The record, 15 mai 1987, vendredi 15 mai 1987

There will be no Record WppkPflH on Monday, May 18, in " * V'WMw AMvl.observance of the Victoria Day holiday.Stay cool and catch some rays.Births, deaths .8 Classified .10-11 Comics .12 Editorial .4 Environment.5 Farm & Business .9 Living .6-7 Meat her.page 2 Sherbrooke Friday, May 15, 1987 50 cents Inside A sovereignist club says the Meech lake accord is ambiguous and contradictory.See page 3 Ex-chief fined for 1979 Brome Lake assault In Townships Week this week: Knowlton holds its first Victorian Days weekend, Alexander Galt students present a play about putting on a play, and the Cirque du Soldi is returning to Sherbrooke.and a representative from the African country of Burkina Faso says people there want help but not handouts from the First World.That story’s also on page 3.By John McCaghey GRANBY — Alyre Thireau.the former Brome Lake police chief who was found guilty April 24 of a charge of assault causing bodily harm to Jimmy Frizzle on February 2, 1979.was sentenced to a $200 fine and placed on six months probation in Superior Court Thursday.Mr.Justice Georges Savoie told Thireau he had a legal right to arrest Frizzle whom the judge termed “a known fighter”.But the ju- ry found he had used excessive force after Frizzle had been arrested.Crown Attorney Claude Me-lançon had requested the judge to consider some form of financial compensation for Frizzle.However Savoie ruled that was not necessary as Frizzle had returned to w'ork the following day and had not sought any medical attention.The judge noted that Thireau had risen to the rank of sergeant within three years on the force be- fore the incident with Frizzle.Frizzle was arrested following a fight in the Cave or Bull Pen bar at the rear of l’Auberge du Relais following a disagreement with his brother-in-law Greg Page."You were young, had risen to a rank and should have given examples to other members of the force,” Savoie said.“You should have exercised self-control and used no more force than necessary.Frizzle was under control Define ‘distinct’, Remillard told By Penny MacRae QUEBEC (CP) — Gil Remillard, minister of intergovernmental affairs, was in the hot seat Thursday over his government’s refusal to define in the Meech Lake constitutional agreement what makes Quebec a distinct society.Speaking to a legislature committee examining the tentative accord reached last month by the 11 first ministers, Remillard said specifying what made Quebec special could lead to problems down the road.Quebec is “distinct not only for Remillard’s remarks came after its language, but for its institu- Quebec political scientist Leon Trouble in the promised land tions, its way of life, its way of being,” Remillard told the hearing.He said the government avoided including any definition of Quebec’s distinctiveness in talks with the federal government and the provinces leading to the Meech Lake accord because1 once you define, you limit.” One clause makes deal unacceptable — Parizeau By Nelson Wyatt MONTREAL (CP) - Former Parti Québécois finance minister Jacques Parizeau doesn’t object in principle to Quebec signing a constitutional deal with Ottawa, but he said Thursday the Meech Lake accord contains a clause that makes the agreement unacceptable.While Parizeau said he could live with most of the deal reached last month, he strongly objected to a clause he said could widen federal incursions into provincial jurisdiction.He also complained that the tentative agreement would not return to Quebec full control over language and education laws, which the former PQ government lost when the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms was adopted in 1982.‘‘As far as the Meech Lake agreement is concerned, some of the disposals of that agreement are probably very acceptable — at least they are not repugnant,” Parizeau told reporters after a speech to the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Bar Association.“One however seems to me to be unacceptable still and that has to do with the federal spending power in areas of provincial jurisdiction.” That clause says Ottawa must financially compensate provinces that don’t participate in future national shared-cost programs in an area of exclusive provincial jurisdiction, if that province sets up a program compatible with federal objectives.Dion warned that the agreement could make a fool of Quebec by failing to guarantee enough protection for the province’s francophone society.Dion congratulated the government on the agreement which he said represented an enormous step forward.But he said the wording of the distinct society clause should be clarified to make it airtight to the courts that those who drafted it were referring to a French-speaking society.Dion, describing himself as a “federalist autonomist” who voted for the yes forces in the 1980 referendum on sovereignty, proposed an amendment enshrining French as a “principal and essential component” of Quebec’s distinct society.FACE THREAT Dion said French in Quebec was undergoing a shocking deterioration but the main threat was not English Canada but what “comes from the United States, their ‘cheap culture,’ — not their great culture.” Dion was the latest of a series of witnesses to express concern about the protection afforded to francophones by the clause recognizing the province as a distinct society.Jacques-Yvan Morin, a former Parti Québécois cabinet minister, said the Meech Lake accord leaves francophones outside Quebec out on a limb and undermines their rights inside the province.