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A Ed WTI RE TART Dhue AEE AE Ea fh PR why cig (BUN ie ni, ae ge Seabee Sh raf "ee SAE as AA WOR, I he IT iy Tg chen bi a (Ra al MR eb A RL ai a Ll H . : - i . 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. February 17, 1987 Editorial Comments Hammer and Nails Needed Now Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appears to not know which way to turn as he finds his Conservative Party rocked by one misfortune _ after another. One opinion poll published last week shows the Conservatives at rock bottom with 23 per cent support of those polled. The NDP garnered 33 per cent, while the Liberals were out in front with 43 per cent. Mr. Mulroney and the Conservatives are clearly in deep trouble and have lost the confidence of a great many Canadians who ques- ion their ability to govern this country. 'So what is the Prime Minister doing to put his ship back on course? Nothing, if his remarks at a news conference in Quebec last week are any indication. He took the opportunity to lash out at his critics, namely the media and the Opposition Parties. He accused the press of reporting "in- nuendoes, half truths and unfounded rumours," and he blamed the press for contributing "to the unhealthy climate that pervades the country now." Granted, the press in recent months has been less than kind to Mr. Mulroney and his Conservative Party. And some newspapers have been especially relentless in giving wide and prominent play to both * the scandals and the policies coming out of Ottawa. _ His comments have a familiar ring about them for one need not look too far back in history to recall another politician who decided to 'shoot the messenger" when everything was crumbling round him. U.S. President Richard Nixon 'adopted a bunker mentality i in the throes of Watergate, lashing out at everyone, pointing fingers of blame in all directions except at himself and the underlings who caused the: mess which ultimately lec to nis resignation. Mr. Mulroney is not going to silence his critics on the Opposition . side of the House or in the media by blaming them for his woes. Nor will he restore confidence in the Canadian people. When asked, by the way; to give examples of 'half truths, innuendoes and rumours" that have been reported, Mr. Mulroney did not give any. The last thing Canada needs right now is for the Prime Minister to adopt a Nixonian mentality that somehow everyone else is to blame . for his current woes. It was not the press who created the Oerlikon Affair. It was not the press who dreamed up the resignations of a steady stream of Cabinet Ministers. Nor was it the press, who came up with the lumber deal with the Americans or the fish deal with France. It was not the press who appointed a long line of Tory friends to government posts; or handed a plum defense contract to a Montreal based firm when a company in Winnipeg actually had a lower bid. It was not the press who decided a new prison should be built in the Prime Minister's home riding at an extra cost of some $42 million. The Canadian people want some straight answers from Ottawa. They are in no mood these days to listen to the Prime Minister whine about the Opposition or the media. If he persists in pointing fingers, his popularity in the polls will drop to zero by the time an election: rolls around in a couple of years. (But it is not just the people of this country, the Opposition and the media who are critical of Mr. Mulroney and his policy direction. A group of back-benchers from his own Party are wondering when the Government is going to get to work on some promises made dur- Bf iy Mr. Mulroney has a lot of fences to mend. So far, he hasn'teven bothered to pick up the hammer and nails. . "£ VER SINCE EATS =| STARTED ARMING THEMSELVES, PARKING S$ BEEN A S0N-OF -A-GUN " Port Perry ( A |S T fie RR C1) H a, 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Ra Phone 985-7383 P.O Box90 LOB INO J). PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager J.B. McCLELLAND Member pol Canadian Commuyun:ty Newspaper Assocatpn and Ontarso Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co Ltd | Port Perry. Ontaro Editor , . Authorized as second class mad by the Post . Otte Department Ottawa "and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE barnert of POMIEC 7 Lath News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate. In Canada $15.00 per year Elsewhere $45 00 per year. Single Copy 35° COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced Dy the adver ting department of the Port Perry Star Company Lmned are protected under copy ght and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher 'Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe 1 ES Yet another Canadian institution bites the dust. : It wasn't enough that the railroads try to take off the caboose, that the mints plunk