The Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-11-18, Page 5.0
DERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, NOVEMBE1 I
976—PAGE
RON
SHA
•
Since I so accidentally stumbled into
the newspaper business (a fact which
some tell me is more than obvious) .I
have e had the dubious u t us ,pleasure of
covering (I think) four municipal
election campaigns.
The one shaping up in Goderich this,.
year seems ms a carbon copy of_all,�,the
tto
others. No excitement, 'outstandng or
unusual personalities, and above all, no
issues. In short, it is sadly lacking in
"pizazz."
Where is the radical or reactionary
candidate who carries the support of a
small but fanatical portion of the elec-
torate and who is despised and opposed,.
with equal fanaticism by the majority
Where is thevillage idiot who seeks
election., only. through. •delusions of
grandeur Where are, the- candidates
*presenting the staunch Liberal and
staunch Conservative philosophies
Where are the candidates with outlan-
dish platforms and policies
Where are "the issues? What about
those knock down drag out campaigns
ever fluoridation? One side battling for
strong teeth for the young, and the other
fighting to uncover what communist plot
such a program really y w as i�
• .Where are
e
Peter Sellers and Dr. Strangelove?)
What ever happened to the public
meetings, actually attended by the
public, where the opposing posing
candidates
s
took the stage together and entered into.
a verbal slugging match in defence of
their own candidacy to office?
No, I.am not. going to simply fall back
on the old, abstract, , scapegoat and
blame apathy. At least not the apathy
itself.
` � Certainly the' election campaign for.
'municipal office now getting underway
' will bean apathetic one at best, but just
why is that? Webster's' dictionary
describes `Apathy' as being a "lack of
feeling'.' or "absence •of emotion".
Perhaps' the electors 'of Goderich do not
know just what is at stakeorthe reasons
for which they might develop strong
feelings arid. emotion. If they do not, and
I suspect this .is the case, it is partly
because they have not asked and partly
because candidates foroffice have not
seen fit to tell them.
' One .issue at stake is spending.
Spending p ndrng during the upcoming term and
an overall plan for spending in Goderi
for the next decade. The budget;
To define the situation in its simplest
terms, Goderich is faced with a large
number of projects which really must b
undertaken, as soon as possible and for
which there really is not enough money
unless taxes are to be, jacked up no small
degree. ,
For ex ample we • need a new water
tower, there are sewer systems which
must be installed, there are streets to be
paved, work is needed at the waterfront,_
work is needed on the airport, .,tbe,
'downtown area is being considered for
improvements and on top of these there
are the day to day expenses of running
the municipalityi •
All of these projects, and more, should
be presented to the electors of Goderich,
to the local taxpayers, in an order of
priorities. What do we need, how bad do
,., need it, when do we need it in relation
to other needs, how much will it cost,
how will .the, cost be funded, if by
borrowing over how long, what will This •
mean in interest charges.
Granted, all this is fairly complicated
and not easily understood. But i#'taxes
are to be kept in line, if the property
owners are to have -the services ler:
which they, are paying, and if Goderich is
to continue to have.. healthy (though
controlled) growtlftlie questions must be.
answered, They should be answered by
`those who are seeking office, those men
• and women who will he setting the tax.
rates and paying the bilis. More im-
portant they should be answered now, so
that the electors of Goderich can make a
rational decision about who sits on ,
Goderich Town n Council during the 19.:`-
.8 term,
As one elector :I would like the can-:
didates ,to tell. me how they would:..
provide all these things; and the money
to pay for them, •before Igo to•the polls.
By ' so doing the candidates can
their bit to make this a better election.
INFORMATION, BACKGROUND AND OPINION
The Ontario . Ministry of Housing
recently announced, the approval of
$26,196 in grants to municipalities in the
County of Huron. The grants are
designed to assist municipalities and
planning •, boards in preparingofficial
plans and zoning bylaws or in bringing
these up to an acceptable level. o
Grants Of, $5,810 have been awarded
the • Townships of Ashfield, Stephen and
Usborne and the Village of Hensall,
while a grant,of$2,956 has been awarded
the Village of Zurich.
