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4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, September 5,1990 Canadian statesman . Durham Region's Great Family Journal Established 136 years ago in 1854 Also Incorporating Mk ■ m The Bowmanville News IV The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second Class mail registration number 1561 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited 62 King Street West, Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 416-623-3303 Fax 416-623-6161 John M. James Editor - Publisher Richard Â. James \ Associate Publisher Peter Parrott Brian Purdy Donald Bishop Associate Editor Advertising Mgr. 1 Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition ol advertisements produced by the employees of James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. 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Editorial Comment Fascinating Election If election strategists who decided '.to send Ontario to the polls tomorrow -had counted on an easy victory, they -were wrong. ; Whatever you can say about thë 1990 Ontario election, you can say -that it is a fascinating battle. The cam- "paign may have started out slowly. But the latest polls indicate that ^.watching the returns tomorrow night will be like watching a horse race • which goes right to the wire. "■ The intensity of the campaigning has been reflected here in Durham .East where the leader of each major E olitical party has paid a visit. There as also been a raft of cabinet minis- •ters and senior MPP's in the riding to '.bolster the local candidate and court •the voters.. That's something we haven't always seen in other elections. Naturally, we wouldn't presume, to tell you who to vote for tomorrow. Nor "will we predict who will win.in this riding. A case can be made to say that any of the , candidates for the major parties can take this race. An interesting development in the election of 1990 nas been the proliferation proliferation of candidates for the new and non-traditional parties. Over 600 Ontario Ontario residents are running for the 130 seats in the legislature and that's a record number of candidates. Perhaps the rise of the new parties is a reflection reflection of deeply-rooted dissatisfaction with the older organizations. This far, No Excuse for Weapons It's not the dissent over Oka that bothers us. Rather, we are concerned by the underlying underlying philosophy expressed whenever whenever people don masks and carry auto-' matic weapons as part of their political struggle. This action is cause for concern. One does not need to have expertise in political science to know that weapons weapons cannot become part of the political struggle in Canada or any other democracy. democracy. Never. And those who resort to the use of such weapons or threaten to use them must be stopped somehow. They must be stopped for the same reason that a person who uses a weapon in a bank robbery must be stopped. That's what's going on in Oka now. Like all Canadians, we regret the fact that armored vehicles are rumbling through Canadian villages. But what other choices are there? Those persons sympathetic to the Mohawk warriors behind the barricades barricades will argue that they have been pushed to extreme action by government government neglect or incompetence or indifference. indifference. And they will argue further that this neglect for the rights of the Native Peoples is also reflected in Canadian Canadian society as a whole. They will further suggest that the events lead ing up to the Oka stand-off arc the result result of government bungling. This is true. But, no matter how desperate a political situation becomes, becomes, armed resistance to the laws of the society is never justified. We are not saying dissent should be stifled. Democratic countries have a long tradition of tolerating civil disobedience disobedience by individuals who believe certain certain actions of their government are unjust. Guided by their conscience, people have chained themselves to gates of government buildings or sat m the way of bulldozers. But people who engage in civil disobedience disobedience arc saving: "I am breaking a law because I reel it is unjust or because because I feel a higher principle is at stake. I am willing to accept the consequences consequences of my actions." Political actions actions backed by armed force are saying: saying: "I am not subject to any laws except the ones with which I agree." Most importantly, people who follow a course of civil disobedience arc not endangering follow-citizens. However, when someone takes up arms to back a political point, ho or she is crossing the fine lino between democracy and anarchy. Out of all the people in Canada who might bo templed to lake this stop, Native Peoples arc possibly tho most justified. But our point is that there is no justification for this kind of action, regardless of the "correctness" of the cause. The problem is this: No parliamentary parliamentary committee takes a vote 1 to decide that. a certain group is justified in bearing arms in support of its political beliefs. Anybody with a sub-machine gun can make that decision himself. And there is no guarantee that such a person will only be a brave man or woman seeking justice. If arms are allowed to become