The record, 26 octobre 1999, mardi 26 octobre 1999

üftil ¦ MS» MlRiSi I Sitf: THE Learning is movement from moment to moment.-m The voice of the Eastern townships since 1897 65 CENTS Tuesday, October 26, 1999 Company to drop ‘Asbestos’ from logo By Stephen McDougall Spécial to The Record Asbestos J- M Asbestos, which operates the open-pit asbestos mine here, is planning to drop the word “asbestos” from its logo sometime next year.Mine president Bernard Coulombe said the change is the result of pressure from the company’s mostly Asian clients.“They don’t want to use the word ‘asbestos’ any more, it has a bad reputation,” said Coulombe Monday.“They would prefer we use the term ‘Chrysotile,’ which is the more exact name for the fibre we produce.That is the term they use over there.” Asbestos is a mineral fibre known for its fire-retardant and insulation capabilities.But because it creates dust that can easily be inhaled, some types of the fibre have been linked to lung ailments such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer.That link led to fear about all types of asbestos, including the chrysotilic form mined here.This despite studies in the 1980s that showed chrysotile was the least harmful form of asbestos fibre.“The studies showed that chrysotile stayed only one or two days in the lungs,” said Coulombe.“We want to have that put on our packages, that it contains pure chrysotile.” Coulombe said JM Asbestos would simply be known as JM, which stands for Jeffrey Mine.This was the name given to the town mine when it was first opened before the turn of the century.The mine was bought by Canadian Johns Manville, a subsidiary of the American parent, after the First World War.CJM sold the mine to a group of Montreal businessmen and senior mine employees in 1986, four years after the American parent filed for bankruptcy protection.The protection was needed because of an increasing number of lawsuits in the United States by people who worked with the fibre.SEE ASBESTOS, PAGE 4 $43 Million Investment Project in Famham MAURICE CROSSFIELD Vice-premier Bernard Landry, Domco CEO Robert Van Buren and chairman Marc Asso cut the ceremonial ribbon marking the $43 million investment project at the Domco-Tarkett plant in Famham on Monday.For more, please see page 5.Thieves call 911 - by accident By René Bruemmer Two break and enter suspects were apprehended Sunday night in Sherbrooke after they unknowingly called the police on themselves.Steve Grimard, 23, and Ghislain De-schambres, 24, allegedly broke into a place of business at 103 King St.East Sunday evening and proceeded to look for things to steal, Const.Serge Fournier of the Sherbrooke Regional Police said.Unfortunately for them, they knocked over a telephone in the process, which landed on its pre-programmed 911 button.The operator was greeted with the sound of the men rummaging through the room and a police car was sent to in- vestigate.The men were caught leaving the building with a microwave oven.They were also found to be carrying small amounts of hashish.Both were charged Monday afternoon in Quebec court with break and enter and possession of an illegal substance, and then released on bail.BACKGROUND OR COLOR GREYISH PRINTED ON BECAUSE THE XT INTENSITIES AT VARYING ORIGINAL MICROFILMED page 2 Tuesday, October 26, 1999 — THEi Shouting from the rooftop creates flap It’s every woman’s dream - to have a man stretch his arms skyward wide and shout her name from the top of a mountain, or a hilltop or some other high spot.And it happened to me.More or less.With just a few discrepancies in that romantic picture in the back of my mind.And I haven’t stopped grinning since.The adventure began with my mention of the need to replace one of the two flags flying above our office.I was instructed to ask our municipal inspector if we had another on hand.“Who’s complained?” he asked.Two of our citizens have distinguished themselves by keeping an eagle eye on the condition of our provincial flag I was told.“Not them,” I responded, “Me”.Our maple leaf was still colourful and intact, but our fleurs de lys was suf- fering on both counts.That little piece of paper that comes with each flag stressing that it’s disrespectful to fly a faded or tattered flag has had its desired impact, at least where I’m concerned.My colleague had been putting in lots of overtime hours, so I didn’t expect to see a vibrant blue and white rectangle on the pole for awhile.One afternoon last week, I was startled by acommotion in the building -sounds and vibrations beyond our walls.Was the fire department going through some special exercise?There was shouting and disruption, but no one in the office could come up with a good guess as to the source of the racket.A short while later, the inspector sauntered in.“What was all that ruckus a while ago?” I queried.“You didn’t hear me?he responded, sporting a wide smile.“Some shouting,” I replied, “and other muffled noises.Nothing intelligible.” If only I’d been across the street to witness this escapade first hand.The new Quebec flag had been raised.As soon as it was flying high, my sometimes mischievous co-worker approached a pipe on the rooftop that descends into the building near my office and yelled down the tube, “Suzanne!” More than once, I think, if my memory of those shouts is accurate.As the man-of-all-trades on the roof uttered my name, a customer was exiting the dépanneur across the street, puzzlement written all over her face.What must she have thought?What stories must be going around the village now! I only hope that Yvan has told his wife the tale as it truly transpired, in case she gets wind of some rumour or other.Nah, that would never happen.Would it?And that dream.You’re right.The picture doesn’t quite match.The site was not a mountain or a hilltop or the tower of a famous landmark.Nor was the main character the love of my life.And though I haven’t verified this, I’m relatively certain that