The grants provided to Huron County,
municipalities are part of •$117,177 in
community planning funds given to 17
E
Ontario municipalities -\and planning
boards.
The funds can also•be Used -to prepare
zoning by-laws to replace minister's
zoning orders; to finance planning
programs for unorganized
municipalities or for other relevant
planning studies.
Huron County planner Roman Dzus
explained that the grants are regarded
as an incentive to those municipalities
lacking the financial capability to`,un-
dertake planning work. He noted that the
grants serve to underwrite about 50 per
cent of. the cost of such work with the,
remainder paid by the County.
Dzus terms the . grants a "very good
•
rtrs"'that facilities fol LCCL
in the Province of Ontario are, for the
most part, publically owned. Consider
the tennis courts, baseball diamonds and
hockey arenas. Such has been the
evolution of public recreation in most
sports except skiing.
Perhaps because of the type of in -
Vestment skiing represents, the large
amount 9f space a ski slope occupies or
the rapid growth in popularity thatsport
has enjoyed in the past decade, most ski
facilities are privately operated.
Now, according to the Ontario Ski
Resorts Association, many operators
are faced with being taxed out. of
program". noting that "todo proper
planning it =unfortunately can cost a
great dear of money. The Ministry
- .Housing grants make it feasible f
small towns and rural areas to develop
plans.>.
"The .program becomes especially-
important
speciallyimportant in the ..control of scattered
development in areas with a high
agricultural nature," he added:.
According to the County Planning
.Department the grants approved by the
Ministry of Housing only indicate the tip
of an iceburg in terms of • the work
presently underway through the
department on'municipal planning-
Work, was recently begun on a plan for
the Village of Blyth, and- the Township of
Ashfield. The Planning Department is
also in: the process of submitting plans to
the Ministry of Housing for the town-
ships of Colborne,..Goderich, Usborne,
Howick and Stephen. Approval will be
` sought in the near future for a.plan for.
the Village of Hensall.
A plan for the Village of Zurich is now
complete.' .. ,
•
Some of this work was undertaken
through the recently announced grants
as those grants are actually paid out in
two installments. About halfIs provided
at the time . af' application with the
OVINCIAL PD.PNI
Representatives" of the Association,
which is made up of virtually all com-
merical areas in Ontario have advised
the .Blair Commission on property tax
reforms that implementation will result
in an annual increase of as much as 132
per cent for ski areas in the Province.
Since. most areas are located in
primarily .rural and sparsely populated
parts of the Province,.;on land that is of
little; or no use for housing or farming,
they already bear a large share of • the
total taxes raised on commercial in-
dustrial properties in these areas under
present assessment procedures.,
1•ue----Taxes,...that . would .re t from --the -b ud:g e t�- . .p a p ex
remainder being paid it the time or
submission for approval. -. • •
The,' Huron Planning Department is.
also in the process of submitting a
"model rural zoning bylaw" for use in
rural townships. Mr. Dzus explains that
such a bylaw would provide a frame
-work on which rural planning could
be developed and would provide stan-
dardization of certain itefns which would
apply across the County. At the same
tune it would leave the ooppe
each rural municipal' o tai ilor its own
plan to its.- special needs.
•Work is also underway at the Planning'
offices 'on heritage plans for several
was introduced into Collingwood
Township in 1974, taxes. on Blue
Mountain Resorts Limited went up by 60
per cent.• Taxes On this resort had
already been increased by 19 per in
19.3.
The new tax proposal calls for im-
plementation : of the- market value
method all over the Province with the
prospect'. of yet more severe increases
than those already experienced by Blu
Mountain.
The Resort 'Operators. Committee
warn that the increase in Municipal
Province's reform plan, would bring The Ontario, Ski Resorts. Association
says that should it eventually happen
and these tax reform proposals be fully
implemented, related industries Will
suffer along with ski areas and Ontario's
estimated • 500,000 skiers, who already
find the slopes' .overcrowded will have
less skiable terrain to ' visit plus in-
creased costs.
O.S.R.A: vice president T.G. Hamilton
told me that if the Ski Resort industry
goes under due to high taxes the
repercussions will be felt throughout the
whole Ontario tourist industry.
