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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-05-19, Page 17ENNIP• , Times-Advocate, May 19, 1977 Page 17 It's _Riddell vs McKinley (Anson, that is) Riddell says he'll emphasize issues Riding PCs want out of wilderness BEST OF LUCK — Conservative candidate Anson McKinley receives best wishes from Jim Hayter who was an unsuccessful candidate in Hliron-Middlesex in 1975. Staff photo Huron Middlesex Liberals acclaimed Jack Riddell at a largely attended nomination meeting in Hensall Thursday night, Mr. Riddell was first elected in 1073 when he captured the riding in a by-election, Referring to the by-election his nominator Reeve Aubrey McCallum of East Williams Township, described Mr, Riddell as "the man who stopped regional government in this, province" was unopposed. His nomination was seconded by Mrs. Shirley Kay of Clinton. Riddell's qualifications are particularly adapted to rural- urban combination that is a feature of the riding Reeve McCallum 'said in his nomination remarks. He has used his ability to represent the people of Huron- Middlesex in a dedicated way, he said. Regretting the necessity of asking for assistance for an election that wasn't needed and that has been called at such a busy time, Mr. Riddell said the minority government had been worlOng well, The government should be working to solve problems like unemployment„ energy, agriculture and housing, he said. But instead the progressive Conservatives and new Democrats had forced an elec- tion, While the Liberals in the House were proposing economic strategies to create jobs, Mr. Davis and his backroom advisers were holding secret candidate training sessions in an obscure Toronto hotel. Riddell said that for 19 months the Liberals had made the compromises that were necessary to make minority government work, as other parties enjoyed grandstanding and confrontation. We were criticized, he said, but we were determined to keep our promise. "Davis and the Blue Machine called this election without a thought for the people of Ontario and for no other reason than the fact that Davis likes to rule by divine right and he has to have a majority government in order to do that", he said, and added "It's time for a different kind of government in Ontario — it's time for a government that cares about people more than powers," The Liberalcampiign already was in motion not only in Huron- Middlesex but across the province. Riddell added "Our campaign personnel, our committee rooms, our lawn signs are ready and we are ready to meet our opposition head on to discuss policies, to offer our leadership," Referring to Tory claims that strong experienced leadership is necessary, when Ontario's economy is in trouble. The speaker reminded his audience that it was the Tory leadership that got us in trouble, "Ontario lags behind Canada in economic growth, when it used to lead. Ontario has now had 8 con- secutive years of 'deficits — deficits even in good times. Interest — just interest, on our public debt, is almost $3 million a day or to put it in simple terms every new born baby will have a debt, over its head of $840", he said. • Referring to Liberal Leader Stuart Smith, Mr. Riddell said he is extremely intelligent, tough but compassionate and he has a grasp of our future needs. He believes in "old values and new ideas". The Liberal campaign will emphasize issues not per- sonalities, Mr. Riddell said and listed the issues as unem- ployment, education, property tax and the costs of government being passed on to local govern- ments, regional government with its increased taxes, delays, lack of contact and loss of community identity, Freezing of farm land proposed by the N.D.P. means freezing the farmer in a business which may not return him a profit, Mr. Riddell said. We must help the farmer help himself. Other issues will be con- sideration for the elderly to permit them to live at home, change in hydro rates that en- courage consumption, con- servation, land use planning and new assistance for small business. Liberals consider the little guy to be the important guy Mr. Riddell told his audience. They are the people of the small towns and of rural Ontario who do their job well, who want no more government than is absolutely necessary. Robert Nixon, former leader of the party, recalled experiences during the by-election when Jack Riddell was first elected and described him as an extremely effective member of the legislature,., Jack Riddell provided strong leadership in his speech in the farm stabilization bill, Mr. Nixon said as he urged support for him in the riding. Referring to the financial bind in which the Davis government has found itself, Mr. Nixon Please turn to page 32 Shirley Weary, 42, of Goderich was acclAimed NDP candidate for the Huron-Middlesex riding for the provincial election on Monday night in Brucefield. Some 16 people attended the meeting at Huron Centennial School and heard Weary speak on health care and car insurance rates. She noted that Ontario residents pay a provincial in- come tax rate of 30 percent while those in Manitoba pay 42 percent. However, she added that Ontarians must pay another $300 for hospitalization while Manitoba rsidents have this included in their taxation. - Weary also placed some concern over the fact that she is a secondary worker despite the fact that she has been in the work force for some 20 years. She added that along with all women, men under 25 years of age and those over 54 years old are also considered as secondary workers. "I find that scary, I don't want that type of government," she said. Please turn to page 32 Huron-Middlesex MPP Jack Riddell was described as a "voice in the wilderness" at Thursday night's nomination for the Progressive Conservatives and the 250 party faithful nominated former Huron warden Anson McKinley to help lead the riding out of that wilderness, He's a brother of MP Bob McKinley and won the nomina- tion by acclamation after Jim Hayter, the Goderich car dealer who was soundly beaten by. Riddell in the last election, withdrew his candidacy