The record, 15 mars 1993, lundi 15 mars 1993

[" © and Partly Cloudy Theories swarm around Bourassa\u2019s plans By Don Macdonald QUEBEC (CP) \u2014 The appointment to the Senate of Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa\u2019s closest adviser has intensified speculation that the can- cer-stricken premier is preparing to step down.Jean-Claude Rivest, appointed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on Thursday to sit in the Senate as a Conservative, is such a trusted adviser and friend to Bourassa that he is of- Birthd A she i .toe ten referred to as the premier\u2019s alter ego.The two have been together since Bourassa\u2019s first mandate as premier in the 1970s and Ri- vest is said to have had words to say on every delicate issue facing the government and especially on his specialty \u2014 the Constitution.A number of observers seized upon his Senate appointment as a clear sign that Bourassa.who is suffering from Alexander Galt High School students surprised Hans Pikarek with a birthday cake on Friday.Pikarek, who has had the HIV virus for six years, has been talking to Galt classes to help demystify the disease and to encourage students to protect themselves.Turn the page for more.ayXsurprise skin cancer, will not lead his Liberals into the next provincial election next year.\u2018\u201cIf Mr.Rivest is going, doesn\u2019t that mean that Mr.Bourassa is considering leaving?Hard not to think that,\u201d said Michel Roy, a former adviser to Mulroney and keen observer of the Quebec political scene.But Rivest and Bourassa\u2019s media aide Sylvie Godin staunchly denied that there was any RLCORD RITA LEGALLY More snow on the way Storm leaves 100 dead from Cuba to NEW YORK (CP) \u2014 A blizzard that paralysed much of the U.S.Eastern Seaboard whirled through New England and eastern Canada and headed out to sea Sunday, leaving more than 100 dead from Cuba to Quebec and shattering snowfall records.The storm intensified over the Maritimes on Sunday, whipping the Nova Scotia shoreline and dumping up to 30 centimetres of snow on northern New Brunswick.As U.S.residents from Florida to Maine dug out of up to a metre of snow, authorities reported a growing death toll, with many of the fatalities coming from heart attacks due to shovelling snow.In Ontario and Quebec at least four deaths were blamed on the storm.Snow accumulations reached about 45 centimetres in both Montreal and Ottawa.John Lade of Environment Canada\u2019s weather office in Toronto said: \u2018\u2018We expect more snow Tuesday, about five centimetres.It\u2019s just a constant parade of snow from the Pacific.\u201d The snow will hit central Ontario and travel east to the Maritimes again, he said.U.S.officials said 15 people died in Pennsylvania, 26 in Florida, four in Virginia, four in Georgia, seven in Alabama, five in North Crolina, one in South Carolina, eight in Tennessee, 14 in New York state, one in Maryland, three in New Jersey, two in Connecticut, one in Kentucky, one in Louisiana, two in Maine, one in Mississippi and two in West Virginia.U.S.coast guard officials said three people died at sea and several others were missing.At least eight vessels were known to have sunk in the storm, they said.They could not say how many people might have been on board the vessels.About 70 travellers remained stranded in a tunnel on a sno- wed-in highway in Virginia on Sunday night, 24 hours after the storm passed through, while 100 hikers hunkered down in shelters and tents in the mountains of East Tennessee.Millions of people up and down the coast had no electricity; many didn\u2019t have heat either.Thousands more were stuck in airports and shelters.The calm after the storm was windy and bitterly cold, threatening to freeze crops in the South and slowing the storm cleanup.In Cuba, at least three people died, many homes were destroyed and tobacco cropswere ruined, the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported Sunday.All of Havana was blacked out Friday night.The storm also spawned a tornado that destroyed more than 200 homes and left 5,000 people homeless in Reynosa, near the Texas border, the Mexican news agency Notimex reported.The deepest recorded snow depth was 1.27 metres of new snow on North Carolina\u2019s Mount Mitchell, the U.S.National Weather Service said.Drifts reached 4.3 metres.Highest recorded wind gusts were 177 kilometres an hour in Franklin County, Fla., and 162.5 km-h at Flattop Mountain, east of Asheville, N.C.The weather service warned a hard freeze could hit most of the Deep South by this morning, threatening crops.Emergency conditions remained in effect in 12 states as temperatures plunged all the way down the coast, turning snow and rain to an icy slush and freezing roadways.Tens of thousands of people remained in shelters after being evacuated from their homes over the weekend.A Red Cross spokesman said the agency opened more than 600 shelters in 20 states.Thousands of stranded airline passengers were given limited relief as most airports, including those in Boston, Washington, New York City, and Atlanta, opened late Sunday afternoon.A spokesman for President Bill Clinton said assessment teams were already calculating the damage and would have a rough national figure in the next day or two.He said Florida, which was mauled by some 50 tornadoes, is the only state so far to request federal disaster assistance.link between the appointment and the premier\u2019s political future.\u201cWhat the premier wants is to remain at the head of the Liberal party for the next election,\u201d Rivest said.\u2018\u201c\u2018He\u2019s only waiting for the OK from his doctor.\u201d Bourassa continues to recuperate at his Montreal home after a series of treatments at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., with the experi- i 5 con mental interleukin-2 therapy.Godin said Sunday that he will return to the National Assembly by the end of the month and in the meantime is working at home and keeping in contact with his colleagues by phone.He is to return to Bethesda in early May to find out if the treatments were effective in checking his malignant melanoma and on the basis of those See BOURASSA Page 2 40 cents MONDAY March 15, 1993 Births, deaths .7 Classified .8 Comics co 9 Editorial .4 Farm & Business .