“Francophones outside Quebec and anglophones inside Quebec should be treated on absolutely the same footing,” said Morin, who served as intergovernmental affairs minister under then premier René Lévesque.Morin objected to the phrasing of the distinct society clause, noting it describes anglophones as being “present in Quebec” while francophones are said to be “centred in but not limited to Quebec.” He added the agreement entrenches the description as a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian federation but does not afford similar protection to Quebec as a distinct society.“This is a discrepancy which could lead to trouble,” for the future of Quebec’s French-speaking society, said Morin.“One can easily guess which way the courts will lean,” in any judicial test.II à % Much-heralded as the guiding light of the newly developing South Pacific region, the tiny nation of Fiji suffered an armed takeover this week.RECORD editor Charles Bury spent two months in this tropical near-paradise last year and adds some of his impressions to the latest news reports.See FIJI, page 5.Above: A Fijian villager during a traditional welcome ceremony.RKCORD/CHARLES BURY (handcuffed! when the excessive force was employed.” "There was proof before me that you were involved in other incidents of violence which were heard in voire dire during the trial but I am not here to judge on them as they will proceed at a later date,” Savoie said.He told Thireau that he appeared to be a very violent man.See NO PROOF, page 3.Bureau to check for conspiracy By Robert Plaskin OTTAWA (CP) — The federal Competition Bureau is looking for signs of collusion among the oil companies that sell gaspline in the Montreal region, Consumer Affairs Minister Harvie André said Thursday.André announced the inquiry while answering opposition questions in the Commons about why Montrealers pay 11 cents a litre more for gasoline than Toronto motorists do.He said the inquiry began a few days ago based on complaints his department has received from six people.When reporters asked André outside the House what government investigators were looking for, the minister said: “Evidence of collusion, presumably.“The Competition Act spells out those activities which are illegal under the Competition Act and they will be looking for those,” André said.The Competition Bureau normally does not comment on whether it is even conducting an inquiry.“It’s more or less an independent organization,” Andre said.“While they let.me know the results of their investigation, I can’t direct them nor stop them.” Asked how long the inquiry might take, Andre said: “I don’t know.I can’t even ask that.” While the investigation is centred on Montreal, Andre said the inquiry extends outside the city itself.RAISED QUESTION Liberal MP Raymond Garneau raised the discrepancy between Montreal and Toronto gasoline prices in the Commons.He cited news reports published Thursday that a Quebec government report indicated retailers were pocketing the reduction in provincial gasoline taxes rather than passing the savings on to consumers.The report said bil companies and their retailers pocketed $20.5 million in 1986, out of a $52 million tax reduction that was supposed to have been applied entirely to pump prices.Ciaccia threatens to create gas price board Lev?I ll-v LJ a a By Dennis Bueckert MONTREAL (CP) — An angry Energy Minister John Ciaccia says the province may create a board to regulate gasoline prices in Quebec.Ciaccia’s announcement Thursday was a clear threat to the oil companies in the province, who are pocketing about half of the savings from a provincial gasoline tax discount introduced last year for motorists in outlying regions, according to a provincial study.Peres: Peace plan will proceed even though conference plans are dead JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres promised Thursday to “keep the peace momentum alive” despite a government deadlock on his plan for an international peace conference.Speaking on the eve of a trip to the United States for a meeting with State Secretary George Shultz, Peres said he will press ahead despite the coalition government’s refusal to endorse the plan.It was a defeat for Peres and a victory for Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who opposes an international conference.The United States supports a conference as a way start talks.Peres, leader of the Labor party, failed Wednesday to make good on threats to break up the 31-month-old government and force an early election if his peace initiative wasn’t endorsed by the cabinet.He couldn’t gather the votes to dissolve the coalition.A national election is scheduled for October 1988.and the date can only be changed by a majority vote in parliament.Peres, who needs a majority of 61 seats, said he has the support of 59 out of 120.Shamir and his Likud bloc oppose an international conference that would bring the Soviet Union into the peace talks.They argue it would become a forum for pressuring Israel to deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization and make territorial concessions.