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row Tory poligies. It‘s retrenchment, hold down, cut back... To me the Liberals have always been a party of reform," said Lioyd Axworthy, the lone Liberal MPP in Manitoba@,â€" at the Liberal‘s national convention last weekend in Ottawa. Wateriooâ€"Cambridge MP Max Sailtsman, a New Demâ€" ocrat, ponders the difficult choice awaiting the voter in the next federal election in trying to fathom ‘"the Liberal party running on a Tory platform.‘"‘ The Liberal‘s determination to retain power ‘"means abandoning any pretence of being dedicated to, or inâ€" terested in, reform or even change,"‘ writes Toronto political observor Geoffrey Stevens. "It‘s a time to be conservative. It‘s a time for less spending, for less government. A time for restraint. Not a time for indeâ€" pendent thinking.‘‘ & It is getting increasingly difficult to discern the difâ€" ferences between the philosophies of the federal Liberâ€" al and Progressive Conservative parties. Instead of black and white differences, the Canadian voter is conâ€" fronted with a mass of greyness. ‘It says here the Liberals are still the party of reâ€" form â€" except that they‘re reforming into closet Tories. Last weekend, they came out of the closet. Of course, this isn‘t unusual. It was not that long ago when the Liberals laughed at and dismissed former Have you heard the latest? The Ontario Secondary School Teacher‘s Federation (O.S.S.T.F.) is proâ€" posing a retirement haven for Ontario teachers. The selfâ€"contained teachers‘ retirement village would include 30 to 50 bungalows, 200 apartments, 100 nursing home units, recreational facilities and commercial units. Donald Scott, an OSSTF representative on the Ontario Teachers‘ Federation, said the village was to act as a ‘"hedge against inflation for retired teachâ€" ers at a time when many of them are spending as much as 2/3 of their income on sheliter.‘"‘ . * It was what you might have called a noâ€"cigar effort by the media last Wednesday night. â€" _ *‘*What bothers me is that Liberals are starting to borâ€" It was, as promised, the night that members of this sometimesâ€"honorable profession were to take on members of the Twin Cities Spinners in a benefit wheelchair basketball game. In a news article Scott was quoted as saying, ‘"‘the aged, year by year are being pinned more and more to the wall by inflation." Scott hit the nail on the head when he said "the aged." All the aged, not just retired teachers, need accommodation and are spending 2/3 of their income or more for a roof over their heads. For years communities have been screaming for senior citizen housing complexes and nursing home facilities and the Twin Cities are no exception. We are greatly in need of it. The nursing homes and The Spinners are, if you don‘t know by now, a group of (and the description hardly seems apt at this point) disabled athletes whose game is, and they play it well, basketball. Boy, do they ever play it well! We tried our darndest, and we came close, but ... Anyway, it was quite a game. Besides myself, our illustrious team included Chronicle editor John Schultheiss, who talks a better game than he plays, former working buddy and editor of the Eimira Signet, John Cole, along with Kâ€"W Record entertainment writer John Kiely, Mark Filo and Frank Theriault from Radio Laurier, and the CHYM Goodguys, Mac Lindsay, Chris Chivers, Gord James and Vern Rombough. We also had help from Dean Mellway, wheelâ€" chair sports‘ answer to Darry) Sittler or Jimmy Edâ€" wards. Wheelchair basketball is somewhat akin to the regular kind, in that all the rules apply. It‘s not hard to foul out, as the chair is considered part of the body. It‘s a lowâ€"scoring game, as might be expected. Try shooting from a chair, about four feet lower than you normally would, and you‘ll see what I mean. You have to dribble, like regular basketball Turiha_derwwymdbrmemd price controls â€" and then promptly introduced controls themselves after they were returned to power. ~ The bland sameness of the two major federal politiâ€" cal parties is comforting to and a reflection of a Canaâ€" dian people not known for their appetite for challenge and change. Instead, Canadians hunger for security with the encompassing principle of making haste exâ€" tremely slowly. i Canadian voters like to play it safe. They warm to the knowledge that they have an hedge on their bets in elecâ€" tions since the two parties most likely to govern proâ€" pose similar positions. That way you can‘t really go wrong by voting for one or the other. The problem is that Xero platforms dissolves what should be the main purpose for an election â€" an airing and discussion of the different stances each party would bring to power. When those stances turn into carbon copies, it makes that purpose rather meaningless. Instead, we have an election composed of images, empty phrases and trumped up issues. This, of course, suits the ruling Liberals. Prime Minister Trudeau, as he skillfully reaffirmed last weekend, is still this country‘s most dynamic political performer, That asâ€" set is enhanced even greater when compared to Conâ€" servative leader Joe Clark who has generated as much excitement as a bowl of cold pablum. In an election teachers "hungry for the staffroom exchanges of their teaching years." How nice. Is there a possibility that when I turn 65 I will be able to attend a haven for retired journaâ€" lists. I can see myself now rocking rythmically in my chair discussing that great basetball shot I took in 1978 or the story I uncovered in the fall of ‘76. I can hardly wait! senior citizen complexes that do exist have long waiting lists of persons needing this kind of accomâ€" modation. So why are just retired teachers being offered this hedge against inflation? Why are persons who spent their lives serving the community as labourâ€" ers, nurses, doctors, lawyers etc. being asked to put their name on a list and wait it out? Scott told reporters that many retired teachers feel they can still make a contribution to the comâ€" munity and no doubt they can. But you get two chairâ€"pushes for every dribble, and you can glide as far as you like. That‘s about the only advantage of this kind of ball. â€" o The coâ€"ordination required to play is unbelievâ€" able. Back to the game. I managed to make the starting lineup, for the simple reason too many of the others chickened out. 4 I think I was right guard, but I‘m not sure. So there we were, not looking too bad in the game‘s opening minutes. The passes were clicking, and initially we were keeping the Spinners off the scoreboard. Then my moment of glory,. The gallery wasn‘t exactly packed, about 200 people on hand, but I wanted to look good all the same. o " Gord James fed me a beeâ€"ootiful courtâ€"wide pass, and I was in the clear. Nothing between me and the backboard but about 40 feet of varathaned hardwood floor. I put the ball in my lap, and gave the wheels an almighty spin. The momentum was too much, dammit. Like the little pillâ€"pusher in the Alka Seltzer commercials says, Plop‘! As you could predict, it was all downhill from there. I was out of the chair and on my knees on the floor. How embarrassing. My big moment, and I blew it. Well according to Scott it will afford teachers ‘‘Psychologically he (the teacher) has to feel he â€" . Waterioo Chronicle, Wednesday, March 1. 1978 â€" devoid of any serious differences hetween the two majâ€" or parties, it turns into a personality contest, one which the Liberals know they can win. Recent polls indicate the electorate is almost divided evenly between support for the Liberals and the Conâ€" servatives. However, Trudeau has a commanding lead in popularity over Clark, a fact well known by the Lib erals and why they will emphasize leadership in the next â€" Trudeau embraces theâ€"leadership question to his bosom and believes it is his trump card. That indeed is ironic since there is ample evidence that his adminâ€" istration for the most part has been bankrupt of leadâ€" ership. Take the party‘s slide to the right. No doubt most Canadians welcome that. $ i ~ But leadership is not simply reflecting the mood of the country. Leadership is challenging the public by proposing ideas which perhaps are before their time but needed nonetheless. As Max Saltsman says leaderâ€" ship "sometimes consists of telling people what they don‘t want to hear."‘ Leadership is sticking to principles of your party and not eroding them at the whim of public opinion. Leadership is to inspire, not through partisan rhetoric. but by advancing new ideas. We heard a lot of the formâ€" er last weekend but, sadly, little of the latter. Is he saying that because a doctor‘s hands shake at 65 that his years of knowledge and experience can‘t be utilized by the community or that a skilled labourer isn‘t of any use to the community even though he can do odd jobs. 1 can‘t understand Scott‘s reasoning. If the teachers are still in the position to be of such an outstanding benefit to the community that they warrant this elaborate village what makes Scott so sure they‘ll be content to leave their homes in other areas, congregate in Kitchenerâ€" Waterloo and reminisce about old times? We ended the half, down 12 to 4. { Mark Folio got us on the board, and Chronicle editor John Schultheiss, in a move reminiscent of Sparky Lyle in last year‘s World Series, tossed a long oneâ€"hander 30 feet that hit the backboard like a Mack truck and somehow made it through isn‘t being shunted out of the mainstream of society,"‘ said Scott. But in the second half, we came on fire. Dean Mellway started raking up the points like no body‘s business. At one point, we were within one, as the Spinners led us 15â€"14. ° But they got another one, and with 38 seconds left in the game, we had our best chance to get back into it as a courtâ€"long pass was fired towards Johnny Cole. But he missed, and it was all over. The final was 17â€"14, in favor of the Spinners. We promptly challenged them to a rematch, which we hope to play in the next couple of months. It‘s nice to see the site for this project has been pretty well selected and financing has been straightâ€" ened out, particularly when local politicians quib ble about if, where, when and how they can help the senior residents in their own jurisdiction. But what an educational experience it was. Our ineptitudeâ€" at the game from a wheelchair was more than compensated by the efforts of the guys who have no choice but to live out of a wheelchair. We made our way to our cars, to "drown" our sorrows at the loss, at a local establishment. But what of the guys in the chairs, I thought. If our cars got stuck on the ice on the way out, we could always get out and push. But what of those guys confined to the chairs? What chance would they have? I‘m surprised at Mayor Morley Rosenberg‘s immediate approval of the project. In his words it ‘‘sounds very exciting.‘" Most absurd plans are exciting but whether or not they are practical and in the best interests of everyone is another matter. An experience like that basketball game makes you appreciate your own abilities, as well as those of others.