as he stood on the rooftop screaming into a tube on a windy afternoon, that imp was grasping the pipe for dear life.That image still has me smiling.Susan Mastine Are Gap kids society’s new value vigilantes?I’ve beenn feeling the urge to find a Canadian soapbox akin to Speakers Corner in London’s Hyde Park where commoners loudly dish up all nature of epiphanies.I’m not hearing any compelling messianic message as much as I’m wrestling with a striking movie image imprinted on my psyche of ordinary citizens sticking their heads out apartment windows shouting, “I’m fed up and not going to take it any more!” It all started when I listened to steroid user David Vizier explain away the loss of his hockey team’s PanAm Gold Medal while exhibiting a Buddha-like state of mindlessness.He could have backed up his position with statistics that included the fact a recent survey confirmed 83,000 Canadian high school athletes admit to using performanceenhancing drugs.This startling number of ambitious su-perstars-in-training perform under the watchful eyes of at least an equal number of coaches, parents, and fans and I’m wondering who turned the lights out.This irksome detail was soon joined with the fact gasoline prices rose a dollar a gallon or more in the past two months with one news commentator after anoth- Weather Today: Cloudy with showers ending in the afternoon.Partial clearing later on.High near 9.Winds of southwest increasing to 20 to 40 km/h in the morning.Wednesday Variable cloudiness.Low near plus 1.High near 6.Thursdayilncreasing cloudiness.Low near minus 2.High near 5.er casually observing this seems to be an oil company summer pricing strategy since no one is blowing up Middle East oil wells.The day of the first major increase, a leading Canadian oil company reported profits for the most recent quarter increased to nearly $60 million from $25 million the previous quarter.I find myself feeling a rare affinity to Joe Clark about the lack of outrage, since he once had a government brought to its knees by suggesting a similar increase.Then I heard Claudette Bradshaw, the new Minister responsible for the homeless in Canada, explaining she needed more time to study the homeless problem so she could really get a grasp on it.In the meantime, Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto, mustered the Toronto police force to grasp 26,000 of them from public parks and city streets and send them anywhere, Ottawa being the preferred destination.Both the minister and mayor remain unconcerned that 25 per cent of poor Canadians work in full time jobs and are one paycheck from the streets.One prescribes study, the other prescribes amputation, and both share the view that the best cure for illness is death.Meanwhile I find myself mindlessly humming “.I’m wondering where the light is.” As if I do not have enough day-today issues to concern myself in my own life, I feel compelled to get to the bottom of this neutral bias that has enveloped the country.In the 60s a nation of long-haired flower children became the conscience of the world, taking bullets at Kent State for peace.Young Black Panthers declared war on inequality by counseling Blacks to practice civil disobedience, walk tall and carry a big stick.In the 70s and 80s, leather- and chain-clad punks with coloured mohawks challenged conventions and a materially focused world as YUPPIES raised middle class standards to new heights.It occurred tc me our new value vigilantes might be The Gap Kids, those long legged line dancers and singers advertising the latest trends in outer-wear.They represent a generation raised on a diet of skillfully packaged entertainment during a technological revolution.Their distractions include an economy filled with promise and without a trace of threat.They’re fed daily reminders of another twenty something with stock op- tions in a start-up Internet company buying a Porsche Boxster before the parents pay off the Saturn.And in the job market, there was a time when being young was just cool.Today, being young rules.I’m not sure what is stirring the fire.It may be a certain powerlessness from shaking my fist in the face of 50.Maybe its because I believe the true advocates for a society’s values are the mavericks and iconoclasts.I feel safe around those with safety pins in their eyebrows and green hair who passionately challenge those in power and question authority.It results in a tenuous balance between those who profess to know what is good for everyone and those with the vision to see the emperor has no clothes.I might have accepted it all with the simple observation that society is just going to hell in a hand basket until Pope Paul announced that hell may not exist.I’d like to think that I can be as flexible as the next guy when it comes to change, but I’ll be dammed, so to speak, if I can accept that all those I banished there are roaming freely elsewhere.It’s the last straw and I’m not going to take it any more.Tim Mahoney is a freelance writer.Life Timothy S.MAHONEY BEN by Daniel Shelton IT'S ONE OF THOSE NEW 5NACKF00PS 'THEY'RE GIVING OUT FREE ÙMP l£5.'J L goop'LÇç r i just .AROUNP THE HEY, WHATS THIS?WENT OUT NEIGHBORHOOD YOU?WHERE WERE YOU AU THIS U I Hib r TIME? Tuesday, October 26, 1999 page 3 Acton factory workers give boot to talks 94 per cent vote to strike By René Bruemmer Acton International’s 350 employees voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike Monday morning after contract negotiations between their union and management broke down over the weekend.Employees at the boot and shoe factory in Acton Vale voted 94 per cent for an immediate, unlimited general strike at a general assembly meeting yesterday, citing an impasse over the issues of health, job security, vacation, seniority and sub-contracting.One of the largest producers of commercial and industrial footwear in Quebec, Acton International is the second largest employer in Acton Vale and is owned by