HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-05-18, Page 5-11
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Well, the inhabitants of the land off true
north strong and free finally got
something definite from our Prime
Minister.
° Sort of.
What we know for certain now is that
there will not be an election this sum-
mer.
Prime Minister Trudeau was forced to
make the announcement about the
election in the House of Commons last
week since the Chief Electoral Office
requires 58-60 days to prepare for an
election. If it was to be held in July, the
Electoral Officer needed a word from
the PM to get ready.
So the PM finally dropped the bom-
bshell and the announcement ended
months of speculation on the part of
opposition members and any Canadian
possessing a finely honed political
acumen would .have set his mother-in-
ln ' thrrr would h ' 'r' hon, rinrtinn
It seemed like a sure bet. Even the
country's postal workers talked openly
about a strike and their activities are
generally an accurate barometer in
measuring major political activity.
But not so friends.
The election issue was the biggest
political non-event of the year, at least
according to NDP leader Ed Broadbent.
And you can't help but agree that it was
a let down.
While employment hovers around the
million mark and our dollar plummets to
depths unknown, what we really needed
was to spend millions of dollars on an
election. Since the politicians and the
Canadian electorate were hyped for an
election and the PM's retreat has had
some serious ramifications on the
Canadian political spectrum.
All across the nation party association
members have staged their nomination
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1978—PAGE 5
meetings, candidates have been elected,
signs have been painted, buttons have
been handed out and candidates have
taken a firm grip on the hands of the
electorate in the acceptable vote wooing
procedure.
Only to be let down.
Now with no election until the fall, at
the earliest and more likely next spring,
there are some interesting com-
plications.
What will become of the nation's
writers, a rather downtrodden lot, who
produce reams of speeches filled with
empty promises of full enfployment, a
strong dollar, responsible government
and a unified nation? What are these
scribes to do now, when they were poised
at the pen and ready to inscribe a small
token of witticism on a campaign button
with one deft stroke?
The nation will just have to wait in
suspense until the campaign writers are
set loose on the electorate,
Sure it's disappointing. Most of the fun
off an election is the campaign slogans
produced by political hacks in dingy
smoke-filled rooms that read: Stanfield
Gives You More Support, Joe Who and
other great stuff like that.
And political hopefuls across the
country will just have to stash away that
campaign speech, written by their
daughter-in-law who is a school teacher
you know, until the PM decides his party
is popular again.
And we will just have to wait for those
all-important promulgations from op-
position leaders who will divulge their
secret for cutting personal income tax
and reaching, full employment while
balancing the budget on a simple little
formula that no one ever thought of
before.
I think I can wait.
THE WEEK AFTE
INFORMATION, BACKGROUND AND OPINION
The president of the Ontario Medical
Association,. Dr. Lazarus Loeb,.said that.
doctors will not tolerate government
intervention with their basic right to opt
out of the Ontario Health Insurance
Plan.
Since the 0HIP program began, about
88 percent of Ontario doctors have
participated. But recently there has
been widespread rumors that many
doctors are dissatisfied with their
reimbursement from OHIP for their
services and will opt out Of the program.
Patients who deal with doctors who do
not subscribe to OHIP must pay the
•balance of the bill that OHIP will not
PROVINCIAL POINTS
cover. If a doctor, who opts out of O.HIP,
charges $50 for services and OHIP
covers $30 then the patient must pay $20
out of his own pocket.
Loeb told the OMA council that it was
difficult to assess the number of doctors
who would opt out of OHIP or in what
regions they may be. But he did say that
the doctors would resist any attempt
made by the government to force the
doctors to stay in. Loeb called it a form
of civil conscription to 0IIIP.
"To us and members of the public this
would be a most repugnant act. No other
group in society has ever been forced
into government service in peacetime."
Loeb said.
Loeb claimed .,that if there was a
conflict between the doctor's right to opt
out and patient's access to care, the
OMA would work with government to
find ways to protect those who need
protection, such as the aged and th.e
handicapped.
The council also passed a resolution
reaffirming the OMA's policy to promote
opting out among its members. Just one
month ago, Ontario Health Minister
Dennis Timbrell said he had no in-
dication the OMA would promote opting
out.
Dr. Edward M.oran of Scarborough,
OMA general secretary, said the OMA
has always been in favor of doctors
dealing directly with patients for billing,
but the association would not pressure
doctors to opt out. Moran added that it
was the right of each doctor to determine
his remuneration.
However, this month doctors are
receiving conflicting information on how
to bill OHIP. In previous years, the OMA
and the ministry have agreed on a fee
schedule to take effect May 1, of. which
OHIP paid 90 percent. Doctors who have
participated in the plan had accepted the
90 percent as full payment. Patients who
do not subscribe to OHIP have been
reimbursed for the 90 percent and paid
their doctors an amount set by the
doctor. .
In negotiations this year, the OMA and
the health ministry could not come tp
terms on a fee schedule so the Ministry
will publish its own schedule.
