The record, 21 août 2001, mardi 21 août 2001

THE record The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 nos Four August 9-25 RESERVATIONS: (819) 842-2431 65 CENTS WWW.SHERBROOKERECORD.COM TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2001 Fair Fun CLAUDIA VniEMAIKE/SPECIAL Sam Lake, known as the best sheep shearer in the business, isn't quite ready to diversify.He’s carrying Mac MacConnell’s colourful rooster.For more photos of last weekend’s Cookshire Fair please see Page 7.Report calls for Quebec citizenship English health and social services based on administrative arrangements Staff The Estates General on the French language report was made public Monday.In its report, the commission, headed by former CSN-president Gérald Larose, recommends among other things, that the province adopt a Quebec citizenship program to assure that French remain the preeminent language.“The notion of citizenship is not confined solely to the legal capacity to participate in the sharing of power but encompasses the broader meaning of belonging to a living heritage.,” the report states.The commission also recommends that French remain master in a pluralistic linguistic environment and that French continues to be the language of instruction up to CEGEP.Among the report’s other conclusions is “a very clear determination to maintain within Quebec’s territory in North America a welcoming, open, French-speaking nation.” The commission concluded that because of the growing pressure from English, through the economy, mass culture and new technologies for example, French remains fragile.“Quebecers share a determination to work hard toward an inclusive social blueprint, create a common life space and lower the barriers that divide Quebec society according to ethnic origin.” The report recommends the use of French as the language of everyday life in the workplace and on the issue of providing health and social services to English-speakers, it recommends guaranteeing the presence of qualified staff to meet the needs of patients, not by making positions bilingual but by making the necessary administrative adjustments to assure the services.For a more thorough analysis and re-actions to the report, please see Wednesday’s Record.Or ford citizens say no thanks to Bonsecours bid Mayor promises referendum for northern Orford annexation By Daniel Huot Sherbrooke The mayor of Bonsecours said he wants to see the creation of a new town out of his community blend- ed with Racine, St-Denis-de-Brompton and the northern portion of Orford Township.“What we’d like to see is a community that can have a country living vocation," said Mayor André Leduc.“At least 10 major lakes would be included in the new town, chief among them Lake Brompton and Lake Bowker.” Leduc said the proposed merger is a long-term plan.The first step towards Please see annex Page 4 Boutique m+mtm ¦ OÿoMi OPENING Portions of voiunt will go to the city’* r firemen charity Gifts for the kids CITÉ-FM on site Mascot page 2 Tuesday, August 21, 2001 Create a comfort box to help you through the hard times Down near the bottom of the bag of maps, audio cassettes, pens and other paraphernalia rescued from the crumpled car, a bright yellow, toonie-sized, rubbery ring sporting a smiley face surfaced.On cue, tensed muscles and a stressed spirit relaxed.On a winter’s day many months ago, a coin had been slipped into a slot, a whim responded to.Despite the emotional times, I couldn’t help but grin.And think that perhaps we respond to fanciful thoughts all too rarely.Which led to thoughts of a book that encourages readers to create for themselves a scrapbook of favourite things, a comfort drawer, and a toy box.Ways to help adults cope with life.How that smiley ring brightened the day following early morning chores and every parent’s most dreaded call - “Your son’s been in an acci- dent, ma’am." We were among the most fortunate of such parents.Our son was miraculously uninjured.No broken bones, no cuts, just shaken up.The air bag and being asleep upon impact must have been key factors.No other vehicle involved.No other people.Only material damage.A boulevard lamp post sheered off.And the family’s Bourgogne red Honda, my only ever spanking new car, crashed.After nine years and nearly 497,000 kilometres, she and I have been through a lot.Our plans had been to keep her going and going and going.She still has the original motor and transmission and paint and was so forever trustworthy that we had braved the trip to Maxville with her just two weeks ago, up and back the same day.Time will tell what will become of our cherished mode of transportation.It doesn’t look good -literally and figuratively.It’s been drilled into our children’s minds that they mustn’t drink and drive, but there’s no mention that they shouldn’t be sleep deprived and drive.Should we mount a campaign?Too sleepy to drive?