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Ontario UM 4T6 Bruce Rowland - publisher ' ADVIITISIIG 7266537 CLASS'FIED Peggy Chapell SUDCFVISOI' Freda Stunner Dana Homewood Janice Morton NEWSROOM '26 653' CIICUlAflOI 726 6539 CLASSIFIEDS 728-24 I 4 IUSINESS 726-6537 Cheryl Aiken John Diefenbaker l895- l 979 A great Canadian has just died. John George Diefenbaker was his full name and he was senior politician supreme with acid wit and rhetoric that was legendary. No matter one's political views his foes respected his experience and fearlessness. Not your suave politician such as Lester B. Pearson or Pierre Trudeau, 'Diel' had a directness that was a joy to watch and listen to. His wit, rare indeed in a politician these days and invariably spiked with sarcasm, sparked many a humorous moment in the House. Noted for his sincerity and dedication to a cause, Dief's memory was legend; it is said he never forgot anyone he met, no matter how briefly or ty they occupied. which rung of the ladder of socie- Like any other politician he committed errors during his tenure in the House, but he will long be remembered for his fervent love for this nation and his frequent allusions to that love. And he meant every word. _ A great man has just died and this nation is the poorer for it. Taped on Friday Last interview showed concern for country O'I'I'AWA (CP) ---- John Diefenbaker, who fought throughout his litical life for what he called one Cans , expressed grave concerns in his last public interview for the unity of the country. "I have never seen it as divided as it is today," the former Progressive Conservative prime minister told a panel of reporters Friday during the taping of an interview for broadcast on the CW television network. "Suspicion, fear, all those things that den unity are present . . Diefenbaker sai , adding that pessimism is especially present ammg young Canadians who wrote to him. "They write me about their most innermost ideas and thoughts. They're worried about Canada, what the future will be, is there that strong spiritual basis without which nations cannot survive." For many youth, disgruntlement with Canada occurs because they perceive laws as being administered unjustly, he said. Diefenbaker's latest cause celebne had been the sentencing of Jacques and Louise Cossette'l'rudel, convicted kidnappers of British dioplomat James Cross during the Front de Liberation du Quebec terrorism of October, 1970. WAS CONCERNED Diefenbaker was concerned that the kid- na rs received two years for their crime whi e hundreds of youth are being jailed for longer periods for "some little marijuana thing." Guarding civil liberties was one of Diefenbaker's chief priorities from his days as a brash criminal lawyer in Saskatchewan. "I always followed the course through the years at the bar that poverty was no passport to prison and however poor a person was I would take his case if I thought it was a just one. That's the reason that I built up across this country a reputation in that regard." Diefenbaker. never known as a great fan of Joe Clark, was asked during the interview to assess the new prime minister's per- formance. Backgrounder JOHN GEORGE DIEFENBAKER ...greatCanadian "He's doing as well as I expected." . A reporter then asked: "Well, how well did you expect him to do? ',' Diefenbaker replied: "Eitceptionally well. I'm glad you asked that additional thing." Since the death in December, 1972, of Let. r Pearson, Diefenbaker had been the sole . 0 former prime minister. And then the May - ' ~'ection turfed Pierre Trudeau out of office. . Diefenbaker, in his familiar tongue-in- cheek style, tolo the interviewers: "As a matter of fact, it was a most lonesome position that I was in, the only former prime minister in Parliament. It's a lonely position, and now I have company." Now Trudeau must play that lonesome role. Support for military reflects public opinion MEAFORD, Ont. ,(CP) -- Military priorities in Canada under former prime minister Pierre Trudeau experienced a drastic reversal ---- moving from an attitude d antagonism to one of support by govern- ment -- but Maj-Gen. Richard Rolttner said the change only reflects the reversal of public opinion. _ ' "Antagonism toward the military IS gone now." said Rohmer, commander in chief of Canada's 22,000-5tron reserve army. He was interviewed Wed ay while visiting ar- mored militia training near here. "The regard of the Canadian people for the military has increased." he said. He said ear lier antagonism was a "spillover" from the American experience in Vietnam. Trudeau's military policy reversed because "it became politically acceptable for his gov- ernment to get behind the armed forces" primarily because of Canada's NATO obliga- tions. hesaid. Rohmer defended an enhanced role for Canada's armed forces. "The reality is that the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc are so heavily armed and have so many men under arms it is a real nd escalating threat to the peace of the worl "The fact is that Canada must recognize in partnershi with the United States and Great Britain a France that the threat exists." Canadian forces are at minimum strength with 80,000 regular forces and 22,000 reserve, he said. "That is not warmongering." A Second World War fi ter pilot, Rottmer' is a prominent lawyer a novelist in civilian life. He was appointed chief of reserves in February, ms, the first reserve general in Ottawa since the Second World War. That appointment, he said. reflects a change in attitude on the part of regular forces command that "recognizes the im- portance of reserve forces." Meaford is 32 kilometres east of Owen Sound. Parliament , Hill By STEWART