The record, 18 février 2000, vendredi 18 février 2000

THE Centre récréotouris tique RECORD * K lontjoye Route 108, North Hatley (819) 842-2447 The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 85 CENTS Friday, February 18, 2000 U of S prof says no-fault is best insurance plan ‘The major advantage of our system is fairness’ - Thétrault By Marie-Claude Lemieux Special to The Record Quebec’s no-fault automobile insurance plan is one of the best systems in the world, according To a University of Sherbrooke law professor who presented a report last week to the parliamentary hearings on highway safety.“The risk of being sued in a civil action would have no deterrent effect upon drunk drivers, and besides, revising the no-fault plan would create a lottery where the winners would be the few injured by a solvent criminal driver,” said professor Robert Thétrault in an interview at the university on Wednesday where he has been teaching for 20 years.He explained the social and human costs of a lawsuit eclipse its benefits.“Studies show that in a common law system, each dollar awarded by the court costs the equivalent to the victim, compared to the 10 to 20 per cent of the total compensation paid to out victims, it costs to manage the no-fault insurance plan.” The Bouchard government began to hold hearings into its green book on highway safety on Feb.2.While other topics such as rollerblading and forcing cyclers to wear a safety helmet will also be discussed, the no-fault system represents an important part of the debate.Among those asking for a better system is the Fisher family whose son Clifford was killed by a Hydro-Québec pickup in June 1997 in front of their former residence in Ste-Catherine-de-Hatley.They appeared before the committee last week to propose various measures such as permitting legal recourse for victims of gross or criminal negligence.See Insurance page 3 Law professor Robert Thétrault says the benefits of nofault insurance outweigh the negatives.Poster Child Elizabeth Rivett, 6, loves the snow, hates the heat and rarely catches a cold.“She’s a perfectly normal child who is rarely sick,” says her mother Marjorie.Aside from the 62 blood transfusions she has endured in her short life, that is.Elizabeth, a poster child for Hema-Québec’s television awareness campaign, was bom in Quang Ninh, a mountainous community outside Hanoi.She suffers from thalassemia, a genetic disorder prevalent in the Middle East and Asia.Although little is known about the first two years of her life before she was adopted by John and Marjorie Rivett of Ranboro, doctors have told the Rivetts that both of Elizabeth’s Cambodian parents must have been carriers of the gene in order for her to have been affected.See page 7 -Bruce Patton/Correspondent ( Courville Geriatric Center^ < Courville Residence For the best in Nursing, Personalized Care and where caring is a - Short term / long term living tradition - Paliadve / Emergencies Since 1935 “Because We Care" y Room available now 5,305 Courville Ave, Waterloo, Quebec Cour ville Home Care Offers you the comprehensive care and the same great attention that you would receive at the Courville Geriatric Centre.We now have the full range of HOME CARE SERVICES available.Give us a call, extension 27.• Assessment & Management Care v Helping you help yourself!y (450) 539-1821 www.belage.qc.ca/english page 2 Friday, February 18, 2000 RECORD, Mr.Roy and Mr.Roy are as different as night and day They call them four-buy-fours because they cost four times as much to run loto-québec Draw 2000-02-16 11 18 25 28 34 44 BONUS NUMBER: 14 WINNERS PRIZES 6/6 1 5,000,000.00 $ 5/6+ 2 327,476.10 $ 5/6 227 2,308.20 $ 4/6 13,853 72.50 $ 3/6 268,681 10.00 $ Total sales: $ 15,673,685 Next grand prize (approx.): $ 2,000,000- Draw 2000-02-16 03 07 17 22 29 33 BONUS NUMBER: 06 WINNERS PRIZES 6/6 2 500,000.00 $ 5/6+ 1 50,000.00 $ 5/6 43 500.00 $ 4/6 1,817 50.00 $ 3/6 26,390 5.00$ I Total sales: $ 534,960.50 Egtra NUMBER Draw 2000-02-16 PRIZES 858652 100,000 $ 58652 1,000 $ 8652 250$ 652 50$ 52 10$ 2 2$ Claims: See back of tickets, in the event of discrepancy between this list and the official winning list, the latter shall prevail.Weather Friday: Increasing cloudiness followed by snow late in the day.Low near minus 22.High near minus 6.Saturday: Light snow.Low near minus 12.High near minus 5.Probability of precipitation 80 percent.Sunday: Mostly