§ Living ee 6 Sports .10-11 Townships .3 WEATHER : | TY) Inner circle gets 996 votes Tories\u2019 rank and file get short end of stick By Warren Caragata OTTAWA (CP) \u2014 Conservative stalwarts who say the leadership race won\u2019t take real form until riding associations start to elect convention delegates late next month are indulging in a time-honored political practice \u2014 they\u2019re blowing smoke.Infact, almost a quarter of the delegates were chosen the instant Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced he would not lead the party into the next election.They are delegates who will be at the June convention in Ottawa because of their position.Party rules give them as much right to select a new leader as the riding activists who will be chosen over a 16-day period beginning April 22.Of the 3,846 delegates who will theoretically be able to vote at the leadership convention, 996 are ex-officio \u2014 there because of the office they hold.Ex-officio delegates at the convention wil outnumber the regular and youth delegates elected by all four western provinces, plus Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.Even vote-rich Ontario has less clout than the automatic delegates.The people running campaigns for the potential candidates like to pretend the race won\u2019t start for another month for various reasons.It maintains the fiction that, as Environment Minister Jean Charest said last week, the new leader will be elected by the party rank and file.Connecticut Gov.Lowell Weicker said: \u2018\u2018Conditions that one would deem as dangerous still continue.On the plus side the flooding conditions along the coastline that we thought might have occurred did not happen.\u201d In Boston, the storm was compared to a 1978 blizzard that paralysed the city for four days.Up to 60 centimetres of snow fell and more than 75 centimetres blanketed parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.No deaths were reported in those states.Meteorologists said the storm rivalled summer hurricanes with its extremely low atmospheric pressure, a measure of a storm\u2019s strength.Though the storm packed a More importantly, it allows weaker campaigns to deny they are running behind Defence Minister Kim Campbell, who is getting a surge of support from cabinet ministers, MPs and senators.Not a single delegate has been elected yet, organizers from those camps say.Support can only be measured when the ridings begin their elections.We are very much in the race.Campbell\u2019s people also employ the device, for obviously different reasons.It makes them seem more humble, and it avoids a fatal sense of overconfidence among their own See TORIES Page 2 OTTAWA (CP) \u2014 Defence Minister Kim Campbell has the support of the vast majority of active Conservatives and could easily sweep to victory in the Tory leadership race, a recent poll suggests.The poll, conducted for Ma- clean\u2019s magazine by Ottawa- based COMPAS Inc., suggested party members of both sexes and language groups will provide strong support to Campbell at the June convention if she decides to run for Poll shows Campbell has big lead in race leader.To get a representative sample of those who will vote for a new leader, Compas contacted 450 Tories who attended the party\u2019s 1991 national policy convention.Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed said Campbell would be their first choice to replace Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.Eight per cent said they would choose Finance Minister Don Mazankowski, See POLL Page 2 stronger punch in northeastern states, it was the South which saw the greatest turmoil.Near Birmingham, Ala., a 93-year-old man burned to death after he overloaded his fireplace with wood, inadvertently setting fire to his house.Birmingham, which has no city snowplow, had 33 centimetres of snow.Chattanooga, Tenn., another city that seldom sees snow, reported more than 50 centimetres.About two million people were left without power in Florida.A 36-year-old woman died when a tornado swept through her trailer.She and her husband moved to a government- sponsored trailer park south of Miami after Hurricane Andrew destroyed their home last Quebec August.The weekend storm could not have come at a worse time for thousands of Canadians planning to escape an unusually cruel winter by heading south to U.S.sunspots for the March school break.Most were forced to stay home as roads were closed and flights cancelled to some U.S.destinations.Others drove defiantly into one of the worst storms in U.S.history and lost.\u201cWe can\u2019t go north and we can\u2019t go south so we don\u2019t know which way to go,\u201d said Janet Murdoch of Mississauga, Ont., from her motel in Knoxville, Tenn.\u201cThis has been the most disastrous winter we\u2019ve ever had fT EINER NRT SET nS VL NN \u2018N ot h L ng spec tal > * The weekend\u2019s heavy storm had little serious effect in the Eastern Townships.For the fuil story.turn the page.and this just tops it off.\u201d ih RECORD/GRAN.sIMEON x 2\u2014The RECORD\u2014Monday, March 15, 1993 Weekend storm \u2018nothing special\u2019 in Township By Charles Bury SHERBROOKE \u2014 The giant snowstorm which cost more than 80 lives and disrupted daily routines all over eastern North America over the weekend had little serious effect in the Eastern Townships other than keeping most residents indoors.Snow removal crews worked around the clock but provincial police reported a relatively quiet weekend except for minor traffic accidents.High winds kept snow drifting back into roadways, making extra work for snowplow drivers as well as complicating life for those forced to travel.But most Townshippers played it safe and stayed home on Saturday and Sunday.The storm kept Quebec Police Force patrolmen \u201cvery busy,\u201d said supervisor Sgt.Claude Marchand, \u201cbut there was nothing too serious.\u201d About 30 storm-related traffic accidents required police attention by suppertime Sunday, Sgt.Marchand said from QPF regional headquarters in Sherbrooke.Sherbrooke police said Sunday the storm cause 12 to 15 minor accidents in the city.Lennoxville-Ascot police reported several minor accidents.Brome Lake police reported none.\u2018NOTHING SPECIAL\u2019 Environment Canada Shovelling snow was a never-ending task as wind kept bringing it back.weather observer Gordon Bowker of Newport Township outside Sawyerville, said the blizzard was \u201cnothing special\u201d from his point of view.Bowker said that between Saturday morning and sundown Sunday he measured 36 centimetres of new snow.Winds were strong but not extreme, he said, with the worst period from 10 to 11 on Saturday night.\u201cDuring that hour 22 miles of air went past here,\u201d he said, for an average windspeed of 22 miles or 35.2 kilometres per hour.Bowker said he has previously recorded hourly averages of up to 39 mph \u201cso 22isn\u2019t really so much.\u201d But he said wind conditions were bad enough to make it impossible to measure true snow accumulations.\u201cAt my snowpole the total accumulation before the storm was 57 centimetres, and it only picked up 10 centimetres.The wind just blew the rest away.\u201d Bowker said his snowpole is sheltered from three sides but exposed to the northeast, and that\u2019s where the wind was coming from much of the time.AVERAGES Measuring the impact of a storm is based on averages from hundreds of observation stations like Bowker\u2019s.\u201cBut there can be big variations depending on the storm track,\u201d he said.