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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2003 THE NEW TANNER 5 The Way I See It withMike OLeary HOCKEY HERITAGE: After watching his son play hockey at Acton arena on Saturday morn- ing, Bryan Poirier was drawn to a poster sized picture of the 1930-31 Acton intermediate mens hockey team on display in the lobby. After learning the teams photo and details of their winning ways are featured in Heritage Actons 2003 calendar, he bought one. Frances Niblock photo Dear editor Were you born in Quebec? I have just had a very frustrating day and I need to vent and share some information. I want to renew my husbands and my passports before they expire in April. Im sure since September 11th; it will prob- ably take longer than before, so off I went to the post office for the forms. To my surprise, I find that my birth certificate from Quebec is no longer accepted! (FYI If you were born in Quebec, only birth cer- tificates issued on or after January 1, 1994, by Le Directeur de letat civil in the province of Quebec are accepted for passports.) The form did not tell me what to do so I called the toll-free number. Three hours later, I got through to a human and he gave me the web site address to get the form I needed to get a new birth certificate. (FYI www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca) Why isnt that information right on the passport instructions? Your birth certificate is no longer ac- cepted and this is what you do about it. To get my valid birth certificate, I need two documents, one with a photo and one with my home or work address. The list includes lots of documentation for Quebec resi- dents, which I am not, and passport (Im glad mine hasnt expired yet!), Canadian certificate of citizenship and a drivers licence recognized in Quebec. Thats good because this has my home address and my photo but is my Ontario licence recognized in Quebec? I called the toll-free number on the form and it only works inside Quebec. I called the Quebec city number and, after doing the push 1 for thing for forever, I push 0 for a human and was told the line was busy and please call back, click. Aaaaaaaa! I know.Ill call Julian Reeds office. They were very polite and help- ful until I said drivers licence. They did not know if my Ontario drivers licence was recognized in Quebec because that is a provincial matter; call Ted Chudleighs office. So, I called and they were very po- lite until I said passport. Aaaaaaaa! After a deep cleansing breath, I mailed off a copy of my ageing passport, my no-longer-ac- cepted birth certificate and my Ontario drivers licence, which may or may not be accepted. Am I ever glad I dont need to leave the country anytime soon! Julia Roehrig, Acton Dear editor, Halton Hills Community Sup- port and Information would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all those who helped to make the holiday sea- son special this past year for 51 families in our community. During November and Decem- ber, members of the Halton Hills community generously donated many items to our Christmas Needs Programs, including toys, clothing, knitting and money. Many local businesses and indi- viduals made generous financial donations to our program. These donations are used to purchase items of clothing for financially limited families. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to make a do- nation. Many groups, churches, busi- nesses and individuals assisted with our program by providing hampers for families. They pur- chased clothing and toys and put the hampers together for families. We are very grateful for their con- tinued support of this program. Last year was a difficult one for many families and we had an in- crease in the number of families that applied to our program. We are pleased that the community responded to the increased de- mand in a very generous way. We are so fortunate to live in a com- munity where people care for one another and are willing to share their resources in order to help others. Sincerely, Cathy Gerrow, Community Support Coordinator Halton Hills Community Support and Information. Several issues caught my interest this week. Lets discuss some of these developments which will, in one way or another, affect us all. The Americans and British de- ployed more troops, planes and ships to the gulf region. It appears war may be imminent even though the UN weapons inspectors have not found any evidence of nuclear or biologi- cal weapons. I assume the United States has intelligence they are giv- ing UN personnel, which has not been made public. It should be. Saddam Insane is carrying on a very dangerous game of brinksmanship. I think all out war can still be avoided. I dont think the other Arab states will just watch while western powers take over the huge Iraqi oil reserves. In that sense, the anti-American brigade is correct. The war is about oil. Not the Ameri- cans coveting it, but the other oil producing states protecting their price structure by controlling supply. I predict Saddam will make a last minute deal and go into exile. Hell take billions with him of course. Hell spend the rest of his days in obscene luxury railing at the great Satan in America. Maybe he can bunk-in with Idi Amin. Amin might have Saddam for lunch. Literally! In the meantime Saddam sits in Baghdad lobbing insults at George W. Bush. Recently, he went on Iraqi television to say that the Presidents threats were the Hiss of snakes and bark of dogs. Old Saddam may be a despot, a mass murderer and crimi- nally insane but you have to give him his due: The man can turn a phrase. We will know by the end of Janu- ary whether or not the dogs of war are set loose. I pray for the people of Iraq they stay caged. This time the American Coalition