The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 _ THE NEW TANNER This is the second in a two part installment on the CBC. In the last column, we identified why the CBC needs to be fixed. Forty percent of the corporation's budget is spent on CBC Television, chasing ratings and advertising dollars in a vicious cycle that produces mediocre program- ming no different than any other station on the dial, and all the while ratings fall to abysmally low levels. What should be done? Governance of the CBC should be reformed. The presi- dent of the CBC should be appointed by the CBC board, and not by the prime minister. Currently, the president is accountable to no one other than the prime minister. Unlike any other organization, the CBC board cannot hire or fire its president, thus creating a dysfunctional organization. CBC Television should completely or partially de-com- mercialize. The CBC bids on the rights for expensive sports programming like Hockey Night in Canada, but needs commercials to pay for these rights. The ad rev- enue required to pay for these rights and the ensuifig commercialization undermines what the CBC is supposed to be about. So, one solution is for the CBC to remove commercials from all' programming'except for sports broadcasts. Reducing the numbér of commercials frony normal programming would allow the CBC to air a five-minute national newscast at the top of each hour, and a60-miiute> national newscast at 6pm and 10 pm. Reducing or elimi- nating commercials from CBC Television would allow the network to focus on quality Canadian programming, and to abandon the current preoccupation with ratings (which are already abysmally low). The responsibility as a public broadcaster is not to go after the largest audience and the most ad revenue; that's for the private for-profit broadcasters. The primarily responsibility of a public broadcaster is to produce high- quality informative programming from a Canadian point of view. This would allow the CBC to displace TVO™ and PBS as the choice of viewers.looking for. intelligent programming. This may mean more money is required for the CBC. Since 1993, this government has cut $200 million out of the CBC's budget in real terms. The BBC receives more than twice as much funding per capita as does the CBC. Among OECD countries, Finland, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Italy, France, Korea and Spain all spend more as a percentage of GDP on pub- lic broadcasting than do we. We get good value for our investment in public broadcasting, especially considering our sparse population spread out over a wide geographic expanse and our two official languages. Anewly focused CBC would also have other benefits. It would project Canadian interests in a stronger and more cost effective way around the world. The British have always viewed the money they spend on the BBC as part of their foreign policy thrust. The BBC powerfully proj- ects British interests around the world, in a much softer and more pervasive way than does the military. : A newly focused CBC would tie the regions of the country together in a stronger way, thereby strengthening national unity. That is why this government's handling of this lockout was so unfortunate. After eight weeks of disruption, little was accomplished that will help the CBC to refocus itself as a public broadcaster relevant to Canadians. YOUTH ACTION: Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnetté (centre) p' the newly elected chair and vice-chair of MYAC -- the Mayor's youth advisory group recently. -- Submitted photo Region has conditional interest in Affordable Housing Program Halton Regional,Coun- cil agreed to advise the Province of Ontario of its conditional interest in participating in the newly revised Canada-Ontario Af- fordable Housing Program pending further details. To date, Halton Region was allocated $10.1 mil- lion under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), which would be used to build 120 units and fund 90 rent supplement units. - The allocation of funds under the Province's AHP,» will be one of the tools considered by Halton Regional Council, in the development of a Compre- hensive Housing Strategy (CHS). The strategy will examine needs and supply across the continuum of housing types for all in- comes and all stages of life - from emergency shelters and government assisted housing to private sector affordable housing. The CHS steering com- mittee has consulted people in the Region, and based on their findings has devel- oped a Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives for the strategy. The committee has created five staff teams to undertake further analy- sis in quantifying the need and drafting the strategy. Local municipal staff and key stakeholders will be consulted as the work plans progress. It-is an- ticipated the Strategy will be presented to Council in oses with Dan van Kessel (right) and Marina Snider, Youth Action Committee and other members of the early 2006. "Housing is a basic hu- man need and an essential building block for having, stable families and com- munities," says Regional Chairman Joyce Savoline. "When people are well- housed, their family life is more stable, leading to bet- ter opportunities for good health and better outcomes for children. An investment in housing is an investment in a healthy Halton com- munity." New wood burning appliances may require building permit Noting the increased use of wood burning applianc- es to offset the escalating costs of furnace oil and natural gas, Halton Hills Fire Protection and Preven- tion Services is advising residents to check with the Town before purchasing and installing any appliance since it may require a build- ing permit. "Most municipalities have strict requirements about first obtaining a building permit for such projects," says Fire Safety Specialist David Ford. "This is your protection that the job gets done right." Ford also suggested resi- dents advise their insurance company of their intention to install a wood burning appliance. Some companies may have specific require- ments for additional policy coverage, he says. If you already have a fire- place or woodstove, have the chimney inspected before firing up the appli- ance, Ford says. Bird nests or other animals could have occupied the chimney. over the summer and caused blockages which can cause dangerous conditions when trying to use the appliance. Smoke entering the room when trying to light the ap- pliance is an indicator of a blockage in the chimney or a faulty damper control. Call a WETT (Wood En- ergy Technical Training) Certified chimney sweep and arrange for a pro- fessional inspection and cleaning, Ford advises. Check stovepipes and connections ensuring screws are located at all pipe --Town connections and are tight. Ensure the chimney is, equipped with a rain cap. Regularly check for in- dicators of problems. Flue pipes and chimneys can deteriorate over time. Check for corrosion or rust stains on the outer shell of metal chimneys. Loose bricks, crumbling mortar, broken liners, dark stains indicate problems with ma- -sonry chimneys. "These should be fixed immediately by a qualified mason," thes fire safety specialist says. No justification for article says satisfied Clinic client To the Editor ~Re: Lodging complaint following death of pet. While I sympathize with Ms. Schroeder over the loss of her pet, | am wondering what purpose this article serves. The article indicates that Ms. Schroeder has asked CVO to investigate the loss of her pet and I feel strongly that this should be a private matter between the Rockwood Veterinary Clinic and Ms. Schroeder, without involv- ing the local newspaper. As a multi-pet owner and a long standing supporter and very satisfied client of Rockwood Vet- erinary Clinic | see no benefit in having involved the local newspaper. I felt the article was trying to infer that since Dr. Maine is being currently moni- tored by the CVO there must be a problem with the clinic. The article also made the clinic seem very lackadaisical in the way they deal with things. In my opinion, I feel that both of these points are totally unfair and couldn't be further from the truth. Any time I am at the clinic with one of my pets, the vets and the staff are always very profes- sional. Ms. Schroeder's complaint seems to be that Dr. Roberts performed the surgery. With any of my dealings with Dr. Roberts, he has always been very professional, very thorough, caring and understanding. If Dr. Maine had to leave the clinic for an emergency, she should be able to leave the practice in the capable hands of the other veterinarians at the Clinic and her qualified-staff. I have the utmost respect for Dr. Maine, Dr. Roberts and Dr. Winder and would have no problem leaving any of my animals in their capable care. When something bad happens we are too quick to judge and blame. Part of the grieving process is being upset, which turns into anger and blame before acceptance. We have the right to want answers but that query should be between the Clinic and the owner, not written in the papers. | also read in the article that Ms. Schro- eder would not pay her bill. Regardless of which veterinary clinic you deal with, I am sure all pet owners have had instances where vet bills have been incurred without a happy ending. If all those times people refused to pay their bills there would not be any veterinarians practising. In closing | just want to reiterate that [. strongly feel that there was no justification in this article being published. Maybe the Acton Tanner would have been better focus- ing on the many accomplishments of the Rockwood Veterinary Clinic and the won- derful work they do in the community. N. Gilchrist RR4, Rockwood.