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Times Advocate, 1994-8-17, Page 4Page 4 Tintes-Advocate, August 17, 1994 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adnan Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Theresa Redmond fgews • Fred Groves, Catherine O'Brien, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Norma Jones, Elaine Pinder, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald ocw • • 06 c Og4N, Pt•000,► inion Publications Mali Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPJION RATES: CANADA within 40 nubs (65 km.) addressed to non letter carrier addressee 430.00 plus 02.10 O.S.T. Outside 40 miles (65 km.) or any letter carrier address 030.00 plus 030.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 0.5.T. Outside Canada 499.00 (Includes 088.40 postage) Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 186 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519.235.1331 e.s.T. M105210135 EDITOR IA1, The PQ has no way out n 1980 it was supposed to have been settled once and for all. A Quebec referendum on Sovereignty As- sociation ended up with a "no" majori- ty. Quebecers like Canada after all, and the separatists were just a noisy minori- ty. But the Parti Quebecois' reason for living is separatism. They had no choice but to conclude the referendum asked the wrong question, or that condi- tions in la belle provence have changed since then. So they're back, noisier than ever, determined to prove them- selves right once again. A decade of Constitutional squabbles - Meech Lake's death and the Charlotte- town Accord's 1992 referendum ending up with a great big "let's wait and see" - have helped fan the flames for the PQ. There is no way out of this, for any of us. The Parti Quebecois won't take no for an answer. If they lose this election to the Liber- als, they'll fight the separation cause again four years from now, plunging us back into the "economic uncertainty" that erodes our dollar and raises bank rates (mind you, there's never such a thing as "economic certainty" either). If the PQ win the election, but lose the referendum, they'll only try again later when they feel separatist emotions are higher still. To admit defeat would only erase the party's reason for being, something no political organization will ever admit. If the PQ win the election, and win the referendum (as unlikely as that seems) Canada will be plunged into billions of dollars of negotiations for separation, and a "sea to sea to sea" economic entity will be divided. Either way, we lose. The spectre of separation, or its aftermath, will always be a grim failing of this nation, unless by some miracle the PQ is devastated at the polls in some future election. Maybe that's the one signifying charac- teristic of the Canadian identity, and this nation's one economic certainty: that we are forever stuck in a losing proposition. A.D.H. lir The Times Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local is- sues, concerns, complaints, and kudos. The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published. Speak out! Letters to the editor Your Views Letters to the editor Apology for construction noise "It does appear that the construction company got a head start on its work." Dear Editor: Your August 3 newspaper contained a letter from B. & T. Stirc about construction noise at 6:30 a.m. disrupting thcir home and neighbourhood. It docs appear that the construction company got a head start on its work. The Town Noise By-law per- mits a 7:10 a.m. start on construction activity. What concerns mc most is that we failed to call the Stires hack after they inquired about the noisc. Although it was too late to correct what appears to have been a by-law contravention, it was certainly not too late to phone the Stires to answer their ques- tions. We did not do that and have apologized to the Stires. We also want to assure Town residents that we do try to be responsive to the various needs of the Town. Our ratepayers deserve courtesy and answers to their questions. We have investigated this matter and will strive to ensure that our mistake is not re- peated in the future. Rick Hundcy, Town Administrator c.c. Mayor Bruce Shaw and Council Members A Vie* Fiorn By Eric Dowd Would the New Democratic Party attract more voters if it changed its name? This drastic piece of image -making is being suggested by some in the party as a means of overcoming its current lack of appeal. The NDP governing Ontario has only about 16 percent support in polls and federally won a mere 6.9 percent in last October's election. Federal deputy leader Nelson Riis is among those who have proposed considering a change of name. Some names have built-in appeal. The Re- form Party is an obvious example, bacause re- form means change for the better, to correct or rectify, and it is difficult to be against that. On closer look, a party may have downsides, in Reform's case its sometimes narrow-minded criticisms of social programs, immigrants and official bilingualism. The NDP in Ontario is being called names it would not like including the New Disaster Par- a,•. ty and No Dissent Party, because it has high taxes and deficits and Premier Bob Rae and a small group make the key decisions. The New in its name clearly is a misnomer and should go. It was put in when the NDP was founded in 1961 and meant to denote freshness and a new approach, but does nothing to ex- plain the party of today. There could be no thought the NDP should return to its former title of Cooperative Com- monwealth Federation, the most