HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-11-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1987.
What happens now?
The stock market crash was barely hours old when Ontario
Treasurer Robert Nixon announced that his Liberal
government might not be able to carry out all the spending
plans so bravely outlined during the campaign before the Sept.
10 election.
Mr. Nixon and his colleagues had been lucky to have been
able togoon a spending spree last year when the booming
southern Ontario economy brought unexpected windfall
revenues to the provincial treasury. Not only did the province
not pay down any of its deficit, it continued deficit spending.
So what happens now that the boom may be over? Is it going
to be a case of a deficit in the good times and even more of a
deficit in the bad? Or is the government going to cut spending
drastically at precisely the time when government can provide a
cushion against individual hardship and a stimulus to the
economy as a whole?
Going back to biblical times Moses proved that it was wise to
save for the lean years during the good ones. Economists have
come up with plenty of fancy theories since but Moses’ simple
method makes as much sense as any of them.
But Mr. Nixon didn’t choose to pay down the deficit in the
good times and now we’re left with the worst of all situations: an
economic slowdown at a time when the government has already
spent more than it could afford. That future does not look
promising.
An idea whose
time has come
The amendments introduced by the federal government last
week to compensate the victims of crime are a welcome addition
to our justice system.
For many people, the people robbed or beaten or the families
of people murdered, there has been doubt that we had a
"justice” system at all. They became the forgotten people as
society concentrated on apprehending and punishing the
perpetrator of the crime. While those who, through a moment’s
inattention, crossed the centreline of the highway while driving
and crashed into another car, is responsible to pay for the
damage to that car and to compensate the occupants for injuries
or their families for loss of life, thecriminal who willfully set out
to steal or to hurt someone, most often got punished but was not
required to make up for the damage he did to the victim of the
crime.
Sticking someone in a cell for years often doesn’t do anything
for anyone, unless the personjailed is so dangerous that society
must be protected from him. The victim doesn’t get anything
but a feeling of revenge. The criminal may gain little from a jail
sentence except tips from other criminals on how to do a better
job of committing a crime the next time.
Under the new plan, those who can afford to pay the victims of
crime will be ordered to do so by the courts as well as serving
their sentences. Those who can’t pay will still go to jail.
The proposal would bring home to criminals the cost of their
crimes. It still does nothing for the victim or the criminal,
however, if thecriminal is penniless. Perhaps as a next step the
government should be looking at ways of turning the hours
spent in jail to a more profitable use so that those in jail can be
contributing financially to their victims even if they have no
money.
As a first step, however, the government is certainly on the
right track.
Praise to the rebels
There were rumours this week that the Commons finance
committee, with a majority of Conservative members, was not
going to approve Finance Minister Michael Wilson’s tax
reform proposals. If it does indeed happen it may prove that
another rumour is wrong: the one that says M.P.’s have their
brains removed when they take seats in the Commonsand
replaced with a tiny computer programmed to say yes to every
party policy.
But if they don’t support the government proposal fur will fly
in Ottawa and there will be talk of division in government ranks.
Something has got warped in our political system when
speaking your mind and standing up for your principals or the
needs of your home constituency is looked on as a bad thing.
One of the lonely members of the huge Ontario Liberal
majority made headlines, for instance, because he broke with
party policy and said he could not support the Meech Lake
Accord. The federal Liberals have been ridiculed because more
than a dozen members voted against the Meech Lake
constitutional changes.
These politicians should be heroes, not so much for their
opposition to that particular piece of legislation but because
they had the guts and i ntegrity to stand up for what they felt was
right even though that may leave them on the outside looking in
when it comes to party appointments.
Those that should be ridiculed are the people who go along
with party positions they don’t agree with whether it is
Conservatives who disagreed w'ith Meech Lake or Liberals who
support Free Trade but are afraid to cause trouble. We elect
politicians for then brains and their conscience, not their ability
to leap to their feet and say yes to party policies. If the
Conservatives on the finance committee have had the courage
to buck the party line their names should be published and we
should do our best to make sure people of such integrity get
re-elected.
Downside up
Mabel’s Grill
There are people who will tell you
that the important decisions in town
are made down at the town hall.
People in the know, however know
that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel's
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town [if not in the country]
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Since not just everyone can
partake of these deliberations we
will report the activitiesfrom time to
time.
MONDAY: Billie Bean said he was
talking to one of the main street
merchants this morning and he
was thinking of asking the federal
government for a grant so he can
put in one of those mechanical
rocking horses your kids hound you
to put a quarter in when you go to a
store. After all, if the Ghermezian
brothers can get $5 million for their
entertainment park in the West
Edmonton Mall, surely he should
be able to get a few shekels. Billie
said that there was a bit of a
difference. After all the Gherma-
zians had a whole park. Okay, said
the merchant, he’d get a rocket
ship too.
Hank Stokes said the trouble
with us in Huron county is that
we’re just not identifiable enough.
For one thing, most of the country
doesn’t even know we exist. They
jump right over western Ontario to
get to the prairies. "You’d never
hear somebody jump up in the
commons and ask the Liberals
whatthey’ve got against Huron
county”, Hank asked?
The trouble with Huron county,
Julia Flint said, is that we’re just
too loyal. We stick with one party
for centuries at a time so nobody
has to worry about being nice to us.
We’re like an old dog so faithful
that nobody worries about giving it
any extra table scraps to keep it
happy. Now if we wanted to get
things done we need to be like
Quebec where they run from one
party to another and everybody
keeps giving them goodies to keep
them happy.
TUESDAY: Tim O’Grady was
saying they do things a little bit
slower in the Soviet Union. The
government is finally getting
around to admitting the bad things
that Stalin did 50 years ago when
the rest of the world has known it
for years.
Obviously, Julia said, one of the
new businesses set up under the
relaxed rules in Russia will not be
scandal sheets. If they have to wait
50 years for the news they’ll go out
of business pretty quick, she said.
Not, said Billie, if they do what
they do in Britain where they don’t
wait for scandals, they start them.
Take a look at all the fuss over
Chuck and Di and whether or not
their marriage is on the rocks.
"Listen,” said Ward Black,
"the only way they could prove to
the tabloids they were still getting
along together is if they rented
Harrads Department Store and
made love in the window.”
"Andthen,” said Julia, "the
tabloids would live for a month on
how the Queen was not amused by
the activities of the young royals. ’ ’
THURSDAY: Ward Black was
chuckling this morning about the
provincial Liberals throne speech
Tuesday. Good job they were
playing to a friendly audience, he
suggested or somebody would
have been throwing rotten fruit at
them. He said he kind of liked Bob
Rae’s remark on the free trade
debate that Premier Peterson went
into the phone booth as Superman
and came out as Clark Kent.
Hank said he thought we were
going to see another super hero for
the next year or two. The premier,
he said, was going to be the
Invisible Man for the first couple of
years of his majority then come up
with the goodies in time for the next
election. After all, he said, why
waste all that good stuff when
there’s nothing to gain.
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