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"WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2001 - 7 To the Editor: The Ontario Review Board recently made the decision to ban the French language film Fat Girl from Ontario audi- ences and movie screens. A group of people working for the govern- ment has screened this film and made the deci- sion, for all of us, that it is not acceptable viewing for the audiences in the Province of Ontario. They "have seen it, and will go on with their lives, but they have decided we will not be able to view the film. Why? Because of the portrayal of sexual situa- tions in the film among youth. Fat Girl screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, earning strong reviews from everyone who saw it. I admit, I did not see the film at the Festival, but am very disturbed a group of people have decided to ban it. The director of the film is the acclaimed Catherine Breillat who also directed the contro- versial Romance (1999), another picture that explored relationships and sexuality. It was alright for Kevin Spacey to fantasize about a young high school girl in American Beauty (1999) and very nearly "go all the way" with her. Censorship is a dangerous politic Being a studio film with a high profile star, there was no chance the Review Board would ban the film because of the controversy that would be sparked. Breillat's films deal out brutal honesty in their portrayal of 'trou- bled youth, and we must face the fact the many problems of young peo- ple are sexually related. The director displayed enormous sensitivity in . Romance, and apparent- ly again in Fat Girls, which is hardly porno- graphic. How exactly will we be harmed in seeing the film? We see images of violence in films and on television all the time, in fact 1 cannot count the number of murders | have witnessed in major films yet I am not a killer. These films have not warped me one bit. How dare the Ontario Review Board presume to make this decision for me! Do they truly believe this film will violate commu- nity standards and begin all sorts of unacceptable behaviour? 1 cannot imagine they are that naive or stupid. Censorship is a dan- gerous politic and if his- tory has taught us any- thing it is that freedom of artistic expression should be encouraged, not banned. John H. Foote Seagrave Province pays tribute to "heroes" The Ontario government is pleased to announce an historic agreement with the federal government to help launch the building of new affordable housing units. The agreement between the provinces and the feder- al government was announced on Nov. 30 in Quebec City. Affordable housing is a complex issue, as | have said before. Solutions must involve all levels of government as well as the private sector. Ontario will contribute $20 million to the program. This will provide grants of $2,000 per unit to offset the cost of the Provincial Sales Tax on building materials for affordable housing units Ontario has shown, leadership in affordable housing through measures that improve the business and tax cli- mate. These include tax incentives to encourage the building of affordable homes and an initiative to reduce red tape barriers to building rental units. Municipalities have also been given the power to offer incentives to encourage the development of afford- able housing. Please check with my Constituency Office (1-800-661-2433/ 697-1501). We will be pleased to provide more details as they become available. Province Pays Tribute to "Everyday Heroes" Last month, the Ontario Legislature had the opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women in uniform who keep our streets and communities safe. They were well-described by Premier Harris as "everyday heroes." We owe our police, firefighters and emergency workers a debt of grati- tude and respect. But, above all, they deserve the tools and resources they need to serve and protect. Some of Ontario's initiatives include: The allocation of 1,000 new police officers who will work in com- munities across Ontario; enhancing the capacity of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario; an investment of three-quarters of a mil- lion dollars over the last four years to support a 24-hour-a-day Crime Stoppers Call Centre; the establish- ment of Canada's first Sex Offender Registry; working with federal law enforcement officials to track down those who are illegally in the province through the expanded Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement Unit; $2 million per year to the Youth Crime and Violence Initiative; and: building new facilities to train police officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel to deal with terrorist threats and fhan- age emergencies. I have always enjoyed meeting with firefighters, ambulance atten- dants and police during my tenure at Queen's Park. | appreciate their com- mitment to their work and their "everyday" courage that is an unwrit- ten, but essential, part of their job description. "Field to Fork"Food Safety Plan on the Right Track As a government committed to putting the needs of our citizens first, the provincial Auditor's Report is a useful yardstick in measuring what we have accomplished and what remains to be done. I am encouraged