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Th ursday, October 19, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 9Serving your community since 1856 Local businesses are the backbone of our economy. � ey're where we work, where we meet; the heart and soul of our com- munities. Canadians expect their govern- ment to stand up for these local busi- nesses. But Justin Trudeau's Liberals are planning huge new tax hikes that will hit these local businesses when they can least a� ord it. � e Trudeau Liberals can't control their reckless spending, and this new tax grab is putting local businesses at risk. Your local Liberal MP Bardish Chagger has failed to defend local businesses. She voted against a Con- servative motion to extend the con- sultation period on these tax chang- es, which would give local business operators and their workers a chance to have their voices heard. Liberal MPs are sitting in silence while Justin Trudeau and the Liber- als attempt to push these tax hikes through. They're not interested in how this will impact communities across Canada. They don't care about how this will a� ect local businesses or the families who run them. � ese local businesses are run by good people, honest and hardwork- ing, who put everything they've got into their work. And their workers depend on them for a steady living. � ey're the mechanics who keep our cars running, the coffee shop owners who give us a place to get together, and the farmers who keep our families fed. Conservatives believe that local businesses and the Canadians who run them deserve respect from their government. That's why we're fighting these Liberal tax hikes every step of the way. And we're asking Canadians to join us to save local businesses. MP Erin O'Toole Durham The taxpayers of Canada are being sued for more than $100 million by an oil company called Lone Pine because Quebec placed a temporary ban on fracking. This is the result of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system that is part of NAFTA. It permits companies to sue a government for infringing on their "right" to pro� t, even in the face of envi- ronmental and health concerns. While I am very positive on the ben- e� ts of international trade agreements, ISDS, which e� ectively subverts our sov- ereignty, are not in our national interest, and must be removed from NAFTA. The current round of negotiations are an excellent opportunity to remove ISDS from NAFTA and put an end to these toxic corporate lawsuits. It's time to toss ISDS in the trash-bin of history. Joyce Allen Guelph COMMENT WATERLOO CHRONICLEWATERLOO CHRONICLE LETTERS TO THE CHRONICLE As a longtime fan of the horror movie genre, I miss the days of VHS cassettes and the incredible box cover art. As a child, there was something magical about going to into the video store and browsing the dark, atmospheric covers, wondering what � lms like � e Amityville Horror, � e Changeling, and Rose- mary's Baby must be about. Even now, I occasionally visit Cinema 1 in Cambridge to check out the latest releases in the horror section, like the seventh instal- ment of the Child's Play franchise, Cult of Chucky, and the new digi- tally remastered Blu-ray edition of the German � lm Vampyr, just in time for Halloween. Premièred in Berlin in the spring of 1932, Vampyr, based on Joseph Sheri- dan Le Fanu's short story Carmilla, and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, is one of the earliest vampire movies ever made. It's an unsettling tale of terror and tormented humanity. A small village has fallen under a vampire's curse, and the boundaries between the real and unreal have blurred. Eerily quiet and understated, it's the imperceptible terrors we don't see on screen suggesting impending doom that leave me forever fascinated with both the visceral and psychological frights of this brilliant feat of � lmmaking. My scary movie collection is vast, with hundreds of titles and personal favourites like Vampyr, Suspiria, � e Haunting (1963), Psycho, � e Shining, � e Evil Dead, � e Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Carrie, Ghost Story, � e Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, � e Mist, � e Wicker Man, Poltergeist, and � e Conjuring. I also love slasher � lms like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Terror Train, Child's Play, Black Christmas, Sleepaway Camp, Silent Night Deadly Night, Peeping Tom, Tourist Trap, and the cult classic, Basket Case. When it comes to slashers, I have always found A Nightmare on Elm Street to be one of the most frightening and imaginative movies I've ever seen. In A Nightmare on Elm Street, actor Robert Englund brilliantly imbued Freddy Krueger with a menacing but strangely likable style -- a James Cagney-esque spread-legged stance, and that instantly recognizable razor-� ngered silhouette. But the scariest � lm of all time for me is the 1973 classic, � e Exor- cist, as it continues to astonish and unsettle me like no other movie. To this day, I marvel at � e Exorcist -- both its haunting elegance and its shocking vulgarity. � e artwork on the original VHS cover of � e Exorcist still capti- vates me. Evocatively photographed, it portrays the late-night arrival of Father Merrin outside the MacNeil home, which is enshrouded in fog and eerily silhouetted, reminiscent of Rene Magritte's famously atmospheric painting L'Empire des Lumieres. Even now, when I look at the DVD cover of � e Exorcist, I can viv- idly recall standing in the video store as a child, summoning enough courage to stare at the VHS box. With Halloween just around the corner, I'm feeling both excited and nostalgic for all things spooky. If you happen to visit the horror section of Cinema 1 in the week ahead please don't make any sudden moves or noises. I might be there trans� xed by DVD artwork and easily startled. ••• Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hotmail.com. Community college strike about fairness Let me tell you about Anna. Anna is a part-time profes-sor at a local college. She has three university degrees. She also has years of practical experience in her academic � eld. After all, what happens out there matters at polytechnic educational institutions. Like most part-time faculty members in Ontario's 24 community colleges, Anna start- ed by teaching a few courses a term while maintaining her normal career. Did you know that 80 per cent of faculty members are part time? Soon, the requests for her time and talent multiplied -- she was asked to teach more courses and develop courses and curriculum for new o� erings. She loved the work -- espe- cially her time in the classroom -- and hap- pily took on more responsibility. She received stellar performance reviews from her supervisors and, most importantly, her students. � e possibility of a full-time faculty position was � oated out repeatedly over the years, but only if the college approved the budget request. One year, an o� er to become a program co-ordinator was put on the table. � is new role involved managing a faculty team of eight other faculty members, monitoring program outcomes, coaching students and participating in schoolwide administrative activities. It also included a shared o� ce space -- wow, her own desk!-- for the � rst time in her career at the college. One cold winter morning, Anna arrived at her o� ce and found a copy of the faculty's collective agreement on her desk. She started reading it and realized, quickly, that something was not right. You see, Anna was still classified as a part-time employee, so she only made 40-50 per cent of what her full-time colleagues were making, and did not have any job security. And then Anna found out that she wasn't alone. That there were countless other part-time faculty members in the same position, working full-time hours, for part-time pay, without job security. Anna spoke to her supervisors, who quickly told her that that's the way it works in the college system. Anna filed an official grievance at the college, and then she watched the feathers � y. She was removed from her leadership role and had her teaching load dramatically reduced, leading to a signi� cant reduction in earnings. She resigned, having lost all respect for the organization. I know that many will complain about the faculty at Conestoga College, as they hit the picket line. But take it from Anna, your attention needs to go to the other side of the table -- to the entire community college system in Ontario. Because, in its current state it is not designed to serve our students. It just isn't. ••• Karen Scian is the co-founder of the Talent Business Solutions, an educator and a recovering city councillor. She is also chair of the Waterloo Public Library Board. You can email her at beinscian@gmail.com or follow her on BEIN' SCIAN KAREN SCIAN Frozen in fear at horror section MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL ARTS Liberal tax grab putting local businesses at risk Investor court system should be out of Nafta