\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as an average situation.\u201d Bowker sums up the scene with the practicality of a lifelong country dweller.\u201cThe roads are open, but we're getting some pretty high snowbanks.There\u2019s a lot of snow in the woods, and it\u2019s going to be pretty difficult to start sugaring unless we get a quick thaw \u2014 which you don\u2019t want.\u201d Too sudden a spring can cause serious flooding, Bowker said.A few days with temperatures well above freezing, followed by heavy rain, \u201cwould put all that runoff in downtown Sherbrooke.\u201d That\u2019s not a prediction but merely a possibility, Bowker cautions: \u201cSo much can change with a few degrees of temperature.\u201d oo The brutal winter storm, which paralysed much of the eastern United States, intensified over the Maritimes on Sunday, whipping the Nova Scotia shoreline and dumping up to 30 centimetres of snow on northern New Brunswick.Packing winds of almost 200 kilometres an hour, the storm struck the Cape Breton community of Cheticamp early Sunday, leaving a twisted path of torn roofs and damaged houses.\u2018\u201cThe threat of a storm of the century came true.We lost sections of the roof of the hospital,\u201d said Victor Maddalena, administrator of Sacred Heart Hospital.\u201cI live nearby and I was worried for our own home blowing away.\u201cIf you go up and down the community, you'll see parts of roofs have blown off,\u201d an exhausted Maddalena said Sunday.The 25-bed hospital had 15 patients at the time.All were evacuated and a convent next door was turned into a makeshift hospital.While Western Canada escaped the winter wallop with nary a swerving car, Ontario and Quebec were hit hard.At least four deaths were blamed on the storm \u2014 compared with at least 80 in the United States \u2014 and driving was treacherous.A 46-year-old man died of a heart attack Saturday night as he attempted to manoeuvre his car across the icy and snow- swept Mercier bridge near Montreal.A suspected heart attack Plows and snowblowers added another couple of feet to already mounting nowbanks.claimed another man, 39, who was found in the snow behind his home in Trois-Rivières.And not far away, an 18-year- old man was found dead in his snow-bound car \u2014 killed by either carbon-monoxide poisoning or hypothermia, said police.In eastern Ontario, a 43-year- old driver was killed and two people were sent to hospital after their car skidded through an intersection and flipped over.Snow accumulations reached about 45 centimetres in both Montreal and Ottawa.\u201cWe\u2019ve got one color down here and it\u2019s white,\u201d said Sgt.Bryan Holnbeck of the provincial police detachment in Kingston, Ont.\u201cIts as high as I am and I'm six feet.There can\u2019t be any more in store for us.It\u2019s just ridiculous.\u201d But there will be more, reported John Lade of Environment Canada\u2019s weather office in Toronto.\u201cWe expect more snow Tuesday, about five centimetres.Its just a constant parade of snow from the Pacific,\u201d said Lade.The snow will hit central Ontario and travel east to the Maritimes again, he said.The weekend storm could not have come at a worse time for the thousands of central Canadians planning to escape an unusually cruel winter by heading south to U.S.sunspots for the March school break.Most were forced to stay home as roads were closed and flights cancelled to some U.S.destinations.Others drove defiantly into one of the worst storms in U.S.history \u2014 and lost.\u201cWe can\u2019t go north and we can\u2019t go south so we don\u2019t know which way to go,\u201d said Janet Murdoch of Mississauga, Ont., from her motel in Knoxville, Tenn.\u201cThis has been the most disastrous winter we\u2019ve ever had and this just tops it off.\u201d As of Sunday, most of the snowfall had ended in the U.S., but strong winds and freezing temperatures remained to create havoc in most eastern states, including the deep south where snow is an unwelcome novelty.But Sunday also brought good news for some snow- weary Canadians.Snowplows were out in force & ES E in downtown Montreal to clear a path for the annual St.Patrick\u2019s Day parade, and atleast two enterprising men from Cornwall, Ont., transformed their white surroundings into the color of money.Kevin Smith, 23, and Dave Lafave, 20, were shovelling driveways for $15 to $20.Within three hours on Sunday, they had made $100.\u201cI\u2019m going to be out all day or until my back gives out,\u201d said Smith.And still others delighted in the sight of so few cars crawling along the snow- covered roads.\u2018\u2018Humans reclaim the street!\u201d shouted one man as he ran along a Montreal street.With CP files This ETSB schoolbus didn\u2019t wait for the weekend storm.It landed in the ditch in Viewpoint on Friday morning.RECORD PHOTOS/GRANT SIMEON POLL: Continued from page one while seven per cent said they would give their vote to Trade Minister Michael Wilson.; Both Wilson and Mazan- Kowski have said they will not seek the leadership.: À first-ballot victory for Campbell would be easy if those numbers hold.! Another possible contender, Environment Minister .Jean Charest, was favored by five per cent of those surveyed, as was Constitutional Affairs Minister Joe Clark, who announced his departure from politics last month.Communications Minister Perrin Beatty followed close- CIRCULATION DEPT.819-569-9528 FAX: (819) 569-3945 KNOWLTON OFF.: 514-243-0088 ly behind with four per cent.Interviewing for the poll began on March 1 and ended on March 4, a day before Wilson announced that he was dropping out of the race.The respondents were also asked how they would vote if Campbell, Mazankowski, Charest and Beatty had to face off for a second ballot.The results were the same: Campbell crushed her potential opposition, winning the support of 68 per cent of those surveyed.But perhaps the most significant finding, according to COMPAS president Conrad Winn, is that \u2018\u2018there seems to be virtually no potential for the FAX: 514-243-5155 Subscriptions by Carrier: brooke, Quebec, J1K 1A1.Randy Kinnear, Publisher ere 569-9511 Charles Bury, Editor .569-6345 Lioyd G.Scheib, Advertising Manager .coeuun.569-9525 Richard Lessard, Production Manager .w.569-9931 Mark Guillette, Press Superintendent \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.\u2026\u2026.\u2026.\u2026.\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 569-9931 Guy Renaud, GraphiCS \u2026.\u2026.\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026ceraennnenmnnnnnnnnnnn 569-4856 Francine Thibault, COMposIitioN \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026srrennnnnse 569-9931 weekly: $1.80 Subscriptions by Mail: Canada: 1 year- $78.00 6 months- $39.00 3 months- $19.50 1 month- $16.00 U.S.