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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25.1987, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN THE VULTURES AND THE UNDERDOGS Politically, I'm an underdogger which means I almost invariably defend the guy at the bottom of the heap. In the past that has usually been the NDP but lately with the Conservatives in third place in the polls, I find myself apologizing for the Tories. That is not to say that a lot of the hot water they are in is not richly deserved - it's just that their accusers aren't so lily white. Indeed the way they are going at it up in Ottawa, one has to wonder about the maturity of our elected representatives - many a sandbox brawl is more civilized. ("I didn't do anything! ", "Yes you did.", "No I didn't.", "I saw you do it.", "Gimme that! ", "I'm gunna tell on you."...) It would be funny except that we're paying those guys (and ladies) a heck of a lot of money to sit around and make fools of themselves - or are they making fools out of us for electing them? I think the decision to put Question Period on television was the worst mistake this country ever made. Daily the national news con- tains numerous clips of pompous grandstanding by exceptionally bad actors each trying their damndest to upstage the other. We elected these people for their professed intelligence and foresight - is there something in the rarefied atmosphere of the nation's capital that makes them giddy - or is it the smell of blood that has turned the opposition into ravenous vultures? The state of democracy in this country (and most of the other western democracies) has sunk to an all-time low - character assassination, innuendo, half truths, lies (little white ones, big black ones and some with a tinge of green) are all justified as a means to an end. Good government? No way! The object is to get your party into power so you too can have a feed at the trough. And the federal Liberals really miss that power. They may be. riding high on the polls but their party is bankrupt in both policy and money. The only thing they can agree on is to attack the gover- nment for the very same things they were guilty of when they were in office, mainly patronage. If Mulroney had kept to his pledge to do away with patronage, he would still be flying high but unfortunatelyhe is a victim of the par- ty system. At each election, hundreds of thousands of volunteers work their butts off and donate millions to get their favorite politicians elected. Most of them do it genuinely for what they believe is the good of the country, some undoubtedly view it as means to get an ear in the corridors of power but in al those hun- dreds of thousands there are a good many that do it for what they can get out of it and the party rewards them when they get the chance. If you were elected as a member of a government and had to fill a position like citizenship court judge (no experience necessary) and you had a choice between someone who worked to get you elected and someone who worked against you, who would you appoint? Let's face it, some positions like citizenship court judges were created (mostly by the Liberals) as patronage plums. The Bissonette affair goes a lot deeper. In the world of party politics, a prime minister gets the team the people deliver him on election day - any company that had its employees selected that way would be bankrupt in no time. Out of this mixed bag, the Prime Minister has to select his management team - he has some 200 can- didates (most with immense egos) for about 30 different positions and he only has a few days to do it - is it any wonder that some bad eggs get in? The opposition would have us believe that the Bissonet- te affair is symptomatic of some kind of sinister conspiracy but I expect it goes no deeper than the few that profited from the deal and Mulroney should be commended for the speed with which he sacked his junior minister. Sinclair Stevens may also have been a bad eg but of a very dif- ferent nature. MP's are supposed to put all their holdings into blind trusts when they get elected. They, of course, know what's in those trusts and they also select the people to administer them. For a wheeler-dealer like Stevens to see his investments turning sour and be unable to do anything would be sheer torture. Whether he did do anything or not is the subject of the Parker enquiry and out of that will hopefully come some new recommendations on how conflicts of interest should be handled. One thing is clear - blind trusts aren't blind and hence accomplish nothing - the confliet of interest still exists. The system used by our municipal governments where politicians simply declare their interest and withdraw from the debate seems both simpler and fairer. The opposition has also made a lot of noise about Mulroney's cir- cle of friends working in the PMO. Who was he supposed to hire? His enemies? Perhaps some Liberal flunkies? Politicians for the most part are a gregarious bunch with a lot of friends - that's how they get elected. It is not at al surprising then that a lawyer who's the partner of a minister's sister-in-law's ex-husband (for exam- ple) should turn up having lunch in a restaurant that just happens to be across the street from the office building where a government deal may have been made on or about the day in question (for example). And then there's John Crosbie's fishing trip with the airline executives. If a minister can't even go fisbing with bis friends, if we make our leaders live like hermits, we're going bave an awful bard time getting good people to serve as the leaders of our country. Wben we elect people to