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Der18,1994â€" 6 The difference is that this tinie the issue is not about u sinall tract of land by a municipal golf course but the very future of Quebec natives. Failure of the feds to support Quebec natives on this issue in the coming weeks and months could result in the kind of confrontation that will make uprisings of a few years ago inrQuebec, seem like child’s play. The gauntlet has been thrown down by Quebec’s native peoples and we’ll be watching intently to see how the country’s premiers and Prime Minister Jean Chretien respond For we now have the spectre of a province telling its native population, regulated by historical links to Ottawa, that they have little or no bargaining power under an independent Quebec. Two things happened at this meeting of 325 aboriginal leaders. The first was that they condemned any action by Quebec to separate as being an illegal and unilateral position. And the second was a plea by the leaders for the Canadian government to protect and come to the defence of Quebec natives. Chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations, not always a solid group on many issues, spoke as one Tuesday in Quebec City, when they approved a res- olution supporting Quebec Indians in their fight for self-govemment if the province leaves Canada We’ve said before that this is the time boâ€"mb in the ‘noâ€"pain’ sovereignty campaign and it has just started ticking. After Parizeau talked about how a new Quebec would use Canadian currency and have a sovereignty relationship with the rest of the country, one member of the audience would have none of it. ‘Those with the printing presses call the tune,” said the astute observer. Talk about deflating a balloon. ‘ But if Parizeau thought this audience was tough, it’s nothing like the oppo- sition he faces from his province’s native peoples. But even as Parizeau was trying to paint a rosy picture about his vision of an ‘independent’ Quebec, the Americans in attendance were having none of iL They cut through the niceties and bombast very quickly. Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau. Ostensibly, the jaunt was made to assure the Big Apple’s money men, that if Quebec became indepen- dent, it would be ‘business as usual’. ' Much has been made this week about the nip to New York City by . TMOIIMIOMO'. IhodworySu ng unandayanW Ian Oliver Pubhsher m'WgW '.: A." " MW when Gun-hey Adwrttsmg Dvecmr mmmmmemmm 622%“?- “" rm; Norman Meander Editor mmrmmwcmamm Geoff mu mum Mum-Mm Eli-Bum: Nonh York Mirror 0mm. Bower. Orllh Tom, OshadehlbyTMo Week. magma I'm. Wook. Hem-om Hill Teri Gnu Ojice Mm rage: All n3.“ pu' mum h'mo cam.fl Bum} ls plot-cud by Any TlmColes ProductmnManager Wfibghmmb“orlnpnndmkmfldbmlthdm m. com 0 Of. Adv-Wally I: W on thn oondnion that. In m. nvnm of a typographic! eror. am man of tho Advancing up». new “Pk-Y on cum-ou- ‘mmmgolhlwifluuuonabk dloumbnl No.1!!!"mlboehlrgodfor.muhobalmofhcadurflummwfl b. Mar a1 mo Ipplcnblo uh. Thu pull-hr mm: ho m In mallh and trot making In the mnto! Want-ulna] error. Mung you amaumwmmmwummmhmkflw mkmnymoflorwulmmathinmnt The bill will go on for funher study but it’s a step in the right direction for those who put a significant value on human life. Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glubey Adlxzrtising Dmecmr Norm Alennder Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Gnu Ojfioe Manager Tim Cole. Production Manager it’s cause for celebration. And that’s what happened this past week when Liberal MP John Nunziata's private member’s bill passed an important but- dle in the House of Commons. S ometimes the institution of the federal govemment works and when it does, The bill would abolish a controversial clause in the Criminal Code, that pemrits murderers to apply for parole after serving 15 years of their 25 year maximum €Editorial The first step Time bomb 467 Sp ears Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 384 845-3824 Fax: 845-3085 Classified Advertising: 345-2609 Circulation: 845-9742 or 845-9743 “gunm- 1536;” "m AVERI Seeking stress relief, I flicked on the television just in time to catch a news update â€" Bouchard had lost his leg and was still bat- tling for his