to learn that, in the all-important area of food safety, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was addressing the issues the Auditor raised well before the publication of his report. In fact, as the audit was conducted early in 2001, the Ministry was already well underway: with a review of the food safety system in preparation for new legislation that will help improve one of the best food safety systems in the world. To date, staff has initiated 33 new program directives in which 15 programs are completed and 18 are in the process of being completed. Over 75 per cent of the meat processing plants are under federal inspection. Minister Brian Coburn noted that, if the proposed Bill 87 (Food Safety and Quality Act) is passed, we would be better equipped than ever to provide a "field-to-fork" food safety approach. Bill 87 was introduced last June and received second reading in October. Third and final reading is scheduled for early December. Copies of the Bill are available from our Constituency Office. Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture is another program that protects Ontario's food supply. This is a $90 million cost-sharing grant pros: gram available to all sectors of the agri-food industry. Key objectives are food safety and quality assurance, marketing, and enhanced rural water quality. To date, 27 projects having a total Healthy Futures investment of $7.6 million have been approved. Durham Joins "SupportLink" Emergency Phone Program Durham Region is one of 13 com- munities receiving a new SupportLink program to help women who are at risk from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. | was pleased to announce this program last week along "with my colleagues, Jim Flaherty, Janet Ecker and Jerry Ouellette. This program provides victims at risk with intensive and comprehen- sive personal safety planning, as well as free airtime and wireless phones, pre-programmed to dial 911 in the event of a personal safety emergency. Since it was introduced as a pilot project .in 1998, the SupportLink Wireless Phone Project has given an extra measure of security for women at risk. This is a wise investment in helping our police protect the public. The SupportLink program is delivered in alliance with Rogers AT&T and Ericsson Canada. The 13 new locations will be pro- viding service by the end of March 2002 and the remaining five sites will be opened in 2002-2003. Queen's Park accounting practices dumbfound Durham MP For the life of me I can't understand the accounting practices down at Queen's Park or the failure on the part of the provincial government to take responsibil- ity for its actions. Premier Harris, who is no more than a figurehead for the provincial government, continues to use the federal government as a scapegoat for his party's fail- ing political fortunes. He made too many bad choices and too many mis- takes. His party is now paying the price in the polls and now he's an outgoing premier. But his far-fetched assertion that the federal gov- ernment is somehow responsible for the sad state of the health care system in Ontario, the system he" butchered, just doesn't add up. Why doesn't he just accept responsibility for his choices? He chose to speed up tax cuts that will total $13 billion in 2002 and $18 billion by 2006. He and all the MPPs in his caucus decided on that choice. Now he's blaming his government's shortfall on the federal government and is asking for an increase in the Canada Health and Social Transfer. People in Ontario want a health care system they can have confidence in. The Tory government in } Queen's Park doesn't practise any Common Sense Queen's Park failed to provide that confidence. What makes it all so horrible is that the Harris Tories chose instead to try and buy Ontarians off with their own 'money. That's shameful. Premier Harris agreed to the health accord that provides $21 billion more in federal funding for health over five years. This agreement ensured Ontario would receive an additional $8 billion over five years. The premier's last budget revealed the province's plans to increase spending on health by $1.2 billion this year, with $1.1 billion of that money coming from Ottawa. Two years ago the Government of Canada lifted the cap imposed by Brian Mulroney on federal transfers to Ontario. This gave Ontario $500 million more a year. Conveniently omitted from Premier Harris' calcula- tions of the federal government's participation in health care funding are federal tax points worth approximately $7 billion annually to Ontario. And since 1998 over half of the additional health funding in Ontario has come from the federal govern- ment. The sun is setting on Mike Harris' career as pre- mier. He's learned a lesson: Governing is about choic- es and he made the wrong ones. He preferred tax cuts over spending in health and intimated Ontario's problems in health care are root- ed in the policies of the federal government. Premier Harris and his MPPs failed miserably to realize their dream of privatized health care. The government | represent is committed to free and universal health care for all Canadians. The peo- ple of Ontario are committed to this as well. To me, Premier Harris, that's-all just common sense. \