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ee eee ae EL Ne See eee eee ee, e_ lll lle lle ll ee Editorials Information-honestly, openly and freely shared- is the hallmark of democracy Bilingual Ont.? LAST WEEK, Progressive Conservative leader Brian Mulroney said that if he becomes prime minister after the Sept. 4 federal election, he will urge Premier William Davis to declare Ontario officially bilingual. : New Brunswick, which has had a Progressive Conservative government for the last 13 years and whose francophone population nearly equals its anglophone population in numbers, is the only province which is officially bilingual. Premier Davis is often under pressure "to set an example"' for the rest of the country by declaring the most populous province, wita its sizeable francophone population, bilingual. Mulroney's urging comes with the acknowledgement (shared by others including former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) that Ontario's progress in providing services in French for its francophone minority is worthy of praise. Mulroney and others are free to advise Davis on entrenchment of French rights at the provincial level but it is clear that the government of Ontario will make up its own mind in the matter. There is something to be said for the argument Davis has espoused on several occasions that he will not take an action on language at this time that could be received in some quarters of the province with some amount of antagonism. Ontario is overwhelmingly anglophone. And, good or_bad, there is some anglophone hostility to what is perceived as French being rammed down people's throat. It is also unlikely that Quebec Premier Rene Levesque's mind on language matters would be changed by a declaration by Ontario that it would become officially bilingual. This has been advanced as an argument in favour of Ontario bilingualism. An argument whose justification lies in reasoning that it would is not particularly forceful. And, Davis's stand on the language question can hardly be interpreted as obstinance. Too early to call WITH THE FEDERAL electicn less than a month away the battle of the election signs has started to heat up in the riding of Simcoe North. Incumbent Doug Lewis (Tories) and his team got off the mark early, however Al Martin's (Grits) "mod squad"' seemed to be out in full force over this past weekend tacking up signs. A drive through this part of the riding would give one the feeling that Lewis has Midland in his back pocket while Penetanguishene, Port McNicoll, etc seem to be leaning towards Martin. But signs aren't everything in a federal election. It's the machinery that is harnessed to get out the vote that counts and at this point in Simcoe North it is still too early to pick an overall winner. Phar Lap WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SUMMER 2 She is disgusted Dear Editor: I.am disgusted by all the Conservative election signs which have been put up on the highways and roads around Elmvale. 'These roadways are public property, and the signs are just visual pollution for motorists. In past elections, there has been an un- derstanding among the three parties of the Simcoe South riding that signs would be put up only on private property. As far as I can see, neither of the other parties has broken this agreement, nor Cash in on this idea Dear Editor: Just a word about the Penetang fishing derby held during the month of July. I think the Rotary Club of Penetanguishene, along with the press, the town, and dealers who handled tickets, donated prizes, and worked hard to make the derby a success, deserve a round of applause. While no one managed to bag a prize fish, it was still a lot of fun, and when I say no one, I'm in' cluding myself. i The derby brought thousands of dollars worth of business to the merchants of Penetang and surrounding areas and I'm sure they'd welcome more of the same. do they intend to. I voiced my objection to the Conservative campaign headquarters over a week ago, and I know of others who have done the same. We asked for the signs to be removed, but they are still up. Surely the Conservatives have enough sup- porters that they can put their signs on private property. Yours truly, Katy Austin Elmvale I've just read in your newspaper that the prize money for a tagged fish now drops to $100. 'This small amount will not eause much of a stir with our local fishermen, or with our neighbours. Seeing as the Rotary Club did not have to shell out the big prize money, how about leaving the bounty on the four tagged fish at $1,000 and set a deadline of Nov. 1, 1984? We have a long cold winter ahead and our local merchants, especially bait dealers, sports stores, restaurants, efc. would welcome any extra business we can muster up. Fishermen do spend money, and the more, the better. Art Gage, Midland. Black Creek hosting Crier Festival Cries of "'oyez, oyez, p.m. when a regional oyez'"' will echo '"'ery-off" will take place throughout Black Creek at the Town Hall to Pioneer Village on _ select the best town Sunday, Aug. 12 at 2 crier in the an exciting sports biography :..:: Metropolitan 'Toronto Advisory Commission Area. and ~ the Ontario Nordair, in co- Ministry of Municipal operation with the Affairs and Housing, is Ontario- Bicentennial Sponsoring the Town Crier Festival in honour Ontario's Bicen- Each Ontario municipality enters Movies about animals are usually very ap- pealing to moviegoers, especially when the main character is a horse. A new movie from Australia called Phar Lap is no ex- ception to the rule. 