No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-04-20, Page 4NM" APR11420;.1983 t •. eNA Second class; moil registration number -0716 If one hes ever been • rarity tr ,-poliU and he po iHeal general, t ii thee alive race has done hopes h. thedernotsral a PitnCagla • •'.' 1,115 at that tyie of 'Rxnisun er tolerated. e but they us, .m some eases and add an otherwiae'atodgy political. The leaderebip rase, while ee :.>, , several humorous sldellghta, bias espoused the ideals el decen y or a sense of fair play. Everyone is out toget delegates,to the June convention in Ottawa, any way be caft has set up some rater :luamorous. scenarios and ploys on the pert of delegates and supporters. Even as local,., association members, gathered in Clinton to select delegates tot*. Convention, there was talc that su �tiyon li of Alberta millionaire. Peter Pocklington would attempt to pack the meeting. Those faders failed to materialize but such action is mild compared to the allegations flying, around these days. In fact, an eight -man committee of coni- SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded In 1010 and published every Wednesday et Dederlth, Ontario. Member of the CCffA and ®MMA. Advert tieing rotas on request. Subscriptions payable In advance 'N.00in Canada, 90,0010 U.S.A., '50.00 to all other count. 1 tries, single copies SOt. Display advertising rates available on request. Pleas* ask for Rate Grd No.13 effective tober 1, 1104. Second class moll Mglstrotion Humber 0710. Advertising Is accepted on the Item, that �; event of typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Ititogether neasetteh allowance for signature. will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be mild ter a ap- plicable rote. in the event of o typographical error advertising goods or services eta wrong price. goods may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell, end may be withdrawn et any thine. ThrSlgna�l-Stools not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for rep g put, PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220. HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 486 • cOMmittee :h�. ei among Ontario Conservatives an off to Ottawa to cheek into the 6.1, rues' ..... Polities, not exactly an adult gaarne,*ane dSyg as te. Tories have ably demoted during t delegate selection process. The Tory camp faces urges that some. 9 olds were stacked withyear and skid -row derelicts and,winos by campaign organizers. • It is said those tricks were employedby, organizers for Joe Clark and, "BiianMuh°one• y, • ;, The party has vehemently denied thatany dirty tricks have been employed while at the same time isssuing policy statement that • tP.' • t �g ?. a *vative{P � r blueinl ae 'hing as the Conservatives have led, nenches of - sn -thethey vehaerableve accbused. the Liberaltheop go disheornnesmye;nint it.sofdealntricgeiryh, thdee cCeaint adand. Conservatives, though, are nalizing the dirty tricks and trying to ince' the public that the party conduct is. rct, its virtue still uncontested. T -find ,it rather humorous, that party that 'Consistently attacks the goverruent for its behaviour would strive to elect a new leader and form the government through such sleaziness. I°dont condone what any party has done in •- the ppaast. °I just find ',:politics conveniently two-faced. he' whole thing,bas becbene ar, seV,Ianties The pa ' nrellftdent Metl re no evidence of •dirty.'trie ks in ao delegate ,Selection meeting Yrregularlties,jes•, but. Conservatives. w.ouldntt stoop to using dirty °41 erg have rete edto theuse 'of -children dnd•, '''winos as misfmderstandhigs: and pp? tions of he rules. Nine year olds • FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Leave OHIP fees If there was to be a surprise in the proposed May budget of Ontario Treasurer Frank Miller, it would be that the. average taxpayer wasn't asked for an increase some here along the line. • Ontarians have come to view increased taxes and fees a rite of spring. Just as sure as Miller offers a budget m April or May, taxes on itens such as cigarettes, spirits, gasoline and health care•increase. .. They are considered the luxury items of life. And our treasurer has an uncanny knack of slipping one com- forting arm around the Ontario taxpayer while the other hand removes loose change from his pocket. A little here and a little there doesn't hurt until the final bill comes in. ' Ontarians, once again, await a spring budget from the venerable treasurer and he has given every indication that' the taxpayers will be asked to donate nickels and dimes to the provincial coffers. In the budget last year, Miller taxed everything from toothpaste and toilet paper to hamburgers and pets. However, one of the major sources of revenue for Miller was the increase in Ontario Health Insurance Premiums and those premiums are likely 'to take a beating again. There is 141g._ doubt that OHIP premiums will again rise to combat rising health care costs. • Certainly there is some truth to Miller's belief that people will not mind paying »extra for health care. It's something one can't put a price tag on:. Last year the premiums inefeased by 17 per cent and this year Miller has threatened to either impose user fees . on the health care system or fraise premiums. 