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Pulished every Wednesday by Fairway Pm. a dividu d 'iitetenerrwater%o Record Ltd. 25 Fairway Rd.. Kit- Square. Waterloo. om. 'Nhtttoete 141m. THE LAST we heard, the Canadian people still had the right to decide what kinds of social poli- cies and laws would regulate the development of this society. Yet, Justice" Minister Otto Lang, in declaring his hard-rock, uncompromising opposition to further liberalization of abortion laws, seems oblivious to the publie's role in the governing process. ' - Minister Lang has every right to voice his opposition to the easing of abortions, if he feels that reflects the feelings of his constituency. But is that really what the majority of his con- stituents--the Canadian people-are _ saying? If so, it would be useful to have the evidence. If not, how does he assume the right to mobilize his department against any, further changes that might ease women's access to abortion? It is not our intent to take up sides on the issue of abortion. That is a matter to be considered individually by Canadians. But the way in which this discussion is being manoeuvred, by government has far-reaching implications that ultimately impinge upon the right of, the people to govern. In that the right to an abortion is a matter of social policy, the manner of its discussion is analogous to current concerns about drug use. Both are legal, moral and medical issues that demand an enormous amount of public partici- pation in the way they are resolved. Drug use-even what is considered illicit use-cannot categorically be termed either "good" or "bad". If there was no pleasure or benefit attached, people wouldn't use drugs. pr" The same is true of the abortion issue. If abor- tion is made easier there might be more abdr- tions, there might be need for more public mon- ey for manpower and facilities to handle these abortions. The decision to be made is whether the "good" qualities are so overwhelming that we must accept the "bad" consequences as the price we must pay. _ The question: Is this a fair price to pay for eliminating the degrading and dangerous cir- cumstances which afflict so many candidates for abortion? Is this the kind of decision that should be made exclusively by one minister, or by a single cabinet? Or should it be made by the people who are, in the end, going to have to pay the tab, whether that price is financial, ethical or moral? When Canadians became disturbed about the growth of non-medical drug use, a government commission was set up to organize existing knowledge about this social phenomenon and to get a feel for public sympathies. - One purpose of the LeDain reports was to raise the level of public discussion and consider- ation about non-medical use of drugs. To date, government has left the report to gather dust. There has not even been an indica- tion by Health Minister Marc Lalonde, to whom the report was directed, as to what he intends to do with it. The recommendations included in the LeDain reports were drafted by people who tried, over a long period of time, to understand and to come to grips with public attitudes about drug Public left out In Canada: one year a; in United States and Foreign countries: we year " \Vlewpnint with SUBSCRIPTION RATES 'tAiit'hitittti)? “PW "c", to Watch "you've GOT a ALLWRONG am... rrtsNtrrMo'tEteArpTtst,8sstmr' Back to business _ With the federal budget likely to be reintroduced in October, time is fast running out for Ottawa and the prov- inces to start talking reason- ably about the taxation of re- source industries, says an editorial in The Financial Post. Thanks to the prov- inces' sharply higher levies and the punitive proposals affecting resource indus- tries in Ottawa's ill-fated May budget, the once-favor- ed resource producers will be in no fit state to contri- bute to Canada's progress. CCDIIIIIICIIt , Note this assessment from Robert D. Brown, senior tax partner, Price Waterhouse & Co. and one of Canadis most respected tax experts. He says in the Canadian Tax Journal: "Open conflicts between federal and provin- The definition of social policy is rarely made on the basis of facts alone. Heroin and alcohol are potentially addictive, that is fact. Cannabis is an illegal intoxicant, its use in most cases clandestine; that also is fact. Might we assume the Lang technique in deal- ing with abortion is the same kind of technique we might expect when government comes face to face with other social policy issues-re- classification of drug groups, legal status of marijuana, personal use of psychoactives, drug control mechanisms? But determining how much it is worth-in terms of individual legal rights and civil free- doms---to suppress this clandestine use of canna- bis is not a matter of fact, but of individual judgment. . use. Yet there is no indication government in- tends to pay any heed to any of the recommenda- tions-or at this stage, to even bring them up for any more discussion. That's what public involvement in social policy is all about-giving people the information, the facts, and the equipment they need to arrive at rational judgments. - Reprinted with permission from the Journal of the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario. If government is going to override this pro- cess and function solely on sonity level of celes- tial consultation, then let's at least formally in- duct the divinity into the cabinet. cial governments; complex, arbitrary and frankly inept legislation: and extraordin- arily high marginal rates on new income have meant that these tax changes can be even more damaging to the industry than the enormous amounts of additional reven- ues demanded by govern- ments would indicate. .. The implications of the present situation, for the in- dustry and Canada: are these: (UCombined federal- provincial levies that, in some cases, mean marginal tax rates on new resource developments approaching and even exceeding 100%. (2) Serious danger to pres- ent levels of production and employment in these indus- tries. And that's no minor consideration. The mining industry, which directly employs 135,- 000 persons, accounts for about 20% of Canada's commodity exports, Exports of crude oil and natural gas alone will be close to $5.000 million this year. including the oil export tax. (3) A plethora of different rules - many of which may change through ministerial discre- "The current situation is one of almost total uncer- tainty, and that uncertainty may prove, at least in the short run, every bit as harm- ful to future investment as the higher tax rates them- selves," warns Brown. The damage, of course, is not all for the future. Oil drilling rigs have already moved south out of Alberta. And in British Columbia, where the economy rests Montrealers and Tordnton- ians have been going con- siderably slower on the roads recently because of traffic - snarling transit strikes. But if the debate on lowering speed limits to save lives and energy con- tinues to grow, this, might become a permanent condi- tion for all Canadians, ob- serves The Financial Post. There's been an undercur- rent of discussion on the sub. ject ever since our southern neighbors knocked their speed limits down to 55 miles per hour during the so-called energy crisis. They estimate 5,000 American lives have been saved on the highways because of the move plus considerable gas- oline savings. And the de- bate is beginning to grow louder on this side of the border Consider 55 MPH limit on resource development, investment in new ~forest industry capacity and new mining ventures has fallen flat. Finding the right form- ula for taxing resource com- panies will notheeasy., . But, as Brown points out. before '."windfa11' profits are all taxed away, it should be noted that recent profit gains stem in part from measuring revenue against historic, and much lower', costs. And rising costs of ex- ploration surely entitle the industry to a reasonable share of higher product pric- es. In these circumstances, the fasterfhere is a sensi- ble resolution of the federal: provincial power struggle, the better it will be for every- one. The "governments in- volved should instruct their officials to search out a mid- dle ground and then let the ministers agree to 'ite,'.',','),) ate quietly without the emp- ty rhetoric and posturing of a federal-provincial confer- Dear Friend: We wish to thank all those who replied so promptly to our recent mailing of Dutch Boy Cadet lottery tickets. The response so far has been in excess of 50% - a tribute to the civic res i- bility of our local 1 munity leaders. If the ' sponse continues in this way, there is no doubt that the cadets will perform for our Canadian armed forces in Munich this fall. ' If you still have books of tickets, would you be good enough to either send us your cheque for those sold, or return the books in the envelope provided. Letter Tharik you again for your response to our appeal. Yours very truly, New” ill! $343; ttil Don Scott Corps Director.