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THE HERALD Wednesday April 2f Page 7 jv itfeiV LETTERS Our natives live in third world squalor OWER raises 8000 for dump fight By VIC PARSONS Ottawa Bureau Thomson News Service When carloads of native demonstrators arrived on Parlia ment Hill recently to protest changes in a federal post- secondary education program an intriguing counterpoint was being played elsewhere There were reports that Air Creebec a regional airline owned by the Crees of Northern Quebec was assembling a bid to take over troubled Inc As it happens the proposal did not get off the ground In light of problems Air was probably wise not to go ahead But the very fact that an Indian- owned company was solid enough to consider the takeover suggests welcome changes in Canadian society Despite that the country has a nagging problem that will not go away and which cries out for solu tion A week before the Indian hunger strikers and their supporters demonstrated on the Hill the Canadian Human Rights Commis sion drew attention to a sad fact An Indian youngster in Canada has a better chance of being sent to prison than of completing universi ty the commissions annual report to Parliament complained The system is heavily weighed against them Unemployment suicide family breakup and alcohol abuse is ram pant Federal statistics show about a third of reserve housing have no central heating sewerage or septic tanks A quarter of the homes have no running water In many places these Canadians the first Canadians we should add live in Third World squalor MANY FAILURES The tendency over the years has been to throw money ad ministered largely by white bureaucrats at the problem Last year for instance Ottawa paid about billion into its Indian and Affairs Program There have been some success but too many failures Under the Native Economic Development Program now ex tended to the end of July more than million has been paid in five years to support nearly business projects Land claim set tlements are helping Air Creebec for example was purchased through funds paid to the James Bay Cree as part of their 1975 set tlement But thats not enough Ottawa was criticized in the commission report for its abysmal record in failing to hire native people for jobs in federal agencies other than Indian Affairs And the trend toward self- government must pick up In Brian haste to reach the Meech Lake accord he Ignored the constitutional needs of Canadas poorest people One of the successes involving a relatively modest federal pay ment has been postsecondary education Twentyfive years ago the number of native university students was less than Now about 15000 attend postsecondary schools This change has borne fruit We are seeing now a new class of ar ticulate sophisticated native leaders They are increasingly adept in using the white mans methods and their own traditions to get control of their lives They- deserve much credit for recent im provements GOOD PROGRAM Unfortunately the federal government seems unsettled by the cost of what it admits is In the words of Indian Affairs Minister Pierre Cadieux one of the most successful programs my depart ment has ever undertaken Dear Sir Please allow us to express our thanks to you for publicizing our giant garage sale and to the citizens of Halton Hills for their response in making our sale a giant success We are most grateful to the families who donated their treasures There was something for everyone and we also say thanks to the thousands who came and supported us and our cause to stop the dump From your generosity POWER realized just over This will be a big help in meeting expenses involved in sending legal represen tation to the MOE Environmental Assessment Hearings We should all feel proud to be part of such a wonderful community just another reason why this dump must not be allowed to destroy it One must be careful not to single out individuals but there are some people who must be recognized We ask you to support our spon sors as they have supported us Rapid Print who printed and folded 1200 flyers free Knet- chels and IGA in Georgetown for donating buns and wieners Tim Horton for donating recyclable paper cups Fries for donating ketchup and mustard Bill and Joe Brooks of Brooks Farm Service for the use of a large truck Rob of A Touch of Class Kitchen Showroom for the use of a large Behind the iron gates Kells Korner Donna Htrausttfl The mysterious Bi ble Society is like a town within a town It seems a person could live there and never touch base with the rest of Halton Hills where there is industry a residential popula tion and internal government Now the group which also has aU these things is asking to get bigger and better in Halton Hills The society built and operated by the religious sect the Jehovahs Witnesses is an ac cepted property in Georgetown renowned for its vastness and viewed with curiosity through its iron gates Recently the bible society plied to the town to get permission to expand on its acre property The proposal would give the group expanded residen tial capacity and new ad- buildings To present this proposal the Jehovahs Witness group filled the town council for a public meeting armed with pictorial propaganda that decorated the walls for several hours The room was filled with aerial photographs and schematic drawings as pleasant men In suits milled about the room smelling of Ivory soap The suited men sat themselves on one side of the room for ques tions and presentations But some supporters carefully hid themselves on the other side of the room where some protesters were seated There was a marked discrepan cy between neighbors who loved the Watchtower and those who seemed to disapprove It was puzzling How could one group call the Watchtower a good neighbor while the other cursed the groups proposed expansion The answer is simple There hid den among the objectors smelling of Ivory soap but not wearing suits were bona fide Watchtower neighbors who were also Jehovahs They failed to identify themselves as a biased source as they spoke in favor of the expan sion proposal Lets ask a Presbyterian or a Catholic if he would like his church property ex panded Lets bear him deny that the parish run by Pastor Maclean or Father OReilly is anything but a good neighbor To say other wise might be equated with blaspheme This not to say la not a good neighbor It might well be But there are those who are complaining that the view from their backyards facing the in terior of the copiplex is Ut tered with machinery from con struction Thats one side of the story But the other side must be told Since organized tour of the Wat chtower plant for thousands of Halton Hills residents is out of the question perhaps representatives at the local government level could be there In our place Maybe people in Halton Hills should know what goes on behind those gates before the town within a town gets bigger truck MacDonalds for the use of their igloo drink dispenser Tom and Linda Hill of Georgetown Ren tal for the use of a coffee urn Don na of Georgetown Fabric for the garage sale advertisements in the paper Service Station on Queen St in Acton and Wendys in Georgetown