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PAGE 2, WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 1982, WHITBY FREE PRESS Government studying alternatives for GO: Ashe QUEEN'S PARK - The provincial government has not backed out of its intention to extend the GO Train service east to Oshawa despite an an- nouncement by Trans- portation and Communi- cations Minister James Snow last Wednesday that the final decision on the project has been tabled for 90 days. According to Durham West MPP and Ontario Minister of Revenue George Ashe, the government iè seeking an alternative means of expanding the service. The government, he maintains, is hesitant to spend $75 million to ex- pand the service from TYPEW RIT ERS R en tais For Of fice & St uden t S DA NFO RT H TY PEWRlITE R Rentals, Sales & Service 408 Dundas Street West 2940 Danforth Ave Wh itby Toront o 66611131 e1 698-2589 est193 its present terminus in Pickering east through Ajax and Whitby into Oshawa when they will only be able to provide five trains a day. Ashe said that of the $75 million needed to expand the service, $40 will go to the Canadian National Railways. What makes matters worse, he continues, is that after the money is spent, the provincial government will still not own the tracks, stations or anything else. Fur- thermore, the schedul- ing of the service will be' entirely up to Canadian National. "We're going to end up with something that is not completely satis- factory," Ashe said in a telephone interview from his Queen's Park office. "All we're saying is 'let's look at any other possible alternative.'" One measure the government is consider- ing is electrifying its own set of tracks at a cost of about $114 million. Another thing that concerns the govern- ment, Ashe maintains, is that the five trains a day that will be provided under the tabled scheme are Ilbarely enough to ad- dress short-term demand." Expanding the GO service on existing tracks will mean that the government will "pay the full operational costs and own nothing," he added. "We have no guaran- tee of service struc- ture." The government will use the 90 day "maxi- mum" period to study the cost/benefit of owning its own electri- fied system. "This is the time to do it," Ashe said of the study. "We'-e paying a hell of a lot of money but don't have a lot of con- trol over our own QUEEN'S PARK - On- tario Treasurer Frank Miller is expected to hand down his 1982 bud- get to the legislature tomorrow and accord- destiny." And that control is what the government is seeking. The minister also said that during this past winter he has received more complaints about GO service than at any time during his five- year tenure as a mem- ber of the Ontario Legis- lature. ing to Durham West MPP George Ashe it will be tough. "It's going to be a tough budget," Ashe, who alsoserves as Mini- ster of Revenue, said in a telephone interview from his office Friday. While he declined to give any specifics about the budget, he did out- line some of the pro- blems the provincial government was having. "There is a reduction of funds flowing through from Ottawa," he said adding that these monies will have to come from somewhere if the government is to maintain its current level of service. "It's going to be a real balancing act," Ashe added. He also responded strongly to Oppsition Leader David Peter- sofi's threat that his par- ty will not stand still for tax increases especially in the light of ,recent government purchases especially the $650 million spent to acquire 25 per cent of Suncor "I've had more com- plaints this winter and spring than all the pre- vious years combined." However, the delay does not mean that the government is backing away from extending the service. "There is no doubt in my mind that there is a commitment to extend the service, " Ashe said. and $11 million to buy an executive jet for Pre- mier Bill Davis and his cabinet members. "It really doesn't matter what you do, they criticize it," Ashe said, adding that the Opposition vehemently criticized the 1980 budget even though it had no tax increases. He also defended the Suncor purchase saying, "in the long term it will prove out, in my view." The minister also said that another problem faced by the govern- ment is the federal government's budget. Ashe said Ontario poli- ticians were hoping for changes in the federal economic policy before bringing their's down. "But we can't forever." Ashe hinted that there might be some mea- sures to aid the sagging provincial economy but declined to give details. Well, the details will be known at 8 p.m. tomorrow night and it looks as though the On- tario taxpayer will not be overjoyed. Blais opens new plant A $834,000 plating sys- tem acquired by Came- toid Ltd., of Whitby, half of which is funded by the federal government will provide a '"positive technological boost to the Canadian aerospace industry,' according to supply and services minister Jean-Jacques Blais. Speaking at the open- ing of Cametoid's new vacuum coating division last week. Blais pointed out-. that the new Ion Vapour Deposition (IVD) plating system, developed by the Mc- Donnell Douglas Corp- dration and acquired by Cametoid under the CF- 18 industrial benefits agreement would give Canada an edge in com- batting the environmen- tal and pollution control problems that are "plaguing" the plating industry today. "As far as we can tell the IVD process will, in ail likelihood, replace the conventional cad- mium and zinc coatings used today to plate many aerospace and ordinance products," Blais said. He noted that this was only one of many in- stances of a wide variety of industrial benefits springing directly from the $2.5 billion total industrial benefits package nego- tiated with McDonnell Douglas as a result of the $2.8 billion Canada is spending on the pur- chase of 138 CF-18 fight- er aircrafts. "The transfer of new technology, such as the IVD system, represents a very small part of the commitment we asked from McDonnell Doug- las," Blais said. "It demonstrates the kind of benefit that can be gained for Canada by utilizing the power of large offshore acquisi- tions to the benefit of Canadian industry." However, the minister stressed that while the program prgvides in- dustry with opportuni- ties to compete it was up to Canadian business- men tO follow up and exploit their potential to the utmost. Budget wJlbe tough MPP says 1W' i*=iW