'This film also takes on some added resonance because it is based on a true story. Phar Lap became Australia's most famous racehorse, and it became something of a national celebrity during the depression years. Phar Lap begins in 1928 when a crusty old horse trainer purchases a colt for an American businessman who lives in Australia. The businessman is_ upset when he sees the horse, because it doesn't look like much. He tells Harry the trainer that he wants his money back. But Harry is convinced that this horse can be trained to become a winner, so he works out a deal with the American to keep the horse. A stableboy named Tommy takes to the horse and looks after the animal's caring and feeding. When he complains to Harry that the older man _ is overworking the horse, Harry fires the boy, but then he hires him back when he realizes that Tommy is the only person the horse responds to. The horse is nacknamed Phar Lap, and after much _ in- tensive training, Harry and Tommy's faith is rewarded when the animal wins its first big race. By this time, the American businessman is impressed and he takes a sudden interest in Phar Lap. Since Harry has not finished paying him off for the horse, he still has a share in him. Phar Lap continues to win race after race, culminating in winning the Melbourne Cup. This is much to the delight of Harry, Tommy and Dave the businessman, but the racing establishment is upset that this un- prepossessing animal who is not a thorough- bred keeps winning with such ease. The story then becomes more ominous as they insist that Phar Lap be heavily weighted in future races. Phar Lap's owners receive anonymous threats, and an attempt is even made on the horses' life. This forces its owners to keep the championship horse in hiding until the last possible moment before a big race. Phar Lap is an ex- ceedingly well-made film from Australia. It is attractively photographed, and well- paced and edited. The script is by David Williamson who did The Year of Living Dangerously. It would make for good family entertainment, except for occasional swearing in the screenplay. Apart from this, Phar Lap has an appeal for most ages of moviegoers. There are better performances in Phar world of horse racing. Lap than what anyone would expect in a horse story. Young Tom Burlinson who was the hero in The Man From Snowy River, gives a good account of himself once again as_ the stableboy who befriends the horse. Martin Vaughan, another Australian actor, creates a complex portrayal as the debt- ridden trainer Harry Telford who dreams of making it big in the Even American actor Ron Liebman is better than usual as the horse's owner, who sees Phar Lap as his ticket. to social acceptance among the Australian upper class. Phar Lap contains the emotion and warmth we have come to expect from a horse race story, but I was impressed by the fact that the script is not all peaches and cream. It shows how the racehorse is ex- ploited by various people for their own purposes, and it reveals a darker less attractive side to the world of horse racing which has seldom been portrayed on the screen before. Phar Lap is an ex- citing sports biography which has a lot to offer Letters The Penetanguishene Citizen welcomes Letters to the Editor. They must be legible, signed (by and carry the writer's address and telephone number for verification. Pen na not allowed and anonymous letters will 'not be' published. Letters published by this newspaper do not necessarily reflect newspaper, its publisher or editor. hand), their best local crier in one of eight Regional Festivals across the province. The local village crier first appeared in 1784 in Ontario. Forerunner of today's media, he an- nounced the king's proclamations, local news, special events and, when necessary, a~- call to arms. This colourful tradition continued well into the 19th century. es are the opinion of this | T_T Penetanquishene Citizen Published by Bayweb Limited every Wednesday at 75 Main Street, Penetanguishene, Ontario /549-2012 Second Class Mail Registration Number 2327 Page 6, Wednesday, August 8, 1984 Publisher: Andrew Markle Editor: Peter Spohn Editorial Staff: Douglas Reed Murray Moore Randy Butineau Production Foreman: 'Jim Robb 'Production Staff: _Jessie Crowe Angie Grasic Viki Baziliauskas Advertising Manager: Bob Finch Advertising Staff: Joe Harpell, Linda Ladd Circulation Manager: Arnold Burgher Administration: June Robbins, Diane Moore