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Page 10 THE HERALD Wednesday September Parliament will be explosive Im back here for what promises to be an ex plosive session in the House of Commons featuring sales tax reform abortion legislation government spending cutbacks the possible privatization of Canada Post and a whole raft of other things The committee I am chairman of will be tackling ways the feds can slash spending because thatfs one- topic which was raised over and over again during the summer Of course Im writing another report for Michael Wilson on changes I think he should make to the GST like cutting out some exemptions lowering the rate beefing up the watchdog agency and targetting big reductionsJn the deficit Everybody here knows the next few months will not be easy In teresting but not easy The government has some tough things to try and get through the House and the committees Hopefully the session will end up accomplishing some good despite the clouds of partisan rhetoric ready to dump on Ottawa There are a bunch of powerful images though that Im bringing back here with me One of them came from Georgetowns Memorial Arena last Thursday morning There I saw a thousand public school kids stream in all wearing Tshirts with big red chickens on them There was enough energy in that room to power up the Picker ing nuclear plant and the volume of background noise had the adults shouting at each other For an hour the kids alternative ly listened quietly thundered out responses clapped stuck their hands in the air and sang This was an amazing rally organized by the Georgetown Optimist Club and designed to raise awareness of the evils of drugs Standing there talking to these nine and 10yearolds I found it hard to believe they could be threatened by the flow into Canada of crack and cocaine They seemed so young and so small But here we all were trying to tell them not to get started sticking needles into their arms smoke in their lungs or powder in their noses The Optimists deserve a tremen dous amount of credit for the pro gram and I was honored to be a part As a society however we all have to stop this monster in its tracks because only if the demand for drugs dries up will the supply also wither Its hard to believe whats going on in New Brunswick now as the police hunt for heavily- armed South American drug traf fickers whose dope will end up in the bodies of Southern Ontario school kids In talking with senior officers for Halton Regional Police its clear this is happening Wherever you want to find drugs they tell me you can The situation is not restricted to Halton of course Talk to any of ficer on the Peel force and youll get an even more vivid description of the horrors now just spreading among our youth Hiding our eyes from the problem wont solve it the Optimists know that Its a sad commentary but only by talking straight to these kids when they are in grade four can we hope to keep their eyes clear and resolve strong three or four vears later Theres obviously more the feds can do like enhance drug enforce ment through the and en courage a national educational program After look ing into all those young faces Im sure a lot more aware of the need to push for these things here in Ot tawa But as parents community leaders and simply responsible people we have the immediate responsibility of protecting our community and our kids from the addiction others would impose I hope the Optimist program spreads to every one of the com munities in the area and that the simple message is on every pair of innocent lips Just say no A lot of what happens here in Ot tawa is about the future trying to plan the economy trying to protect the environment trying political solutions to social problems There is nothing so oriented to that future as our children and nothing on which the future is more depen dent Ive come back here with that sea of faces forever etched in my mind LIVE ON STAGE TONIGHT WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER Also Coming DOWNCHILD FROZEN GHOST Located on Hwy No east of Winston Churchill minutes West of Brampton Call 8730437 for more details on upcoming events Saturday September 30th 1100 AM fat and Mayor Miller and Marilyn Sarjeantson for OPEN HOUSE Refreshments You are welcome to browse and appreciate fully our new facilities Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 11 AM Sat Sept 30 OPENING SPECIAL Sessions Only 151 hour Treatments S Bonus Hours Passive Reducing Salon NOW in Georgetown Shape Up The Feminine Way FREE Figure Analysis No strenuous effort No strain No fatigue No taxing hours of exhausting exercise All you do is come in Exercise tables do the rest to shed Inches and lose unsightly bulges Enjoy losing Inches In our pleasant feminine surroundings Rear Entrance 1 1 6 Guelph St Georgetown