THE HERALD Wednesday November Page Report from Ottawa Turners Canada Book offered to help save the country A few days after the Lake Accord failed I held a cou ple of Town Hall meetings in Georgetown and Bolton They were not easy The people who came were very divided Some were sad for Canada because they thought Quebec was closer Others were angry that had ever been tned because it gave too much to Quebec Others came to flaunt their anti- Quebec feelings and heap praise on the man who finally pulled the plug Newfoundland premier Clyde Weils One man even brought a New flag which he waved at the back of the room as I stood front of a Canadian flag at the other end There was a lot of heckling and disorder and emotion Maybe in hindsight I should not have called those meetings They sure didnt advance the cause of Canadian unity Over the summer though I asked people to think about the future of the country and write me with their thoughts on what should come next Several hun dred did and I have collected all their letters in a single binder which I call my Canada Book Its there for me to look at when I need some refreshing on the issue Well now the prime minister has called what amounts to a Town Hall meeting for the whole country and it looks like something akin to the Canada Book is going to written by thousands more Cana dians I was in the House Commons last week when Mulroney an the Citizens Forum on Canadas Future and I liked what I heard Here is an informal collection of nonpoliticians who will travel Canada and talk to average peo ple about how we nail this silly Volunteers needed to manage courts TORONTO Attorney General Howard Hampton is asking the public for volunteers to serve on special committees designed to help manage Ontanos new court system Courts management advisory committees will bnng together the people working in courts and the public to ensure the system effectively serves the people of Ontario Mr Hampton said Each of eight regional commit tees will be made up of two public representatives two judges a Crown attorney two lawyers and a court These committees will deal with such issues as scheduling courtrooms and sittings budgets and staff ing One separate provincial com will comprise four public representatives four chief judges four lawyers and four members of the Ministry of the Attorney General including Mr Hampton This committee will deal with the administration of the overall system Each com will meet at least four times a year The committees are being ap pointed as part of court reform which was implemented on September 1 1990 hose changes created the Ontario Court of Justice with two divisions the Ontario Court General Division and the Ontario Court cial Division Court Reform legislation also organized the court system into eight regions Were not looking for people with legal training Mr Hamp ton said But we would like ap plicants to be committed to help ing make the new justice system work by bringing local needs and concerns to committee meetings People interested volunteer should send a letter outlining their qualifications to the Ministry of the Attorney Generals Regional Director of Courts Administration in their area Applicants should specify either the provincial or regional committee when they apply and ensure the letter is received by Friday November 16 Marathon man On Sunday November 25 Mr Keith Moore a civilian member of Regional Mure will represent Ihe Regional Police Forte in he Bangkok Half Marathon The Hair is a It mile rate through the streets of Bangkok Thailand sponsored by Thai Airways International Ltd Keith will be running in this marathon as a fund raising event for Ihe Foster Parents Plan of Canada Headquarters staff of the Regional Police currently support a child m Guatemala named Oscar through the Foster Parents Plan of Canada The funds raised sponsorships of Keith Moore s run will be donated to a school building program in Oscar s village Thai Airways International Ltd has generously donated Keith return flight to Bangkok Moore says that he is confident that he will be able to run the distance but change in climate from our local degrees to Thailand degrees Celsius and humidity will make the race harder Keith will arrive in Bangkok on Friday November and therefore will have only one day to acclimatize to the conditions Pictured above left lo right Keith Moore Region Police Chief W I Harding and David Martin a representative of Thai Air ways country back together again It parallels another commission this one a bit more formal which this week starts travelling Quebec on the same topic That commission will have a report written by the Spring and it will likely make Meech Lake look like pablum in terms of the new demands Quebec will make to stay Canada I have no doubts that were on the verge of serious change Polls show that a majonty of people in Quebec reject the idea of Canada as we have it now They felt that when died english Canada was saying it didnt want Quebec brought back into the constitution The whole affair played right into the hands of the separatists Jacques Panzeau and Lucien Bouchard Where I sit in the House of Commons is directly across the floor from the nine members of the Bloc Quebecois They are dedicated to the breakup of Canada Only one of them is legitimate having been elected on a platform of separatism in a summer byelection The others including Bouchard were elected as Tories or Liberals members of federal parties who want to keep Canada as a single federal state I dont enjoy sitting in the same chamber with people who are there to work for the end of Canada And I dont like the polls which show Quebec in dependence is the preferred op tion in that province I wish the old Canada could stay But after Meech died and the separatists turned it to their favour what are we going to do If the Quebec commission on the future recommends a different structure for Canada how do we respond Do we agree to Quebecs demands or do we sent in the ar my How are we going to respond to a province that suddenly tells us it is no longer subject to Cana dian law That is what the Citizens Forum is about Unless we ask the questions we wont find if there are any common answers It wont be fun and it wont be without its own anger and emo tion It will probably stir up more French and English feelings It will force us to think about a country on the verge of breaking up just when much of the rest of the world is coming together For example as Europe moves towards common trade common money and a common central bank Canada is threatened with a new border between million people on one side and six million on the other In a world of globalization and competition we are thinking about splitting our economy apart What kind of future will that br ing Or is there some way of bridg ing these troubles of keeping us all as Canadians Can we get a new arrangements coming from the people first and then being taken up into law The Citizens Forum will try that Itll be and different using meetings and satellites and church basements and TV debates Its open to anybody in the country and will try to cobble together some kind of report by next Canada Day Of course if theres no common ground then it wont matter The gulf between the english and the will just keep grow ing Canada will likely change more quickly So I ask you again to think about the country Im going to send my Canada Book to the head of the Citizens Forum Keith Spicer and would like to have your thoughts mclud Send me a page on Canada Garth Turner MP 27 Mam St S Georgetown Ont helped me lose 157 lbs Safely This is the one program that made mg sale I felt great the whole lime I was on it The reason is that is a complete weight loss program nutritious food counseling light activity even maintenance That s why I trust t completely Our Comprehensive Weight Loss Program Will Help Over ONE MILLION Clients This Year It Includes Safe easy and permanent weight 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