'A family now pays $54 a month for:tiealth care and a single pew , $27.Those figures'reflect the 47 per cent increase. posed by the last Miller budget. " 1' Only four provinces charge premiums for health care and Ontario's premiums could easily become a financial burden for middle and low income earners. Perhaps a user fee is only the sensible solution to the problem of rising costs. As long as OHIP covers fees, people will be rushing off to -hospitals and doctors' offices without justifiable cause. If those same people had to pay a user fee, those visits would be less frequent. That is not to discourage people from seeking needed medical attention but continued increases in premiums may not be , the most feasible approach to rising health costs. Miller has been duly chastised for suggesting OHIP fees will increase and perhaps he may be forced to rethink his proposal. D.S. Conflicting policies The government works in curious ways, says the Glengarry News. First, through a high interest rate policy, it drives people out of work. Then it taxes the people who are left working even more to create gover- nment-sponsored jobs. r Ontario Federation of Labour president Cliff Pilkey was. right when he said Finance Minister Marc Lalonde's "new" policies fail to deal with the root problem of our economy. "The minister's comments are a fitting sequel to the prime minister's prime -time soap opera a few weeks ago," Pilkey said. "Rather than deal with the deep structural problems in our economy, ,the government has opted for stop -gap measures. "With two million Canadians actually out of work we need massive job -creation schemes. Instead we get 'a make-work program that will create only 60,000• jobs." Many of the jobs will last only 20 weeks. The only long term project is the rail upgrading scheme: Conservative leader Joe CIark made a good point recently *hen he said that the government's preoccupation is with redistributing the wealth, of the country instead of producing it. Governments should have a regulatory role in the economy, but in a capitalist economy such as ours over regulation has a strangulation effect. Our entire system is based on the concept of allowing someone to make a buck through investment. If that person can't make a buck, he simply won't invest. When there is no investment there is no growth in the economy. The only way to solve this problem is for the govern- ment to make a massive intervention in the -marketplace, That means a government -controlled economy. Not many people are ready for that. 'Clearly, the only current way out of this dilemma is to get the private sector working again by creating con- ditions needed to stimulate investment. How things change with time. The things we worry about today are often nothing more than insignificant little blips on the screen of life. A few years ago, I was certain that many, many more nuclear power developments such as the one located in the Tiverton area to the north of us, were a definite possibility. I fussed over the implications of such a thing and so did many of you, dear readers. Some of the more vocal of you - the anti -nukes if ` you will - made some mighty powerful demonstrations of your anger over what you called "irresponsible planning". Yoh said it was wrong to pass along to our children the legacy of lethal . nuclear waste until we knew how to manage it properly .... render it harmless. Yes, you gave us all something to think about, even folks like me who somehow had full con- fidence in man's unique ability to work out his environmental problems. Not long ago, I had a talk with David Drink- walter who is an executive with Ontario Hydro. "We don't hear much about new nuclear power stations being developed," I commented. "Whatever happened to Hydro's plans to ring the province with nuclear power developments?" "Oh, that was in the heady days of the '70s," claimed Drinkwalter. "Today the emphasis is on conservation and greater efficiency." The "heady days of the '70s" was a reference to a time when everything was golden m Ontario. Premier. William Davis and the Queen's Park gang had the Midas touch .... or so everyone thought. With such generous amounts of money at its disposal, Hydro planned gigantic projects for the future, Drinkwalter was suggesting, without really looking at all the alternatives. With the arrival of the '80s though, and a frightening recession, everyone has felt the pinch. And all of a sudden, people began talking about saving money, cutbacks and innovation. Now, says Drinkwalter, we're into things like high efficiency lights and motors. We're looking at backup fuels to supplement electricity and at dual -fired equipment. "There's been a major •change in the thinking," said Drinkwalter. "Now, building another nuclear plant is the last option, not the first option." According to Drinkwalter, industrial ingenuity is the key. He says Hydro's future plans are "critically dependent" on what industry's doing right now. , • • "They're doing a great deal of work to con- serve energy," he noted, "but the results of it won't be fully evident until four or five years from now." It promises a prosperous future, according to Drinkwalter. "If we as a society can get our act together and can get serious about competing, I see the '90s as a very strong period," he asserted. What about the Bruce development to the north of us? Drinkwalter believes that will be "a