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LJ , » wT ad! 36 WATER ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. L9L1j2 Phone : 90%) 985-6397 Fax : (905) 985-1410 EDITORIALL advertising sales : Chris Hudson accounting : Sibylle Warren eternal optimist : Liz Drebit feature writer : Heather McCrae "Proud Canadians, proud to call Scugog Township home." Padciciie lit or lose it Paddle it or lose it. That's essentially what organizers of Canoe the Nonquon, 1994 are saying. If this community wants this 26 year old tradition to continue, get out and support it. If not, it will die after-June 4. It's a canoe race if you want it to be, or just a pleasant paddle down the Nonquon River and Lake Scugog on the first Saturday of June. The cost to enter your canoe is $25 plus any pledges you can get from family, friends or co-workers. Money raised supports the Scugog Museum, and has for the last 25 years. Need more information? Call 985-9699. And remember, you can support Canoe the Nonquon this year, or you can lose it, forever, MP - gun control Durham MP Alex Shepherd, like all reasonable thinking people in Canadian society these days, is worried and concerned about the use of fireafms in criminal activity. And certainly, recent events in Ottawa and Toronto in which innocent people where Titerally gunned down in the street or while out with friends at a restaurant on the good side of the tracks, sent shock waves through this country. These and other incidents even prompted federal Justice Minister Allan Rock to suggest publicly that all hand-guns should be baftned. Mr. Shepherd, to his credit, rejects this notion of a total ban on hand-guns. In a statement this week, the freshman MP for the riding of Durham says quite clearly "it seems to me that banning hand | guns is not going to reduce violent crime or the number of homicides." And he goes on to say that "clearly people who try to operate above the law carrying handguns are not going to take a course much less an examination in how to use a gun." Precisely. The suggestions floating around that hand guns be banned or that all law abiding gun owners be required to store their legal weapons in gun clubs or even police stations is foolish. Canada already has tough lawe when it comes to legally owning a firearm. As of Jan. 1, gun owners are required to take a course and complete, the requirements for a Firearms Acquisitions Certificate at a cost of $400. Are those with criminal intent going to go through the considerable red tape and then fork over $400 to get a firearm? Of course not. They are going to hand over $100 for a weapon that most likely was smuggled into this country from south of the border. Yes, there is an active and lucrative trade in illegal weapons from the United States going on in every major city in Canada. No matter what steps government may take to make things stougher for the legal ownership of weapons, the criminals will always have easy access to hardware--from a small calibre pistol to hunting rifles to modified shot-guns--for a price of -- Seo icon Tuesday, 3 May $, 1004 | A published by © Sc co-publishers ; John B. McClelland, Valerie editor : John B. McClelland * "Valerie Ellis ~ x' g Citizen Publishing Ltd. ocNA Member THE SCUGOG CITIZEN [ an indey ly owned and operated i @@n cena weekly community newspaper, i is distributed, free of charge, to over 12,000 homes and businesses | CCNA Verified in ond argurd Scugog ~ 1 Controlled bscriptions sold outside Scugog Toshi. WANTA BUY A © WRTZH? CAMERA? . VCR How ABOUT SR trogen SOME MUMS? ROADSIDE VENDOR LETTERS To THE EDITOR Ea fr -- Our country is in trouble' says teenage letter writer To the Editor: Canadians are becoming increasingly frustrated with their multi-culturalistic "cultural mosaic" and ever so gradually sthey are leaning towards an American Style "melting pot." Certain cultural aspects of Canada are no longer getting the respect and admiration that they once did and deserve. What is wrong with the country? Is there even a problem? A couple of incidents occurring over the past year in Canada show that there is a problem, and that our country is in trouble. Pride, honour, and nationalism are no longer what they once were. Between 1867 and the 1960's, Canada's pride stood high. Everyone was proud to be Canadian and cherished their nation by having a great sense of devotion. An example of the downfall of our country, occurred recently in a Royal Canadian Legion Hall in British Columbia. Two Sikh veterans of World War Two Wanted to enter the Legion on course. 3 In his statement this week, Mr. Shepherd found through his own research that 85 per cent of deaths in Ted d disputes involved a rifle or a shot-gun, and in the 15 per cent involving hand guns, less than one in four were illegal. He also found that alcohol abuse was a factor in 65 per cent of the domestic deaths involving firearms. What Mr. Shepherd would like to see from any new legislation involving weapons is a restriction that would deny those with a documented history of substance abuse from getting a hand gun. Nobody should be hiding in the sand over the viciously upward spiral of violent crime that js-taking place in Canada. But instead of getting tough on Yor abiding gun owners, there are many who feel the governrnt should be getting tough on those who use weapons to commit a crime--any, crime. ~+ brance Day but were not allowed in. The reason being that they would not remove their turbans, which would be in violation of a strict rule that allows no headwear inside the legion. The tradition in the Royal Canadian Legion of no headwear dates back to' World War One and Two, where out of respect for fallen comrades, soldiers would remove there headwear (helmets etc.) and place them on their chest. It was then carried out in the legions. Following the incident, the Canadian War veterans were called racists. Is this in fact a racist action or a display of honour and dignity toward an 80 year-old tradition of Canada? Try and enter a Sikh temple in Canada without removing all footwear at the entrance. You can't. Why is this tradition allowed to stand? These men who fought for Canada's freedom, are not racists, they are proud, honorable Canadians who have enough guts to stand up for the respect of our country. Many of today's youth have no respect for their count; at it has to offer. At-aH schools across Canada, the national anthem is played each morning and silence is expected, but to some it is no different than listening to an old 45 their parents like to hear. Oh Canada is played for all students to remember their heritage and feel pride. There are however a few who seem not to care and have, at least show no respect for themselves, others, or their country. Recently at a local highschool, the national anthem began. and an experienced teacher asked a student to remove his hat. Ignoring the teacher the student did nothing. The teacher reiterated his demand and the " student turned to him and said "What for?" In the national anthem, "We stand on guard for " represents standing on guard 'for our country, and how glorious we Canadians feel it to be. It also states that we will defend it if necessary. It is very nationalistic, but by the looks of things, we no longer have the pride, desire, or interest in our country to back up what we stand for. Recently, in an incident at a " Toronto highschool, a female student objected to standing for the national anthem. She stated it was against her religion. Her sixty-three year-old teacher, who is two years away from retirement, objected to her not standing for the anthem. Still refusing, the teacher became very frustrated andg angry. He made her stay in the classroom and began a class discussion on the subject. The next day the teacher was reported to the principal by the woman, and he was reprimanded. He must now go before the Metro Board of Education, with his*pension in jeopardy, to see if he will be allowed to continue teaching. The teacher said, "I will apologize.to the student for embarrassing her, but I am sick of apologizing for certain cultural aspects of this country that deserve respect."(Toronto Sun, March 15/1994) Should one be penalized for teaching tradition to a person regardless of status? This man is not a racist, or a bigot, or out of touch with religion. He is simply a decent, hardworking, proud Canadian who is tired of seeing Canada's traditions and respect stepped on! Continually, incidents such as Turn to page nine