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PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" THURSDAY, APRIL 20,, 2000-7 Volunteer Appreciation Week is celebrated Last week, Ontario officially celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Week. As the MPP for Durham, | do my best to keep track of the many organizations and indi- viduals who help make our communities great places to live and raise a family. I try to personally extend thanks to each individual or group when | hear of their volunteer activities, unfor- tunately, when you try to recognize everyone, you can sometimes miss someone else who is just as deserving. As in previous years, the province will hold their annual recognition reception for volunteer award recipients. Durham will honour this year's volunteers on June 8 at La Gala, 65 Sunray Street, Whitby. For more information on this event, please call my community office at 697- 1501 or 1-800-661-2433. - The Ministry of Citizenship Culture and Recreation organizes a number of recognition awards. If you know someone whose community works should be recognized, please see the list I have included along with nomination deadlines: Q Medal for Good Citizenship - nominations due April 28 a Lincoln Alexander Youth Leadership Recognition - nominations due April 28 0 Community Action Awards - nominations due May 5 0 Senior Achievements Awards - nominations due May 12 a Canada Post 2000 Literacy Awards - nomination due, May 31. Everyone from municipalities, organizations and individuals can put forward nominations for these awards. There are nomination forms at my office and my staff and | will be pleased to help you with the nomination process. Please accept this invitation to nominate a deserving individual who has helped make Durham a great place to live. It is important to note that these Staying in Touch JOHN R. O'TOOLI A033 Sa 0108 23 3 Fa N\Y BB OFS NN | honours, awards and recognition opportunities are non- partisan in nature. In fact, as an MPP | am unable to rec- ommend candidates. Health care continues to be an important issue. This past week, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, the Honourable Elizabeth Witmer, announced an addi- tional $185,000 for expanded services for people with Alzheimer Disease. This is part of a $68 million multi- year strategy to respond to a disease that is expected to rise by over 200 per cent as our population ages. Ontario is the only province to announce this type of strategy. Ontario also announced a $20 million four-point plan to improve services in the field of children's mental health. This is in addition to the more than $260 million that our government already dedicates to meeting the needs of children with serious emotional and behavioral problems. This past week, Durham Region MPP's met with rep- resentatives of the Grandview Children's Treatment Centre. We listened to Grandview's call for more funding and discussed the-additional $4 million that the govern- ment has committed to 19 Children's Treatment Centres. This translates into an 18 per cent increase in annual funding for Grandview. However, we as members representing Durham Region residents, will be requesting the minister address problems of traditional under-funding and pop- ulation growth in Durham. An announcement last week from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced the restructuring of nursing education requirements. By 2005, nurses will require a baccalaureate degree in Nursing (BScN). A nursing education implementation committee recommended that our colleges and univer- sities use this $10 million investment, in a collaborative delivery model, to deliver these programs. This change will enhance the knowledge and skills of our front line health care providers. My office has had a number of telephone calls about advertising challenges the federal government to return health care funding. The provincial government is spending almost three million dollars to get the message out that Ottawa has failed to keep their part of the funding agreement. Canada's health care system is experiencing trouble in every province. Our province must stand up and hold the federal government account- able. Last week, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced legislation clarifying referendums on munici- pal ballots. Today's electorate wants to be involved in decisions being taken in their communities. More direct democracy, already popular in Europe, is on the rise in many countries. According to the proposed legislation, questions will only be allowed on matters that fall under municipal jurisdictions. If you would like more information on this, please call my community office or visit the ministry web site at www.mah.gov.on.ca. LETTER The debate on modified food Are genetically modified foods a threat to human health? D Some people are profiting from the debate receiving royalties from books, speaking semi- nars, as well as, placing themselves in high- paying executive positions on supposedly not- for-profit organizations, the prime purpose of said organizations being to scare consumers. I've seen this group appear before House of Commons committee and have read their litera- ture. Nothing they say is based on factual evi- dence. They conjure up a vision of children being born with three legs or two heads and consumers endangering their health. These people