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Harper‘s visit sign of things to come rere is little doubt that Conserâ€" I vative Party leader Stephen Harper‘s swing through Waterâ€" loo Region last week was a whistle stop on what promises to become a spring election tour. A strong speech at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, followed by visits 10 local businesses, including RDM Corporation in Watertoo, had all the tellâ€"tale signs. Controlled messages, controlled access and a media pack of reporters hanging on Harper‘s every word didâ€" n‘t leave much to the imagination. Continued from page 10 all about â€" learning Sandowne park needs good cleanup Unfortunately, some of these children have had to learn too much too fast. Some neighbours have said last fall‘s murder was an isolated inciâ€" dent. There‘s nothing to worry about, they say, and the children should still feel safe in the park. Try telling a child that at 3 a.m after having a bad dream. â€" The point is, whether it‘s been blown out of proportion or not. their fear exists, and it shouldn‘t be ignored. No, a light likely won‘t solve all of the park‘s problems. o The proposed ‘Fortress America® is paranoid lunacy at best and treason if any of our politicians are serious. The U.S. has many enemies, including themselves, and we have no business joining in their governâ€" ment‘s madness. They have made a hard bed to lie in, but if they would like to change their ways, the world can be a forgiving place as well. Situation may call for Rick Mercer Sufferers should not be labelled lazy K‘udus to Andrea Bailey for openâ€" y discussing her anxiety probâ€" lems and her ability to overcome them in her recent "Straight Up" editorial. Beyond that, however, I see little purpose in an article where she states she has researched mental illâ€" nesses, yet bases her main comâ€" plaint on "stories she has heard". 1 also wonder whether those telling her these stories are in a position to judge whether a person is truly ill or "just lazy". Perhaps we should skip past sto ries and discuss some facts that may make people appear to look lazy Surely, for example, Ms. Bailey has heard of Seasonal Affective Disâ€" order, which lists a Tack of energy as a major symptom And while he was playing his But it may discourage delinâ€" Perhaps she has heard of drug cards close to his vest as to whether he would topple Prime Minister Paul Martin‘s Liberal gavernment, he was testing out a message that has achieved some resonance with admissions that have come out of the Gomery Inquiry. "Throw the bums out" seems to be a common sentiment heard about the adâ€"scam fiasco, and Harpâ€" er is tapping into that undercurtent of anger. He‘s hoping that anger continues to boil and helps him form the next government. And that‘s where last week‘s visit had some significance, in quents from starting their mischief at the tot lot while children are playâ€" ing there, before moving their fun into the hidden bowels of the greenâ€" space. You‘d think these neighbours would welcome the opportunity to better see and protect the younger children who happen â€" right or wrong â€" to be at the playground after dark. Instead of complaining about all the "false impressions" that have been given by others and the media about their fair park, maybe these neighbours should take an active role in helping the greenspace live up to the pristine reputation they seem to believe it has. Canada has its own culture and reputation, despite growing up beside the U.S. I will certainly fight to keep it and will never join the U.S., but J can send them a submaâ€" rine full of worthless politicians and the ones already there, they can keep. How about organizing a Sandowne Park cleanup? We have fought hard for it in the past and we will fight to keep it despite what a politician may photosensitivity, which may cause people not to even be able to parâ€" ticipate in some of these "fun activiâ€" ties that don‘t include any meanâ€" ingful contributions to society" Question â€" do "normal" people sometimes have that kind of fun too? Some people are not lucky enough to be able to stay on the same medication. As new medications or doses are tried, too much or too little can cause someone to wake up at 3 a.m. or make them so tired they have difâ€" ficulty getting up at noon As for depression, 1 can only hope that Ms. Bailey has never come close to the lows some people can reach, making them not want to face the world at all Ms. Bailey mentions the "stig ma" of mental illness, and unfortu nately that stigma still exists. Men COMMENT P}UHKLOJHNFI RONICL] that the Conservatives think that some local seats might be ripe for the picking. Harper needs Ontario to win the next federal election, and that‘s why he has to be cautious. This province isn‘t convinced as much as athers that we need another writ dropped just a year after the last one. Public opinion will tell if Harper finally puts forward a confidence motion on this government. But he better have the confidence he can win, otherwise it will be anaother blunder of Joe Clarkâ€"like proparâ€" tions. Designate half a Saturday, get some neighbours together and clean up the filth, instead of continâ€" uing to pretend it doesn‘t exist. A security light isn‘t the problem in this situation. Common sense? delude themselves in thinking that we won‘t. is that clear enough for even a politician to understand, or do we need to send Rick Mercer to "talk with the Americans?" tal illness is not something people would normally want to openly use as a crutch the way