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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-09-18, Page 25-CLWI N NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1985 'Hugh Edighoffer BY Stephanie Levesque "This office represents in a very real The speaker of the legislative assembly of sense the right of freedom of speech in Ontario does more than sit in a chair each parliament and one of the hallmarks of this day and watch over the proceedings of office is the requirement for a high degree of parliament. impartiality in the execution of the duties," Besides looking after the needs of the con- said Edighoffer according, to Hansard. stituents of Perth County, the Hon. Hugh "As your speaker, I pledge to be mindful Edighoffer, , as a speaker looks after a $40 of the rights of every member to express his million annual budget. He also has a role to or her views and tq be heard. Some of you play as official host for the province. may be aware that I have a much larger Edighoffer comes to the job with some ex- gavel in my office, and I hope it will not have perience. In his 18 years as Perth's tate brought into use. representative to Queen's Park, he served "In this chamber of debate, as well as in as deputy speaker from 1977 to 1981. So, the the precincts of the House, members can ef- new role is not a complete unknown. fectively discharge their public duties only He first found out about his new job when if their rights and privileges are safeguard - former premier Frank Miller, of the short- ed in an orderly manner. I promise I shall lived Tory government following the May 2 put forth every effort to fulfill the duties that provincial election, called and asked if he you have entrusted to me. I will do my best would take the job on June 3, 1985. to serve in a fair, impartial but firm man - He admits it didn't come as a complete ner." surprise because of the rumor mills at Then Lt. -Gov. John Black Aird read the Queen's Park. In fact, Edighoffer tells a throne speech. story about that time before the provincial The gavel mentioned in Edighoffer's parliament opened with him as speaker. speech sits now on the coffee table in the of - He had to be prepared to don the robes of fice of the speaker. An old butcher's mallet, his new office on June 3, so the day before he it was a gift from his children when he was had to take a quick trip to Harcourt's, a deputy speaker. They found it at an auction men's clothier in Toronto, to be measured sale. and have the jackets and gown prepared for Perth's representative in Toronto men- the next day. Edighoffer has both a short tioned the impartiality he must undertake in and long waisted jacket. his new role. It is an undertaking that he The jackets and gowns weren't the pro- takes seriously. blem. The problem was getting a pair of Although a Liberal, you won't find black pants ready for the new speaker's six Edighoffer with a group of Liberals in foot, three inch frame. Toronto. He last gathered with Liberals for A grin crosses his face as he says he made a celebration the day before the house open - do for the opening day of parliament with an ed. old pair of black pants that went with a suit As speaker, Edighoffer had to move out of he had picked up in another clothing store - the apartment he shared with the current Edighoffer's of Mitchell. minister of health, Huron -Bruce MPP Mur - As the first session of the 33rd parliament ray Elston. He said he misses the political opened, the clerk of the house, Roderick discussions he shared with his former room - Lewis, declared that a speaker had to be mate. elected from their ranks. From his shared apartment, "Edighoffer The following is from Hansard, the official moved into the Speaker's apartment which report of debates in the legislative is in a wing of the legislative assembly assembly. building. It's not like his home in Mitchell "There bein only one nomination, I where he can open a door and go outside. He declare the nominations closed and the opens the front door in his apartment and it Honorable Hugh Alden Edighoffer to be leads onto a hallway which after a turn and Speaker of this house," said Mr. Lewis. down a flight of stairs leads to the actual room where question period takes place. Edighoffer was brought into the house ac- One evening; so far, he• had time for a companieci'by Miller and then leader of the stroll around the gardens at Queen's Park opposition David Peterson. The speaker and spent some time sitting on the front said a few words. steps of the legislative building which looks BACHERT MEATS 'Try our own smoked pork chops - . for the bar -b -q season* itl", ,r CUSTOM KILLING, FREEZING Cutting & Wrapping KILL DAY ON TUESDAY 'An meat Gov't. Inspected on the f 1 MILE EAST OF WALTON 887-9328 more than sit around down University Avenue. His day starts at about 8 a.m. when he leaves his apartment and heads downstairs for breakfast in the legislative building din- ing room. On his way he picks up a newspaper to find out what is going on in the world. For 