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â€"EnrronIAL For those who boat responsibly, there is always the story of a closeâ€"call when some ‘yahoo’ almost collided with them or otherwise failed to follow proper boat- ing etiquette. But all of that may change. The Ontario Minisz of Transport is now looking at a program that would require boaters to take a safety course or obtain a licence before they can operate a boat. . There have already been two water deaths this summer involving watercraft. In one incident, a 14 yearâ€"old Toronto girl was killed when the two-person jet craft she was operating crashed into a rocky shoreline. In another mishap, a seven year- old boy died when two boats collided. “"““"“ ”mu“ ““1“" SlwflvilelUfiMge Trim». Mllon Canadian Cherrpion. Mississauga NM: Geoff mu Circulation mean, Newmrm-Aurora Era-Beam: North York Wm. Oekviuo Beaver. Grilles Today. pshawa/Whibym Week. Pderborough This Week. Richmond Hit Teri Cases 011709 Manager Trwmm'yaugm Lbor-I. WI! um. . All mereneI pubished m the Oalmle Beaver is proleded by cmAny Tim Coles Production Manager rwmdudion in m Inpen or mas meter'al is may torbudden' ‘ me consent 01 the ‘ . Advenisi is accepted on me condition that, in the event d a re Heal error. that portion of the advertiai ce occu ' lhe Wham Ingmar wih A reasondfle allowame lur smwwmpfig no? be chermd lor. but the balance a the dogma” wimgd lor allhe mpicble rule. The ptbishar reserva the nyn locategorize and reject advertising In [he ever! of typographical error. adverfidnggoods orservieesauhewrmgpma,goodsusenrioesmynolbosordevem'sing‘ oflermsdlmd hevrilfflawnatanytirm. But at least when youire on the roads here, yod know that all drivers have been licenced to operate a motor vehicle and that includes motorcycles. Some people may have poor driving habits but at least they have at least some rudimentary training. Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Oflioe Manager Tim Coles Production Manager getting from one place to another Even if you’ re minding your own busi- ness, you may find yourself involved m a mishap that could kill you and or your passengers. ‘You may be in the right....dead right. ’â€" nyone who travels the highways of Ontario knows about the dangers of The way our immigration policy currently exists, there are more losers than winners. Immigrants wanting to fit in are hampered by services often not available in their language yet funds to support these agencies are declining. When will the feds get the message that you can’t have it both ways. Either you allow high immiâ€" gration and support it with funding or you cut back until such a time when funds for the infrastructure are available. Deadly boats The issue is hitting every area of the country and Halton is no exception. The region’s Social Planning Council has just released a report found 40 per cent of the 96 agencies surveyed were sewing clients from from different cultures than even five years ago. On the one hand, the feds talk about immigration in positive terms yet on the other, they beat the bushes telling us that they’re acting more fiscally responsible. You can’t import hoards of people and then ignore how the social service infras- tructure is going to cope with the added strain of immigrants, many of whom can- not speak English. t’s certainly about time the federal government got its act together regarding its immigration policy. As it stands now the Liberal government sees nothing wrong in opening our doors to more than 250,000 immigrants a year despite Ottawa’s moves to ignore funding for the agencies newcomers rely on to try and cope with life in a new land. The move to improve boating safety is long overdue. WEEKLY FOCUS Funding first 467 Speers Roa_d, pakville, OnI. L6K 3S4 Classified AdVertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 345-9742 or 845-9743 845-3824 'Fax: 845-3085 Spears Rd., Oakvile, is one o! the Melrcland Pflmi Pubishi A Distrbutiq UdV group 04 suburban newspapers which inclu as: Ajax enng New: Adveniser. Barrie America. Brandon Guard'an. Burl‘ on Post, Col" Connecfion, Elobicoka Guamian. own I nl/ Mon Fm gngslqg [his ‘WulL‘LindsgLThis‘ 303:. IL am Ecgnomiu and Sun He’s had dozens of eyewit- ness reports from natives over the past few years. He’s seen with his own eyes large foot- prints that, he believes, could belong to no other animal. That’s why he’s out there, padding through the Mato Grosso of the South American outback. Wearing a gas mask. Yes, a gas mask. That’s the other thing that every eyewit- ness who’s spotted a mapin- guari never fails to mention â€"- the stench. “People universally report that this animal really stinks,” says Oren. “People become intoxicated and spend a day or two lost in the forest after they come in contact with it.” A mapinguari is a very large, rather nasty, furry ground sloth which has never actually been officially recorded as ‘present’ in modern times. Indeed, most scientists believe the mapin- guari became extinct about 9,000 years ago. But Mister Oren â€" a U.S. biologist â€" who’s been living in and studying the Amazon basin for the past 18 years, is convinced it’s out there, somewhere, munching on the Brazilian underbrush. ight now, even as you’re reading this, . David Oren is most likely creeping like a bandit through the Brazilian rain for- est. He is stalking an extremely elusive mammal called the mapinguari. A mapinguari is not something you’d like to have in your living room when the vicar comes calling. Some things may smell bad but Others just plain stink Smells are funny things. My father sold sheep and calves at the Ontario Public Stockyards. It was a job with odiferous overtones. He died 35 years ago, but if] close my eyes I can summon up, just as if he was sitting next to me, the aroma of sweat and hay and cowhide and sheepdung that clung to his That’s the bad news about durians. The good news is: you’ll probably never smell one. They only grow in Malaysia. But when you break it open, chances are you won’t notice a thing about the texture. You’ll be too busy throwing up â€" because the ripe durian smells very much like rotten fish. The durian is a round green fruit about the size of a water- melon. The fruit is studded with sharp green spikes and can weigh up to 30 pounds. When you break it open, it reveals white pod-like sections that have the texture of a very ripe camembert cheese. Interesting to speculate about how bad the mapinguari must smell. Worse than a skunk? As bad as week-old roadkill? More overpowering than Uncle Leroy’s outhouse or the breath of your Grade 10 Geometry teacher? How about: worse than the smell of a durian? I pass a couple of hog farms every day on my way to work. Mostly, I don’t notice it, but on the occasions when the wind is just wrong and the car window is open, I am reminded once again of what one microbiolo- gist described as “that indefati- gable engine of pollution â€" the pig.” I remind myself that after all, I could be passing a durian plantation. When that happens, I try to be philosophical about it. One researcher said she had evidence that the smell from hog lots altered the mood of downwind residents. Another Scientist suggested that swine odor could be the cause of dis- orienting blackout spells. Everyone agreed that the smell of swine was one of the largest remaining hurdles between urban and rural folk. I wish I could say the same about pig manure, but I can’t. Pigs don’t smell the way other farm animals smell. Cattle are...aromatic, horses smell good, sheep smell okay, but pig's stink. Pigs stink in a way that only another pig could for- give. Pigs stink so much they rated a special seminar at an international agricultural con- ference held in Ames, Iowa recently - a two-day seminar devoted to bog odor. It was enough to take your breath away. That’s why I smile whenever my city friends recoil in mock horror at the smell of cattle manure. It’s perfume to me. workclothes.