"Tourism in Ontario is suffering now
further difficulties to the hard-pressed,
resorts of the Province and could ac-
tually driv_e•--many..of them outof
business.
Most are. now having difficulty in
staying out of the red because of the
short season over' which . they operate
(three months), inflationary .pressures
on electricity, insurance and labpr, plus
the large expanse of land which is
necessary for trails, parking lots, base
facilities adds to the tax burden. None of ;
these factors, they say, are considered
under the blanket proposals . in the
comihunifies `throughout • the "County
including the townships of Goderich and
Colborne, the Village of Bayfield a i'•dthe
Town of Goderich. - - .•
Assistance toward funding this work is
expected from the Ministry of Culture
and Recreation as well as the Ministry of . .
Housing. .
Heritage plans would .recognize
certain sites and buildings as being of
historic or' architectural • significance
t feand attempt to preserve them. It would.
a soprovide guidelines for modifications
of such buildings so that work is carried
out in a way which preserves the special .
qualities which led to the designa.tion.
•
v.
mancew eh a rh d r :_
the market, 'rhe claims.
Mr. "Hamilton also suggests the .ski"
equipment, retail industry will -suffer as
will the' companies who manufacture
equipment for both the skier r and the ski
resort operator. That includes
everything from clothing, to skis, to
snow making machines.
The. O.S.R A. is asking the •Ontario
government to develop a new system of
assessment for park, recreation•and ski.
areas which are not used extensively' but
only on a seasonal basis,
•
I can hardly believe the hysterical
ever -reaction of Canadian journalists
and politicians to the election of the
Parti Quebecbis on Monday in Quebec.
Tuesday morning's headlines screamed
such nonsense as "One step toward
independence."
Rene. Levesque was . democratically
elected in Quebec and he leads a party
which promises to act within the
democratic system. The 'voters of
Quebec obviously trusted, and believed
M, Levesque's promise to hold a '
referendum on the question of _Quebec's •
separation from Canada, and so do I$
With great political skill, Levesque
and the Parti iQuebecois, removed the
CANADA
emotional issue of separatism from the
Quebec election campaign. Indeed, in an.
emotion charged speech to his sup-
porters when his victory became ob-
vious, he again reaffirmed his promise
not to take Quebec out of Confederation
without a referendum.
'Once the question of that province's.
separation from Canada was removed
from the list of issues, the voters of
Quebec swung to the Parti Quebecois'
support. Above all, Monday'selection
showed a vote against the -Bourassa.
Liberal regime, not a vote in favour of
the F.Q. and certainly not a vote of
support for its separatist policies. The
IN :SEVEN
P.Q.'have won as the result of a backlash
against such legislation as Bill 22,
against economic blundering., such as
surrounded the Olympics and the James
Bay Project, ands the .Liber-als' inability
to deal with labor unrest.
This 'in itself came as no surprise.
What was surprising was the magnitude
of the win. The polls closed at 7 p.m. and
by 9 p.m. the CBC prediction desk called.
the election in favour of the P.Q. Only
one hour later that party had officially
won the 56 seats necessary to form a
majority government and the win kept
piling up until the Parti Quebecois, had a
total of 68 seats. The Liberals won only
29, the Union Nationale 113, the Creditiste
two and the new Popular National Party
one. In the rout even former. Premier
Robert Bourassa lost his seat. '
It should be pointed out, however, that
opposition parties do not .win elections,
governments lose elections. Federal
Conservative leader Joe. Clark put the
P.Q, victory into perspective when he .
noted `at a press -conference, that "the
people of Quebec voted for the- Parti
Quebecois in spite _ of its separatist
policies, not because of them".
Those who, have- been thrown into.
P
panic by the .Q. win might Teel. hatter if
they took aclose look at the percentage -
breakdown of the popular vote. While
Levesque bray have won a landslide
majority in terms or seats in the
legislature,his party in fact only pulled
38 percent of that popular vote. The
Union Nationale received 18 percent and
the ,Liberals about 35 percent. The
federalist parties combined pulled well
over half the popular vote.
