him in the does h a p pen --- know personally and who is was not serious nately; but he could have been arm, and then sped away. He y - [] . hurt, fortu every day. ment speak to me with such munity on a plain with the This is where my MP's preju- that his decisions are based on rather than thoughtful, objec- When I read these words it hurts to have someone I don't my representative in parlia- hate. And itis hate. killed. I see no difference between that incident and one where the person was black, and the word yelled "nigger." Both are hate crimes, and both should have grave penalties. When we ignore these incid- ents, we are saying that it doesn't really happen. But it does happen - every day. Ihave eight nieces and nephews, and one grand- nephew, and I worry that these kids will grow up to be either a perpetrator or victim of these crimes. They need to be shown that hate of this nature is wrong and only serves to break down society. Unfortunately, the response from my MP, Alex Shepherd, has not strengthened my belief that the government can really help. All I have learned is that frightened, homophobic people are every- where, including government. In the case of hate crimes, it seems to me that a person's sexual orientation is not noticeable, and these crimes are perpetrated by people who guess, correctly or not, by their victim's dress, or carriage, or friends, or even the area of town. But the motiva- tion for the crimes is the important thing. If anyone, as a heterosexual man or woman (and we are all assumed to be straight in this society, at first glance anyway), are thought to be gay for any reason, they too could be a target. Scary, isn't it? I think so. In reference to same sex benefits, it is important to me to be able to care for my family. I am the sole wage earner, as my partner is completing her uni- versity degree, and I would like to enable her to get her teeth fixed under my company's dental plan. Unfortunately I work for a rather conservative company, who insist that I am the only homosexual person who works there, even though we have a staff of about one thousand employees. So Judi must go to the dental college and pay for her teeth a bitata time. I wouldnt object so much, except that my col- And it is hate that drives Roseanne Skoke and others who say hurtful things. Do they really believe that I am not as good as heter- osexual people? Do they believe that I don't deserve the same rights as "straight" people have? Not extra, as some of them keep trying to get everyone to believe, but the same. "Straight." To define people like that is a misnom- er, I think. And the anthropolgy studies that my MP refers to musn't have been too thorough, since examples of groups thought to be different or less deserving, gaining protection under the law, are evident. People of color, for one and women for another. And we will "sustain that departure from com- mon societal tendencies" for a long time, I suspect. Unfortunately, these groups too are still experienc- ing discrimination and hate. But, at least, they can look to the law for some support. Gays and lesbians cannot. [believe that I have explained my shock and my hurt, and I hope that my anger has come through. I will add that I am extremely disappointed in my MP, not for his beliefs or principles or even point of view, however narrow it seems, but because of the manner in which he responded to my card. Iam one of his many lesbian and gay, and gay-positive con- stituents, including some members of my family (all straight) and I deserve better than his defensive, offensive, rude, confusing and hurtful letter. [ am ever hopeful that people would just stop being so afraid and stop worrying about what peo- ple do with their gifts. And my sexuality is just that. A gift, just like any heterosexual, to be used in a lov- ing, respectful, life-enhancing way. I am going to continue trying to help people understand, in spite of government standing in my way. Rebecca Vothisa resident of Scugog Township. SEARS A IZA AA SEARS CANADA INC. Registered Trade Mark of Sears, Licenced for use in Canada --= LAY: RTI 985-2225 Sign up today March Break Course All SEARS graduates receive: - 4 month credit for earlier road test - maximum insurance discount - 25 hours in class instruction - 10 hours one-to-one in car instruction