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A6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday December 8, 1999 T he Oakville Beaver Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associate Publisher Norman Alexander Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Martin Doherty Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Mark Dills Production Manager Riziero Vertodi Director o f Photography M otrdand Prim ing. Pufcfcfw ig & OfcfrfcuOnQ U d .. ndudos A ^w /P cknm g Nowo ArNontocr. A fctcn H crakV C oulflr. Barrio AfVanou. B a rry'; Bay The W ix k . B oltcn B rio rp riM . Bram pton O u a rlm . B urtngion P o d . B t/ln g ic n Shopping Nevrs. Q ty Parent. C cA rtjw oa m tw jg o Com ncttan, East VtrV M rrcr. Enn A d/ocateiC auntry R o u te . E tobcoko G u m lo n , R a rrt» n x j^ P od. G ecrcjaow n tndBpendom/Actcin Froo Pmcs. K n rw B u m s T tnot;. K ingston This W eek. LxxJsay This W eek. M arkham E cn o m sl & Saxt M kfa n d 'P o n e ta n g m sh in o M irro r. M IKon C anaO an C ham pion. MHlon S o p p in g N tvrs, M sassauga Buanacs T riy t. M ta ra ig a Nows. N aponw G uda. N ew m arkeVAi/cra Era-Banner, r* .m u T tM r> i Nows. Nonh Yfcrit M rror. C akvile Boomer. O okvto Shoppng Nows, CkHm ars Hockey Nows, O nto Today. O A iw ^V A ytby. T ir> ngfcn Pert P w iy The V * * * . O w n S a rd Tribune. P eterborough T h e W eek. P reton C ounty G uido. R ichm ond H */T h o m h *V a u ^ e n Liberal S carborough M rro r. S tou ftvio riJkb n d g e T.-txrw k r w r M ju rg . O y c* ' jk C k n rlx . OPINION RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: {O V A B O n ta rio Com m unity N a w sp a p o rs A sso cia tio n Canadian Com m unity N o w sp a p o rs A sso cia tio n 467 Speers Rd.. Oakville O nt L6K3S4 (905) 846-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-2809 Circulation: 845-9742 S K o f A m o rica E d it o r ia ls In th e news When it comes to news, Canadians seem to love their politicians. Every year since 1946, the Canadian Press has sent out forms to the coun try's media organizations to pick the year's We don' t know how top newsmaker. But as you might expect, this year being many men filled out the last of the millennium, CP asked these these forms but it' s clear, same media types to list their top 10 news most o f them have both makers for the past 100 years. And guess what? Seven of the 10 were short memories and are politicians, most prime ministers. poorly informed on The only exceptions w ere Terry Fox, Canadian history. Frederick Banting and Billy Bishop. We don't know how many men fdled out these forms but it's clear, most o f them have both short memories and are poorly informed on Canadian history. Perhaps they were confused by the term `newsm akers' as opposed to `greatest' or `most important'. How else to explain some omissions such as Nellie McClung, author and activist who ensured the place of women in the British North America Act. (She came in as number 12.) O r how about Lucy Maud M ontgom ery? Aviator Wop May? Or the Dionne quints? No doubt the names on the list are mostly politicians due to the relative youth of our country and the fact that keeping Canada together has been a political tug of war for more than a century. In fact that's likely to continue. Herewith the list from bottom to top: 10. Brian Mulroney, 9. Billy Bishop, 8. Wilfrid Lauricr, 7. Lester Pearson, 6. Mackenzie King, 5. Tommy Douglas, 4. Frederick Banting, 3. Rend Ldvesque, 2. Terry Fox and number 1. Pierre Trudeau. Anyone you think should be on the list? (Fax us at 337-5567 and we'll print some alternatives or additions. iTs THE LATEST FROM THE TECH D EP A R TM EN T. -ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR HUMAN Welcome to AUTOMATIC XM AS He r e a / Letters to the Editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be typed, signed and include the writer's address and phone number. Send to: Letters to the Editor, The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 No need for Community Living strike to continue The: e m p lo y e e s of Community Living Oakville are now entering the fourth week of strik e a c tio n a g a in s t th e ir employer. This is an em ployer who would rather adopt a siege mentality and literally freeze out their employees than bargain in good faith. The em ployees are not the only ones who are suffer ing. So loo, very unfortunately and m ore im lp p o rta rtan n tly , arc tne c lie n ts th at are still receiv in g care. M a n a g e m e n t c la im s to be o fferin g m o d ified and lim ited se rv ic e s. H ow ever, the public does not realize quite how limit ed and m o d ifie d th in g s have become. O n th e e v e o f th e s trik e , clients w ere involuntarily relo cated away from their personal pe rsonal belongings, routines, and famil iar surroundings. One man cried as he was leaving his fam iliar s u rro u n d in g s , th a t he c a lle d home. Where did they go? They w ere m o v ed to o th e r h o m es owned by this em ployer for the duration of the strike. The em ployer's rationale was to provide adequate client supervision in the absence o f n normal e m p lo y e e s ta ffin g . H o w ev er, those clients have lost the com fort o f their own bedrooms, and are now s le e p in g on c o ts. R outines have been disrupted, and some client medical appoint ments have been cancelled due to the lack of supervision cover age being available. Yet, clients still con tin u e to pay th eir full m onthly rent on their personal bedrooms and living space, as if it is business as usual. As for the hom es now su p posedly vacant, at least one now serves as a flop-house for the six s e c u rity g u a rd s h ire d by the em ployer, in order to m aintain 24-hour su rveillance on union activities. For what purpose were th ey h ire d ? W e're n o t su re , because this has been a peaceful strike. This only indicates to us that the em ployer's resolve is to d ra g o u t th e s trik e , at the expense o f the client's peace and well-being. L e t t e r o f t h e W e e k Inquest findings reflected those of fire chief I w rite in response to Ian R ankin's letter which appeared in