ridiculous' bird pictures on our money, that the government is thinking about closing rural post offices. Now the beer companies have announced the official death of the little brown beer bottle. As of the end of this month, they will no longer take back those squat empties that have for so long epitomiz- ed the "Canadian," eh?" image of our country." Some might argue that the demise of a beer bottle is of minor consequence compared to the greater issues of our time, and they're probably right. On the other hand, it's sad to see them go, Of 'course, the end of the little brown bottles has been a long time coming. More than two - years, I think; have passed since Labatt's first in- troduced the tall beer bottle, similar to the ones found south of the border. ~ Since then, all the other bra eries have jumped on the bandwagon, producing tall bottles for Export, 50, Schooner and such. The tall bottles, which caught on partly because they're trendy, and partly because the shape is originally American, which makes them trendy, have become so popular that the little bot- tles are no longer sold. So really, it should come as no surprise to see Brewer's Retail announcing a cut-off date for the return of the old-fashioned bottles. By March 1st, the stubby bottle will be of- ficially dead. Now, I'm not a beer drinker, ¥ over have been, ~ and by rights I shouldn't have cause to complain just 'because the breweries have changed the | shape of their bottles. But 1 am complaining. I'm crying in my beer, not just because of a beer bottle, but because of the general decline of the Canadian identity. All high school, through every history class of every year, this Canadian identity stuff - was shoved down my throat. Time and time again I was asked to write essays answering the age- old question "What is the Canadian identity" Describe it in 500 words." The history teachers were looking for essays dealing with our heritage, with Canada as a mosaic, rather than a melting pot, and with the differences between us and the Americans. It was always a tough subject, picking out a truly Canadian identity, uniquely our own, and I've come to believe that our identity rests not just in our heritage, which is varied due to In- dian/ French/English influences, but in the things that Canada as a whole is famous for. And what is Canada famous for? Canada is famous for the railway, -the great CRYING IN OUR BEER SyTUp. CPR line linking the east coast to the west. While countries all over the world have railways, only Canada can boast of The Last Spike, John A. Mdc- Donald and the supreme effort of those men who created a nation more than 100 years ago. Even' the song immortalizing that effort, Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," has itself become immortal. And what has become of the railway? Oh, it "still exits, and.it's still going strong, but a vital element will soon be missing. The caboose. Or the hen house, as my father has traditionally called it. (He'd nicknamed the last car on the train 'the hen house" more than 30 years ago because the trip was so rough for the crew housed in it that they'd all come out at the end of the ride squawking). ~The caboose still exists. For now. But the CPR is making great efforts to put an end to it. At one time. the caboose housed men who were needed to make regular inspections of the 'train. Nowadays, with the advent of the computer and scanners, the men are no longer needed. Neither is the hen house. What else is Canada famous for? Well, we used to be famous for our money, with a scenic picture on the back of every bill showing various Canadiana countrysides. Now we've got birds. Birds? Argghh. Canada still has the maple leaf, and maple syrup. For a while. Who knows how long it's go- ing to be before acid rain kills that Canadian sym- bol off, however. Of course, the old Canadian method of sugar- ing off is long gone, the days when farmers from all over a country mile would get together and share the work, and the fun, of gathering sap, boik ing it down and selling the sweet, all-Canadian And back to my Dad for a moment (sorry, Dad: he still remembers and longs for the days when. as a kid, he would help collect sap and firewood (**We used enough wood i in a day to heat the average house for a year," he once told me for the sugaring off. Then he'd wait, along with the other kids, un- til the syrup was thick and hot enough to pour over the snow. resulting in the sweetest homemade taf- fy any bov could ever ask for. But mostly. Canada is famous for the Bob and Doug MacKenzie syndrome. The peameal back bacon, the toques, the "eh" after every other word. and little brown bottles of beer. so different in taste and so different in shape than Yankee counterparts. Officially. the little brown bottles were known as "compacts" but to most beer drinkers, they (Turn to page 6) 00 SI STM PY SOM N . A pormnt