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Continued from page I school anymore," said Wil- mer. "in younger neighbour- hoods it is. but people seem to be quite happy with the new standards and new report cards. Local election a real horse race, says forecaster - "But it doesnt can? up as much as health and eader- ship." - In terms of health, the for- mer provincial health minis- ter is running on her record of helping meet local health care needs by bringing can- cer care and cardiac care closer to home. "l hear a lot of appreciation for the fact that we finally have the health-care services in our community so that people don't have to travel for care and waiting lists are being reduced," she said. And while the polling sug- gests a tighter race than in any of her other election wins since first winning her seat in 1990, she said she's not taking anything for grant- “You have to work as hard as you possibly can and that's exactly what I'm doing and what my team is doing" she said. "I'm very optimistic. “People have expressed to me that we're doing a good job and it's something I'm hearing more oC' Her closest rival, liberal Sean Strickland, said he's hearing the opposite out on the campaign trail. Continued from page I "The" oar-riding theme that I hear is that there's a the policy changes follow suit with the Nodes and Corridors model. which will concentrate jobs. housing and services in mixed-use settings, allowing residen- tial use in commercial zones either as a mixed use development or as a stand- alone residential use Residents concerned about too much density The result, Currie said, wouldqiacrease denrd Intensity at the no es and corridors. "Over time this will evoke with some linem- ing. That's the nature of the "73m I think this - good starting point for the Currie said the city's goal IS to minimire the Impacts of height and density on low residential areas by channeling height and den- sity away from the low-rise neighbourhoods He also said measure‘ will he put m place In buffer the low-rise areas from the impacts of height, "has not a perfect dour . u o on" ”U. . ment Some areas need Intense enough m modifications," said Conn Scott loner, fre. core for the "But it's no different Region ofWater- than the plans we have . , now. loo.... ttt almost "Over time this will too intensefor the 41m. . n Tfe 39...”. Ptl?r..e .h residents. His assufancr seemed to satisfy members of council. tre needs about $1 million more to meet demand. and Abe cancer centre has only received commitments to run only three of the four radiation bunkers. tremendous desire for change," he said. "Nople are not buying the Conservative plan for the future of the Province of Ontario and are instead looking for the strong leadershirxand vision of the Ontario Liberal party's plat- The big issues have been health care and education, and while the area has enjoyed a building boom in medical facilities, Strickland said we're lacking the people to man those indium "Health care is more than bricks and mortar," said "There are tremendous "We're not taking any- gaps that exist not even the thing for granted and we're least of which is there are going to reallywork hard so 40,000 people in our com- that the liberal message con- munity who don't have a tinues to get out there, and family doctor. in Ontario. we that our supporters get out have the lowest numbers of and vote," he said. nurses and doctors per mph However, Dan Lajoie, the direction the city needs to go in." - Resident John Short- reed. who spoke out against the changes. was disap- pointed with council's deci- sion. He recommended Coun- cil consider each uptown "Even with what we've done here, it's still not Elizabeth Winner He said waiting lists and the lack of access to health care providers and specialists is the number one issue on most doorsteps ta than any other jurisdiction in Canada" "Our plan is to stop this agenda of tax cuts and take people's hard-earned tax dol- lars and reinvest them into services their family needs like health care and educa- tion," said Strickland. "We're going to do that while bal- ancing the budget and not raising personal income tax. "I find the proposed changes unacceptable -- there is too much density, it will destabilize uptown res- idential areas, and there is no compelling reason for the changes," he said. "I Hunk people are Just getting sick and tired of being bought, with their own While Suiddand has seen the polls, he said the only poll that counts is the one on election day. residential area in turn, and not approve changes for all areas of the city at once. Mayor Lynne Woolslen- croft said amendments to the Official Plan are always contentious. "Even with what we've done here. it's still not intense enough in the core for the Region of Mietloo.’ she said, "yet if we're going to maintain family and community neighbour- hoods, it's almost too intense fortheresidentg," "Council's not listening to the public again," said Court, Marty Taylor. who voted against the plan amendments, Council will deal with proposed changes to the city's toning bylaw: In part of the Height and Density One member of council agreed the changes war- ranted further public con- sultation. "There's no great race here, I think we should have taken time to listen to the (public) needs and concerns." sangtrtcHand local NDP candidate thinks that momentum for change is starting to attach itself to his party. especially after party leader Howard Hamp- ton's strong showing in last weeks debate. "We're getting support from alt areas, especially from people who are liberal and Tory saying that those parties aren't offering them anything of substance." said Lajoie. "We're presenting a real alternative. "Nople are coming up to me and telling me that they want the Tttries gone. and my job is to get them to think aboutwho to votefbr--peo- ple have to understand that a vote for the Liberals isn't nec- essarily a vote against the Tory mentality" A lot of seniors are telling Lajoie that they doth want to be bribed with their own money. The also knowing their going to have to pay more ifhydro is privatized “I've Been tda number of debates already and I think that people are realty starting DanIAIole to understand the difference between the three parties," said Lajox'e. "The Tories are pretty transparent, while the Liberals are lost in their own platform. "Then you have us and we have been very straightfor- ward about our education position... and the reality that we have to pay for these ser- dates Pauline Richards of the Green Party has also raised her profile as has her party running in every riding across theprovince. "We've had a lot of inter- est," said Richards. "They're mulling it over because a lot of things we've said about education and health is unique “We're otfering new ideas like allowing for a diversity of education within the system so you have home sdtoolers and alternative learning schools under the umbrella of local school boards as well" Of the other local candi~ In health, they take a Pauline Richards more holistic approach tying the environment into health in a fully-funded public sys- tem. "We think it's impossible to have good public health and devastate the Ministry of the Environment at the same time," said Richards. "if you want good public health you have to do something about the environment, "More than 50 per cent of all cancers can be linked to the environment." Poor air quality, and the presence of particulate mat- ter, also contribute to more than 1,900 deaths a year in Ontario. "Our health plan is to treat the environment while pro- viding preventative and alter- native health as well," said Richards. "We're providing people with a real alternative especially after the debate." 'iso running in meWater- loo riding are Lou Reine] of the Family Coalition Party and independent candidates Owen Ferguson and Julian Ichim