cloudy and 40 percent probability of some snow.Low near minus 14.High near minus 5 As a transplanted city boy, it often seems to me one of the nicest things about living in a small place is'that your average village isn’t usually, well, overdeveloped.Upper Birchton is such a place.Cut off from the rest of Birchton (some would say the rest of the world) by a reckless highway rebuilt about 20 years ago, upper Birchton has a grand total of two busi-nesses - the garage of Mr.Roy at one end, and the garage of another Mr.Roy at the other end.Both our Mr.Roys are true free enterprisers.One sells gas and groceries as well as fixing cars and collecting old machinery.The other operates a modest custom sawmill and grows his own potatoes, as well as fixing cars and collecting old machinery.One has a backhoe with a bucket on the front, the other a tractor with a snowblower on the back.Now while they have a lot in common, Mr.Roy and Mr.Roy are as different as night and day.And I wouldn’t dream of trying to compare them, except to say that one is fast and the other is, how shall I put it, not so fast.But that’s not the point.Yes, there is a point to this.Snow.The S-word - don’t you love it?In keeping with the natural way (leaving the yard untouched like nature planned it), I take a passive approach to personal snow removal: don’t lift the shovel unless you really must.My four-wheel drive truck looks after getting in and out - Detroit iron and Persian oil, all in an oriental package.By the way, they call them four-buy-fours because they cost four times as much to run as an ordinary car.Anyway, they are very handy in the snow, even making tracks up the driveway for True Love’s little red sedan.That plus the fact that it’s been quite a while since we had much snow, means it’s been several years since I lifted a shovel in anger.I can’t say that for another of our neighbours though.Michel seems to live for snow removal.He bought a new snowblower a while back and he uses it every chance he gets.He’s out there behind it Charles Bury night and day, and once the yard is open he’ll clear a bit of roadside too.Then the township plow goes by or it snows some more, and he starts all over again.This man’s even kindly come over and cleared out our yard from time to time.This week the snow got to deep even for me.Just like in the old days, everyone said.You could tell that the last 18 inches or so was going to put our driveway over the top, and it was either bring in a machine or park in the street.Sunday night I called Mr.Roy the backhoe man.He wasn’t in.Monday morning,same thing -1 left a message, called again - he was always out (this Mr.Roy was the faster of the two).Monday evening I stopped by the garage to feed the four-buy-four, and left a second message.By now I was getting itchy.What if he’s too busy - would I have to drive around all night without a place to park?I turned around in the other Mr.Roy’s nicely cleaned-out yard.A single light shone dimly through the dusty garage window.Another one switched on inside my head.Inside, Mr.Roy was hoisting a motor up off the middle of the floor and out of the way.Would he come over and clear my driveway?Well he was moving the engine block to make way for the tractor, he said.“The clutch ain’t unclutching and I have to fix it.After that I have to deliver a load of grain.After that I guess I could come over, if you still want.” A sigh of relaxation escaped my lips.Any time this evening would be fine.Back home, the phone rang.It was Mr.Roy the quicker.He explained that he doesn’t usually do driveways but would come over if I were really stuck.I replied that the other Mr.Roy was coming over later.He wanted $15 for the job.I couldn’t help thinking of Michel across the road.How much money had he spent on that walk-behind (drag-behind) blower?Maybe $1,500.How many hours had he spend behind it in the driving wind?Hundreds, and maybe a dozen on just that day.Mr.Roy the slower came over at about 9.His tractor is at least 50 years old.The motor runs so slow you can hardly hear it.It was the last thing I heard before I went to sleep.Kudos to Knowlton staff vggssts A ft *1 * fc 1 0.C 0 vu * LÎ O w To a year Staff Parents and students pay tribute to dedicated teachers and staff UMM.MY WIFE HAP TO LEAVE, aIT UMM.Ben by Daniel Shelton Tl -.SHE LEFT A SHORT STATEMENT FOR ME ID REAP ON THE AIR.