part of a political struggle, it's fairly obvious obvious that all kinds of groups will use this option. Farmers and environmentalists environmentalists are just two examples of people- who might be tempted to' resort to such tactics. Especially if past experience experience indicates that this action is successful. successful. The other problem with the use of arms in a political process is the fact that not all members of a particular group will agree with this method. •Nevertheless, it's the persons with the weapons whose voices will be heard the most strongly --- even if they do not represent the majority of people behind a particular cause. Weapons change the balance of power in a community of any size. People People toting guns have more power than those who don't. And that destroys the whole concept that in a democracy one man or one woman has one vote. This problem can be seen most readily in some of the world's less fortunate countries which have a strong army but a weak democracy. They fall victim victim to an endless line of military dictators. dictators. Finally, there's a more chilling prospect prospect to the concept of backing one's political political beliefs with armed force. If one group erects a barricade and protects it with weapons, then it's possible that a second group will eventually decide to use its own force to attack the first group er to sot up counter barricades somewhere else. Such actions would bo unjust. But, ns wo mentioned earlier, earlier, armed force acts on its own authority. authority. All of this, of course, will result in the sort of nnnrclw which thrives in a city like Beirut wnoro armed militias fight each oilier with everything from rocks to howitzers. If wo believe in the democratic process, process, wo cannot nccopt the concept of u bn political struggle fo onsotl on armed force. Lot us liopo Canadians understand this fact, And lot us hope for n speedy and peaceful resolution to tho standoff standoff in Oka. Laidlaw Concerns Clarke Committee qui Th. the minor parties have not yet made big gains in Ontario. Bût this could change. -. . - x .. A nigh vote for the new parties could signal a whole new era in Ontario Ontario and Canadian government. Issues raised this summer started with the issue of the election itself and the need ' to call it. And government spending had to be the single major theme -- an appropriate concern in these economically uncertain times. As we have already noted, the latest polls show a close i race between the Liberals and the New Democrats. This, of course, raises the old issue of whether polls should be allowed during an election campaign. Do they sway the voters? Can they become self-fulfilling predictions? Well, tomorrow tomorrow night we will know' whether the; latest polls have proved to be correct. The issue of the role of pre-election: polls may never be decided. The tabulations from, the pollsters do seem to indicate that much will depend depend on the views of the "undecided voter" and factors such as a heavy turn-out. Given the close race that we face in Ontario and possibly in Durham East, your vote counts more than ever. And despite appearances to the contrary, contrary, there's only one poll which really really counts and that's the one that takes place tomorrow. x The Committee of Clarke Constituents (CCC) and the Town of Newcastle have recently recently been advised by the National Energy Board (N.E.B.) that Laidlaw Waste Management has been denied denied their appeal for permission permission to relocate the Trans- Canada pipelines that intersect intersect their landfill site northwest northwest of Newtonville. In September last year, the N.E.B. ruled that the pipelines could not be relocated relocated until Laidlaw's 'Infill Expansion' received provincial provincial and municipal approvals. approvals. Laidlaw subsequently appealed this decision ana argued that the pipelines , should be relocated prior to these approvals. This appeal was opposed by the CCC and by the Town in .written submissions to the Board. The National Energy Board eventually ruled that this original decision would stand. David Scott, Chairman of the CCC said, "This is another another example of Laidlaw trying to shorten the re- uired approval ■ process. "" ey expect everyone to meet their timetable. Their dump is rapidly reaching its licensed capacity and they are desperately trying to prolong its life through their 'Infill Expansion.' We are pleased that the N.E.B. has ruled against expediting the relocation of these piplines." The Hon. James Bradley Minister of the Environment Environment 135 St. Clair Ave. West Toronto, Ontario M4V IPS Re: Laidlaw Landfill, Town of Newcastle Dear Mr. Bradley: For a number of years, our Committee has been concerned about the remaining remaining capacity of the Laidlaw landfill site northwest of Newtonville. It has been our understanding from discussions discussions and correspondence with your Ministry that when the north mound (Phase II) reaches its maximum maximum allowable height of 182.5 metres, the site would be closed. That limit has now been reached and the north mound is in the process process of being "capped." How- v ever, the site remains open. I have been advised by your Ministry that Laidlaw has now "found" another 10,000 tonnnes (and another nine metres height) capacity on the south mound (Phase I). As you know, the licensed capacity of this site has been a controversial issue for many years. As early as 1983 when the Regional Planning Department was asked to comment on the first (failed) attempt at expansion, expansion, they indicated then that the site was "at, or near capacity." Also, in 1983, the Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.)applied for an icn- junction to close the site because because it had reached its licensed licensed capacity. That injunction failed, apparently because the contour specifications specifications of the original application application in 1970 were not clear. On June 21, 1988, our Committee representatives met with your assistant, Gary Gallon and other M.O.E. officials to discuss our concerns with this site. An important area of concern concern involved the remaining capacity of the site. That meeting was followed by a letter from our legal counsel (dated June 29, 1988) in which we posed a number of 1 specific questions relating to tne site capacity. We received received a response to our en- æ iries from Bonnie Wein irector of Legal Services for tho M.O.E.) dated Feb. 11, 1989. In that correspondence, correspondence, Ms. Wein refers to a "maximum allowable contour contour of 182,6 m". It was our understanding that this referred referred to tho north mound (Phase II) since Phase I (south mound) hnd been completed. In view of recent events it - is now necessary to ask additional additional questions of your staff. 1. What are the maximum maximum allowable contours for all areas (mounds) and in particular Phase I? What is the corresponding current elevation of these areas? Please forward a current skètch (survey) of this site. 2. It is our understanding understanding that Phase I has been completed. In his Oct. 28, 1983 judgement on the injunction, injunction, Justice Barr said in part, "It is significant that the remedial work referred referred to above was done on Phase I, after that phase had been completed/ Has Laidlaw requested permission permission from the M.O.E. to resume resume dumping on Phase I? We would like copies of all coirespondence • between Laidlaw and the M.O.E. on this matter. 3. In his 1983 judgement, judgement, Justice Barr also indicated indicated that "the original application application for a certificate for operation was made in 1970 and was made in respect of 20 acres for the total disposal disposal of 457,000 tons of waste..." We would like to know how many tons (or tonnes) of waste have been buried at this site from its inception until the present time. . Bv reducing its weekly allowable allowable intake of garbage, Laidlaw has been able to prolong the life of this site. At various times over the past two years Laidlaw has indicated that the site would be full - at the first in May 1989, then December 1989, then December 1990, and now with this new "found" capacity -- who knows when? It is a means of keeping keeping the dump open until a decision is made on the "In- xpan turn will keep it open until a decision is made on the "Main Expansion." For the past twenty years our community has lived with the adverse effects of this "legal non-conforming" dump, that has never been the subject of a proper environmental environmental assessment. As Minister of the Environment we ask you to take the following following action. 1. Until the above issues concerning the dumping on Remember, Remember, the Sixth of September Writer is Disappointed With Councillors' View J.' Of Participation House Phase I are resolved, we ask that you take measures to close this landfill site immediately. immediately. 2. We ask that you again reconsider your decision to allow the "in-fill Expansion" to proceed separately under the Environmental Protection Protection Act. As stated previously, previously, it is our position that both the In-fill and Main Expansion Expansion should be subject to one hearing under The Environmental Environmental Assessment Act. There is only one issue, - whether this site is environmentally environmentally suitable for any expansion. expansion. ...... • In our letter of March 15, 1990 to. Premier Peterson, we referred to a number of examples where it appears that the interest of Laidlaw have been given preference over the interests of- our community. We hope that this recent "discovery" of 10,000 tonnes of capacity is not another example. We look forward to your early reply to this urgent matter. David J. Scott Chairman Committee of Clarke Constituents Constituents There is so much that 1 could say in an attempt to cover all the things that should be covered over my past 14 years as your M.P.P. for Durham East. The immediate item that comes to mind is a "THANK- YOU" to all of you from myself, myself, Kathryn and our three children Draydon, Rion, and Collin, for your continued support and confidence over these many years. I, of course, would be foolish to presume that all of you voted voted for me. However, I am an ardent supporter of the democratic democratic process, and as good fortune would have it, I was always victorious at election time. A good part of my electoral electoral success belongs to the Durham East P. C. Association, Association, who were, and still are, a strong team and