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[20 |, The South Marysburgh Mirror] THE LAST WORD I return from my vacation to find we are in the grip of election ‘fever.’ That is perhaps a gross over- statement and ‘cold’ might be a better term. The politi- cians are desperately trying to whip up the voting pub- lic’s interest in what they have to say but, we know bet- ter thanks to our experience of the previous election. Now I ask you, do two wrongs make a right? The Liberal’s claimed that the Tory’s left them with a hidden $6 billion deficit causing their reneging on the “no tax increases promise,” a promise that probably won the last election for the Liberals. Set that against a Tory government which would maintain a deficit in the order of 8 to 10 percent, hiding it from public scrutiny, and claim that all was well in the house. You be the judge! Politics are about owning power and patronage and controlling the flow of monies. Our current first past the post system creates this, ‘we are better for you than they are’ syndrome that drags the awesome and honourable task of leading/serving the Province into the gutter. Who wants to be a part of a system that embrac- es complicity, connivance, untruths? Those who choose to do so are pleading for our attention; pounding on our doors with their literature; polluting the country- side with their signs; promising us the world at no extra cost. Do you believe So what to do? What is the alternative to the foregoing? The only answer I can offer is ‘Proportional Representation.’ I truly value some of the thoughts and ideas that come from each of the four PUZZLE 14 SHELL GAME SOLUTION 'LA()M RI(N)SE A-SC(END)ANT 27° num 29 MCREACang, care))GE DOWN writinG IVE Respected SA(BOTA(anag, boat))GE OC-EL-OT (to le co rev.) R(AW D(anag, wad))EAL DONOR SWE-GIAN Nts weudaaen LL [n[atelefols Mf [sIn[i[vlolv] ACROSS 15 Hale Rama. on )USH 17 PERIODIC (anag. I drop ice) 19 SPRUCES injureD RIB BLEeding ‘VIL (live 2 RETINA (anag. retain) BARBED oie (anag. be 25 ALONG (anag. no gal) bra) 1 AGAIN-S 5 1. ORY “RENT SB ES FE Bees 3 Sh 3 = Zz BE main parties.” I am not about to share what these are be- cause I know you will rightly have your own shopping list of ‘should & must haves,’ and preferred courses of action. If you are honest with yourself you must agree that no one political party has all the right answers. Why therefore do we have to settle for second best when there are better solutions out there just waiting to be implemented? Well, we don’t IF we can take a gi- ant’s step forward in the cause of democracy and claim proportional representation to be OUR way for the fu- ture. Let’s get the best of all ideas into Queen’s Park for the good of Ontarians instead of, ‘for the good of The Party!” Remember, when you place your *X’ on the bal- lot form in October, following party lines, you just lost control, and the opportunity to bring about change in a system ‘that continually fails us all. The system has been crumbling for years and voter turn-out says it all when we see millions of votes withheld. I spent some time in the big city during the summer and was really impressed with the way the gov- ernment and the City of Toronto is handling the traffic chaos around Greater Toronto. It appears they have adopted a ‘wait and see’ policy, attempting in the pro- cess not to upset any of the pressure groups that control the economy of Ontario. ‘Bigger is Better’ must be the slogan they are using. Encourage more people to live in the area; build more homes to accommodate them; en- courage industry to locate around the city and you in- crease the tax base that can then be used to solve the problems you have just created. It sounds quite ridicu- lous doesn’t it, but it seems to me that is exactly what has been happening over the past twenty years. Unsus- tainable expansion runs rampant and the quality of life of the people who are caught up in this is gradually eroded as commutes become longer and longer. The better way means some tough decisions need to be tak- en and I don’t think any of the proponents for leader- ship have the stomach for it. Finally I want to bring to your attention a situa- tion that has developed in the County in the past week or two. A family discovered that their young child has cancer and requires immediate treatment at the best place in the World in such situations: Sick Kid’s Hospi- tal, in downtown Toronto. A precious young life is at stake and a child and parents find themselves having to stay in the centre of Toronto for a period of time that could be months in duration. Obtaining suitable accom- modation in the city is very expensive. Ronald McDon- ald House, a wonderful charity, is full, so what to do? Since there is no government funding covering such emergent expense for simple accommodation, parents find themselves having to spend life savings and or go into debt in order to be there for their child when he or she needs them. Time away from work is also neces- sary, and this can sometimes come at a great price. Continued on pagel5