-AHEM'; "1 BELIEVE THAT THE EVENTS SURftXMWG FEEPING MY BABY AT THE MALL ARE Of CONCERN TD ALL OF US M0THERSWH0- TURNON THE NEWS, BEN.ANP TM TOTALLY ft JUSTIFIEP IN ) PEFENPI NO MY U RIGHT TO PREASTFEEP IN PUBLIC/' ¦ ¦ THE — Record Friday, February 18, 2000 page 3 ‘Instead of insuring everyone, we would penalize victims’ Insurance: Continued from page 1 They also want to prevent criminally and grossly negligent drivers from receiving compensation from the Automobile insurance Board.Others like Marc Bellemare, a lawyer who has been representing victims for 21 years, told the committee he wants the no-fault system to be modified to build more accountability into the system.He said currently “nowhere else was it easier to commit a criminal act than in Quebec.” But for Professor Thétrault, the major advantage to our system is fairness.Everyone treated equally The Automobile Insurance law provides compensation for every person in-jured in a car accident or for their family in case of death.Thétrault thinks refusing compensation to grossly and criminally negligent drivers would not achieve the goal of protecting the public.“Do you think the possibility of facing a civil action would stop someone like Sylvain Boies from driving carelessly” he asked referring to the drunk driver who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after killing two people while trying to escape from police?“Instead of insuring everyone, we would penalize innocent victims,” he added.“For example, if a man severely injures his wife and children while driving under the influence of alcohol, he would not be compensated and therefore the family would be deprived of thousands of dollars.It would create poverty.” Fewer fatalities According to the Société de l’Assur-ance Automobile du Quebec, the annual number of deaths related to car Lengthy delays Thétrault’s views are shared by Daniel Gardner, a Laval University law professor who told the committee that victims would not find any advantage in a civil law suit since the average delay to obtain a judgment is eight and a half years.But praising the no-fault system does not mean it is perfect.The Fisher family claims the SAAQ failed to inform them of all the services they were entitled to such as psychological counseling.They also want victims’ families compensated immediately for loss of wages in situations involving death or severe bodily injuries, instead of allowing delays.Thétrault agrees improvements could be made.“We could wish for all the consequences of an accident to be compensated.“ The government has already heard that criticism.On Jan.1, 2000, the law was amended and the maximum death indemnity went from $17,000 to $40 000, of which $10,000 can be allowed for psychological support.Other modifications could be presented in the following weeks.see the law revised to allow civil lawsuits when a criminal driver is involved.Among those is Lisette Lapointe, wife of former Premier Jacques Parizeau whose 14-year-old son from a previous marriage was severely injured by a drunk driver.But even in those cases, Thétrault does not think the system should be altered."I understand that in such terrible situations people could feel they are deprived of their right of personally handling their case,” he said.“They want their day in court.They feel it would be a catharsis.But the criminalization of drunk driving and measures such as car seizures by police have a more significant effect on highway safety.” PERRY BEATON/SPECIAL University of Sherbrooke prefessor Robert Thétrault presented brief to committee.accidents dropped from 1765 in 1978 717 in 1998.when the no-fault plan was adopted, to But a number of people would like to AUTO Insure that you reap what you sow I ÏM S U A N C E Our insured participants from the Estrie region have been chosen to participate in a simple and automatic renewal of their crop insurance enrolment for the year 2000.Their enrolment is automatically renewed and they enjoy a 4% discount along with a fidelity discount of 6%.From now on, their assessments will be payable only at the end of seeding.You too can be insured! Enrol in crop insurance by March 15, 2000, at the latest and, you too can get the 4% discount plus coverage that is tailored to your farm's needs.Crop insurance is the best way to protect your investments against bad weather.Don't let climatic risks tear down your efforts.Québec! ©1-800-749-3646 Internet: www.raaq.gouv.qc.ci page 4 Friday, February 18, 2000 Record Crime and punishment Weekly review of crime and accidents By Karen Eryou Special to The Record Feb.14 • An accident causing no injuries was reported at kilometre 106 on Autoroute 10 in Eastman.