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THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 11 Wellington O.P.P. Report DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE On Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007 at about 9:15pm, officers at- tended to a home in Erin for a reported domestic distur- bance. They arrived and spoke to a 32-year-old female who reported being pushed to the ground by her common-law husband. The victim did not require medical attention. Officers arrested a 39-year- old male from Erin who was held in custody until a bail hearing in Guelph Court on January 8, facing an assault charge. BREAK-IN On Monday, Jan. 1, at about 1:50p.m. OPP officers re- sponded to reported Break Enter and Theft from a home located in Hillsburgh. The victims reported being away from the home overnight and when they returned they found that someone had pried open a rear sliding door. Officers found the home had been ransacked, and a list of exactly what was sto- len was not available. Police are asking that anyone with information involving this break-in to contact Constable David OLeary of the OPP Fergus office at 519-843- 4240 or they could call the Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-8477 (1-800-222-TIPS). R.I.D.E. RESULTS This years 2006 Festive R.I.D.E. program ran from November 29, 2006 through to January 2, 2007. Drink- ing and Driving is one of the most common crimes that police deal with in Wellington County and is responsible for many deaths each year. Officers throughout Wel- lington were assigned to conduct R.I.D.E. on every shift. Members of the County of Wellington O.P.P. Traffic Management Unit as well as paid duty officers were also utilized to conduct spot- checks on a daily basis. This year, officers stopped 55,722 motorists during the campaign. They charged 18 people with impaired driv- ing offences (8 people were charged in the RIDE Pro- gram itself). They issued 19 12-hour suspensions and 11 90-day administrative driv- ers licence suspensions. They also laid an additional 117 charges against motorists. STORE BREAK-IN On Wednesday, January 10, at about 5:10am Wellington OPP officers responded to an alarm activated at a busi- ness in Rockwood. Officers attended to the Rockwood Convenience located on Main St., Rockwood and found the door had been forced in and suspect stole a small amount of cash from the register. Police are asking that if any person has information regarding this incident, they could contact Constable Dan Milne of the Rockwood OPP office at 519-856-1506 or they could call the Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (1-800- 222-TIPS). ??????????????? ?????????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????????????? ????????? ??????????????????? ?????? ???????????????? Johnny Tocher J Congratulations on your engagement Joe & Amanda Love your Families Love your family Nina, Candice, Tessa and Elyshia Happy 50th Birthday with many more to come. HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAYHAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAYHAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAYHAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY HAPPY 50 TH BIRTHDAY HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY HAPPY 50 TH BIRTHDAY HAPPY 90TH POP Love the family for Peter Crann & Sarah Drexler Saturday, January 20th/07 St. Georges Church 99 Woolwich St. Guelph, ON 8:00 p.m. Tickets at the door for $10 Stag and Doe Report from PARLIAMENT HILL By Mike Chong MP Wellington/ Halton Hills Forging a common Canadian identity challenge for this country Canada has benefitted greatly from immigration and from the accompany- ing diversity; no field has been unaffected, from the arts and entertainment in- dustries, to academia, to a workforce ready and able to fill the job market. And we are becoming more di- verse. In the last 20 years, there has been a threefold increase of people in Cana- da who identify themselves as visible minorities up from 1.1 million in 1981 to almost 4 million in 2001. Yet, for all our successes in Canada, there are some concerns. The social cohe- sion that we have accepted as normal between differ- ent ethnic groups is under pressure. Recent immi- grants are finding it more difficult to start a good life here and are falling behind in our urban areas. Increasingly, the faith- based beliefs of newcomers (such as using Shariah law as the basis for faith- based arbitration in family and personal disputes) are challenging Western lib- eral norms (such as the equal treatment of men and women). These are troubling trends because they have to do with how we view ourselves and each other. They are all a question of identity. This question of identity has serious impli- cations for Canada. When a common Canadian identity is under threat, so is this nation-building project we call Canada. We must move beyond thinking of identity in eth- nic terms, and start talking of a common Canadian identity. We have always had a complex identity. There are a myriad of ethnic groups, regions, two official lan- guages, and the original native peoples. Each has contributed to the diverse fabric of this country. Each has been protected in the Canadian constitution through the recognition of multiculturalism, official bilingualism and the recog- nition of the treaty rights of aboriginal peoples. How- ever, above all of these, there has always been one Canadian identity, fragile as it sometimes may be. An identity forged out of a common history, out of war and out of necessity. It has never been a categoric identity like that of our neighbours to the south, but nevertheless, it has been there from the beginning. But too often in this country we talk of those things which make us dif- ferent from each other, and not those things which we have in common. Canada is not simply the disjunction of different groups, differ- ent peoples, and different regions. To be a Canadian is also to share in common something with every other person in this vast and in- choate land. Too often we talk of hyphenated Canadians and view them primarily through the lens of their ethnicity. In doing so, we fail to see the other quali- ties they bring to the table. As a result we deny them the opportunities that exist for the rest of us. No doubt, this is done with the best of intentions. The irony is that visible minorities want to be approached on common ground. They want to be accepted as the rest of us are: simply as Canadian. My children are of Chi- nese, Dutch, Scottish and English descent. To speak of these children in hy- phenated terms is patently absurd. They will be sim- ply Canadian thats my idea of Canada. The challenge for us is to articulate a common Canadian identity. This will allow for greater un- derstanding between ethnic groups and one that will allow new Canadians to be seen for their potential and not simply for their ethnicity. In the past, challenges to Canadian unity were met with a strong, central government and leadership that articulated a com- mon Canadian identity. As Canada becomes increas- ingly diverse and racially mixed, our future challenge is to transcend the politics of ethnicity and start ar- ticulating our identity in pan-Canadian terms. If we are going to ask newcomers to integrate into Canadian society and become citizens who share a common set of rights, responsibilities and beliefs with every other citizen in this land and I believe we should we cannot then turn around and, based on ethnicity, recognize an- other group of Canadians as separate from the rest. Michael Chong, Mem- ber of Parliament for Wellington-Halton Hills. chongm@parl.gc.ca 1-866- 878-5556. Social & Personal Events