MacLEOD Ottawa Bureau Thomson News Service At last reports, Joe Clark's Conservative government was still undecided about whether to hold a full-scale constitutional conference this fall. As ministers ponder the problems involved, they hopefully will not overlook the comments of Thomas Wells, Ontario's minister of intergovernmental af- fairs, who is understandably concerned about the lack of apparent action. wnat weus IS saying IS that the people of Quebec must be shown that the other provmces are serious about improvmg Confederation. It's not good enough simply to wait for the Quebec referendum and hope that the people there will reject any form of sovereignty-association. "I don't t 'nk we can afford -- we just 'can't -- to ave a moratorium and say we won't do anything until we see what happens in the referen~ dum," he said recently. His comments came after an aide to Prime Minister Clark said that, despite campaign promises to the contrary, the government may not go ahead with a federal- rovincial constitutional conference this fall. owever, no final decision has been made and Bill Jarvis, the federal minister of federal-pro- "incial relations, is still discussing the L . .ject with his provincial counterparts. NEED PLATFORM Some members of the Clark government Your business By VINCENT EGAN Business and Consumer Affairs Analyst Thomson News Service The energy crunch isn't going to be eased by government's punishing the energy- producing companies or by controls on con~ sumers' choices. It may, however, lead both su pliers and oomumers into some interesting irections in the guest for alternatives to conventional petroleum-based energy. If that happens, don't thank the govem- merits. In Canada, both Ottawa and the oil- producing provinces have been treating the energy crunch as an opportunity to swell their revenues from taxes and royalties. In the United States, the Department of Energy has created a bureaucratic nightmare ol allocations and pricing regulations. Granted, the sharp reduction in oil exports from Iran. now ill anarchy, and the even Kim Pattenden are said to feel that a federal-provincial con-- stitutional conference could be counter- productive as Quebec Premiere Rene Levesque, gearing up for his spring referen- dum, would undoubtedly try to demonstrate that Confederation simply doesn't work. In such an atmosphere, it would be difficult or Clark and the other premiers to reach any consensus. They obviously have a point. But it isn't necessary to reach a consensus to demon- strate an enthusiasm for change. And one of the most effective platforms for these demonstratons is the federal-provincial conference. With the referendum slated for next spring, a fall conference could set the stage for the federal counter-offensive. During last sprin '5 election campaign. Clark made repeat references to the need for a fresh approach to constitutional reform and the necessity of proving to Quebecers that the federal system can be tailored to their aspirations. "What we need to do is renew faith in the process of Canada as a country where French Canadians can feel that they can grow and I think that I can move that process along more quickly and more convincingly to persuade Quebecers to stay in Canada than anyone else who is available." In talking about a fall constitutional conference, he also emphasized the need for immediate action. "What you do is look at the energy crunch sharper price increases imposed by the inter national oil cartel, have'created a very real energy problem. But the price increases, even though un- justifiable, can serve as a spur to the development of other energy materials. Methane, for example, costs less than natural gas, and is used to power more than four million generators in India and China, according to a recent issue of The New Yorker. AGE OF METHANOL Methanol. or wood alcohol, is an alcohol made from gasifying coal. It is familiar already in many applications -- as, for example, a motor fuel in the cars that race at the Indianapolis Speedway. Utilities in North America could use methanol, as an alternative to expensive oil, to fuel their generators. And no time need be lost in switching to » g Wells' concern justified on constitutional inaction problems that are ahead of you right now, you decide how you are going to deal with those problems right now. That's what I am doing in the case of Quebec. "The problem right now is that a large number of people are not happy with their freedom to grow as individuals and as a group within the context of Canada. What we have to do is make changes that give them more room to grow. You can do it con- fidently as I do and 5a that that will work or you can take a disas rous senario as some people do. I am not going to play with disasters." One of the prime minister's aides remarked that if a fall constitutional conference is not held that "some other methods" will be used to deal with constitutional negotiations. Off- hand, I don't know what these other methods might be, but I do know that Clark, to his credit, has so far indicated a healthy distaste for grandstanding. Rather than showing off before the cameras, he would probably prefer closed conversations with Rene Levesque and the other premiers, knowing that agreeman are moe likely this way. But in the present context of influencing an entire population -- as opposed to hammering home agreements with fellow policians --- perhaps a little grandstanding is in order. As Thomas Wells said, this is a good time to demonstrate that the other nine provinces are ready to talk turkey. Hopefully, Clark will go ahead with that conference. and its tollouts methanol. Big scale production