“I wouldn’t like to see the Middle East becoming all of a sudden an open theatre for a PLO or Russian initiative,” Peres said.The proposed peace conference would include the participation of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the United States, Soviet Union, China.Britain and France.“If present trends continue, the consumer will get less than half the reduction in tax,” said Ciaccia.“Our intention was to benefit the consumers, not the oil companies.” Ciaccia said the gasoline price board would be similar to one in Nova Scotia, which last month ordered oil companies to reduce gasoline prices, Ciaccia said in a telephone interview from his Quebec City office.He said that he expects to make a recommendation to cabinet within a week.To date.Nova Scotia is the only province that regulates gasoline prices, but Ciaccia said he understood Prince Edward Island might have similar legislation in the works.Ciaccia said the board would have powers to set gasoline prices throughout the province, not just in the outlying regions.Ciaccia has in the past complained about the fact that gasoline prices are significantly higher in Montreal than in Toronto, even after provincial taxes have been discounted.“The oil companies have told us it's because there is more competition in Toronto, but I'm not impressed by that argument.“The oil companies themselves closed down the refineries in Montreal.and they can’t turn around and say there's less competition They’re the ones who created the situation.” Jim Conrad, president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, and a frequent critic of economic concentration in the oil refining industry, said that if Ciaccia is serious he will demand that Ultramar Inc.reopen its refinery in east Montreal.Iran-Contra hearings continue Official resigns; witness says he cashed cheques WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnathan Miller, director of the White House office of administration, resigned Thursday after a witness at the Iran-Contra hearings testified Miller cashed traveller’s cheques from Oliver North for distribution to a leader of the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Miller “voluntarily resigned today.” "I don’t know why,” Fitzwater said.“We’ve not been informed that he’s under investigation.” Efforts to reach Miller by telephone were unsuccessful.The spokesman said the White House was told Tuesday that information about Miller was to come up in the hearings conducted by a special Senate-House of Representatives committee, but officials had no information at that time that Miller would resign.“We advised him privately to see a lawyer,” Fitzwater said.Asked whether the resignation had anything to do with Thursday’s testimony by Robert Owen, a former State Department consultant, Fitzwater said, “I won’t have any comment.” When asked whether anyone else was present at the time he received the cheques from North, Owen said, “Yes.it was an individual by the name of Johnathan Miller.” Asked whether Miller also cashed cheques, Owen said, “It was felt that there were probably too many cheques for me to cash in the amount of time that I had, so he did cash some traveller’s cheques.” .\ 2—The RECORD—Friday, May 15,1987 Cassidy ate crow and lost his kite-flying title Capital Notebook By Vic Parsons OTTAWA (CP) — MP Michael Cassidy suffered setbacks on two fronts this week.Not only did the Ottawa Centre New Democrat have to eat crow on things he said about a land deal involving Sports Minister Otto Jell-nek, but on Tuesday he also lost his kite-flying title.And to a senator, no less.The kiting contest took place on Parliament Hill when Cassidy, last year’s champion, matched skills with Lorna Marsden.a Toronto Liberal.Cassidy flew a blue-and-red ship, while Marsden operated a highflying, multi-colored creation that, with a little black, could have resembled a Vancouver Canucks hockey sweater.It soon became apparent Marsden had the edge.The outcome might have been different if Cassidy had been able to proceed with an idea he ventured in an earlier local radio show.The onetime leader of the Ontario NDP said that in some cultures there are sharp devices attached to the kites and the contest includes determined efforts to snip the strings of rival kite-flyers.But Don Newman, press gallery president and judge of the event, nixed that idea from the start.Making a reference to the blind-eye approach that referees in the current National Hockey League playoffs seem to be taking to blatant third-period infractions, Newman said he wasn’t about to become known as the Andy van Hellemond of kite-flying.Don Johnston, the Montreal Liberal who voiced disapproval of the Meech Lake agreement on the Constitution and was labelled a “Wes-tmount Rhodesian” by Grit colleague Andre Ouellet, still has a following.Or perhaps it’s a new one.On Tuesday morning, Johnston strode purposefully down from the Centre Block toward Ottawa’s downtown.With his oversized coat blowing in a bitter wind, he resembled a lonely, latter-day prophet.Near the West Block, he was stopped by a young couple in their late teens or early 20s who asked if he would pose for a photo with them, using the Peace Tower as a backdrop.Johnston complied.Perhaps a week ago, before he announced his opposition to the constitutional accord, he might have walked by without a hint of recognition.The ghost of Sir John A.Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, must be doing a lot of chain-rattling lately.After all, look at what his modern-day Tory counterpart, Brian Mulroney, is doing to the National Policy — the tariff protection for Canadian industry that was the centre-piece of Conservative policy for decades.Sir John’s beloved creation, which aimed at preventing Canada from being drawn into the American melting pot, would be dismantled if free trade with the United States goes ahead.If that isn’t bad enough, look what Sir John’s political descendant did to him in the debate on the Meech Lake agreement this week.Mulroney misspelled the name of the first Tory prime minister! The text issued by Mulroney’s office shows Macdonald with a capital “d”.But Hansard, the record of debates, got it right.Incidentally, Mulroney skipped the Commons question period Thursday to attend, with wife Mila, a “variety performance” put on at South Carleton high school in the community of Richmond just outside Ottawa.Perhaps he just couldn’t take opposition gloating over yet another poll that showed the Conservatives well down in public opinion.Ottawa police are grumbling over the habit of federal employees ignoring city traffic laws.Federal departments don’t have to pay traffic tickets and some employees, especially those who make local deliveries, are making a giant nuisance of themselves by stopping wherever they see fit on the roadways.One of the worst offenders, police say, is Canada Post.Trade Minister Pat Carney is very image-conscious.She dislikes it intensely when a newspaper or a television crew turns up with an unflattering portrait.And, on occasion, she lets her staff know about it.But there was a new twist to a report that was issued from a foreign news agency out of Paris this week.Throughout the story, she was called “he” and “Mr.Carney.” Townships talk Students out over dress code WINDSOR — More than a thousand students at the regional high school here took Thursday afternoon off to protest what they call unfair dress regulations.Polyvalent le Tournesol tea- chers faced rows of empty desks after the student council called for a half-day boycott over the principal’s refusal to allow the youngsters to wear short pants to class.In the old days they had to.CIIA meet to hear free trade talk LENNOXVILLE — A Conservative Commons backbencher from Alberta will be guest speaker at a meeting Tuesday of the local branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs.Barbara Sparrow, MP for Calgary South, will speak on the topic of free trade at 8 p.m.Tuesday at La Paysanne Motel in Lennoxville.Before entering the House of Commons in 1984 Sparrow was a nurse.Anyone wishing to join Sparrow and the CIIA executive for supper beforehand is asked to call Rudy Nassar at 569-8949or Phyllis Home at 562-8811.#1___fac 1 iFEcrnn Gaorga MacLaran, Publisher_________________________________ SM-M11 Charles Bury, Editor.56»-«34S Lloyd G.Scheib, Advertising Manager____________________.S69-M2S Mark Guillette, Press Superintendent_______________________ SM-M31 Richard Lessard, Production Manager _______________________ SM-M3t Debra Waite, Superintendent, Composing Room________________ SM-MM CIRCULATION DEPT.— S63-IS28 Subscriptions by Carrier: 1 year: $83.20 weekly: $1.60 Subscriptions by Mall: Canada: 1 year- $80.00 6 months- $35.S0 3 months- $24.S0 1 month- $14.00 U.S.A Foreign: 1 year- $120.00 6 months- $72.00 3 months- $48.00 1 month- $24.00 Back copies of The Record are available at the following prices: Copies ordered within a month of publication: 60c per copy.Copies ordered more than a month after publication: $1.10 per copy.Established February 9, 1897, incorporating the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) and the Sherbrooke Examiner (est 1879).Published Monday to Friday by Townships Communications IncVCommuni-cations des Cantons Inc.Offices and plant located at 2850 Delorme Street, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1K 1A1.Second class registration number 1084.Color separations by Prospect Lltho, Rock Forest Member of Canadian Press Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation No changes are expected for UIC system By Eric Beauchesne OTTAWA (CP) — Labor will be generally pleased but business disappointed if Employment Minister Benoit Bouchard, as expected, announces today that the unemployment insurance system is to be kept intact.