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"We have a government that actively campaigns against its people," said Davis at her home Sunday. "‘That‘s a terrible While in opposition, the Tories fought for an expanded passenger rail service. But once in power they cut VIA by 50 per cent effective this week. And VIA president Ron Lawless says even more cuts may be coming. This despite public opposition to the cuts. Those calling for passenger rail to be expanded have a strong case, ranging from constitutional arguments (B.C. was enticed to join confederation with the promise of train service in perpetuity) to environmental arguments (we cannot afâ€" for® to keep adding to the greenhouse effect by driving cars everywhere). This is not just any book. This is a book on VIA Rail â€" the real story as to why it failed and why we need _ expanded passenger rail service as we enter the Turnaround Decade. Waterloo‘s irrepressible Jo Davis has done it again. Just months after organizing the "Turnaround Decade" conference at UW last August, and following it up with a wonderful short film aimed at service clubs and schools, Davis has edited a book. Davis‘ book is called "Not a Sentimental Journey" and is a hardâ€"edged look at what may one day be seen as the biggest betrayal of the Mulroney government. PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1990 (pinion We must fight to save Canadian rail service CERntin t s 330 yearly in Canada, â€"_. $35 outsideâ€"Canada. â€"..>. _ : to Waterloo Chronicle, Waterloo Town Square, | Suite 201, 75 King St. S, . Waterloo, Ont. N2J 1P2. _ ; Telephone 886â€"2830, News : and Sports line 886â€"3021.~ : lflhfl& j Monday to Friday 9a.m. to | Spmes : <#1*%> Â¥â€" %P _} B >'\ "‘ \o ols w . s Then there are the lobby groups. People who want more airports. People who own bus lines. People who are philosophically opposed to government being involved in rail transport even though that is the kind of thinking that built Canada. employed by the Ministry of 'I‘ranss:orta- tion, only 10 of them are responsible for policy for rail transport. And they also have to look after bus policy. "There is no advocacy for rail anywhere in the system," says Davis. ‘"There is no industry that lobbies for rail. There are enormous advocacies for transport other Unfortunately, it‘s not the only terrible thing we have to face. Fact is, Davis has uncovered evidence of that increasingly frequent phenomenon in Ottawa: a bureauâ€" cracy out of control. During her research, Davis found that of the 22,000 or so people On the other hand, air transport receives priority. thing to have to face." City Seen lan Kirkby & She includes local people in the book, including area commuters and ticket agents. And there is an excerpt from the Chronicle documenting Patti Moran‘s blockage of Highway 401. But, says Davis, "this is not just a book about trains. It‘s a book about trains as a metaphor for values and change." The change Davis is talking about is that which will be necessary to save this planet from environmental catastrophe. For in stance, we have to stop expropriating land for airports, because when we do that, we expropriate the lives of the people who live off that land. Then there are the statistics. They have been skewed to strengthen the government argument for cutting VIA. A close look shows they were wrong, and media across the country printed wrong information. ‘"The way we choose to travel is very much bound up with our value system," she says. She points to predictions in a 1979 book by Walter Stewart (Paper Juggernaut) that pressure would be buildâ€" ing by 1988 for an international airport in Pickering. Of course, lobbyists began workâ€" than rail." Add to that the fact that VIA was structured in such a way that it was designed to fail. Davis guides you through it, and it is amazing reading. _ _ NC xc ts :‘}‘; C s mc r 3y s i nihrmats on w vaesite t [3 . . 3‘3‘%%%\3‘“"“ That is why Jo Davis is still optimistic at the start of the Turnaround Decade. She doesn‘t want to see VIA resuscitated â€" it was never good enough, anyway. "We need the kind of modern passenger train service that all the rest of the industrial world has, without exception, and even some of the underdeveloped countries. VIA didn‘t have that." High speed trains can even take the place of short distance planes. Copies of the book can be purchased at WordsWorth for less than ten bucks. And with that, of course, we‘ll need a federal government which respects its electorate. ing toward that very goal last year. "Unless we fight it tooth am‘ly nail, what we‘re going to get, instead of rail transporâ€" tation, is a second international airport." That would be ironic indeed, because west European governments have deliberately emphasized rail over~air transport. In Canada, the power balance very much lies in the other direction. j Even Great Britain, a country that virtually destroyed its wonderful rail sysâ€" tem in the 1960s and 70s, is now bringing it back to life under Maggie Thatcher. And the Americans have put greater emphasis on rail.