the Beaver, Wed., Dec. 1, 1999, "Chief's comments at inquest an outrage." It is unfortunate that Mr. Rankin could not have attended the inquest proceedings. Had he been present, he might have directly heard the comments made and understood their intent. During the inquest, it was necessary to determine the exact issues which led to this tragic situation. I made it clear that the issues in the fire from a safety perspective were: non-working smoke alarms and the absence of an escape plan. Fire departments across North America cite these fire prevention measures as necessary steps in a fire prevention strategy, and the jury's recommendations support us in naming these factors as crucial for safety. I certainly never blamed the victims for the outcome of the situation. Rather, we analyzed various factors lead ing up to this tragedy to determine how such, situations might be avoided in the future. As the Oakville Fire Chief, I remain highly accessible to the residents of this community and I am always avail able to discuss fire safety issues. I can be reached at 905845-6601, ext. 4426. Reflections on Y2K as the year winds down TO BURT-ANN A language moved by common use May seem to suffer from abuse Remember when terminal still Meant it was lime to make a will When Y2K was once a phrase And gay old time was high praise When a ram still chased an ewe And the millennium was old, not new The ROM still held antiques, not bytes A bit was still an equestrian sight Or eight made up a drill set And not a unit on the Net When a web was spun across trees To snare food, not user fees Safe sex was not getting caught Aids were something you still bought Language changes and changes again Words and phrases in a different vein Chaucer to Shakespeare could not speak I hope to talk to you next week M.A. Miller William Strong Stacy Mitro Wayne Gould Fire Chief Oakville Fire Department Workers seek parental support for better conditions I would like to comment on the Letter of the Week, printed in your paper on Dec. 1st, 1999, written by a parent who states that she is losing re sp e c t for C o m m u n ity L iv in g Oakville workers. I am sorry to hear that she does not respect us, because this is one of the issues we are fighting for that is the respect to be heard and ap p reciated as p ro fessio n al workers. I do find her com m ent when she states that "the majority o f the strikers are young, just starting their career with idealism oozing out of their every pore," offensive and disrespectful. Where is she getting her infor mation? Has she joined us on the picket lines to see that the m ajority o f the workers are mature people who have many years of work experience along with a college or university education. We are people who have the same financial responsibilities as others, including fam ilies to support, m ortgages, and rent to pay. What right does anyone have to say what has directed us into this line o f work. For some, it may have been a young social con science but for most of us, it is a profession that we have chosen for various reasons. We are proud of the work we do. I will agree that it is not the money that people choose this profession and, even if the money is not lucra tiv e, we do e x p e c t a fair w age. Yes, the burnout rate is high, but I believe it is no high er than in any other sector o f the social ser vices. Government employees have received a raise increase o f 4.3% this year. The govern ment funds Community Living Oakville, so why are we being discriminated against. She also com m ents on the clients being shuffled into overcrow ded, uncom fortable, unhealthy conditions or being sent home to their fam ilies. This was not a decision the workers made. These decisions were made by the m an ag em en t o f C o m m u n ity L iv in g O ak v ille and su p p o rted by the B oard o f Directors. The support workers that are on strike are just as concerned about these condi tions as the parents are. We need the support o f the parents, not THEIR CRITICISM to help us end this strike. When the parents/families have come to us for support and advocacy for their family mem ber, we have always been there to take on their causes and concerns. We now ask that the same support be returned in our goal for respect and working conditions that are fair and equal. S t Mildred's expansion would hurt environment In her recent letter ("Wrong issue protested"), Ms. Rose expressed concern that residents who live in the area of St. Mildred's Lightboum School had put up signs protesting the school's proposed expansion, instead of focusing on more important environmental issues. As one of these residents, we can understand how people who do not live in the immediate vicinity might not under stand the serious im plications o f the school's expansion plans -- both to the environment and to the quality of life in this area. St. Mildred's has purchased four adjacent proper ties on Linbrook Road on either side of the school for pur poses o f a multi-phase expansion plan. On two o f the properties alone, there are over 300 trees, most o f which will be taken down to expand the school. We are also concerned for the safety of the young chil dren who attend both Linbrook School and St. Mildred's, and for the many older retirees who live in the area, because an expanded school campus will exacerbate traffic and noise levels that are already difficult to contend with. Linbrook is a relatively small road. The school is already a formidable presence. The traffic gridlock, the litter, and the noise levels are already difficult to tolerate, and buses that go along Linbrook are frequently re-routed due to conges tion. Even in its present size, this is a large private school com plex shoehomed into an otherwise quiet, peaceful residential neighbourhood. St. M ildred's would do better to seek a special location away from residential neighbourhoods to accommodate its burgeoning campus, where its environmental impact would be minimal. Gloria Pachkowsky Worker, Community Living Oakville Pud by Steve Nease Linda Sage and Hugh Alexander On behalf o f Neighbours Against St. Mildred's Expansion