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LETTERS-- Article made Herman feel years younger I would like to officially thank Rick Campbell and the Waterloo Chronicle on behalf of Herman Underwood and Ontario Seed Co. Ltd. for an inspiring and spirited article featuring oSC's oldest employee Your time and interest associated with this event has been much appreciated. Herman, 90 years of age, felt himself feeling much younger, and now looks forward to working at OSC on his 100th birthday. Wayne Witt Waterloo, Ont. Gandhi's achievements 'monumental' Albert Einstein and Arnold Toynbee - a great scientist and a great historian - called Mahatma Gandhi the greatest man of the century. Einstein said: "Genera- tions to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." Every time I visit my native land, poor but fascinating and enchanting India, to see my aging folk, I make pilgrimage to Gandhi's ashram, which was dubbed unofficial capital of India during two or three decades of British rule. His room in Liberal Leader David Peterson has criticized the Minister of Revenue for his "dumb" attempt to plug a loophole in provincial land transfer tax legislation which he charges has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last November. the Liberals disclosed how foreign purchasers of farmland in Huron and Bruce counties were evading the 20 per cent tax. Using the loophole on, for example, a 3500.000 land deal, a foreign purchaser instead of paying $00,000 tax (20 per cent). is able to be categorized .as a "resident buyer" and pay only 54:010. They get around the law by instructing farmers to incorporate their land as numbered companies and then selling their farms to their own corporations. The farmer could then transfer the corporation to lawyers or real estate agents acting on behalf of the foreign buyers. The Minister of Revenue in- troduced a bill in December to plug the loophole, but it died on the order paper. It was re-introduced last month. Since then. apparently, there has been "an explosion" of deals with foreign buyers rushing to beat the deadline and avoid New technology is changing the face of the Canadian workplace . . . In a day-long. Opposition Day Debate on the need for increased funding for research and (level opment to cope with the micro-chip revolution. Members of Parliament had an opportunity to consider the immediate and long-range implications of the micro-elec» tronics industry. Micro-technology offers increases in efficiency and productivity. but if not guided into the Canadian labour force cautiously, it may have I damaging impact. The prime targets for technotogi- cal change are positions held primarily by women - clerical, service, and sales occupations. In participating in the de- bate, l specifically addressed the concern held by many for the fate of the female labour force and the ramifications of micro-tech on their role in our national economic activities. The facts and figures that illustrate Canadian labour participation are reveal Ing. In 1982, there were " million women in the paid labour lone. This figure indicates that over 50% of all Canadian Ll Queen 's Park WALTER McLEAN HERB EPP the commune is stifi intact with all his possessions -.. a mattress on File Por, [ow desk. pen, eyeglasses, a pair of wooden shoes, a bamboo walking stick. the Hindu holy book 'Gita', a Bible, and a picture of Christ on the wall. Love, non-violence, simplicity and hon. esty are the essence of his teachings. Jawaharlal Nehru said: "The most impor- tant lesson we learn from Gandhi's life is not to hate anyone under any circum- stances." Martin Luther King was a follower of Gandhi and used his non- violence techniques in the civil rights movement. According to the Minister of Health, Ontario can expect to have 20 to 40 paramedics trained to operate in Toronto, Hamilton and in air ambulances by the end of the year, as a pilot project. It's his intention to ask for provincial money to start up the first paramedic training program, after health experts have stated that hundreds of lives could be saved by paramedics. A Cabinet Committee has approved the program. However, doctors and opposition members maintain that the program should be expanded to the entire province. According to the Minister. the cost of a full program, including training the paramedics and doctors. installing two-way radios and setting up specialized base hospitals would reach tso million to $100 million across the province, and some of that money would come from hospital budgets. Paramedics No one has done more for the women's liberation movement than the Gandhi. In India today, a woman is the prime minister; there are women who are governors, chief ministers, ministers, members of parliament etc. in federal and state governments; millions of them are engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers, nurses, school teachers etc. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who has seen Sir Richard Attenborough‘s movie, "Gandhi" three times. said in an interview with The New York Times that he was amazed by Gandhi's ability to mobilize the masses using consumer items like salt and cloth. paying the tax before the legislation becomes law. After the charge by David Peterson. the Minister said the legislation would be made retroactive to April 21, when he re-introduced it. The movie has won eight Oscar awards, including one for the best film of the year. I have seen the movie. It is simply superb and gripping. I urge your readers to see it. women are gainfully employed - and not just to earn "pin money"! of these women, 65% were under 45, and 45% were women with children under the age of three. The overwhelming majority were single. widowed, divorced, or the sole supporters of dependents. In addition. almost half of the women registered as partners in two-income earning families. were married to spouses earning less than 815,000 a year. Research foreshadows that two-thirds of working women will be displaced try rapid technological advances. The ability to adapt, both financially and educationally, is the key if women's employment oppor- tunities are not to be swept away by new technology. according to a recent Science Council Report. The Progressive Conservative Party is committed to a series of measures that reinforce such recommendations. Taking the counsel of economists and researchers. we propose a string of tuatqeial MVES to employers. educational institutions. and provincial Mes to ensure re-training opportunities and skill development pro Bish Bhagwanani _ Victoria. B.C. Ability to adapt gramste are considering amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act to permit recipients to partake in re-training programs without loss of benefits. Amend- ments to Canada's Labour Code to guaran- tee employee/employer consult tion re- garding the implementation of ',,'SC'lte7; into the workplace are necessary to cover such matters as re-training, health and salety safeguards. Expansion of the Outreach Program and Canada Employment Centre Counselling Services that channel women into non- traditional fields would make a positive contribution to the transition stages of micro-technology. It is interesting to note that studies indicate that Canada Employ- ment Centre Counsellors are still tum nelling women into clerical re-training programs rather than those focussed at developing new informatics skills. A "reorientation" of our present-day think- ing is in order. - _ ,n AL- ‘11-.