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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005 THE NEW TANNER CABINET MINISTER SPEAKS: Dr. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State for Public Health spoke at the Liberal Nomination Convention for Wellington-Halton Hills held in Rockwood on Saturday. From left are: Julian Reed, former MP for Halton, Kirstie Finnie, wife of the new candidate, Rod Finnie, and Dr. Bennett. Photo by Rebecca Ring Liberal minister says public unaware of public health pluses BY MAGGIE PETRUSHEVSKY The New Tanner Getting the media's at- tention for good news is a battle the Canadian Minister of State for Public Health has not yet figured out how to win. As the guest speaker at the Wellington-Halton Hills Liberal riding association meeting in Rockwood Sat- urday, Dr. Carolyn Bennett said unless there's conflict involved, the press isn't in- terested. Reproduce old Halton 1877 Altas The Halton Museum Foun- dation is celebrating Halton's 150" anniversary by repro- ducing 500 numbered copies of the 1877 Halton County Atlas. The Atlas is a. collec- tor's item and also one of the most sought after reference books in Halton. Funds raised from sale of the reproduction will help finance a new artifact centre for the museum and enable the Foundation to purchase the rights for the Atlas. Sev- eral drawings of Acton and area businesses and homes are included in the Atlas as well as a history up to 1877. The books can be ordered now by prepaying $79.99 which is $20 off the price which they'll sell for after July 29. They'll be sold on a first come, first served basis. The reproduction is an exact replica of the original Atlas, not a copy of the earlier re- prints which did not copy the entire book. A special premium edition of the Atlas bound in leather will also be available. It re- tails at $450. The Museum Foundation will ship the Atlas anywhere in Canada for $10. It can also be picked up at the Halton Museum which is situated at R.R.3, Milton (Kelso Conser- vation Area). A former Toronto doctor, Bennett said the Liberals need to do a better job of telling the public the success- es happening within health care. For instance, diabetes is still rising but heart disease and cancer rates are falling because of the decrease in smoking. The ultimate goal of the country's health care system needs to be to keep more people well longer instead of patching them up after they get sick. Much of Canada's exper- tise is developed here and used overseas, she said, but that means it doesn't show up as a contribution for activists protesting at the G8 meeting in Scotland. Because it isn't developed in a foreign coun- try, our contribution doesn't count. Meanwhile Canada is using the lessons learned during our SARs outbreak to teach other nations how to prepare for Avian flu. Bennett said problems with protecting our health care system revolve around the difference between public pay and public delivery. Re- ducing the system to one public pay scheme has let the government "saved buckets" of money by eliminating huge and diverse billing sys- tems within hospitals. On the delivery side we have many kinds of systems including public, private for-profit, and private not-for- profit. The government's aim is to keep out the for-profit providers run by sharehold- ers. "There isn't a lot of fat left in the system now," she said. "So if you have to squeeze out some profit the only way you can do it is to raise the price or drop the quality (of care)." Bennett says the govern- ment may not be able to control who provides service so instead they are setting regulations to ensure there will be no "que jumping," no fees for service, no self- referrals-by doctors, and a cap on prices so they won't exceed those of a sérvice in an ordinary hospital. The government is interest- ed in maintaining the quality of service and the price of that service rather than in ideology, she said. asd uteed CHIROPRACTIC Dr. Dave de Melo D.C. Deanna Wilson B.Sc., D.Ch. Foot Specialist Naomi Bedell R.M.T. Registered Massage Therapy * Safe, Gentle Chiropractic Care + Computer Generated Spinal. ee + Emergencies & Workers Comp _ Accepted + New Patients Welcome _ 25 Main Street North, Acton ~ Across from Giant Tiger Plaza (519) 853-3460 Serving Acton, Georgetown, Rockwood & Guelph ToT eran Toa EVENING APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE Acton man arrested for knife assault on friend A 21-year-old Churchill Road South man was charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and breach of probation after brandishing a large serrated bread knife at two friends -- one from Acton and one from Cambridge -- follow- ing a night of drinking in Acton last Wednesday. Police-were called to the man's apartment at 2 a.m. after he tried to attack his two friends with the knife. The friends managed to punch the man in the face and knock the knife out of his hand and call police, who arrested him at the scene. The only one hurt was the accused whose nose was bloodied. He was held without bail for several days and re- leased to appear in Milton court on August 30. Critical crash Halton Police said speed and use of a seatbelt are be- ing investigated as factors in an accident that left an Orton teen in critical con- dition at a Toronto hospital following a single car crash early Friday morning. A passing car found a demolished Nissan Path- finder on 32 Side Road, between the Fourth and Fifth Lines at 7 a.m. on PURIFICATION SYSTEMS INC. PoLice/FIRE REPORT Friday, and then discovered Karen Lynn Hornall, 18, of Erin Township, lying beside her SUV. She was taken to George- town hospital and airlifted to Sunnybrook Health Sci- ences Centre. _, Police ask witnesses to call them at 905-825-4747, ex 5202. Toys stolen Two children's scooters and a skateboard, valued at $250, were stolen from outside of a Lasby Lane home overnight Sunday/ Monday. Car damaged The hood of a 2001 Pon- tiac Sunfire belonging to Acton Motors was damaged overnight Sunday/Mon- day. Police said it looks like some one sat in the centre of the hood area, causing a large dent, and an estimated $1,000 damage. Pop theft An-unknown object was used to pry open the pop machine outside of the Speyside convenience store overnight July 5/6. A coin continued on page 4 + Hearing tests + Programming + Battery Sales + Fitting + Repairs + Counselling Alternate Wednesdays See you _ July 20" 10 am-4pm (CalliGuelphioffice,to]bookeyourjappointment; (519)1836-8Adawith| RamelayAshton! www-arnoldhearing.ca' PAPILLON'S Softener Sales & Services 2-18L Free Fills for New Customers with bottle purchase. OCMC ETM eects Residential Drinking U-Fill Water Coolers & Service & Models ; Water Systems Purified. Water, Softener Sales Repairs to all Makes questions. 11 MAIN ST. S. ACTON KOH EDR Store Fax : 519°853-8150 Toll Free: 1°866°870°4044 24h pager: 519¢241°6772 MICHAEL PAPILLON Owner/Operator