“We could live with that,” Nancy Riche, executive vice-president of the two-million-member Canadian Labor Congress, said Thursday.“I think there would be some disappointment out there in the bu-sinss community,” countered Roger Hamel, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business group.‘‘The status quo is not good enough,” added Jim Bennett, vice-president of legislative affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.Bouchard will table a report in the Commons today outlining the government’s plans for the unemployment insurance system.But in the House Thursday, Bouchard refused to give any hints of what would be in the report except to say “tomorrow will be an important day for UI.” The business and labor comments are mild echoes of the emotional debate that has raged over the $11 billion to $12-billion-a-year unemployment insurance plan since Prime Minster Brian Mulroney appointed a six-person commission to study ways to reform the system.The divisions over the issue were underlined by the split among the members of the Forget commission.Only two members, including the chairman, economist Claude Forget, fully supported the report and two others were so opposed they presented their own report.Forget in effect urged that the system be operated as an insurance system, a move that would save an estimated $3 billion a year but which would reduce benefits for the unemployed who have worked less than a full year and eliminate benefits for self-employed fishermen.At the same time the commission urged that the money saved be used, in conjunction with the provinces, to set up income-support programs that would help low-paid workers and encourage the unem- ployed to take low-paying jobs.EXTEND BENIFITS But an all-party Commons committee report later recommended that the government not act on the Forget report and that it increase benefits to the unemployed.Bouchard has conceded that the polarization of views about unemployment insurance, whether it should be streamlined and operated as a strict insurance program or expanded and used as a social assistance program, have made it very difficult for him to decide what to do.As a result, and because the government is trailing the opposition badly in the popularity polls, it is expected that any changes to the system will be minor.There have been reports that the government will, however, increase penalties for workers who quit their jobs, eliminate the two-week waiting period for maternity benefits, and hire ombudsmen to ensure the unemployed are fairly treated by the unemployment insurance commission.As well, it may shift some of the funds it now spends on benefits for the unemployed in depressed regions of the country to provide training for them.How the government would make that shift could be contentious.But increased emphasis on training is something business as well as labor and social groups could support, Bennett said.Meanwhile, Ritchie said labor insists the government scrap new rules under which severance pay and pension income is treated as income and deducted from jobless benefits.Labor also wants, among other things, unemployment insurance extended to part-time workers, weekly benefits increased to two-thirds of wages covered from the current 60 per cent and the maximum benefit period extended to 71 weeks for 50 weeks.To help pay for the extra benefits, Ritchie said the CLC would support an increase in premiums and an increase in the share of premiums paid by workers to 50 per cent from the current 40 per cent.Most purchases will be hit with a sales tax The new federal sales tax, to be announced June 18, is expected to cover a broad range of goods and services.By Eric Beauchesne OTTAWA (CP) — Consumers may pay more for a wide range of goods and services — from haircuts to legal fees, drugs to children’s clothing — under sales tax reforms planned by Finance Minister Michael Wilson.Most, if not all purchases made by consumers will likely be hit with a new federal sales tax of seven or eight per cent.It may be even higher if the new tax is not extended to such a political hot potato as food.For example, a $10 haircut might become $10.80, a $20 pair of children’s shoes $21.60.The new tax will replace the current federal sales tax of 12 per cent, which is applied to a limited number of goods.And while a lower tax may look like a good deal, it only looks good to those with short memories.When the Conservatives came to power in September 1984, the federal sales tax — covering fewer goods than it does now — was only nine per cent.The rate has since been jacked up repeatedly by the Tories.The lower sales tax is part of a deal Finance Minister Michael Wilson is expected to offer Canadians on June 18 when he announces a three-part reform of the entire tax system.The new sales tax will, according to Wilson, be more than offset for “a good majority” of individuals by a reduction in personal tax rates and, in the case of low-income consumers, by a broadened refundable sales tax credit.While Wilson is considering three possible