& Foreign: 1 year- $159.00 6 months- $97.00 3 months- $65.00 1 month- $34.00 These prices do not include GST Established February 9, 1897, incorporating the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) and the Sherbrooke Examiner (est.1879).Published Monday to Friday by The Record Division, Groupe Que- becor inc.Offices and plant located at 2850 Delorme Street, Sher- Publications Mail Registration No.1064.Member of Canadiar Press Audit Bureau of Circulation Back copies of The Record are available at the folio- wing prices: Copies ordered within a month of publications: -60¢ per copy.Copies ordered more than a month after publication: $1.10 per copy.Member of the Tories to gang up in an anybo- dy-but-Campbell movement.\u201d The reason: at this stage of the race, at least, she is not widely identified with any strong negative factors.\u2018\u2018She is perceived well by most Tories \u2014 even those who may not initially support her,\u201d Winn said.The poll\u2019s results are considered accurate within 4.7 per- TORIES: Continued from page one supporters.The largest single group of ex-officio delegates are members of the Conservative caucus in Ottawa \u2014 158 MPs and 49 senators, plus another eight senators still to be appointed.Then there are all the defeated candidates from the last election, or those nominated for the next election \u2014 another 137 people.The 91 former cabinet ministers and other Conservatives who have been honored with membership in the Privy Council are also automatic delegates.Other ex-officio groups: ® 158 members of provincial ITI Doonesbury centage points, 19 times out of 20.Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall has become the latest senior Tory to decline a run for the party\u2019s leadership.The Toronto MP also said Sunday that she won\u2019t seek reelection.McDougall, a Toronto MP, said she gave a lot of thought to making a bid to replace or territorial legislatures.® 150 at-large delegates who will be appointed by provincial party organizations.e 137 members of the national executive.© 30 members of the board of the PC Canada Fund \u2014 the party\u2019s senior fund-raisers.25 provincial and territorial presidents and presidents of youth and women\u2019s organizations.® 25 members of the party\u2019s national campaign committee and policy advisory council.® 20 members of the executives of the party\u2019s youth and women\u2019s organizations.® 18 past and present provincial and territorial Tory leaders.Sunny with ALEX?.yA cloudy periods SWEETHEART, DUMB?1 CAN'T DO ANYTHING Monday.>50B!< |j HAVE ANY FRIENDS | Winds 20 to 40 ZM DUVB, |: NOBODY Likes km/h.High: apr fi -10.Tuesday: = |: light snow and à windy.High: : 2.Low: -14.i Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at the June convention, but in the end decided to bow out for personal reasons.\u201cI have always kind of gone for the gold in whatever I've done,\u201d she told CBC Newsworld.\u2018I\u2019ve always gone for the top.SoI gave that a lot of very hard thought.\u201d Employment Minister Bernard Valcourt said Saturday he won\u2019t be seeking the leadership of the federal Conservative party.The New Brunswick MP appeared to contradict himself in an interview Saturday, saying the leadership was \u2018\u2018not something I\u2019ve ever envisaged.\u201d However, later he said many factors influenced him during BOURASSA:\u2014\u2014 Continued from page one results he will decide whether to continue as premier.There have been reports that the Quebec cabinet, in Bourassa\u2019s absence, has been having difficulty making hard decisions such as where to find $1.6 billion in painful budget cuts.And while deputy premier Lise Bacon insists it\u2019s business as usual, Liberal house leader the 10 days he pondered whether or not to run \u2014 from the impact on family and his constituents to what would best serve the interests of New Brunswick.\u201cThe prize is the prime mi- nistership, but there is a big, big price to pay,\u201d he said.\u201cYou have to decide whether you're prepared to pay the price.\u201d The MP for Viectoria- Madawaska was one of several prominent Tories said to be on the short list to replace Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who said last month he is retiring.The list of prominent Tories to bow out of the race also includes Mulroney\u2019s Quebec lieutenant, Health Minister Benoit Bouchard.Pierre Paradis admitted last week that it\u2019s tough to play \u201cwithout the quarterback.\u201d Paradis said the government is functioning well but Bourassa\u2019s expertise, especially in economic matters, is sorely missed.\u201cEverybody is pulling in the same direction and doing their homework better than usual to cover, but that can last only a while.\u201d BY GARRY TRUDEAU \u2014 PN ma \u2014 LL a a Le on An em pte bt The RECORD\u2014Monday, March 15, 1993\u20143 Quebec politicians need to make tough decisions \u2014 Pagé By Rita Legault SHERBROOKE \u2014 Quebec lacks political leadership because politicians are incapable of making tough decisions, says former Education Minister Michel Pagé.\u201cIf leadership is absent it\u2019s because politicians are afraid of losing the next election,\u201d he said.\u201cIf the opposition is careful, it\u2019s also because they want to get elected.\u201d Pagé, who was an MNA for 20 years until he quit this year to become the head of the paper giant Donohue, was speaking to a conference at the University of Sherbrooke which asked the question \u201cBeing a leader: Mission impossible?\u201d The former Liberal party whip and agriculture minister, who was the keynote speaker for the conference, said tough economic times make it hard Solar Temple bad By Sharon McCully KNOWLTON \u2014 Christian Si- mard, Quebec director of a transcendental meditation centre with extensive property and a school in Shefford, says sects like the Order of the Solar Temple give groups like his a bad name.\u201cWe always feel bad when there is media coverage of such sects because they draw attention to groups like ours,\u201d Si- mard said in an interview Sunday.Last week police arrested three men they believe to be associated with a sect known as the Order of the Solar Temple.Two were charged with conspiring to traffick illegal weapons.One man was released.One of for leaders to be popular.\u201cIt\u2019s easier to be a leader during good times than during a recession,\u201d he pointed out.Pagé said that since the 1960s, Quebecers have given themselves the tools they need to grow and develop economically, culturally and socially.CAN'T AFFORD But he questions if Quebe- cers can continue to pay for those tools which include such economic development agencies as the Caisse de dépot and the Société Industriel du Québec, and social policies as medicare and welfare.He said the role of the state has grown considerably, creating costly rules on job security, working conditions and income security.\u201cThe role of the state has grown to the point where I wonder how those who follow us the men charged is Hermann Delorme, a 45-year-old Granby insurance agent who lives in Shefford.Simard says in spite of some of the similarities in philosophy, he has never heard of De- lorme nor the Solar Temple.