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Wednesday December 18 1991 the HERALD Opinion Town should join local Chamber of Commerce It was disappointing to learn only one Hills councillor attended the recent Federal government initiated Community Talks meeting on Canadas future prosperity held at Georgetown District High School Through this and similar meetings happening across the country the Federal government is attempting to learn what the general public believes is necessary to improve the countrys economic competitiveness to develop future economic policies Since all current councillors cam- during the municipal elec tion on the platform of greater local and industrial growth the lack of councillor participation doesnt make sense As Town councillor Rob the sole councillor to attend the meeting told the Herald often councillors hear more from businessmen and residents on a onetoone basis than anyone else so they could have brought these comments to the meeting on behalf of the Town Some councillors might argue there was no point attending the meeting because its purpose focused on Canadas economy in general and not how Hills specifically could improve its local economy However this logic fails to recognize the trickle down effect the more Canadas economic situation improves the greater chance the local economy will benefit This argument aside more coun cillors should have attended the meeting as a symbolic gesture to show they take an interest in the countrys economic future Learning of the low councillor Bens Banter by Ben Dummett turnout people in the community would probably ask themselve if my local political representatives dont want to participate in the process to improve the situation then why should I participate This scenario seems that much more plausible recognizing the widespread public apathy towards these kinds of government initiated meetings When contacted by the Herald about the lack of councillor at tendance at the meeting several councillors denied having any knowledge of the meeting Doug Penrice General Manager of the Hills Chamber of Commerce which cosponsored the event with Halton and Peel In dustries Training Advisiory Com mittee said press releases about the meeting appeared in both the Herald and Independent This brings me to my next point Its understandable councillors might have missed the press releases However they would have definitely known about the meeting if the Town had been an official member of the local chamber Mr Penrice said only official chamber members receive direct mailings of Chamber related even ts As the Town is not a chamber member councillors must rely on Hills Mayor Miller for all chamber news Mayor Miller sits on the chambers Board of Directors as an honory member Given the mayors hectic schedule he probably doesnt have time to act as an effective between the chamber and council It makes more sense for the Town to pay the membership fee and become a formal chamber mem ber Not only would council members be kept abreast of what the cham ber is doing but also they would be in a better position to help the local business community prosper A different kind of solution to constitutional problem The Soviet Union is no more A new yet nameless Com monwealth is going to replace it We in Canada are still struggl ing with the momentous issue of the distinctiveness of Quebec The two largest in acreage countries of the world are trying to find a new way of being And so are Western Europe Yugoslavia South Africa and that chunk of the Middle East once known as Palestine Next year this time we could have a few a new Palestinian state a bunch of South three states in the exYugoslavia a not yet unified Europe The atlas publishing business must be booming The turmoil has totally dif ferent histories but some com mon causes It may be difficult for us Canadians used to seeing ourselves as a very democratic society to accept that at the roots of our problems is the very same reason which challenges the status quo of other jurisdictions Canada like the Soviet Union like Israel like South Africa is a country which force created We took by force the land from an existing population we took control by force of another nation We believed for a very long time that our union was ac cepted and peaceful and we were mistaken The breakdown of the stifling world USA- USSR and the explosion of the electronic communication era have lifted the obstacles in the way of the revisionist forces and the old order crumbles This powerful wind of change should not inspire any fear What Should give us serious concern is our inability to deal with change Change is the only constant in the universe But when we listen to debates about the future of Canada we can only conclude that the only shared idea between vastly different opinions is the in ability to shed the ballast of the old Precedents constitutional tenets stemming from the Century are brought forward as argument in the age of space ex ploration instant communication Another View by Carlo Testa and genetic engineering it is like taking our cars to be fixed at the local blacksmith The only sensible statement I have heard so far about our con stitutional mess comes from Premier Clyde Wells In a recent debate in Alberta he said that he did not really care about which agreement would be reached but about the way that agreement could be changed Which indeed is the key question However despite the solution our leaders could put together there is only one thing certain it will have to be changed again And it would be nice if next time around we would not have to go through a national trauma to decide if there have to be six or senators from Ontario In fact the major flaw possibly the only flaw of our present con stitution is that practically it cannot be changed without a lot of noise meaning nothing Just think with a decent amendment formula Lake would have been passed an elected Senate would have replaced the present joke and we might even have been able to res pond to the demands of the native population Can we bring our leaders to abandon their futile search for the perfect solution and just fix what is clearly wrong Probably not It takes prudence humility and brains Qualities in limited supply Now just as a Christmas gift let me give a way out A rather unex plored way out of the stalemate We all know Quebec wants to secede we have heard the West flirting with secession and even Nova Scotia was grumbling a couple of years ago about joining What about