the American company Air-boss of America.The employees have been without a collective agreement since December 1998, and a total of 13 contract negotiation meetings since last year failed to bring the two sides to an agreement, despite the aid of an official mediator appointed by the Ministry of Labour.The employees are members of the Union of communications, energy and paper, affiliated with the Federation des Travailleurs du Quebec (FTQ).Negotiations took a turn for the worse last week when employees organized a work slowdown Thursday to protest the months of stalemates.In response to the slowdown, company president François Soucy refused to attend last weekend’s meetings, which led to a one day strike on Friday.Soucy afterwards agreed to come to the negotiation table on Saturday and Sunday, but to little benefit.Union delegates voted 94 per cent in favor of a strike Sunday, followed by a similar vote on Monday by the employees.Soucy issued a press release Friday saying he was surprised that the union and its members were leaning towards a strike vote considering the several negotiation meetings already held, which he said had led to agreements on many points.He called Friday’s work stoppage “unjustified and premature” considering the collective agreement was still under negotiation.“If the union was deliberately looking for a confrontation they could not have done any better,” Soucy said.Certain employees blamed what they called Soucy’s hard-line stance during contractual bargaining for the impasse.Soucy and management officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.Protection of water resources subject of hearings Some 25 groups to present views Staff Sherbrooke As concern over the future of lakes, rivers and underground water tables mounts, citizens, environmental groups and municipalities from throughout the Eastern Townships will be voicing their concerns this week at public hearings on water management in Quebec.About two dozen environmental groups, a handful of unions, town officials and consumer groups as well as five individuals are scheduled to make presentations before a province-wide consultation being held by Quebec’s environmental assessment panel better known as the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement.The BAPE began three days of hearings in Sherbrooke at Le President Hotel in Sherbrooke Monday afternoon.On Monday afternoon the commis- sion chaired by André Beauchamp was scheduled to hear from two citizens and six groups including the Association pour la preservation du Lac Magog, the Association pour la protection de l’environnement du Lac Orford, the UPA farmers union, Enviro-Accès, the Conseil Regional de L’environnement de l’Estrie, and the Conseil Centrale of the CSN union.During the evening six more groups were scheduled to speak including environmental groups from Lac Miroir, Lac D’Argent in Dudswell, Lake Massawippi and Brompton Lake.The commission was also scheduled to hear the Association sportive et de bienveillance du Lac de l’Est from Disraeli and the Comité du protection due Marais de Kingsbury.Hearings reconvene Tuesday at 2 p.m.at Le Président in the Salle Champlain with an evening session beginning at 7:30.Tuesday afternoon commissioners will hear from the Regional development council (CRD) , the Memphrema- gog regional municipal council (MRC), Sherbrooke’s river management group CHARMES, lake protection groups from Lac Montjoie and Bowker Lake as well as the consumer group ACEF Estrie.Tuesday evening will see lake protection groups from Lake Aylmer, Lake Lyster, the river protection association Action St-François and the umbrella group, the Regroupement des associations pour la protection de l’environnement des lacs (RAPPEL).The BAPE will also hear from the environmental engineering firm Groupe SM, Réseau Environment, and the Fédération de protection de l’environnement de l’Estrie.The hearings were so popular in the Estrie region that the commission added extra hearings on Friday afternoon.Then the commission will hear from the City of Sherbrooke, as well as the environment groups Mem-phremagog Conservation Inc., the Association pout la protection du Lac Lovering and the Coalition pour le respect de la vie écologique.Two days of hearings are also scheduled this week in the Montérégie region.Meetings there begin Wednesday, Oct.27 starting at 7:30 p.m.and Thursday, Oct.28 at 2 p.m.and again at 7:30 p.m.The Montérégie hearings will be held in Room 93 of Auberge Harris in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.For more information on the hearings, call the government at 1 800 463-4732 or by e-mail at eau@bape.gouv.qc.ca.Information, including a report on the status of waterways in the Estrie region, is also available on the Internet at www.bape .gouv.qv.ca/eau.For more on what was said at yesterday’s hearing in Sherbrooke, see tomorrow’s Record.Food bank hopes to raise $1/4 million for region’s hungry Staff f » jhe sixth annual brunch in I support of Moisson Estrie JL drew a record 1,500 people Sunday morning.Held in the sports centre of the College de Sherbrooke, the diners were fed for a fee to raise money and awareness for the food bank.Each brunch-goer received one sponsorship letter for themselves and another to give to a friend to help raise funds.The record numbers kicking off the fund-raising drive came at a good time, organizers said, due to the need to raise $250,000 this year to meet demand.Every dollar raised translates to $12 worth of food distributed organizers said Staff at the zoo, had given birth.Born program has so far proven unsuc- Ababy giraffe has been born in 1979 at Parc Safari, this is cessful.at the Granby Zoo, the lat- Valentine’s sixth birth at the But thanks to Garth, a malegi-est birth in a year that has Granby Zoo.Over the last several raffe, the zoo will be home to seen a baby boom in 1999.0ne years four female giraffe’s have three baby giraffes by next