The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Committee‘s education program isn‘t enough to curtail engine idling I( is unfortunate that, despite wellâ€" publicized problems with local air quality, Lori Strothard and the Citizens‘ Advisory Committee on Air Quality feel that it is "too soon for (a) car idling bylaw" which would reduce engine emissions (Waterloo Chronicle article, Aug. 22, 2001). Waterloo Coun. Scott Jones has proposed such a bylaw which would prohibit extended engine idling, thereby effectively reducing engine Ontario educators opposed to government‘s proposal for teacher recertification lementary teachers are comâ€" Emmed to working with parents to help their children succeed. This has always been true. Every time we welcome a new group of students into our classâ€" rooms, WE meet children with unique needs. We work hard to find ways to reach every learner. When we need help, we turn to parents as well as other teachers and knowledgeable professionals for advise and supâ€" B We choose the kind of profesâ€" sional development we need to help us meet the diverse needs of our classrooms. You said it _ Ontario‘s teachers are among the best qualified in the world. At a minâ€" imum, most of us hold fourâ€"year Courts are deciding how doctors should practise medicine Thirty years and more now, durâ€" ing the Age of Aquarius, the products of the plant cannabis satiâ€" va were first widely introduced into North American society. "Guilty until proven innocent‘ was the title of a position paper on their use taken by the secondary school principals of PEI. at the _ As of July 30, "regulations on marijuana for medicinal use take effect" without guilt or innocence WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR SUMMER? QUESTION Bd P d emissions and local pollution. â€" ers did not stop smoking in public Surprisingly, this was not supported _ places until a bylaw was put into by the committee. effect which prohibited smoking. : â€" Nee in o e e ts The education program proâ€" posed by the committee will not affect significant change in the behaviour of drivers; to believe it will is totally unrealistic and fails to adequately address the problem. Consider smoking behaviour. Despite decades of education and evidence, Waterloo area smokâ€" Bachelor of Education degrees from accredited universities. As well, throughout _ our _ professional careers, we study for additional qualifications. We do this voluntariâ€" ly and at our own expense. We are opposed to the governâ€" ment‘s proposal for teacher recertiâ€" fication. These mandated courses do not recognize teacher‘s current qualifications nor do they address the unique challenges of individual situations. This is an issue between the teachers and the government that will be solved over time. In the meantime, we intend to carry on as we always have done. We will continue to choose courses and workshops that assist us in the classroom. We will continue to be accountable through our school having been clinically proven as would normally be the case with prescription drugs, though studies are now under way. "Unfortunately the government has decided to go ahead to appease a few lobby groups" is the reaction of Dr. Raju Hajela, pastâ€"president of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine which is calling for more clinical research because "there is more risk than benefit." "The courts can‘t be deciding "Going to Ottawa with my boyfriend. I got to see a lot of culture and history. It was great." "Visiting the Elora Gorge, and the many trips to the hospital." TO THE CHRONICL] Vanessa Tikkala Mathew Breault COMMENT You can be certain that drivers will not curtail engine idling until they are legally rt_rquired to do so. It is hoped that the air quality committee will take a more realistic stance, and support Coun. Jones‘ proposed bylaw. principals, parents and board administration. We will continue to ensure every student receives the best instruction possible. Parents are important to their children‘s learning. They help chilâ€" dren succeed by providing regular times and quiet places for homeâ€" work, reading with them and encouraging their best efforts. Children develop positive attiâ€" tudes toward school when their parâ€" ents or guardians speak positively about the value of education and support the school and the teacher. Elementary teachers wish parâ€" ents and students the very best for the new school year. Welcome back! Phyllis Benedict, president of the Elementary Teachers‘ Federation of Ontario how doctors should be practising medicine, because that‘s what is essentially happening here," Hajela said. This, though, is precisely what‘s happening. And with no curâ€" rent Parliamentarian on either side of the House of Commons champiâ€" oning these opinions of those into whose hands we entrust our well being. Sad. And only in Canada "We went on a trip to South