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_Report from Queen‘s Park Not many of you readers have attended one of the many wedding ceremonies of Elizabeth Taylor, right? You and I don‘t exactly travel with that jet set crowd, right? _ Well, you‘re wrong. I recently attended one of the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor. And I didn‘t crash it ; I was invited. And I hope it‘s the only one she ever has. It was her first. No, no. Not that fat, beautiful, silly Elizabeth Tayâ€" lor, the movie star, who by now has pledged to love, honor and obey, in sickness and in health, until death do them part, about six or seven guys. I mean the real Elizabeth Taylor. Liz, the kid who was a close buddy of my daughter Kim from about Grade 5 on, whom I taught in Grade 10 and Grade 12, who became somewhat of a second daughter to us when her mother died, who dropped in to the Smileys‘ every vacation home from college to regale us with heér ups and downs. On frequent occasions since my election to the legisâ€" lature on June 9, 1977 I have been asked about how well the government is performing and particularly the role of the opposition in a minority or majority government situation. Not having served in the legisâ€" lature when majority government was in operation, I can comment first hand on minority government. She‘s now a young Phys. Ed. teacher, and a darn good one. I daresay, because she‘s always been a good athlete, and has had a way with kids since her camp counsellor days. She‘s also now a young bride, and I take this opportunity of wishing her a happy married life. I could scarcely get near enough at the wedding to say it. so many guys wanted to kiss her. I am sure you are all aware that to be an Opposition Member does not mean that one automatically opâ€" poses all legislation proposed by the Government. Hoâ€" wever, while the Government in power seeks to exâ€" ploit its achievements, it is the Opposition‘s responâ€" sibility to propose constructive and viable alternatives. ‘‘*We deserve the government we get," he said, and what had been up to then a relatively subdued monoloâ€" gue suddenly exploded into a frenetic quadrophonic dialogue. Usually, I hate weddings. and avoid them whenever possible. But I enjoyed this one. The church service was a mixture of traditional Anglican and swinging We were enjoying Sunday dinner at the home of friends in a neighboring township when the host tromped on a sensitive sec:ion of the public conscienâ€" ce with this threadbare cliche. The result was a frenâ€" zied eruption of political opinions from the four diners that surpassed the fervor of the Kitchener election â€" and we didn‘t even touch on the ward system. The conversation had centreéd mostly around a statâ€" ed opinion that planning across the country is conâ€" trolled by three major land developers and not the provincial politicians, as they would have us believe. We were all enjoying the national sport of mentally skewering the home builders for their role of greedy land grabbers, and adding a few jabs at the politicians who were leaving the big building decisions to the guys who were spending the big bucks. When it was suggested that the pathetic performance of some poliâ€" ticians could be traced back to public apathy at the polls, the conversation seemed to be taking an ugly turn. Usually Opposition Parties allocate to individual members the responsibility of criticizing the specific Ministries of Government and the function of these Opposition Critics, who are sometimes referred to as the ‘shadow cabinet‘ is to prepare and express a conâ€" tinuing critique of the government at every opporâ€" tunity, especially in the legislature, as well as directly to the various Ministers at public meetings and through the media. Although it may be seen as a matâ€" ter of party politics or gamesmanship, it is instead a direct and important role as Opposition members. It should be remembered that Government is often only as effective and responsive to the needs of the people as the Opposition forces it to be. What do you mean blaming me for somebody else‘s According to Hoile There are infinitely lengthy and ineffably boring talks about what to wear to the wedding. Sensible women will drag out that long gown they wore to the Christmas dance last year and wear it. But I don‘t have any of those. Not long gowns. Sensible women. It must be something new and striking. This results in one of two things: ever more agitated shopping exâ€" cursions. as the big day nears; or, if your wife sews, modern, with a mod choir playng guitars and belting out the Word in close harmony. My old lady and I were so moved that we actually went up and took communion for the first time in years. Even more unusual, my daughter joined us. Great reception afterward: free bar, magnificent roast beef dinner, good and brief toasts, and a party afterward with dancing for the Young Turks, of whom there seemed to be many. But you must wonder why I hate weddings. Most men do. Why*? Mainly because of the women involved. And I don‘t mean the bride or the bridesmaids, or the bride‘s mother or aunts. I mean one‘s own womenâ€" folk. It must have cost her old man a small fortune. But it was worth it. He‘s two down, and only one daughter left to marry off, out of the three of them. As long as two months before the wedding, they start panicking. They have a feeling that they will be the cynosure of all eyes, even though they know in their hearts that all eyes will be on the bride. half an hour of television to go out and vote in the last election. What else did I do? What else was I supposed to do? I‘m not one of those political fanatics; I don‘t belong to aâ€"political party. I vote for the man (oops, person). _ ‘ By the time we had finished our third coffee, it was time to go home and let the babysitter do the same," while the political problems of the world remained relatively unsolved. However, one comment about the voting public not being adequately informed stuck in my mind. ~ apathy We were among the oneâ€"inâ€"four who gave up Sure the media came up with a concentrated coâ€" verage of