someone would complain about a bad back. Mental illnesses are varied and complex, and cannot be narrowed down to "I overcame it, so can evervyone else". That attitude takes us back to the dark ages of dealing with depression by saying "get over it already". As Ms. Bailey pointed out, many of those suffering from mental illâ€" ness lead fuifitling lives. That does not allow us to point to people who have difficulties and label them as failures, or lazy * Editor‘s note: Comments in my column last week entitled "Mental illness is no excuse for laziness", were directed to those who have neither been diagâ€" nosed with nor show signs of depression, but use the sympâ€" toms of the disorder as a scapeâ€" goat to cover their behavioural issues of laziness and irresponâ€" sibility. The comments were not directed at depression sufferers. Judy Greenwoodâ€"Speers Waterloo Ron Langil Waterloo | | Process needs change Fur the first time in the history of this region a parliamentary standing committee held public hearings in Waterloo last week. The standing committee on citizenship and immigraâ€" tion, chaired by local MP Andrew Telegdi, heard delegations on citizenship in general, recognition of international experience and credentials of immigrants and family reunification issues. The committee also heard two former citizenship court judges argue that the government is making a mistake by replacing public appointed citizens hip judges with commissioners, who would public servants. Sometimes citizenship courts are held as public ceremonies and many people are sworn in at once. I have attended citizenâ€" ship courts at public schools, markets, city halls and a few other locations throughout the region. The first time 1 went to a citizenship ceremony I was quite moved by the celebratory nature of the proceedings and how happy all the new Canadian citizens were. The new citizens were from all corners of the globe and some had been in Canaâ€" da for a longtime and some but a few short years. Each of them were always grateful for the opportunity that Canada had given them and while always holding a place in their hearts for their homeland they were beaming and proud to finally, be Part of the ceremonies that always struck me as odd was the oath that new citizens have to take: "I swear that 1 will be faithful and bear aomimiole } true allegiance to her majesty Queen ) oi "d 6 9/ Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canaâ€" mNiLOD] da, Her heirs and successors, and that I |f S PEAKING will faithfully observe the laws of | Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canaâ€" . MA | dian citizen." ie ue While I recognize the importance and historical significance the Monarch has played in Canadian sociâ€" ety it did strike me as odd, and a little embarrassing that we still insist that new citizens swear an oath to "Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors..." Thankfully, the government is fl STRICKLAND l proposing to modify the current oath to the following: "From this day forâ€" ward, I pledge my loyalty and allegiance to Canada and Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada. l promise to respect our country‘s rights and freedoms, to uphold our demoâ€" cratic values, to faithfully observe our laws and fulfill my duties and obligations as a Canadian citizen." While an improvement over the current oath the proposed version isn‘t quite far enough removed from the Monarchy for my liking. Do we still need to take an oath to the Queen of Engâ€" land? I like and respect the Queen and all that she stands for but if given a choice I would prefer to take an oath to Canada. I sinâ€" cerely hope the standing committee comes up with a recomâ€" mendation for the oath that deemphasizes the role of the Monarchy in Canadian society and emphasizes the Canadian values of fairness, human rights and equal opportunity for evervone. Do we take citizenship for granted? For many of us who are born in Canada I think it is fair to say that we take our citizenship for granted. We are issued birth cerâ€" tificates, passports, and life as we know it is, well, Canadian. New Canadians on the other hand have to go to classes where they learn about Canada and after successfully completing the "course" take an vath, in English and French, in front of a citiâ€" zenship judge. A major difference between the new Canadians and the ones born here is that new Canadians can have their citizenship revoked, born Canadians cannot. For a country that allows hundreds of thousands of immiâ€" grants into our land every year it is important that we maintain a right to revoke citizenship if someone has misled our officials about their past lives in their country of origin. If we mistakenly allow criminals etc. into our land we need a mechanism to send them back home if we choose. The problem is who does the choosing? Who decides that a person‘s citizenship should be revoked? Currently it rests with cabinet and politicians, which for some, including our MP Andrew Telegdi, is wrong. Mr. Telegâ€" di would argue the decision should be depoliticized, taken out of the realm of cabinet and politicians, and given to the courts Let the courts decide if a person‘s citizenship should be revoked. In a land where we ask new Canadian citizens to uphold our democratic values, it seems odd that we can take citizenship away in a seemingly undemocratic fashion. If more Canadians knew about citizenship issues. I‘m sure our sense of fair play would require the revocation process to be improved and turned over to the courts sean@seanstrickland.com