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the HERALD Wednesday October 1991 Political Forum Ottawa Report Being an MP is certainly an interesting job Being an MP is certainly an in teresting job No set hours No days off No privacy You get to open the local paper and read an article by some guy who says you are brain dead But on the other hand you get to sit in the House of Commons You give out certificates at 50th wedding anniversaries You help shape laws You try to help a few people Mostly as an MP you do all you can for both your consti tuents and for Canada I had a couple of Town Hall meetings last week People came to discuss the proposals for changing Canada and they were worthwhile gatherings In Bolton there was a passionate exchange of views between those who sup port the idea of giving Quebec the right to protect its language and culture and those who do not The extremes went from keeping Canada together at any cost to kicking Quebec out Nothing new was said certain ly not from the last round of meetings I held Canadian unity is as fragile a topic as it was in the days before and after the Lake accord failed although most people now like the fact that any deal we get wont be cooked up behind closed doors This time everybody has a chance to speak By the time you read this you should have received in the mailbox the Citizens Guide to the proposals which I wrote to ex plain what the heck the govern ment is suggesting The plan is a complex one and there are more than two dozen proposals to con sider Im hoping that a great many people will respond by fill ing out the coupon on the back of that guide These responses together with a report of the Town Hall Garth Turner MP Prog restive Conservative meetings will be submitted on behalf of the people of Halton- Peel to the joint Parliamentary committee now studying the plan Next spring that committee will make its report and I suspect afterwards that a final package will be tabled in the House of Commons As Ive told you there may not Queens Park Report Courts backlog is being addressed A few months ago I talked to you about some of our plans to reduce the backlog in the courts and to speed up trial scheduling Todays Im pleased to let you know that AttorneyGeneral Howard Hampton and Govern ment Services Minister Fred Wilson are requesting proposals for the design of new cour trooms across Ontario Up to for ty of those spaces will be in Brampton near the existing Peel County Courthouse and Registry Office and up to eighteen more are planned for Hamilton in the former post office building There were several reasons for the decision to design new con solidated courts to ensure that trials are heard within a reasonable time to improve access to the court system to provide barrierfree access for people with disabilities to make the court system more efficient The new facility in Brampton will consolidate the existing cour thouses many of which are cur rently leased Detailed planning for the complex is underway and construction is expected to begin next year with occupancy pro jected for 1996 Construction on the Hamilton complex should also begin in 1992 with 1995 as the estimated date of occupancy By creating both construction Noel Duignan work and long term local employ ment these capital projects are an important contribution to economic renewal And in the long term money is saved by having the provincial govern ment own rather than lease the court space In other news from Queens Park Ontario will be the first province to integrate midwifery education services and regula tion into its health care and post- secondary education sytems under new measures announced by Colleges and Universities Minister Richard Allen and Health Minister Frances The decision to offer a bachelors degree program in midwifery the important role midwives play in the health care system and promotes the right of consumers to make choices about the type of care they want during pregnancy and childbirth Universities that educate health professionals will be asked to develop proposals for the degree program These will then be reviewed by an external group made up of educators recognized experts in midwifery health practitioners and consumers A decision on the location of the program will be made by 1992 with the program expected to start in In the meantime ex perienced will be in tegrated into the health care system through Torontos Mit- chener Institute for Applied Health Sciences And finally in case you hadnt heard about the new respon sibilities the Premier gave to some of the cabinet ministers here are the changes Marion Boyd now minister of education and minister responsi ble for the Ontario Womens directorate becomes minister of community and social services but retains her OWD portfolio Tony Silipo becomes minister of education in addition to his cur rent position as chair of the management board Frances minister of health assumes responsibility for the Long Term Care In itiatives a program within the ministry of community and social services TOO BUSY TO SEW Let Roberta Do It Specializing In Childrens Costumes I Minor Alterations and Repairs lit IllUnStS In NEW IN TOWN GEORGETOWN Lei Us Put The Mat Out For You ACTON Judy NEW ADDITION lm our Welcome Wagon hostess She will bring congratulations and gilts for the family and the NEW BABY in the next edition of the Heralds CutItOut Coupon Book WATCH FOR IT IN THIS SUNDAYS TOWN BUYER just be a vote on this by MPs but perhaps a referendum so that every Canadian can have a say In Ottawa am certainly asking that this be the case because the constitution belongs to us ail But even more important than getting an elected Senate or native selfgovernment or pro perty rights or a new deal with Quebec is the economy Last weeks cut in the prime rate at the big banks was good news Its been a while since you could borrow money at per cent and that should help stimulate some investment As well mor tgage rates are on the way down Combined with house prices a lot lower than they were two years ago it makes this a good time to buy All we need is a little more consumer confidence and this could turn into a much better market But while most economists are saying the recession is over it sure isnt if youre out of a job It is still unacceptable that unemployment is over 10 per cent and the country continues to go into debt Ill make no apologies for some of the things I have been fighting for within government acrosstheboard spending cuts the GST applied to reducing the deficit cuts in the civil service lower transfer payments to the provinces and an attack on the overlap and duplication among governments themselves I still think we have too much government too many politicians and too many levels of ad ministration We even have too many provinces each is a little kingdom with its own rules which just help make the whole country less competitive and raiser con sumer prices Theres a lot of work to be done There are a lot of reasons why we could fail I dont agree with Bob Rae much but his comments that if this attempt to fix Canada fails and Quebec splits that well probably end up Americans had some depth to them Hopefully common sense will pull us out of this muddle so we can concentrate on getting those jobs and paycheques back Help me make it happen send me your comments on Canada so the people of HaltonPeel can be heard Write me Garths Turner MP House of Commons Call if you didnt get your Citizens Guide or toll free DONT MISS THE RETURN VISIT OF THE NATIONAL FINALISTS OF THE BRITISH YOUTH CHOIRS COMPETITION RICKMANSWORTH MASONIC GIRLS SCHOOL CHOIR IN CONCERT WITH GEORGETOWN CHORAL SOCIETY KNOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MAIN STREET GEORGETOWN WEDNESDAY OCT 30TH 745 PM CLASSICAL FOLK SHOWTIME ADMISSION FREE COLLECTION TO DEFRAY EXPENSES ID FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL OXBOW BOOKS 8778861 Named Group Contact Person Address Telephone Brief Description of Float Overall Length PLEASE RETURN TWS FORM HO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 1991 Mail to Lions Santa Parade Box 73 Georgetown Mark Rush 8778769 Entries are not to present Political or Protest Themes Parade Route Forming at Sinclair Avenue Georgetown Marketplace and ending downtown Georgetown