* 12 - The Prince George Citizen - Monday, July 14,1997 CanadaxW orld O p p o s it io n Support laws a n g e r e d b y called ‘mess’ OTTAWA (CP) — Judy Poulin and Bill Flores say they are being hung by different ends of the same rope. Poulin, a divorced mother of three, hasn’t been paid the p a t r o n a g e $800 a month in child support owed her for almost a year and there’s little she can do about it. OTTAWA (CP) — Mary Clancy, a Liberal who lost her seat, Flores, a separated father of one, says new childrsupport and Gilles Bernier, an Independent who stepped aside so the laws wield enormous power that could cost men their jobs Grits could take his, reaped the reward for their political ser­ and separate fathers from their children. vices Friday in the form of diplomatic postings. Caught in the middle are lawyers struggling to understand Clancy pronounced herself thrilled with her appointment a new system of child-maintenance guidelines. as consul general in Boston while Bernier said he was “The idea of the child-support guidelines was to be sim­ touched by the government’s confidence in naming him to pler, faster, cheaper and people wouldn’t have to go to the sensitive post of ambassador to Haiti. court,” said Carole Curtis, a lawyer in Toronto. The parliamentary opposition was less enthusiastic. “It’s not simpler. It’s a mess. Lawyers are confused and Michel Gauthier, House leader for the Bloc Quebecois, clients are confused.” portrayed the Haitian posting as the kind of political back- Some men argue the law favors women. scratching Prime Minister Jean Chretien denounced this “As soon as there’s a separation, and the woman has the week at a NATO meeting in Madrid. kids, she has the full court system to pound and beat and “At the same time as Mr. Chretien criticizes the Americans batter a man,” said Flores, spokesman for a group called for buying votes, he buys a riding,” said Gauthier. Kids Need Both Parents. NDP Leader Alexa McDonough, who defeated Clancy inTwo undercover RCM P officers stand in front of the Rebels motorcycle Parliament passed Bill C-41, amendments to the Divorce Halifax in the June 2 election, said she found it hard to take club house in Edmonton dressed in fake beards and glasses. Calling Act, last winter. her rival’s appointment seriously. themselves Z Z cops, after the Texas metal blues band Z Z Top, they Before the changes, child-support payments were negoti­ “I almost drove off the road with hysteria when I heard.”were checking activity at the clubhouse. ated on a case-by-case basis. Bob Mills, the Reform foreign affairs critic, said he wants Since May 1, child-support payments are calculated from a to call Clancy and Bernier to explain their qualifications be­ standardized table based on income and the number of chil­ fore the Commons foreign affairs committee when Parlia­ B iker blasts police dren. ment resumes this fall. “If they were not chosen because of their ability to do theRED DEER, Alta. (CP) — Everyone’s years. He’s also a father and grandfa­ job, then I think Mr. Chretien and (Foreign Affairs Minister civil liberties take a hit when police ther, and owns a business that makes Lloyd) Axworthy have some answering to do to the Canadi­stage melodramatic raids, says a mo­ frames and other customized parts for an taxpayer.” torcycle gang member. Harley-Davidsons, the favored bike of Gerald Weldon of the Grim Reapers gang members of all stripes. questioned police practices during a The fact some that club members Child starved to death highly publicized raid last month on have past convictions should not mean his group’s empty clubhouse and people are denied hotel rooms or under nose of agency some homes in this central Alberta stopped for flimsy reasons as they ride city. the road, he said. by Canadian Press Weldon, 45, a college graduate in Police say 100 rooms have been TORONTO — A five-week-old boy identified as a high-risk journalism, also criticized the media booked at a Red Deer hotel next week­ baby and watched over by the Toronto Catholic Children’s for what he calls its unquestioning cov­ end by members of the Hell’s Angels Aid Society, starved to death in Toronto last month, adding erage of the raid and other anti-biker and their associates, in anticipation of one more victim to the toll of kids across the country dyingpolice action. a merger with the Grim Reapers. while under government care. Suppose all club members ripped off Some people have questioned Jordan Desmond was discovered June 23, weighing three their gang insignia and dumped the r whether the hotel should deny them pounds, 15 