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Classified (SEE-Wham York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday is a division of the Metmland Media Group Ltd, a molly-aimed subsidiary of Toma: Corporation. Meuoland is comprised of 100 community publications across Condo. The Yoik Region Newspapet Gmup also includes The liberal. serving Richmond Hill and Thomhill, Vauylan CitizenJlle Eraâ€"Banner (Nemnanet/Mma). Markham Economist The Sun-Tribune welcomes your let- ters. All submlulons must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and oddm The Sun-‘Mbump‘mm the t to or no! publi and I: eat (or dar- itymdspwe. Sun, Georgina mum Region Business Times. North of the City. Mum“! and York Region Punting. Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau DISTRIBU’HON Circulation Supervisor Carrie MacFarlane macfa rlanerrm g. com mban w'llerngwm brondeaufi’yrmgcom dandmwsfivynngcom 1» I01 1muonOym1.com Stouflvfllc Manager Carolyn Norman Manager Da wna Andrews jnwsonOynngcom 'n0flnan@yrmg.rom DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Pnooucnon Manager Sherry Day lETTERS POLICY 905-640-2612 Ix: 905-640-8778 Mike Banville ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 lmmcnw MEDIA EDITORIAL Editor lim Mason EDITORIAL I: 1-800-743â€"3353 905-640â€"8778 recall a decade ago writing about Senator Vivienne Poy proposing to change the lyr- ics of O Canada. She didn't like the “in all thy sons com- mand” line either. The idea was floated again last week in the throne speech right after millions of us heard the anthem sung so proudly at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Besides, if a royal commission started tinkering with this thing, it might never stop: At the time i didn’t like the idea and still don't. I’m a traditionalist. 1. Right off the bat are the words 0 Canada. Where does this 0 come fmm? Isn‘t it archaic? Does it not discriminate against our young peo- ple? You'c0uld argue Hey, Canada or Yo Canada, even Wha’s up Canada? â€"- how about Who-dat Canada? â€" would be more app riate. You ham», to foster a feeling: inclusive- “ mm 0“? Y0“ _ _ 3101' as I said “then, the anthem is rife with words some people may find offensive. 2. Then'thcm’s; “Our home and native land.” Hello! Not every Cana- dhnisfiomhcreoriginafly'mey flammawdhemSoCamdaisnot Leash-free park plan good for humans, too Re: No leash, no problem: Will Stoufl‘uille also lap up a dog park? March 6. When i sat down with my coffee last Saturday morning to take a look at the Stoufiville Sun-Tribune, l was surprised to see your article on leash-free dog parks in York Region. 1 had just been speaking with a friend from Cambridge, who told me that she was taking her dog to the local dog park for a fun run and socialization with other dogs. It made me wonder why we do not have a dog park in Stoufl’ville. I would be happy to volun- tarily pay $20 to use a local dog park and know several neigh- bours who feel the same. It's not only a great idea for our dogs, but a great way for us humans to socialize, meet and get to know our neighbours. o - NI N SWW’SO?’ PUBLISHER Ian Prou Even 10 years ago, I didn’t understand why “the town just didn’t want it". O Canada lyrics have more woes than just thy sons lETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have you ever seen a town with so many dogs? Hepefully, this time the proposition of a leash-free dog park will be accepted by council. Customer service No.1 I have been a customer at Schell Lumber in Stouffville for more than 10 years. I've never ceased to be amazed at the quality of ser- vice they provide. Whether it's a question about a lO-cent nail or a bathroom renovation, they’ve got the knowledge and always take time to answer questions Most recently I purchased a house lock and, when some- thing went awry, they bent over backwards to fix it. How lucky we Stouffvillites are to have such a great store with such great people providing such great service. their native land. Which makes the line an afi'ront to immigrants. Not to mention our First Nations people, who no doubt don't like us call- ing this our land, when they think of it as their land. Perhaps a better lyric would be, “Our summer place of residence and land where many of us were born. while others moved here, and still oth- ers left." It covers all the bases. Besides, many people have Cana- dian citizenship but don't live here. So Canada fiat their home. 3.1hen, of course, there's the notori- ous, “'D'ue patriot love, in all thy sons command." Bernie O’Neill WENDY COWIE STOUFFVILLE IIM PRIEBE STOUFFVILLE Clearly this is another sexist tyric. the word patriot being derived from pam'os, or of one’s father. 7 Never mind the sons. Why patn'ot love? Why not maternal love? Not to mention the word command. So militaristic, like some male domi- nance thing. Why not inspire, generate, facilitate or engender? We could change sons to souls, except that may offend the atheists or anyone from any of the religions where they don’t believe we have souls. Not to mention the cynics who don't believe in love. They have rights, too. Maybe the best word to replace sons â€"â€" one that would be acceptable to Ottawa's bureaucracy â€" would be social insurance number holders. Thus, “'Ii‘ue patriot love in all they sons command" could be "Real feel- ings of warmth, in all those with a social insurance number facilitate.” 4. The next line, “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true north strong and free" will have to go, obvi- ously, since a) some people have artificial hearts, which rarely glow. experts say. b) some people are blind and therefore don’t see thee rise and c) some of us clearly don’t like the idea of our country being strong, as if [18y puuucauy CUH‘l‘Cl \Ainaua. Wt: ll change our lyrics week-lyyyy!‘ And there you have it. Our new national anthem lyrics. for now at least. They have a nice sort of Canadian ring to them, don‘t you think? WWWUMBOM RegionModaGmtpm PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Tribune we're going around kicking sand and snow in other countries' faces, which isn’t nice. A better line would be. "With vari- ous types of hearts, some artificial, we ‘sense’ thee rise, the true north (for those ofus who are way up north â€"â€" the deep south for those of us in Florida) vital and autonomous." 5. Last but not least, there’s that lulu of a lyric, “God keep our land, glori- ous and free", the God reference hav- ing been added in 1970, which offends atheists and non-Christian religious people who might interpret this as a Christian God keeping a watchful eye on the land and not Allah or Buddha. I think a better line would be. “0 supreme being. or God, or fourâ€"leaf clover. or rabbit's foot. or whoever's in charge, keep our (or whoever’s) 1and. glorious and free, Yo Canada. We won't necessarily stand on guard for thee. Hey politically conect Canada. we’ll change our lyrics week-W" And there you have it. Our new national anthem lyrics. for now at least. They have a nice son of Canadian ring to them. don‘t you think? Eamon 1N Cum Debora Kelly Robert Lazurko Busmus Duncan. We, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Dram-Ions Barry Black