The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, May 11,1994 Section Two Former Publishers • Rev. W. R. Climie, 1854 -1878 • M. A. James, 1878 -1935 • George W. James, 1935 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited P.O. Box 190,62 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 905-623-3303 Fax 905-623-6161 For 140 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Assoc. Publisher - Richard A. James Plant Manager - Donald J. Bishop Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Rick Patterson, Laurens Kaldeway, Doug Lugtenbmg, Sharon McMullen, Barb Patterson, Ralph Rozema, Jim Snoek, Vance Sutherland, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Laveme Morrison, Eva Westermann Brad Kelly, Lorraine Manfiredo, Laura J. Richards Office :-; x h ■*'. - Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford! ° . ? ° ■ ° ■ . Political Reality vs. Government Ideology The provincial government's latest budget has been viewed by most of the pundits as a rather insipid document which is calculated to keep the New Democrats out of hot water until the next provincial election. It holds the line on new personal tax increases. It even allows employers a one-year health tax holiday when they hire new staffers. There's even a $50 million housing loan fund aimed at enabling lower-income families to buy homes. It is projected that the budget will create 100,000 new jobs. But this is not controversial stuff. What is remarkable about the budget is the fact that it takes a hands-off approach and seems to be relying on business to create the economic climate which will restore full employment or produce new jobs. This is a refreshing change. In fact, businesses have generally been of the opinion that the New Democrats ought to have let businesses, not government, take a lead role in economic decisions. But will such a philosophy last? Are the New Democrats really content to see businesses pull the province out of the economic quagmire? Or is this approach merely temporary? In the past, the New Democrats seem to have had two visions of business. One vision was that the business world was the preserve of powerful fat-cats who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the 20th century through various pieces of legislation designed to protect women, children, minorities, consumers, the environment and who-knows-what-else from the horrors of a commercial marketplace. The second NDP view on business was that the business world was the preserve of powerful fat-cats whose money had to be funnelled (through taxation) into social service programs administered by civil servants. But, now the New Democrats seem to be putting forward a third view about business. This is the view that, if given a little encouragement, business can actually create jobs and prosperity. It is also a position which might have been taken from either the Tory or Liberal platforms. The Ontario budget seems to be hoping that the recession is over and that as businesses expand, there will be renewed prosperity. This would translate into more tax dollars available to the government and less need for the kind of painful deficit-cutting strategies that have been put into place in too many other provinces, including Ontario. If the recession is truly over, it's even possible that improved business conditions could make Ontario voters forget some of the New Democrats' more controversial actions such as the Social Contract, a deficit, photo radar, and tax increases. In the kind of ironic reversal of fortunes that can happen only in the topsy-turvey world of politics, higher profits for businesses could actually save the New Democrats' political skins. However, Ontario's government has not been spared criticism, even though its budget is a mild one. Ontario's home builders have noted that the document does little to help the over 5,000 private home builders in Ontario. The auto industry complained that the so-called gas guzzler tax will deter people from buying new cars. And, ironically, these same new cars actually have among the best fuel consumption ratings of any vehicles. Similarly, the Big Three automakers expressed concern and disappointment that the government of Ontario did not eliminate the retail sales tax on warranty work or extended service plans. Rural Ontarians, through the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, declared that they were "forgotten people" in the latest budget. Furthermore, the OFA said the second-largest sector of the Ontario economy (namely agriculture) was virtually absent in the budget documents. Of course, the party is undertaking a bit of a gamble. For one thing, if the recession isn't really over, then the deficit will not decline and the projected 100,000 new jobs won't materialize. In that case, there will be complaints that, in the spring of 1994, the New Democrats didn't do enough to trim spending. But, the political reality demands that the party not do anything to make itself more unpopular. All the New Democrats can do is lie low and hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming freight train. Under the circumstances, what other choices might there be? Earth Day Letters Available kill «I i Dear Editor: I'd like to pass along news of a well-received environmental project that took place in the tiny hamlet of Greenbank in honour of Earth Day 1994. Five volunteers hand-delivered a "Dear Neighbour" letter to residents, asking them to consider stopping the use of pesticide sprays on lawns. The letter includes 10 tips for ecological lawn care and was accompanied by a pamphlet from the American Cancer Society which states, "WARNING: The use of pesticides may be hazardous hazardous to your health!" As well, each resident was offered a free copy of the booklet "The Organic Approach to Home Gardening" (multiple free copies of which can be ordered from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy in Toronto), an excellent resource resource for those who want to move away from the chemical approach to lawn and garden care. It looks as though people are finally realizing that it was never actually the dandelions dandelions that constituted the real problem - it was our attitude toward them that needed to change! I'd be happy to pass along copies of the letter used in this project to anyone who is interested, People are welcome to give me a call at (905) 985-3225. Janet Banting Greenbank, Ontario. How important is the extension of GO Transit rail service to Clarington? .. .And You Said Ken Bromley Bowmanville "Very important. If they had it into Bowmanville people would use it to go to work and alleviate the congestion on the 401." Norm Baker Wilmot Greek 'The most important thing we've got to think about. Everything Everything else is secondary." secondary." Arden Braun Joseph Cuddahee Bowmanville Bowmanville "Very important to cut "It should be here. If down some of the we have GO Transit traffic on the highway, you can go where you It will give people like." more chance to get in to do their shopping and running around." Next week's question: Is the protection of the environment still an important issue tor vou?