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Times Advocate, 1997-11-05, Page 4• ,. Page 4 Times.Advocate. November 5. 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy Nems Heather Mir, Kate Monk, Craig Bradford. Chantall Van Raay, Ross Haugh Production Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Sue Rollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne Negrijn,.Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple, Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and -information leadership ED1TORIA I, Celebrate the right. to vote y the time the -next edition of the Times -Advocate is published, we will have new municipal governments in place. On Nov. 10, we will be, cast- ing our ballots to decide who will be di- recting local govern_ ment in our com- -munity. • - Some of us have been attending all - candidates meetings, have read through the campaign brochures of the various people running for office; and have even called the candidates to discuss. is- sues with them and get their views on different matters. We will make an in- - -telligent. careful selection to ensure this community gets the best people to lead - us during the coming -term, however long that term might be. With amalga mation looming, it could be one year, or three; no one knows for sure. We know how.important this election - is; and take seriously our right, and re- sponsibility to vote. We-act.as if our en tire democratic system of government :depends -on that single, small piece of paper we mark with an "X" - and in many ways it does. Ove; the years, people have struggled, fought. and died for the right to cast their ballots in a free election. People - -are-still-fighting -for -that_right-in many - parts of the world today. We celebrate their efforts in many ways. Remembrance Day'comes, right" after -the election, Nov. 11•. If you ask a • group of children what this special day means, they will tell you it is to honor those who died for their country, who died for freedom. Ask them what they mean by freedom, and a few will say, "You can do what you want." Their more thoughtful classmates will disagree. Doing, whatever you want in a complex society like ours isn't free- dom, it is anarchy. Those who really Publications Mail Registration Number 07511 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; One year rate for Canada subscribers - S35.00 ♦ GST Two year rate for Canada subscribers - $63.00 + GST OTHER RATES Outside Canada - $102.00 Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 156 by 1.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0766 O.S.T. 08105210835 think about the question will say, "You can vote." Casting one's vote without coercion or intimidation, freely choosing the people -we wish to make decisions for our com- munity, seems a given to children. It is - the base of our entire way of life. Sad to say, it is so basic that many adults have forgotten how important vot- ing is. - We are truly blessed by having a real choice -for many elected positions this time around: This means a dozen or more of our neighbors have had the cou- rage and dedication to stand up and state their thoughts on issues. By placing their names on that ballot; they have stated .their willingness to discuss the town- budget until the wee small hours, get late night phone calls from irate citizens, and •get cornered .in the grocery store by someone who wants to talk about a, car - eating pot hole. - - - It's a time consuming job, an often thankless job, but it is an extremely imp portant job which provides the opportu- nity. to make a real difference to one's . community. At no time in history has this been moretrue than now, with mu- nicipalities facing the need to forge part- nerships with unwilling neighbors, and— . at the same time deal with the need. to provide and pay for a whole new array of services: Not all of us have the energy, the dedi- - or the willingness to run for of- - fice, but we'can all do our part to make our municipal government work for‘us we can vote. We must vote. To paraphrase an old statement, if we - have a voter turnout of only 30 or 40 per cent, we will not get the local govern- ment we really want and need, but -we may get the government we deserve. , Reprinted from Saugeen City new Your Views Letters to the Editor Exeter unfriendly to teachers? "1 am proud of the teachers who.• have made a statement." Dear' Editor: - As a former resident of Exeter and along -time - teacher,with the Huron County Board of Education it has been interesting'renewing acquaihtance with the •town during the recent political'protest. There has been the expected mix of support and hostility. It is a time when one finds out who is one's true friend.. - The protest bn the streets of Exeter has been per • - fectly legal and gently conducted. It is, no doubt, an inconvenience and disruption, but ensuring democra- . cy is not eroded is never an easy task. Standing up for one's principles takes courage..