• An accident at kilometre 91 on Autoroute 10 near Magog was reported.Another accident took place at kilometre 128 on Autoroute 10 in Deauville; and another was reported at kilometre 135 in St-Elie on Autoroute 10.No injuries were reported in any of these accidents.Feb.13 • A driver with a suspended license had his car seized.• The Memphremagog QPF have questioned two people related to their CAREER SANTANA CANADA Santana, a manufacturer since 1973, situated in the Industrial Park in Sherbrooke, is looking for candidates to fill the following positions.CREDIT MANAGER Functions: • Investigate and validate credit of our actual and new clients • Collection of American and Canadian accounts Qualifications: • University degree in business administration or equivalent experience ¦ Excellent communications skills / fluently bilingual French & English, written & spoken • The candidate should be responsible, efficient and autonomous • Computer knowledge: • Windows, Excel, Word • DBASE, FOXPRO, ACCESS, ACT • Knowledge of one or more software programs would be an advantage • Experience in credit would be an asset CUSTOMER SERVICE Qualifications: • Excellent communicator / fluently bilingual French & English, written & spoken • You are responsible, efficient and self motivating • The candidate must possess the ability to anticipate & fulfill the customers' needs • Basic computer knowledge: DBASE, Excel, Windows, Word • Experience in telemarketing would be an asset Salary: We offer a salary that will reflect the responsibilities of the position and many benefits.Please forward your c.v.before February 26 to the following address or by fax at: (819) 821-2999, mentioning what position (job) you are applying for: M.Richard Carrier, c.a.Santana 3770 Boulevard Industriel Sherbrooke (Québec) J1L 1N6 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.discovery of a hydroponic greenhouse in full operation, with marijuana being the cultivated plant.This illegal gardening operation was only discovered after a fire had been reported at the Potton address.The QPF is continuing their investigation.• Logging equipment valued at $17,000 was stolen in Eastman.• An accident was reported on Autoroute 10 near kilometre 144 in Sherbrooke.No injuries were reported.• A 55-year-old Derby woman who apparently became dizzy while traveling north on Interstate 91 near the Barton exit, lost control of her car, left the roadway and overturned.The 1999 Kia was listed as totalled.The weather and the road at the time were reported as clear.There were three other passengers in the car at the time of the accident, and it was unknown if any injuries were reported.Feb.12 • Three snowboards were stolen from the Montjoye ski area in Hatley Township.The QPF is advising those who patronize ski areas, to record the serial numbers on their skis and snowboards, and lock up their snowboards when leaving them unattended, and they also said that skis should not be left together as a pair - explaining this makes the theft less possible.• Robbers visited a home on Chemin Dunant in Hatley Township leaving with $7000 worth of electronics, includ- ing a VCR and camera equipment being stolen.•The QPF was called to Chemin des Loyalists in South Stukely where a small fire had broken out.• Robbers visited a home and garage on Chemin Hovey in North Hatley.The homeowner is now without electronics, a golf bag and other items totaling $1400.The QPF also reported $50 in damages.•An accident with injuries was reported on Junction Street in Stanstead.•Two accidents were reported on Autoroute 10 near St.Alphonse-de-Granby, one at kilometre 63, the other at kilometre 66.• Another accident on Autoroute 10 was reported at kilometre 115 in Magog Township.•A New York man reported that his skis had been stolen from the Jay Peak ski area.The stolen skis were Solomon shaped Parabolic 160’s, blue and grey in color with black trim.They had black Solomon bindings and black and red ski poles.Feb.11 • A series of robberies was reported in Ste-Herménégilde.One took place on Chemin Hector Paré, and two on Highway 141.According to the Coaticook QPF, these robberies were of bizarre nature, with the intruders making off with utensils and elements off the stove.