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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 28. 1987 -- § by John B. McClelland Viewpoint TURKS & CAICOS DREAM The idea of Canada annexing the Turks and Caicos. Islands in the Caribbean is being bandied about again. It's not a new idea, by any means. Way back in the days when Borden was Prime Minister, there were some who thought it would be neat if Canada could have its own islands in the sun. ' Now, a couple of Tory MP's are drumming up sup-- port for annexation, and last week two Turks and Caicos representatives arrived in Canada to discuss the possibility. They say that almost all of the 10,000 Turks and Caicos natives are in favour of some kind of union with Canada. It's a quaint idea all right. And maybe it would be nice for Canadians to be able to hop a jet and four hours later find themselves on Canadian territory smack in the middle of the Carribean where we could spend out money at par and soak up some hot sun in the middle of January. oo But realistically, should Canada be considering such a possibility? A report prepared for External Af- fairs on this topic several years strongly suggests the problems encountered by Canada would far out-weigh the benefits. The string-of some 30 islands is almost totally lack- ing in hard and soft services: roads, electricity, sewer and water, educational and health facilities. Com- munications between the islands is almost non-existent, and while the islands have just 10,000 inhabitants now, the report estimates at least that many are working elsewhere in the Caribbean. How much would annexa- tion cost the Canadian government? Probably a lot more than the tax revenue generated by Canadian tourists. And there could be other serious problems for Canada. The islands could become a jumping-off point for the traffic of narcotics into North America or for the movement of-illegal immigrants from other Caribbean countries. | Dealing with these two aspects alone would be an administrative nightmare for Canada. And what might happen if the Canadian govern- ment did agree to annex the islands, spent millions for services, hospitals and schools and then the Islanders had a change of heart and decided they no longer wanted to be part of Canada? Would we let them go? Would there be a civil strife? Would Canada be accus- ed of neo-colonialism? One of the arguments for annexation is that Cana- dians would opt to vacation there and in turn this would help reduce our overall tourist dollar deficit. Well it might to a certain degree. But surely we are dreaming if we think Canadians in large numbers are going to stay away from England, Europe and the United States which is where the bulk of Canadian tourist dollars are spent. JSersonally, I don't think anything is going to come of the push now to annex the island with Canada. But if it does, we should put aside the romantic and quaint notions and look at the proposal in cold, hard economic terms. In the long run, it would not be a good deal for this country. If we are so concerned about the large tourist dollar deficit in Canada, there are cheaper and better ways to correct this. Firstly, if we had better tourist attrac- tions in this country, more people from outside our borders might be persuaded to spend some dollars here. Likewise, more Canadians might be inclined to stay home for their vacation, Or, if we are really upset about the tourist dollar deficit, we could simply slap some ceil- ~ ings on how much Canadians can spend outside Canada in a year. That of course would be a drastic step and very unpopular. Let's get on with running Canada as we know it to- day. Adding the Turks and Caicos as the 11th province ~ or as some kind of protectorate might sound nice, but the costs and the problems would not be worth it. WHAT'S TWO YEARS I was taken mildly to task recently by Liberal Par- ty candidate for Durham East Diane Hamre. In a story about her nomination victory, I put her age at 50. That is not so as Diane informed me after the story appeared in print. She says she's 47 and will turn 48 this June. : Also, in last week's edition of the Star, a recipe for Easter bread got jumbled in the paste-up process, and: a reader called me to say that the recipe as printed made absolutely no sense and was impossible to follow, even for an experienced bread-maker. : I'm still trying to sort out the proper order for the recipe and when I do, I'll leave a copy at the Star office for any bread-maker who may want it. (Turn to page 6) Yesterday's Letters Memories 70 YEARS AGO ' Wed. April 25, 1917 Mr. William Etty, florist at Prince Albert, has purchases a Ford car, and will have it fitted for delivering his plants this season. Dr. R.B. Harris has enlisted with the Army Medical Corps. Ten diplomas were presented to members of the Efficiency Class: in the Methodist Church. One of the oldest houses of Scugog was torn down recently on the farm lately occupied by Mr. Soloman Fralick. 'Mr. William Bickle lost a valuable horse recently. Due to a broken ankle, it became necessary to shoot the horse. 45 YEARS RS AGO ' } ~~ Thurs. April30, 182 Friday, April 24th' Was Preacher's Night at the 'Lions Cluk, The guest speaker was Rev. E.A. Twist, Anglican Chur¢h minister at Ux- bridge. Rev. W.C. Smith, United and Mr. Hawkins, Baptist were also guests upon this occasion. . Rev. J.A. McMillan was inducted as Minister of Port Perry and A party was held at the home of Mrs. J.E. Jackson in honour of former Scout, Mr. Owen Cliff. About 25 scouts were present besides Scout Master Mr. Vernon, 'Rev. W. and Mrs. Stocks. Mr. R.M. Holtby is busy buying Holstein cows for the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Mr. Dewan. 