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The Citizen, 1992-12-02, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2,1992. Reality hits hard After decades of living with the dream of forming a government, who could have thought that just two years into their first mandate, Ontario's New Democratic Party could find being in government was such a nightmare. The NDP and Bob Rae haves been a victim of circumstances in some areas. There is little a provincial government, for instance, can do to combat a national or international recession of the kind that has gripped Ontario since the time the government was elected in September 1990. The utter devastation that has been wreaked on the province has been beyond the scope of the imaginations of most The recession and the restructuring under the Free Trade Agreement, have seen the industrial sector of the province reduced by hundreds of thousands of jobs. But while there is little the NDP could have done to combat those changes, the government has increased business uncertainty, and probably prolonged the recession, by insisting on labour reforms that stack the odds in favour of labour. On the other hand, many groups have overreacted to perceived left wing bias by the government. The business community (particularly the newspaper industry) was guilty of abuse of power in its attacks against the labour legislation. Ontario's police officers, feeling under attack and feeling that the government is more likely to listen to spokespeople for minority groups than to the police, have sabotaged the upholding of the law by job actions. While the government might have handled the situation better, the fact remains it is the duty of police to uphold laws, even if they disagree with those laws. Premier Bob Rae said this past weekend that the mistakes of his government have been because of inexperience. Perhaps some have, but some have also been because of naivete. Determined to be simon pure, the premier set some standards that were impossible for normal mortals to liv6 up to. The Peter Kormos firing started the government off on a path of such political correctness that anybody could be fired for nearly anything. Yet the Premier also proved stubborn in defending ministers he wanted to defend even if they had done some really stupid thing, like charging tenants in their apartments more than the law allowed. Part of the NDP's fall from grace is the normal reality that sets in and part of it comes because the NDP held itself up as the most righteous of political parties for so long. Sitting on the outside of power for so long, party members were able to smugly point fingers at the mistakes and corruption of the Liberals and the Tories and confidently say things would be different if only they were given the chance to govern. They were finally given that chance and., surprise, surprise... we find they are human just like everybody else. There are honest hard working people and there are people who like to cut comers. There are people with more principle than common sense and there are people with no principles at all. Like most governments, this one is not as bad as its critics would have you believe, not as good as its supporters would want it to be. It has been an education for those involved. Hopefully, for all our sakes, the rest of its term will be better than the first couple of years.—KR Toronto the trendy World class, eh? So how come Toronto looked so silly hosting the Grey Cup this weekend. Toronto was too busy acting like a big league city this weekend to show much interest in what was once the biggest national sporting event in the country. Torontonians like to look down at the other cities in the country as hicktowns but one has only to compare last year's activities in Winnipeg with this year's Grey Cup in Toronto to wonder which city is really the big league town. Torontonians sneered when they heard the Grey Cup was to be played in "Winter"-peg last year, in the freezing outdoors. Everybody knew the only place for Canada's biggest game was Canada's world-class indoor stadium, Skydome. Yet the people of Winnipeg made the event a huge success. Torontonians practiced yawning, superior to all that provincial fuss. Torontonians can only get worked up over something that is as world-class as they are. The World Series now, that’s okay. All those Americans are watching and envious. Torontonians can celebrate that. But not a game with teams from little towns like Winnipeg and Calgary. Toronto, and to a lesser extent the rest of Ontario, is like a teenager that must have the security of knowing something is approved, before he can relax and enjoy it. The Grey Cup is in trouble, as is Canadian Keeping watch Photo by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO December 4,1991 Brussels skater Kevin Wheeler and his free-skate partner Michelle Menzies of Preston departed for Japan, where they were to compete in an international competition. Agreement was reached between village council and Blyth Centre for the Arts about sharing the costs of operating Memorial Hall and the public areas of the new addition. THREE YEARS AGO November 29,1989 Pauline Stewart won first place in the senior division while Greg Toll won first in the intermediate divi­ sion in the Blyth Branch Legion Remembrance Day poster contest. A young Brussels man was con­ victed of trafficking in narcotics following a July undercover opera­ tion. The Brussels Bulls climbed into first place in Western Jr. C. action with a pair of victories. The Bulls trounced the Mount Forest Patriots 9-1, then defeated the Grand Valley Harvesters 7-2 two nights later. FIVE YEARS AGO December 2,1987 World class figure skaters Kerrie Shepherd of RR 1, Blyth and Peter MacDonald of RR 2, Brussels placed first and captured the gold medal in their division at the West­ ern Ontario Sectional Figure Skat­ ing Championships in Preston. Jack and Fred Armstrong's Huronia Farms MCM Etta won the Grand Championship in the Royal International Jersey Futurity at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, an award that carried a cash prize of $1,000 as well as a trophy and ban­ ner. C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429,P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont.BRUSSELS, Ont.Publisher, Keith Roulston N0M1H0 NOG 1 HO Editor, Bonnie Gropp Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Ustowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. ■ Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copywright. 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