- call a cab, a friend, a relative; pull off the road and nap; stop and jog around the vehicle; listen to shockingly loud and nonlulling music, a radio drama or a comedy cassette; snack on emergency supplies - have fresh fruit or vegetables and a beverage with you, pick up a snack on the way, keep emergency dry food handy.; sing your lungs out; shrug your shoulders; sway with the music.Anything to keep you alert, and awake.Now while we wait for the call on the future of the Honda, and have more time at home, I should get out the glue and paste those special items in my scrapbook - magazine pictures of lavender and Provence, bits of ribbon and lace.And fill a box covered with playful wallpaper or wrapping paper with fun stuff, such as silly putty, a hula hoop, a paddle ball, a yo-yo, marbles, a bubble wand, a kaleidoscope.As I head up the stairs, I think I’ll peek into my comfort drawer and seek solace in its contents - heavenly scented, fancily shaped soap, pastel coloured, soft fragranced candles, a book of romantic poetry, an antique bookmark, a piece of silk, a feathery masquerade eye mask.And repeat my unuttered, but often thought thanks for the safety of loved ones and the joy of their presence in my life.Susan Mastine Briefs Teacher eharged with extortion Staff A 27-year-old teacher was charged with three counts of extortion for allegedly selling her silence and her compromising pictures in exchange for money.Anabelle Roy reportedly lured her victim through a chat line.While she engaged in sexual acts with the man, her real-life partner, Joël Bé-dard, is believed to have filmed the events.The victim, a married man, was asked to pay S500 for the compromising pictures.He obliged, but a few days later, he was again asked to pay $250.After a third payment, the victim informed police about the incident.Cowansville police are still looking for 36-year-old Bedard, who lives in Granby.14-year-old nabbed in theft Staff Sherbrooke Provincial police have arrested a 14-year-old minor in connection with a break-in in St-François-Xavier-de-Brompton in the wee hours of last Thursday morning.Patrollers who were in the neighborhood interrupted the theft in progress as the three suspects fled into the woods, said Quebec Police Force spokesman Serge Dubord.Despite searching the woods for the three suspects, police were unable to nab them.But one of the teenagers was found later at a nearby apartment.“His arms and legs were scratched and he was full of burrs,” Dubord said, adding that the boy was arrested and brought to police headquarters for questioning.The 14-year-old from Thetford Mines was in town visiting his mother.He lives with his father in Thetford, Dubord said.The stolen goods, mainly cigarettes, were recovered from a Plymouth Voyager van that was reported stolen in Stoke the day before, Dubord said.He commented that the break-in matched the MO of a theft in Sherbrooke earlier in the week where thieves had attached the bars of the window to a vehicle to gain access to the dépanneur.English observation evening at the ASTRO Lab Aug.18 Did you ever contemplate how starry a night appears away from the city lights?This weekend, Aug.18, the AS-TROLab du Parc du Mont-Mégantic will hold an observation-conference evening entirely in English in an effort to provide a better service to the English population and its stars lovers.The evening observation session will include a multimedia presentation to start off the night, an introduction to observation with a star-chart, and an observation session under the night sky with different telescopes including the Velan Observatory.A fascinating interactive evening will take place in the multimedia hall if the sky is cloudy.Please note that reservations are necessary for the observation session.Rates are $10 for adults, $7.50 for students and $30 for families (plus taxes).For more information, call (819) 888-2941 (or 1-866-888-2941 toll free).And remember: a starry night at Mont-Mégantic is truly unforgettable! Weather Today: Cloudy with 60 percent probability of showers.High near 24.Wednesday: Cloudy.Low near 15.High near 23.Thursday: Increasing cloudiness in the afternoon.Low near 12.High near 26.Friday: Variable cloudiness.Low near 13.High near 27.Normals for the period.Low 11.High 23.Ben by Daniel Shelton THERE Y \ groceries \ I MEANT, CAN YOU WIN6 , THEMINT | \ IN THE CAR, ’ I *\ RCM THEi Tuesday, August 21, 2001 page 3 Ayer’s Cliff citizens group won’t appeal court decision By Tom Peacock In a press release issued by Julien Ca-banac for the Concerned Citizens of Ayer’s Cliff, it is stated that the citizen’s group will not appeal the decision by the court to throw out their injunction against developer Richard Goulet.