morning last month one of the been kept at the zoo, along with spring.The first was born in zoo keepers made the discovery one male.June, while number three is due that Valentine, the oldest giraffe An artificial insemination in early 2000.Giraffe born in PROCLAMATION OF A POLL THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CHSLD ESTRIADE ELECTORAL COLLEGE “POPULATION” The election of four (4) representatives of the population will take place: DATE: NOVEMBER 15th, 1999 TIME: FROM 5 p.m.to 9 p.m.PLACE: CHSLD ESTRIADE - CENTRE ST-JOSEPH AUDITORIUM 611, QUEEN BLVD.NORTH, SHERBROOKE LIST OF CANDIDATES CHARVIN, Jean-Louis, Sherbrooke JUNG, Gabrielle, Sherbrooke PARADIS, André, St-Denis-de-Brompton ROBERT, Denis, Sherbrooke TREMBLAY, Carmen, Sherbrooke In order to introduce the candidates to the electors, information forms concerning each candidate are posted at each of the following centres: Centre St-Joseph Centre Résidence de I’Estrie Centre Bromptonville 611, Queen Blvd.North 500, Murray St.15, de la Croix St.Sherbrooke (Québec) Sherbrooke (Québec) Bromptonville (Québec) The candidates have chosen not to address the population directly.There will be no advance poll and vote by proxy is prohibited.RESTRICTION: Article 135: No minor is entitled to vote.Article 151 : A person who is an employee of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, of an institution, of any other organization offering services in the health and social service field and receiving subsidies from a regional board or the Minister or of the Régie de l'assurance-maladie du Québec or who is remunerated by the latter cannot vote or be elected during the election held by virtue of section 135.Claude Lavoie, Returning Officer Tel.: 819-564-6655 /- ORIGINAL MICROFILMED AT VARYING INTENSITIES BECAUSE THE TEXT IS PRINTED ON GREYISH OR COLOR BACKGROUND page 4 Tuesday, October 26, 1999 '¦¦¦THEmmi RECORD ‘The word asbestos seems to create a prejudice’ it) mi m ^ y**»**.''iÊÊÊi' ^ mM ; .• ', •- "v?¦ Asbestos: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The mine itself suffered under the asbestos scare in 1980, when the first of several layoffs occurred.In that year alone, 400 mine employees lost their jobs, and hundreds more would follow, as companies in the United States and Europe switched to asbestos substitutes to avoid any danger of being sued by employees or clients.The mine that once proclaimed itself the largest open pit operation in the free world went from employing over 2,000 workers to just under 400 today.I 1 j / Sherbrooke Geriatric University Institute PROCLAMATION OF A POLL for the Board of Directors of the Sherbrooke Geriatric University Institute Electoral College: Population The election of 4 representatives of the population will take place: November 15, 1999 from 4 p.m.to 9 p.m.You may vote either at: Place Bombardier of the D’Youville Pavilion, 1036 Belvedere South, Sherbrooke Frances-Whittle Room (Norton Building) of the Argyll Pavilion, 375 Argyll, Sherbrooke List of candidates: DEMERS, Mr.Jacques, Sherbrooke HAYES, Mr.John L., Sherbrooke LABRECQUE, Mr.René A., Sherbrooke NIGHTINGALE, Mrs.Linda, Sherbrooke NOONAN, Mrs.Priscilla, Sherbrooke Mechanisms whereby candidates may address the population: The information the candidates wish to transmit to the population will be published in two newspapers, one in La Tribune and the other one in The Record, on Friday, November 12, 1999.There will be no advance poll and vote by proxy is prohibited.Restriction: Section 135: No minor is entitled to vote.A person cannot vote if he or she does not have her or his main residence in the Eastern Townships.Section 151: A person who is an employee of the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, of a regional health board, of an institution, of any other organization offering services in the health and social service field and receiving subsidies from a regional board or the Minister or of the Régie de l’assurance-mal-adie du Québec or who is remunerated by the latter cannot vote or be elected during the election held by virtue of sectibn135.Additional information: Mrs.Francine Vigneux, Returning Officer Telephone number: 821-5101, extension 2404 Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Sherbrooke Date: Time: Places: In 1986, the American government’s Environmental Protection Agency banned most imports of the fibre for health reasons, forcing JM Asbestos and other companies in nearby Thetford Mines to turn to Asia and other third world regions for their sales.Now, Coulombe says, those clients want to distance themselves from the word asbestos.“What can you do, the word asbestos seems to create a prejudice, and we need to sell fibre if this company is to remain alive,” he added.Coulombe, who is the majority shareholder of the mine, said there is a lot at stake.After having to lay off over 180 workers since last summer because of an Asian recession, the mine is trying to revive itself by building a new underground shaft to extract more fibre.The shaft will cost the company over $100 million and is expected to recall some 125 workers in the year 2000 when it will be operational.The company is anxiously awaiting a ruling by the Word Trade Organization over the banning of the fibre by France for health reasons in 1997.Though the amount of fibre exported to France was small, asbestos companies feared the ban would be repeated by other European RECORD FILES The Asbestos mine itself suffered under the asbestos scare in 1980, when the first of several layoffs occurred.states.Company and town officials hope a WTO ruling condemning the ban as an unfair trade practice will stabilize the asbestos market and preserve jobs.Since the ban in France, one mine in Thetford Mines, British-American, has shut down, throwing some 200 miners out of work.News of the planned name change came just as rumours started that the town of Asbestos would also change its name.But those rumours were denied by Serge Charland, the town’s director general.