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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-02-26, Page 1Continue argument for senior citizen housing Paul G. Dowling of the-On- tario heOn- tario Community Housing Council and M.P.P. Jack Riddell met with the Hensall council and the United Church senior citizen hous- ing committee on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the United Church to clarify the need for senior citizen housing in Hensall. According to. the govern- ment, only 10 such units are needed and these needs can Council and the committee be met in Exeter or Zurich. urged a review of the situa- According to a survey, done tion -be undertaken to change by Irene Davis of the senior the statistical attitude of citizen housing committee, Queen's park to a more 23 people are presently anx- humanitarian view. Dowling ious to move into housing promised that such a review immediately. would take place on his Jack Riddell pointed out return to Toronto. that all the M.P.P members It was also decided to con - of the housing committee with' him had urban backgrounds and did not realize the closeness of : a rural community likeh sail, where people have spent all their lives and have family and friends around them, Moving to Exeter or Zurich removes them from all that life holds dear. tact surrounding municipalities to see if a sur- vey had been done in them regarding seniors moving to Hensall when, and if, senior citizen apartments are available. Permission would be asked to conduct such a survey in areas replying this had not been done. Paul Dowling will be con- tacting Davis and -the coun- cil after his review and con- sultation with Mr. Fagan, the manager of the market survey. If this is not favourable, it is proposed that a deputation go to Toronto after the election to put our case before,the minister of Housing. GRAND OPENING — Hensall reeve Paul Neilands was on- hand Wednesday night to cut the ribbon of the grand opening ceremonies of the new Don's Food Market in Hensall. With Neilands are Elaine and Don Beauchamp/owners of the store. FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS FEBRUARY 26, 1981 Price Per Copy 25 Cents Candidates square -off for March 19 Liberals go with Riddell "A Liberal minority government is .attainable and a Liberal majority is possible." Those were the words of Huron -Bruce MPP Murray Gaunt speaking at Wed- nesday's nomination meeting for the Liberals in the Huron -Middlesex riding. Jack ' Riddell was ac- claimed as the Liberal candidate for the upcoming March 19 provincial election. Gaunt continued, "We look for a significant drop by the NDP, especially in Toronto. It looks good for us there. Dr. Stuart Smith is optimistic in picking up at least eight more seats in Toronto. If that happens we're in business." The Huron -Bruce MPP agreed with Premier William Davis that the big issue in the election would be leadership. Gaunt added, "You bet it's leadership, the lack of it." He cited lack of leadership in the economy, agriculture, education, administration and en- vironment saying, '"30,000 Ontario residents have ane to Western Canada looking for jobs. That's lack of economic leadership." Gaunt concluded, "The government's lack of leadership in agriculture has been abysmal and the sign of a tired and aging govern- ment". Riddell has been the Huron -Middlesex MPP since a byelection in 1973 when he won the battle to replace the retiring Honourable C.S. MacNaughton. Riddell disputed Premier Davis' tagging of Liberal leader Dr. Stuart Smith as Dr. Negative saying, "Surely he didn't think the party under Stuart Smith's leadership was negative when it introduced policy much of which the govern- ment used to improve the educational system and particularily Bill 82, the special education legislation which was simply un- workable before the Liberals amended the bill when • it came before the Social Development Committee. Surely the Premier didn't think we were negative when we introduced a Small Business Act which the government slowly but surely used to stimulate small business although we have a long way to go yet to help the small businessman. Surely the Government didn't think we were negative when we set up a task force on labour to travel the length and breadth of the province to ascertain ways to improve labour - management relationships and handling disputes. Does the Premier think we were negative when we finally got the government to take some action on the non- residence foreign owner- ship of land. Were we not a force to be reckoned with when we stopped further imposition of regional government, fur - Liberal Incumbent Jack Riddell ther closing of hospitals, and the 371 percent proposed increase in OHIP premiums? Were we negative when we forced the minister of en- vironment to hold a hearing on the South Cayuga site selected for the construction of a liquid industrial waste treatment plant?" On the subject of leadership Riddell said, - "who hasbeenstanding at the helm the last ten years in which time Ontario has dropped to last place of all the provinces in economic performance? This is a sad, sad commentary when you consider that no province in Canada is more blessed with natural resources, technological know-how and well educated people. Yet our people are having to leave this province because there are no job op- portunities here. The present government is in a rut under Davis's leadership. Showing his true blue colours and exem- plifying conservative doc- trine and philosophy he is so committed to the status quo that