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Page 4, Tuesday, November 17, 1992 occa (yyy Opinion=== Canadian politics: the next generation Watching election night USA, as President-elect Bill Clinton rolled over a tired incumbent named George Bush, I must admit. I felt a little envious of the choice Americans had in choosing their president. If they wanted to "stay the course", as Bush's famous saying goes, they could've stayed with him. Whether you like George Bush or not, you know he's not going to do anything really crazy. He may not have had the "vision thing" (another Bushism), and he probably wasn't capable of leading the US where it needs to go. But still, he was a safe choice. If they wanted government to be run on the same principles as IBM or McDonald's, there was Ross Perot. He would've done just what he'd said he'd do: drastically cut spending, raise taxes, stand firm and take the heat. Problem is, the government isn't a business, and people don't want it run that way. That's not to say it should run as inefficiently as it is now, but the goal of govern- ment shouldn't be to turn a profit. It should serve the people at as little cost as humanly possible. Canada already has politicians like Bush and Perot: Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien, Audrey McLaughlin and Preston Man- ning to name just a few. But regardless of your political stripe, can you really foresee a majority of Canadians supporting any one of these people? I can see pockets of support for each among different groups, but the chances of any of them gaining consen- sus Support are pretty remote. That's what makes Clinton's victory so remarkable. He man- aged to gain support from virtually all ages, incomes, races and from both genders. The religious right and pro-life voters are about the only groups where Clinton did poorly. He was a candi- date with a number of ideas that appealed to left and right wing voters alike. His proposals for welfare reform is a good example. Rather than threatening to make it less or more generous, as politicians usually do, Clinton has a plan for retraining recipients for a period of time, after which they must work if they are able. Words aren't deeds, but at least his words are impressive, and that's a start. But welfare reform is just one example. What Clinton repre- sents is a break from the left wing/right wing political straight- jacket most politicians on both sides of the border find them- selves in. He is taking what he sees as the best elements of both and incorporating them into his platform. While there are no Canadian federal leaders that fit that mold, there are some on the horizon. One of them is Federal Justice Minister Kim Campbell. She has had to deal with a number of tough issues in her post--gun control and abortion come to mind--and has gained almost universal praise for the way she handled them. And her status as both a Strong advocate of women's issues and a political conservative gives her a poten- tially large constituency. Another next-generation politician is New Brunswick Premier continued on page 15 News are members of Laurentian Newspapers Limited 158 Elgin Street, Sudbury, Ontario P7E 3N5 (705) 673-5667 John Thompson, Vice President CNA " Canada Wo, Cc) cn [& Members of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Comminity Newspapers Asscoiation EDITORS ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Cindy Laundry Ad. Manager & Quality Control Darren MacDonald Linda Harbinson Supervisor OFFICE / ADMIN. Ad. Consultant Heather Michon & Circulation Chery! Kostecki Clara Dupuis PUBLISHER...A. Sandy Harbinson Local offices are located at 145 Railway Street, Nipigon, Ontario POT 2J0 (807) 887-3583 fax 887-3720 and Highway 17 & Mill Road, Terrace Bay, Ontario POT 2W0 (807) 825-3747 fax 825-9233 2nd. class mailing permit 0867 The Nipigon-Red Rock Gazette and the Terrace Bay-Schreiber | One year subscriptions are available by contacting your local newspaper at one of the addresses listed above. Rates are: Local Seniors $12 Other local $18 Outside 40 mile ~adius $29 USA $38 GST must be added to all subscription purchases. ~ fagay TAs . -, «3 rae cs A WFR OES THOSE TWO BIRDS AREN'T MIGRATING , THEYRE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE. TO FEATHER THEIR NEST / Causes of our lousy summer clear as mud I'm no Oracle of Delphi (are you kidding? I bet on Ross Perot and the Braves in five), but I am prepared to make one fearless forecast. I can state without fear of contradiction that if you spent July and August in this country, you have one weird summer to look back on. Actually, that's more of an aftercast, I sup- pose, but safe as a Robbie Alomar slide, no matter how you call it. The summer of '92 was a Strange one, whether you weathered it in Bella Coola, Brockville or Bonav- ista Bay. For Canucks west of the Rockies, it was Death Valley Days--hot and dry followed by lots more hot another truckload of dry. Rivers parched up to a trickle and lawns simply curled up and died. Homeowners in Vancou- ver actually underwent water restrictions. Water restric- tions? e In Vancouver? That's like | rationing sand in Addis : Ababa. As for TROCIQ (stands for The Rest of Canada Including: ¥ Quebec) it was a great sum- = mer. For newts and mallards. For us, it rained and rained and rained some more. Waterskiing became immensely popular. Especially on the Trans Canada. Regina became the marine Mecca for sports tuna fishing. Across the nation, golf pros issued complemen- tary snorkels with every rented cart. As a progressive, forward-thinking citizen, I was not personally surprised this summer to dis- cover wild rice germinating with abandon in deepest southern Ontario. But on the hood of my car???? It was a revoltingly damp summer for TRO- CIQ, but at least we had the satisfaction of knowing WHY we were going through it. Mount Pinatubo, right? That uppity, geologi- cal zit on the Cheek of the Philippines? The one that erupted last year, spewing noxious plumes of smoke and other airbome pollutants all over Le: Arthur Black the heavens, blotting out the sun and causing all manner of meteorological upsets, including our lousy summer. Right? Well . . . perhaps. Some experts finger Mount Pinatubo as the source of our summer miseries, but others blame it on El Nifio--a kind of rogue ocean current that's been playing havoc with the fish- eries in the South Pacific for the past few years. Still other experts attribute our bizarre weather # to fluctuations in the Jet Stream overhead. Meanwhile, diehard tradi- tionalists in the scientific community harrumph "Non- sense!" They're convinced that the blame for our strange summer can be laid at the Effect that they've been wam- ing us of for the past couple of The unvarnished truth is somewhat simpler. No one really knows why we had such a lousy summer! Alan Robock, who special- izes in volcanic eruptions, explains "we don't know all the possible effects volcanic eruptions may have, which is not the case . . . or if it is, somehow, there's no theory to say how it would do that." To which an informed layman can only reply: "Huh?" Doctor Gerry Bell, a meteorologist who spe- cializes in the effects of El Nifio, was a little more helpful. "It was anybody's guess," says Dr. Bell. "Meteorologists have no idea how long the effects will linger." And this year? Well, many experts are pre- dicting a long hard winter for all. Hudson's Bay stayed frozen all summer, they point out. Squir- rels are laying in larger than usual nut stashes. Wooly caterpillars are, well, woolier than usual. All of which, the experts predict, means a tough winter ahead. . Maybe. But I wouldn't bet my thermal underwear on it.