• The Montjoye ski area boutique in Hatley Township was visited by robbers, with $15,000 worth of clothing and equipment reported stolen.•A robbery was reported on Hatley Center Road in Hatley Township.A telephone, $40 in cash and miscellaneous items totaling $500 were stolen.The Memphremagog QPF also reported $500 in damages.•An accident with injuries was reported at the Domaine Hatley in North Hatley.• Two accidents were reported on Autoroute 10; one at kilometre 92 in Shef-ford, the other at kilometre 118 in Magog.A third accident was reported at kilometre 74 on Autoroute 55 in Melbourne Township.Feb.10 •An accident causing material damages was reported in front of 1401 Highway 141 in Ste-Herménégilde.Feb.9 •Denys Allard, 51, of Drum-mondville was operating a 1989 Freight-liner tractor-trailer unit which received minor damages after he failed to negotiate a curve on a slippery road at the junctions of Vt 105 and Vt 114 in the town of Island Pond.The power was interrupted in Island Pond, Charleston, Morgan and Derby as a result of this accident, after Allard’s truck snapped a telephone and light pole.No injuries were reported in this 11:23 p.m.accident.Brome-Missisquoi hires new economic development director general By Maurice Crossfield f I ^he Centre local de développement of Brome-Missisquoi has hired its JL first director general, a longtime industrial commissioner with an eye on developing the potential of the region.“The CLD is a positive element in the community,” said Jean Lafrenière.“We are not the bureaucrats of the MRC.” The post of director general was originally carried out on a part time basis by Brome-Missisquoi MRC director general Robert Desmarais.But with a growing number of files, the decision was made to hire a full time director general to fill the position.“We were very satisfied with what has been accomplished so far,” said CLD president Alain Labonté.“But it was an enormous task.” With about 100 people applying for the job, the CLD chose Lafrenière, a man new to the region, but with experience in industrial development in five different regions of Quebec.He now occupies one of the top positions in the economic development of Brome-Missisquoi.On the job since Jan.31, Lafrenière has been spending the last few weeks getting to know the region.He’s also Bn>mc-Vfjs MAURICE CROSSFIELD Jean Lafrenière and CLD Brome-Missisquoi president Alain Labonté.Looking to develop the strengths of Brome-Missisquoi.been meeting with the local captains of industry to learn more about the concerns of Brome-Missisquoi’s business people.“We must make efforts to get in touch with our clients,” he said.Lafrenière said the municipalities of Brome-Missisquoi see the CLD as an investment in the development of the re- gion.He said that while the CLD gets its funding from the municipalities, it will turn a profit by bringing new investments.“I want our clientele to be aware of the services they will receive from their CLD,” he said.Formed in 1998 the CLD took over economic development activities from a number of organizations.It now provides help for industrial de-velopment, tourism, young entrepreneurs, the development of the work force, and so on.Lafrenière said one of his first tasks will be to set up an action plan that best takes advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of the region.“I think I have a fresh, critical eye on the region,” Lafrenière said.“I have no prejudices.” RECORD Friday, February 18, 2000 page 5 Brome-Missisquoi mayors annul policing contract MRC gives Serge Ménard 30 days to negotiate new contract By Maurice Crossfield |-|-|he mayors of the Brome-Missisquoi regional municipality have voted .X.to annul a contract with the public security ministry for provincial police protection.“The taxes collected by a municipality are to pay for services provided in that municipality, not to pay for services in the Gaspé,” said Brome-Missisquoi director general Robert Desmarais.He said richer regions are helping to cover the costs for areas that have lower property values.At issue is the way municipalities pay for Quebec Police Force protection.According to the formula laid out by the public security ministry, municipalities are supposed to pay for half of the cost of the local QPF detachment.However the amount paid by each municipality is based on property values.As a result Brome-Missisquoi municipalities are paying an average of 78 per cent of the cost of police protection.So instead of paying 50 per cent of Saving duck fest tops CLD agenda Staff One of the first big files facing CLD Brome-Missisquoi director general Jean Lafrenière will be the future of the International Duck Festival.Duck festival president Jacques Ouimette announced last week that he was pulling the plug on the event.But while the duck festival has been located mainly in Bromont, and therefore outside of Brome-Missisquoi, the CLD is looking at ways to revive it.