The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

It certainly wasn‘t an inspiring ending to the provincial election campaign last Saturday night , when Conservative leader William Davis and Liberal leader Robert Nixonâ€" drew rhetorical swords in a televised debate. However, the tone of the debate, the mudâ€"slinging and accusations, was inevitable in a campaign that has concentratâ€" ed too greatly on personalitites and too little on the issues. The debate left a sour taste in people‘s mouths. "I couldn‘t believe my eyes. It was the rudest proâ€" gram I have seen in sometime," NDP leader Stephen Lewis said, which is saying quite a bit considering the quality of television programs which are often very rude to the intellect. Rather than debating the issues and basic difâ€" ferences between the two parties, the two leaders debated in a petty fashion over who made the most contradictions and mistakes. The only word for it is irresponsible. It was pure and simple a waste of time, a waste of a good opportunity for the two leaders to give a clearer presentation of the alternatives facing Ontario voters in tomorrow‘s election. But it wasn‘t surprising. Neither men like each other and the strain of the bitter campaign showâ€" ed. It especially showed on Mr. Davis whose personal, as well as his government‘s integrity has been questioned by the Liberal leader. Adding Mr. Nixon‘s dubious mathematical equations, the debate was doomed to wallow in pettiness. â€" 10 Only Mr. Lewis has consistently explored the issues and offered alternatives, from education to health to skyâ€"rocketing rent increases. Mr. Lewis scored points during the campaign making Mr. Davis respond to his attacks and flutter wildly down the middle of the road of indecision, especiâ€" ally regarding rent increases. Mr. Lewis ran an effective and admirable campaign but its doubtâ€" ful his party can make significant gains in a provâ€" ince where an experiment in democratic socialâ€" ism is still looked upon suspiciously. Some issues did receive proper attention. Difâ€" fering approaches to the rent costs problem is an example. Education received some attention but not to the extent it should have. Mr. Davis praised the system (not surprisingly) while Mr. Nixon urged a return to the 3 R‘s, too pat of a solution and playing off public concern. Some issues, though, didn‘t receive the attenâ€" tion they deserved. The environment comes to mind. The ecology is almost a passe issue today compared to the late 1960‘s and early 1970‘s. But it still is a great concern. The Great Lakes need to be cleaned up. Air and noise pollution are with us. The campaign could have proved to be a good opportunity to explore the various philosophies of the three parties and discover answers on perâ€" haps the key question regarding the environment : should the government protect the environment at the possible cost of the economy, an economy already in serious trouble? The subject wasn‘t approached. However, the honourable candidates have spokâ€" en and tomorrow the voters, in their ultimate wisdom. will make known their choice. Published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Record Ltd. 225 Fairway Rd.. Kitâ€" chener. Ontario. Address: correspondence to Waterloo Square. Waterloo. Ont. Telephone 744â€"6364 â€" Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, September 17, Too little â€" In Canada: one year $8; in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 waterioo chronicle SUBSCRIPTION RATES on 18Sues ESTABLISHED 1854 "I wonder what the poor people are doing today?" murâ€" mured my fishing mate, as we lay back on a bed of moss, our bellies stuffed with fried fillet of pickerel, looked up at a huge blue sky and lit a cigarette. . â€" ind _ V;;vh;dâ€";u-stifl;ns'héda shore dinner, prepared by our guide, and had nothing in the world to do but have a little rest and go back and catch some more fish. W gs _ No wives nattering, children squabbling, telephone ringâ€" ing, tires squealing, newspapers blatting headlines. _ _ â€"It ni:;y not be Earadise, but Northern Saskatchewan makes a pretty fair approximation to it, if you like fishing, and clean air, and a complete lack of tension, noise and polâ€" lution. No decisions to make, disputes to handle, compromises to make, people to get sorted out, problems to solve. Some of the weekly newspaper people had elected to go on a fishing trip in some of the best fishing country in the world. It was like asking a boozer to go on a wineâ€"tasting trip through Southern France. s In early August a teenâ€"ager was asked to record what he would remember most about his summer camp experience. His comment was arresting: °"I learned," he said, "that justice doesn‘t mean ‘just us‘ .