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THE HERALD Wednesday April Page Political Forum- Ottawa Report Great challenges are ahead for Canada One day last week I was sitting in a committee meeting in listening to several MPs complain bitterly about the cost of the Spicer Commission on na tional unity The Liberals and the separatist Bloc members said Spicer was spending too much money for an illdefined reason I found myself arguing the other side saying that Canada is worth whatever it takes My chief sup porter in that argument was NDPer John Rodriguez Politics the saying goes makes for strange bedfellows Politics is all around us in families offices schools and the House of Commons Politics my experience has shown me over the last couple of years is little more than managing human tionships while you pursue what you believe in Because Rodriguez and I believe Canada is more impor tant than a political party we came together during that meeting Because he believes corporate taxes are too low and I believe in reducing the deficit well slash again soon These thoughts are with me because while that meeting was going on there was a brief ceremony on the first floor of the building where my Ottawa office is located I wanted to be there but the Spicer enquiry prevented it The ceremony was to dedicate a small room to the memory of Sean OSulUvan who was the MP for Hamilton Wentworth the youngest man to sit in the House of Commons and the promising politician who quit to be a priest OSulUvan died two years ago of cancer I went to his funeral in Toronto a big political event jammed with public leaders and hundreds of others who spilled out of the cathedral and onto the lawns outside The meditation room was open ed with words from two of friends former prime minister John Turner and finance minister Michael Wilson I have seen these two men glare in sheer anger at each other across the aisle in Parliament But the cause of Sean OSullivan brought them together and bad them say the same things I never met the MP who turned which I today regret I think he could have taught me about the relative importance of politics life about why he left to study religion and why in his later years lie felt badly about the aggressive way he had pursued his political career OSullivan had been a tiger us ing people to get ahead question ing leadership criticizing behind others backs spreading rumors and raising doubts Those tools made him a successful politician just as they would for anyone else today Politics is as much about tearing others down as it Is about building yourself up But as he described in his book Both My Houses Sean OSullivan came to see that was wrong He changed his ways He quit politics to renew himself retreating from the spotlight go ing off first to study and then to help common people in anonymt east of Toronto One of his last public gestures was to orchestrate an advertising campaign for the church His billboard showed Christ on the cross against the skyline of Toronto with the words dare to be a priest like me It was highly controversial The Sean OSullivan meditation room has a few chairs and tables in it along with a big wooden altar Carved into the altar by a House of Commons employee is a beaver because It was OSullivan who brought in a private members bill recognizing the beaver as a symbol of Canada Not a big deal in the scheme of things but something worth do ing We need all the symbols we can get these days And that brings me back to Spicer and the future of our country There are going to be great challenges ahead Lots of arguments and passion The separatists will tell Quebec there is no risk in leaving and much to gain The reactionaries here will say let them go claiming Queens Park Report NDP initiatives discussed On previous occasions I discussed vanous government in itiatives and I would like to begin my report this week by informing you of the status of some of them In January I wrote about the program introduced by Attorney General Howard Hampton to reduce the backlog in the courts and to speed up trial scheduling On March Mr Hampton an nounced that significant progress had been made toward a more ef ficient process Preliminary figures indicate that per cent of all new charges entering the system are being scheduled within six ths In November the Attorney General had announced the government s commitment toward the appointment of new Provincial Division judges and additional Crown counsel in order to comply with the Supreme Court of Canada decision relating to delays in the criminal court system At the time of the Askov ruling last October about three- quarters of the charges were scheduled to appear beyond eight months Through the efforts of the entire court system now only approximately per cent are scheduled beyond that time frame Eighteen of the 27 judges have been appointed and six Crown counsel 29 Assistant Crown Attorneys and ad staff have been hired The Crown counsel and Assistant Crown Attorneys now under contract will be available on a rotating basis to assist in areas where they are most need ed Two of these individuals are currently located in Halton Twenty nine members of the ad staff are located in the Central West Region which includes and Peel In February I mentioned that the Select Committee on Ontario in Confederation chaired by Tony Silipo would be travelling throughout the pro vince to ask about their views on the challenges fac our society and what those mean for the structure of govern ments and for our nation This Noel Halton North MPP New Democratic Party member all party Committee was established by the Ontario Legislature on December 20th On March 21st the Committee presented its Interim Report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Copies of the Report are available at my constituency offices in Milton and Georgetown Also February I outlined our position on auto insurance Many of you have expressed your con about the threshold nofault automobile insurance plan which was introduced by the previous government in late 1989 and which took effect in June That Act removed substantive legal from the citizens while at the same time allowing for substantial profits by the in surance companies Financial In stitutions Minister Brian Charlton has been reviewing the vanous options and any legisla tion introduced by our govern will reflect your concerns and comments Recent measures announced in the Legislature include the in traduction and first reading of The Arbitration Act on March 27th Attorney General Howard Hampton indicated that the bill has been designed as part of an overall commitment to prove access to justice in On tario Arbitration can be more ex pedient and less costly than going to court and the new statute will make it easier for people to sub mit private disputes to resolution through this method Arbitration may arise in many instances but is common in construction con tracts and in renewal clauses in commercial leases Please call my Milton office at if you would like a copy of Mr Hamp ton s statement Government sale Complete equipment for a shoe repair shop home appliances in eluding stoves refrigerators washers dryers and televisions will be on sale at the Ontario government s next cash and carry sale Satur day April 6 from 9 a m until 12 noon Other items including a large selection of desks chairs typewriters filing cabinets computers dictaphones adding machines and other office equipment will also be available at discount prices All goods are on a first come first served basis Location of the sale is Drive Concord one stoplight east of the junction of Highway and Steeles Avenue Cash Visa MasterCard or certified cheque made payable to the Treasurer of Ontario are accepted Ontario public servants are not eligible to purchase items at the surplus assets sales well all be better off and taking advantage of the feelings of hurt and rejection we all experience Politics in its worst form is do ing this Politics In its best form can solve it When I doubt that there is a room I can visit to restore some faith in the system and the future CHECK OUT OUR SPECIALS IN OUR FLYER THIS WEEKEND IN THE HERALD Fletchers Canadas Leading Name In Soccer Shoes mitre absolute performance ADULT SIZES to 12 ONLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE PROTECTED QUALITY SHIN PADS JUST saw ft in HMD FLETCHERS FAMILY SHOES 8771664 MAIN ST DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN rifieo penoRTHis ton staff