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I THE HERALD Wednesday July II 1989 Bringing Canadas regions together On The Hill With Garth Turner The car rolled up in front of the old brick building and the three of us piled out A couple of young girls were dancing to the sound of pipers with about two dozen peo ple walking around eating small cakes with strawberries heaped on them This was Nova Scotia and upstairs last Wednes day morning in that building a train station now converted into a bed and breakfast were a dozen men waiting to talk to us So while the Strawberry Festival happened on the grass outside we talked about the hopes and dreams and fears of the people who called this place on the Nor thumberland Strait home This job of being a Member of Parliament has brought me so many new experiences and here was another Early last week I was asked to fly to New Brunswick then travel by car through rural Nova Scotia with two other MPs Ross from Newfoundland and Bill Casey whose territory this was Our assignment listen Atlantic Canada is vastly dif from where we live and lately a number of people there been feeling that southern Ontario doesn t understand or perhaps care Things like rumored cutbacks in VIA rail ser vice changes to the insurance system and the closure of the military base at Summerside are seen by some commentators as constituting a plot against the area We know that not the case and we also know that living where we do has its own stresses that rural Nova Scotians can appreciate Things like miles of traffic on the house prices that deny owner ship to many families the necessi ty for two incomes in the household and the relentless pace of life that economic growth ings Sitting there in listening to the lobster fisherman tell me how he worries about fall ing prices this year gave me a new understanding of how different this country can be Last Wednesday alone the three of us met with well over 150 people in places tike this- and Debert Truro and Amherst We listened and made a tot of notes and asked what more the government could be doing to help everyday life Sure everybody has their own special problems and view of what the politicians should do but I was struck over and over again at how much they appreciated us being there Casey and and I are all new Members of Parliament and it seemed to us that this thing we were doing listening to people was perfectly natural It is what I ve tried to in our community since the day I was elected MPs are representatives of the people in the House of Commons not substitutes for them And only by listening can we go back to Ottawa and be honest Now I know a lot more about what lies in the hearts of people in those places And they know more about what it means to live in Bolton or Burlington Georgetown Acton or In a few days I expect to be doing more libtenu Thai Ihe future of the decision to cut government spending by closing the base there There must he solutions some ways the site can be turned to other uses so Summerside remains ml If I tan help people there 1 will I know d want me to try Are taxes loo high Of course they are and I had no trouble say ing that on the main drag of Georgetown the other day when a rolling tax protest came to town An outfit called Cut Taxes chose the pavement outside my of for a demo which attracted a handful of cunous people the Saturday before last The pro testors are angry that our tax burden seems to keep going up while the deficit stays high and the national debt grows Personally I can t help but sup port them and I think any move ment by people to raise awareness of the tax situation is a worthwhile one One of the reasons I got Into this job is because the country economic situation worries me Another is that I believe middle- class people carry the can for the rest of the public and the system has to be made fairer As a new politician I can turn things around in the first six on the but I sure work ing on t Mike Wilson knows that I think government spending is still too high the deficit is bloated and taxes are at the breaking point Are there solutions 1 think so We need moie cuts in Ottawa we need to sell assets that the government has we need to refinance the existing debt at cheaper rates and we need to in crease our tratte If all that hap pens it strikes me there s no reason in the world that taxes have to rise I m devoting all the time I can in the weeks before Parliament resumes to finetune such a plan to prove it can work and to show the feds must look elsewhere than your pocket and mine If you have any suggestions for areas we can cut back on or things the government might sell off to raise cash then please pass them on to me or call me anytime the toll free number is and the office ad dress is Main Street South Georgetown Please to newspaper along ih your bottles and jars and food beverage can plastic sort drink containers RECYCLING It only works we do our pan STEVEN C FOSTER B A LLB BARRISTER SOLICITOR 37 MAIN ST SOUTH GEORGETOWN ONT L7G3G2 Still spaces left in camp Hash The first two weeks have been a great success The good news is that there are still a few openings left during the remaining four weeks BurlOak Camp provides boys seven to with a week long outdoor camping experience at nearby Camp conve niently located just north of Derry Road and west of Line in Milton District J The camp ib open to both members and members of Scouts Canada The Camp is designed to give all boys in the area a Scouting experience based on the Wolf Cub Program The Camp is operated by qualified Scouting staff who cater to the individual needs of each boy Activities include archery swim campfires crafts hiking nature lore exciting field trips and much more The boys sleep in tents under starry skies weather permitting They meet new friends acquire new skills and gain a better ap preciation of thenatural world East session starts on Sunday afternoon and goes right through to the following Friday night with a closing campfire The cost is per session including the tuck fee To enroll your son or to get more information please call the Burl ington Scout office at 2526 WESTERN SPECIAL SAXONY SO YD including pad and installation Limited Colours SPECIAL AREA RUGS PEEL STICK TILES FROM QQO NO PAYMENT TILL INSTALL YOUR CARPET NOW AND DONT PAY UNTIL 1990 WALL TO WALL INSTALLATION 184 GUELPH ST GEORGETOWN 8732355 86 KENNEDY RD BRAMPTON 4560971