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NOVEMBER 30, 2005 s Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 ■ ■ m 93® m cup, Vito WDK BLOTMQx.,. PAGE 6 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ November 30,2005 Tim Whittaker Publisher Joanne Burghardt Editor-In-Chief Chris Bovie Managing Editor Fred Eismont Director of Advertising Eddie Kolodziejcak Classified Advertising Manager Kirk Bailey Distribution Manager Lillian Hook Office Manager Janice O'Neil, Cheryl Haines Composing Managers EDITORIAL e-mail letters to newsroom@durhamrcgion.com Election puts leadership, trust on line So, what's it all about? That's the key question Canadians Canadians will be asking themselves as we head into a holiday election campaign. - the first one in 25 years. The endless political game of chicken finally Wound up'with the combined opposition deciding deciding to run the Liberal minority government off the road Monday. Monday. The stage has been set for a mid-January election which will see many of the same candidates facing off just 18 months after they last hit the campaign trail. What do the federal parties have to offer find how different different will this campaign be from the one that took place in June 2004? All four main party leaders have been through the campaign grind so they shouldn't be surprised surprised tjy what befalls them. Instead, they'll have to face a grumpy electorate which, if you believe the polls, isn't crazy about having its Christmas dinner dinner and holiday get-togethers interrupted by politicians trolling for votes. At issue in the national debates and on the hustings will be trust, accountability and leadership. Canadians have had nearly , two years to listen to sponsor: . \ship scandal reports by the àudi- • 'tor-general and by the Gomery Commission and have made up their minds accordingly about the Liberals. ; They either buy the assertion that Paul Martin had little or nothing to do with Adscam or they don't. And some will cast their ballots based on that issue. The Liberal party's credibility is also at issue. The revelations from Gomery revealed serious misuse of taxpayers' taxpayers' money as well as the government's decision to scratch the backs of friendly ad companies companies in Quebec in return for political contributions. Gomery may cripple the Liberals Liberals in Quebec -- to the benefit benefit of the Bloc Québécois - but . the-impact nationwide is more unpredictable. What's also clearly on the line is the issue of leadership. Who, among the three national leaders, do Canadians see as the person they want to represent them? What has happened in the past •18 months to change voters' minds? For Mr. Martin and Conservative Conservative leader Stephen Harper, the future is now. It's clear the loser in the battle to form the next government, minority or majority, will be out as leader. "•'•■ , , And the winner may not have ' long to gloat either. Both of the main governing parties are eager to consolidate . • power and they, won't wait long to take action to find a.new v^Rleader who can 1 attract voters. V". - ■ ' : Like it or not, an election's here. We may well wind up back where we started but the final word, as always, will rest with electors. BACKWARD GLANCE Protesters hit streets, 1989 Ehe Canadian Statesman 0 0 durtiamregion.coffi Phone 905-579-4400 Classifieds 905-576-9335 Distribution 905-579-4407 General Fax 905-579-2238 Newsroom Fax 905-579-1809 E-Mail newsroom@durhamregion.com 865 Farewell St., Oshawa ON L1H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 CLICK AND SAY Today's question: Do you feel 50 Cent should be banned from performln- gin Canada? Cast your vote online at infodurhamregion.com Last week's • i r„)P question: Do you believe the local economy will be hurt by impending job cuts at GM in the months ahead? No 38.8% Yes 61.2% Votes cast: 658 HAVE YOUR SAY; . ~-- • ■ ■■ k : , • rjl Are you looking forward to) the upcoming federal ; l election? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to newsroom@durhamregion.com . Statesman file photo Anti-nuclear protesters make their feelings known during a visit to the area by then Premier Davied Peterson in 1989. Can't afford facades To the editor: The Nov. 23rd edition of the Bowmanville Canadian Statesman Statesman includes an article about Council considering, and giving preliminary approval to the construction construction of a .facade arid transit shelter oh king Street at the site of the parking lot east of Temperance Temperance Street. ■; The cost of this project is estimated estimated at $400,000. What are they putting in the water at Town Hall? , /, Mayor John Mutton has already warned us of a 10 per cent tax increase from the Region. No estimates from the Town yet but with ideas like this, taxes sure won't go down. ■ - ; , : . On top of these increases' how many of you are looking at whopping increases from the new assessments? It's time the members of Council Council got the message that we can't afford these projects. Erecting a building that isn't a building at a cost of $400,000 is not a sound way to spend our hard earned dollars. Give your councillor a call and tell him/her what you think. Jim Baker Bowmanville Readers speak out on GM To the editor: Re: Eat your import, Eric McLaughlin letter, Nov. 25. The recent problems announced by General Motors have little to do with vehicle sales but relate more directly to the costs ofretir-. ee pensions, current employee benefits and the ability to produce produce a quality product in cheaper markets. The big picture needs to addressed and people need to realize that very few companies can afford to offer wages remote- ly competitive to the wages at General Motors let alone pay the benefits that are part of the current current contract. I have many associates who are trained educated professionals such as engineers, policen offi- x cers, teachers, and skilled trades"' workers who would jump at the opportunity to earn the current •assembly line wage. It is time people realized we are now. competing in a global market and we need to adjust our business practices accordingly to maintain ownership and identity of what it means to be a Canadian