without their help my luck would have been different. There are too many people to mention mention but if you would indulge me the recognition of our g resent President June mith, and my long-time compaign manager, fund- ' raiser and.friend Doctor Peter Peter Znkarow, Judge E. R. Lovekin, who gave me the opportunity, and Professor J.P. Lovekin who provided the insight, also to my office staff Mona, Aimie, Lanny and Jo-Ann, Thnnk-you. I have been a Progressive Conservative, but, generally speaking, I never took n hard partisan approach to problems. I sincerely made my judgements, bo they on major policy issues or individual individual constituent concerns, on the basis of whnt would be fair to enhance our com munity, or assist individuals in the realms of practicalities. practicalities. I would often ask myself, myself, when faced with a problem, problem, "in what way would I expect a member of parliament parliament to solve this problem?" Often the answer was not forthcoming and when that was the case, I would seek people's opinion across the riding and, yes, call upon my spouse for input. As a result I always felt comfortable that my final decision was reached after many prospectives prospectives were canvassed, and' more importantly, I prided myself in making a decsion, be it for better or worse. This process takes its toll. Many people who I consider consider as friends often were alienated and their rebuff would hurt me personally. Alas, a politician does learn to develop a thick skin, and I began to understand the phrase "that's politics." I can not in so brief a space, relate to you my kaleidoscope kaleidoscope of political experiences. experiences. For me, political experiences experiences really means "people", because politics is 'people." In any event, all of those stories, I'll save for the book. In general, let me say that I attempted to take all things in good humor, with serious concerns seriously, but myself, not too seriously. As your representative at Queen's Park, I was proud to play a small part in Onto- rios nistoiy. This included from the end of one of tho country's longest serving political political parties in power, to an unprecedented majority government, government, with some minori ty governments thrown in for good measure. By the way, my experiences tell me that minority governments are a balanced government where every elected representative representative has an important stake in the process. All of the above formulated formulated for me a basis where if my decisions resulted in some demoralization, (for instance, instance, I was never successful successful in picking our party's new leader), I would find refuge in working for my Riding representing all of you. However, recently, ' even that haven was becoming becoming fleeting and it was apparent apparent that political fatigue had set upon me. There was no one particular particular item that persuaded me to end my political career, although Kathryn's reminder reminder to me that when I was first elected at age 28, my oldest son was one-year-old, and now he is fifteen, and that none of my children have known me other than through political demands. The continued notoriety of a local celebrity for a father and n husband, weighs heavily in favour of havoc when one attempts to create some kind of family life. To Kirk Kemp, Marilyn Pearce, Gord Mills, and any other possible contenders to be tho representative for Durham East, I wish you luck because, God willing, I had my share. Hail and farewell to all of you in Durham East, and I will be looking forward to dealing with people in a different different capacity, at my law practice. We sincerely .appreciate your fine editorial in The Canadian Statesman of August August 1 explaining the difficulties difficulties of the Participation House Project. It was with great disappointment to the physically handicapped (and their families) that we learned that the latest proposal proposal . for Participation House in Bowmanville had been turned down by Newcastle Newcastle Town Council after some residents in the area presented a petition against it. This occurred after many had their hopes built up as to having a facility closer to home. This would have cut down on transportation costs and also made it easier for visiting. The recommendation of Town Staff was to approve the application from Participation Participation House, but because of the petition the physically handicapped have been de- 1 nied (once again) a much needed facility in their own community. The physically handicapped handicapped are law abiding, courageous courageous people and this is putting them down as second-class second-class citizens. Because of their disabilities it is hard for them to do certain things but they are willing to try. This is why Participation House is so desperately needed. It is needed so that they can have access to fulltime fulltime care and learn to live independently. Tne physicially handicapped handicapped are human beings, the same as the rest of us (underneath their disabilities.) disabilities.) and they deserve to be used ns such. They deserve rights the same as the more fortunate. None of us know when we could be seriously injured or stricken with a serious serious illness and end up physically handicapped. This is something