to throw his support behind McKinley. Most of the speakers at the meeting, held at South Huron District High School, predicted the Liberals would not move out of their third party status and emphasized that the only way riding residents could have their concerns presented at Queen's Park was to get a member back on the side of the government. "The choice is clear," stated Goderich Township Reeve Jerry Ginn in presenting McKinley's nomination, "we can have a voice in government or a voice in the wilderness". "We all know what Bob McKinley has done and we can expect the same from his brother, Anson," he stated. Hayter, who had filed nomina- tion papers and then decided at Thursday's meeting to withdraw, said he lost the fight against Riddell in the last encounter because most pedple tended to think the Liberal MPP should have another turn after his by- election win. "But he's proved he's not doing the job we would like done for Huron-Middlesex,'' Hayter said, quickly adding that he thought McKinley was the man who could win the June 9 election. Hayter said the riding had some problems and he told the audience those problems would disappear if they elected a man to sit on the government side of the L4gislature. While Hayter's nomination came as a bit of a surprise to many of the party supporters, his withdrawal apparently came as no surprise to McKinley. The latter saved most of his major speech until after he had won the nomination, using his allotted time in his nomination speech to introduce his family and explain why he had decided to re-enter public life after having an- nounced his retirement in 1975. He said his decision was based on a sense of obligation to the province and its people. Reappearing on the platform later, McKinley noted that it was the first time in memory that the riding had been represented by a member of a third party in the Legislature and said this was most ineffectual for the people in Huron-Middlesex. Predicting the Liberals would not improve their position in the June 9 vote, the former Stanley Township reeve said the people deserved better than this. He said it was time to have a representative back in Toronto who would carry on the tradition of two former area members, Charlie MacNaughton and Bill Stewart. Both those men were in attendance at the meeting. Noting that the choice in the June 9 election was between the Davis government or a socialist regime under NDP leader Stephen Lewis, the candidate said most people do not want the regulated policies of a socialist government. "We must guard against rob- bing people of the opportunity to look after themselves," he said, adding that people must be given freedom to use their individual initiative to succeed in any chosen field. McKinley, who is vice- president of the family farm and hatchery business, said agricultural people in Ontario wanted to operate under a free system and with a minimum of subsidies. He said the govern- ment should ensure that farmers are allowed to use their ingenui- ty to meet the changing needs of today's society. He told the audience the PC government has done more for farmers than any other govern- ment ever has and he discounted the claims of the NDP regarding land use policies by saying that Ontario now has more foodland in production than ever before. It was explained that land was basically a local responsibility and McKinley said that Huron County had done more to preserve farm land than any NDP party:had. He also noted that the provin- cial drainage policy had enabled farmers to improve production on land and had resulted in new land being brought into produc- tion. "A vote for a third party will not help, it's as simple as that," he continued in discounting the Liberals and then he reminded his audience that the NDP have only two farmers as candidates — Gordon Hill and Walter Miller. He drew a round of applause when he remarked, "we know what their farm policy will be". The PC candidate closed off his remarks by pointing out that local governments are in a sound financial position under the Davis government and that the income tax credits on municipal taxes have made the latter more equitable. MP Bob McKinley was also one of the speakers at the nomination, and while his brother hadn't been named to that point, he did promise sup- port "all the way" for the win- ning candidate. He predicted the Ontario Liberals would lose half their seats in the upcoming election and that the NDP would also drop because he said people gave them more votes last time than they had really intended. "The Liberal leadership is far worse than last time — and that's putting it mildly." he said, adding that the Ontario people do not trust Stephen Lewis and the NDP to run the province. The MP took the occasion to note he was unhappy about what was going on in the country and particularly in Quebec, emphasizing that the situation there is "much, much more serious than most people think". "Trudeau has played the two sides too long," he advised "and he'll be the ruination of the coun- try if he carries on." McKinley said Trudeau couldn't deal with the situation honestly and it required someone from outside Quebec. "Premier Davis can do more to keep Canada together than Trudeau can . . . by a damn Please turn to page,32 RIDDELL GETS NOMINATION — Present Huron-Middle'sex MPP Jack Riddell received the liberal nomina- tion Thursday night'in Hensall without any opposition. From the left are former Liberal leader Robert Nixon; Jack Riddell; Dan Murphy, Goderich and Phil Campbell, Exeter. T-A photo Weary tries for NDP again You're invited to our Birthday Party September 30 to October 2 are Tencennial Celebration Days at Conestoga College We're celebrating our tenth anniversary and there's going to be a lot of exciting things happening that we want you to share with us. We are proud to be the college in your community and grateful to each of you who have helped us grow. Come join with .us and help us launch a happy new decade. We'll give you a free Tencennial button just for stopping by. 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