America. We were in Guyana visitâ€" ing some friends." "Spending time with my family and my boyfriend." Natasha Prabhuâ€"Das Christie Storer Joe Hueglin, Niagara Falls With all of the ink being spilled covering attempts to unite the right (or to tear it apart), very little attention is being paid to what is happening on the left. it would be easy for a casual observer of Canadian politics to assume that the political specâ€" trum in this country began on the centreâ€"right with the Liberal Party and moved farther right from there. The truth is that the NDP and others on the left are engaged in a fundamental debate about our own political future. There are really three streams of opinion in this debate, although the divisions between "camps" are far from clear. One group, epitomized by Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton, argues that the NDP is doing fine and doesn‘t need to do any of what he calls "navel gazing" or change its course. "There isn‘t anything wrong with our philosophical approach," Hampton told The Hill Times. It‘s just that "the NDP has difficulties in articulating that much of what Canadians appreciate is, in one way or another, a product of what the NDP has done politically. The corporate media has done a number on us," he said. While there‘s no disputing what Hampton says about the political and media climate in Canada, he doesn‘t offer any hint of what the party can do to succeed in that climate. tronically, Hampton won the leadership of his party by arguing that "the status quo is not an option". Apparently the status quo is now the only option. A group calling itself NDProgress wants "make the NDP more democraâ€" tic and effective". It is asking some hard questions of the party, such as: * Should the NDP end the instituâ€" tional tie to organized labour and instead appeal to individual union members? Turn left, turn right or move forward? * Should the NDP continue acceptâ€" ing donations from organizations (priâ€" marily unions} or only accept donaâ€" tions from individuals? * Should the NDP adopt a system of One Member One Vote for major party decisions like leadership elections and policy approval? It‘s simplistic to view participants in the party‘s renewal debate, in terms of left and right (or cenâ€" tre}. First of all, most Canadians can‘t even identify what the difâ€" ference is between left and right on the political spectrum, so the party needs to move beyond labels if it is going to commuâ€" nicate with voters. As well, while NDProgress does include avowed advocates of the soâ€"called Third Way (which would mimic Tony Blair in a quest for power), it also includes critics of that trend. A competing vision for the future of the party is offered by the New Politics Initiative (www.newpolitics.ca}, whose stated goal is "creating a new political party in Canada... We think the NDP should lead a process of constituting this new, progressive party... But we need more than just a new party, we need a new type of politics in Canada, one that is participatory and empowâ€" ers people and communities to take collective action to improve their lives. The New Politics Initiative seeks to build a party not just to contest elections, but also to fight more broadâ€" ly for humane goals, and to support the dayâ€"toâ€"day nonâ€"elecâ€" toral struggles of Canadians for justice, equality, and sustainâ€" ability." ht h o s noeie n sc id €CU00 000 Some people have criticized the NPI for being too radical and wanting to move too quickly. The organizers have respondâ€" ed to this concern by slowing down the proposed timetable for implementing its strategy. Others have labelled it "a Svend Robinson leadership vehicle". Frankly, a lot of people probably wish that it was, but Svend is not one of them. Finally, the NPI has been attacked for bringing in people who are not members of the NDP This criticism is a little hard to take, given the fact that the party‘s own renewal committee has three people from outside the party. 1. . se L2 Wlsn 2 4 us M AmDRm P stnds I have formally endorsed the New Politics Initiative. I don‘t agree with everything being proposed, but [ do think that it offers the best haope for revitalizing the party. In the late 1960s, the last time there was a great increase in social mobilization in North America, the NDP should have benefited but missed out because it was closed to new ideas and seen as irrelevant to the movement. I don‘t want to see that happen again. In addition, with the exception of medicare, the party has been largely incaâ€" pable of mobilizing the public to support its policies once in power. When insurance companies started a campaign against public auto insurance, for example, the Rae government appeared completely helpless and backed down. We need to strengthen the links between the party and social movements to ensure that this kind of caveâ€"in doesn‘t happen again. SCOTT PIATKOWSKI