Canadian manufacturer. Earl A. Robinson Oshawa The news this week that General General Motors' structural and marketing marketing problems will lead to nearly 4,000 local layoffs is shocking and worrisome for the local econoriiy. We are living in an increasingly complex, globalized economic world and readers should be cautioned cautioned about simplistic and often hypocritical arguments put forth by Buzz Hargrove, Ian McMillan and Eric McLaughlin. What does "buying domestic" mean when nearly all • major automakers have manufacturing facilities, in. the North American market and all over the world for that matter? . Which is better for our economy: economy: a consumer choosing to buy a General Motors vehicle made in Korea (Chevrolet Aveo) or Mexico (Pontiac Sunfire) or a consumer choosing to buy a Honda (Civic) or Toyota (Corolla) (Corolla) made here in Ontario? . When you look at the big picture, picture, things are not as simple as they first appear. Jeff Clark . Whitby The recent plant closure and shift reduction announcement from General Motors will have much more far-reaching effects on the region than is first apparent. apparent. So what is the real problem? How about the lack of any auto trade policy in Canada for the ,, off-shore producers. We used to . .haveithe autopactuntil the WTO ruled that it was an unfair tariff , against the Asian auto makers. It was Japan that challenged the auto pact in an attempt to gain full access to our markets. Well, now they have it. But why is it that we can't ship our products over there without having huge tariffs applied to our products? Doesn't sound too fair to me. With a federal election looming, looming, the next time a candidate knocks at your door do yourself a favour and ask them what their policy is regarding protecting the domestic auto industry. It's time for the people to open their eyes and demand a fair trade policy from Ottawa. Our futures and those of our children may depend on it. Mike Zdanowski Oshawa Robert Schwartz i "Yes, because the country ; does not know which way to ; go." ' , : . ■■ Linda McLeod "No, because we don't need 1 , politics through Christmas." M Sandra McRae > "No, it does not seem like a i good time." -1 LETTERS We welcome letters that include name, city of residence and phone numbers for verification. Writers are generally limited to 200 words and one submission submission in 30 days. We decline announcements, poetry, open letters, consumer complaints; congratulations and thank you notes. The editor reserves the right to edit copy for length, style and clarity. The newspaper newspaper contacts only those people people whose submissions have been chosen for publication. FAX: 905-579-1809; E-MAIL: Newsroom ©durhamregion. com. Hard to make any sense of GM move Somehow, I doubt the notion of a January federal election is going to mean a whole lot to the nearly 4,000 General Motors workers who are counting down the days before they lose their jobs. Or to the many thousands of , other employees in Durham Region and southern Ontario who work for GM suppliers. Or to the thousands more who work for the suppliers to those suppliers, Or to the retailers and service providers who arc bound to be hurt with the net loss of all those high-paying jobs. You could say, in these parts, the notion of a federal election just 18 months after what a sntiri- Tim Kelly cal magazine calls, the last "running "running of the reptiles," is a significantly significantly less important event than what transpired last week. By one big long shot, While it wasn't a complete shock - at least according to CAW union head Buzz Hargrove - that Car Plant No. 2 was in trouble, it still came as a body blow to a community that has taken great pride in the quality and productivity awards won by the two local car plants (and the truck plant) among North American American producers. Heck, GM bragged about these awards in advertising when it was pushing those employee discount discount price deals last summer. You remember those ads don't you: "The No. 1 and No. 2 plants in North America..." What makes it so clear these job cuts arc patently political is that, combined with our lower dollar, our public health ' cure, and our productivity and quality records, there is just no sense behind them. Why, after all, would GM put on ice its best North American plant? It was clearly a sop to the powerful powerful American aiito union. GM could say to those union members, members, we're not just going to get rid of our high-cost, unproduc- tivc, outdated U.S. plants. Instead we'll also knock out our very best plant in Oshawa, Ont. Sounds like the kind of business business sense that got GM into such a terrible state in the first place. Sure the auto giant is bleeding red ink. It produces too many vehicles at too high a cost to make too little profit. Something had to give. But that something should be those plants that are not cutting it - clearly not the case here in Oshawa. Maybe, just maybe, over the span of the next two years management management at GM will come to its collective senses and realize it has a nice little money-spinner money-spinner here in the heart of Durham Region, I'd like to hear those who arc out on the hustings this December December offer some ideas about how to make that happen. Then, and only then, we'll have an election worth paying attention attention to. Copy editor Tim Kelly's column appears every other Wednesday. E-mail tkelly@durhamregion. com. Don McAlpine "No, because none of thenrf. ; are any good." 'A------. Ê The Canadian Statesman is one of the Metroland Printing Publishing and Distributing i group of newspapers. The ' . Statesman is a member of- \ the Bowmanville Claringtori Board of Trade, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Commerce, Ontario Community ; Newspaper Assoc., Canari dian Community Newspaper] Assoc., Canadian Circula-': 1 ; tions Audit Board and the Ontario Press Council.The publisher reserves the right to classify or refuse any' v advertisement. Credit for ad vertisement limited to space price error occupies, Editor! and Advertising content of the Canadian Statesman Is copyrighted. Unauthorized n production Is prohibited. Aocna (*CNA \ V