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Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Subscriptions $29.91 + $2.09 GST = $32.00 per year. ' Publications Mail Registration No. 09301 • Agreement No. 40012366 Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. 'We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs." CanadS Jti 3013 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON LOB 1M0 Email: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Sports and Display Advertising - Donna Wood Front Office and Classified Advertising - Rosey Bateman The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of iinteresttoour readers retired wl fS"0n'g«vCnd slander If your retail œ,eM| 0 V n N=too1an Ir musi be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times Will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. times, or The greatest Canadian A few months have lapsed and Canadians have discovered there is life without the National Hockey League. Grey Cup weekend is behind us and so are the reports that there is a resurgence in support for the Canadian Football League (CFL). Whether the media reports are to believed, a great many Canadians do seem to be taking an interest in the Grey Cup game--a 92 year Canadian tradition. We are told that Canadians can identify with CFL players, because (unlike professional professional hockey players) they are just your 'regular guy ' living in your neighbourhood and working regular jobs in the off season. season. Our national Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) must have been working overtime anticipating the NHL lock-out, as they have filled the many hours of freed up air-time. The CBC came up with a winning combination. "Movie Night in Canada" replacing Saturday's "Hockey Night in Canada," and the "Greatest Canadian" contest airing Monday and Wednesday nights, to take our minds off the lack of hockey. hockey. the case for the last candidate of the top ten 'Great Canadians' was presented on Monday evening. A synopsis of all ten nominees will be aired on Sunday night. The Greatest Canadian will be revealed Monday evening. Any way you slice it, the "Greatest Canadian contest has upped the ante as far as Canadian content is concerned. It has made us think about greatness, and how it applies to Canadians. Tommy Douglas is still in the lead, in front of Terry Fox, Frederick Banting, David Suzuki and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. I would wager that many of us, in central Canada, never realized the contributions that Tommy Douglas made to the Canada we know today. Douglas, the past premier of Saskatchewan, gave us our national health plan among other things. If Douglas wins the "Greatest Canadian" contest, more power to us. . . However, I would also be proud to have citizenship in a. country that hails an amputee marathon runner as our hero. If, at the end of the day, hockey's big mouth Don Cherry is voted "Greatest Canadian"--I'm moving. To vote for anyone but Cherry, call 1-866-303-VOTE (8683) or visit the cbc.ca website. II* doiighan.com Staying in Touch MPP John O'Toole Party Leader John Tory Term Care to discuss the visits riding /attends round importance of retaining all table on agriculture existing services at Lakeridge I am pleased to welcome John Health's Port Perry site. This Tory, the new leader of would help the community Ontario's Progressive Conser- attract new doctors in the vatives, to Durham Riding future, and also enable Port November 24, for a Round Perry to continue to serve as Table discussion with the an important teaching site for Riding's farm community. The doctors from the University of Round Table will be held at Toronto who are training to be Nestleton Community Centre family practitioners and need from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In the experience of working in evening, Mr. Tory will address smaller communities. I have a dinner at Blackstock written the Hon. George Community Centre. Smitherman, Minister of This will also be an oppor- Health and Long-Term Care, tunity to brief Mr. Tory on in support of the Township ol local issues such as the. future Scugog and its campaign to of obstetrical services at Port keep the full range ol services Perry's hospital and support at Port Perry's hospital, for schools serving rural and including obstetrical care, smaller urban areas. I have As a caucus advisor on recently written Ontario's agricultural issues, I also want Minister of Health and Long- our party leader to have the benefit of first-hand input from farmers, agri-businesses and rural residents in Durham Riding. Agriculture in Ontario contributes over $30 billion to the provincial economy economy and employs more than 640,000. John Tory is consulting consulting all Ontarians and I know he will be acting on the advice he receives in establishing establishing policy that will build a stronger Ontario. New Science Park launched in Clarington Congratulations to Hol- burn, a Bowmanville-fciased Biomedical Science and Biotechnology company that last week announced plans for the development of a new Science Park in Clarington. The first phase of the project is now under way. Holburn is working with the Municipality of Clarington to create the infrastructure that will support national and international, research-driven companies. This project will help R&D based biomedical science and biotechnology companies to launch their businesses. 1 am pleased to represent a riding that has so many diverse and innovative businesses that are looking to new opportunities for the future. Clarington and Holburn are to be congratulated congratulated on their latest initiative. The Holburn Science Park is located at a 50-acre site on Bennett Rd. Province seeks input on Greenbelt Legislation December 12, 2004, is the deadline for public comments on the provincial government's government's proposed greenbelt legislation. legislation. A public meeting to explain the provincial government's government's pew greenbelt plan takes place Thursday, November 25th in Oshawa from 7 p.m* 1° I® p.m. The location is the YWCA at 1 McGrigor Street. You can also submit your comments online by visiting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing web site at www.mah.gov.on.ca and following following the links to the comments comments page. The Ministry may also be reached at the following following postal address: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 777 Bay Street, 14th Floor, Toronto, ON M5G 2F5. When you comment on the legislation, I would appreciate appreciate hearing from you. Your feedback will ensure Durham Riding's response to the greenbelt plan is clearly heard at Queen's Park. Proposed law would make bike helmets mandatory A new Private Member's Bill introduced by MPP John Milloy requires all Ontarians to wear helmets while cycling, inline skating, skateboarding, riding a scooter, or similar muscle-powered vehicle. This Bill has received second reading, reading, with support from all parties. parties. However, a number of Durham Riding residents have pointed out that, although safety is important, it's also important for adults to have personal choice and use their own judgement. It has also been suggested that enforcing helmet laws is not the best use of time for law enforcement officers. The bike helmet law has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy for further input. Your comments on this, or any other provincial matter, are always welcome.