\u201cSuch sects usually have very good logic and a good cause like saving the world, but they usually end up by destroying,\u201d he said.\u2018SURPRISED AS ANYONE\u2019 \u201cWe were as surprised as anyone to discover such a sect existed, especially so close,\u201d Simard said.\u201cIn certain layers of society where ignorance prevails, people lump everyone together.\u201d Simard said \u201cThey\u2019re a sect, will be able to afford it,\u201d he said.\u201cWe have given ourselves programs we couldn\u2019t afford,\u201d he said.\u201cWe have created a situation where the population is used to getting as much as possible.\u201d This, he said, is the true reason for the crisis in leadership in Quebec.Pagé said Canada\u2019s debt on March 31, 1992 was $750 billion.\u201cThat means each child is born with a debt of $28,000,\u201d he said.\u201cThat\u2019s more than the average salary in Canada.\u201d With growing debts and deficits, the state can no longer afford to continue, Pagé said.BANKRUPTCY \u201cThe government is in bankruptcy,\u201d he said.\u201cIt has to borrow money just to pay the interest on its debts.\u201d At the same time, Pagé said the population has become so demanding, it won't accept cuts.He said governments will be ready to change only once people become conscious that they are seriously in debt.He said that eventually the economic situation will force a change.Pagé said the government must show the example by reducing the size of government and the civil service.He said Quebec has 31 cabinet ministers, much too many for a province that has 6.5 million residents.\u201cDo we need 30 ministers each with five or six deputy ministers?\u201d he asked.Pagé said federal and provi- cial governments will also have to get rid of costly duplications in services where ministries in Ottawa and Quebec cancel out each others work.\u201cLeadership depends on healthy public finances,\u201d he said.Pagé wrapped up the conference which was held all day Friday on campus.PAINFUL SOLUTIONS Other speakers included ex- Parti Québécois leader Claude Morin and Mario Dumont, the ex-leader of the Liberal youth wing.Morin told a panel that the problems faced by politicans are so vast and so complex that a solution will be painful and will create huge protests from the population which is crying for solutions.Dumont said that old brains preoccupied with old problems are incapable of solving new problems.He said there is an absence of young politicians in Quebec and that the National Assembly needs new blood to conquer new problems.aks: AN é Michel Pagé.\u2018Leadership depends on healthy public finances.\u2019 for image, Maharishi follower says and we are not.We have no collective projects.We don\u2019t even classify ourselves as a group.He added that a \u201csect gathers around someone and that person is usualy crazy.It\u2019s often a power-thing with the leader of a sect.\u201d Simard said unlike sects which recruit members, some 75,000 Quebecers choose to practise transcendental meditation (TM) and follow the teachings of the Maharishi.\u201cIt\u2019s not a religious belief,\u201d he said.\u201cIts an Eastern technique taught by the Maharishi.\u201d Simard said every time there is news of some sect or other his \u201cHeaven on Earth Development Corporation\u201d in Shefford comes under scrutiny.Suspects see charges dropped in deadly Cowansville robbery case COWANSVILLE (SM) \u2014 Charges of armed robbery and conspiracy were dropped Friday against Knowlton residents Wendy Fuller, 23, and her brother Cedric, 18.The two were charged Jan.25 in connection with the deadly Dec.17 robbery of a North Street dépanneur in Cowansville.Store owner Remi Larivière, 34, died from a single gunshot wound inflicted during the theft.Crown prosecutor Henry Keyserlingk charged four local friends in the robbery following a AIDS victim and students work on awareness together By Rita Legault ASCOT \u2014 When Hans Pika- rek discovered he had AIDS, he panicked.He went into a five-year depression, became dependent on anti-depressant drugs, became alienated from his family and lost most of his friends.He lost his job, suffered a series of nervous breakdowns and locked himself away from society believing each day to be his last.\u201cI suffered for years and I don\u2019t want that to happen to anybody else,\u201d he said.\u201cI want to do all I can to make people aware of AIDS.\u201d Finally Pikarek came out of his isolation, seeking help from the local AIDS help group IRIS- Estrie last November.After fighting his way back from a very black period in his life, he vowed he would join the battle to prevent the spread of the deadly disease which will one day claim his life.Pikarek choose a curious dt statement given to police by Lynwood Yates, one of the four arrested.Ë, Yates later testified he made up the whole» - story because police investigators lied to him, saying police had told him that his friends had: implicated him in the crime.Similar charges were dropped against Chris-: topher Bates Feb.12 after Yates recanted infor mation given to police.place to go public.After his talks with IRIS volunteers, he first announced he had AIDS to a group of students at Alexander Galt Regional High School.\u201cThe first time I talked about it in public was with these students,\u201d he said.\u201cI never talked about it with friends or anybody.\u201d Students in the AIDS awareness program worked with Pi- karek and social worker Lorraine Ethier to inform themselves about the disease.They offered information about the disease and its prevention to their peers before Pikarek spoke to classes about his personal fight against AIDS.\u201cWhat Hans has done has been very positive for us at this school,\u201d said principal Robert McConnachie as he handed over small donations from the school to IRIS and Pikarek on Friday.\u201cFor someone to come out publicly and talk about it is is unbelievably caring and gi- Bates is currently serving time at the Waterloo jail on a series of other unrelated crimes.ving.\u201d But while Pikarek gave the school and students a lot, he says the students gave him back so much more.COURAGE AND HOPE \u201cYou have no idea the courage you have given me,\u201d he told students at an end of program ceremony Friday.\u201cYou have given me hope, you have given me love and you have given me patience and humility.\u201d Already emotional, Pikarek fought back tears as students presented him with a surprise birthday cake.Due to an organizational snafu, the ceremony was to take place on Thursday, Pikarek\u2019s birthday.However, Pikarek wasn\u2019t available and the ceremony and cake were postponed to Friday.IRIS spokesman Yves Marti- neau, who was on hand to award certificates to students who participated in the awareness program, said he was im- Hans Pikarek wiped a tear r from kis eye as students presented h him with birthday greetings.