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Page THE HERALD OUTLOOK March 1M the HERALD Outlook Brace yourselves OUTLOOK Is published each Saturday by he HALTON HILLS HERALD Home Newspaper of Hills A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited at Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario L7G 3Z6 Second Class Mall Registered Number Ottawa Stewart MacLeod Thomson News Setvice Well Prime Minister Brian national reconcilia tion was great while it lasted but we might as well brace ourselves for an interruption or two The first one has already started Its called the Alberta pro vincial election The next will almost certainly follow later this year It will be called the Quebec provincial election And if the new Newfoundland premier to be chosen next month wants a fresh mandate well get a New foundland provincial election It could be a bumper year for Ottawabashing This is the real stuff of provincial election campaigns a foolproof in gredient that has probably elected more premiers than anything else Trouble is it always leaves an im pression of strained federal- provincial relations an impression that Mr Mulroney has desperately tried to dispel since he assumed of fice This will almost certainly be his most difficult year In Alberta Premier Don Getty a fellow Tory began hammering on Ottawas butt even before the officially began He dearly put the prime minister on a sticky wicket by announcing plans to have elect their next senator a proposal that was term ed unacceptable and inappropriate by Mr Mulroney Then the premier who seemed to be a veritable apostle of the prime ministers during the federal campaign teed off on Ot tawas interestrate policy and federal plans for a new national sales tax Again it was a case of central Canada regulating the economy for its own convenience FULLY EXPECTED There will be more Ottawa- based aggravations before the campaign is- over From Quebec they are coming even before the campaign begins Premier Robert we want our share of the loot Bourassa who helped his friend Mr Mulroney sweep 63 of Quebecs seats last November now is finding that cer tain things transcend personal friendships Quebecs interests says the Liberal premier come before the cordiality of the personal relation ships which may exist And he could have added that these particular interests tend to manifest themselves prior to pro vincial elections Anyway Mr wants the proposed new space agency in Montreal In one sense you can hardly blame the guy Since merely hin ting at such an announcement helped federal Tory candidates so much last November it seems only fair that provincial Liberals now benefit from a Hinting might be good for one campaign but not two The moment of truth is ap proaching said the premier who served notice on Ottawa firmly and soberly that an announce ment would be expected within a week or two At least the Ottawabashing from the two provincial elections wont involve free trade or the Lake accord Both premiers support Mr Mulroney on these issues COMMON APPROACH The inevitable renewal of federalprovincial hostilities should not of course be taken too seriously Its just something we have to go through from time to time in the practice of our Cana- Mr Mulroney knows this better than anyone and he wont take of fence at the slings and arrows that would otherwise puncture his sen sibilities He knows that when it comes to getting reelected a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do Hes done it himself Ironically getting elected federally requires an entirely dif ferent tack Provincial bashing is a nono What federal leaders must do is pour out the bucks whether through regional development funds the financing of the cleaning of the environ ment or launching new studies on regional disparities or transporta tion links That gets provincial leaders on- side particularly those of the same political persuasion In the case of the Quebec premier Mr Mulroney even managed it with someone of a different persuasion Doesnt seem quite fair but then what is Mr can take heart in the temporary nature of the Ottawabashing The fact is that federalprovincial relations have improved noticeably since he took office A few election campaigns wont cause any longterm damage PUBLISHER David A Beattie EDITOR Mike Turner AD MANAGER Dan Taylor Donna Kell STAFF WRITERS Brian MacLeod SPORTS WRITER Paul Svoboda ACCOUNTING June Glendenning Tammy CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Joan Berrys World Before I get on board I want to talk to some of your mechanics ADVERTISING SALES Valols Craig Teeter Sharon PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Dave Hastings Annie MylesGllson Susanne Wilson CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT Marie Shadbolt PRESSROOM FOREMAN Brian PRESS ASSISTANT Lee Tempting fate Press pandemonium Your Business Diane Thornton Stole civil laws against threatening have been broken There has been no comment on this by our federal leader There has been no com ment on this by our provincial No one sees more press releases than the