WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1985, PAGE 5 "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson THE CROW"ENUPSFoL4, CROW'S NEST Ml WAqv,0% ciE~, by Michael Knell We all know that the Ontario Tories will name their successor to the man from Brampton 10days from now. But what I'm really getting excited about is the provincial election itself. Right here in Durham West we have the makings of an interesting and, more importantly, thought provoking campaign. Al three major parties have nominated their candidates. The local Progressive Conservatives have renominated incumbent MPP George Ashe while the Liberals and New Denocrats have-brought to the fore a couple of political rookies who promise to bring a little freshress into the local provincial campaign. First off the mark were the New Democrats who nominated Whitby high school teacher Don Stewart as their candidate. I've enjoyed several conver- sations with Stewart since he was nominated. He's articulate, well informed, compassionate and doesn't come across as your typical angry NDPer. He has the long view, and is willing to consider ideas and perspectives outside of the- party line. He is definitely a higher calibre candidate than Hugh Peacock, the man the local NDP tried to run against Ashe last time. Peacock's problem was that the important people in his campaign did not live in the riding and had little or no understanding of the people who live in this part of Ontario. His campaign manager, a tough no-nonsense feminist from Saskachewan, didn't'even respect the election process. When it became clear that neither her man nor party was anywhere close to victory she was heard to proclaim: "Well, thank God, I'm going back to Saskachewan, you people in On- tario deserve whatever you get." But Stewart promises that his campaign wouldn't have those results. His key campaign people will come from the riding and will have some understanding of the problems and people of Durham West. The NDP has never had a solid following in this area, even when Dr. Godfrey represented us in the Legislature for two years in the late 1970's. But I think Stewart has the potential to give the party respectibility in this area. He's not a hothead and, let's face it, his party is infamous for nominating hotheads. He speaks firmly, yet quietly, and with a great deal of conviction. He doesn't shoot from the lip but talks thoughtfully and with compassion. The local Liberal association nominated a similiar kind of man, Whitby lawyer Brian Evans. He, too, is a political rookie. Neither Evans nor Stewart have ever sought elected office before. Like Stewart, he is a young professional - both men are in their early thirties. Perhaps Evans' biggest drawback is that he doesn't live in the riding although he does practise law here. Evans is also a little angrier than Stewart. When he speaks his piece, he speaks it forcibly - perhaps his experience in the courtroom are showing through. While both of these men share many personal attributes, they do have dif- ferent styles. Stewart is quieter while Evans can probably best be described as a "go-getter", a man who is quite willing to play St. George and try to slay the dragon. Right now, I'm convinced that both of these men are going to prove to be ex- cellent opponents to incumbent Ashe. The best advise I could give Ashe is "don't take these men lightly, they both have something to say about the per- formance of your government and your own role in it." When they have something to say, it is because they have given the matter thought and are sure of their positions. They may be political novices, but they are not political donkeys. Another thing I hope Ashe doesn't say is that there are no issues in the next provincial election, especially as far as Durham West is concerned. Here is Durham West, which includes Whitby, Ajax and Pickering, there are a score of issues that have to be addressed by all three men. Some of these issues include the closing of the Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped and the committment of the government to providing care and services for the mentally retarded. Other issues include the preparations of Ontario Hydro to deal with emergen- cies at both the Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating stations. It is in- tersting to note that Whitby lies half-way between both of these facilities yet when it comes to emergency planning, Whitby is not being considered. And if there is an accident at either plant, Whitby will experience some of the fall-out. The government's declining support for our local education system also has to be addressed. It seems that more and more of the local financial burden for education is being shifted away from the province and onto the backs of the property taxpayer. All three men are also going to have to address the future of rent controls and the local development of housing not only for the elderly but for the lower in- come bracket as well. And, although most of us think of universality of social programs as primarily a federal issue, the concept will also have to be addressed in the provincial election. Will the government continue to guarantee the universality of O.H.I.P. and access to the education system? Will the government ensure funding for both is continually available? Then, of course, there's unemployment, foreign investment, abortion, more money and resource for law enforcement and other issues that have to be ad- dressed. This is not going to be a non-issue election. There is lots to talk about, there's much to be decided. And if Ashe gets complacent, I'm sure that both Evans and Stewart have what it takes to shake him out of any apathy he might have. Sure, he had a 12,000 vote plurality in the last provincial election but that doesn't mean he'll have one in this election. SOLWeAY Th e"Mis ery In dex" I have a friend who used to manage panhandlers his own way. Approached by some seedy individual for "A quarter for a cup of coffee Major," (they always hand out military rank) he would answer: "Sure, what are you going to do for it? " It confoun- ded the moocher. He was used to either a snub or a guilty reaching into pocket to be rid of him. , This is not about street beggars. It is about us; about Canadians more than any other "developed world" people; maybe more about Ontarians really, because we are stodgier and more conser- vative, and used to being richer than other Canadians. Did you know there was such a thing as a "Misery Index?" Did you also know that it has improved? Ready? The Misery Index is a figure that measures mortgage rates, unemployment and inflation, the three most obvious "miseries" that afflict us. Of the three, employment seems to be most impervious to improvement. Mortgage rates (which are attached to general interest rates) are heading down (helped by lagging demand for new mortgage money), while savings rates remain magically high en- couraging already thrifty Canadians to hide even more in the mattress. Inflation, a byproduct of greed when it goes up, and panic when it comes down, seems to be under control. (Please do not trouble me with preposterous gasoline prices, rising phone rates, and other "luxuries. ") Actually we are getting more. But like the panhandler, what are we prepared to do for it? Canadians are famous for complaining bitterly while at the same time doing nothing. Not all of us, of course. But enough of us to create the highest ratio of bank deposit to earnings in the world. At the height of the recession 16 per cent of what we earn was tied up. Some of it in piggy bank, some in RRSP and insurance and mortgage paydowns. Is it my imagination, or are Canadians quicker to whine about government failure while ignoring our own personal failure? Am I wrong to suspect that we are the biggest complainers; that we expect Government or Business or Union to do for us what we have neither the will nor the inclination to do for ourselves? Are.we a nation of "blamers" trying to find something or someone to pin the misfortune on? Are we somehow at least partly to blame for high uneiployment while Americans have dropped to almost half of ours? That's too simple an answer. (But Canadians are given to simple, mindless, easy answers.) America really is different. It has the biggest domestic potential buying power of any country on earth, and consequently can generate its own recovery, while countries like Canada with few people and resour- ces begging to be exportede have to wait for the con- sumer nations to start buying. But that's not the point. National recovery is more than putting one set of scoundrels out of public office and installing a new set. I predict that it will be only months before we start playing the Great Canadian Game of disgust with the newly minted saviors of our country. It is manifestly Canadian to set someone up just so they can be shot down. I keep drifting off. The point is if we want to "get" we have to learn to "give". Basic to any market economy expansion is this: there are three sources of revenue: government spending, business in- vestment, and public consumption. Those three fuel the engine. Until we stop hoarding and start spending, the recovery will not get going. No government can make it happen, unless they totally remove spen- ding and investinent from private hands, tax us and do it themselves. Here's just one simple illustration: the government would not have had to spend money in huge amounts subsidizing "The Ar- ts" if people would buy tickets, and if all the people buying the tickets paid the full price of the event they were seeing. We all want our jobs to be secure but we won't spend enough money to help move the products and services that provide those jobs. Simply: if the guy CONT'D ON PG. 8