“Indeed there are several grounds on which an appeal could have been launched.Unfortunately the 30-day limit to make such an appeal did not suffice to raise the necessary funds,” the release stated.Cabanac issued the statement to reassure all those who helped the CCA with their legal action that their efforts hadn’t been wasted.“Such solid support is evidence of the widespread interest we have today in the protection of our environment,” it reads.On July 6, Judge Pierre C.Fournier ruled that the injunction issued by the CCA was in essence a disguised appeal of a recent decision by the ministry of the environment turning down requests for an environmental assessment of Goulet’s project.The court threw out the appeal and ordered that the CCA pay all of Goulet’s court fees.Two weeks ago, the Court issued a correction to the July 6 court decision.The correction stated that it is now possible for Goulet to sue the CCA for loss of profits.Goulet said he was waiting to see whether the CCA would appeal Fournier’s decision before deciding whether to sue them.Now that he has learned they will not appeal, he says, he will talk to his lawyer Stephan Nadeau about how to proceed.Nadeau was unavailable for comment yesterday, but in an earlier interview with the Record he estimated the amount of lost revenue could add up to as much as $800,000, and the decision about whether or not to recoup the losses remains in his client’s hands.In the release, Cabanac insists that the injunction filed by the citizens against Goulet had little effect on the work carried out at the site.“Judge Fournier stated clearly in his judgment that the developer was not prevented from building his factory on account of the injunction obtained in the summer 2000 seeing that: ‘He was free to proceed with his work from 19 September 2000 at 7 p.m., but did not get the necessary permits before 27 February 2001,’ and that: ‘Richard Goulet stated in court that he did not want to, nor could he proceed with the work before September 2001 because of his other obligations.’” In spite of Cabanac’s arguments, Goulet insists the court case wasted a lot of his time and money, and the proceedings changed his plans considerably.“They might sit there and complain about how they don’t have any more money to proceed, but they have no idea what I lost,” he said.Entrepreneurs get a helping hand with tax forms CLD and Revenue Quebec pilot project to last one year By Tom Peacock The Quebec government has decided to try something a little different in an attempt to facilitate entrepreneurship in the province.As part of a pilot project, the community development agency (CLD) in Granby and other select CLDs in the province are being loaned a revenue Official for one day a week.The official will be on hand to help budding entrepreneurs with their plans to start up new businesses.“Before, we would only be able to tell them where to go to fill out the proper tax and registration forms,” said Richard Pelletier, director of the Young Promoters chapter of the Haute-Yamas-ka CLD.Pelletier went on to explain that often first time business owners wouldn’t bother going to the government offices after they had visited the CLD.Therefore, they would end up not filing the right tax forms.“After a year they would owe something like $10,000 in taxes, and that’s when they would have big problems, because they couldn’t pay,” he said.Pelletier hopes that having the right government officials on hand at the CLD will help streamline the process of starting up a business, especially for the uninitiated.“For their part, the ministry will also offer conferences at the CLD, designed to inform and instruct entrepreneurs starting up a business,” he continued.The government employee will be on hand only one day per week — probably Fridays — at the CLD at 142 Dufferin St.in Granby, and will be available to meet privately with clients and to discuss their plans for business start up.The pilot project linking the nonprofit CLD’s services with those of the Quebec revenue ministry will likely last a year.Pelletier said that location probably had little to do with Granby being chosen as a site for the pilot project, though the area is quite dynamic in the area of economic growth.“Various municipalities were ap- proached and asked whether they were interested, and we were one of the ones which accepted,” he said, adding that the reason the Granby CLD accepted is partly because of its convenient location between the two regions of Brome-Missisquoi and Haute-Yamaska, and because the partnership with the ministry of revenue will likely help increase the CLD’s role in the business community.