-.1..- The women's groups of the Waterloo Region are making a concerted eftort to ease mtcrotechlology be our business community. A workshop sponsored by Whenever a new idea or concept is showcased to the mass market, there is something to be said for assuming the role of devil's advocate. It seems critics of Pay-TV country have postured thusly vengeance. - - While specific media personalities have presented well-researched and balanced arguments (even if the end result has negative overtones), for the most part the three Pay-TV networks offered in Ontario have received a lukewarm at best welcome into our homes. is the criticism of the product a fair rap? Maybe not. Maybe so Suffice it to say, however. hopefully First Choice, Superchannel and C Channel have learned from their mistakes of the initial four months of operation, though in the case of the latter, the horses of good fortune appear to have bolted the barn. It is no secret that all three have vast areas to expand and improve upon. but really, have they dumped on us any more than we have dumped on them. First. it should be pointed out that as of yet, I am not a Pay-TV subscriber. Not because of any great reluctance to jump on the bandwagon, but because in the conglomerate I currently reside in, we require board meetings three times a month just to see who will pay the paper boy. Now. four months down the road. I have to admit that in at least several of those cases the jury is still out, Meaning, I suppose. Pay-TV has not done a sufficient job of convincing me of its worth. Given the amount of money many people spend each month on items like cigarettes. booze, video games, the track and yes, at the box office. I certainly can't say that just under $30 is an exorbitant amount to shell out for two Pay stations - as long as the quality merits it. Which. while we're on the subject of cost, might be an excellent area to begin discussions with. As I'm sure many Canadians were, i was caught up in the glamor and pizzazz of the subscriber blitzes launched by the Pay networks prior to going ttn-screen in February. I paid close attention to the entire concept as much as 1 could, in order to acquire the knowledge neces- sary to aid me with the BIG decision. As to which stations to select, well, the variables seem to have sorted them, selves out without any help from me. Just Monday, C Channel officials were quoted as saying they could only guar- antee programming to the end of June WATERLOO WE. WEDNESDAY. m t, RICK CAMPBELL Pay the price? in this with a unless more financial assistance was received. Things don't look good. it appears, which is unfortunate since the C 6iiiiiiief "new; In"; y epinion offered the most varied and entertaining of the three. WS‘ald local Rogers Cable vice-president and general manager Don McAlpine: "One of the biggest problems with C Channel was that it was under-financed from the beginning, it just didn't have the money for advertising and the other two stations just blew it out of the water in that respect." As for anyone getting his/her money's worth, McAlpine agreed that one of the biggest complaints so far is the number of repeats. "We just never imagined that there would be so many sets on constantly," he said, while at the same time pointing out the slates of First Choice and Superchannel rate favorably with south of the border heavies such as Home Box Office. "During the big selling period from November to January. stations were only talking of having 12-14 different movies a month, and they've blown that figure right out of the water too. I believe this month First Choice has 39 separate movies ... "Frankly, we don't expect a person watching, say. Victor/Victoria at to aim. in the morning will be the same one watching it at 5 pm. at night. That's supposed to be one of the luxuries, that the movie schedules and so on are flex. ible." McAlpine's biggest case for optimism lies right within his own office, where in the past 10 days some 2,500 non-subscribers have signed up in the past week for a Victoria Day 7-day trial promotion. The promotion, which has since been extended, rankled the odd charter sub scriber or so, but as McAlpine pointed out, the company is cognizant of the public relations aspect of such a deal and therefore has been loyal to its paying customers as well during this period, in terms of added service when requested. No one is a loser and the company stands to increase its subscrip- tions by a healthy margin - as long af, the stations come through with the prod- uct. Oh, and the eyeglasses, which I'm sure to need after logging what I'd estimate to be about 60 hours of scrambled air time, Community Resources for Women in early March emphasized the need for women "to think constructively and to employ the new technology to work for us. rather than against us," according to Mayline Stubbs, Past President of Kitchener-Waterloo Status of Women and one of the workshop participants. "The underlying anxiety women experience when they lace micro- technological innovations in their offices must not be ignored, but at the same time it must not incapacitate them." Stubbs comments that the women of Kitchener-Waterloo. many of whom are in middle management. are creatively deal- ing with these changes. They are choosing to re-educate themselves. But she is quick to warn that such optimism may be premature. Jobs are at stake unleaa definitive action is taken to enumerate women's Tttl.",",',:'", needs. Stubba main- tains that rise of 'micrxrtechmtlogy could mean a guantum leap forward tor the delivery of Canadian services. it we take calculated steps during these tonna- tlve years. in Somehow, I think I'm slowly giving "ttg3--iGE?