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WHITy FREE pRESS, WEDNEsDAy, JULY 18,i1990, PAGE 7 .PGESVEN A BET'R WAY Where strikes fail, mediation frequently succeeds. The process simple - when two aides are so far aPart that they can't se. each other, someone has to act as a go-between. The mediator helps each ide understand theotespiiô as he builda. the middle ground. Eventually thetw aides meet, instead cf one aide ca-pitulating, each can clmm an element of Plnigdisputes ca be settled the sanie way. Although still quite rare i municipal development dispute%, its application is growing rapidly. It is fueled by visible succs. Disputes wbich have -géne on for years with growing hostility and entrenchunent on al aide bae yelàem to mediation. In' 1987, a decades old adsute iHwani over water rights, which mnvolved environ- mentalists, farmers, municipalities, resort chains and >goernmentf aIl with their own points of view, was settled by mediation. Other auccesses bave involved such diverse topica as nursing home acceas, heritage preservation, and herbicide spraying. An important case in Canada was a new mail pro1osd for the centre of Victoria, B.C. Opponents said it wgoufdrxi the historic heart right eut of the city. The outcry was suc that Eaton's backed off, hired a consultant who specialized in building consensus, and, over the next couple of years, redeaigned their proposai te accommodate many cf the publics concerne. A growing cadre of trained professionals is providing an alternative te litigation and confrontation. As an idstl public dispute mediation services has'grown from virtuaily nothn" decade ago te in excess of $50 million a year today in N.Amerca -still a pittance in comnparison to the multi-billion dollar litigatiox I ndustry". The attractions are the samne as in labor disputes - fewer losers, more winners, and usually a lot cheaper. Each year the Ontario Municipal Board holds .600 hearings on municipal planning decisions at a cost of about $30 million - $50,000 each, most of it on lawyers and consultants, virtually nothing on getting the parties together te resolve their differences. Public hearings about the Halton Region wvaste disposai site have already coat in excess cf $18 million. How much better could this money have been spent on solving problems rather than disputing them? Unlike the labour inodel, public disputes usually involve t ree ares - a government body which is performing some sort cf stutory obligation (in a planning dispute, this would be the planning departuxent), a specific interest group (the developer or somne other individual seekcing aý change for specific gain) and other innocent affected bystanders who porceive a conlict between their private interests and the applicant's. Where our systeux fails is that the government which is supposed te, represent the publices interests either doesn't know hew those innocent bystanders are going te, reset, fails te do anytbing about it or doesn't care. The developer usually negotiates solly with the municipality wbich-is, atr al the authority which will approve or deny the application. Although the public is allowed (by statutory requirement) to comment, they are net involved i the negotiationa. Bureaucracy bas evolved a geverninent process wbich ifs best described as Decide, Announce, Defend. We, see this eeyday on such major issues as the GST. Governments rarLy mt mistakes. Instead they defend, defend, defend, even when their position is indefenaible. When the planners have nxolded a developers plans te wbat they want, they return it to, the ýpoliticians with a recommendation to approve it - still ne negetiations with other affected parties. Not surprisingly, the proea.aàangora people uat as much as the resulta. The process is inevitably confrontations1. The government is smen as taking ides against their own constituents althougli they would argue that it's forý the general good.). I described a personal experience last week involving the rposed tbree storey office building acros from, the Whitby ibrary. Af ter the developar bd failed with the usual tactica, we got dowvn te some resi negotiation. We probed each others positions and found enough common ground that we reached an agreement. Unfortunately Town Councillors teck a dim view cf our agreement since it appeared te usurp their sovereign right te decide such things. That narrow view cf their role is unlikely te encourage such negotiations in the future. However, in the absence of effective leadership by council in reisolving disputes before they occur, I hope that developers will realiîze it is in their =1 CiffIUDREN FRWMMETHODI F FRsu AM HOME BATHING AT 11'YDENSHOEE PARK C. 1916 Ptrom 1902 until the 19309 the Methodist Deaconesses of Toronto operated a home for. underýprviledged cbildren in Whitby. Cildren froni the slums of Toronto spent a week or two at tbis home, which was located near the site of the water pumping plant of today. 10 TZARS AGO from the Wednesday, July 16, 1980 edition cf the WHMT I3FE PRIMB a Durham Region Council has elected Whitby Mayor Jini Gartahore as chairman of its Management Committee. a Michel O'Keefe bas resigned as Whitby Psyciatric Hoapital admimastrator to take over the hospital at North Bay. a Completion of the Ash Creek storm sewer wil prevent flooding in the downtown area. a Charles McAlinden bas been re-elected president of the WhIthY I.roquois Swim Club. 25 TZARS AGO from the Wednesday, July 15, 1965 edition cf the WHITBY WEEIKLY NEWS e A new contract bas been ratified by Dunlop Tire, ending a 13 day strike. a Thei privately-owned Heydenshore Park cottage resort bas been sold to the Whitby Public Utilities Commission. * Houston Shoes in the Whitby Plaza is having a seling-out sale. e Totten Sims, a Wbiltby engineering firmn, is preparing plans-for renovation of the old court *house as a comniunity centre. 125 YEAIRS AGO fr-om the Thurs1day, July 13, 1865 edition of the WHITBY CHROIEJ a Forty pupils of Miss Carroll's School took part ini an entertainment at the Mechanies' Hall. a More than 600 Orangemen clebrated July 12 "Orangeman's Day" with a parade at Brooklin. e A rare Dutch wedding was held yesterday at the Congregational Church. e flue VWbitby Deluge Pire Company held a practice downtown, shooting a streain of water 12 feet over William Laines brick store.