options for the tax, all are similar in that they will cover more goods than the current tax does and will also include services, which are currently exempt.Unlike the current federal sales tax, which is set at the manufacturer’s level, each of the three options would be applied at each stage as goods and services move through the system to the consumer.However, it isn’t known whether the tax will apply to all services, such as banking, health, education and hospitals, or to all goods such as food.Exempting some of those areas would reduce the effectiveness of the tax and also open the door to a barrage of requests for exemptions.And giving exemptions would be costly to Ottawa.Ken Murray, a tax specialist with the accounting firm Deloitte Haskins and Sells, says imposing a seven-per-cent sales tax on the now exempt $50-billion food sector alone could produce up to $4 billion a year in extra tax revenue for the federal government.“There is no doubt that a certain portion of that contribution will come directly out of the pocket of the consumer,” says Murray.“In practice, it is very doubtful that the savings on the defunct manufacturers’ sales tax would be reflected in price reductions to the ultimate consumer.On the other hand, it is quite certain that the cost of the (new tax) would be reflected immediately in price increases.” The Consumers’ Association of Canada supports the concept of tax reform, reflecting the view of 77 per cent of Canadians who, according to a 1985 poll, found the cur rent system unfair.“We’re in favor of tax reform.Who isn’t?” says association spokesman Andrew Cohen.But the association is taking a cautious approach toward Wilson’s tax package.A broad-based sales tax would be “bad news” for the consumer if introduced alone, without compensating benefits, Cohen says.Until it’s known what the complete package looks like, it is impossible to assess the impact.“We would like to see a few general principles enacted and they’re not that different from the general principles the minister of finance has already announced.“For instance, we think the burden of paying tax is not balanced properly between individual taxes and corporate taxes, and that has to change,” Cohen says, echoing a commitment made by Wilson.A proper balance can be achieved if : personal tax rates are sufficiently reduced; some current tax deductions, such as the personal tax exemption, which favor higher income groups are replaced with tax credits to help low-income consumers; and the refundable sales tax credit for those with low incomes is sufficiently expanded.Only few UFO sightings are unexplainable By Suzanne Soto WINNIPEG (CP) - Marie Mel-nick remembers it was somewhere between midnight and 1 a m.on a cold, cloudy January night earlier this year when she saw something in the sky she still can’t explain.The retired school teacher from Great Falls, Man., was out walking her German shepherd dog, Tammy, as she usually does in the evenings, when suddenly the dog became frightened.“I’d never seen her react that way to anything.She didn’t make a sound and her ears were standing up very long and very noticeable,” Melnick said in a telephone interview.What terrified Tammy was a bright light accompanied by what Melnick describes as a peculiar whining sound.“As it came closer I could distinguish there were four bulbs, green, which cast an eerie glow for about the length of a bed trailer,” she says.But it wasn’t a bed trailer because, Melnick says, it flew away over a nearby farmer’s field leaving no traces on the soft snow.The incident left Melnick so perplexed that the next day she contacted the Centre for UFO Studies which operates out of the planetarium at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg.The centre, founded by Ed Barker, the planetarium’s art director and production manager, has examined and documented hundreds of cases like Melnick’s since it became operational in 1975.STILL A SKEPTIC Barker, an artist, photographer, designer and ex-pilot, has been with the planetarium since 1967.He says despite his interest in UFOs and his research on sightings, he still counts himseli among the skeptics.“It’s important that you keep an open mind and a very skeptical mind because you can be so easily seduced and led astray by the subject,” he says.Barker’s office and telephone at the planetarium serve as the centre’s headquarters.The centre receives an average of two to five calls a week from people who think they have seen an unidentified flying object.Barker says unlike Melnick’s experience, most of the reported sightings turn out to be logically explained events.Low-flying planes, weather balloons, and natural phenomena such as falling meteors and lightning are commonly mistaken for UFOs.