‘ Justice does not mean ‘just us Those are good words to remember on Labour Day. Nobody likes strikes; they are disruptive and frustrating to everyone, but every purchaser of groceries for a growing family feels the impact of inflation where it hurts. The postman or factory worker has to feed his children just as the banker or civil servant, and a dollar will stretch only so far, whatever our stations. There are 5 million people in Canada today living below the poverty level and 2/3rds of them are the working poor. A good deal of talk and experimentation with the concept of a guaranteed annual income is going on â€" a scheme that would help these minimum wage earners enormously. It‘s worth examining, rather than hotly rejecting it out of hand. While it‘s true that pensioners and others on fixed incomes from investment are also caught in the everâ€"escalating squeeze, not many scream when interest rates rise and owned houses double in value. In short, we are all in this financial spiral together and until someone, somewhere finds a way out of the frightening maze, patience and a willingness to examine facts are something each of us can contribute to an admittedly frightening economy. The youngster‘s comment is pertinent. Justice is not ‘just us . We were guests of the Saskatchewan Department of Tourâ€" ism and Renewable Resources, quite a mouthful. And fine hosts they were. They supplied transportation, accommodaâ€" tion, boats and guides. All we had to buy was our food. Don‘t ever tell me again that Saskatchewan means endâ€" less miles of prairie. More than half the province makes up some of the most striking wilderness in Canada, thouâ€" sands of square miles of lakes and forest. ‘And they‘re not just bragging about that fishing. I had read of it, and seen some of it on television. It‘s real. Time and again you‘ll see two, or even three people in one boat, all with a fish on the line. _ Some of the fishâ€"hogs from Ontario were literally hysteriâ€" cal after half a day‘s fishing. â€" Most of the northern lakes have only a few outfitters loâ€" cated on them, and the government, to cheers from me. is 10t leasing more shore property. Without government interâ€" vention, I can see these beautiful, lonely lakes ravaged by motorâ€"boats, ringed with cottages, and soggy with pollution in a very few years. â€"It begins like this. The éuide takes you out to a spot, and you troll slowly. In five minutes you‘ve caught a pike that would have delighted you back home. _ "Better throw it back. Let him grow up," mutters the guide, laconically. You are ready to elutch that fourâ€"pound pike to your breast and cry, tearfully: ‘‘Nobody‘s gonna get this baby away from me."‘ Too late. The guide has unhooked the fish and let it swim away. In the next 10 minutes, you‘ve thrown back four, about the same size. Suddenly, your fishing partner ties into a good one, and with a lot of reelâ€"screeching and general exciteâ€" ment, he lands one about nine pounds. ‘‘Yeah, we‘ll keep dat one. He‘s not bad," says the guide gloomily. And so on Same with pickerel. If you hit a hot spot, you can "fill up,"" that is, catch your quota for the day, in half an hour. Quotas are generous, and there are no fewer than 12 speâ€" cies of game fish in the province. So much for the fishing. It‘s so good that a fourâ€"yearâ€"old chimpanzee or an 84 yearâ€"old senilté grandmother could catch fish. I know. 1 caught one over nine pounds. He was only seven when we netted him, but he‘s been growing steadiâ€" ly since. Aside from the fishing, there is the magnificent feeling of being away from it all. Miles and miles and miles of clean water and thousands of acres of bush, and little old you right in the middle of it. With 20â€"0dd assorted bodies, men,. women and children. and a most congenial group we were, I was dropped off, after a bonerattling, sevenâ€"hour bus ride, at Jan_LakeA We were all pretty pooped, and 1 hit the jackpot. It was my first experience of that renowned western hospitality. My hostess, Mrs. Jean Martin, showed me to a fine, modermn. log cabin, completely outfitted with everything including indoor waterworks and sleeping room for eight. I had it all to myself. It was like walking deep into the jungle and being shown to a room at the Ritz. ‘ The Martins couldn‘t do enough for me. They don‘t serve food at their camp (you cook your own) but insisted I eat all my meals with them, and refused any payment. Garnet. the husband, and Bernard, No. 1 son, fixed me up with a cap. a jacket, a fishrod and tackle, and Mrs. Martin insistâ€" ed on making a shore dinner for me. Highlight of my whole trip, perhaps, was an hour‘s flight over the area, at fairly low level, with Bernard Martin at the controls. He flies an ancient but sturdy Aeronca, and it was my first flight in a small, light aircraft for many a year. Now that‘s fishing