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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-05-28, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, Mav 28,1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising: Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News- Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruth Slaght Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers cO""4N� providing g news, advertising and information leadership • I:I)I'IORItAI. And the winner of the debate is... 11 candidates meetings and de- bates are wonderful vehicles for airing dirty laundry, if nothing else. Some- times it's interesting what gets un- earthed. For example, it has become apparent that health care funding, regarded until lately as a provincial problem, could be an extremely explosive issue in the fed- eral election. The Mike. Harris provincial Tories have taken the hit for closing our local hospitals. A good many of the verbal Moletov cocktails being tossed about in the federal election campaign focus on the federal cuts to the province which triggered the whole mess. Ah hah! Now we know who to blame. Fixing the problem is another matter entirely. And women's issues have taken prom- inence, as well they might when wom- en make up more than 50 per cent of the population. Some people are miffed at the Liberals' decision to "parachute" female candidates into assorted ridings. Others, not necessarily Liberals, ap- plaud the decision, which will at least guarantee a modest voice for women in the next government should the Liber- als be reelected. Even with all that parachuting, it is in- teresting to note that the percentage of people running for public office - all parties, all levels of government - is still predominantly male, white, middle age, upper -middle class. Take a look in any newspaper. The jury may be out but the evidence is clear enough. No party these days actively tries to keep women' from running for office; most are actively seeking female candidates. But the number of women running for office doesn't even come close to re- flecting demographic realities. There are a good many exceptions to the gen eral rule, but politics is still a rich man's game. So what's parachuting got to do with politics? In political terms, it means a candidate is brought in to run in a partic- ular riding. It's been a political fact of life for years. If there's a candidate your party wants elected, and he or she hap- pens to have the misfortune to live in a riding that traditionally votes for another party, or there's already a very strong candidate for your party running in that riding, you might find another riding where the person can run succ„ssfully. Is it fair? if you hap! en to be the person who expected the nomination but who must step aside for somebody the party wants in that riding, not on a bet. If you want a fair representation of all seg- ments of society and parachuting is the only way to achieve that, then it is. It all depends on your point of view. And then there's the unity issue. That's shaping up to be a really nasty mess. But there is one interesting side issue. As- suming Quebec remains within Canada, one thing is certain. If you want to lead a political party at the federal level, you had better speak both official languages. The French language debate on televi- sion got quite a bit of national press, es- pecially with the added bit of drama when the moderator of the debate passed out and had to be rushed to hospital. The two party leaderswho are less than com- fortable with the ,'French language pretty much stood on the sidelines, and that fact was carefully noted. Parlez-vous francais? This has to be the first time since politics has existed that a candidate (in this case, two candi- dates, NDP and Reform) looked like a turkey for what he or she did NOT say. Happy campaigning! Saugeen City News Your Views Letters to the editor Opposed to fingerprinting "...Mike Harris wanting us to be fingerprinted is the last straw!" Dear Editor: What next? This idea of Mike Harris wanting us to be finger- printed is the last straw! Why doesn't our honest premier get out of politics, and just continue work- ing with Satan? The next step will be the 666. Let's smarten up, and start saying 'no', before it's too late. Donna Pridham A View From Queen's Park TORONTO -- Premier Mike Harris's mask of neutrality is slipping, and it may cause him trouble after next Monday's federal election. Harris insists publicly that he will not take sides and join fellow Progressive Conservative premiers Ralph Klein of Alberta and Gary Fil- mon of Manitoba and former premier William Davis, who all have said they support their par- ty's federal leader, Jean Charest. Harris has restrained himself from open com- mitment because he owes a huge debt to Re- form for not running candidates against him and splitting the right-wing vote in the 1995 Ontario election, and he also has shared philos- ophies longer with Reform than with Charest. But Harris's key ministers and advisers are lining up behind Charest and the premier has not taken steps he could to restrain them, and Reformers must feel he has let them down. The latest to lend credibility to the federal Tory leader is Harris's deputy premier and fi- nance minister, Ernie Eves, who attended a ral- ly when Charest visited his home town of Parry By Eric Dowd • Sound. Charest welcomed Eves as "a good friend and strong supporter of our party," while Eves claimed he turned up merely to be polite. But Eves would have known that his attendance would create the impression he endorses Char - est and could have avoided it by staying away. Eves also boosted Charest for sharing