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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-11-30, Page 4alismoreasmi Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 30,1994 Publisher: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don smith Composltlon Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Theresa Redmond News; Adrian Harte, Fred Groves, Heather Vincent, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transoortation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert front Office & Accounting; Norma Jones, Elaine Pinder, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers 4110.I N providing news, advertising and Information leadership EDITOR! 11,S • Open government, really? he suggestion by councillor Robert Drummond to eliminate Exet- er's executive committee isn't taken lightly. Just what does "executive" really mean. With nearly all of council at its table, Drummond is right in his criti- cism that it is virtually another unoffi- cial session of council. The executive has traditionally served to deal with matters council would rath- er keep out of the public eye. Many a reporter has been frustrated to see an is- sue of some interest at a regular council meeting get quickly swept under the rug with the suggestion it be "referred to the executive committee". Any at- tempt to follow up the issue by attend- ing the executive meeting only ends up seeing it then dealt with in camera. At least the executive committee provides minutes of its meetings, and the discus- sion can be followed up when present- ed to council. Open government, while often prom- ised, cannot always be delivered. Some discussions need to be held behind closed doors, out of public scrutiny, without fearof offending or upsetting those with vested interests. The final decisions, however, need to be made public, and council needs to be account- able for those decisions. Maybe there is still a place for the ex- ecutive committee in Exeter; jut be aware it is only cosmetically different from an in camera session. Some items are needlessly referred to the executive, and others really should be open to the public at council. For instance, why shouldn't the public know how much the town buildings (such as the police sta- tion) are worth? After all, who owns them? Councillor Drummond is likely correct when he says the executive committee needs to be re -thought. If not eliminat- ed, maybe more thought should be given to what is referred its way. Leaving well enough alone The NDP's bad boy, and per- haps most vocal critic is MPP Peter Kormos. His criticisms of the party's performance since elected in 1990 are almost more damning than those of the opposition parties. His main argument is that the NDP had many election promises in 1990 that they never followed through on af- ter they came to power. Certainly, he is right. Fortunately, he is right. As Premier Bob Rae has honestly pointed out from time to time, filling the benches on one side of the legisla- ture is more difficult than just being critical from the non -governing side. Government -run auto insurance may look like a great idea when you're an opposition party, but can seem like nancial disaster from a government's point of view. Kormos is right when he points out that auto insurance is one thing the NDP failed to follow through with. For that we can all be thankful. Those of us with friends and relatives in British Columbia have probably been able to compare pre- miums with them. When supposedly low-risk family premiums are higher than higher -risk single male premiums in Ontario, you have to come to the con- clusion that auto insurance is one thing the province is best to stay out of. The search for an ideologically "fair" car insurance plan appears to have been abandoned by Queen's Park. We may all grumble over our premiums, and how much the insurance companies post in profits each year, but at least the NDP knew when to leave well enough alone. out! rSpeak e Times AOvocate continues to weHes, Contemn. Comp/elnl5, antl ku01ase pend your letters to P.O. Box tCress. Aironymous letters w10 not 1e Times Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local !s• es, concerns, complaints, and kudos. The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. ase send your letters to P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and dress. Anonymous letters will not be published. Is -the New Democrat government doing any- thing right? Few probably think so. Most news media tend to focus on the NDP's deficiencies, of which there are many. Two books on the NDP's four years in office also have been unrelenting rants at the party by dis- appointed left-wingers. But the NDP's record is.not one of unrelieved failings. Few would know, because such details rarely are reported, that the normally highly partisan Progressive Conservative. leader, Mike Hams, stood in the legislature not long ago and praised the NDP for doing something he said his own party and the Liberals lacked the cou- rage to do when they were in government. The NDP had announced retaliation against Quebec for two decades of putting up barriers to Ontario construction companies and work- ers. Harris admitted that the long-time Tory premier, William Davis, talked but did nothing and congratulated the NDP, which forced Que- bec to drop many of hits restrictions. When the NDP introduced a law banning sell- ing cigarettes to under 19s and in pharmacies and vending machines, the Liberals applauded it grudgingly saying 'this has been a long time coming' -- chutzpah of the first order, because the Liberals governed from 1985-90 but never brought in such a law. The NDP cut nearly $2 billion a year from the payroll of the broader public sector. It could be argued that it was forced to, and any party in the severe economic recession would have cut public service pay. • But the Liberals and Tones in the end voted against the cut, it should be remembered, most- ly because they find difficulty accepting that the NDP can do something right. These two opposition parties also preach dai- ly of slashing government costs and have made it their main theme for an election. The NDP showed additional courage because it had more to lose and offended many of its friends in un - • To, Publlcatlons Mail Reglstrstlon Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATt3: CANADA Wlthkr 40 miles (65 km.) addremlad to non letter carder milIMess 630.00 plus 62.10 . G.S.T. Outside 40 miles (65 km.) or any latter carie address 830.00 plus 630.