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'Mil . - UATERLOO 'ti9"1ci.E,18rett't"ttav, DEM! 31, no Our politicians try to formulate a constitution that may answer some present needs, but leaves little room for the generations that will follow the generations to come in terms of its flexibility. Developers construct all types of new apartments, townhouses and bungalows without much concern as to what the buildings will look like or how they will stand up in 30 to 50 years. The list goes on and on. As we think of the beginning of the new year and the passage of time, perhaps it does all of us well to also think of the value of foresight and what we hope will be our living conditions in that year 2000 and beyond. The House of Commons recessed for a brief Christmas and New Year's break after one of the most controversial sessions in re- cent years. The Prime Minister's Constitu- tional Proposal and Mr. MacEicheis Bud- get top a list of 50 pieces of legislation that were tabled for debate during the First Ses- sion of Her Majesty's 32nd Parliament, The House adjourned after an urgent M- hour emergency debate on the economic crisis resulting from record interest rates and soaring inflation. During the all-night questioning. the Fin- ance Minister was pressed to modify his six- week-old Budget measures in the face of in- creased financial hardships for every seg- ment of Canadian society. (Copies of Han- sard reports of this debate are available from my offices. ) Not all 50 Government Bills have been passed by the house of Commons. 26 have gone through all three readings, been ap- proved by the Senate, and been given Royal Assent by the Governor General. on behalf of the Queen. These new laws, or amendments to existing laws, cover a great variety of topics. Some of these have a direct effect on Waterloo Riding and are outlined below. Recently, I hive commented on the major pieces of new legislation: the Constitution of Canada, the Budget and its National Energy Tonight‘s the night. Our entry into the second year of the 80s desade, with qnly 19 years to go until 2000 A.D. Ai we live in an increasingly fast-paced world, our borders of perception become condensed to try and handle the vast amounts of data, stimulation and change that Some our Fay, A So, in technologiéal processiis, we forget the far'future, refus- ing to consider seriously the long-term impacts of nuclear and toxic industrial wastes. Somehow, that magical figure of 2000 sounds so far-off and ultra-modem as to be surreal, yet a scant l9 years places the reality so close. How old will you be on New Year's Eve, 2000 A.D.? Most people will live to that time and so it should not be out of the bounds of our comprehension. The problem today, however, is that too many refuse to look at tte long-range and thefar future. _ Living from day to day is enough, contemplating a change of millenium is too difficult, let's just deal with 1981 tonight. That's how some may think in the now generation. Problem is that it isn't really a generation anymore; it invol- ves people from all age categories and walks of_ life. - - Look to the future WALTER McLEAN ' published every Wednesday by Fairway Press. a dwlsaon of Kitchener-Waterloo Record Ltd.. owner as Fairway Rd, s., Kitchener Ont ader--6-utl"mrhetrroette_ lanSl Sum Wanda) that low ‘I! wmmmumumzmmuuow bar-Mm Wuhan”. .orostqrt'rtnamtueoqtorrrtt'to-trto6- Ova-Mm unseen-noun”: t' misery”; " a year m Vanda us a year Ill Urid States and qun (Alumna Bill C-3.J‘An Act to Amend the Unempioy- ment Insurance Act. 1971" became law on July 7th, This Bill extended the basic entran- ce rules for Unemployment Insurance bene- fits. requiring an individual to work for be- tween 10 and 14 weeks. Otherwise. it would have reverted to a flat 14 weeks. Program, There are other, however. less well publicized changes. that should not go unnoticed. y Bill C-6. "An Act to Revise the Bank Act, 1967. tV Passed on Nov. 26th. this Bill provides legislation that will increase the competi- tiveness of the banking system. At the same time it restricts the powers of the banks in areas such as data processing. automobile leasing and securities. Bill C-16, "An Act to Amend the Old Age Security Act". became law June 5. The Guaranteed Income Supplement for Old Age Pensioners and those receiving Spouse's Al- lowances was increased by $35 per house- hold. This Increase is on top of regular in- creases due to inflation, Bill C-36, "An Act Respecting the National Anthem of Canada", became law in time for Dominion Day, The Bill eliminated two "we stand on guard for thee's" and substituted "From far and Wide" and "God keep our land". Puhliatter: hm Winkle: Editor: Phil Hone established 1854 Putting the House m perspective Bill CAO, "An Act to Amend the Pension Act”. was given Royal Assent July 17 This far-reaching and long overdue legislation provided for War Veterans Allowance Pay- ments to be increased $10 perammth per year for single pensioners ($12 if married t on July Ist, That will be repeated each April for the next six years. It aisoUows a widow who remarnes and loses her second husband. to again draw upon her pension. r - _ _ _ Throughout the Session. many other pieces of legislation have been under discussion by the various Standing Committees of the House of Commons. They will return to Par- liament for debate in the New Year Included in this category are Acts resBecting the con- troversial National Energy rogram, Free- dom of Information, an Act making the Post Office a Crown Corporation. Plant Breeders Riggs. and Adult Occupational Training. first part of the new Session will be dominated by the tabling in the House of the report of the Special Joint Committee on the Constitution of Canada The life of this Com- mittee was extended from Dec. 9, 1980 to Feb. 6. 1981 after the Official Opposition pressed its concern that the people of Canada were being left out of this historic process. If the government had been allowed to stick to its proposed time-table. the Commit- tee hearings would not have been televised. and few rgljoups wquld have treenAeard. - Behind the legislative accomplishments of the past Session, the underlying mood of Far liament has been far from pleasant. The mood can be summed up in three words: ar- bitrary, confrontational. and divisive, With the imposition very early of closure on debate over the Constitutional Proposal. the House of Commons was robbed of one of its most necessary attributes: co-operation. Parliament was treated to a continuance of the arrogance of the Prime Minister, Without the vigorous action of the Progres- sive Conservatives. New Democrats and some Liberal members, Mr. Trudeau would have had his way. He would have pushed his Constitutional Proposal by the Canadian gee ple with the least amount of pu lic awareness. The mood of the House is as it should be. a reflection of the growing discon- tent of Western and Atlantic Canada. This situation. however, will not cloud our hopes and desires for the New Year. The de- motratic process has demonstrated once again that it will not suffer the arbitrary. un- compromising interests of one person, The strength of the Canadian Parliament, as ex- pressed by Members from all three Parties. representing every region of the country. has never been more in evidence.