“The issue was brought up only because we are merging our town with that of Trois Lacs,” he said.“Whenever there are such mergers, the normal procedure is to determine what name the new municipality will be.If residents want a name change, they come to council and make such a proposal.But so far, we have received no official proposal.” He said the town would then have to consult with the general population to see if they would agree to a name, change.“So far, the town council has no plans to consult anyone.” But when asked about such a change, JM’s Coulombe said not having to use an address with the word asbestos in it would also satisfy their Asian clients.“Having dropped the word Asbestos from our logo, it would be a good point to have it taken off our address as well.” A recent search on the internet showed the word asbestos still produced bad connotations.On four internationally used search engines, Netscape, Yahoo, AltaVista and Canada.com, the word Asbestos brought up such things as continued health risks and lawsuits.The town of Asbestos was not mentioned.When Thetford Mines was called up, information about the town’s history and tourist potential were featured.RECORD FILES Mine president Bernard Coulombe said JM Asbestos would simply be known as JM, which stands for Jeffrey Mine.This was the name given to the town mine when it was first opened before the turn of the century. Tuesday, October 26, 1999 page 5 - RECORD Domco-Tarkett invests $43 million in plant Project will create 175 new jobs By Maurice Crossfield There were lots of smiles in Farnham Monday as officials at the Domco-Tarkett plant announced a $43 million investment project there.Between now and 2001 the Farnham sheet vinyl plant will be expanded by 115,000 square feet.That new space will in part be filled by 175 new workers, each earning in the neighborhood of $20 an hour.Presently about 445 people work for Domco in Farnham, both in the head office and at the plant.But Farnham’s good news is bad news for other Domco-Tarkett plants.The company has chosen to close down plants elsewhere, centralizing its vinyl flooring activities here in Quebec.Domco presently owns eight US plants, after recently closing a vinyl flooring plant in Pennsylvania.“I think that Canadians don’t recognize the quality they can produce here,” said Domco CEO Robert Van Buren.“In the US they take it for granted that if you buy something made in Canada, it’s going to be high quality.That’s not always the case in the US.” Van Buren said the decision to make the Farnham plant the centre of its vinyl flooring production had mostly to do with the workers, who he said produce a good product at a competitive price.He said the weak Canadian dollar wasn’t factored into the equation, though it does help.Deputy premier Bernard Landry was on hand for the announcement, and was obviously pleased with the news.This was the third investment announcement he had attended before lunch.“We are gaining a lot.The unemployment rate was 15 per cent six years ago and it’s nine per cent today,” he said.“We are announcing each week, almost each day, new industrial investments.” The provincial government, through Investissement-Quebec, has invested $7.2 million into the project.Domco was first conceived in 1872 in Montreal as the Dominion Oil Cloth Company.In 1934 it acquired Barry and Staines in Farnham, and by 1967 was renamed Domco Industries Limited.In July of this year it purchased Tarkett North America Holding, Inc., making it the second largest producer of vinyl and hardwood flooring in North America.Canadian military stretched to breaking point By David Pugliese Southam Newspapers A record number of Canadian troops are now deployed overseas in peacekeeping operations at a time when the military has been reduced by more than a quarter of its previous strength.The current number of military personnel on foreign operations quietly reached more than 4,400 this week, beating the previous high point in overseas missions in 1992 when 4,300 Canadian soldiers were serving in Somalia, Bosnia and Cambodia, among other places.At that time military commanders were warning that the Canadian Forces was stretched to the breaking point.But in 1992 there were almost 85,000 personnel in the Canadian Forces.Reductions ordered by the Liberal government have now lowered that number to 60,000.The 4,400 troops currently overseas are on 22 missions in such hot spots as Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor.“We think that is the highest yet,” said Canadian Forces spokeswoman Lt.-Cmdr.Denise LaViolette.Despite questions last month on whether the Canadian military could meet a commitment of 600 personnel for the East Timor assignment, it eventually assigned 639 soldiers, aviators and sailors to serve on that operation.The last time this many Canadian soldiers were serving in operations overseas was during the Korean War in the 1950s.During that conflict, at any one time, there were 6,100 Canadian soldiers in Korea, said LaViolette.In all, more than 26,000 Canadian soldiers served in Korea.But some defence analysts are warning that the record number on overseas peacekeeping operations is pushing the military, especially the Canadian army, to the end of its limits.“The troops are stretched beyond belief,” said retired brigadier-general Jim Hanson, assistant executive director of the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.“It is bound to break at some point.” Canada’s military leaders such as Gen.Maurice Baril, chief of the defence staff, have warned the government that its soldiers are close to burnout but those concerns appear to have been ignored, said Hanson.At the same time, the Canadian Forces continue to accept new missions.Hanson said the pressures are particularly heavy on infantry, communications specialists and logisticians and supply system troops.Previously, troops had about 18 months at home before being assigned to another overseas operation.That has been reduced to about 12 months and in that time soldiers are going on courses, training in the field, or fighting fires or floods, added Hanson.