very active sight for us for along, long time" While the construction will end .... and already it's beginning to slow down .... there will be quite a number of permanent jobs at that location. Indications are that the long-range implications on the economy of this area will not change much in the future .... and that has to be good news for us all. ` Recent news that Ontario Hydro has worked out an agreement to take over the waste steam project is also encouraging. And according to Always an optimist, I do not think I am go- ing to change now. So I shall carry on with my Arbor Day message, despite the laYer of snow we were startled to discover on our lawns and early flowers on this mid-April morning. It is better to count on nice weather and that the Arbor Day plans will be carried out as intended and made known on another page. I am becoming increasingly bored and im- patient with the defeatist gloom and doom wailings with which we are often surround- ed nowadays. There is an entirely different reality within easy reach, a reality of which the Arbor Day is one of the very convincing symbols. It is a reality of not only hope but certainly that a bit of bad weather can only temporarily delay the pushing through of the green growth and the spirited burst of flowering, in every sense. I should share with you the storv"of a love affair as described by my friend Ed Martin, Director of Parks in the City of Stratford, in Ontario Parks Association's publication "Green Sward" last year. "On a beautiful, sunny July afternoon a death occurred in Ontario. Unlike most deaths, this one was not reported in any obituary column. But to those of us who had the pleasure of meeting this majestic in- dividual, there was a profound sense of loss. And there were many who must be con- sidered friends - one naturally acquires many friends over a 700 -year lifespan. "The individual of which I write did not have flesh and bones as you and I have, but had a heart that towered over one hundred feet in the aid. "I refer, of course, to the venerable red oak tree which had been a long -life resident of Niagara -on -the -Lake long before Niagara -on -the -Lake had a name. By the 1 r time Christopher' Columbus made his so- journ- to this part of the world, this once - young sapling was already over 200 years old. "Known to his friends as the Wilderness Oak, the 700 -year old giant finally succumb- ed to the ravages of age,disease, insects, and man - on July 23,1982. "Five years ago I was fortunate to be a member of a crew of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture alumni, staff and students who bravely (at over 100 feet in the air, one' has to be brave) attemp- ted to repair what ultimately was ir- reparable damage. 'As parks people are forced, by tough economic times, to plant trees that are ten feet high with calipre of two inches or less, ' the very thought of a 107 feet high tree with a girth of 23 feet brings a feeling of esteemed reverend. "So, dead at 700 years of age, one giant oak - known to all as the Wilderness Oak. If you love the land and the many wonders that exist on the land, I know the passing of this giant will be of significance to you." Although this is the story of the end of a tree, ft is not a sad story, but one of caring, inspiration and deep_ pleasure in the gift from a tree, most suitable for other beginn- ings on this Am her Day. Among the trees we are planting this spr- ing in our town, there will be many who will last long into the future. Perhaps there are some who will span the centuries into which our own limitations do not allow us to follow. And I like to think with pleasure that several hundred years from now there will be another young man who writes a love letter to a we have planted this srin Hao, a happy and bright Arbor Day! Drinkwalter, that whole concept is destined to mean jobs and stablility for Bruce County and environs. It's bound to have a ripple effect here. Just when the project will become a booming industrial site is up for speculation. Just who •is considering a move to the area is undera cloak of secrecy as far as I can tell ... just what kind of a product will be considered for that site is also, unknown at this time. Some broad hints have been given .... it will be a job intensive industry, agriculturally related. Any ideas? The point is, there appears to be reason to believe again.that some lasting good will come of the very nuclear project that caused such a furor among citizens just a few short years ago. We don't know much more about managing the nuclear waste from the project ... but according to Drinkwalter, that waste is safely stored now and there is no reason to believe it cannot be safely stored in a like manner for many years to come. The future looks bright for those -Who live near clean, blue, cold, firm -shored Lake Huron. It looks bright because we've all learned a few valuable lessons in the last 10 or 15 years ... and because a few far-sighted people asked questions, probed and got involved. They made it happen. I trust m man's technological know-how, his common sense and his instinct to survive. I think Drinkwalter is dead right - the '90s in Ontario will be a strong period if we get our act together and get serious about competing. There's some mighty convincing evidence in our ownbackyard wouldn't you agree? ELSA HAYDON»