governiment we place a trust in them - in all but a few cases that trust is warranted. The opposition bas a responsiblity to accept the trust that the people placed in the hands of their elected government - that's what democracy is all about. The opposition should stop its scandal-mongering and get back to its job - debating issues. The Conservatives miay be down to 22 per cent in the polis but it is respect for Parliament that bas really suf- fered. Thi is ithe first edition of a newc feature. The columi is open too nyone wl has a ivell- considered and interesting opinion to express. The ideal length is 700 to 1.000 words. This iveek's writer is Forbes Mciî'en. former treasurer of the Town of Whitby. noi retireul. The former County of Ontario road system was rural in nature. Whitby was the largest urban cen- tre in the county and for at least 50 years and likely a 100 years prior to 1968, Whitby had no county roads. Fifty per cent of Whitby's taxes paid to the county for road purposes were rebated back to Whitby in recognition of this fact. The other 50 percent was considered as Whitby's contribution for roads outside its boundaries. In a similar way, but to a lesser extent, Oshawa con- tributed to roads outside its boun- daries through the former Oshawa Suburban Roads Commission. In 1968, the Town and Township of Whitby amalgamated into one municipality and the former Town- ship brought with it some county roads like Winchester, Taunton, Ashburn and Thickson Road into the new Whitby. During the six years, the expanded Whitby operated in the county system, such streets as Henry, Cochrane, Ander- son and Hopkins Streets were added to the county system. It was recognized that the county system was still mainly rural and a partial road rebate of taxes to Whitby by the County was continued. In 1974, the Region of Durham was formed and given expanded authority over related urban ser- vices of local municipalities like sewer, water, police, planning and roads. Al the county roads became regional roads thereby continuing the rural aspect of the system. The old rebate system was discon- tinued. Since Oshawa had no regional roads, a study was done of what roads in Oshawa should become regional roads. An in- tergrated road system in Oshawa was assumed by the Region together with its considerable debt while the former County had no debt on its road system. In all fair- ness, the Province found some special grants to assist with retiring this debt. The following are some disparities this chain of events has created. Gibb Street and Olive Avenue are regional east-west roads in Oshawa taking some of the traffic off of King Street and Bloor Street. Burns Street in Whitby is a local east-west street from Hopkins to Annes Street serving the same purpose. One reason Burns Street remains a local road is that the municipality continues the charade of calling Trent Street the collector road and Burns Street only a local road. The net result is that the Whitby taxpayer pays the costs of both Trent and Burns Street and contributes to the cost, through the Region, for Gibb Street and Olive Avenue. Adelaide Street in Oshawa is a regional east-west road reducing traffic from King Street, Bond Street and Rossland Road. Man- ning Road is a local road in Whitby serving th.e same purpose. Ap- parently the Region won't take over this road until it is fully built and debt-free. How quickly one forgets the debt the Region assumed from Oshawa. With this policy, the senior municipal government cannot lead development but I guess it fits their slogan of "Building for Prosperity." Whitby is building Manning Road from new home owners lot levies. With this regional policy they might just as well let the Region collect some of their road lot levies and build the road themselves. Thornton Road, Stevenson Road, Park Road, Simcoe Street, Ritson Road, Wilson Road and Harmony Road are all north-south regional roads in Oshawa running at least to Taunton Road except for the two blocked at Rossland Road by the airport. Annes Street from Burns Street to Dundas Street, Blair- Garden Street and Kendalwood - Garrard Road up to Rossland Road should also be regional north-south roads in Whitby. This would then make the Region responsible in Whitby, like in Oshawa, for the original township road allowaices in the built up areas and better - enable them to coordinate con- struction and movement of traffic. Presently, three levels of Gover- nment have their hand on control of the main arteries and the man on the street has difficulty in under- standing the network. The "carrot" to make this hap- pen would be for the Region to assume the original road allowan- ces in built up areas of those municipalities were they are able to negotiate a reduction in local lot levies for roads. This would naturally provide an equal in- crease in road levies at the regional level. This would mean that the new home owners lot levies would more likely be used for construction of roads where . new traffic has created the need for the construc- tion. About 70 per cent of the growth since the Region was formed has been in Pickering, Ajax and Whity as the centre of the Region moves to the west. It is reasonable for the Region to expand its road system in the areas growing the fastest. The Region has previously concen- trated on sewer and water problems to allow new growth and should now concentrate on handling the traffic that new growth has created. It could start by having an integrated road system in Whit- by. It hasn't had one by a senior municipal Government in over 130 years. Forbes N. McEwen R.R. 5 Lindsay, Ont. A Matter of Opinion Should integrate road system