the Harris Tories' policy of cutting taxes now. Charest promises cuts in his first year, but Re- form and the federal Liberals want to balance the budget first, and Eves claimed there is clear evidence that tax cuts create economic growth and jobs. Dave Johnson, Harris's house leader and the most influential minister after the premier and Eves, has appeared at several federal Tory ral- lies. Labor Minister Elizabeth Witmer, next in in- fluence, Transportation Minister Al Palladini and Municipal Affairs Minister Al Leach are among at least half a dozen other ministers helping the federal Tories, whose headquarters Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; One year rate for Ontario subscribers - 835.00 ♦ OST Two year rate for Ontario subscribers - $63.00 + OST CANADIAN ADDRESSES OUTSIDE ONTARIO One year subscription - 863.00 + OST Two year subscription - $119.00 + OST Outside Canada - 8102.00 QUIERMIES Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main $t., Exeter, Ontario,5515235-1331•• Fax: 55119.23 Publications Ltd some address: traes.sdroeatNeedy.com Q.S.T. /R101210S35 Do You FEEL TNar UNITY 15 "METoP ISSUE IN THIS FM0.1. .1. ELEcn0N GAMPAIG{V? Student Employment By Carrie McCone, Students: best choice for employment For those who may be won- dering why a student is qualified to write a column about student employment, there is a simple answer. I am the new Student Employment Officer for the Ex- eter area. My home town is Clinton. and I am still a stu- dent at Central Huron Secon- dary school as well as being em- ployed full-time with the Huron Employment Resource Centre. I am hoping to pursue a career in counseling criminals by at- tending the Child and Youth program next year. My inter- ests include horseback riding and raising my miniature hors- es. I also have an interest in working with students and have been thoroughly trained by the Human Resource Center in the area of student employment and the resources available for stu- dents and employers. This column will run for 11 weeks and will include a wide variety .of topics that will be of interest to students, employers and basically anyone who has an interest in employment. I will try to include as many top- ics I can think of but if anyone would like me to research a spe- cific topics for them and have it printed in my column, please do not hesitate to call me at 235- 1711 or drop my office which is located at 281 Main St. Exeter. This first area that I Would like to talk about is how to go about finding a job. The first thing that I suggest is to come into my office which is located at the previously mentioned ad- dress. By doing so, you can be- come registered with the Stu- dent Employment Office. This allows me to refer you to a job posting if you are suitable for the position. You may also use the Kiosk Systems that are also located in the office. These computers are a self -touch screen that allow you to look up the new vacancies or jobs under occupation. Some other servic- es that our office provides are • computers that have a WinWay writing program on than which allow you to write your resume. We also have a Info -line which can be called 24 -hours a day at 235=2491. It gives regular job ordefs as well as student vacan- cies. I am usually in the office and very willing to help students and employers any way I can. We also have a complete list of classified ads from Exeter and surrounding areas which allow you to extend your job search further. This is just a short list of services and you really do not have access to them unless you drop by the office to seem them yourself and gain the beneficial experience of using our servic- es. Next week I will be discussing why using my services are bene- ficial to the employers and how we can link their job openings to the students. Until next week, good luck with your job search and I hope to see you soon! A premier's debt has so many Harris advisers it resembles a branch of his cabinet office. Harris's official stand is that, while he is neu- tral, party members are free to support whom they choose, which he has to say to avoiding sounding dictatorial. The premier made only two other significant pronouncements in the campaign. He said he favors Tories and Reform uniting behind one party to avoid splitting the right-of-centre.vote, which seemed a nudge to- ward the federal Tories, because they have the longer history and clearly are not going to fade away. Harris also objected to designating Quebec in the constitution as a "distinct society," which sided with Reform and against Charest, and the two Harris comments may have cancelled each other out. But Hams owes Reform an immense debt he has not come close to repaying. Reform was riding high after winning 20 per cent of the vote in Ontario in the 1993 federal election. If it had run candidates, it might have taken enough votes from him to prevent him winning. Knowing the extent of his party's debt, Harris could have given key supporters a reminder they probably would be in opposition without Reform's help and in the unusual circumstance should not campaign against it. • A few prescient Reformers warned at the start of the federal campaign that they would try to prevent any Hams Tories who help Charest from being re-elected in the next Ontario elec- tion . Reform leader Preston Manning has held back criticism apart from recalling, with a hint of exasperation, "our people worked their heads off to get Harris's Conservatives elected pro- vincially." But Reformers can see Harris Tories support- ing federal Tories and they will not have much enthusiasm in the next Ontario election for helping out a party that did not live up to its end of the bargain.