“By enlarging our selection of services at the CLD, we are confirming once again our uniquely important role,” he said.New businesses interested in inquiring about this initiative should call the CLD Haute Yamaska at (450) 266-4928, or the CLD Brome-Missisquoi at (450) 266-4928.Construction begins on $2.5 million bypass road in Danville ÜStatra By Stephen McDougall Special to The Record As promised, the Quebec Transport department has started work building a road that will connect Route 116 to Route 255 and bypass the town of Danville.Pictured here is the setting up of a road bed west of the Craig road near the Nicolet River.Transport officials say work on the road will continue until the end of November, then resume again next spring.The road will cost the provincial government $2.5 million.The department plans to use asphalt mixed with asbestos fibres in order to make the road last longer.Department spokesman Jacques Garant cautioned Danville residents the work will mean the occasional rerouting of traffic on the two highways and the temporary closure of one or two minor roads.Already, part of the Nicolet Falls Road south of the Nicolet River has been closed to automobiles.Once built, the road will allow trucks to connect to the 255 heading to Asbestos and Wotton without clogging Danville’s town square with traffic.The road will also benefit Magnola Metallurgy, which depends on trucks for shipments of such chemicals as hydrogen and chlorine for its magnesium plant.Magnola vice-president Michel Bedard said the company plans to build a road from its plant to meet 5urvey0r ün(j bulldozer shape the roadbed west of Craig Road.the bypass road at route 255 by 2003. page 4 Tuesday, August 21, 2001 Coalition can see no reason to join Bonsecours Annex: Cont’d from Page 1 achieving that goal involves Bonsecours annexing the northern portion of Orford Township.Bonsecours council passed a resolution to that effect on June 4.The project has managed to garner some support as well as some opposition.“We sent out a survey to Orford Township residents to see whether they are in favour of joining Bonsecours," said Leduc.“The result was 41 in favour and 21 opposed." At least 25 responses had to be discarded.“One individual sent 25 envelopes at the same time.It was easy to know they came from the same person because all the responses were identical and every envelope had town hall’s address labeled incorrectly.We only retained one of those 25 responses.” Orford Township mayor Jacques Delorme explained the survey isn’t very pertinent.“Seventeen hundred people live in Orford full-time.That number doubles to 4000 when out-of-town residents settle in the cottages,” he said.“Those who live here part-time weren’t included in Merger a long-standing issue St-Denis-de-Brompton Mayor Mike Doyle sees the merger as an opportunity to create a new town with an ecological and environmental vocation around the lakes, the main one being Lake Brompton.It’s his town that brought up the merger proposal.Under the original plan, which was formally drafted in 2000, the portion of Saint-Élie-d’Orford surrounding the lake, St-Denis-de-Brompton, the northern portion of Orford Township and areas of Bonsecours and Racine were supposed to be united into the same community.“Things have changed since then,” Doyle explained."The portion of Saint-Élie-d’Orford which surrounds Lake Brompton will be distributed between us and Orford Township.The new city of Sherbrooke’s transition committee will have to decide how that's to be accomplished.” Doyle added Orford Township and the survey.It’s not very scientific.” The Record hadn’t seen the survey’s results by press time.Delorme said he’s opposed to Bonsecours annexing the northern portion of rut: mm Enjoy the convenience of THE RECORD’S Easy Payment Plan Have your subscription payments automatically debited from your bank account.It’s easy! Just fill in the authorization form below.?MONTHLY BANK WITHDRAWALS” I (we) authorize The Record to process a debit from my (our) account on the second day of each month, beginning (month/year)____.I (we) have enclosed a blank cheque marked “VOID" which indicates account information.Signature.Name Address Prov.City.Postal Code Tel.(home)_____________________________Tel.(daytime)____________________________ $11.00/mth, taxes included, for all of Quebec.Outside rates are available upon request Mail to: P.O.BOX 1200 SHERBROOKE QC J1H 5L6 For information call (819) 569-9528 — THI — i RECORD Racine mayors aren’t receptive to the suggestion the towns be merged.“But Bonsecours showed interest in the plan last fall," he said.