we should all take into consideration before we judge someone less fortunate. I have faithfully cared for n handicapped for 47 years and I am proud to say thoy have been very rewarding years. Not only have they given me more compassion but I have seen how they will persevere to accomplish things and how appreciative they are. After the property was purchased in 1976, many dedicated people gave freely of -their time, talents, and helped at telethons ana other other money-making activities. Service clubs and other organizations organizations gave generously and wonderful support was received from local and other other communities of Durham Region. No doubt they were expecting a time would come . when they would see the facility facility erected on the proper- S f and they questioned its elay. Such delays haven't been the fault of the organization. organization. The organizers ' are still holding forth for.the use of the Participation House Property on which they have paia taxes since it was purchased purchased and they are not about to give up after holding holding onto it all these years. They are trusting for the approval approval and support from the Council of the Town of Newcastle Newcastle and the community top help achieve their goal and they expect the town of 1 Bowmanville will be proud to have East Durham Region Region Participation House facility facility in their municipality. Once again we express to you, Mr. James and staff, our gratitude for supporting our efforts over the years and look forward to future years with our hopes and dreams. We urge readers of the Canadian Statesman to keep the letters on different subjects coming in because we find them very interesting interesting and educational reading if not biased or abusive. We look forward to more letters from readers expressing their views on the Participation Participation House Project to help encourage us in this much- needed effort towards a Participation Participation House facility in this community, closer to homo for our disabled citizens. citizens. Sincerely, Mrs. Marjorie Gray R.R. 2 Newcastle, Ont., In case you missed it, tomorrow wc go to the poBs. Two days after the kids go back to school, wc arc asked to send the other other kids back to Queen's Park. If you put any stock in pre-election polls you may think tho provincial election could bo anyone's game. Tho Liberals and NDP aren't too fur apart in tho polls while tho PC's arc a few porconlago points behind the two. I don't think tho election election surveys are any true indication of how Ontarians Ontarians will vote and I don't think Ihoro will ho any big surprise when the next government in Ontario Ontario is formed. But I am expecting a surprise or two in Durham Durham East even though I don t know for certain who will capture this coveted coveted riding. My uncertainty about political events isn't an unnatural occurrence. I speculate, throw out a few "what ifs" and "mnybos" and lot my audience audience decide for themselves themselves whnt tlioy think. It's nothing now for mo to muse upon tho outcome outcome of political issues without vouching any conclusions. conclusions. One surprise in this election however, is I don't think I'm tho only one in a muddle about its outcome. I've been asked on numerous numerous occasions who I think will become tho next representative for this riding. After half an hour of• explaining the possibilities possibilities and what I think could happen if this and that variable wore in place, people probnbly start to wish tnoy had never asked my opinion. After two years of covering covering events m this area I still don't think I have tho proper "feel" for how residents will vote. Wc have a federal member of parliament who is Progressive Conservative Conservative and for the past 1<1 years have bad the same party representing us provincinlly. Many say tho riding will slay that way. Others Others say people nro disillusioned disillusioned with tho Tory parly parly federally and the provincial party will fool tho impact of tlmt dissatisfaction. dissatisfaction. 'l'ho Liberal party, while it may have a strong candidate, is tho party in power and poo- pie may bo looking for a cliango. Or thoy may bo happy with that party's performance. The NDP, riding high in the polls these days, used to represent this riding riding years ago. Some supporters supporters may conic forward forward again, Tho Family Coalition Parly and the Confederation Confederation of Regions party will secure n few votes, but Llio general fooling is that tho race will bo among tho lop three parties. But whatever happens, tomorrow night will still bo interesting, Not bo- enuso it has boon an ox- citing oloclion but bo- cause nothing is certain in tho race. No one is a definite shoo-in and no one is certain certain to lose. Except for hundreds of Ontario community newspapers newspapers who publish their papers early in tho week; Hopefully, the next time an election is called those in office will make tho election that much moro oxciting for those of us in tho businoss by scheduling election day before wo go to press instead instead of immediately after. after. Regardless of anything else that happens during elections. At least that is one aspect of tho political game I can predict with 100 percent accuracy.