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2 THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI se oes a es WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1997 Rights and freedoms threatened, group says BY a HARRISON jre preamble by way of riences and culture = & -- Says call N EWS SHO RTS The Georgetown Gemini Following the recent debate over the posting of fliers de- crying the loss of Canadian traditions in Glen Williams, Steve Edgar brought the chairman of the Voice of Canadians to Georgetown for a public information setting. Despite a small turnout, VOC chairman Dick Field, told the audience that the rights and freedoms prom- ised to Canadians are slowly being eroded by special in- terest groups, government agencies, and "the Cheater of Rights." Field was introduced to the audience by Edgar, who gave introducing himself as co- founding member of the Voice of Canadians. Edgar told the audience that he and his family moved to Glen Williams last sum- mer and have been very happy in the Glen. He refreshed the memo- ries of the atidience as to the controversy, which arose when he distributed fliers calling for the return of a traditional Christmas concert at Glen Williams Public School. "People often ask what is Canadian Culture? Why do we feel the need to define ourselves through the expe- Estate & Industrial «qh ONTARIO AUG, of NORM WEBSTER (416) 523-6645 most recent immigrants? Let's make them part of the Canadian Identity, not the definition of who and what we are as Canadians," Edgar said. "Canadian Culture and Values are not lakes, moun- tains and forests. It is our values, our traditions, our food, our language, our lit- erature, our experiences. And one of those traditions is a publicschool Christmas Con- cert, not a World Wide Win- ter Celebration. If you want to perform a World Wide Winter Celebration, do it in January or February. Do not perform it in December and do not pretend that it is a Christmas Concert." Edgar said that the Voice of Canadians has been called a racist organization by its detractors, despite the fact that no proof has been of- fered to substantiate that claim. Field, a veteran of the sec- ond World War, went to Eu- rope as a young man to fight against the racist policies "of that accursed man, Hitler." "They are the mind read- ers of society," Field said, Nee SPY MORE of the hit movies you want to see. The Biggest Name In Entertainment! HOT NEW RELEASES --------ae CDH HARRIET THE ESCAPE FROM L.A. HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (March 4) THE FAN KINGPIN CG » FREE POPCORN _ (while you browse) 100% Canadian Owned and Operated 319 Guelph St., Georgetown 90s) 873-8505 OPEN 10:00 AM- 1:00 AM DAILY the Voice of Canadians "rac- ist.' "They cannot accept what people say without look- ing for some hidden agenda. It is they who contort state- ments with which they disa- gree into evil intent." Field said that most of the letters printed in local media missed the point. "We Canadians are lazy, we are apathetic, we have let our principles fall into disre- pair and outright abuse," Field said. "We have dishon- oured them, we have breached them, we have ig- nored, derided and turned a blind eye to their destruction and we will pay a terrible price for that indifference." Field said that he holds the government, left-leaning me- dia, academics and grant seekers accountable for un- dermining the basic tenets of free people. "Be proud, be a Canadian! Don't keep quiet because those who oppose your views call you racists, bigots or rednecks. You are their best friends. Why? Because you are their guarantee that they can continue to talk without getting shot." Outside the meeting hall, some protesters gathered handing out pamphlets de- crying the alarmist message of the Voice of Canadians. Valuable figurines stolen Halton Regional Police were summoned to the scene of a Tenth Side Road residence, Friday, when it was revealed that a home had been entered and several valuable figurines had been stolen. Police believe that the break-in occurred be- tween 8:30 am and 6:30 pm, through a rear door which may have been unlocked. The culprits are believe to have exited the home by the same door. Among the items listed as missing were between tenand 15 Royal Daulton figurines, three Swarovski glass figurines; assorted pieces of jewelry and bank- books. According to police a dollar value on the missing items is still being assessed. Computer, phone stolen Halton Regional Police were called to Centennial Middle School after a Macintosh Notebook compu- ter and a Nokia cellular phone were reported miss- ing. Police are uncertain how or at what time the theft occurred, but they do know that it happened be- tween Feb. 11-12. The value of the missing items is estimated at $2,800. 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