“They asked to have all of the municipality incorporated in thé proposal.” The proposed community wouldn’t be receptive to opening an industrial park, Doyle explained.Its purpose would be to allow residents to live on properties in the middle of nature and around the lakes.“The term used in French is villégiature, which implies an environmental vocation.It isn’t exactly rural residential housing, since people would be living near the lakes.” “At this point in time, it’s just an idea.We have no feasibility studies.It’s just a good idea in our minds.” The proposed municipality would have over 5,000 full-time residents and thousands of part-time residents.the Township, which accounts for almost half its population.Bonsecours has little more than 400 residents, he said.“Bonsecours hasn’t given the reasons for the annexation," said Delorme.“It’s supposed to be followed by a municipal merger.I don’t think residents would be in favour of the project if Bonsecours is slated to be merged with other towns.” He added Bonsecours has nothing to offer northern Orford’s residents.“It’s a rural town, whereas Orford has a touristic vocation.Orford is a resort town for many people.Bonsecours doesn’t specialize in those kinds of services.” A concerned citizens coalition has also been formed in Orford to oppose the annexation.A press release issued by the group states they don’t see any reason to join Bonsecours.It states the mill rates are relatively the same - 78 cents in Orford Township compared with 75.7 cents in Bonsecours - and that both towns don’t share their services.Leduc said that’s not accurate.“Northern Orford residents and Bonsecours residents share the same parish,” he said.“Orford’s children also go to school in our town.” Children also have the opportunity to participate in organized sporting events and other activities in Bonsecours.The coalition’s press release states the only clear reason that has emerged to date for the annexation is that Bonsecours will increase its evaluation by $70 million.Its current evaluation is estimated at $23 million, said Leduc.Delorme said he wants a referendum to be held over the annexation question.Leduc said his town will do just that.Bonsecours’ town council was expected to pass a resolution last night for the holding of a referendum on Oct.28.“We don’t want the referendum to be held on Nov.4, because that’s when elections are supposed to take place in Montreal.We want everybody who owns property in the northern section to have the opportunity to cast their votes." Briefs Road work in Magog A 6.5-kilometer stretch of Rte.247 in Magog Township will get a $200,000 make-over between Aug.29 and Sept.11.The road will be closed during regular work hours for the duration of repairs.Drivers are asked to use Rte.141, Fitch Bay road or Gendron road during the day.The road will remain open week nights and on the weekend.Special squads to clean graffiti A special blue collar task force has been created by the City of Sherbrooke to fight graffiti.The employees have received special training in the use of paint-stripping products and tools.Sherbrooke has spent $9,000 to clean up graffiti since January.Residents are encouraged to report any graffiti on municipal buildings by calling 819-821-5858.MS lives here.Multiple sclerosis never hits just one person.It affects the entire family.Multiple Sclerosis ¦ Iw Society of Canada 1 • 800 •268 -7582 www.mssociety.ca THE Tuesday, August 21, 2001 page 5 Asbestos Mineral Fair brings out collectors, rock hounds STEPHEN MGDOUGALL/SPEC1AL ' Various stones collected from old quarries and abandoned mines in the Townships.jH JU I PIIt N MC'D^thAn./ /MCTAI.Visitors watch as stones are polished.By Stephen McDougall Special to The Record Asbestos To a lot of people, a rock is a rock.But for the 1,800 of people who attended last weekend’s Mineral Fair, rocks and hard mineral formations are a joy and a beauty forever.And as more and more people take up rock collecting, a little money can be made on the side.“It is the collectors who keeps us going in this business,” said Charles Klemens, a dealer from Montreal.“It is first and foremost a hobby for me.I have no expectations when I come here about making any money, but If I do, that’s great." Klemens, a Hungarian who came to Canada soon after the 1956 revolt against the Communist regime in his native land, likes coming to Asbestos.He first came in 1989 when the first fair was organized, and has repeated the two hour car journey every summer since.