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? SYS CS | fF 332599 <2 NFS | r 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 4, 1989 4 | Letters to the editor False statement about Quebec causes damage To the Editor: Upon reading Doug Moffat's comments about the Meech Lake Accord and bilingualism in "A Chance to Debate," it was clear 'to me that spending several days per week in Quebec over a short period is not enough to make him fully aware of the issues at heart for Quebecers. It certainly was not enough to teach him French. Mr. Moffat's statement that the provincial road map's title, "Le Quebec," refers to Quebec as a separate country is completely false. Such unfounded comments serve only to further misconcep- tions on the part of English Cana- dians about Quebecers and worsens their image in the rest of Canada. As a French translator who lived in Quebec for several years I wish to clarify that all Canadian provinces can be and are referred to in this manner: I'Ontario, le Manitoba, etc. As in English, in French one can say "la province du Quebec" (the pro- vince of Quebec,) but the shorter "le Quebec," meaning simply "Quebec," is also perfectly cor- rect for a province. Mr. Moffat should learn more French before making such potentially damag- ing statements. I agree with Mr. Moffat that THE N.F.B. HONOURED? I'm normally not one to turn the TV on to watch the Acadamy Awards, but while flicking through the stations last Wednesday night (my wife hates this) | h ned to hit the "Oscars" just as the Canadian Film Board was being pre- sented an award for 50 years of film making. Naturally, being a proud Canadian, | stopped my 'flicking' at this point to see the Ca- nadian film industry honoured by the Academy of Motion Pictures. Presenting the award to the NFB were two well known Canadian actors, Donald Sutherland and his son Keifer, who both appeared very un- impressed with the whole affair. In fact they ap- peared to be very bored with the whole situation. At any rate, after expounding the accom- plishments of the National Film Board, the Su- therlands called on two representatives of the film industry along with Transportation Minister Benoit Bouchard. That's right a darn politician was out there picking up an award for Canada's film industry! Mr. Bouchard proudly led the group out to the centre of the magnificent stage, snatched the Oscar out of the hands of Donald Sutherland and stood up to the podium to make an accep- tance speech on behalf of Canada. Surely, somewhere in Canada there could have been a better representative of the Nation- al Film Board than a politician. To say | was a bit embarrased to see this spectacle taking place in front of millions of TV viewers and a room filled with some of the most influential peo- ple in the film industry is an understatement. And to cap it off, Mr. Bouchard must have thought he was still in Canada, as he sprinkled a liberal amount of French into his speech. It's one thing to push the bilingualism cause in Can- ada, but another to subject the American public to our national hang-up! The other curious thing about this whole ep- isode was that all three of the men representin the Canadian film industry were French Canadi- an. It made me wonder it all of the top directors and producers of Canadian film were located in Quebec, or had the Minister just completely ig- nored the other provinces when he made a deci- sion to pick up the award. What in the heck is going on here? Are Eng- lish speaking Canadians no longer considered to be part of the film industry? Has this bilingual push by the government come to a point where Random Jottings by }. Peter Hvidsten English is going to become the secondary lan- guage in this country? I guess only time will tell! THE HOSPITAL EXPANSION The fund raising drive for the expansion of the hospital is all but over now, being wrapped up last Saturday night at the Spring Gala. At that $100 per plate fund raising dinner, over $22,000 was raised through the admisssion price and auctioning of an assortment of donated art pieces and other items. Since the drive began last September over $2 million has been raised in this community from business, industry, organziations, foundations and individuals. A sum of money | felt was com- pletely un-attainable when it was first mentioned eight months ago. But the community has responded generous- ly to the expansion drive and can be proud of reaching the objective. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and commit- ment of the committee set up to see this project through. Countless hours by these volunteers have culminated in the most successful fund rais- ing drive ever undertaken in this community. Under the guidance of Navion Financial De- velopment Systems Inc., the fund raising commit- tee has achieved something that few would have dreamed possible. Being a member of the committee has been a exciting and rewarding experience for me. I've developed a new awareness of the hospital and how important it is to the community and feel my small contribution may help to assure future gen- erations a first class health care facility. In fact, although Nancy and | have to go to Oshawa for the birth of our twins, we will be transferring Mom and the kids to Community Me- morial Hospital the next day. Oshawa Hospital is fine, but after a tour of the maternity wing there, we had no problem de- ciding we would rather be at home in Port Perry. NOTE: While not wanting to signal out an of the Hospital Gala auction items specifically, h is noteworthy to say that three friends pooled their resources and bid $3,000 for the priviledge of naming a street in a future subdivision. And what will it be named? Well how does E.S. Cuddie Bivd. sound? That's right, Scugog's clerk administrator will now be remembered forever. A great honour for a great guy, from some great friends! this country belongs to all of us whether we speak English or French. However, a basic reality which most English Canadians do not understand is that the French language is in a threatened posi- tion in North America and needs extra help to remain vibrant and strong in this country. This means that, yes, it should be given special status in some cir- cumstances. We must make the difficult decision to either preserve the use of French or face the prospect of the slow death of this language in Canada, and with it, a part of our national identity. I am somewhat amused to see the recent resurgence of English pro- tectionism, since English, a language of international status, is not threatened in this manner. May I venture to say that ig- norance gives rise to fear and defensiveness against the non- existent threat of French linguistic contamination? Many English Canadians tend to jump on the bandwagon and claim that Quebecers are all a bunch of separatist extremists without truly unders their history, culture, language, identi- ty and real demands. Mr. Mof- fat's statement would incite even more such claims. On the con- trary, most Quebecers are proud to be Canadian and would not wish to separate as was indicated by Levesque's referendum. They only wish to preserve their culture and language. Don't forget that French Canadians were the first to settle this coun- try (after native people, of course) and lay the foundation for others to follow. Their language and heritage deserves to be respected and preserved. It is a part of our identity as Canadians and should be a subject of na- tional pride rather than ¢riticism and distain. Bourassa's use of the "not- withstanding" clause to protect the French language. was necessary in light of the Quebec (Turn to page 10) Editorial Comment (from page 6) We are not suggesting that locks go on the gate to keep humans out. But recreation opportunities should be passive and un-organized so as to minimize any detrimen- tal impact on the natural environment. In taking this position, we are not in any way opposed to efforts by anyone to attract tourists and visitors to Scu- gog Township. We recognize that this industry is an impor- tant cog in the local economy. But surely if MNR or any other level of government has some money to spend to enhance the tourist industry in this Township, there are other places, such as the Port Perry waterfront, or the Scugog Museum, which is trying to expand with a few more acres of land. We think it is time to take a stand over the Crown Lands on Scugog Island. Leave things as they are. If you feel the same, drop a note to the Ministry of Natural Re- sources, 322 Kent Street, West, Lindsay, Ont. KV 4T7. Address your letters to the District Manager. ter to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters col- umn helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to'with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous let- While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. y [eureny ms ga, uke, | [Ox sowhaT yoo GREAT yok agi Bie NEED |S PERM Wow-Yo ONER, COMB, A DIFFUSER:- GIVLING MOUSSE || AND BUT THIS HAS ALREADY COST WLS AP WELL YoUlL STi NEED THINGS S - - ~ £1989 Unwersal Press Synocale wet SRSEATURES EMMERSON INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 193 QUEEN ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. LOB 1NO (416) 985-7306 | ALL LINES OF GENERAL INSURANCE HOMEOWNERS - FARM - AUTO COMMERCIAL > »