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Page 6 PROFILES How does it feel to come up against Mr. Invincible? Walter Baker's opponents in this federal election campaign know they have their work cut out for them just to make a respec- table showing in Nepean- Carleton. Nobody in the Conservative government -- including Prime Minister Joe Clark -- has a higher profile in the riding than Mr. Baker who is president of the Privy Council, . minister - of revenue, and government house leader. And nobody -- except a few jaded Opposition critics -- would dare suggest that Mr. Baker hasn't represented the riding commen- dably since first elected Conser- vative MP in the old riding of Grenville-Carleton eight years ago. Not only does he do his riding homework well enough to sway votes that otherwise would be committed to the Liberals and New Democrats, but Mr. Baker has also established a reputation as one.of the country's more com- petent and outspoken politicians. In the electoral battle last May 22, which saw the Conservative Party handed the reigns of government, Mr. Baker's consti- tuents rewarded his work with a 19,627 vote plurality over his closest opponent, Liberal Bluma Appel. : In this contest, his main challengers are Liberal Gordon Hunter and NDPer Alan White. Even a Rhinoceros has entered the fray, providing comic relief and making the occasional salient point. The Rhino is Alan White, 26, who opposes capital punishment because residents of the Capital don't deserve to be punished. Like other Conservative standard-bearers, Mr. Baker is be- ing called upon to defend his par- ty's stated policy of implementing stern measures -- including an. 18-cent per gallon gas tax hike -- in order to make Canada energy self-sufficent and to chop the $10 billion federal deficit in half. Canadians will have to take bit- ter financial medicine from a Tory government, the Nepean-Carleton MP insists; there's no real alter- native to get the country on its feet and keep it there. He faults the . Liberal Party for slamming the doors on government at a crucial stage. Mr. Baker, a lawyer and Parkwood 'Hills resident, also backs the Conservative plan to eliminate 60,000 jobs from the public service. He stresses that KOA 3B0 ANNOUNCING NEW LAW OFFICE DIANNE CUSTANCE L.L.B. BARRISTER, SOLICITOR AND NOTARY PUBLIC 330 Church Street, Russell, Ont. 445-3183 NEPEAN--CARLETON GLENGARRY --PRESCOTT--RUSSELL there will be no layoffs, that the cut will be accomplished through attrition. A burning local issue only eight months ago, the proposed govern- ment staff reduction is drawing scant attention this time despite the fact the riding contains Ne- pean, a public service hotbed. With most of the riding's 73,000 eligible voters living in Ne- pean, that's where the fight will be won or lost. The battle lines have been drawn along Merivale Road. As usual, residents of the riding,'s outlying communities such as Metcalfe, Osgoode, and Greely are participating from a distance. Although the Liberal Party . toned down Pierre Trudeau's leadership on the national front, Mr. Hunter has raised the issue in Nepean-Carleton, suggesting that Mr. Trudeau has better creden- tials than Prime Minister Joe Clark. Mr. White, a Richmond teacher, is promising lower in- terest rates and reduced energy costs under a New Democratic government. GLENGARRY- PRESCOTT-RUSSELL- Eight months later, and they're back on the hustings. Denis, Gordon, young Gary. There's a newcomer along this time as well Claude Dion of Sarsfield. Without any real effort, Denis Ethier is leading the way. Gordon Johnson is a distant second and Gary O'Brien is bringing up the rear. Claude has settled in third place, just like the New Democratic Party candidate the last time around. Except for the occasional fling with Conservatism, a Liberal is - always the front-runner. During the past 18 years, that Liberal has been an Ethier, first Viateur and then brother Denis, who resides at Dalkeith. And, except for those rare times _ when the Liberal and Conser- vative switch positions, a Tory always places second. Gordon Johnson, now of Hawkesbury, will make it twice in a row Feb. 18. _ An NDPer always comes in third and there's always a fringe candidate along for the ride, -- an Independent, a Creditist, or something -- to make it a four- some. Twenty-one year-old Gary O'Brien is along again this time, just as he was in the May 22 cam- paign, to present the views of the Marxist-Leninist party. Making this campaign more predictable than usual is the fact it follows the last one by only eight months. It's even more difficult to work up enthusiasm about the predictable when it occurs so fre- quently. So Denis, Gordon, Claude, and Gary are gladhanding their way from all-candidates meetings to coffee klatches searching out those elusive votes -- elusive, that is, unless you're a Liberal. That's a lot of travelling. Glengarry-Prescott-Russell stret- ches from just north of the St. Lawrence River in the south-east, wraps around Stormont-Dundas to the south, and encompasses part of Cumberland Township in the west. The eastern boundary is Quebec and to the north, the Ot- tawa River. There's light industry scattered through. the riding --- Hawkesbury, Rockland, Embrun -- and a few major manufacturers -- like Canadian International Paper at Hawkesbury, but the riding is primarily agricultural, and the candidates direct much of their policies to farmers. Mr. Johnson has to defend his party's stand on stabilizing the economy and making Canada energy self-sufficient through such tough measures as an 18-cent increase in the excise tax on gasoline. 2 If every implemented, Tory policies will hit farmers hard, the other candidates warn. Mr. O'Brien, a University of Ottawa student and Hull resident, says farmers and everyone else would benefit if the government assumed control of monopolies. _As usual, a secondary issue is Mr. Ethier's performance as an MP, with the Conservative and . NDP candidates accusing the member of being invisible between elections. Mr. Dion, who operates a beef farm along with commuting to his job in Ottawa with the Public Ser- vice Alliance of Canada, states categorically that the Liberal in- cumbent has done nothing for the riding. Mr. Johnson, who owned a nursing home at Limoges before selling it and moving to Hawkesbury last October, main- tains that only the popularity of Liberal leader Pierre Trudeau has kept Mr. Ethier in his seat. But these insults roll off Mr. Ethier like water off a duck's back. He replies that his con- students know's he doing a fine job, a statement that's hard to refute in light of the vote spread last May: Ethier, 27, 124; Johnson, 9,997; and the NDP's Paul de Broeck, 4,163. & Appliances & Refrigeration Repairs to all makes of Major Home Appliances © HOME SERVICE ® 445-5765 Proprietor Yvan Dagenais Season's Greetings RE-ELECT Published by For Assistance or if you wish to help, please contact - Walter Baker Cam paign Headquarters 1532 Merivale Rd. Nepean, Ontario K2G 3J7 Telephone 225-7700 the Walter Election Committee David Muir, C.A. 25 Northside Rd., Official Agent Nepean, Ontario Baker Re- VALTER BAKERGES "A Strong Voice for Nepean- Carleton" » ite -