life. Bouchard, the report said, had been fighting flu-like symptoms for a week. Matthew, I knew, had been fighting a sore throat for a week. Bouchard was admitted to hospi- tal with an inflammation in his leg. streptococcal bacteria, strep A. Streptococcal bacteria, strep A? The pediatrician awfulized for us. It’s what Bouchard has, he said. Over the next 48 hours, as the hospital lab grew cultures from blood samples they’d extracted from our son to determine whether strep A was present in his body, Matthew was treated with “aggressive antibiotics” , . ,I.was turning. awfulizing into. and. sqmunstandinahqsnitalt I tend to “awfulize” â€" which is super psychoneuroimmunolo- gist Joan Borysenko’s term to describe when people “escalate (in their minds) a situation to its worst possible conclusion.” But even hypochondriacs don’t invent swelling. My wife rushed Matthew to a medical clinic, arriving just before clos- ing. I remained home with our other son, sleeping Scott, with my growing fears and my imagi- nation, which was already out of control. Granted, he’d complained of knee pain earlier 1n the day, only minutes before I was to drive him to his weekly skating les- son. I didn’t pay too much atten- tion to his grumbling because be frequently comes up with odd ailments just prior to activities in order to get out of them. And because he’s a hypochondriac, like his Dad.. Seeing the sore, swollen joint, I winced and wondered, “Did you twist it? Bang it? Fall on ?” No. No. No. n the day Bloc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard lost his left leg to insidious infection and rampaging bacteria, my son Matthew’s right knee swelled to twice its usual size. Lucien Bouchard’s illness hit 1 too Close to home for comfort ‘ After three hours 1n emergen- cyâ€" being poked, prodded, test- ed, examined, and re- ~examined â€" Matthew was told he’d have to be admitted. He was either expe- riencing a reaction to antibodies his body was producing to fend off an invading virus, or he had streptococcal bacteria, strep A. Streptococcal bacteria, strep A? The pediatrician awfulized for us. It’s what Bouchard has, he said. We breathed a huge (hope- lessly premature) sigh of relief. Three days later, as doctors declared Bouchard to be “out of the woods,” as my wife and I prepared to leave for her compa- ny’s fifth anniversary bash, as our boys ate dinner with their grandparents â€" Matthew com- plained that he could not pick up his milk cup. In a matter of min- utes, his hands had become inflamed and terribly tender. As my wife prepped for a run to the hospital’s emergency ward, I struggled to swallow my heart, which was lodged in my throat. an art, when Matthew returned with the diagnosis... an inflamed tendon. Ice it, heat it, and treat it with anti-inflammatory drugs. mmmnlfllnlllfll* To the readers of this column. “Que l’on continue -â€" merci.” Please carry on, thank you. Merry Christmas. Happy After four days, after all tests returned negative, Matthew was sprung. He wasn’t too happy about having to leave behind his nifty bed or Super Mario. But he was glad to get home. His moth- er was glad to crawl back into- her own bed. And me, I was like the Dave Clark Five... Glad all over To the diligent, dedicated staff at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital: one-thouâ€" sand thanks. ’ For my wife and I, it was a holiday in hell. We battled fatigue and stress as we rode (and hung on for dear life) an emotional rollercoaster. We were cautiously optimistic when the first cultures grown showed no strep A in the blood. We were worried sick when spots broke out all over Matthew’s legs. We were ecstatic when the second cultures showed no strep A. And we were absolutely out of our minds when the pediatrician said Matthew should extend his hos- pital stay and have a bone scan. His mother stayed with him at night. During the day, he received visitors, phone calls, and more examinations. Between these human intrusions, he had a swell time. On his floor, there were two great games rooms, equipped with Nintendo, VCRs, etc. In his room, he had a television and a bed that did everything but fly. And all his meals were deliv- ered. For Matthew, it almost seemed like a holiday in a hotel. “I!”