> « = & 2 x c = In an interview at the Shef- ford Heaven On Earth Development last year, Simard said the Marahishi encouraged members to \u201cre-structure the world with a new scientific knowledge.\u201d CITY OF IMMORTALS By employing a technologi- cally-advanced knowledge of architecture, the group hopes to create the first \u201ccity of immortals\u201d in Shefford.\u201cWe have a housing development where we\u2019re addressing people of common interest,\u201d Si- mard added.\u201cIf you buy a $200,000 house, you want to know who your neighbors are.It\u2019s just to protect you from any surprise packages.\u201d Simard said the Marahishi wants 50 cities of immortality constructed in various parts of the world.The Heaven On Earth Development Corporation created in 1990 in Shefford has 100 lots priced between $30,000 and $65,000.By last year, 37 lots were sold, representing more ; than $1 million in sales.But: sales have been slow recently, Simard said.; The group also provides a » school for children of parents ; who practise TM and follow the teachings of the Maharishi.Last December, the group bought the historic Domaine St.Laurent in Compton and plans toturnitinto an academy to teach transcendental meditation to Quebec members.Rural Ascot separatists give mayor's plan conditional okay.ASCOT (RL) \u2014 The mayor of Ascot has come up with a new proposal for a committee aim- med at bringing urban residents and rural separatists together to discuss their differences.Mayor Robert Pouliot wrote to the Ascot Rural Residents Association to propose that the committee be made up of himself, two councillors and one resident from the urban sector, and one councillor and two residents from the rural sector.The committee could also in- pressed with school\u2019s initiative to involve students in AIDS awareness.He said Galt\u2019s program was the best he has seen in the region.Martineau said schoolchildren are not immune from the disease and AIDS awareness is essential in high schools.He said schools are one of the areas where the disease spreads quickly because many students have the mistaken idea they can\u2019t be infected.KIDS INFECTED TOO He said in the last five years, a local 12-year-old girl and 14- year-old boy were infected, both from sexual contact.Another nine-year-old, who was infected by blood transfusion, is dying of AIDS.In an interview, Pikarek said he wants students to learn to respect themselves and to protect themselves.\u201cI think prevention is one of the best tools to avoid AIDS,\u201d he said.\u201cStudents must respect themselves and respect others.\u201d Students, many of whom admitted they weren\u2019t well informed about the disease before \u2018meeting Pikarek, said he helped them separate the facts from the myths.\u201cWe wanted to know more,\u201d said Christina Ouellette.\u201cIt\u2019s just vague stuff you hear and we wanted the facts.\u201d Pikarek helped clear up misconceptions and helped students understand the importance of protecting themselves.\u201cYou're in danger if you're not careful,\u201d said Angie Bonin.\u201cPeople now know you can\u2019t catch disease from breathing the air in the same room,\u201d said Fannie Guindon.\u201cIt\u2019s not like the plague.But she said there\u2019s still a long way to go before changing attitudes, particularly in school where talking about clude a spokeswoman from the regional Municipal Affairs Minstry office in Sherbrooke if members agree to her participation.The rural residents association says it will agree to the committee, but on two conditions, spokesman Constant Mercier said.The association, Mercier said, wants to ensure that the committee finishes its work before the end of April and that all recommendations be made unanimously.Students returned birthday cakes to the fridge as an organizational snafu delayed celebrations.sexual intercourse is taboo.Before meeting Pikarek, few students had ever met someone infected with the disease.Tina Paxton said that she was aware of AIDS, but didn\u2019t know how many people suffered from it.She never knew anyone who had it, so it never truly affected her.\u201cI knew there was some, but I never knew anyone personally,\u201d Paxton said, adding that she now has a greater understanding of the disease and a greater empathy for those suffering from it.Most of all, Pikarek changed students\u2019 preceptions of the disease and those who suffer from it by giving AIDS a friendly face.\u201cI'm a lot more aware and open about it,\u201d said Kyla Piper.t He also said rural residents : would like to see another urban ; resident on the committee, as; long as their two conditions are met.An earlier proposal, which ; would have included two councillors and one resident from ;: each sector, was aborted at the : March council meeting when: one of two rural councillors re- 4 fused to sit on the committee.ny - = 40 - Ge emé ma anne Pouliot is expected to res-: pond to the rural association\u2019s demands at tonight's council meeting at town hall.RECORD/GRANT SIMEON \u201cI think education is the key to fighting everything \u2014 especially AIDS.\u201d \u201cI have a lot of compassion for Hans and others going through the same thing,\u201d Piper said.\u201cI\u2019m a lot more accepting.\u201d While Pikarek\u2019s talks have been helpful to students, he says they were even more important to him.He says his experience at Galt was therapeutic and students have helped heal him.\u201cBy opening up and being ho- | nest with my fellow men \u2014 it\u2019s | ! good for me, I don\u2019t have to! hide anymore.\u201d \u201cThis school has given me a lot of courage,\u201d Pikarek said.\u201cI can\u2019t explain it, but I intend to go on and do this in other schools.\u201d ! J TT SN 4\u2014The RECORD\u2014Monday, March 15, 1993 the The Voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Editorial Young Quebecers need opportunities An idea that\u2019s gaining steam at a political level augurs well for young Quebecers, and for the future of the English community in Quebec.High level bureaucrats are contemplating a scheme to improve employment opportunities for young Quebecers by establishing a Canada Employment program similar to those targetting other disadvantaged groups.And there appears to be consensus building among educators, business and community leaders, and the government to provide the training necessary for young English-speaking Quebecers to acquire the skills necessary to become employed.It\u2019s time now to climb down from the wailing wall and start to come up with creative solutions to a problem that is dicing and dissecting our communities.La Presse reported this week that employment opportunities improved last month in every category except among young people.And Quebec Manpower Minister André Bourbeau said three-quarters of the 75,000 Quebecers added to the welfare ranks last year were between 15 and 24.With so few new jobs available, it\u2019s virtually impossible for young people to find work without an affirmative action program.And it will take more than government action to make it happen.Every time a train or bus pulls out of a station, a new contingent of young people is on board.They\u2019re not all English- speaking.They're young people leaving their homes and families in search of better opportunities.As they go, the dynamic of the communi- Letter It only takes one drink to get me loaded.Dear Mr.Bury.Here are a few gems of wisdom.1.A little chuckle now and then clears the air as nothing else can do, it is good for us, occasionally to see human pomposity made to look ridiculous (Adolph Huxley).2.Recent findings indicate that people who drink moderateley (one to two drinks daily) live longer than those who drink heavily or those who don\u2019t drink at all (how about that!).Remember, \u201cThere are more old drunkards than old physicians.