“Even when you’re home in Canada, you’re not home,” he said.“The stresses on families are incredible.” He said the reserves are being relied on more heavily but even some of those soldiers have two or three overseas missions under their belts.“You can use the militia for a while but even that takes its toll,” he said.Unlike other defence analysts who have been pushing for more money to purchase modern equipment, Hanson believes that priority should be recruiting more troops.He also pointed out that more soldiers overseas means there will be fewer at home to deal with problems which might be associated with the millennium bug in December and January.The issue of whether Canada has enough soldiers to meet its overseas commitments and those set out in the Liberal government’s 1994 defence white paper also resurfaced recently in a new book by a U.S.-based defence analyst.In the book, The Canadian Forces: Hard Choices, Soft Power, defence analyst Joseph Jockel argues that old equipment, insufficient training and a shortage of troops have left the Canadian army incapable of meeting one of the main goals set out in the defence white paper.That goal is to have a combat-ready brigade that can be sent overseas in the event of war.To meet that goal, the Canadian army would have to commit about half its current field force, according to Jockel.But that would leave too few troops in Canada to sustain such a unit and not enough soldiers to deal with any problems which might arise domestically, he writes.Defence Minister Art Eggleton has dismissed suggestions the Canadian Forces can’t meet the white paper goals.Chief of the Defence Staff Gen.Baril, along with his policy advisers, have also said that the Canadian military is at its most combat capable in the last three decades.Choral Couture Members of St.Luke’s Anglican Church Choir in Waterloo pose with their brand new outfits recently purchased for them.The choir has not worn formal gowns while singing for the past 35 years, said member Shirley Chapman.The seven purple outfits cost approximately $900 and were ordered from Gaspard Co.in Winnipeg.The members said they love their new attire and took it on the road with them to a concert at Courville’s nursing home in Waterloo last Saturday.One congregation member jokingly said, "They thought that they sounded better with the new gowns!" — David Anderson, Record Correspondent. page 6 Tuesday, October 26, 1999 ¦ THEwi Record Community Forum Can feds afford silence?In the spring of 1996 at Bishop’s Centennial Theatre, a public forum was held at which seven or eight active federalists spoke to an audience approaching two hundred fifty people, each speaker presenting his views on whether Quebec federalists could afford to remain silent in the wake of the 1995 referendum.It goes without saying that the speakers all contended that we could not and that most of the listeners agreed; otherwise they would not have attended.A lot has happened since then and I hope you’ll consider along with me another question: Has anything been learned?Remember the treatment to which advocates were exposed when they called for reference of the question of the legality of unilateral secession to the Supreme Court?Why, to hear the proponents of silence tell it, nothing could have been more provocative and dangerous than establishing in law whether the Quebec na-tionalists’ line - that Quebecers and Quebecers alone will determine at will whether Canada remains one country or becomes two - is true or false.The only possible outcome, according to them, would be the riling up of the believers in the separatist cause.But the reference got made and the question got answered.Tire notion is false.And did it drive more Quebecers into the separatists’ camp?Every public opinion poll since the judgment in August of‘98 has shown support for secession dropping.And why wouldn’t that be so?As I see it, it is the height of cynicism, of disrespect, to presume that Quebecers at large would be so contemptuous of conduct within a framework of laws that they would automatically flock to defy any judgment that exposed their political leaders as either seriously misguided or blatantly dishonest.But that is what the advocates of silence assured us would happen and, believe it or not, some still do.Now let’s look at a more recent exam- ple of reference to law and its predicted re suit.Just a few days ago, a Quebec judge struck down certain portions of Bill 101 as a result of a case that a Montreal lawyer took on for a couple of Eastern Townships antique dealers whose sign dared to pre sent information to potential clients with equal respect, whether English or French-reading.Everybody knows the judgment, but what result will develop from it is less clear-cut.The advocates of silence, of acceptance of secondclass status for all but the majority, promise that terrible things will come from this “controversial” decision.The natives, they say, cannot be trusted to agree with equal status for all citizens and will almost certainly rebel.But will they?Just because PQand Liberal politicians can be counted on to react negatively to the suggestion that both Canada’s official languages might be accorded equal respect in this province, it does not automatically follow that everyone else will rise up with them.Another development that seems to have been initiated by the Supreme Court’s August ‘98 ruling is the federal government’s new-found courage to challenge, vigorously and competently, state ments and insinuations Quebec separatist leaders throw out as incontestable fact.Again, advocates of silence shudder.They are unshakable in their be lief that voters in this province are just as mean-spirited as their political leaders are and will punish anyone who doesn’t accept subordinate, sub-societal status.But do the polls support their fears?Ever since Ottawa started to question what Quebec politicians try to feed their flock, support for Quebec sovereignty has been falling (to the lowest level in thirty years, at last count) and voting intentions for the ruling federal party indicate growing support for Jean Chrétien’s Liberals, even in Quebec.So can federalists afford silence?The question seems to be answered.Viewpoint Don Healy THE P.0.Box 1200 Sherbrooke J1H 5L6or257 Queen St, Lennoxville, Que.JIM 1K7 Fax: 819-569-3945 e-mail: record@interlinx.qc.ca Website: www.sherbrookerecord.com Randy Kinnear Publisher .