facilities could be buut at once on the bas15 of ex15ting knowledge. ' Capital costs would undoubtedly high, but they would be offset by major sayings in purchases of oil from the cartel. Government policy-makers could give a boost to methanol production through such devices as accelerated capital cost al- lowances and investment tax credits. Methanol's potential as an alternative to gasoline in cars is more doubtful, however. Major engine modifications would be necessary before a car could use methanol as afuel. One oil company. nevertheless, has developed a means of converting methanol into high-octane gasoline ---- although the cost would be prohibitively high at the present state of development. From the legislature Home heating costs soar By DEREK NELSON Queen's Park Bureau Thomson News Service TORONTO ---- For each $1 a barrel oil rises in price, home heating and gasoline costs soar $44 a year in the average Ontario household. Since the Canadian oil price is set at $13.50 a barrel, and world price is almost twice that, the Ontario consumer would likely fork out $565 more next year if we went to world price immediately. This doesn't include indirect costs caused by industry raising its prices to meet steeply rising energy bills. To put it another way, for every $1 more a barrel of oil costs, an additional $300 million flows out of the Ontario economy, with the obvious consequences of reduced purchasing power, less disposable income, fewer jobs, and increased inflation. This explains Ontario's concern at the current provincial premier's conference in Quebec, and why Premier William Davis released an oil policy document here just before he headed east. Although the government continues to protest that it opposes any oil price hike, the document's very existence is implicit ac- ceptance of a situation energydeficient Ontario can do nothing about. GOOD RESPONSE Oil prices will rise, and what the policy paper -- entitled Oil Pricing and Security: A Policy Framework for Canada -- real] does is tell us how to minimize the damage. It makes these points: --- that oil going to world price will damage the economy, but that we can live with it un- der certain conditions. -- price hikes must be phased in, and never exceed American levels (which won't reach world price until 1981) -- any immediate increase above $2 a barrel will mean windfall profits for the federal government, the oil-producing provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan), and the oil companies. -- these windfall dollars must be rein- vested across the whole Canadian economy in such a way that the price hike affects are minimized. -- nor should roducing provinces and oil companies ever e repaid for loss of these excess revenues. VERY GOOD All good, sensible stuff, except for the government's stubborn refusal to acquiesce to world price as a necessary goal, un- desirable as it may be. Canada is a net importer of oil, and we shouldn't subsidize users forever. What the recommendations do touch on is the point at which damage to the Ontario economy outweighs the obvious need to pay Alberta and Saskatchewan a premium for their irreplaceable resources. Davis put it another way at his press conference releasing the report. "You have to ask at some point what this country is all about. Everything cannot be de» cided on the basis of a balance sheet." The premier noted that many of our goods would be cheaper if we opted to become Americans, but as Canadians we made the political commitment not to do that, with the inevitable economic consequences. THEM TOO Alberta and Saskatchewan, too, are going :0 have to decide whether they are Canadians irst. The wealth flowing west is incredible, $5 billion already sitting relatively idle in western heritage funds. At the premier's conference Davis will urge some negotiated means of reinvesting that wealth for the benefit of all Canadians. But if that fails the oil policy report notes quite clearly that the "federal government is charged with the responsibility and has the legitimate constitutional authority to avert an intolerable economic and social danger." Interpreting the news Report supports prison injustices By GLENN SOMERVILLE WASHINGTON (CP) -- A group of in- temational jurists are wrapping up a study of United States prisons that is expected to support allegations that the US. criminal 'justice system involves racism and violates human rights. For several weeks, jurists from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, South America and Europe have been touring prisons, in- vestigating charges made in an 800page petition to the UN last December that im- prisonment for political offences is far from unknown here and that prison conditions generally are inhumane. A spokesman for the National Conference of Black Lawyers, one of the activist groups that invited the jurists here, says their report likely will be submitted to the UN com- mission on human rights in Geneva next month. REFORM DRIVE Prison reform movements are growing in the US, sparked partly by the reaction to statements last year by Andrew Young, the sometimes controversial US. ambassador to the UN, that there are "hundreds, perhaps thousands of political prisoners" in this coun- try. Young was condemned by public 0 inion and was ticked off by President Carter or his remarks. But such groups as the American Civil Liberties'Union believe there is truth in his comments that politically weak groups, such as the poor and minorities, make up a disproportionate share of the prison population. "The jurists' study is going to back up Ambassador Young's statements," a lawyer- who worked with the National Conference of Hindi Lawyers says.