“I maintain that I can explain roughly 95 to 98 per cent of the sightings.A very small percentage comes in that we can’t explain,” he says.NOT EXPLAINED Those events that can’t be explained are the most fascinating, Melnick says.The most interesting and important unexplained UFO case still remains the Steve Michalak case which occurred 20 years ago.Michalak, a 60-year-old hobby geologist at the time, had been prospecting near Falcon Lake, Man., when he saw two low-flying objects.One of them landed and Michalak, who is now 80 and still a resident of Winnipeg, says he tried to communicate with whatever it was.Suddenly, however, the object shot Off into the sky, spewing hot gasses over Michalak and burning his chest and legs.He still has the scars on his legs.Since the incident, Michalak has shied away from publicity.Holding the tattered and burned white shirt he wore that day, he says he’s been accused of being drunk and worse.Barker says a common misconception is that those who say they’ve seen UFOs are crazy, liars or both.However, most people re porting sightings are quite normal and sincere in what they believe.“I have gotten very few calls from people who hallucinate, perhaps schizophrenics who are on leave or on treatment, but they are not difficult to spot,” he says.Schoolteachers, farmers, policemen, pilots and housewives have been known to call in and Barker says no one seems to be immune to UFO sightings.Weather THE WIND MARCO ARSENAULT LENNOXVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL Doonesbury /4 FINAL OJORD OF CAUTION -OW m IN 15 OF YOU WILL ACTUALLY 6PAPUATE, BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU ! 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The RECORD—Friday, May 15, 1987—3 The Townships i_____fog_i IfCCOTu 1986 was a “thunderous year” — Pelletier Sherbrooke’s economic boom makes the grade with an A rating By Derek Conlon SHERBROOKE — Last year was a banner year for Sherbrooke.The 35 new businesses established in Sherbrooke last year have “the potential to create $266 million in investment and 1,600 jobs,” Mayor Jean Paul Pelletier told a press conference Thursday.The mayor was presenting the 1986 financial activities report of the Sherbrooke Industrial Development Corporation.He said the financial success the city enjoyed in 1986 resulted in its credit rating jumping from triple B to A.The improved status, from Canadian Bond Rating, means the city is a better financial risk to investors who buy city bonds.It also reflects the confidence investors have in the city in general.WATERVILLE HELPED TOO “We’re the only city outside the island of Montreal to have a rating that high,” Pelletier said.The good news from 1986 didn’t stop there.Statistics Canada now recognizes Sherbrooke as a métropolitain area and its more than 120,000 residents are considered part of the “select club” of Canadian métropolitain regions, the report says.The new businesses in Sherbrooke brings the total number of industries to 264 and raises the number of industrial workers to 12,840.That represents an increase of 701 jobs from 1985.The municipality of Waterville is included in those statistics, accounting for 852 workers.Most of those workers are employees of Waterville T.G, Inc., the report said.Pelletier acknowledged the “contributions our neighbors have made” in helping establish the success of the city.Industrial investment in Sherbrooke, amounting to almost $35 million, was an increase of 100 per cent from 1985 to 1986.HOUSING BOOM Last year was also a record year for housing starts in the Sherbrooke region with 2457 houses built representing $140 million in investment.$100 million of that investment and the construction of 1766 of the homes was made in the city itself.The report indicates these housing starts easily surpassed 1976’s record of 1138 new homes and 1977’s performance of 1061 units.It goes on to say the 1986 housing starts were seven times that of 1982.Retail sales in Sherbrooke rose to $1 billion last year from $890 million in 1985.Sherbrooke makes up two per cent of the province's population but accounts for three per cent of the total retail sales, said Pelletier.GOOD TIMES AHEAD Sherbrooke “had a thunderous year”, he said, saying he hoped for Meech Lake accord is ambiguous and contradictory — Sovereignist By Melanie Gruer SHERBROOKE - The Meech Lake accord is too ambiguous and imprecise for Quebec, says the president of a club which supports an independant Quebec.Alcide Clément, president of Le club Souverain de 1’Estrie said Thursday he thinks Premier Robert Bourassa should not be too hasty to sign any Constitutional agreement and he should prolong the debates in the National Assembly.“This agreement, in which the people of Quebec have not yet been implicated in, has inacceptable absences, flagrant contradictions, insufficient needs for Quebec, impre-cisons and ambiguities that will, in the future, raise more problems and questions that it pretends to solve,” said Clément.The president said the notion of “the people” is missing from the accord and is instead replaced by the “vague expression” a distinct society.Nowhere in the text are the “Quebec people” mentioned, he said, despite the fact they do exist.“If this is a distinct society, what language are we to speak?How is this going to work?" he asked.