“It is a type of vacation for me.I get out of Montreal, I see the Quebec countryside, I stay at a bed and breakfast and I get to see my fellow collectors.What I trade and sell usually pays my way.” A bookkeeper by trade, Klemens’ eyes light up when he talks about his latest find, rock formations made from lava found on the Icelandic mountain Hekla.But at 67-years old, he admits he can only buy and sell the rocks, he does not go out and find them.STEPHEN MCDOUGAI.L/SPECIAL Asbestos Mineral Museum curator John Millen examines an asbestos mineral sample with collector Gerard Dion.“I have people in Eastern Europe and the United States that deal with me, I’m 67, too old to go out and search for them.That's for the rock hounds to do,” he said.“They are the ones that go out to tlm mountainous areas, the old quarries and the abandoned mines of Quebec looking for the unusual, rare stones that many people see as waste material.“For them, it’s an adventure, kinda like a treasure hunt.” One of those rock hounds is Danville resident Normand Desharnais, one of the founders of the Asbestos Mineral Club, which now has about 100 members.In the last 10 years, he has collected close to 300 rocks and minerals in the Eastern Townships region.“All you have to do is get on your boots, bring a few tools and go rock hunting,”.“It’s a relaxing way to spend a day away from your troubles.But you gotta like rocks, especially rare ones that date back hundreds and thousands of years.” For Venus Khandous and Marina Galperin, the reason for coming to Asbestos is to see if Canadians are interested in handcrafted pictures and mosaics made from minerals and stones found in the Ural mountains of Russia.“You can find almost any stone or rock you want in the Urals,” said Galperin.“There’s serpentine rock, marble, rubies, malachite, jasper.I’ve got a long list here.We’ve sold our work in Europe and the States.This is our first try in Canada.” The pair were up against 21 other tables at the fair full of gems, jewelry, crystal like mineral formations, ancient fossils and rocks of all shapes and colours.Their next exhibition will be at the two mineral fairs held in Montreal this fall.But for Klemens, a member of both the Asbestos and Montreal Mineral clubs, the dream is to attend the mother lode of minerals fairs in Tucson, Arizona.“That’s the mineral capital of the world, and they have a giant fair there every February.I’m waiting for the day when I can get a chance to go there.” P; % STEPHEN MCDOllGAlX/SPEClAl.Normand Desharnais shows off some of his garnet stoiu’s/ound at the Jeffrey Mine open pit asbestos mine. page 6 Tuesday, August 21, 2001 Community Forum ,.VB FINE.UEMW TUE.EACKK) SCHOOL FtlEK ' \K «RjgWN., www.dolighan.com Letter to the editor Home child wasn’t wayward Dear Editor, I take great exception to Tom Peacock’s use of the word “WAYWARD" to describe thousands of home children.“The Concise Oxford Dictionary” describes wayward as “Childishly self-willed ox perverse, capricious, unaccountable, freakish.” My father could have been described as a stubborn Englishman, but NEVER as wayward! My father came to Canada and the Gibbs Home in 1925 as a 15 year-old orphan.He was used as a slave on one farm, but was extremely fortunate to be taken into the home of Ethelwyn and Claire Libby who treated him (and later his children) as a part of their loving family.Marnie Thompson Melbourne Record P.0.Box 1200 Sherbrooke J1H 516 or 1195 Call E, Sherbrooke JIG 1Y7 Fax:819-569-3945 e-mail: newsroom@sherbrookerecord.con! Websiiv: www.sherbrookerecord.com Randy Kinnear Publisher .(819) 569-9511 Sharon McCully Editor .(819) 5696345 Jamie Zachary CORRESP.EDITOR .(819) 569-6345 Richard Lessard Prod.Mgr.(819) 5699931 Serge Gagnon Chief Pressman .(819) 5699931 Francine Thibault Prod.Superv.(819) 5694856 DEPARTMENTS Accounting .Advertising.Circulation.Newsroom .(819)5699511 .(819) 5699525 .(819) 5699528 (819) 5696345 Knowlton office 88 Lakeside, Knowlton.Quebec, JOE 1V0 Tel: (450) 2421188 Fax: (450) 243 5155 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS GST PST TOTAL Canada: 1 year 114.40 8.01 9.18 S131.59 6 MONTHS 59.00 4 13 4.73 S67.86 3 MONTHS 30.00 2.10 2.41 S34.51 Out of Quebec residents do not include PST.Rales for other services available on request.The Record is published daily Monday to Friday.Back copies of The Record are available.The Record was founded on February 7, 1897.and acquired the Sherbrooke Examiner (est.1879) in 1905 and the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) in 1908.The Record is published by Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.Canadian Publications Mail Service Product Agreement No.0479675.Member ABC, CARD, CNA, QCNA An empty coalition At the risk of distracting Canadians from more pressing concerns, such as which sunscreen to apply for a day on the beach or whether the 14th hole is facing into a one-club or two-club headwind, political history was written here at the base of Quebec’s tallest hill in the heart