unwieldy name ever given a political party. Originally it was meant to show farmers, so- cialist academics and trade unionists were working together for a commonwealth or na- tion in which economic exploitation would be eliminated, but the name is fuzzy, obscure and too long-winded for 30 -second television clips. Nor is the NDP likely to want to call itself Socialist. Rae and his party for years steered clear of being labelled Socialist, because it smacked of state control, from which the NDP '94 is no Summer of Love Did you see much evidence of peace, love and goodwill from the televised footage of Wood- stock '94. I can't say I did. Maybe it's just sour grapes that I'm one of the few media people not actually there, but then again, maybe I'm glad I wasn't. I still believe the original Woodstock of '69 is more a product of mythology than any- thing else. A generation sup- posedly holds it up as a crown- ing achievement. For me, a generation younger, I'm going to remember 1969 as the year I sat in front of the television to watch mankind take its first steps on the moon. But I can't deny Woodstock was something of a miracle. As a summer music festival that got completely out of hand it meant crowds of people stuck in traffic jams, a schedule of hands thrown completely out of whack, public address warnings about dangerously bad drugs in circulation, a tripped -out audi- ence actually appreciating the incoherent nonsense of equally stoned performers, and a mil- lion -dollar Toss for the people who put it together. Still, it was a miracle it didn't turn into one of the biggest riots in history. I heard more than a few com- plaints that Woodstock '94 was not going tarecaptt4re'the spirit of the original. Ticket prices were high, it was extensively hyped, security was tight, it had its own money and merchan- dise, it was not only drug-free but alcohol free, and anything that could have been used as a weapon wasn't allowed on the grounds. One band complained that the tent city was nothing more than a collection of $200 "yuppie tents" - but I presume ordinary tents have nasty metal poles. I watched a guy from Much - Music sit down to chat with a guy in a deck chair, and was gruffly told to get out of his friend's seat. The announcer quickly and nervously obliged, understandably not wanting to go down in history as the guy who started a brawl on live tele- vision. So much for peace and goodwill. Then again, someone who has paid a fortune to get a ticket and a good scat doesn't want any- thing to get between him and his good time - you also want a good bathroom. Let's face it, recreating Wood- stock was an impossibility. Just imagine if the 1969 festival were to take place today, with all its failings. Billed as a disas- ter, the lawsuits would have started flying the Monday after. Record companies would have sued for not having their per- formers in front of the audienc- es at the prescribed time. Hip- pies would have sued for the pain and aggravation of being stuck in traffic all weekend. Parents of the three people who died of overdoses would have sued organizers for failing to provide tighter controls on nar- cotics circulation. And charges would have been laid under en- vironmental acts for failing to provide enough washrooms for all those people. We all know, deep down, it's true. The mood of Woodstock '69 couldn't be recaptured, be- cause the summer of love is an outdated concept. Free love and drug use are outdated concepts. with "just say no" as the correct response to either. There was nothing left then, but to take the 25th anniversary of the event and make Tots of money out of it, and keep a few lawyers on retainer just in case. Can you judge a party by its title? increasingly has disassociated itself, and Soviet bloc countries later shown to be so economical- ly unworkable they have virtually collapsed. In Britain and some other countries, the ap- proximate equivalent of the NDP calls itself the Labour Party. But a party with a name appear- ing to suggest it is controlled or greatly influ- enced by or even strongly connected to orga- nized labor is not likely to appeal to many Ontarians who are wary of unions. Names in any case are not necessarily much of a clue to the policies of parties. The provin- cial Progressive Conservative Party led by Mike Hams is now much more conservative than it is progressive in the traditional sense and former Tory premier William Davis would hardly recognize it at times. There are parties in Ontario that have not yet found electoral success whose policies are not much hinted at in their names. The Family Coa- lition Patty naturally focuses on helping the family, but also is against pay equity, which it somehow sees as undermining family life. The Christian Heritage Party has among its objectives bringing back capital punishment and, until trade relations recently were restored, lifting the ban imposed on importing wines from South Africa because of its racist policies and a Christian Democrat Party wants separat- ists deported. Some of the most repressive regimes in Latin Amercia have called themselves Christians or Democrats or both. In North Korea the dictator- ship recently handed from father 10 son calls it- self the Democratic People's Republic and General Manuel Noriaga, dictator in Panama until ousted by the United SIAA, Ipd the Dem- ocratic Revolutionary Party. A party with almost the same name as the NDP, the New Demobracy Party, has won elec- tions in Greece and is ultra -conservative. There is a lot of evidence you cannot judge a party by its title.