( am. proud of the teachers' who have made a statement.. " On the other hand. there have, according to rumor, been anonymous threats to supporters of the rights of %children to the best education possible. It is unfohu- nate that these people have chosen to hide rather than.take a public stand. But then one. of my undying memories of Exeter is how unfriendly it is to teach- ers at the best of times. How thin the veneer of democracy. Let us hope that there is a fair, just and quick set- tlement to the dispute. Sincerely, Jerry McDonnell Missiles and musings By Craig Bradford Teachers- strike bad for my business While the teachers • strike hasn't tracts with), who are staring at Chess club. or ' organize events; - affected my personal world much, them from the 'opposite side of the some simply teach the, curriculum it sure has'affected my job. ' • - table with an opposite agenda. and go home after the bell rings,. About a third of my time. sports- , Whether teachers like' it or not., Yes. teachers get paid handsomely,i, wise = -sometimes more, is :Spent,- the lig tTt against' Bi I is about from the public purse compared to covering (School athletics. Without money and power; The struggle its some,of us in the private sector. those team pictures action shots ultimately always- about power —But remember what these people and summaries of how basketball, who has it and how .they can wield do.' They are surrogate parents; cross country. field hockey (though it. The government is grabbing at - friends, confidants, guidance coon- the -Panthers are: done now) and what has been power that,rested in sellprs and at titnes peers to their volleyball. , teams are • doing, my teachers' unions and boards of cdu-, , students. They, after paren(s; • play • sports pages start, fegling rather cation hands. Bill 160 goes too far,, the - biggest role in 'guiding 'our light: ' •, • too fast and the government is hap- . ' youth into adulthood. ihey.deservc There is minor hockey and rin- dling the. issue like it has with the the benefit -of the doubt from us on gette,- Jr. D and' Juvenile hockey. healili care profes-- ' , , , their fight against curling, skating and so on to take sionals , and outer SO teachers unions Bill 160. If they are up the slack at this time of year. • public sector work- and the provincial so vehemently but you can only go so far before' ers ' its: new bills government listen against it, there must the lack of school. sports starts have affected. They - be something to fear. hurting you her it counts. float • 'an' iron -clad u et back t0 p g So ,teachers' un So ,on a personal, totally selfish balloon with the the table and negd- ions and the provin• - note. 1 want the teachers to 'get worst news- in the tiate'an end to this cial government lis - back to work and do all the extra world contained in•gross Strik¢..ten up get back to ' things they do on top of teaching the balloon's air. but , . the 'table and •nego- . like coaching.• Without those. . when the public outcry pops it. the bate an end to this -gross strike. If coaches :and school sports, thisballoon's news is always half or so not, this sports writer will have to community newspaper's sports ''as bad as affected groups thought. be more than inventive to fill his section isn't what . it should and The ploy not only gets the govern- Rives` every week and the. readers . could be:, - ment what they originally wanted. won't be •getting the complete mir While the issue has polarized it serves as good P.R. with the pub- .ror image of the community their much of the population, 1 feel both lic wiping their collective brol' go- newspaper is 'supposed to be. sides (the Harris government and ing "whew...that wasn't as -had as • • Waste of time? • • teachers' .unions) are to blame. for we thought it was going to be." While on the topic. other than . the walkout. Unions, and not justw Teachers, per- se. are not power providing a ,good photo op, the teachers' ,unions, have gone be- hungry, manipulating or lazy as protest in downtown Exeter isn't yond their original mandate of pro-' many people tend to believe. 1 • doing much for the rcputal'ion .of tecting downtrodden workers taken know, because 1 deal with them on • teachers, let alone. for businesses advantage' of by their employers. a daily basis. downtown (sec results of the T -A and ,wield more power at times , • Teachers that coach spend count- downtown survey -elsewhere in this - than their governing bodies. Un- less hours before and after schod) issue). 