The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

«IMWWÛflfVSpli *v.'< PAGE 6A ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ December 20,2005 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 |-(ook Office Manager Janice O'Neil, Cheryl Maine's Composing Managers Clarington's Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1854 ®Ijc Camtbtmt Statesman Opinion | DECEMBER 20, 2005 durtiamregion.com _ 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 L1 H 7L5 Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 infodurhamregion.com EDITORIAL c-mail letters to newsroom@durhamregion.com Time for candidates to make a stand The preliminaries are over, the three-weeks of getting ready are done and now, to paraphrase a sporting cliche, ladies and gentlemen: gentlemen: Start your campaigns. With an eight-week federal election campaign to deal with, not to mention several weeks of holidays right in the middle, it's not overly surprising local candidates candidates haven't exactly knocked our doors off with policy statements statements and bright ideas about how to get Durham going. Recent election campaigns have- been around five weeks in length -- a date we hit on the calendar yesterday - a more reasonable amount of time during which to campaign and make a case for electibn. In Durham's six federal ridings, many of the same candidates are back to try again after the last election, just 18 months ago: All six incumbents have returned, eager to win re-election. re-election. Many of the challengers are the same as well, so this campaign will require plenty of work from all involved to avoid a straight rerun of June 2004. It will mean making the case to strengthen the auto industry. Durham is largely dependent on the health of General Motors and its suppliers. What ideas do candidates have to maintain and improve GM's position in Canada and in the world? . Environmental concerns are always near the top of the agenda. agenda. With our location on Lake Ontario and the condition of our lakefronts, are candidates willing to go to Ottawa to push hard to get federal funding to help with cleanup and development? Health care is always a top priority' priority' with young and old alike. While health care is administered administered by the Province, much of the funding for it comes from Ottawa. That means federal candidates should have a plan to deal with the stresses the system faces and a goal of making sure enough funding flows to Ontario to make sure Durham's citizens are properly properly looked after. Our cities and towns could also use a little more gas tax money - are candidates showing leadership leadership in going after it? So far, it's been pretty quiet in most ridings. Candidates, with a fixed amount of money to spend, may be saving up to crank out new flyers, replacement signs for the ravages of winter, and advertising. But we're well into this campaign campaign and it's time to find out where these candidates stand on local issues and what they plan to do. BACKWARD GLANCE Food Worth's Variety, c.1980 Statesman file photo Food Worth's Variety is shown just off Hwy. 2 in Courtice, c. 1980 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e-mail letters to newsrooni@durlianiregion.com Don't cut social programs to give Canadians money To the editor: Re: Be suspicious of a politician willing to cut you a cheque, Ian McMillan column, Dec. 11. While Ian McMillan's opin-' ion is eveiy bit as valid as the next, his statements are based on flawed logic. First, there should be no cuts to social programs in order to give Canadians a tax break. The tax cut should result because of the astonishing sur- . plus of,our money gathered at the federal level through over , taxation. Second, Mr. McMillan's point regarding "social programs Canadians Canadians depend on..." is exactly the problem. The government never has been and never should be responsible for raising our kids.State-run child care should be available 'only to families with limited options. Blanketing everyone with one ineffective system is not the answer. Last, you don't remember the Harris days as "compassionate" but do you remember and/or prefer prefer the preceding Bob Rae NDP government or the Peterson Liberals Liberals who came before them? Lavish spending and wild taxation taxation levels almost killed this province and made the "Common "Common Sense Revolution", necessary. necessary. Mr. McMillan's sentiments fall in line with many in Ontario, so it is no mystery to me how we ended up with Paul Martin and Dalton McGuinty. But what do I know?... I'm just a beer and popcorn kinda guy! Adam Alehin Bowmanville GM designs, not quality, hurt company To the editor: I am a third-generation worker at General Motors. My grandfather had over 40 years and my father and I both had over 3Cl-years with GM. Some years ago GM decided it could design cars without imagination imagination and no matter what the company would hold the market in its hands. ? Today, General Motors is crying because the buyer sees how GM has just taken different designs from other cars and tried to put them out as its own product. Quality is not the problem as the workers in Oshawa have, for a number of years, made sows ears into silk purses for the company. company. Oshawa has been known as the pilot plant for the company - here the new models are developed developed and fine-tuned before production. production. Our' people .know quality is the. name of the game and have always given 110 per cent so put the blame where it belongs on lack of design and not on the workers. Bruce Norton Oshawa