he can't accommodate himself or his party to the requirements of the present. That is the difference bet- ween Conservatism and Liberalism. Conservatives are so obsessed with preserving what is established and so opposed to innovation and change that when times are tough and there is need for reform the Conservatives simply dig deeper in the rut. Please turn to page 3 PCs acclaim Britnell Larry Grossman, minister of industry and tourism, used the Hdron-Middlesex PC nomination meeting Thursday to announce a final company had been added to Huron Industrial Park to complete the government- sponsored project. The minister made .the announcement at the Exeter meeting at which Jim Britnell of Goderich was acclaimed as the PC's party candidate The company, Betumar, a manufacturer of roofing materials, will fill the remaining 23,000 sq. ft. in the park and create 23 new jobs. Mr. Grossman told party faithful his staff informed him of the company's decision that morning. The minister attacked both opposition parties for resorting to name-calling during the campaign, and for putting down "the ac- complishments of the province and its people". He described Michael Cassidy, NDP leader, as a "reverse Moses, leading his people back into the wilderness". He noted Stuart Smith, leader of the Liberals, had said he wanted to be Premier of 0...ario "in the worst way"; and added, "that's the way he'd do it". • Grossman stressed the PC election theme, "Building Ontario in the 1980'S", throughout his speech and explained the government plans to pump $1.5 billion into new initiatives in six areas; electricity, tran- sportation, resources, people, community and technology. He emphasized PC leader liflllliam..bb .unlike both opposition leaders does not seek "quick fixes", and instead has the ability to "grasp the future of the province". Britnell, 52, the riding association's. choice to represent the party, only made his decision to run two PC hopeful! Jim Britnell days prior to the meeting. He was nominated by Jim Donnelly of Goderich. In accepting the nomination, he said "it's always better to be on the winning team". "I've dealt with Jack Riddell," said Mr. Britnell, who was Huron County engineer for 21 years before becoming director of field research and testing of Champion Machinery in Goderich three years ago. "We're not friends, but we're not enemies. I hope it's going to be a fair fight". The candidate said the retirement of PC party heavyweights like Harry Parrott and James Auld is not disturbing. "I think people are looking for a fresh approach," he added. Britnell, although he has no previous experience in elected office, explained "he knows his way around Queen's Park", having dealt with ministers and ministry officials while county engineer. He and his wife Mary Beth have four children, all of whom are either married or away attending school. That, he explained prior to the meeting, was another factor in his decision to seek the nomination. In introducing the nominee, Donnelly described the candidate as a family man who had distinguished himself in various careers. Outgoing riding association president, Bruce Shaw, mayor of Exeter, exhorted party members to make the election a good fight, and "with a good effort we'll have a good campaign and might just eke out a victory". Pemberton to run for NDP A 69 -year-old Bayfield woman has been acclaimed as the New Democratic Par- ty candidate Gwen Pemberton, a former Londoner and Bayfield resident for the past 10 years, was the only one nominated at the meeting in Clinton on Mon- day night, that attracted 15 supporters. Mrs. Pemberton, widow of the late Professor R.E.K. Pemberton of the University of Western Ontario, un- successfully ran for the CCF NDP candidate Gwen Pemberton party in 1953 and in 1957 in London, and ran third as the NDP candidate when Liberal Judd Buchanan won London West in the 1968 federal election. She is also a past president of the Ontario division of the Consumers Association of Canada and was the only woman to sit on a provincial committee investigating medical privileges in public hospitals in .the early 1970s. Mrs. Pemberton said one of the biggest challenges facing the government is to keep Canada's medicare system, which has been un- der attack recently. "We must work hard to see that it is not destroyed," she stressed. Tony McQuail, NDP can- didate for the nearby Huron - Bruce riding, was the guest speaker, and in his com- ments said that the NDP is the only alternative. "People are getting tired of the garbage they're get- ting from the Davis govern- ment, and they don't see the leadership in Smith either," he said. "We represent the work- ing people. farmers, homemakers, and busines people,- he added. "The Liberals don't hold a single provincial government, and wouldn't hold the federal government if it weren't for their stranglehold on Quebec. He said provincial NDP governments have been good for the people, explaining that Saskatchewan pays the lowest provincial taxes, while Ontario's are the se- cond highest. Mr. McQuail attacked the Ontario government for their farmland policies, "Since the 1950s, Ontario has lost one quarter of its agricultural land, that is 93,- 000 acres for every Tory MPP In the last decade, nearly 6.000 jobs have been lost in our food processing sector and over half our food processing facilities have been shut down since 1961. Since 1972. our food import deficit has risen by 340 per cent. Mrs. Pemberton will face incumbent Liberal MPP Jack Riddell and Progressive Conservative candidate Jim Britnell.