will not stop short of absolute victory. The death and destruction will be heartbreak- ing unless Saddam goes. Unfortunately, hes a maniac so your guess is as good as mine as to how he will react. I think that his instinct for self- preservation will cause him to go. If not, for sure hes toast. George W. will not repeat the mistake his father made. ****** A 6-year-old boy is tragically shot and killed by his 7-year-old sister. The children were playing in their bedroom and found a loaded pistol allegedly owned by their older brother. As usual, there was much discus- sion about this horrific event. I couldnt believe the number of peo- ple who proposed passing more laws to ensure things like this dont hap- pen again. There was even a serious discussion on CFRB about forcing legitimate target and sports pistol shooters to keep their guns in safes at their clubs. I tuned it out. Im tired of listening to people who demon- strate the I.Q. of a zucchini. The gun problem is not with law- ful owners. The gun problem is with two-bit punks who think carrying a pistol makes them tough. These wannabe gangsters have no reserva- tions about using their weapon. This is the problem that must be addressed. This is the problem that is being ig- nored while our politicians waste over a billion dollars on a totally use- less registration program. A program that has not, and will not, save one life. This column has long advocated legislated prison terms for illegal gun possession and/or use. These sen- tences must not be allowed to be plea-bargained away. They would not be subject to parole. They would be served consecutively after any other sentences are served. This would curb illegal gun use without criminalizing law abiding Canadians for nothing. Its encouraging to hear senior po- lice officers such as Torontos Julian Fantino finally start to push manda- tory sentences for illegal gun possession. This is a position, I must point out, that most responsible gun owners have been proposing for years. The Chretien loyalists are still flogging the dead horse called regis- tration. No current word from MP Reed. Not to worry, as soon as the PMD tells him what he thinks, well hear from him. Ontario Attorney General David Young has made it plain Ontario Crown Attorneys will not be pros- ecuting charges under the Gun Registration Act. Ontario and seven other provinces are pressing the feds to cancel the whole mess. In response Justice(?) Minister Martin Cauchon is spending another $92 thousand for an ex-bureaucrat to devise ways to make the registry more efficient. What a laugh. The Federal Auditor General, with all her resources, gave up after a year of trying to make some sense out of the books. Now this new guy is supposed to come-up with re- alistic advice in a few weeks? Sounds to me like a replacement scam for the advertising boondoggle. I hope we get a federal government in the future, which cares more about saving the lives of 6-year-olds and less about the possibility of losing a few votes come election day. ****** I attended the information night re- garding our new ambulance station last week. The details of the new fa- cility are elsewhere in your New Tanner. One reason I went was to ask why we needed a separate building instead of an addition to the fire hall. Evidently, its the Provinces fault. When the new fire hall was built the ambulance was still under provincial control. A proposal was made to the province to incorporate the ambu- lance in the planned fire hall. The province declined. At this time, with the possibility of a future need to ex- pand the fire hall, there isnt enough land to put the ambulance facility in with the fire hall. An adjacent build- ing seems to be the best option. Chairman Savoline is justifiably proud of the Regions ambulance service. For example, the service had approximately 18 advanced care paramedics when the Region as- sumed control. Today we have around 40 and were recruiting. The more we age the more important numbers like this become. Councillor Bonnette drew attention to the many volunteers who manned our ambulances before full-time staff were hired. We do owe those folks a debt of gratitude and I suggest a suit- able remembrance be made part of the new station. Perhaps a plaque with their names on it would be appropri- ate. Jim King, Director of Halton EMS, spoke about the vial of life. Sim- ply put, its a small vial kept in the refrigerator, which contains impor- tant medical information on people in the house. EMS personnel look for the sticker, which is supplied, on the fridge. If the patient is unconscious this information could be critical. Obviously seniors, or anyone else with drug allergies, ongoing condi- tions, etc., should have one. They are available, no charge, from Halton EMS, police or fire. Motorists and cyclists are also confused about pedestrian cross- ings. The 30-metre safety zone on either side of the cross-over is a no-passing zone, sometimes ignored. Yet its illegal to pass, even if there are no pedestrians, in the crossing. Cyclists should know its illegal to ride across at a crossover. They must walk their bicycle across. Despite the confusion about the law there have been no serious injuries here, unlike places like Toronto where on crosswalk was dubbed slaughter house corner after two people were killed. Obviously anyone using a crosswalk, both pedestrians and mo- torists, should observe the utmost caution and courtesy. Once people are off the curb and that flashing light is going, motorists must come to a stop, or risk being charged. Caution and courtesy are the two things that make crosswalks safe and usable. Frustrating time trying to renew passports 51 families helped Courtesy and caution... continued from page 4 More letters on Page 6 Views of the news