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p 4 weekender april 5 1997 stux get the people mad and lose the next election when the dust finally clears from the filibuster at queens park delaying the passing of the toronto megacity bill about the best that can be hoped for is that maybe the ruling tories learn a lesson like it or not bill 103 will be passed even if it takes the read ing of some 13000 amend ments and torontos six munici palities will be amalgamated into one personally i think that stinks its unlikely though that mike harris and his government care what 1 think or for that matter what the more than 70 per cent of people who voted against the megacity think however there will be a price to pay for this kind of arrogance the worst thing a government can do is make the voters angry viewpoint alan shackleton just ask jean chretien hes been asleep for the last four years and if he and his gov ernment stay that way reelec tion seems certain the speed and apparent dis regard for public opinion with which the harris government has moved on a number of con troversial issues is scaiy workfare along with massive changes to education and health care have come along so fast that people have no time to make sense of the moves let alone react anyone who dis agrees is branded a whiner or a special interest group this government is so utterly convinced thatit is right and that it knows best that it marches ahead with its com mon sense revolution with a nearreligious fervor listen to the comments of york east tbry mpp john parker who has been promised by his constituents that he will be fin ished if he votes in favor of the megacity 111 be casting a vote on the basis of whats right regardless of the political conse quences as he goes down in political martyrdom i suppose parker can console himself with com parisons to joan of arc i see this as just one more example of gutless politicians toeing the party line instead of listening to their constituents honestly dont they realize who the boss is here ifs you and i wethe voters this is our govern ment not theirs the provincial tories dont realize what a broad spectrum of opposition they have stirred up the megacity bill has become the lightning rod for the frustration of voters but it goes across the board on a variety of issues people who are mad make it a point to cast a ballot arid the history of elections recently david petersons liberals in ontario in 1990 and the federal conservatives in 1993 is that arrogant governments get voted out and punished by voters this is the lesson mike harris and company may learn in the next provincial election the tribune weekender edition a metroland community newspaper patricia pappas publisher joann srevenson editorinchiet andrew hair general managereditor debraweixer director of advertising barry goodyear director of distribution vivian cneil business manager pamela nichols operations manager stovffville all enquiries 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 6244 main st stouffvuie ont uxbridge all enquiries 905 8529741 fax 905 8524355 88 brock st w uxbridge ont the tribune published every wednesday and satur day is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing group of community newspapers which includes ajax pickering news advertiser alliston her ald barrie advance brampton guardian buriington post cityparent collingwoodwasaga beach connec tion east york mirror etobicoke guardian george town independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midland ptnetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion mississauga news newmarketaurora erabanner northumberland news northyork mirror oakville beaver orillia today oshawawhitbyciaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hilwhornhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors contents not to be reproduced without written permission from the publisher permit 11247 the publisher reserves the right to refuse or classify any advertisement credit for advertisement limited to space error occupied the weekender is a member of the ontario press council fgs mf7 ip hrli jkmm am ljsff vj m j terser ivibe jcr kul ibotrwj mm mm hvvvy mwlmyy vkhsi titt hjgii fol illvotiw jpipi3 lp 8 f v himthwii t t i tj 1 11 m wmlakwak sjc ajo issiyii imhjfe good samaritans getting scarce you cannot do a kindness too soon for you cannot know how soon it will be too late ralph waldo emerson we all want to have a reputa tion for generosity and wed all like to buy it cheap anon ive been thinking what a rough ride wed give the good samaritan if he was unwise enough to show up nowadays for anyone whose bible lore is rusty the good samaritan was the subject of a new testament parable basically he was the only guy who bothered to stop and help a man who had been held up and savagely mugged by thieves good samaritan has come to be a term that we bestow on any one who shows generosity or compassion towards the poor editors mail government responsible for lake ontario cleanup dear editor you will be drinking the water from lake ontario the most polluted lake in the great lakes the great lakes is the largest body of fresh water in the world less than one per cent of fresh water is available for human consumption and the ontario government is with drawing its economic support in the effort to continue the lake ontario clean up this includes the niagara river ontario is breaking an international agreement established in 1987 to establish a cleanup of lake ontario the coordinators of lake ontario and the remedial action programs have been laid off they coordinate the clean up in the hotspots around the lake ontario wants private industry those who pollute and a volunteer nonprofit organization to fund the cleanup imagine the polluter paying to clean up its mess who will be responsible and account able its your health demand from your mpp that the gov ernment get back on track and clean up the lake l duriar scarborough and downtrodden and its a term that you dont hear a whole lot these days its certainly not a term that would spring to the lips of sylvia stayton of cincinnati ohio not if she was looking for ways to describe municipal court judge john west ms stayton a grandmother was hauled up in court before the judge for a pre trial hearing recently her lawyer was seeking dismissal of the charges the judge said no way ms stayton will stand trial for obstruction and disorderly conduct and what did this wildeyed harridan do to get cited lie down in front of the mayors lim ousine burn her bra on the cincinnati courthouse steps nah sylvia stayton was charged when she put 15 cents into two expired parking meters she was trying to do a good turn for the drivers of the cars nei ther of whom she knew a cincinnati cop who was writing out a ticket for one of the cars ordered her to stop feeding the meter she refused and i guess she might go to jail as a result the judge will issue a ruling next week then theres ron seawards tale of woe seaward was driving from toronto to london ontario recently when he spied a car in the ditch seaward feeling con spicuously good samaritanish pulled over and got out to help as did an ontario provincial police officer while the cop and seaward were grunting and straining at the back bumper of the stuck car several other vehi cles crashed into seawards truck and police cruiser naturally the officer now has to write out an accident report naturally he has to see every bodys licence and registration including seawards which is when the cop notices that sea ward has been driving with an expired licence wella violation to be sure basic black arthur black but under the circumstances seaward being such a decent chap and all undoubtedly the cop will let seaward off with a wink and a warning right not seaward who was only acting on an impulse of kindness and generosity towards a fellow human being in a jam finds himself with a strained back a bangedup truck and a 315 traffic ticket guess how fast hell pull over the next time he sees a motorist in difficulty sad but true the streets are- getting meaner still ron seaward can look on the bright side at least he didnt have to be helped by a politician theres a story going around about a traveling sales- man on a business trip to ottawa who one night was robbed beaten up thrown in a ditch and left for dead the first person to come by was a reform party mp she looked down at the man and snapped get up on your feet stop feeling sorry for yourself be a man and she walked on next came an ndp supporter he gasped in dismay at the sight of the poor guy in the ditch this is terrible he wailed i must find the people who did this they need psychi atric help and career counsel ing and off he ran the next passerby was a lib eral cabinet minister he stopped in front of the injured man looked around to make sure no one was watching then he knelt down by the side of the man and whispered what did the other two say