(819) 569-9511 Sharon McCully Editor .(819) 569-6345 Sunil Mahtani Corresp.Editor .(819) 569-6345 Richard Lessard Prod.Mgr.(819) 569-9931 Francine Thibault Prod.Superv.(819) 569-9931 DEPARTMENTS Accounting .(819) 569-9511 Advertising .(819) 569-9525 Circulation.(819) 569-9528 Newsroom .(819)569-6345 Knowi.ton office 88 Lakeside, Knowlton, Quebec, JOE 1V0 Tel: (450) 242-1188 Fax : (450) 243-5155 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS GST PST TOTAL Canada: 1 year 104.00 7.28 8.35 S119.63 6 MONTHS 53.50 3.75 4.29 S61.54 3 MONTHS 27.00 1.89 2.17 S31.06 Out o/ Quebec residents do not include PST.Rates for other services available on request.The Record is published daily Monday to Friday.Back copies of The Record ordered one week after publication are available at $3.00 per copy prepaid.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 UniMedia Company, a subsidiary of Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.Canadian Publications Mail Service Product Agreement No.0479675.Member ABC, CARD, CDNA, NMB, QCNA \ bOMfc SHOT.IT'S NOT UOWWR WE ttCklUUL, ?/ Letters to the editor Parent remains misinformed Dear Editor, Sadly, Diane Seward’s second letter regarding the teachers’ work-to-rule campaign shows that she still misses the basic point, that teachers are overworked and underpaid.She continues to swallow without question the government’s lie that Quebec teachers work less than other comparable professionals.That this is a lie has been amply demonstrated.The government tells me that I work 32.5 hours a week; the government pays me to work 32.5 hours a week.But what is the reality?I teach seven classes; that means that I have to be in the classroom for 23 hours a week, and I get time off for lunch only two days a week.I have 118 students, and I am required to spend eight hours a week outside of class helping students who are struggling with the course material.That brings the total to 31 hours a week.Does anyone really believe it is possible to do the prep work for seven classes, and to do the correcting for 118 students, in 1.5 hours a week?Officially, the government does, and apparently Diane Seward agrees.I’d like to see her try.I have never worked less than 40 hours a week, and it’s usually a lot more.I can’t even fit the academic work I have to do into 32.5 hours, let alone the eleven different kinds of meetings I have to attend and all the bureaucratic work they entail, so how am I supposed to find the time for extracurricular activities?That so many teachers do is a testament to their level of heroic self-sacrifice.Make no mistake.According to the government and the schools we work for, the activities we are boycotting are not part of our jobs.That’s why we can boycott them and not lose our jobs.The work-to-rule campaign is not just an attempt to force the government to do something about an untenable situation.It is, more importantly, the first step in saying to the government, “If you think we work only 32.5 hours a week and you want to pay us to work only 32.5 hours a week, then we can work only 32 5 hours a week, but look at the schools you will get.” Despite what Seward says, we have tried all the other forms of protests, going all the way back to when the current round of negotiations began in April of 1998.She is as misinformed on this point as she is on the others.It is long past time for parents to get involved in the struggle with us.If you don’t like the government’s 32.5-hour schools, then get them to pay us a decent salary for the work we actually do.Daron Westman Lennoxville ¦ ¦¦THEm RECORD Tuesday, October 26, 1999 page 7 Community Forum Return of language inspectors was PQmistake Rare cooperation on child labor legislation By Glenn Wanamaker National Assembly QCNA PRESS The story of The Lyon and the Wall-rus, as we all know by now, is not a story that should be read to children under 12.It’s true the story as it’s currently written has a happy ending.Wally Hoffman and Gwen Simpson and the corporate entity W.F.H.Enterprises will not be fined between $70 and $1,400 for violating a section of the Charter of the French Language about outdoor signs.But as the last chapter concludes, there’s an ominous dark cloud on the horizon.The big, bad government may appeal.“Why, Daddy?” “Because the government didn’t present any evidence at the trial to show the arguments requiring the predominance of French on commercial signs are still reasonable, and the judge said it should have, because so much time has passed since the 1988 Supreme Court judgment which suggested net predominance would be a reasonable limit on freedoms.” “Why?