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The Times Advocate, 2004-07-07, Page 44 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday,July 7, 2004 =CNA Editorial Opinion n = MISIM TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager &Published by Metroland Printing, rt Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIALS Lots of work for the Liberals Now that the Liberals have defied the pollsters and won their fourth consecutive term (this time a minority), it's time for Prime Minister Paul Martin to get down to work and repair the dam- age to his party's reputation in the wake of scandals such as Adscam and the gun registry. Some would view last week's federal election as sim- ply a blown opportunity by the Conservatives rather than a victory by the Liberals. Canadians re-elected the Liberals because they were afraid of the alternatives. For that, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have to take a long look in the mirror and make improve- ments, both to their policies and how they present them to the public. Asking Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to wear a muzzle during election campaigns might also be a good idea. The Liberals know voters have given them another chance they probably don't deserve. How the Grits react to this will determine if they can improve their minority rule to a majority in the next election, or if last week's result was simply the first stage of power slipping out of the Liberals' hands. Here are some ways the Liberals can improve their image: • Scrap the gun registry. Canadians, unlike Americans, don't have a love affair with guns, but the gun registry and the more than $1 billion in taxpayers' dollars it has essentially wasted, has raised the ire of Canucks. Almost as important is the fact hunters and farmers, now forced to register their "long guns," feel the government is treating them like criminals. The best thing the Liberals could do with the gun registry is admit it was a complete failure, cancel it, and instead invest money to fight crime. Remember, with or with- out a gun registry, criminals aren't going to register their guns. Plus, we have had a registry for handguns in this country for several decades. The "long gun" registry was simply a bad idea. • Reveal everything about Adscam. While former Prime Minister Jean Chretien brilliantly delayed the release of auditor general Sheila Fraser's report until he was out of office and Martin called an election before all the findings of the investigation were released, Canadians can not let the Liberals off the hook. The Liberals owe it to us to be honest and come clean with the findings. If it is revealed Martin was in any way involved in Adscam, he must resign. • Tone down the arrogance. The Liberal Party has grown into a fat, pompous beast that believes govern- ing the nation is its God-given right. It isn't, and people are tiring of the overwhelming arrogance of the party. Who knows, if the Liberals don't smarten up, they might actually lose an election someday. That is, if the other parties can get their acts togeth- er. About the Times -Advocate Let's enjoy an election -free year With apologies to Charles Dickens, July and August are the best of times and the worst of times for news- papers. They are the best of times because, with school done, the federal election finally over, many councils taking a break and people going away on holidays, reporters can relax a bit. On the other hand, the summer repre- sents the worst of times because it can be tough trying to fill the newspaper. Three elections since the fall filled a lot of space in the newspaper. Now it's on to the next thing, whatever that turns out to be. Don't get me wrong — I'm happy the election is over, although with the Liberals only winning a minority last week, another election could be called within the next few months. But I'm cross- ing my fingers we'll have at least one calendar year free of any elections — let's face it, going through reams of press releases on the various policies of the political parties and interviewing all the candidates loses its lustre after a while. So in the spirit of the slow, long days of sum- mer, here are some random thoughts and mus- ings on politics north and south of the border: Canadians are funny: Ever since Adscam, all we heard from Canadians was how much every- one hated the Liberals and how we were going to boot their corrupt arses out of Ottawa as soon as we got the chance. So what do we do? Re-elect them, of course! Why not? We don't like the Liberals, we don't trust them, we call them corrupt thieves, but we give them another chance. The reason? The Conservatives seem even worse, and the majority of Canadians don't want the NDP in control of anything. The Conservatives have to be asking themselves if they can ever beat the Liberals. They've united the right, Adscam was the biggest political scandal in recent memory, and the Conservatives still lost. Not something for Stephen Harper to be pleased about. Does anyone think last week's election results will encourage the Liberals to shape up or ship out? Will they stop throwing millions (and billions) away on failed projects like the gun registry? Will they stop being so arrogant? I'm not holding my breath. Republicans are even funnier: With the release of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the world was coming to an end. Republicans all over the U.S. (and some Canadian wannabes) lost their minds over the fact their hero W. Bush would actually be criticized for his actions after Sept. 11. Having not seen Moore's movie yet (although I have seen most of his other films), I'm not going to defend or criticize the content of the movie. What I will defend is his right to express his opinion in his movies. Some people have complained the movie isn't objective — so what? Who said it has to be objective? It's Moore's movie, he can say what he wants. Maybe some right-wing filmmaker should make a movie showing how brilliant and thoughtful Bush is and how his attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq are saving the world from terrorism. That might be a harder movie to make, though. For some reason, after Sept. 11, it became unpatriot- ic in the U.S. for its citizens to criticize the government. What the Republicans want is a nation of brainless cheerleaders. When you attack other countries it tends to upset some people, mostly the people who have bombs drop- ping on their homes. Bush and his followers shouldn't be surprised they have their critics. George SCOTT NIXON AND ANOTHER THING Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. Contact Us By Phone or Fax Classified ad & subscription sales (519) 235-1331 24-hour automated attendant (519) 235-1336 Fax number for all departments (519) 235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $37+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $68+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $104 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $10.00 for 20 words, 20(c for each addition- al word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $15.00 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. 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