18 years he sat at a table with other Liberal members for breakfast, but that is now off limits to him. At 8:45 a.m.,, Mr. Edighoffer is ready to go to work. "In the morning I spend some time on con- stituency work and some time on prepara- tion for the house; It used to be all spent on constituency work," said the Perth MPP. Edighoffer and his wife Nancy both say they have had some constituents comments on the fact that he can't speak in the legislature on their behalf. He negates that notion. If a constituent has a problem, say with OHIP, he can still take the con- stituent's concern directly to the minister or ministry in charge, in this case Health Minister Elston. ` A regular member can do that as well," he said. There was one case where Elston actually presented in the legislature, a petition, sign- ed by Perth people who are opposed to the extension of funding to Catholic secondary schools, on behalf of Edighoffer. The peti- tion was given to the MPI? by members of Perth District 22 of the Ontario Secondary ' School Teachers' Federation. He also has staff to assist him. Former Perth County resident Julie Misener, along with one assistant, take care of the con- stituency work. Another key person in his office is Frances Edge. She has been administrative assistant to the speaker since 1977. She does scheduling for the speaker, makes sure he is prepared to the coming session and helps to run the day-to-day house business; There are also two secretaries in the speaker's office. As speaker, Edighoffer is also chairman of the board of internal economy, which generally oversees the operation of the house. He reports to the board on such mat- ters as the page program, the chief electoral office and members' benefits. Those benefits relate to members of parliament and their offices and staff in the main building at Queen's Park. Edighoffer is not responsible for the other buildings such as the Frost and Mowat Block where other government offices are located. Those fall under the jurisdiction of ' government ser- vices. One of Edighoffer's main responsibilities is security on Queen's Park. He expects to devote a lot of time his first year in office to the task of scrutinizing security. On this board with him are three Liberal cabinet ministers, the government whip and one member each from the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democrats. C OET I LER 's OF DUBLIN A STORE FULL OF BEAUTIFUL FURNITURE On the Main Street of Dublin 345-2250 Free Delivery. SPECIALLY PRICED 1984 TEMPO L Finished in original silver with contrasting red interior this specially priced automobile is equipped with a fuel efficient 2.3 L, 4 cylinder, automatic transmission, reclining bucket seats, rear defrost, radio & more. Only 27,000 Km.! Serial No. 251731 11346 Huron Rd. SRICKLAND AUTOMOBILES THIS CAR IS ON SPECIAL AT 56695. Goderich 524-8411 �41r!L GOOFRICH d •/ '7'0340S‘‘" At about 1:30 every afternoon that the house, is actually , sitting, Edighoffer prepares to don his robes for the 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. sitting. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the house also sits from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The house doesn't usually sit on Wednesdays. He admitted there usually is a lot of shouting in the house, but it's often in a fair- ly humorous manner. He does have a gavel, but hasn't used it yet. He normally just calls for order from his chair. Up until this interview, he said he had only stood up once to call order in the house. This action cuts off the members' microphones. This day was unusual m that he had to stand five or six times to call for order. He has already fulfilled some hosting duties. His second day on the job saw him welcome the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip to the house. This past Saturday, he was on duty to meet the Queen Mother, in Toronto for the running of the Queen's Plate. He plans to open up the speaker's apart- ment and hold weekly dinner parties with members of parliament from all parties. Nancy Edighoffer recalls visits to the speaker's apartment, particularly when her husband was deputy speaker. One annual event is the hosting of a dinner for the young pages who come from across the province. The two-bedroom apartment is decorated with antiques and an effort has been made to restore the woodwork to its original condi- tion. The paintings, done mostly by Canadian artists depicting Canadian scenes are all part of the public archives. She said she would like to have the curator provide infor- mation onthe pieces so it can be passed on to visitors. Another interesting piece in the Edighof- fer's new apartment is the bed that was once used by Sir John A. McDonald. The. remuneration for his duties, besides the apartment, Edighoffer receives a base pay of $33,000 as do all MPPs. Similarly they all receive $11,000'tax free expenses annual- ly. However, Edighoffer receives an addi- tional $18,000 as speaker. He notes that cabinet ministers receive $25,000 above the