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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6,1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby w zm Voice of the County Town Pub Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. blished every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor CONWAY DOBBS Advertising Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 Elgie's videotape bihlis a flagrant violation ofour constitutionairight This s the year George Orwell warned us about. This is the year of "Big Brother." Those who have read Orwell's classic novel "1984" are aware of Orwell's warning that if society is not careful government wili grow to the point where it will dominate every facet of life. Citizens will be told what to say, what to see, what to hear and most importantly, what to think. Most of us have viewed Orwell's work as fiction - we have convinced ourselves that it could never happen to us. Weil, someone should tell Consumer and Commercial Relations Minister Robert Elgie that "1984" is just a work of fiction and not a mandate to the Government of Ontario. A few days ago, Elgie introduced a bill into the Ontario Legislature amending current laws gover- ning the actions, responsibilities and powers of the Ontario Censor Board. The board - in addition to being enlarged - will be given the power to review and classify videotapes intended for use in the home. The distributers of thesb tapes will be licensed and regulated in the same manner as cinemas. In defending and justifying the proposed legislation Elgie maintained that his government "had no intention of allowing exploitive and often violent material to undermine the values of our society." Elgie wanted to protect the citizen from films concerned the sexual exploitation of children and women. While we agree with the intent of Elgie's bill the method he is employing is not acceptable to a society of free men. This newspaper also believes that Elgie's bil is unconstitutional. It is a direct violation of Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That section deals directly with the fundamental rights of al1 Canadians. Furthermore, we believe this legislation will empower the government to dictate to each citizen what he or she cannotview in their own home. To quote Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. If this legislation receives Royal Assent it will pave the way for government to enact even broader legislation which could conceivably dic- tate to newspapers what they can print, it could remove books the government did not like from stores and libraries. And that is the beginning of thought control - the very thing that George Orwell warned us against. The other major problem with this legislation is a simple one: it deals with the symptoms, not the disease. Regulating what the citizen can do, see, read or view in his own home will not stamp out pornography. This newspaper would have been able to sup- port a government decision to enact legislation to combat the producers and distributors of por- nography. Elgie should have brought down a bill that defines what constitutes sexual exploitation of both women and children and then given the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police forces the manpower and authority needed to get rid of these people. Even if Elgie had left the law untampered and simply added 100 officers to the O.P.P.'s anti- racket and vice squads, much could have been done to combat the production and distribution of pornography in Ontario. it is unthinkable that a government should so brazenly violate the constitutional rights of its citizens. Doing this will solve the problern that Elgie apparently wants so desparately to get rid of. This newspaper also realizes that this is a motherhood issue and will receive a lot of emotional support not only from the average citizen but from women's and church groups as well. However, that still doesn't justify the gover- nment's attempt to compromise our fundamental rights. We would also like to encourage Durham West's M.P.P. George Ashe, who also serves as Minister of Government Services in the Ontario cabinet, to ask that this legislation be sent to committee so that public hearings can be held - allowing the citizen to make his or her views on the subject known. It might also be proper to remind Elgie and his cabinet colleagues of an observation once made by George • Bernard Shaw: "Censorship ls assassination." The Government of Ontario has no business attempting to assassinate through censorship the citizen's rights to do as he will in his own home. But let's not forget that this is the same minister (and the same government) that recently seized and sold (or gave away) trust companies, apartments etc. For supposedly illegal acts, had to pass legislation to make their actions legal, and have yet to lay one change against these dastardly criminals for ail their supposed illegal acts. Is there getting to be right her in our home province a governing party that is so confident that it can actually change from 'Conservative' to 'Socialist' or even 'Communist'? 777,577 !", "Big Brother will tell you V