of the country’s second-largest vacation metropolis.A total of 60 lost conservative souls piled into a lifeboat they called The Historic Working Coalition and set sail to secure a bit more funding and an extra question or two in the House of Com- ________ mons lineup this fall.With such high stakes, I was grateful to have the “historic” result of the meeting between Joe Clark’s Conservatives and Chuck Strahl’s Rebel Alliance highlighted in the news release headline.Otherwise, its major significance may have escaped detection.Inside the resort’s showpiece hotel, overlooking a hodgepodge of brightly coloured development one wag dubbed Legoland, the group poured over polling data showing almost 70 per cent of the fed-up electorate wants somebody to deliver a strong right-wing opposition, an opinion they could’ve deciphered by surveying the crowd on any beach or golf course outside of Shawinigan.Buoyed by this amazing revelation, they held their noses, parked their principles and entered the Mont Tremblant chat room determined to give the hovering news-starved national press gallery something to cover.Insiders confide there was some frank talk initially about mutual disdain for each other’s party history.But the more they talked, the more they liked each other - so much so that they cheered and hooted in unison like victorious soccer team parents when the pair of giddy leaders left the room to face the microphones.“No one likes my analogy,” complained one Tory insider, '•‘but the first day of talks we let water flow under the bridge as we dealt with our past differences.The second day we put water in our wine to make this thing work.” The water analogy doesn’t do much for me either, but the points are valid.If nothing else, they overcame historical distrust to play a little golf, drink a little beer and decide that two 12-member caucuses are better than one in raising their fringe party profiles above pale insignificance.The negative is the emptiness of it all.Not one symbolic practical link could be agreed upon to showcase the “historic" development as anything more than a working title.So far, they’ve only agreed to share in the costs of media manipulation, con- VlEWPOINT Don Martin tinue to co-operate in setting their sights on question period targets and kickstart a task force on parliamentary reform, duplicating the reasonable efforts made by MP Chuck Strahl earlier this year when he could still stomach being in the Canadian Alliance.Ahead lie several immediate obstacles for this fragile fledgling coalition.The first major blow could come early next month if Canadian Alliance Leader Stockwell Day opts to step aside for good, reopening the door open for rebel returns under fresh Alliance leadership that would sap the coalition of forward momentum.The second speed bump could come in mid-September when MPs vote on formal recognition and additional resources for the Alliance caucus rebels, an unlikely proposition to pass which would leave the dissidents adrift in political limbo.Even if Day sticks around to lead the Alliance further into oblivion and the rebels somehow win formal Commons recognition, the ultimate deal breaker will be the need to eventually shift this coalition into election mode under common policies and leadership.If MP relic Elsie Wayne’s ignorant babblings of the Alliance as merely a western separatist party is a prevailing privately held Tory view, there’s little prospect of a harmonious merger.And if Joe Clark really thinks he’s the guy to reunite and lead the rebuilt Conservatives, he’ll quickly experience the Stock-well Day feel of steel in his back as his party fractures.But, in the long run, certain undeniable realities exist.The Canadian Alliance brand name is disfigured beyond repair.The Progressive Conservative template has historical value and fresh legs.There’s insufficient time, money or political will to attempt another united alternative.The most probable outcome is the recreation of a slightly righter version of the federal Tories, a name adjustment to suggest a merger instead of a surrender, the dumping of Clark as leader for MP Peter Mackay and a fast march to the altar to beat the election writ.In the context of that shotgun marriage, Mount Tremblant was a promising first date culminating with a soft kiss on the doorstep and the vow to date again.On more important matters to Canadians, this much is certain.It’s always best to coat the kids with waterproof 30 SPF sunscreen for a day on the beach.And if the flag's flapping toward you on the green, move up two clubs. THE Tuesday, August 21, 2001 page 7 Scenes from Cookshire Fair 2001 :f%SvJp5* r, Émit ef sown uni mttss 1.• ' THE MOO (iWWMLBS Ï5)«*ssa^-«S#»!*- & î°$ (619 J w m ¦Hk.