\u201d 3.Report received by a father from his young son\u2019s teacher: Dull but steady \u2014 would make a good parent.4.To make all your plants winners, put race horse manure under them (Texarkana, Texas).5.He was a perfect lamb when I asked him for a raise.All he said was \u201cBah!\u201d (King Features) 6.Wanted: Farmer, age 38, wishes to meet woman about 30 who owns a tractor.Please enclose picture of tractor (New York Post).7.Asked if he planned another one-man TV show, Victor Borge replied: \u201cI suppose so.I don\u2019t see how we could do it with less.\u201d 8.\u201cWhat could the driver of the other vehicle have done to avoid the accident?\u201d Her reply: \u201cHe could have parked his car somewhere else.\u201d (Lester Higby) 9.\u201cRichard, who started this?\u201d asked the father as he came into the room.\u201cWell, it all started when David hit me back.\u201d (George Fisher) 10.The best way to make a fire with two sticks is to be sure that one of them is a match (R.Kelly).11.\u201cStop at a Western Union office,\u201d I said.\u201cI want to wire my father.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d asked Groucho.\u201cCan\u2019t he stand RUSSIAN MELTDOWNS.yr a [ek Eine an La A Sots : ps oe M 1 bass ll = le Sd oN UE] PE À am \u2018 GS ay f CAR ét 1 / YANmAO 43: up by himself?\u201d 12.Isitlegal for a man to marry his widow's sister?Only dead men have widows (how about that!).13.Every young man starts out in life expecting to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.By the time they reach middle age, most of them have at least found the pot (Duncan Fraser).14.Take a lesson from the tea kettle.When you have to blow off steam, whistle (Frank Walsh).15.Too much sugar can create a depressed, hostile, even suicidal personality (watch it out there!).16.The three great Canadian parties are: Liberal, Conservative and Tupperware (Marjorie Patterson).17.Electricity travels over a continuous wire, at a speed of 186,000 miles a second.Nerve im- pusles travel in the human body at about 200 miles an hour (no wonder so many of us suffer from narcolepsy).18.Eye shape: Each eye is connected to the opposite hemisphere of the brain.Left eye shows suspicion, the right eye shows friendliness (no wonder there are so many schizophrenics) (Dead- Eye Dick).19.Don\u2019t keep a man guessing too long \u2014 he\u2019s sure to find out the answer somewhere else (Mae West).20.Easter Specials: (a)\u201cThere are three kinds of people: the few who make things happen: the many who watch things happen; and then the big majority who have no idea what has happened (W.C.Fields).(b)It only takes one drink | to get me loaded.I can\u2019t recall if it\u2019s the 12th or 13th! (W.C.Fields) All the best, RHEAL SAINT-PIERRE ty they leave behind changes.And even- k =x 21 pair a fs 20 | tually, we all pay \u2014 either through higher = à i ni od taxes for social benefits or through an in- CHERNO BYL creased demand for services usually pro- fi ere | | == vided by young people in the community.Ne LTS | N Ses We can\u2019t expect seniors to man the volunteer fire department.The problem is accentuated when those leaving are part of the English community\u2019s diminishing numbers.Without any hope of replacing or replenishing the community with new young anglophone families, the institutional network which binds the community begins to unravel.Youth migration is not a new phenomenon.From seigneuries to the laying of the railroad, families settled where they could make a living.After each war, young men left their hometowns and families for jobs in mining or construction.The configuration of our country has been crafted by employment opportunities \u2014 not language, culture or politics.Jobs have always been the calling card, transcending differences in language and culture.People go where there\u2019s work.Quebec needs young people to enrich and replenish our communities.We must give them the opportunity to work.SHARON McCULLY Bishopton Somali tragedy has reached its peak Omar Abdullahi Hilowle of Ottawa writes about the tragedy of Somalia in the February issue of Peace and Environment News: Somalia has been enduring tragedies during the last thre decades due to a dictatorship which created enemy clans among the Somali people, deprived many citizens of their civil rights and possessions, and let only one sector of society benefit.Oppression, persecution and brutality were common.At the end of the 1980s, there was hope after the dictatorial regime was overthrown.But that hope changed into tragedy as the enemies that the regime had created became violent.Today, early in the \u201990s, the tragedy has reached its peak.There are too many weapons, but too few fruits and seeds; too much disorder, too little law and order; too much starvation and killing, but too little caring and feeding; too much animosity and rivalry, but too few efforts to heal the wounds and bring peace back.Now the Somali people are facing an environmental tragedy.At the end of 1991, a company named Achair Partners, based in Italy and Switzerland, signed an agreement with Somali leaders to dump toxic waste in Somalia.We haven\u2019t had any confirmed reports of the dumping taking place but it is certain that this company is planning to dump 500,000 tonnes of waste per year.Somali communities here and abroad are organizing rallies to condemn and protest this company\u2019s actions.Please call or write to the Italian and Swiss embassies or your local MP to protest dumping.From What Canada Thinks, a regular feature of The Canadian Press.MOSCOW (CP) \u2014 Western promises of political support for beleaguered President Boris Yeltsin and suggestions of new economic aid are a double-edged sword that can hurt him as much as help him, experts say.On the one hand, western support can bolster Yeltsin after his defeat in a power struggle with his parliament and can ease some of the pain being suffered by ordinary Russians in the troubled transition to a market economy.But on the other hand, heavy- handed pronouncements by the Clinton administration have angered political centrists whose support is crucial to Yeltsin in the growing crisis over who rules Russia in the post-Soviet era.At the same time, talk of new western aid has stirred bitter memories on the streets of the West's failure to deliver on previous promises of such help to Yeltsin and to his predecessor, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.