“Because the sign on their old antique store in Knowlton had French on one side and English on the other, and the law says signs cannot give equal prominence to other languages.” “Why?Isn’t that just fair?” Life indeed would be far simpler if we could apply a child’s logic.But if it’s true, as Premier Lucien Bouchard said the other day from California, that “you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize French will always be threatened”, then it’s equally true you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to realize that if you provoke people needlessly, they will react.Bill 86, passed by the Liberals in 1993, established the current languagesign regulations.People ridiculed it then as unworkable and the PQ.promised to tear it up when they returned to power.But neither Jacques Parizeau nor Bouchard has touched it since because by and large it has worked.The current government erred, however, in bringing back language inspectors and tape measures to seek out picayune violations, simply to quieten language hardliners in its own ranks.In doing so, it was begging for people to dig in their heels, and the inevitable has happened.An insignificant (and alleged) violation of the law has turned into a test case, which may go all the way to the Supreme Court.The government ambushed itself, not simply by refusing to present evidence in the Lyon and the Wallrus case, but by allowing abusive enforcement of the law.Lawyer Brent Tyler, who won the current round of this case, has six more similar ones ready to proceed.“We’d rather not go through any of this," Tyler said on the weekend.“What we’d rather see is the government not appeal, amend the law, require French, allow English or any other language to be LF.TTF.R TO THE EDITOR If teachers’ unions stuck to mandate Dear Editor, It is my opinion that if the teachers’ unions stuck to their mandate we wouldn’t be facing the present controversy between parents and teachers.It has always been my understanding that a union’s mandate entailed issues which are beneficial to the employees who contribute to it.In this case I understand and support the teachers request for our government to get back on track salaries, their workloads, and their working conditions.What I cannot accept is that teachers’ unions have taken it upon themselves to include our children’s learning conditions on their wish list and to decide, without consultation with parents, that to attain this wish, a work-to-rule boycott approach was better for our children than a walk- out.First, the children’s welfare is not a teachers’ union issue; second, parents don’t appreciate being told what is best for their children.In regards to volunteer work, it seems to me that this work-to-rule approach includes the holding back of volunteer support to children, even that initiated by individuals who happen to be teachers.Since when is it within the mandate of any union to enter into its members personal life decisions?The way I see it, the present work-to-rule approach benefit neither the children nor the teachers, only the teachers’ union.They get to save all that “strike pay” otherwise spent in a walk-out situation.I believe that until the teachers’ unions decide to respect the limits of their mandate, it will be difficult for teachers to obtain the support they so deserve from their community.Lucie Taylor By e-mail equal on the sign.That is the consensus of the vast majority of Quebecers on the ground, whatever linguistic background, and they should just do that and we can go on to other things.“If they (the government) continue, and they lose, and I’m reasonably confident they will, then it will only worsen the situation generally.” Child labour It’s rare that MNAs set aside partisan differences and work together to pass socially useful legislation.When it does, as happened with the new law on child labour, it’s worth pointing it out.“It all goes back to discussions I had with (Lafontaine Liberal MNA) Jean-Claude Gobé a couple of years ago,” PQ.MNA (Matane) Matthias Rioux said last week after the adoption of Bill 50.“Everything I did on this issue was with his collaboration and it worked very well.” Rioux was PQ Labour Minister at the time and Gobé, MNA for the Montreal riding of Lafontaine, the Liberal labour critic.They were disturbed by reports of children being hired by small numbered companies, transported around the province to sell chocolate bars, and then being duped out of the small change they had earned.There were other isolated reports of abuse as well, of young children working at night or working in factories and in stockrooms for cheap wages - nowhere close to the extent of abuse in undeveloped countries but “revolting” nonethe- United Nations Children’s Fund unicef# Tel.: (819) 820-8393 When children carry a UNICEF orange box to your door on Halloween night, they’re helping kids around the world receive an education.They’re improving health, ensuring good nutrition.They’re supporting children’s fundamental rights.Please dig deep for UNICEF.less, Rioux said.“Rioux is a humanist, you see,” Gobé said.“We shared a vision of how we needed to approach this.If you want people to work, you need to ensure they are not mistreated.” The new legislation does not outlaw child labour.However, it forbids employers from hiring children 14 years of age and under without the prior written consent of their parents, and the work must not be disproportional to their capacities, compromise their schooling, or harm their physical or moral development.As well, those 16 and under are not allowed to work during school hours, or between 11 pm and 6 am, except for such jobs as delivering newspapers.The final version of the legislation was watered down slightly under the new minister, Diane Lemieux, and provisions to restrict the number of working hours were dropped.“In my view, there should be a limit of 15 hours a week for those 16 and under who are in school,” Rioux said.“As a former teacher, I find that when a child goes to school and works more than 15 hours a week, he’s compromising his chances of academic success.When there is no limit, I have a lot of worries, as a parent and as a teacher.” Still, he and Gobé are happy with the law, the product of rare cooperation be tween members of two opposing parties.JET Custom designed for your mirrors and glass Speciality: • Glass showers • Mirrored glass Vast Showroom Doors —¦ Windows • Sales & Service We hare Hardware for all Doors & Windows 24 hr.Emergency Service 1865 Sherbrooke St., Magog (81 9) 843-2098 T T > t