Without a new schedule, the ministry
has told doctors to bill on the basis of the
1977 schedule and said the OHIP com-
puter will reimburse doctors according
to the new fee schedule, which hasn't It was reported to the association that
been published, which will give doctors a the public complains more about poor
6.25 percent increase over last year. communication and service than quality
Peter Fraser, the OMA's director of of care.
financial services, told h s fellow council
members to bill OHIP On the basis of the
1978 schedule set by the OMA, which
represents an overall 36 -percent in-
crease.
Meanwhile the president" " of the
Canadian Medical Association said that
patients have a right to information
about their disease and its treatment
and that it was up to doctors to keep
them informed.
Well, the waiting game is over for the
time being. Prime Minister Trudeau
announced last week that he will post-
pone a general election until the fall or
the spring of 1979.
Most of the MPs in the Liberal caucus
were prepared and eager for an election
but Trudeau heeded the warning of the
public opinion polls in delaying the
election.
Although he gave different ex-
planations in the House of Commons and
at the weekly press conference, the main
reason for the cancellation was that
Trudeau probably didn't think the
Liberals could win at this time.
CANADA IN SEVEN
Their popularity has been kicked in
somewhat after recent Gallup polls
indicate that the Liberals and Con-
servatives each have 41 percent of the
popular vote. In the past few months the
Conservatives gained four percentage
points at the expense of the Liberals and
three at the expense of the NDP.
Trudeau told reporters that he said he
didn't feel he had to call an election last
fall when he was ahead in the polls and
therefore doesn't feel obliged now when
the polls are less favorable.
The election fever and speculation that
has dominated political and
parliamentary activity in Ottawa for
weeks came to an abrupt end when
Trudeau rose in the Commons and told
the Opposition it had been so co-
operative that he wished to see the work
of the current session'- of Parliament
continue.
Trudeau said •he believed the people
want his Government to provide some
remedies for the problems in the
economy and with national unity rather
than go to the polls. The opposition
reaction was summed up by retiring
Conservative • MP Heath Macquarrie,
who said to Trudeau, "you don't put
running shoes on cold feet."
Opposition leader Joe Clark
challenged Trudeau's 'reasoning and
said Canadians wanted an election but
that Trudeau decided it was not in the
best interest of the Liberal Party.
Clark refused to talk to reporters
outside the House saying he would not
comment on a non-event. He later gave a
statement saying that Canada could not
afford a six-month stall while Trudeau
sorted out his political priorities.
New Democratic Party leader, Ed
Broadbent, said it was clear that the
public wanted an election. He added that
he had never seen Trudeau so defensive
•
•
and was personally disappointed that he
had to back down.
But Trudeau joked with the NDP
leader in the House saying there was
even more of a feeling of relief in
Broadbent's party at the decision, a
direct reference to the NDP's three-
point..drop in,the recent Gallup poll to 14
percent of the popular vote.
Trudeau had to make an an-
_nounce.m.en.t ....this week _it .he_. were...
planning to call a July 10 election
because the '.Chief Electoral Officer
requires 58-60 days to prepare for a
general election. His decision to put off
an election until the fall or next spring
means that he is breaking with the
Canadian tradition of a four-year term
between elections although a Prime
Minister can wait five years before
dissolving Parliament.
Only three non -wartime governments
have extended the four-year governing
period and one of them was Trudeau's
first Government elected in June 1968.
Tru.deau..also_att.empted to discourage
speculation about a fall election and said
he wished everyone would just forget
about the election until Parliament is
dissolved.
`4141 V Vi
David Berkowitz, the 24 year old ex -
postal worker, who admitted to the
killing of six young New Yorkers also
revealed in court last week that he is the
Phantom of the Bronx who set 2,000 fires
in the city over a four-year period.
Bronx District Att -1rney Mario Merola
shocked spectators at the Berkowitz
trial last week by revealing that the self-
confessed Son of Sam killer, recorded
1,400 of the fires in meticulously kept
diary from 1973 ';1 his arrest last
August.
Berkowitz noted in the diary the
location of each fire, the number of the
fire -alarm box, the number of fire trucks
WORiL.DWEEK
at the scene and even the weather. The
attorney said the diary showed that,
Berkowitz was either a chronic
pyromaniac and arsonist or a fire -buff
who enjoyed reporting fires.
Merola claimed the arson issue
presented all kinds of problems in the
case against Berkowitz who has also
admitted to being the .44 calibre killer
who murdered five young women and a
young man and wounded seven others in
a year-long reign of terror.
Merola said the crown must now
ascertain whether the fires took place,
what damage was done, whether anyone
was injured and whether anyone else
was arrested for setting the fires.
Merola added that it would take a• 12 -
man arson squad weeks to unravel the
information.
Berkowitz recorded the fires in a diary
that had been laying in the New York
City police department's property office
since he was arrested at his Yonkers
apartment. The district attorney said
they knew nothing about the fires until
Berkowitz's lawyer called and said he
would also plead guilty to the fires.