\u2018\u201c\u201cThe Russians are a proud people who don\u2019t like outsiders looking down on them,\u201d one western diplomat said Sunday.CP News Analysis By Jim Sheppard \u2018\u2018They need help and they acknowledge it.But if we continue to patronize them, we only make the situation worse, not better.\u201d POWER STRUGGLE U.S.President Bill Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, among others, offered strong support last week for Yeltsin as the Russian leader was engaged in the bitter power struggle with parliament.That generally pleased liberals and reformers.But some western pronounc- ments boomeranged on Yeltsin.The New York Times quoted an unnamed senior Clinton administration official as saying Washington would not object to Yeltsin dissolving an \u2018\u2018undemocratic\u2019 parliament and declaring a state of emergency \u2014 unless he had to spill a lot of blood to do so.Those reports touched off anger here among moderates and centrists, whose support is crucial to Yeltsin, as well as among the conservatives who are opposed to him.Arkady Volsky, one of the leaders of the influential Civic Union bloc in parliament, said any such appeal by Yeltsin would be \u2018\u2018an intolerable insult.\u201d Volsky said the report, if confirmed, would make it more difficult for Civic Union to work with Yeltsin.Is Western support helping Yeltsin?In Hong Kong, representatives of the seven leading industrial democracies, including Canada, said Sunday they support Yeltsin\u2019s reform efforts.\u2018\u201c\u2018Moscow would like the G-7, jointly with Russian experts and international financial agencies, to draft a large-scale program of support for the reforms in Russia,\u201d the independent Interfax news agency reported Saturday.G-7 leaders offered a $30-billion Cdn aid package for Russia last year.But little of that money has reached Moscow because of it has not produced an economic restructuring agreement acceptable to the IMF.\u201cIt is clear there has been no relief from the new friends in the West,\u201d the Financial Times of London said recently.\u201cThis makes many (Russians) question whether the western countries really are friends.\u201d HALIFAX (CP) \u2014 Nova Scotia Tories were supposed to be toast.Just two years ago, the governing Conservatives had bottomed out in the polls \u2014 swallowed up by scandal, patronage and economic decline.Now, with an election call rapidly approaching, the party is thought to have a fighting chance of pulling off what was once considered impossible \u2014 getting reelected.\u201cIf things had kept going the way they were, we would have been Incky to win two seats,\u201d Premier Don Cameron bluntly admitted in an interview.\u201cWithout the reform, I wouldn\u2019t be here myself.\u201d The reform, as the premier puts it, was a series of measures he introduced since taking over John Buchanan's government, one of the most scandal-ridden in Canada.Cameron has rooted out patronage, extended human-rights protections and cut government jobs in an effort to tame an out-of- control public debt.And it\u2019s paid off in the polls.An August 1990 survey \u2014 taken a month before Buchanan quit for a Senate seat in Ottawa \u2014 indica- ted that only 24 per cent of respondents were satisfied with his government.A poll taken last month suggests the Nova Scotia Tories \u2014 first elected in 1978 while Pierre Trudeau was prime minister and Jimmy Carter was in the White House \u2014 were only five points behind the leading Opposition Liberals.CP News Analysis By Alan Jeffers Their new approval rating?Fif- ty-five per cent were satisfied.Pollsters can\u2019t say whether Cameron deserves credit for the Tory renaissance or indeed if there is one at all.\u201cIt is fair to say that this guy is consistently and continually showing gains,\u201d said Rick Emberley of Dartmouth, N.S.-based Omni- facts Research Ltd.LONG WAY TO GO \u201cBut it would be my judgment for certain that if he went tomorrow they\u2019d quickly find themselves in opposition.They\u2019ve gota \u2018long way to go yet.\u201d Keith Neuman of Corporate Research Associates in Halifax warns against making any rash predictions based on the improved approval rating alone.Fifty-five per cent approval also means almost half the voters still aren\u2019t happy with the Conservatives, he points out.\u201cHowever one looks at these numbers, positive or negative, I think you can give credit or blame to Cameron as the premier.He certainly has the highest profile in the government.\u201d Cameron\u2019s critics \u2014 Liberal Leader John Savage and the NDP\u2019s Alexa McDonough \u2014 insist the premier\u2019s much-touted reforms don\u2019t go nearly far enough Besides, they\u2019ll argue in the campaign expected before summer that Cameron may be the new leader but it\u2019s still Buchanan\u2019s band.Though Savage, the bespectacled former mayor of Dartmouth, remains the man to beat in the campaign, he has come under fire recently for not denouncing patronage strongly enough and for being vague about Liberal policies to control the deficit.FELT BETRAYED Emberley cautions that Buchanan hasn\u2019t been forgotten by vo- N.S.Tories may have fighting chance ters, who felt betrayed after revelations the shucks-and-golly premier secretly accepted almost $1 million to bail out his personal finances.\u201cYou mention Buchanan\u2019s name and there\u2019s pure venom in the room,\u201d he says.Emberley says focus groups show Cameron\u2019s reforms aren\u2019t making a major impact on voters.Their main concerns are job creation, deficit control and other economic matters.\u201cIt is correct to say their overall rating is climbing,\u201d he says.\u2018\u201c\u2018But our numbers show quite clearly that the areas that they're improving most dramatically in also happen to be the areas that are perceived to be of the least importance to the electorate.\u201d Cameron admits his biggest frustration is his inability to communicate with the voters, who have become cynical after years of wheeling and dealing by slick politicians.\u201cI\u2019m a naturally shy person and I suppose people misunderstand that to some extent,\u201d he says.\u201cI'm not one that believes you can do things by yelling and hollering and raising your voice or that you can get a lot done by cutting a lot of ribbons.\u201d rere v Or.wre ae rere W ICP CSOT re Ney LPAI IIT IIT -