30 YEARS AGO Thurs. April 28, 1957 At a meeting of the 100F, 25-year jewels were presented to Bros. Oscar Beare and Les Smith by Bros. A.M. Lawrence and to Bros. Charles Reesor and M. Dowson by Bro. J. Gibson. [ Miss Georgia Brock is spending her Easter vacation in Hamilton, Bermuda. Mr. and Mrs. George Wolfe, Blackstock, attended the By-Line Ball at the Royal York, sponsored by the Toronto Press Club. Miss Mabel Van Camp, Blackstock and Dr. Elisabeth Bridgman, Angola, have left on a trip to Vancouver. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Victor Aldred (nee Marjorie Milner) who were married last Friday at Grace United Church, Scugog. 20 YEARS AGO | Thurs. April 27, 1961 With a majority of one vote, residents of Scugog Township ap- proved of the sale of liquor under a dining room licence for - tion with meals. The turnout for the vote was the heaviest in the history of the Township with 231 of 260 eligible voters casting their Peel's Poultry Farm Ltd., of Port Perry, will be sponsoring breeding stock and broilers for the poultry building 'Man - The Pro- vider" display at Expo "67. The 8ta Aanual Beare Bonspiel was recently held in the Port Perry Curling Club. Trophy winner was the Gerry Hunter rink with Bud Sonley, vice; Art Panabaker, second and Gord Prentice, lead. (Turn to page 6) rd Is Port Perry Scouting doomed? To The Editor: The parents of Port Perry support a wide range of activities for our children from the winter hockey games and figure skating to the summer soccer and baseball days, with lots of cheering parents and friends. 'Ghosts & Phantoms To The Editor: _.. . "What did we do in the old days:for . entertainment? People came to- square dances in old tin lizzies, horse and buggy, some with horse and saddle and some walked. In the old days, you did not call 2 cab to ~ take you home. Listening to the old folks telling ghost stories was kind of scarey, but very injeresting as well. Everybody seemed to believe in ghosts; there were supposed to be haunted places and buildings everywhere. Close to my uncles home there was a wooded strip about 100 yards long. In the middle there was a hollow which was reputed to be haunted. It was known as Indian Hollow. : - One spring my uncle was using Mr. MacEachern's horse to do his plowing because his horse was too light for heavy farm work. It was just about dark when he finished. The chore of taking the horse back . to his own stable was mine. Since I had to pass the haunted hollow to reach Mr. MacEacherns, I also had to pass it on my return. I was only a youngster and pretty scared. Going to Mr. MacEachern's was okay because I was mounted on old Daves back which I thought would protect me from the ghost. I made the trip without encountering any ghostly forms. On my way back I was on foot. | was almost past the haunted hollow when something came running out of the woods. I was so terrified that I could not yell and almost jumped out of my skin. As I took off, I left However, one of our oldest movements is being greatly neglected. Come September when all the children are back at school its time once again to make the an- nual trip to the Scout Hall to sign up for Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, etc. Dozens of parents that thing behind so quickly you would think it. was tied. I am certain I broke all recoffis: . ...=* _- I learned later (Old Tip) a big shaggy dog, belonged to a neighbour and was a friendly old fellow. As a fan of the Phantoms I just can not understand so many people _ believe me to be The Phantom. The Phantom is pleased with the Fitness Challenge so far? The Phan- tom hopes all concerned Senior Citizens of Scugog will follow me (in a walk) around Palmer Park come May 27th to celebrate Canada's Fitweek. : Watch out for the Roving Eye folks, I am in training every day. You only have a month since this let- ter was written. : Roy Walker Smith, Port Perry, Scugog Township. Soy ERR 18... ¢4F¥F40 do a good job and work anda eager children appear at _ registration night. The parents association sponsor the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts making their ex- istence possible. However, the parents cannot find the time to come out and support their association and their Guides and Scouts. ~ The chairman of the association has changed twice in two years. The new executive called their first meeting of the Parents Association April 3, 1987. Out of a possible 200 parents only one parent cared enough to come out and support the igtion. The new executive is hard, but not ready or willing todo all the work: If the parents of Port Perry don't care about Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs, etc., let them come and tell us, and if they want the association to keep going then please give us your support. In five years a decline of 64 boys -- 68 percent drop. If we want to save 'Scouting in Port Perry now is the time to take an interest. Yours truly, ~The Executive of The Parents Association. Lloyd Greenough, ter to the editor. Letters to the Editor ~... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters col- umn helps make a better community newspaper. oo We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On - rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous let- While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.