WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23, 1983, PAGE 5 Durham parents prépare to fitght closing Durham parents are pooling their profession- al expertise, organiza- tional talents and emo- tional energy to hait the proposed closing of Durham Centre for the Developnentally Han- dicapped. At a meeting of par- ents and families in Oshawa last week, about 40 people gather- ed to elect a committee which will fight the closing in a systematic and determined fashion. Durham Centre is one of six smaller institutions in Ontaio slated to close by 1987. It was an -organiza- tional meeting, but testi- monials to the abhor- rence with which these parents view the closing emerged spontaneously. These people fear their children will end up not in community group homes as the gover- nment plans, but rather in large institutions such as Huronia Insti- tute in Orilia. "I have a brother who was up in Orillia," one woman said. "When he used to come home, he was like a zombie, and when we took him back he'd be kicking and screaming. We wouldn'It even have to get close... he knew where he was going. There has been nothing like that since he has been in Durham Centre." Bhupatrai Bhuta,, one parent who has been a driving force . behind systematic opposition to the closing, described Durham Centre as heaven compared to Huronia. "How can we accept the transfer of children from heaven to hell?" he asked the group. "We must stop this mentally retarded government from closing the centres for the developmentally handicapped."' Nine people were ap- pointed to the working roup and tentative ob- jectives were set for the fight. Bhuta offered five steps he believed the group should take to show the Ontario governznent how strong- ly familles object to the closing: Speaking to You F By SCOTT FENNELL, M.P. m >lm(PC - Ontario) I spent the last week in Newfoundland attending a legisiative exchange seminar on "ICanada's 0f- fshore Oil and Gas".. 1 also spent the last week ex- periencing the utter tragedy of Canada's failure in federal-provincial relations. Ail this has resulted from the imposition of the federal will on provincial responsibilities. Jean Chretien, the Federal Minister of Energy, had been meeting with William Marshall, New- foundland's Minister of Petroleuni Resources. It's well known that Chretien and Marshall had reached agreement on a lot of broad points. And then Ot- tawa caled in its federal negotiators who changed the agreement made by Chretien and Marshall. The civil service, unmindful of the broad consen- sus, and in keeping with its centralist philosophy, imposed its wil in the place of the will of the people. Newfoundland, they believe, should not have a share of the responsibilities for her development. Lnfortunately this sad state of affairs is typically Canadian and this is reflected in recent literature. In Grits by Christina McCall-Newman, and in the Sorcerer's Apprentices (Sub-titled Canada's Super Whitby Fabrics NEW MANAGEMENT Drapes & Sheers - customn made. Alterations on clothing & draperies. Speclal on ail wools & woolen blonds VIyelIas now avallable. 215 Dundas St. E, Whltby 668-4821 Open until 9 p.m. Frldays UN BY 10 *OUT BY 4 e meet with Social Ser- vice Minister Frank Drea and present peti- tions e faiing this, the group should obtain legal ad- vice and bring an in- junction against the closings on the basis of the federal Charter of Rights e through media partici- pation, increase public awareness of parents' concerns e organize a rally at Queen's Park e produce a film using actual residents which describes the emotional and physical trauma of movement to a larger institution. "'Ail of this will re- quire tume, energy and money," said Bhuta, adding parents can con- tribute as much of each as they are able. The Ontario' Public Service Employees Un- ion (OPSEU) offered their printing facilities to the group. "OPSEU will be a resource group, " execu- tive union member Fred Upshaw said. "But the parents wiIl run their own show. Who else can Sin more aptly put their grou, story than they can?"1 orgai 14'x 281 (4.3 m x 8.5 m) Durham parents met last week to discuss their plans to oppose the closing 0f Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped. King Baker (left) shares lus views with Marion and Kent Fee. These parents say they won't give up without a fight. Bureaucrats' and the Energy Mess) by Peter Foster, it is made quite clear that since Pierre Elliot Trudeau became our Prime Minister alto- gether too much power has been removed from the elected representatives 0f the people and placed in the hands of the bureaucrats. It's a big grab for power at the center. Not only nilar iPs nîzed in the five working have' been other communities who will be affected by the should the provinces be forever dependent on the federal governent, but so, too should the elected politicians be dependent on the bureaucracy and thus, harnessed to, the political will of Pierre Trudeau. So much for the voice of the people. SP"w'ECIAL $250,O0o PIJRCHASE al lowed us to of fer you - 25% 20% 20,% -Iree Press Staff Photo 1 plan to close institu- tions. à mp1w I-EAR ~ Off Ail Pool Kits Off Ail Installation Charges Off Ail Chemicals ~1 M Inground Pool Kit with sand filiter. Pool Accessories from 25% Special Divmng Board Reg. 39295-00 oW$2469eO0 75%' OFF Reg. $525.00 NOW$690 niagara manufacturing I kinaiL i 306 Kitchener St. Oshawa W-E 723.0345 Evenings 576-2287 i 10 DAYS ONLY SPECIALLiquid Chiorine Reg. $14.95 SPCIL gai. (22.7L.). NOW $9099 1 i3 2 Klan SL