“If Quebec wants to stay francophone, there are too many ambiguities.” The Meech Lake Constitutional accord, signed two weeks ago by the prime minister and the ten premiers, would recognize Quebec as a distinct society, grant provinces a role in appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada, give the provinces new powers over immigration and let them opt out of the new national shared-cost programs with compensation.Premier Bourassa has said the accord gives Quebec all the powers it needs.Parti Québécois leader Pierre Marc Johnson has accused the premier of selling out Quebec and said Bourassa should reject the accord because it fails to give Quebec sufficient control over language and culture.Clément’s complaints are similar.“There is a lack of Quebec’s needs here and this is the basis of our future,” Clément said.“People don’t understand exactly what has happened.” The president said the second “inacceptable absence” from the Constitutional agreement is the right to autodétermination.“This principle is a fundamental right recognized by the United Nations Organization.Why then is such a fundamental, universally recognized right not written in a text like this agreement that involves our collective future?” The term “distinct society” is in itself contradictory, he said.“Mr.Bourassa was at Meech Lake to get, he says, a veto right for Quebec,” Clément said.“Now all the provinces have their veto rights.When everyone has a distinct society, what is distinct?” On the immigration issue, Clément said why can’t Quebec decide for itself the categories and numbers of immigrants it needs.“Mr.Bourassa has already talked a long time about cultural sovereignity.Why doesn’t he demand full sovereignity for Quebec on an issue as vital as that of our French language, our treasure?” said Clément of the language issue.“We don’t really understand why Mr.Bourassa is in such a hurry to want to sign at any price.Before any signature, we would ask Mr.Bourassa to prolong the constitutional debate until next fall,” said Clément.Clément said his club has approximately 20 members and it is an independant organization with no political affiliation.It’s aim is to promote Quebec’s sovereignty.Former MP Pelletier says his running for North Hatley seat ‘just a rumor’ SHERBROOKE (MHG) — Rumors are flying in North Hatley that former Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke Irénée Pelletier is considering running for the mayor’s seat in the next municipal election.But in an interview Wednesday, Pelletier denied the rumor, saying “that is a rumor and a rumor is always false.I have not decided anything.” Current mayor Ruth Taylor says she hasn't decided whether she will retire yet.She said Thursday an election will be held “so- metime this fall” but has no immediate plans to step down after her seven years as mayor.Pelletier was the Liberal MP for 12 years until Sept.1984 when the Conservative government came to power and Jean Charest was elected MP for the Sherbrooke riding.Currently Pelletier teaches business in government at the University of Sherbrooke.“I like what I’m doing now.I’m just teaching and should some things develop I’ll consider,” he said.“Local politics?That’s interes- ting,” he added.Even though his decision to run is “just a rumor”, Pelletier said “there’s all kinds of things that could be done” to develop North Hatley.Tourism is the town’s main attraction and there is no principle industry , Pelletier said.Most people who live in North Hatley are employed outside the town itself.“It’s got a peaceful, beautiful lake and small is beautiful,” he said, referring to the town he has called home for the past 17 years.“But it’s just a rumor,” he added.even more next year.The Industrial Development Corporation report indicates there may be good times ahead in the near future.Its report predicts 10.000 jobs will be created over the next three years.The Sherbrooke-and-area work force of almost 66,000 has only 5600 unemployed.That represents 8.7 per cent of the total population and is the lowest unemployment rate among métropolitain regions in Quebec.The unemployment rate for all of Quebec is 11 per cent.By comparison, the métropolitain region of Three Rivers has 10,600 fewer employed and a jobless rate of 13 per cent.Montreal’s unemployment rate sits at 10.6 per cent.The report suggests in order to keep Sherbrooke's rate low, 3000 jobs must be created each year to accomodate the population growth.FUTURE IN HIGH-TECH The report reccomended some ways to keep the jobless rate down.Among them was the need to encourage investment in high tech sectors.Those sectors include electronic, plastics and biomedical research.To ensure investment in these areas representatives of the Development Corporation have made trips to Asia and the United States to woo investors."We want to create an investment climate,” Pelletier said.When asked if any Asia investment wras coming to Sherbrooke, Pelletier winked and said."Hopefully.” He said Sherbrooke deserves its good fortunes.“Maybe we're lucky but we worked hard to be lucky,” he said."I have a feeling, 1986 being so good, that we have the ball rolling,” Pelletier said.Jean Paul Pelletier.“.we worked hard to lucky.” Elders honored by boys in blue ' '