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 O.S.T. Outside Canada 899.00 plus 56.63 OST (Includes *88.40 postage) Published Lash Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1566 by J.W. Lady Publications Ltd. Telephone 1,819-205-2331 • Fax: 519.2350766 O.S.T. A105210113• To the out of town gas shopper The next time we get a load of gas we invite you to to see our in- voice and see for yourself... Dear Editor: We would like to reply to Mr. John Sanderson's letter to "Buying gas anywhere but Exeter". Yes, we realize you, as a customer are not happy with the price changes at all the various gas stations in this town buts I think it's time that some of us businesses spoke up on the subject. We are so sick of hearing this same comment each and every day but we are just like the rest of the businesses in this town; the customer is always right and you are just supposed to bite your tongue and shut -up. However the next time we get a load of gas we would like to invite you to see our invoice and see for yourself just how much we pay for each litre, plus the excise tax, plus that wonderful GST tax (that one we don't even know what it's paying for) and then make your comments. We are only speaking on behalf of our business as we do not know what the other stations are paying for the load of gas they receive. However we are making three cents a litre and sometimes less and we still have to pay a wage, hydro, insurance, and a gasoline license ($155.00 a year) out of each Titre sold. We honestly do not know how these gas sta- tions stay in business with all of this overhead and price changing however, we have a garage with two bays for mechanical work which is our "Bread and butter" and the pumps are there for the convenience of our regular customers and also for those early morning risers at 6:30 a.m. (Mon. -Fri.) trying to get to work on time and who forgot to get gas the night before. You want us to justify a sudden increase of five cents a Titre; just come and look at our last drop of gas and add three cents to it and there you are -- and until we get red of that load our price has to stay there until we see what the next load will cost us or we the small business guys lose our shirts just over a load of gas. However, you obviously have lots of time to drive to Lucan or London to save approximately 2-4 dol- lars a tank full depending on the size of your tank -- but remember the wear and tear of your vehicle; but that could be a benefit to the mechanics in the busi- ness. Oh, by the way last Saturday London's price was 45.7 and yes we were 52.5 however a London cus- tomer tells me today that now they are up to 57.5 and we are still 52.5; now justify that... If coffee was $2.00 a pound cheaper in London, would you drive down to London to get 2 or 3 pound packages and come home or would it be easier to just pay the $2.00 more here when you get the rest of your gro- ceries and your five percent discount on top of that. Yes, we'll admit we shop in London sometimes but who doesn't, for something to do the odd Sunday but, if that's all we are going to save, we buy in Ex- eter if the product is available here. But out of five ,gas stations in Exeter we are usually all within .2 cents a litre, not like London, where sometimes one station is 49.5 and straight across the road it could be as high as 57.5 like it was 2 weeks ago. (As far as the other Exeter businesses.... they will have to comment themselves on our last sentence of your letter that "Other business should take note"....) Yours sincerely Jack Triebner & Cathy Batten Owners & Operators of Jack & Marg's Ltd. Exeter The NDP record isn't all bad ions who have not had a good word for it since. The NDP put in a businessman to head Onta- rio Hydro, cut its work force from 29,000 to 20,000 and sparked its first rate reductions in 30 years. But under the Tories and Liberals Hy- dro was noted for its bloated staff and the iro- ny is that they waited for the NDP, the tradi- tional defender of labor, to make the cuts. The NDP is accused constantly of scaring off investment by its labor and financial policies, but the list is growing of companies, the latest Toyota with a $600 million expansion, willing to put money into Ontario. The NDP has scored notable successes direct- ing money to help selected businesses survive and has not so far, in contrast to the supposedly businesslike Tories and to a lesser extent the Liberals, thrown millions of dollars that will never be recovered into rash adventures like Minaki Lodge, developing commuter trains and the Skydome. The NDP has given former mental patients a say in caring for the vulnerable by appointing some to a commission. This prompted a heart- warming scene, when the first appointee was screened before a legislature committee, of ju- bilant ex --patients cheering and apologizing: 'Please excuse us, but this is a momentous day for crazies.' But then without the NDP there would have been no committee screening appointments, be- cause the Tories would never countenance one and the Liberals promised but never delivered. The NDP is a butt because it has lost seven ministers in four years through varied and sometimes bizarre indiscretions, but none for getting into positions where they could have reaped huge financial profits, unlike several Tories and two Liberals in their first year in of- fice. None of this shows the NDP is a genius at governing -- just that it is not wrong all the time and people should know it.