election issues every two years to assist the 20â€"odd per cent of the people who try to make the right voting decisions. However, a good deal of the content is campaign promise and the contestant‘s ideas of what should be discussed. How about the issues as the voters see them? Not the noise level whenever the neighborhood rock group rehearses in the backyard. Not the two potholes on your street. I mean the really big issues. Things like seceding from the Region and deciding whether you will be fighting for the north or the south. ‘"To ward or not to ward,"" that is another big question. Parliamentary governmenrit is a living institution, and as times have changed, so has parliament, althâ€" ough its basic form has remained the same. Various aspects within the system have changed to meet the needs of parliament and the public. It is interesting to note that the Opposition exists only as a concept of British parliamentary governâ€" ment. The Statutes make no mention of its identity, its functions or its prerogatives. In 1770 Edmund Burke wrote that, ‘"when bad men combine the good must associate else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice."" Burke obviously felt that members could oppose government policies and still maintain loyalty to the Crown. sz The term ‘Her Majesty‘s Opposition‘ was coined by John Cam Hobhouse in a speech to the House of Comâ€" mons in 1826. The vital need to restrain the actions of government is deeply ingrained in our parliamentaryâ€"system, Orâ€" iginally opposition was a function of Parliament as a whole but with time Government leaders recognized that in order to retain the ,r:ficmembers for imâ€" portant issues, 'af‘"strdnmr ce had to be esâ€" tablished. Consequently likeâ€"minded imembers started to group together while those who shared a different philosophy started to gradually evolve as the ‘Official Opposition‘. s The author Lowell wrote in his book ‘Government of " * â€" w*i:1s Â¥ * : Bill Smiley By Geoff Hoile : There is no endâ€"to the possibilities. After all, why should the politicians have all the fun on election night. We could all get into the act and by adding referenda results to the normal election night coâ€" verage we could build a political popularity exâ€" travaganza to top them all. Bigger than Wintario, larger than Loto Canada, Election Follies would enaâ€" ble you to match wits with the candidates and take side bets on the results. The more items on the reâ€" ferendum, the more chances to win. If that doesn‘t get the voting turnout above the 50 per cent mark, we can always turn the television on and sink comfortably back into our apathy. Then it came to me, a great revelation. Why not have a referendum or two with every election? There‘s not too much extra cost involved, and it makes the trip to the polis that little bit more interestâ€" ing. With four or five major issues up for public comâ€" ment on each ballot, we could add up the box score after the election and see if we elected the right peoâ€" ple to do the job as we think it should be done. Aside from telling qur elegted representatives how we feel about matters of state, organizing a series of referenâ€" da might have the tangent effect of getting the vast majority of us off our mental butts. as mine does, ever more frantic searching for maâ€" terial, sewing and ripping, tears and anger and frusâ€" tration and, finally, triumph. At which point the haâ€" pless male, who is merely going to wear his good suit and shine his shoes, is expected to rapturize over the ‘"‘creation,‘‘ by the hour. The Private Members Bill regarding the transfer of the pituitary gland or growth hormone was blocked last Thursday by the Government after auu.orney Genâ€" eral and Solicitor General Roy McMurtry announced that the Government was going to bring in its own legislation. Fortunately the Government was prodded into doing something on this important subject but unâ€" fortunately they were so political and small in their thinking that rather than support an Opposition Member‘s Bill, they brought in their own with very minor changes$ from the original Private Member‘s Bill, rather than amend the Private Member‘s Bill in committee. Just as the role of the Government and Parliament have evolved over the years so also has that of the Opâ€" position. Originally the people had to be protected from the tyranny of the monarch and the nobles, now people have to be protected from the tyranny of goâ€" vernment and bureacracy. During minority Governâ€" ment it is easier to perform this role since the Goâ€" vernment tends to operate less arbitrarily and is therefore more sensitive to the wishes of the people. I swear my wife was working on the final touch, a white hat that looks like a longshoreman‘s cap, until two hours before we took off for the wedding. England‘ that "the expression ‘Her Majesty‘s Opposiâ€" tion‘ embodies the greatest contribution of the 19th Century to the art of Government; that of a party out of power which is recognized as perfectly loyal to the institutions of the state and ready to come into office without a shock to the politicaltraditions of the naâ€" This time it was more complicated. She also had to improvise an outfit for daughter Kim. The latter is not sensible in the opposite way. She‘s turned up at a forâ€" mal wedding in a turtleneck sweater, ragged jeans, and sandals. Bringing along her husband, who would arrive in a sweater with the elbow out, even more ragged jeans, and work boots. You can see the predicament my old lady was in. She not only had to get herself looking like the Queen of Sheba, but she had to get her daughter‘s outfit lined up, including the loan of shoes and makeup, ensure that Kim‘s Don wore something decent, and choose the shirt and tie I‘d wear. Tough. ~ Another reason I hate weddings is the cost. That one set me back about $200, minimum. About 30 bucks for bongâ€"distance calls, discussing who‘d wear what. Anâ€" other 40 for gifts. (My wife was unable to make the shower for the bride, so had to take a shower gift plus a wedding gift). Eighty bucks for motel rooms. Yeah, (Continued on page 14) By Herb Epp MPP