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Preserving Quebec Culture The Clarington/Courtice Independent, Bowman ville, Saturday, August 10, 1996 9 Parliamentary Notebook Alex Shepherd Durham MR Language police and repressive repressive sign laws, these are the renewed renewed assault on the anglophone anglophone and allophone communities of Quebec. Many people in the world, in far less democratic countries than Canada, would find it difficult difficult to believe that a government government would actually engage police to spy on store patrons and others engaged in commerce commerce to ascertain what language language they are conducting themselves in. George Orwell wrote about Big Brother and its insidious intrusions into the lives of people in his. book "1984". Many believed his concerns unwarranted. I am sure if he were alive he would point to Quebec's laws as evidence evidence of the evolution of this phenomena. Quebec and Quebecers have genuine concerns about the loss of their culture and language. language. Realistically, they live in a sea of English, bombarded daily through the media. It is not totally unreasonable they would take some steps to try to protect their way of life. Indeed, Indeed, peoples throughout the world are trying to find ways of identifying themselves as unique, as we move toward a . global trading system. This is all of Canada's challenge as well. In a free democracy we must question the power of the majority over the minority. When I travelled to Quebec with a number of our constituents constituents for the Montreal Rally, just prior to the Quebec Referendum, Referendum, I was struck by the number of Montreal anglophones anglophones who not only thanked us for our support but pleaded for us to help them in their plight. Clearly, not all disgruntled disgruntled anglophones or allophones in Quebec can just pick up and leave. Many are no different than us. They are not rich and they have commitments. They look with fear toward the repression repression the separatists want to dish out. How to even maintain your job, if your only language is .English, when knowing that non-French speaking - Quebecers Quebecers represent almost 20% of the population, and only 9% of the Quebec government can count their first language as something other than French. It is clear there must be limitations limitations put on the power of the state. Majority government is one thing, but when it translates translates into tyranny against minorities, minorities, it must be resisted. The anglophone community is now uniting to boycott stores that refuse to display bilingual signs. This is a reasonable action. action. It would also be reasonable reasonable if we all had lists of these companies, to discover any national national firms engaged in these practices, as we too, should boycott them in Durham and elsewhere. The French language and culture is well and alive in Quebec. The repression of the minority has less to do with preservation of a culture than the repression of a minority who want to remain part of Canada. The generosity shown to Quebecers in the recent flooding flooding in the Saguenay, by other Canadians, is proof of our recognition recognition of the dignity and mutual mutual respect that we can foster. After all, we are all human beings beings trying to carve out an cxis- ' tence on the northerly portion of the North American continent. continent. It's time that Quebecers themselves came to the realization realization that this sort of repression is unacceptable. I will be speaking this week in Ottawa with my colleagues from Quebec to see how we can stop the continued tyranny of the separatists in Quebec. Junior Firefighters Have Breakfast at City TV Some of the graduates of last year's Clarington junior firefighters' program were guests at City TV's Breakfast Television program. The Clarington group is pictured above, with Ann Rohmer, host of the program. Shown, from left, are: Captain Cord Weir; Brad Roney, a junior firefighters' instructor; Rene Hearn, Robbie Weir, Jackie Chamberlain, Ann Rohmer, Jessica Azevedo and Ruth Bouttell, also an instructor at the junior firefighters' program. Rene, Robbie, Jackie and Jessica are all graduates of last year's program. They displayed protective gear, the handling of fire hoses and the use of fire extinguishers during their visit to the show for three mornings. The program -- now in its second year -- will be running throughout the month of August. Lucky, the Fire Department's mascot, is also in the photo. Summer Students Gain Experience at CLOCA At 5:58 p.m., the 5th of August August 1996, a fatal motor vehicle vehicle collision occurred on a private private road linking the east side of Petticoat Creek Park in the Municipality of Pickering. In this incident, a 1987 Nissan Sentra was going westbound on this private road and struck an iron gate. As a result of this initial impact, the car then lost control and struck a tree. There were seven occupants in the vehicle. A front seat pas senger in the car sustained severe severe injuries in the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim was identified identified as Nicole LaROSE (age 19 years) of Toronto. Two other other occupants of the car sustained sustained minor injuries. The incident is still under investigation by the Traffic Management Unit of the Durham Durham Regional Police Service. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (905) 579-1520 at Ext. #5255 of Finding rare species of flowers, helping kids and adults discover the wonders of nature, assessing the health of the streams and erosion/flobd protection are just a few of the duties summer students are performing at the Central Lake' Ontario Conservation Authority. Authority. The 43 students have been hired through various employment employment programs such as Environmental Environmental Youth Corp (EYC), and Ontario Summer Jobs. Positions Positions include, Environmental Day Camp Counsellors, Environmental Environmental Educators, Aquatic/ Natural Areas Assessment and Erosion/Flooding Control Monitoring. "It is great being able to apply apply our education to practical situations," states Shawn McDermott, Aquatic Assessment Assessment Program. Shawn is attending attending Sault Ste. Marie College. College. The Natural Areas Assess ment Crew documents the flora and fauna of an area for Authority Authority records and have to date documented three regionally regionally rare plants: Small Yellow Ladies Slipper, Maiden Hair Fern and Showy Orchis. "After walking through the area without without finding anything significant, significant, discovering a rare plant makes the day seem all worthwhile," worthwhile," notes Jody Van Schaik, University of Waterloo student. student. All 43 students also participated participated in a Summer Safety Day which included such topics as Help to child ib learn / first aid,.rabies, fire extinguishers, extinguishers, accident prevention and more. "All of the summer programs programs relate to the Conservation Conservation Authority's theme and focus focus of 'Healthy Watersheds', " states Gord Geissberger Community Community Relations Officer for CLOCA. "A healthy watershed benefits everyone by giving us clean drinking water, flood/ erosion protection and passive recreation (fishing, hiking, etc.)" At the conclusion of the summer the students will have obtained marketable job skills along with knowing they have helped to maintain and protect 'Healthy Watersheds' in Durham Durham Region. w V Pi panr/c/pacr/oni The movement lor active, healthy living Cj Announcing... We're both at 49 King Street West in Historic Downtown Bowmanville Monica Rose Fashions Fall and Winter Fashions Now Arriving! • Sportswear • Casual Fashions • Day Dresses Regular, petite, and. 4 women s sizes Accessories Telephone fTLe Bridal Path ^ifeddingf Gowns and Bridal Fashions • Ring'bearer and Flowergirl outfit rentals • Decorations and Accessories for engagements, showers, weddings, and anniversaries • "Freeman" Formal ^ear "Complete Wedding Co-ordination" 623-0351 Quality Resale for Children Join us at our Midnight Madness P.J. Sale, Friday, Aug. 16 between 6 p.m. and midnight for fabulous savings and with every purchase you are entered into our Contest .to win A FAMILY PASS FOR FOUR TO THE MOVIES. For our early bird shoppers Friday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., enter your guess to win a JUG OF JELLY BEANS in our JELLY BEAN COUNT. Thanks to you we're growing! Watch for the opening of another 1000 sq. ft. of Savings on Children's Furniture and Equipment. 34A King St. West, Bowmanville 623-9331 ' ©j.p.