us seceding You know play a Russia on the rest of Canada Just imagine one day Bob declares Ontario independence and asks for real money from the federal government for rent t hydro water We stop sending tax money to Ottawa and we spend it locally A few weeks later Quebec will secede and so will Alberta The federal government will cease to be Sigh of universal relief across the Country AND a few weeks later we will hear of a new commonwealth with North Bay as its capital the in a hastily arranged meeting will ask to be allowed to join And so with a bit of delay will the Prairies and BC By golly a new Canada without a Federal Government What about this as a Christmas present Julia Roberts would do just fine thanks Santa To Santa Claus North Pole Canada Dear Santa Well its that time of year again isnt it So I thought Id better drop you a line Hows every little thing up there at the North Pole Cold enough for you HO HO HO I realize its a little early to be writing you but you know how slow the mail can be at Christmas Ive often thought things would be much simpler if youd just send me your fax number along with my present If youre planning to give me my usual Christmas shirt perhaps you could pin the number to the sleeve On the other hand perhaps you could send me Julia Roberts and just ask her to memorize it In any case Santa I have a question to ask you Its something thats really been bothering me so Id like an answer as soon as possible Were both guys Santa We can be honest with each other So tell me you ana the never start making Christmas presents before Christmas Eve right This may seem like a bit of a strange question so it probably needs some explanation Basical ly it has to do with all the dirty looks Ive been getting lately from The Love of My Life Tragically this is true The Love of My Life has been giving me dirty looks for two weeks And she hasnt even read that bit about Julia Roberts yet The problem is that we have vastly different theories on Christmas shopping She believes that Christmas shopping should begin in mid- October to make sure you have time to search out the perfect gift for JQurlove4 that anyone who really loves me will be quite happy to receive anything I can scoop up at pm on Dec 24 Like most guys always Christmas shopping should be done under pressure Just give me half an hour til clos ing time a sturdy credit card and a running start Naturally Santa this is why Ive been haunted by the thought that you yourself might start preparing for Christmas months in advance But I keep telling myself this just isnt possible Just for starters you need to be sure whos been naughty or nice right So why would you waste time making a mountainbike for some kid whos just going to blow it alt by microwaving the cat on Dec 23 Besides Santa youre a guy And surely you wouldnt go and letdown theside Now granted Im not arguing that waiting until the very last minute is always the ideal way to Christmasshop To be Love of My Life has advanced some reasonable arguments If you wait until the last minute as she points out you may discover that you cant find anything appropriate for so meone special Still this depends on how you define anything appropriate Personally Ive always felt Christmas presents should come straight from the heart of the giver which is why I like to give people books I plan to borrow back and read myself- And my reading tastes are very catholic Its also true that a guy can postpone Christmas shopping for selfish reasons If he stalls long enough he knows its quite Love of His will Weirs World by Ian Weir Thomson News Service give up in disgust and start buy ing his presents for him But lets remember that Christmas is a time for people to lend a helping hand to others So I like to facilitate this wherever possible Ah well I know Santa that you understand perfectly well what Im saying And I remain confident that The Love of My Life will eventually stop giving me dirty looks and embrace the true spirit of the season While Im at it in fact let me put in a word on her behalf Since I dont think shes written to you yet Ill enclose a list of the books I know shed really really like for Christmas And pay no attention if she sends you a letter asking for Mel Gibson instead Yours sincerely Little Ian More letters on gun control To the Editor John Sommers article in dicating private ownership of guns should be outlawed is in teresting Hes against hunting and political polls and it appears he fears guns will end up in the wrong hands His solution guarantees this will happen Banning all guns will mean that only the criminals will have them which is really frightening for everyone I suspect the increase in violent crime is the cause for his concern If this is so the reason for it is hidden in his arti cle and it has nothing to do with guns First lets look at the facts The Canadian Centre For Justice Statistics Division of Statistics Canada conducted a study which showed the murder rate in Canada remained the same over the year period It also showed the use of firearms in homicides decreased by 5 per cent while the use of firearms in robberies declined by 28 per cent The use of knives and other weapons in assault and murder increased as the rate of violent crime soared by 59 per cent In Toronto last year approx imately twice as many people were stabbed to death as were shot Mr Sommer should be in favor of banning knives if he wishes to eliminate the tools of violence rather than the causes of it Why our society Is becoming more violent Mr Sommer gives one of the answers in his closing remarks where he refers to Out collective peace and hap piness There is no such thing as a collective peace or happiness except in the minds of socialists who have consistantly used the big federal political parties to force their views on Cana dians To achieve their Utopia the rights of the individual are trampled on until none are left as happened in the Soviet Union Violent crime is a gross infr ingement on the rights of in dividuals using force and weapons Lack of respect for the rights of the Indivdual is en couraged by governments driven by special interest groups With government setting such an ex ample wl should criminals respect right to a peaceful life free of violence Government must begin establishing a positive example by protecting the rights of the in dividual Until this happens the murders rapes beatings and robberies will continue unabated Yours for a better Canada HilliardCox Deputy Leader Libertarian Party of Canada