Applied to a referendum on' Quebec's
separation .from Canada this would
indicate defeat of such a question.
In recent elections I have been running
a hot streak at predicting the outcome, I
chose both Carter and Levesque to win
so I will•predict the outcome -of such a
referendum (if it is ever held) _at 80
percent opposing and 20 percent sup-
porting separatism.
For the real effect of the P.Q. win on •
Quebec we might watch theamoney
'markets. Some investors threatened to
pullout of•Quebec if the Parti Quebecois
were victorious. Certainly new in;
vestment will show some hesitancy
toward Quebec. Qn the European foreign
exchange market Tuesday morning
though, the Canadian dollar only fell
slightly.
Federal politician Bryce- Mackasey,
who bran for,. the Quebec Liberals on
Monday, claims "the P.Q. will smash
the country". He is wrong. They are -
bound by, party philosophy to try, but
they will fail. . •
A.Canadian-Arab heritage conference
held at London last weekend was told
that Canada and the Arab states would
benefit from 'better relations and in-
creased trade. .
Dr. Atiff Kubursi,. an economics,
professor at"' McMaster University in
Hamilton, said Canada's' present
economic policy restricts such co-
operation: ' Recently the Canadian
government moved to block the effects
of the Arab boycott -of -Israel catnpaign
in Canada. '
Rubursi told 50 delegates' that Canada,.
like about 60 other countries, is following
th4 stand of .the United States in sup-
porting Israel before the Arab nations.
R
WORLD
"While that policy exists there can be
no • improvement • in Canadian Arab.
relations," he said. He also claimed that
this country's policy is contradictory to
its economic interests.
He' also said the Middle East situation
was obscured by the pre -occupation of
other countries with the Israeli issue.
Kubursi told the conference that the
Arab market is one of the most lucrative
in the world, particularly because of the
oil reserves. He said Canada's entry to
the A>b markets would lessen
Canadian dependence on the .U.S. for
export markets and financing.
"The dwindling energy supplies in
Canada and the prospects of shortages in
the near future should alone' prompt
Canada to explore better economic and
political relationships with the Arabs,
who now control more than 50 per cent of.,
world production of oil and over 80 per
cent of its proven reserves." ,
He I claimed that wide economic -co-
operation with the .Arabs would give
Canada the prospect of a more balanced
trade relationship.
The Arab states, Mr. Kubursi said,.
would benefit from -better relations, and
increased . trade because Canada . has
enough natural resources and
technological goods to fulfil Arab needs.
He noted the ' Arab boycott of.
"blacklisted' companies dealing" with
Israel is accepted under international
laws as a wartirne instrument to
discourage third parties from finan-
cially supporting the enemy (Israel).
The Arab boycott is a legitimate means
to that end and "not measures to weaken
unfriendly countries.."
He claimed the Arab states have dealt
with other countries fairly ..in keeping
them supplied with Arab oil and buying
�iproducts from the countries despite the
fact that the policy doesn't "serve their
best selfish interest."
"They are not to be expected to do
favors indefinitely," he warned:
"Responding tb a • suggestion from
a
Professor' Muhammad Shuraydi of the
University of Windsor that the
Canadian -Arab. Federation has • not
developed sinceit was founded 10 years
ago, Kadrie admitted that th,e federation
has failed ,to gainwide respect in.
Canada.
If those Arabs better understood the
Canadian people they might not wonder
why.
However fuzzy our foreign policy may
be, one could never say Canada did not
have a deep concern for world freedom, •
peace and law and order. So long as
those Arab.countries continue to operate,
their foreign policy in terms of an ex-_'_
pressed desire to destroy the state of
Israeland"drive the Jews into the sea" -
they, will find it difficult to drum up
much sympathy in this country.
So long as they continue to shelter
bandits . and .terrorists who highjack
coin i ci•al aircraft and thereby
threaten or take the lives of innocent
people they will find Canada's attitude
toward there cool. So long as they ap.
plaud acts of terror they will find us
unfriendly.' So long as they 'resort to
pressures on our economy to resolve
their own internal and ~-external ,
problems it is unlikely we will waren to
them as much as they seem to want.
Canada's respect is not for sale.
p