press So when it comes to drawing one up who would be bet ter able Almost anyone it would seem from the recent experience of the Ontario Press Council Members of the press council gathered last week to take a stand against the Ayatollah Khomeinis order to kill novelist Salman Rushdie for blasphemy The press council knew it should say something it just wasnt sure what One member suggested they issue a press release denouncing the another countered that it might be better to issue a release criticizing government for not criticizing the severely enough Yet another member thought such a stance might be unfair Youre dealing with an almost ir rational individual making worldwide statements said Peter Moore rector of St Georges Anglican Church in Guelph The government just doesnt know how to handle this Lets not be too critical SLIPPERY STANCE Well perhaps the press coulc speak out against the death threat made against Revenue Minister Otto J el nek one thoughtful member offered Better to de nounce Mr JeUnek for temporari ly halting Mr Rushdies book at the border someone countered The press council must speak out against such bullying and in citement to violence Naomi Grif fiths professor of history at University said We know that in Canada the If it were only a case of our civil law against threatening one might be able to understand the confusion and lack of conviction But in the face of incitement to murder international terrorism violation of international law violation of domestic law and an attack on our founding principles one cannot but wonder at the press councils cynicism Do we have a position on cen sorship We could trot that out here Mr Moore offered One would hope the press has a policy on censorship In Canada we try to draw the line against hate literature such as pornography and antiSemitism We dont always succeed But unlike Iran which is a theocracy were a secular state we do not sentence irreverent writers to death nor do we censor blasphe works REFER THE MATTER Apparently exasperated by the waffling Neil Reynolds of the Kingston WhigStandard called for the council to take a stand The press council should reflect on the dangers of racial and religious sen sitivity becoming a barrier to the free dissemination of informa tion he said In the end members referred the matter to the councils ex ecutive to come up with a state- that would reflect their views If the meeting was any evidence the executive may have some difficulty in reaching com mon ground Given how hard it seems to be for the press to write a press release on such a clearcut issue one wonders how come so many press people end up in government af fairs or public relations where they have to issue press releases by the dozen Staff Comment Brian MacLeod It was a chilly day last week when I made my way out of a base ment gym on Mill Street in Georgetown fumbled with my keys threw my gym bag into the trunk dug out the right key once more and settled into the seat of my car only to have my view obstructed by an eight by 10inch piece of paper I wound the window down dug the paper out from under the wind shield wiper and scanned the top line With love all things are I was inclined not to read on but I couldnt help myself This paper has been sent to you for good luck The original is in New England It has been around the world nine times The luck has now been sent to you You will receive good luck within four days of receiving this letter provided you in turn send it on This is no joke the letter con tinued You will receive good luck in the mail Send no money Send copies to people you think will need good luck Dont send money as fate has no price Do not keep this letter it must leave your hands within hours Chain letters have always baffl ed me It always occurred to me that the same type of people who answer them are the same people who send money to television evangelists who face a heavenly recall unless they can pay the mor tgage Apparently this chains been around since 1963 Carlos Dadditt an office employee broke the chain He lost his job Then after mailing the letter he got a better one While in the Philippines Gene Welch lost bis wife 51 days after receiving the letter He failed to circulate the letter But before her death he received million Joe Elliot received then lost it when he broke the chain Dalan Fairchild received the let ter and threw it away Nine days later he died A California woman broke the chain She was plagued with ex pensive car problems How uni que She then sent the letter on and received a new car The letter doesnt say if she actually paid for the car Apparently the chain comes from Venezuela you know the that recently imposed to help stop rioting It written by Saul Anthony DeGroup a missionary from South Africa Im supposed to make copies send them on within hours I didnt Now for everyone who ever received this letter for all those who didnt send it but thought about it for all those who did send it and especially for the poor sod who put It on my windshield Im going to tempt fate Go ahead Do your worst Wellmaybenptyourworst