for billboard adver tising Acton Welding Speyside Store Georgetown Little Theatre University Womens Club for dona tion of books and for the loan of tables Town of Hills and Limehouse Womens Institute We extend a special thanks to Mayor Russell Miller and the Town of Halton Hills for the use of public works yard Thanks to Ted Frank Morette the public works department for their help and co operation Last but not least to the POWER members themselves who gave so much time and worked so hard thanks We also thank the many friends of POWER members who volunteered and helped in so many ways The delivery of pamphlets to almost every household in Halton Hills could not have been ac complished without their help No project is a success without the tireless effort of committee heads They do deserve recognition Bake table Pat Thompson Cof fee Joan Lister Hot dogs Carey and David Banks Tina Love Lesley Break Signs Pam Sheldon and David Noble Cash Marjorie Kirkwood and Linda Noble Mega phone advertising Malcolm McKenzie David Noble Barbara Halsall Media coverage Rita Landry Pam Sheldon Barbara Halsall Public awareness display Chris Rumley David Noble and We thank the following families for pickups and storage Kirkwood French Brooks Ben ton Noble McGregor Pet- tipher Banks Everson Beard- more Cunningham If we have missed anyone please accept our apologies and thanks We are pleased to say that after the Salvation Army chose items they can use in their work that POWER had only one large truck load left This will be auctioned as soon as arrangements can be made Thanks again Glenda Benton on behalf of the Events Committee and POWER Write us The Herald wants hear from you If you have an opinion you want to express or a comment to make on something you read in the Herald send us a letter or drop by the office with your sign ed letter to the editor at Guelph Stseet Georgetown The mailing address Is Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario 3Z6 Were waiting to hear from- you Human rights commission has shown its real face Dear Sir Finally the Canadian Human Rights Commission has shown its real face Mrs Michelle Ramsey president of the Commis sion declared that a womens group is engaging in hate pro paganda and infringing on the rights of the homosexuals The group in question is REAL women Real Equal Active for Life The statements questioned com pared homosexuals dying of AIDS to smokers dying of lung cancer and declared that pornography and prostitution are a threat to the family Mrs Falardeau Ramsey spoke not as much to defend the rights of the homosexuals as to at tack REAL women She added that the group does not deserve the they received from the Federal Government this year for organizing a conference in Ottawa Certainly if the Human Rights Commission cared about homosex uals dying of AIDS it would be for telling them the whole truth about the risks and the consequences of their lifestyle REAL women did just that In addition this group is fighting the uphill battle against prostitution and pornography Ap parently REAL womens work is irritating the other side The Na tional Action Committee for the status of women NAC represented in the House by some Liberal and NDP MPs clearly em braced the commissions view by raising the point of the grant in the house during ques tion period Because of the criticism REAL women received we must conclude that the other side must be for pornography for prostitution and against wanting homosexuals of the risks intrinsic with their lifestyle The truth proclaimed by REAL women is hard to swallow for the people who have been fed pleasure with no moral founda tions The last tactic for avoiding to face the truth is to dismiss it as hate propaganda It is paradox ical that the Human Rights Com mission which is normally on the side of individual rights now wants to deny REAL women their right to free speech It is also in dicative that while groups af filiated with the NAC receive grants from the federal govern ment amounting to more than million per year the Human Rights Commission wants to res cind a few thousand dollars of fun ding granted to a womens group which happens to be on the right side on moral issues It is finally clear that on these issues the Human Rights Commissions rights lie very much to the left Giuseppe GorL Family Coalition Party Halton North Riding Association So whats your color By IAN WEIR Remember the good old 1970s That was the glorious era when you couldnt go to a party without being asked ad nauseum what your Sign was This was always a trial for those of us who believe astrology makes about as much sense as Don Cherry or perhaps the average federal budget If you must know my own sign is Virgo ascendant with Irritation rising But mercifully this fascination with signs seemed to die out in the 80s perhaps reflecting a growing awareness that theres only one sign bearing any relevance to the average persons journey through life Its the one that says Watch For Rocks On Road But now just as we thought it was finally safe to make casual party chitchat again the New Age movement has struck back Here on the brink of the 1990s were in troduced to the marvels of wait for it Horology is of course the science of colors More specifical ly according to a newspaper arti cle I read this morning colcroiogy maintains that everyone Is under a color sign that dominates character traits and life ex perience You guessed it Whats your sign is about to be replaced by Whats your color as the of ficially approved Enlightened and Spiritual conversationstarter Oh goody gumdrops suppose we could always try to deflect this question by answering it literally My i color is a sort of pastywhite occasionally tinged with purple when Im hounded by nitwits at parties But somehow I doubt this will work In which case its time for us all to learn about colorology This may be tricky since the ar ticle didnt specify how one gets born under a color sign in the first place- What precisely are these things Are they abstract and mystical or are they literally colored signs mean the behavior of many of my best friends might suggest they were born under a red neon sign reading Licensed Premises But somehow I doubt this is what the mean In any case were told certain colors are linked with certain per sonality traits Orange people for instance are competent and organized Yellow people are ex pressive and sociable and green people are benevolent service- oriented and scientific Now youll already have perceived a glaring omission Ap parently all of the colors on the list are positive As such it would seem the col orologists have utterly failed to Identify the color which explains some of your inlaws This is Bert Hes a kind person Try using a spoon on that soup Bert Still were assured colorology is a wonderfully useful guide to character Apparently people sub consciously dress In colors which reveal deep truths about themselves And an English orologist named Steven John Gilbert Is quoted as giving specific and splendid examples Forget about Whats your sign Dont even bother with your color Get right to the heart of the issue So hey tell me about your knickers Oh the are going to be one decade