1 think a better ,use of the ions push the envelope every • (and away,on weekends at tourna- leachers' time is to .call taxpayers •. chance they' can. ;grabbing more ments) guiding their players not and :express their concerns atfout and more for their workers and at only to athletic glory. but to be- Bill 160 on a one-on-one basis. 1 the same time growing their power_. coming better, more complete citi- also hope teachers are telling their base. That is the name of the game tens. unjon reps to get back at that ncgo- when negotiating with employers, Por all they do, teachers get little timing table with Education Minis - in this case the provincial govern-' credit from us, the general public. ter ' Dave Johnson. it's true the ment (but not the boards of educe- Yes, there are teachers that don't squeaky wheel gets .the grease, hut - iion the teachers have signed con- . coach, or head up the drama or enough already...we get the point. - A View from Queen's Park Veterans would have helped Harris By Eric Dowd i - TORONTO -- Politicians are not staying in their jobs as long and this is creating problems, including some for Premier Mike Harris. The decreasing length of politicians' careers has been noted by the authoritative compendi- um, Canadian Legislatures, in a study in which it says politicians in the United States have hung on to their offices so long that 20 states recently rushed to limit the number of terms they can serve. U.S. legislators are helped stay because of less stringent rules on fund-raising and a tendency to donate more to incumbents who gave favors, but there is no demand in Canada to limit how long legislators can re- main in office. The natural process, and panic - Warty elections, have brought rapid turnovers. The Liberals swamped the legislature in 1987, winning 95 of C130 seats, but most of them were turfed out when the New Democrats won 74 seats in 1990. Then the Progressive Conservatives under Hams won 82 seats in 1995 and pushed out most of the New Demo- crats. Many of the Liberal and New Democrat MPPs served only one term. This conceivably could continue with another huge turnover in the next election, because Harris's Tories are down to 32 per cent in polls. It contrasts with the stability from 1943 to 1985, when the Conservatives were returned to government consistently. Floyd Laughren, the former NDP treasurer, became the current' long- est -serving member of the legislature after only 20 years as an MPP. He would have' been a johnny-come-lately in previous legislatures. Lib- eral Harry Nixon served 42 years, including a brief stint as premier in the 1940s. His son Bob put in 29 years, including a term as treasurer. Farquhar Oliver hung on 41 years and was three times Liberal leader. Tom Kennedy, a Tory premier, stayed 37 years and Wally Downer, a noted Tory back- bencher, 38 years. Legislators also are leaving for reasons other than being defeated. One is in- creasing lack of respect shown them. The study says public confidence in politicians has de- clined to an extraordinary degree, with more than 60 per cent trusting them in 1980 but only 15 per cent trusting them today. MPPs can take only so many times being called deadbeats and scumbags. Some MPPs have been encouraged to quit by the heavier workload, with legisla- tures sitting more often, and pensions which were offered at a generously early age, but re- cently stopped by Harris. Backbench MPPs also are handicapped in holding their seats because they have immense difficulty getting publicity, as the study notes. News media, particularly television, focus on the premier and ministers, whose pronounce- ments affect people, and opposition leaders, and news is written increasingly from a province - wide rather than local perspective. Ordinary members of legislatures rarely ap- pear at all. They are seen only as part of the backdrop, as window dressing, as extras. Local members arc seen as powerless and therefore unnewsworthy, and are" caught in. a downward spiral of decreasing prestige and im- portance, which gives them one more incentive' to leave. The decrease in MPPs with.long expe- rience of the legislature and its workings and is- sues and how the public reacts to them has caused Harris some harm. William Davis, the longest -lasting premier of recent times, usually could call on half a dozen ministers each with 20 years' legislature experience. Half of .Har- ris's ministers have been MPPs only since 1995. Governments are helped also if they have a few backbenchers who have been around • long enough that they feel confident to speak against actions contemplated by the premier and his inner circle and give them more hal- ance. Harris would have been better off if he had some of these veterans. They could have warned him that he was going too far too fast and getting in too many fistfights.