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6 stouffville suntribune thursday sept 152005 suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director distribution director marketingpartnerships retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gard paolucci circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko director debra welter york region printing general manager bob dean editorial banning faithbased arbitration brave ontario premier dalton mcguintys decision against ensliiining faithbased arbitration in law is the right move its a courageous decision sure to draw a backlash from proponents while a report from former ndp attorney general marion boyd recom mended the province allow and regulate islamic arbitration much the same way it does christian jewish and ismaili tri bunals doing so would break a funda mental principle of canadian law everyone should be viewed as equal under the law providing a separate set of rules for residents because of their faith would fly in the face of this funda mental fact while some might criticize the move as an attack on their faith choosing not to recognize arbitration as law doesnt undermine the practices intent people will still be able to turn to their priest imam or rabbi for counselling the only difference is that these recom mendations wont be binding ontarians will always have the right to seek advice from anyone in matters of family law including religious advice mr mcguinty told the canadian press but no longer will religious arbitra tion be deciding matters of family law it also doesnt mean ontario is any less supportive of multiculturalism sometl ling on which we can continue to pride ourselves granted the announcement could have been handled better it has been nine months since the boyd report was filed which gave mr mcguinty plenty of time to consult with affected groups instead it appears everyone was caught off guard by the news provided to a reporter over the weekend while backing the move conservative leader john tory said it was incompetent management oh a sensitive issue simple courtesy would suggest that womens groups and religious leaders might have been given a headsup on such a sensitive issue he added and the province still has work to do saying everyone is equal under the law is one thing but it only works if everyone has equal access regardless of education and ones financial position and lets not forget arbitration was introduced to take some of the pressure off the provinces family court system this move must be followed by hiring more judges and providing better access to the system in a more timely manner r 0fc0ur5e7heres no dial tonethays the remote v 5unttusuhe letters to the editor dont ignore school crossing stop sign whitchurchstoufrville motorists september is here and with september comes school as we set out each morning we are all in our own mindset of what we need to accomplish before the dayis through as a crossing guard one of my priorities is to ensure the children can cross the street without being harmed in my first week i have already witnessed sever al drivers ignoring the stop sign i hold inconsiderate uneducated half asleep im not sure skimming past the children and myself on the walkway to get to their destination one driver almost hit me yes i do remember her her car and the plate number i have chosen to voice my concerns here rather than reporting them to the police since some of you may not be educated with regards to our stop sign please be advised the stop sign actually means stop and there are no exceptions pedestrians have the right of way when crossing the street please be proactive when you are rushing to do your thing please respect others a traffic light takes less than a minute of your patience the stop signs stays up until the chudrens feet are on the curb on the other side of the street so please stop and obey the sign thanking you in advance stephanie christine vlachos crossing guard ninth line and millard street stouffv1lle the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 34 civic ave po box 154 stouffville l4a 7z5 email jmasonymgcom its just a game hockey parents how come my child isnt playing in the nhl yettu tell you why its because they didnt make the local minor hockey rep team and thats ok why do we as parents assume the coach has made a mistake when it comes to our child i pon der this question every year at this time im not saying coaches dont make mistakes or misjudge players at times but if your child is that good they will notice them in due time i also know we all want the best for our children but a little dis appointment in everyone lifes just makes them that much stronger did you know that in stouffville minor hockey as in many hockey centres the people who apply to coach a team have taken courses in hockey development skills abuse prevention first aid and coaching they also have to go though an inter view process in front of a selection board all this just to coach your children and they do that for free so the next time your sons or daughters didnt make the team just remember its just a game and games are supposed to be fun let your children have fun at whatever level they play hockey just a game and boy do we love it in stouffville michael humphreys president whitchurchstouffville minor hockey editorial editor jim mason jtnasonymgcom assistan editor rick vanderlinde nioniierlindeyrngcom events management shows manager bonnie rondeau brondeauyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil voneilyrngcom production manager pant nichols pnicholsymgcom advertising classified manager ann campbell acampbeuymgcom retail manager staceyallen sallenyrngcom managing director new business flyer sales dawna andrews dandrewsymgcom managing director real estate mike rogerson mrogersonymgcom editorial 905640261218668461889 fax9056408778 advertising 9056402612 classified 18007433353fax 9058531765 distribution 9052948244 ctbftm danuhml taxboulucntxt ontario pms com suntnbune a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving richmond hill and thomhitjvaughan owen the economist sun markham the erabanner newmarketaurora georgina advocate york region business times north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing off the top with jim mason in praise of the greatest canadian with apologies to tommy douglas and his fans the father of socialized medicine in this country is not the great est canadian of all time sorry despite what the voters on the cbc website may say the nod must unofficially go to terry fox hands down no questions asked even if the politicians who succeed ed mr douglass hadnt run our medicare system into the ground my vote stays with terry he wasnt a paid politician but a sim ple young man with high ideals and an unbelievable work ethic his goal was simple to raise money to find cures for cancer we all know the story thankfully taught in school textbooks in this coun try its about an average guy who ran a marathon a day for more than three months on one leg he could not finish his run however as the cancer spread to his lungs and he was forced to abandon the course sept 1 1980 just east of thunder bay after running 5373 kilometres over 143 straight days across eastern canada i was a cub reporter working for a newspaper in my home town of thunder bay 25 years ago this month en route to another assignment i stum bled upon an obviously hastily called news conference assembling in the mid dle of a street between a general hospital and the region cancer clinic before even seeing terry or his dad roily i knew it had to be terry he had been ducking the public and press by staying on the opposite side of the city from the hotel he was booked into there had been a lull in the public rela tions machine around the run there he lay on a stretcher in the middle of the street trying to stay and look strong terry fox runs around the world have raised more than 360 million for cancer research the 25th annual goes this sunday including stouffvilles event several whitchurchstouffviue schools will take part in the new nation al school run day friday we dont celebrate a lot of heroes in this land pierre trudeau had his moments maybe roberta bondar paul henderson too but thats just sport terry fox competed in the real world twice battling the cancer that would eventually kill him at age 22 the least we can do is take part in his run once a year or sponsor someone else in it the greatest canadian ever is looking down upon us jim mason is editor of the sun- tribune