base pay. The 'speaker , is not disappointed that he has no position in the Liberal cabinet now that his party has formed the government. "This came up, fast and first. I had, to make a dicision," he said. He hopes to make an impact as speaker. He will serve during the entire 33rd parlia- ment unless he has non -confidence moved against him by all members of parliament. he compares this to the position of cabinet ministers who retain their positions only at the whim of one person - the premier. "I have no revret.s." hP says. raises $200., 00 Legiop..0 the only sector to increase trade continuous - Franklin Snell Franklin Ephraim Snell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Snell of RR 1 Blyth graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Administrative and Commercial Studies at the spring con- vocation, held on June 11. Farmers oppose bilateral trade TORONT3 - Including agriculture as an integral part of bilateral trade negotiations with the United States is neither likely to be' useful nor beneficial, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) president Harry Pelissero said. Speaking before a Queen's Park Select Committee on Economic Affairs, Pelissero stated that trade concessions demanded in agriculture would likely jeopardize policies seen as vital by Canadian farmers. He cited as examples supply management, .public in- vestment in transportation..infrastructure and stabilization. There is a growing concern among farmers that Canadian negotiators may trade off important agricultural policies in attempting to reach 'agreement on other matter, he said. "We do not believe we can expect equally substantial concessions com- ing in the opposite direction," he told the committee. "Market players are driven by national interest and governed only slightly by a sense of fair play." The OFA brief, however, recommended continued discussion with the United States on protective actions taken against Cana- dian agricultural exports, particularly in the areas of countervail, anti-dumping and health protection (antibiotics and pesticide residues). "These concerns are not integral to bilateral trade negotiations in a specific agricultural context, however; but rather are part of general protocols negotiated under GATT," he pointed out. • Ontario agriculture and food product "ex - "'porting is projected to be worth $2.1 billion in 1985. Sixty per cent I approximately $1.3.. .billion) goes to U.S. markets. Agri -food was Royal Canadian Legion branches across Ontario have raised $200,000 for victims of the tornado that hit communities in southern Ontario last May. The $200,000 donation, presented Aug. 16 to Ontario Red. Cross Society President. Sybil Geller by the Legion's Ontario Corn- inand President Bill Smith. was the result of fundraising efforts undertaken by On- tario's 452 branches. "Reaction to the tornado disaster was quick," says Smith. "Within days, a disaster fund .was. established and branches were sponsoring; bazaars, dances and barbecues to raise funds. We even received a boost from legionnaires in B.C. who were holding their convention at the time. • Minutes after they were alerted to the emergency situation in Ontario, $4,500 was raised on the convention floor." "Response from the Legion has been tremendous," says Geller.. "This donation, will go a long way towards restoring homes and properties in the stricken communities." , The Royal Canadian Legion, currently celebrating its Diamond Jubilee, has a . history of responding with financial assistance tocommunities in distress in- cluding past disasters in Ontario, such as the Cobalt fire in 1977, the Woodstock tor- nado and Fieldspringer flood in 1982. • EUilding centre Va ROOF COATINGS FROM MULCO 4 kg Plastic Cement 20 L Plastic Cement 41 Fibrated Root Coating 20L Fibrated Root Coating 20L Liquid Roof Coating 20L N 1 S Cement. • 65.85 each '18.05 pail '5.99 each 620,50 pail ' 520,65 pail '20.50 pail • ues We carry A lull line of products lot tool OVAI . 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This strength and performance has been accon'iplished through risk taking, produc- tion efficiency and technical innovation in- itiated by Ontario farmers, Pelissero declared. Continued and expanded develop- ment of the U.S. market can be done through ' more precise "•targetting rand marketing, and not in any generalized trade liberalization, he added. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is a volunteer membership organization made up of over 24,000 farm families as well as. commodity groups, marketing boards and allied farming organizations across On- tario. It" is the largest organization, of its kind in the province. An FBDB representative will be in your area soon. Come and meet'bim. There is no obligation and no costs and your business can gain a lot from it. If you're looking for financial aid in the form of. loans, loan guarantees or even selling an equity position in your business, come ancj discuss it with us. 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