“The basic product (Brome Lake Duck) comes from where?It comes from Brome-Missisquoi,” said Centre Local de Développement de Brome-Missisquoi president Alain Labonté.Lafrenière said he will be sitting down with the mayors of Brome-Missisquoi on Thursday to see if there are ways the festival can be saved.“There are a lot of entrepreneurs that benefit from that festival,” Lafrenière said.He suggested some sort of partnership arrangement could be set up between the CLD Brome-Missisquoi and the neighboring CLD Haute-Yamaska.“If there is some thing that can be done, then we will put our ideas forward.” Lafrenière said the festival brings a lot of economic activity to the region, in the form of restaurant meals and rented hotel rooms.He said agrotouristic activities like the duck festival help the region show its strength.the Brome-Missisquoi QPF detachment’s $2.9 million annual operating costs, the municipalities have been paying $2.3 million.That’s about $822,828 too much.A prime example of this is Sutton Township, which is leading the charge in the QPF billing issue.With a population of just over 1500 and a property evaluation role of $247 million, Sutton Township pays a whopping $445,000 for police protection.The Town of Sutton, with a similar population and a property evaluation role of $65 million, pays $125,000.Bad billing But that may all change in the next month.At a meeting of the mayors of the MRC Tuesday night, a resolution was passed stating that the municipalities consider the existing contract null and void.They want to meet with public security minister Serge Ménard within the next 30 days to reach a new and more equitable agreement.“The mayors were unanimous that the billing method is no good,” Des-marais said.In the meantime the municipalities have voted to pay only 50 per cent of the costs of police protection.The remainder, a total of $822,828 for 2000, will be held in trust until the matter is resolved.A side issue to this has been the number of police officers actually on duty in Brome-Missisquoi.The municipalities have been paying; for 29 active officers, but for much of 1999 only 27 officers were on the roster.By the end of the year there were 29 officers on duty.NOT RESPECTING AGREEMENT “Still, we consider that the ministry did not maintain the 29 officers like they were supposed to,” Desmarais said.The director general said if there is no new agreement with the public security ministry, then the municipalities may opt to withhold more money to force the matter.The MRC is also contacting other MRC’s to get them to look at how much their municipalities are paying for QPF protection.“We want them to know that the government is not respecting its agreements,” Desmarais said.He said in Memphremagog the municipalities are paying nearly 100 per cent of their provincial policing costs.This, Des- marais says, ________ means that richer municipalities are helping cover the costs of poorer regions.That means the public security ministry is actually paying almost nothing.So far attempts to reopen the agreement with the public security ministry have been unsuccessful.Desmarais said the mayors are becoming increasingly frustrated with the Quebec government’s refusal to deal with municipal concerns.“In the past there was always a certain level of respect between the levels of government,” he said.“We have the impression over the last several years that we are being treated more like slaves, or subalterns.” Desmarais said the possibility of taking the public security ministry to court over the issue has not yet been seriously considered.He said for now the emphasis will be on trying to negotiate a deal in good faith.The public security ministry now has until March 20 to react to the MRC resolution.The mayors will meet on March 21 to decide what action will be taken next.Sec