Not all GM employees have luxuries To the editor: Re: GM Employees had layoffs coming, Leonard Gilbert letter, Dec. 14 I'm sorry Leonard Gilbert feels that way about General Motors employees but not everyone who works at GM is a millionaire as he so bluntly puts it. We are a family of five with one income - my husband's. I was a stay-at-home mom with • three children, two of whom are special needs. We don't have the luxuries Mr. Gilbert suggests. We still have a mortgage after 22 years and always bought used vehicles until six years ago. We do not have a cottage, big boat, SUV or even a truck that we brag about! ff I have been working the last five years part-time helping with bills and our daughter's college education. So before Mr. Gilbert writes about people he doesn't even know, he should understand not everyone who works at GM is overpaid and has all these "toys" to play with. I am extremely upset by his letter. letter. I hope GM does not close because it wouldn't just be GM employees and their families affected but all the other businesses businesses that supply GM parts, etc. Most likely, someone Mr. Gilbert knows will be affected! Diane Livingstone Whitby 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. What should be on Clarington's list? An actual election campaign, decisions on the west end, new nukes? This year will go down in history history as a fairly quiet, but good one for Claringlon. Nothing blew up. (Not sinee late 2004, in fact.) Growth continued. continued. The economy appeared quite strong. Steady and strong would aptly describe Clarington's 2005. What should be on Clarington's wish list for 2006? Well, for a start, one would hope decisions would be made Jennifer Stone on the west end. For months we've heard we'd have a decision soon on a number number of applications for so-called 'big box' stores. Wal-Mart, the Real Canadian Superstore and Home Depot are among the large stores seeking permission to build in Bow- manvilie's west end, near Green Road and Hwy. 2. At the same time, the Municipality has been asked to consider an application by the AYT corporation, which is proposing development of land at Hwy. 401 and Bennett Road to allow for large format warehouse retail floor space, along with restaurant, restaurant, hotel and conference centre space, So far, the devil seems to be in the details on those applications, and no final decisions have been made in spite of plans to bring final proposals forward to council council this fall, Surely, this will be put to rest, one way or another, at some point in 2006. We begin and end 2006 with election campaigns, the first at the federal level in January, and the second, in November, at the ■ municipal level. Though the federal election looms, one would hardly know a campaign is underway in Clar- ington. Few signs are up (perhaps (perhaps partially due to a bylaw prohibiting such signs until only six weeks prior to federal elections, elections, so signs could only go up Dec. 11), and really, hardly a campaign event has been held. Mctroland, along with partners Rogers and CKDO, will'be mixing mixing things up Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Garnet 13. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bowmanville, as we host an all-candidates debate at 7 pan. Later in the year, we'll look at a municipal slate of candidates. The last municipal campaign was little more than a snooze locally, with really, a race in only one ward. Perhaps, this time around, things will be different and more people will come forward to try CLICK AND SAY Today's question: - C Are you worried about the^ economic future of Durham^ Region in the walke of job cut announcements and „ closings? Yes Somewhat No Cast your vote online at infodurhamregion.com " v Last week's ■, « question: Do you favour construe-'-' tion of more nuclear reac-, tors in Durham Region to* meet Ontario's future energy ' needs? ; No 19.2% Yes 80.8% Votes cast: 770 HAVE YOUR SAY Do you still have Christmas shopping left to do? Sheila McQuigg "No., I was finished on Friday."' Doug Tighe "No. I am all done." Patricia McMichael , r " "No, I don't. I finished last ^ weekend." Tamara Noack "I am finished surprisingly early this year." their hand at politics at the local level. This also may be the year when Claringlon gets the call to renew its place as the community that energizes Ontario. The Province is on the cusp of making a decision about whether to build new nuclear, and those in the know are pointing to the land next to Darlington as the place to build. Ontario is on the verge of power woes and new nuclear, built here, may be the answer. The new year could bring a lot of news for Claringlon ... stay tuned! Reporter Jennifer Stone's column column normally appears every other Wednesday. E-mail jstone@ditrhamregion.com, Follow Jennifer's election BLOG durhamreglon.com/dr/fedeiectlons/ The Canadian Statesman is one of the Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing ;£j group of newspapers. The vj Statesman is a member of the Bowmanville Clarington Board of Trade, the Greater ft] Oshawa Chamber of Com- 6» merce, Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc., Cana- dian Community Newspaper Assoc., Canadian Circula- w tions Audit Board and the Ontario Press Council. The b publisher reserves the right h to classify or refuse any | advertisement. Credit for ad- vertisement limited to space b price error occupies. Editorial $3 and Advertising content of £ the Canadian Statesman is & copyrighted. Unauthorized re- uj production' Is prohibited, b jjpena 33HSB ^CNA INIUel MIIHMI