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Orono Weekly Tnes, Wednesday, March 26. 1997 - 9 Arthur Black Can you believe this weather? We've got winter on the run. The days are gettlng longer and warmer. The car actually starts in the morning wthout whinlng and moan- lng. You know what this means, don't you? Summer is just around the corner, folks. Summer! That means tourists. May God have mercy on our souls. Just kidding. 1 know that tourlsm- is a much-needed shot in- the arm for the Canadian economy. If this year is anythlng like the last we'll havesorne 20 million visitors checking in through the Welcome To Canada turn- sies. And by the Urne they leave, their wallets will be lighter to the tune of some $5 billion. So no mistake about it -- tourlsts are important. And valued. But my, they can be dumb. I have a theory about tourism. I believe that an actual genetic change occurs when an, average citizen sloughs off his everyday iden- tity to become a rubberneck wth a pocketful of travelers cheques and a Camcorder on his/her shoulder. I'm not sure about ail the biological ramifications of this change, but I'm convlnced itinvolves the loss of 'at, least 20 IQ points. Art Linkietter wrote' a famous book entitled Kids Say the Darnedest Things. Sômebody needs to wiite one called' Tourists Say the Dumbest Things. If you don't believe me, drop into your local tourist office,, offer to buy the atten- dant a coffee and ask her what's the dumbest thing she's been asked this week. A worker. in the Toronto Tourlsm office rememibers a phone call she fielded that went like tfus:11 Caller: "Can we get tickets to a performance of Beauty and the Beast this afternoon? Attendant: "Yes, you cani sir." Caller: "How long is the afternoon performance?" .Attendant: It lasts three hours, sir." Caller: "Whoa, thats 'way too long. How long does the evening show last?" It gets dimmer. The folks who run the Calgary Convention and Visit ors Bureau have been asked everything from "What time do you turn the Northern Lights on?" to: "Is your civil war over yet?" The alI-tine 'Most- stunned' question? Probably one that they get about a tourist site \outside of town. Just south of Calgary there This is where Indians once hunted buffalo by stamped- lng them over a cliff. And two or three times a years, some American tourist in Bermuda shorts an d a flowered shirt wlll approach a park attendant and ask: "What time do yoÛumn the buffalo off the cliii?" Not that Arnericans have anything like a rnonopoly in the tourist moron departunent -- we Canadians more than, hold our own when we go abroad., Ask any Floridian. Canadians are famous in The Sunshine State. They call us Snowbirds. That's because each' winter we descent in flocks of thousands tQ roost in semi-tropical splendor while we wait for Canada to become habitable again. Which explains Florida's favourite bumper stlcker. It reads: WHEN IGET OLD, I'M GOING TO MOVE TO CANA- DA AND DRiVE SLOW, oh those Floridians have got our number. I remember a wise-cracking waitress in a restaurant in Daytona Beach. WhlÉle I was paying rny bill, she said: -You're Canadian, aincha?" I said 1 was, and asked her how she could tell. She said" -Welli could tell you wasn't a canoe" she said. "A canoe?" I said. «Yup - 'cuz a canoe tips." S'tayl ng In -Touch John O'Todle Durham Ear-t MPP This week, I am asking you a question whi@h may seemf rather arbitrary. Do you thlrk public hearlng§ are impor- tant? First, let rpe explain the process.' The three party house leaders decide whlch legisiation wsll travel the province to r&Çeive public input. These decisions are made in series of trades to allow all parties the opportu- nity to oppose or support cer- tain legislation. As I described last week, there Is a lot of leg- islation and ôfPlY 50 much tiMe for pubi input. Once the leaders decide which leg- islation will traVel - each Party is -allowed to çanvas their supporters to nake presen- tations to the àtanding com- rnlttees. The house leaders also decide whlch cities will be visited. UsuiollY, there are more requests to make pre- sentations than there is tirne to hear ail requests. At the end of this proe-ess. alI three partiesare represented on each cornmittee. Usually, there are betWeeneleven to lourteen members on each committee witht the majority coming from the govemrment caucus. There are alsoleg- islative staff, the clerk and research personnel. hansard recorders and translators. The entire group comprises some twenty people, In my estimation for the four days travel of the enitire group. it probably costi in excess of $25,000-00. Tb-ere are often four such commnittees travel- ling, so the cost is probably over $100.000,00 per week. They are your tax dollars and democracy does not corne cheap. By the way, our gov- ernment has changed the commlttee process s0 that now, elected members no longer recelve the extra $100,00 per day for commit- tee work. It is now part of our regular duty, as it should be. This past week, I travelled ith the Standing Committee on Social Development to, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Barrie. We recelved some 30 submis- sions each day on Bill 104, The Fewer School Boards Act 1997. The main issues in the north were the large geo- graphical size of the new boards, the new -French Language District School Boards' need for extra fund- ing for French and the lack of access to technology' like internet and digital telephone systems. In ail honesty, some of the new boards will be larg- er than somie other provinces. In Eastern Ontario distance as well as rural versus urban differences were the topics. In Southern Ontario, the large as well as concern for fair representation by trustees. We also heard that the $5,000.00 cap on the trustee honorarium was an issue. Generally, the Educational Improvement Commission (EIC), whlch is a non-elected appointed commission chaired by David Cooke and Ann Vanstone was thought to have too much power with no appeal process. The CUPE delegations were concerned about the possibillty of their non-teachlng jobs being con- sidered for out-sourcmng. The Ontario Parent Council, whlch was put in place by prevlous government was supportive of the idea that school councfis would have more involvement in school governance. Some parent councils felt they needed more training to be effective. Many teacher organizations made presentations about the rights of their union members wlth respect to cla ss size and preparation Urne, but gener- ally these issues are not part of Bill 104. There will be- future legislation on teacher's collective bargaining. I enjoyed the exercise of lis- tening to the over 100 pre- sentations and agree that I did hear valld suggestions which I arn confident will result in amendments to Bill 104. 1 personally have made suggestions to amend the EIC and its' power without appeal, the importance of- rural representative by trustees, perhaps the trustee pay should be increased and I agree that both parents and students should be repre- sented on the school council and have access to proper training, as do trustees when they are first elected. I heard frorn many excellent teachers who really do care about how our proposed changes might effect the classroorn. We rnust get thiùs legislation right. No, govemnment wants to leave a legacy where our children's education and future rnight be atrisk. I was impressed by the presentations by Sharron Summers, Chair of the Victoria County Board of Education as well as Ruth Ann Schedlich and Bobbie Drew, Trustees from the Durhamn Boards of Education. It is my view that the five Boards of Education in my riding of Durham East are generally operated well and spend less than the provincial average. We will have less boards and equity of funding throughout Ontario once this legislatlon is passed. In conclusion, I repeat again, that I have proposed a resolution which will recog- nize the rights of our non- teaching school custodians. secretaries and educational assistants. I arn confident that this section of Bill 104, 335 (f) will be amended. Easter and Spring bring the promise of hope and warmer weather, it has been a long cold winter. 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