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i p 4 the tribune tuesday february 24 1998 tt ihelfribune tuesday february 24 1998 vblflojml5 f the tribune is a member of the s ontario press council mtons rst sjend your letters r rtothe editor to the addressjjelaw ditorial finally theres some activity from the government in ottawa on the unity issue the chretien government will wade into the coming que bec election in an attempt to boost the fortunes of daniel jormson leader of the quebec liberals but they will have quite a task i despite colossal blunders and mismanagement on his gov ernments part lucien bouchard retains his teflon coating especially in the rural areas of quebec he managed to twist and contort the supreme courts proceedings oh the legality of quebec secession to deflect much of the obvious legal inadequacies and this past weekend he attacked the federal government for attempting to trap quebec in legal loopholes it is high time the feds stepped in before a debate on the countrys future gets up a head of steam last time their inactivity very nearly cost us the country it is our hope that they will point out to the people of that province that it was the rest of canada who helped out the people of cac st jean t was the rest of cahadatnat attempt ed to send hydro workers during the ice- storm and that it was the rest of the country that rushed to their aid when the power remained out because of the megamahiacai policies of bouchard and his government the government of canada must avoid the mudslinging bouchard has already begun and stick to a program of infor mation t proving to quebeckers that without the rest of the country they willbe far worse off the government must then move to close this continuing chapter for good j 1 looked forward to shrove tuesday amd a pancake supper- but flllinglbem with cauu flower broccoli carrots and peas k snowstorms can in canada- the finger of blame is often pointed at the weather last tuesday just as residents of stouffville and uxbridge were get- ting ready to go to a meeting to speak out for canada god intervened and hit us with a freak snow storrm con sequently the turnout at the dialogue on canadian unity was small while imade it to the meeting i dp recognize that sensible people dont venture out in snow storms then again sensible people didnt build this country passionate people did i dont care if it sound sappyi love canada j we canadians have built a country thats the envy of the world since canada is the best it deserves our continued attention i dont care if you are fed up with all the wrangling over the quebec issue apathy is not going to make the problem go away quite the con trary not giving a hoot will strength en the separatist movement quebec ofrthe record foan ransberry is a glorious part of canada we mustnt ever stop in pur desire to keep quebec in the family of cana da we have an obligation to make sure our kids and grandkids inherit a the demobbing of mr wallethead i married him for better or for worse but not for lunch someone famous mr wallethead hitherto the light of my life from 7 pm to 7 am five days a week and on the weekends we were both in residence at the chateau joined the ranks of consultancy last year this as anyone who has gone through a similar experience will rec ognize is a euphemism to put it in the fcurrent vernacular he has been downsized outplaced rationalized let go demobbed as far as his previous employer is con cerned he has like monty pythons parrot ceased to be happily howev er it was ah amicable parting replete i with a good package in fact he is having so much fun coming up with ideas for what to do with the rest of his life as a working stiff that no one should feel the slight- est bit sorry for him conversely yours truly the greta garbo of the writing community suddenly has a permanent husband on the premises and- is thus far more deserving c of sympathy my spouse is outgoing helpful and i friendly a veritable gold mine of those inteipersorial skills without kates corner kate gilder dale which no leadingedge office of the 90s would be complete ive never held it against him before but were talking 24hour days here on the one hand you have a chap who thrives on meetings people cdh tact and brainstorming on the other you have me whose allergy to meet ings is legendary and whose only experience of brainstorming consists of outmanoeuvering spasms efforts to chew through the wires attaching my macintosh to the bedroom wall writers are supposed to be grouchy selfish and egotistical its part of our job description we spend an inordi nate amount of time staring at walls blank screens and other inanimate objects because we arethinking and whenwe are thinking we dont take kindly to interruptions l mr wallethead is busymaking6ur financial affaire shipshape v for the hew i1iimhj in gaily reciting the latest fascinating tidbit on my spousal rrsps despite the fact that i could not eat never mind afford shelter without his gen- erous propping up my reaction tends to be a tad brusque when he met me i was something of a valley girl whose ambition was to meet and marry someone who could keep me in the lavish style to v which i planned to become accus- tomed i did the requisite secretarial course pronounced my deep interest in an advertising career it sounded morerisqu6 than accounting and got a job in television although it was in the sales depart ment which was uricool at least i had moved onto the fringes of the entertainment world- where i have languished ever since thirty yearsvn and im still doing shorthand anidtyp- ing but have avoided complete social death by referring to myself as a writer c inexplicably mr walletheadcheerr ifuijyputsupith fee and is quick to recpgnizlhenp fly zohewhen fl am i deep in thought and as ipiijg aches paying tcotxcon- finite to be a legend irt itry awnind vibrant economy political stability healthy communities a united land a caring tolerant society and a future filled with hope and opportunity for these reasons im asking durhamyork mpp julia munro and the legion to host yet another local session of ontario speaks incidentally over the years ive been involved in news coverage for branches v of the royal canadian legion iharium- t jber of commuriitiesone thing is cer tain history reminds us that the legion has proyen its passion for canada it was no surprise when last septem- ber the legion noticed when nine pre miers and the leaders of two territories met in calgary to draft a framework for i discussion on canadian unity and the legion spoke out more than 550000 members countrywide said ho to separation and yes to canada- a strong national government is nec essary to ensure a united country stress es area legion member george lovetf loyettis especially interested iri the constitutions notwithstanding clause it should be eliminated to prevent any one province from enacting discrimina- toryilaws or legislation he said im notsure if i agree with lovett js position on the notwithstanding clause id like to hear more on it while were at it lets talk about diversity i think canadas success has been built upon its ability to accommodate an extraordinary degree of diversity our diversity as a country hasevolyed over the- course of history present day cana da includesour english and frehchilan guages aboriginal people and a vast language cuimre andciyil jaw tradition while tasvdisappbinedin the turiiput at the local ontaribspeaks ses sion j was impressed with thequesr tions one in particular rnakes us thiiik rfis what will canada btfiike in fiye years perhapshe legion and our mpp will give us yet another chance to ahswer the question ifjjl stouffville trmijne patricia pappas publisher andrew mair editorinchief tracy kibble editor debra weller director of advertising mike rogerson r retail advertising manager stacey allen classified manager barry goodyear director of distribution vivian oneil business manager pamela nichols- operdtions manager about us news 9056402100 9056402100 classifieds 9056402874 distribution 9056402100 y r i 905 6405477 v t ecmau thetribistarca 6244mataslil stouhvjjl ont l4a1e2 tbo sbwcrvul tvibotm puubtmd vmv lwvbx tbtnuymi hihsiiia wlifl btknind priatinx pla- 3 5ywid cwnbtuioa imri sttaaisf ntwrptptrw wbia iaadij too hucqribmh m izz brie- aurtuo- battuwto l pi oivuiha- ttubbaraufh pattfoniisl uuaimuaiulhum minor hfluo letters policy the tribune welcomes your letters to the editor pleaskeep letters to no more than 300 words note that lettersrnay be for space libel spelling grammar while we erideavbr to print as imany letters as possible we regret that not all let- ters may be printed gjg bwfc i