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^ Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, May 17, 2000 -5 J Shelley Etmanskie's garden at 5865 Ochonski Rd, was part of the District 17 Garden Tour, last Saturday. About 125 gardeners ignored the rain and toured the Etmanskie garden. The tour was a fundraiser for the District, which will host the Ontario Horticultural Convention, in Toronto in 2001. Staying in by John O'Toole, MPP May 14 to 20th is Police Week. The province, along with regional and municipal governments, is emphasizing the importance of frontline policing by funding 1,000 ' new police officers. We have introduced Christopher's Law, The Sex Offender Registry, The Safe Streets Act, and The Sergeant Rick MacDonald Memorial Act, the last of which prosecutes drivers who flee police pursuits. Last Weekend, thousands of police officers and their families attended the unveiling unveiling of the newly ■ completed monument to slain police officers. officers. The Ontario Police Memorial, located on .the grounds at Queen's Park, stands as a testimonial to officers officers killed in the line of duty. Recently, Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen announced a $331,857 investment in enhancing the Living Legacy program. -The fund will be split among 22 projects on the Niagara Escarpment, Rouge Valley and Lynde Marsh. The purpose of this program is to protect significant natural areas, broaden public awareness awareness and enhance rehabilitation rehabilitation in these areas. One of these projects is a pedestrian footbridge at the Lynde Marsh* in Whitby. The recent décisions décisions by the government in relation to the Oak Ridges Moraine and other natural environment areas are reassuring. reassuring. Despite the media's frequent portrayal of the provincial government being indifferent to the environment, environment, I am confident that we continually seek to find a balance. balance. The M inistry of Natural Resources is working with the Orono community on a land use plan for the property- once occupied by the provincial tree nursery. For young people people considering a career in , this field, the ministry is offering an Internship * Program. To find out more, call my office at 697-1501 or 1-800-661-2433 or you can also visit on the web site www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/yout hprograms for more information. information. Patricia Bell-Metivier, president of the Peterborough branch of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) responded to the proposed teacher testing announcement by saying, "Not much of the announcement 'is new to local educators". OECTA had previously previously announced that they would refuse to take part in any teacher testing. Ms. Bell- Metivier added, "Having new teachers pass an exam for certification certification isn't a bad idea". 1 am pleased by this response from teachers because I am confident that the vast majority majority of teachers will exceed any test expectations. What is important is that we have fair and consistent evaluations and appraisals from board to, board. These changes will be phased in over the next couple of school years. The second part to the educational educational announcements this past week is a further refinement refinement of expectations. The proposed amendments to the Education Act (if passed) include the following provisions: provisions: - Boards will be required to meet province-wide standards and fulfil their legal, educational educational and financial responsibilities. responsibilities. - Teacher time in the classroom classroom will be required to match the standards set two years ago in Bill 160, which in secondary schools is, four hours andlO minutes per day or 20 hours and 50 minutes per week) I understand that teachers do more than the required 20 hours of direct classroom teaching time. - Go-instructional activities such as sports teams, arts, drama, music, yearbook and other normal school activities will be required to be provided provided for students. ' I understand that this last part of the education announcement is the more controversial of the two. However, many aspects out side the classroom contribute to students' overall experience and they must not be denied these opportunities. In my mind, the boards were unable to stand up to the strong teacher unions. Even when arbitrators set conditions, the unions withdrew what was called extra-curricular activities. activities. 1 have had numerous calls from teachers, students, parents and frustrated administrators administrators who hâve strongly suggested that these co- instructiona! activities be mandated, I can only hope that next September, we do not have any disruption to our students' school year. 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