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PAGE 2, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1982, WHITBY FREE PRESS Municip*lalities should be lobby*ng federal government to take auto industry action :Edwards. Munàiciinal movern- .4 ments can and should be makîng their concerns known to' the federal government'concerning the slumping auto ini- auUOLLy accorcing Lo Whitby Reglonal Coun- cillor Tom Edwards., To'that end, Edwards and Oshawa Mayor Alan Pilkey wiil put a motion betore tociay's meeting .0f Durhamn Regional Council'e to en- dorse the concerna ex~- pressed in a letter to the federal government by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Asso- ciation of Canada and the. United Auto Workers. In that letter, both groups cali for a" pro- gram that would require ail car and truck manu- facturers to invest in' Production 'or parts sourcing facilities In Canada. The letter addressed to, Industry, Trade 'and Comnmerce Mînister Herb Gray and Inter- national Trade Minister Wxa~ Ed Luml 'ey said that Japan is responsible for most'0f'Canada's auto industry problems. "The immediate'pro- blem is, 0f course, the increasing penetration of the Canadian market by the Japanese' auto-, mobile and truck pro- ducers who makeý littie or no commiitment to <Canada in' termns 0f in- vestment, sourcing of parts, assembly'0f vehi- dles or jobs," the t.wo groups s aid. "The,,,Auto Pacti, >they, .conti 'nued,' "established the' prin- c ipl 'e«that companies which selU in the Cana- dlian. market' should make a fair contribution to this' market in terms of investment, sourcing and jobs. "This principle mIust' now be effectively ex- panded to include the Japanese auto'manu- facturers." According to Ed- - wards, municipalities >can no -longer stand idly by and Jet the fedéral governmént make al the decisions without their input. "How long are we going. to sit back before we try to act?" Edwar- ds asks. "ýWe should be, at the municipal level, trying to find ways to be <0f assistance." The councillor also believes that, to date, the -municipaliti.es have not, been active in making their' views known. "I don't have any pet answers,'" he added, "I don't have' any pro- posaIs to turn the ec onomy around." But this does flot mean the region should let the federal govern- ment deal with the situation by itself '- especially when Durham is one of the major automotive assembly areas in the country. "The municipalities should reflect the con- cerna expressed in the community," Edwards said. "I don't think we've been doing that."1 "I don't think the federal government is getting the concerna feit at the most immediate level of government,"1 he added. One thing municipali-' ties can do, Edwards pointed out, "is search for measures that will