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12 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2004 No. 197 Lecion News BRANCH By James Hayes Public Relations Officer Comrades; You should all be aware by now of the campaign to retain in Canada the Vic- toria Cross awarded to Canadian soldier Cpl. Fred Topham. The Branch has, as a result of requests by members placed a dona- tion box on the bar. It will be available for your dona- tions until the cut-off date of December 31, 2004. The Seniors Christ- mas Dinner, sponsored by the Acton Rotary Club and Branch 197 of The Royal Canadian Legion, will be held on November 30. Tickets are still available from Halton Hills Furniture and Branch 197. Cost $2 each, proceeds go to charity. On Saturday, December 11 we will be having our annual Turkey Roll, al- ways a good afternoon and the meat draw as well, come on down. I hear Elvis is in town; talk to the Firefighters for -- more information. The Ontario Provincial Command Annual Car Draw tickets are now available at the bar at $2 each, a chance at five General Motors vehicles. Draw date May 17, 2005. Sports. The deadline for Zone Snooker is tonight, Nov.25, playing on Dec.11, 2005. Member- ship dues must be paid to enter. Yours in comradeship. Happy 40th Dad OOKING GOOD "| LOVE TJ. € TRAVIS & WHEW: 3year old Tayla Medeiroes from Arthur took a rest from shopping at the Beth-El Christian Reformed church Bazaar on Saturday- Angela Tyler photo Chamber's Directory wins top C of C award Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce is delighted that the Chamber Direc- tory & Buyers Guide was awarded the 2004 CEO (Chamber Executives of Ontario) Best Directory Award. The criteria for this award is based on creativ- ity in design, ease of use, and content. "I'm thrilled that we were recognized with this award. I know that the Halton. Hills community uses and appreciates our phone book." Stated Sue Walker, General Manager of Halton Hills Chamber. "Our members tell us time and again that they appre- ciate the value they receive by being listed in the phone book." Continued Walker. According to Keitha Robson, Chair of the CEO, "Halton Hills directory is an example to Chambers across this province in how to put together a high qual- ity,, member focused publication to highlight Chamber businesses and the community we serve." The Chamber phone book is published yearly and is distributed to 24,400 residents and businesses in Halton Hills. Content in- cludes: Large, easy to read telephone listings of Halton Hills businesses & residents (White Pages); Chamber Member Busi- nesses Buyers Guide (Yellow Pages), Maps, Postal Codes, Community Services, and Visitor Infor- mation. Official presentation of the award will take place at the CEO mid-year con- ference in February 2005. To receive your compli- mentary copy contact the Chamber office at 905- 877-7119. Recent violence in Eu- rope has shown that it has not integrated newcomers as well as we have in Canada and in the US. Yet, for all our successes, there are some troubling devel- opments. The social cohesion that we've ac- cepted as normal between different ethnic groups is breaking down. We see in- creasing friction, whether on university campuses, in talk show debates, or in wider Canadian society. These are troubling trends because they have to do with how we view our- selves and each other; they are about identity. When a common Canadian iden- tity is under threat, then so too is Canadian unity. Too often we talk about that which makes us differ- ent from each other, and not about what we have in common. Canada is not simply the disjunction of different groups, different peoples, and different re- gions. To be a Canadian is also to share in common something with every other person in this vast land. A couple of weeks ago, John Barber lamented in the Globe and Mail that few M.P.s of Chinese de- scent represented ridings where a large number of Chinese-Canadians live. I couldn't disagree with his premise more. I represent the riding of Wellington- Halton Hills, a riding over 97% Caucasian, and it elected an M.P. with the last name of Chong. Markham-Unionville, a riding over 60% Asian, elected an M.P. with the last name of McCallum. That's my idea of Canada. My children are going to be of Chinese, Dutch, Scottish and English de- scent. To speak of these children in hyphenated terms is absurd. They will simply be Canadian. We need to speak about a common Canadian iden- tity and move beyond emphasizing our differ- ences. As Canada becomes increasingly racially- mixed and diverse, we need to transcend the poli- tics of ethnicity and start articulating our identity in pan-Canadian terms. Halton officer part of team off to Phillipines Constable Wendy Moragha, a 10 year veteran of the Halton Regional Police Service is part of an elite training team that traveled to the Philippines to provide instruction to 36 Philippine Police Officers and five school educators. The D.A.R.E. Training Team is made up of six Canadian Police Officers (with a special designation as a D.A.R.E. Mentor) and one school educator. The purpose of the visit is to provide instruction and to certify the Philippine po- lice officers. At the end of the two-week training, the Restoration and Art Services Custom Picture Framing: Conservation Framing, Needle Work, Dry Mounting, Oval Glass and Matts Featuring Roma, and Larson Juhl Quality Imported Picture Frames Art Restoration Services: Repairs for Canvas, Work on Paper, and Sculpture Regilding and Repair to Frames Custom Woodworking: Cabinets, Fireplace Mantles, Mirrors, Specialty Boxes' Open Wed-Sat 12-6pm Or evenings by Appointment Gy) 853-0622 Tom Carroll Hwy 25 (2 min. North of Acton, Beside Foothills Veterinary Services) Philippine police officers will be fully certified to teach D.A.R.E. -- Drug Abuse Resistance Educa- tion. An interpreter will not be required, as all Philip- pine officers are fluent in the English language. This is the first time that D.A.R.E. International has sought outside assistance in the training and certifi- cation of new D.A.R.E. officers. Until now the Ca- nadian Training Team had only been requested to do training in Canada. The Canadian Training Team has been in existence since 1999.