After reading the diary the district
attorney was convinced that the fires
were authentic.
The fires were set in every borough in
New York except Staten Island. About 80
per cent of the fires were set in the Bronx
where Berkowitz grew up and many
others took place near the sites of the
murders in Queens and Brooklyn.
A Merola aide said that Berkowitz set
fire to vacant buildings, nursing homes,
abandoned automobiles, luxury cars,
mattresses and anything that would
burn. Most of the fires were minor ones
with little chance of injury or death.
Berkowitz was reported to have
adopted the name Phantom of the Bronx
when he called police or fire depart-
ments about the fires.
Last week's hearing took place amid
tight security in Brooklyn State Supreme
Court, a few blocks from the 84th
Precinct where Berkowitz was booked
for the murder of Stacy Moskowitz, 20,
last summer.
In eourt there was no mention of the
demons which Berkowitz had claimed
drove him to the murder. Instead there
was testimony that the Son of Sam killer
had become a born-again Christian in
prison and even had ambitions to preach
the gospel as a Pentecostal minister in
jail.
This was reported to be the main
reason why Berkowitz refused last-
minute attempts by his attorneys to get
him to plead not guilty due to insanity to
the murders. Sentencing will be May 22,
and the maximum sentence in New York
State is 25 years to life.
Berkowitz' other victims were Donna
Lauria, 18; Christine Freund, 26;
Virginia Voskerichian, 19; Valentina
Suriani, 18; and Alexander Esau, 20.
Berkowitz was expressionless at the
hearing and when asked if he wanted to
hurt one of his victims he replied: "No I
wanted to kill her."
Relatives and friends of Berkowitz
victims wept in the courtroom and
most agreed that any sentencing he
receives would not atone for the killings.
The discovery of a tribe of cave
dwellers in the Phillipines recently has
got some scientists fogging their
microscopes with theprospects of
unearthing some mysteries of life
without the comforts of modern
technology. The people, about 30
families, were discovered living in a
series of caves lining the crater of a
dormant volcano. The people were living
off the land growing basic foods in a
cleared area of jungle and were using a
nearby river as a source of water.
The discovery has been termed by
some as a saving grace for the people
who knew nothing of air travel, space
exploration, television, electricity,
telephones, football games, Stanley Cup
finals or taxes.
Life was little more than digging up a
small path of,earth to keep the wife and
kids in sweet potatoes, washing the loin
cloth and catching some rays.
A scientific exploration hacked its way
through dense jungle over mountainous
terrain and cut a trail through virgin
land to find the tribe which, until now,
was legend. The discovery prompted the
governor of the Phillipines to board his
private helicopter and drop in. on the
tribe.
The first order of business may be to
use some taxpayers' money to allow the
primitive tribe to do some catching up.
Maybe some low cost housing
developments, underwritten by the
government of course. A road will have
to be put through to the cave dweller
neighborhood to allow materials to be
taken in for the housing projects.
Once the road is completed perhaps a
heads up finance company will open a
branch office to offer the 30 -families low
cost loans to buy that car they never
knew they needed but now can afford.
But where can they buy a car: Never
fear an announcement from the
government recently detailed a' business
incentive program available to
energetic individuals willing to sacrifice
life in the city for life in a cave. The
government will grant an interest-free
loan payable in 99 years to the man,
woman or child wanting to open a car
dealership in a remote area of the
Phillipines.
Now that we've got them on wheels
and in homes we can sell them Some
electricity. For the low, low price of $138
a month the government will string
some hydro lines to their doorsteps and
keep them in hot water, hot sweet
potatoes for supper and bug zappers for
those backyard barbecues with the
cheapest source of energy known to
man.
But wait, We've got the hydro in and
all we can see are electrical outlets with
nu -plugs in them. Ah, there's the answer
coming down the new road. A truckload
of modern conveniences. Toasters,
televisions and washers and dryers to
keep the ladies from hours of work
rubbing loin cloths on river rocks. We've
got hamburg makers, popcorn makers,
electric shavers, electric toothbrushes
.and a variety of other essentials that will
be necessary to keep the cave dwellers
presentable for the tourists.
Now we've got them all set up and we
send them a bill. When the bill isn't paid
a government investigator discovers
that no money has been sent to the
capital because the people can't read.
No problem. AV little concrete, some
textbooks and a couple of teachers and
we've got a school.
But wait th'ere's still no money. The
cave people have no jobs. Ah but the
government isn't through yet. The
minister of agriculture announced a plan
that will increase the sweet potato ex-
ports 9,000 percent and to meet that
order the cave dwellers will be given low
cost loans to clear jungle and move the
sweet potato fields out into virgin lands.
Okay there you go cave dwellers,
you're civilized.
What do you mean you're going on
strike? Sweet potato prices are too low?
Education taxes ,are top high? The
government houses don't have saunas?
We can put you back in the caves again
you know.
Oh you know that.
jeff:
ddon