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One of the most spirited and important sessions in Parliamentary history "was finally brought to a close on July " when the Government dictatorially shut down the House with h closure motion. This session was dominated, of course, by the debate over Prime Minister Tru- deau‘s Cmtstitutioetal Resolution. That debate was interrupted only when the Prime Minister agreed to Opposition demands that the Motion be sent on to the Supreme Court of Canada to determine Its constitutional legality. ' The Government', insistence on forcing its own ideas for Canada through Parlia- mmtt-againwtththemeofaeiosure motion ,- drained time, energy and the normal all-party goodwill that is essential when routine legislation must receive Parliamentary approval. The Supreme Cert ruling, which tgtttgt address Provin- PAAE_S - B1ArHLL9Cu2ttttgtttKM, eakaiiiiG it iiuaefiiiriiare di; In; summer or only In the autumn. Although the Resolution is um Included 1rtttteemmtoftt8ttillgwttiehtgnvetteeet tabled since the session began in April, "so. It badly am pfognss (Kosher ,teasutetttirmyrtt the piriiiineetir, sys- A good choice, we might suggest, would be alderman John Shortreed, chairman of the city's planning committee. , He could do the job. . l deiermined should bummed from the direct machinatioeis Of course, as a member of the committee, in addition to her duties as chief magistrate and member of the administrative committee - combined with the overview she has as a regional councillor - the mayor would still make an effective and excellent contributor to this most important commit- tee. ' As one alderman suggested, there may be some vying for position, either as a member or chairman of this select group, for what some perceive as a more prestigious than usual spot. But, so what? That's politics. 7 - 7 In some ways, it's better to give the job of chairman to someone anxious to make their mark on ciVic politics in a more dynamic way than they might otherwise be able to. At least they're bound to be energetic. Mayor MtT.jotieCarroll isn't the best person to take on the job of chairing the city's new civic development committee, contrgry to what’s being saidin some quprtets. 7 - It's" not that Her Worship isn't otherwise eminently qualified. Rather, it's simply that council may be asking her to spread herself, a little too thin, if they want her to wear the hat of this particular chairman's role in addition to her other posts. l Because of that, she couldn't be totally effective in a capacity as heady! a, committee that council has already of the administrative committee. - As-well, Mayor Carroll is the only councillor who is a member of the pity's Mminittratiyeeornmittee. WALTER McLEAN Not the Mayor published every Wednesday by Fairway Press. a division-d Kitchener-Waterloo Ream Lula was; 225 Fairway Rd. s.nuetrener.Nhti. _ -r----t"-oetiem um MLWIWIOULW“ mmmm-mnzmwduow but - -ri-o Manama-mm“... may. véuthn-n "sooum Iatisr this WY,- WI k. 191 Editor: m m y satsreqthtrrss tn a year Ut Cd.- "6 a year In Una sum Id Foreign Cm a new Bank Act and legislation transform- ing, in September 1981, the strike-ridden Pott Office into a Ctomt Corporation. The government has, however. applied the brakes to such important legislation as the long promised Freedom of Information Act. There have been no major ecmomic initiatives since the October, 1900 Budget. Regretfuliy, Mr. MacEachen’s first at- tempt at setting out Government economic policy, was largely dominated by .the National Energy Program. Since the Budget. drastic rises in interest rates, the level of inflation, and the cost of living have not been addressed by the Trudeau Government. In total, so of the " hills which originated h the Home of Commons received Royel Assent, and T ofthe t m which origin'ated In the Senate passed Into law. It must be noted, however. that In all these 05 Government bills. no aid mea- More than half of the session‘s bills were gimfly hqqseheeplng mensures._ often sin ly housekeeping measures. often deaKng with finding for various depart- ments and agencies. Parliament was faced wttttabaekiogofttteaebi1isdtteto the brevity of the previous session, and most have, now been passed. A U A - Overview of Grits’ (in)action Niall-hot: Nut Winkle: established 1854 sures were introduced for farmers, single- parent families, homeowners and small businessmen - all. of whom have been labouring under the staggering rates of in- terest. Some of the key bills passed since. the session began in April, mo include: t - overhauled unemployment insurance legislation, to shift the entire burden of the first two stages of benefit pay- ments onto the private sector. Prior to that time, the federal government picked up a portion of the tab. - the Uherals honoured their only 1980 election promise by raising the Guaranteed income Supplement last summer by $35 per month. This increase was. of course, long ago wiped out by the increases in the cost of living. - parliament approved "0 Canada" as the offical national anthem. - after three years' delay, a new Bank Act became the law. The act, which is effective until 180. allows for more competition among the chartered banks. It permits foreign banks to establish neighbourhood branches and it expands the lending roles of trint companies and credit unions. it also . These will be intruduced when Purin- ment reconvene: in October. Mr. Mac- Enchen has also promised a budget to address Canada’s large economic prob- lems - may of which his last budget helped to cmntet The first is a major bill to clean up antiquated juVenile offenders legislation. Last amended in 1020. the bill codifies ottenders' rights and guarantees due process of law. The second is a major 'omnitrup' justice bill which will have replaced the charges of "rape" and "indecent assault" with sexual and ag- gravated sexual assault. It will modernize Inhale rules on pucedure and evidence to aid rape, 'WGL. As well, it proposes to create g' new offence for the sexual explolution of children under 16, and beef up child abuse 1egiplatioet. 7 7 - forces the banks to explain openly what their conditions are for loans, what provisions they. have for repay- _ ment of loans, and what 'hidden' banking service-charges are included in the package. Much legislation has been left for the fall. Two are of interest to many in our area.