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the HERALD Wednesday October 9 1991 Political Forum Page 5 Ottawa Report Property rights fight finds a real champion Theres been a lot of controver sy over the last few days about the governments proposal to put the right to own property back in the constitution And a lot of peo ple have criticized me for being a champion of that right So let me try to make it clear whats at stake here Since the constitution was changed in we have not had the right to own property It was taken from us after years of Canadian history This means there is no guarantee that if a government takes our property we will be fairly for it Without the right to own property we are not ensured of due process of law to protect it My position has been clear If the constitution is going to change to satisfy Quebec with the distinct society clause or our aboriginal people with self- or Western Canada with an elected Senate then middleclass homeowners should also get something And that something Is the right to own pro perty and not to be deprived of it without due process of law It all seemed simple enough to me Owning property lets remember is the difference bet ween our society and com munism As Karl Marx said theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence Abolition of private property I believe in the individuals Garth Turner MP Peel Progressive Conservative Queens Park Report A Canadian social charter Quite a few things have hap pened at Queens Park since weve returned for the fall sitting and Id like to share two of these events with you On September 20th Premier Bob released a discussion paper entitled A Canadian Social Charter Making Our Shared Values Stronger The document was developed in response to the package of proposals recently tabled by the federal government aimed at reforming the Constitu tion of this country and the way in which we govern ourselves The provincial government has been seeking out your views on the issues that need to be addressed in a federal constitution The Select Committee on Ontario in Confederation as you may remember held public hearings across Ontario and subsequently issued a report on those hearings These and other consultations Noel North New Democratic Party resulted in the publication of the above paper about the need for a social charter to be expressed in the Constitution Our Premier in dicated the need for the charter as a significant part of nation- building The document shows Ontario residents how some of our countrys most important achievements like medicare and universal education can be pro tected and guaranteed Being a Canadian means more than just having a formal set of rights It means giving constitutional teeth to our common sense of what we are entitled to as Canadians The discussion paper outlines the following points the main features of Canadas social programs as developed within a federal structure roles that governments play in developing financing and ad- social programs the four elements which could form the basis of a social charter entrenched principles institutions for implementation public participation and a com mitment to national sharing a variety of options for elaborating on how these four elements might he defined and entrenched Constitution right to own property I believe that in a democracy people should be given as many rights as possible We should be free and unencumbered and have as little government as necessary But a lot of people disagree with me They believe that socie tys rights should dominate those of the individual and so giving us the right to own property scares them Last week my ideas were con demned in newspaper editorials from Montreal to Edmonton Critics came forward warning that if we had the right to own property then wed also have the right to pollute our land to say firearms were property and therefore protected or to claim that employees were the property of employers and could be treated any way at all Some of what was said was simply bizarre It came from peo ple who want governments to control our lives from rent con trol to pay equity laws to ex cessive taxation It certainly came from people who do not understand what property rights are or how they will affect socie ty Entrenching property rights means altering Section of the Charter of Rights by adding four words The section now reads Everyone has the right to life liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamen tal justice Amended this section would read Everyone has the right to life liberty security of the per son and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamen tal justice Some people are arguing that this property right is too broad that is could override laws about who we can rent property to or pollution controls But think about it we have the right to liberty now but that does not mean this right cant be taken away when were jailed for a crime We do not have the liber ty to commit criminal acts ig nore governments laws or park on our neighbours lawn Similarly our right to securi ty of the person does not allow us to carry We do not have the right to security or in come or housing In short all our rights are sub ject to whats best for a fair and democratic society as the Charter of Rights says Societys rights through laws can always supercede individual rights That way we can protect the environ ment lock up criminals and en sure family assets are fairly shared CANADIAN TIRE ACTON THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ALL YOUR AUTO SERVICE NEEDS COMPUTER SUPER TUNEUP Blair Doug and Rob Actons TuneUp Specialists Offer expires Saturday October 26 1991 SAME DAY SERVICE in most cases Includes Computer Engine Analysis and Computer Printout Install New Spark Plugs New Rotor New Air Filter NeW Fuel Filter New PCV Valve Fuel Injected Vehicles Extra Fuel Filter Vans Add 2000 Per Vehicle Nationwide Guarantees 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