conclude government is in the back pocket of any company ' promoting biotechnology. One hundred years ago a cob of corn was only five inches long. Tangerines are genetically mod- ified and we've eaten them without incurring dis- abilities. We have used the concept of selective breeding in animals for a century and that is a form of genetic manipulation. Health Canada does have a system of ensuring that food eaten by Canadians is healthy. So let's look at some of the positive challenges we have before us. Most plants absorb nutrients from the soil, like nitrogen and phosphates to name two, which sustain plant life. But the plants absorb nutrients imperfectly failing to absorb all the nutrients available to them. Canadian scientists have found a way to inoc- ulate seeds increasing their efficiency to absorb nutrients resulting in higher yields and quicker maturity. Canada has distinguished itself internationally for increasing agricultural production with fewer people and less land used. This creates many opportunities for Canadian farm communities to help feed countries in areas like Southeast Asia, who, with burgeoning popu- lations, face the challenges of trying to feed their own people. Other achievements include the ability to control harmful fungicides, grow apple trees, Straight Talk by ALEX SHEPHERD DURHAM M.P. which having had the proper inducement to cer- tain strains, can resist blight. We have developed rust-resistant grains. These advances have taken some of the risk out of farming while ensuring a healthy product fit for human consumption. Few people would discard antibiotics to con- trol human diseases but these too are a form of genetic engineering. Obviously government has a responsibility to ensure the experimentation going on is safe. Nobody wants genetic mutants getting into the general plant population before it is determined the process is free from harmful side effects. People communicating on the information highway, at a pace previously unparalleled, has had an absurd affect in allowing scare tactics to travel at a split second around the world. l understand it is human to be concerned about genetic manipulation. I'm no different than you. But we had to develop medicines to free chil- dren from polio and other diseases taking their toll on Canadians. We have to do the same in other areas like agriculture as well as in the form of genetic manipulation. After all it's the food we eat font it? Shouldn't we produce the best we can, not only for ourselves but also for other countries? Of course all this should be monitored. But there are those who would choose to make their living telling people the sky is falling. I hope we all take the time to understand the issue and check the facts before falling prey to the Chicken Little who resides, to some degree, in all of us. [ miss the straight talk To the Editor: I read lan MacNeil's letter concerning Alex Shepherd's mis- leading observations with inter- est. | have similar feelings, and | think April 14 'Straight Talk' is another good example. Alex's articles seem to provide the information 'what government would prefer to give you' as opposed to what 'citizens want.' He talks about communica- tions and how 'the federal gov- ernment is attempting to lead by example.' He says that as well as having 'Government On Line,' they 'will continue to provide services by phone, mail and local offices.' I have attempted to commu- nicate with them using each of these facilities, and because of their failure to provide adequate service in any of them, | may become a criminal and be incar- cerated through no fault of my own. Let me explain. | have a .22 four barreled Derringer handgun, the toy like kind used in the movies by the Mississippi gam- blers on the riverboats in the late 1800s. Although it would probably explode if I tried to use it, it has been legally regis- tered with the RCMP - at no cost - for 30 or 40 years. However, Alex's liberal party passed a law saying that | have to pay to have it registered again - and also pay to get a license to possess it. As I must pay these fees again and again every couple of years, | really think it's just another tax grab. Getting back to Alex's mis- leading statements and the fail- ure to provide the services he wrote about last week. When the law was first passed, | went to the local post office to get the necessary application forms. Of "course, we don't have a proper post office any more, just those located in drug and variety stores - anyway, those that had some forms only had French versions, and they aren't much use to me. I tried the 1-800 phone number, but usually I got the message to call back later. When | was put on hold, | gave up after waiting up to half an hour. Last November, | sent a letter to Alex explaining my predica- ment, but he must also be having problems as he hasn't responded yet. The point of this whole story _is - when Alex was first elected, his 'Straight Talk' articles seemed open and honest, discussing his views on issues. Now they just seem to preach party propagan- da, which while not necessarily untruthful may be misleading due to the use of 'selective' facts and/or half-truths. For example, he says the gov- ernment will 'continue to provide services,' which, based on my experiences, are currently inad- equate or non-existent. Do you think he will visit me in jail come Jan. 1, 2001? Tony Pratt, Blackstock