ounces. Harleys, suggested Weldon. rooms. Dr. Ernest Cutz, who did the autopsy, found no food in“Who would they pick to go after to Last year, between 100 and 125 Jordan’s stomach or intestinal tract. get the same funding for the cameras, Hell’s Angels and other bikers stayed at “It was very obvious it was starvation. It was not some­the helicopters, the bullet-proof vests, the hotel after attending a weekend thing that would happen overnight,” said Cutz. the machine guns, the special funding meeting near Leduc, just south of Ed­ Hospital staff determined Jordan was at risk of neglect or for roadblocks?” he asked. monton. abuse when he was born slightly premature in mid-May, at Weldon, who graduated from college Police kept close tabs on the bikers and four pounds, seven ounces. in 1992, has been a Grim Reaper for 24say they’ll do the same this year. Police discover cache of bom bs BELFAST (Reuter) — Police in Northern Ireland discov­ ered a large quantity of home-made explosives Sunday as the British province recovered from a week of violence over Protestant parades. Russell MacLellan is greeted by his daughter Sarah Police said several-hundred kilograms of explosives were and son Matthew after winning the leadership of the found in three plastic bins in a coal shed at the back of a Nova Scotia Liberal party in Halifax on Saturday. house in the Irish-nadonalist city Londonderry. The find was announced hours after Gerry Adams, presi­ dent of the IRA’s political wing, Sinn Fein, appeared to dash hopes of an immediate IRA ceasefire which would admit his Liberal leader’s party to slow-moving Northern Ireland peace talks. Adams said in a statement issued after a week of tension over Protestant Orange Order parades the surrender of arms held by his guerrilla allies “still remains a major difficulty.” schedule is full HALIFAX (CP) — Russell MacLellan won’t be taking any The Brown family (Joe, wife Paula, grandmother Brenda, baby Tori and He was responding to Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam, who told Sinn Fein Sunday: “Let the IRA/Sinn time out to celebrate his gruelling three-month climb to the four-year-old Asheley) share a hug after arriving at the Edmonton Fein make their decision, the ball is in their court.” Nova Scotia premier’s office. International Airport. Adams was echoing the IRA position that “decommission­ His agenda is already crammed with meetings to find ing” should take place at the end of talks on a settlement be­ promised fixes to gripes ranging from a toll highway that has res­ tween pro-British Unionist and pro-Irish nationalists, not be­idents hopping mad to the hugely unpopular blended sales tax. Help overwhelms family fore or during as Britain has proposed. The new Liberal leader must deliver on pledges to revisit He appeared to dash hopes raised by some politicians many unsavory decisions taken by his predecessor and put a EDMONTON (CP) — A family whose job-rich Alberta. that the IRA might declare a new ceasefire after the Protes­ new sheen on a tarnished government before an election moving nightmare won the hearts of a The couple decided on the move tant “marching season,” which reached a relatively peaceful that must be called by next May. small town in Ontario flew into Ed­ when Mitchell’s small landscaping climax Saturday, the order’s cherished Glorious 12th of Ju­“These are irritants with the people of Nova Scotia,” he monton on Saturday anxious to get onbusiness in Ontario failed. They had ly- said Sunday. “The only way we can (win) is if we deal with with their lives. only $1,000 between them and repairs Adams’ statement followed appeals by Britain’s new Labor these irritants.” Joe Mitchell, 24, his wife Paula on their car ate up the family’s savings. government for an end to the guerrilla Irish Republican First things first. MacLellan has to unite disgruntled Liber­ Brown, 31, and their two little girls For several days they ended up living Army’s war against British rule which would earn Sinn Fein als to fight a campaign that began Saturday with his second- walked into the welcoming arms of in a borrowed camper in a plaza park­ a seat at the peace talks within six weeks if it was genuine. ballot win over cabinet insider Bernie Boudreau, former MP Paula’s mom Brenda Brown when they ing lot. “If people want us to persuade the IRA to end its cam­Roseanne Skoke and provincial backbencher Bruce Holland. landed at Edmonton International Air­ Orangeville businesses and residents paign. then they need to be giving us the ability to do “The fact of the matter is that Liberals are unhappy,” said port.