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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 19, 1984 editorial comments a) Il) 4 : 4 [lar Big ed 2 BY J i el Il ll / NEVER PROMISED yoOU A ROSE GARDEN Mi chatterbox by John B. McClelland I'm usually a political junkie. When something like a national leadership conven- tion takes place, you'll find me hunkered down in front of the old telly from start to finish. But not so this past weekend as the Liberals got together to crown John Turner up there in the nation's capital. I started to watch the tribute to Pierre Trudeau on Thursday evening, but it got so disgustingly maudlin, I was forced to leave the TV room and turned on the radio to catch the Expos game. It's fine for a political party to say a nice good-bye to an out-going leader, but that was ridiculous. Sure, Pierre has been around for 16 years and deserved something of a send-off, but that adoring display was almost enough to make me choke. In any event, I skipped the speeches from the ma- jor candidates, watched the drama of the first ballot when Turner came so close and Chretien was thrown to the wolves, but before the ballots were counted on the second vote, 1 had decided enough is enough and found something better to do. It was difficult to watch Jean Chretien in such agony. He looked like a man with a broken heart, and that's what made it so tough. All through the campaign, he was the sentimental favourite, battling against over- whelming odds, and in the end, Liberals did what they had to do: elect John Turner as the one guy who can probably whup Brian Mulroney in the next federal go- round, likely this September. The Liberals voted with their heads, not their hearts, and even though it pained me to see Chretien going down and out, it proved there is no room for sen- timentality in the cold, harsh realities of national politics. So John Turner is the new leader and Prime Minister-elect of this fair land, and Pierre Trudeau is left to write his memoires and raise his three kids in the relative calm of an r crust district in Montreal. The pundits say that history will be kind to Trudeau, and maybe that will be, but I think I am not unlike a lot of ordinary Canadians this Monday morning after the convention who feel a sense of relief that the guy is finally taking his leave from public life. I am rather looking forward to the federal election in the next couple of months with Turner doing battle with Mulroney. Frankly speaking, I am not exactly in awe of either of these guys, but I've had my fill of so- called inspiring politicians over the last few years. I don't really care who wins the next election, but my fervent wish is that one in office, Turner or Mulroney simply gets on with the business of running the country; quietly, efficiently and intelligently. We need a period of political calm in Canada, a time of con- solation and reconciliation rather than a confrontation and squabbling. We need some cool management in Ot- tawa, not a red-hot crisis every month. I don't want any more great national debates rammed down my throat like the Constitution, metrification, bilingualism or even the so-called unity issue. | want a government that manages this country, not one that leads its citizens around by the nose. Enough said on that. NICE EFFORT For the second year in a row, the Elimination Draw and Dance at the Scugog Arena, Saturday night prov- ed to be quite a success. I'm not sure at this time what the final net total in proceeds will be, but I heard the figure $5000 mentioned. In any event, the net proceeds will be turned over to the Arena Board to help off-set the operating costs of that fine community facility. A lot of people put in a lot of effort to that Draw and Dance, and it looks like its on the way to becoming a regular annual affair in this community. It was nice to see the holders of the two final tickets at the Dance Saturday evening as that added to the ex- citement. And you can't really blame them for coming to an agreement to split the $4000 first prize. I think most of us would have done the same. The final two tickets were held by Ken Goreski and the executive of the MoJacks Junior Hockey Club. Ken plows a lot of money into sports in this community through sponsorship and support of minor teams, and the MoJack executive work hard each winter to ice a competitive team and run a first class organization. So I guess one could say the money they split from that draw will continue to work for sports in this community. And speaking of community events, why not try your hand at bass fishing on June 30 in the Scugog Big Bass Derby. As everyone knows, there will be one bass swimming in Lake Scugog with a tag worth $30,000, and numerous other tagged fish worth from $25 to $200. I've sometimes heard people say the chance of cat- ching that fish is pretty slim. Well, just ask a fellow down Kingston way about fish derbies. He hooked a million dollar bass in the St. Lawrence last week and will collect $50,000 each year for the next 20 years. Not bad at all. In any event, I've decided to enter the Scugog Bass Derby this June 30. A friend has kindly agreed to lend me his boat, and I'm going to be on that lake at 6:00 A.M. sharp. Sure, it would be nice to hook a fish worth some money (like 30 grand), but I plan to make an enjoyable day of it. What more could you ask for? A day of fishing, some good company, and who knows, maybe the chance to take home some money. The only thing that worries me right now is whether I can drag myself out of bed at five in the morning to make sure I've got a line in the water by six. The New Man All through the long campaign for the Liberal leader- ship, John Turner kept saying that if elected, he would bring about some changes in the way things are done in Ottawa. Well, he's going to get his chance, thanks to a se- cond ballot victory over Jean Chretien at the convention in Ottawa. One thing he said he will do is bring about annual "accountability sessions,' a kind of direct question and answer forum where he will put his neck on the line. He also suggests he is going to cut the size of the advisory staff that Pierre Trudeau had gathered over the years in the PMO. That may be a good idea, for even though any national political leader needs advisors, it was often said that Trudeau's high rankers served more to insulate him not just from the Canadian people, but members of his own party as well. We should hope that Turner never loses touch with the every day Canadians, that he listens and responds, that he doesn't go over their heads, that he takes the advice of the men and women elected as MP's, those men and women who have their ears pretty close to the ground at the grass roots level, who should know what people are thinking back home in the constituencies, away from the cloistered bureaucracy of a national capital. Of all the faults of Pierre Trudeau, there was perhaps none greater than his lack of willingness to listen to the people of this land. People got the impression that he simply didn't give a damn. The Liberal Party of Canada badly needed a change at the top. Delegates opted for a man who got out of politics nearly a decade ago, dropped out of public life, refused to give interviews, and simply went about his business as a corporate lawyer and director of powerful corporations. It is sometimes said that government should be run more like a business. With Turner's background, we may find out if there is any truth to that notion. But first, there is the little matter of a federal elec- tion to be fought. With the Liberals and the Tories both jockeying for position roughly to right of centre on the political spectrum, some people fear the campaign will be nothing more than a popularity contest between Turner and Mulroney. Canadians are wiser than that. They've had enough of personalities. They want meaningful policies, careful management, and probably more so than in any elec- tion in recent years, Canadians this time around are go- ing to look carefully at the substantive issues. Turner promises change and a new style. Mulroney did the same thing about a year ago. Canadians are watching very carefully to see who really does keep the promise. Don't Build It Scugog Township council found itself on the horns of a tricky dilemma one night recently. On the one hand, councillors thought they were do- ing the correct thing in making plans to build a new road on Scugog Island that would link Aldred's and Sunrise Beach. But when nearly 40 residents of those two beaches crowded into the council chambers on June 11, members found out that the last thing in the world those people wanted was that new road. The mood of the crowd that evening was angry, but to the credit of the spokesman, order was maintained and the meeting did not degenerate into a shouting match which would have accomplished nothing. The residents of the beaches argued quite reasonably that a linking road will generate additional traffic that would detract from the peace and quiet they were seeking when they moved to that part of Scugog Island in the first place. Councillors felt that a linking road would make traf- fic flow more efficient, provide better service for such things as school buses, snow plows, sanders and emergency vehicles. There is merit in that argument as well. Construction of the new road would not cost the tax- payers any money as it would be paid for by agreement between the Township and a property owner who has plans to develop several lots in the area. So what it came down to was a kind of stand-off. The residents saying 'no road' in a resounding way. The council saying the road should be built but we won't make a decision one way or another for a few weeks. This is one case where the council should agree to the wishes of the people who live in the immediate area. (Turn to page 11)