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Page 6 — Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, September 25, 1993 Opinion HISWEEK Halton Hills This Week, Web Printing, Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481 PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kathleen PHONE: 873-2254 Lert EDITOR: Colin Gibson CIRCULATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt OFFICE R: Jean Shew HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK is INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. FAX: No wonder voters are restless It seems safe to suggest we are now well into Phase Two in the run-up to the federal election called for Oct. 25. For the uninitiated, Phase Two can ng simply be described as Media and Opponent Bashing. Political party election campaign manipulators and spin doctors have the whole thing mapped out, you see and woe betide the candidate who doesn’t follow the script. . We’re experiencing a bit of it here locally over Halton-Peel P.C. candidate Garth Turner’s question- able handling of a press conference.called by the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce concerning the water and fish habitat problems as they pertain to development in Acton. - ‘Nuff said, it goes with the turf. But here’s hoping the voting public won’t be taken in. Basically put, it’s all a scam so the respective candidates don’t have to put anything in writing, get specific when it comes to electioneering promises or explain their past political foibles, miss-calls or plain incompetence. it another way, it’s called avoiding the issues the voting public wants aired. What the hell, it’s worked in the past! Why change things now? Phase One involved the smarmy introductions of the candidates and their leaders to an assumedly gullible public. You know; kissing babies, dancing at Fall Fairs, showing up for local openings, smiling and waving and saying nothing. Phase Two, as mentioned, also/involves bashing the other guys/girls purported platforms while stu- diously changing the subject when it comes to the Tespective individual candidates’ views on certain Subjects. When challenged on this the inevitable heartrending cry of, “You just don’t understand!” echoes across the land. Phase Three will be coming up shortly and this, again, is intended to thoroughly cloud definitive answers. Best put, it might be termed, “Speak loudly, but reveal nothing.” This is akin to the schoolyard game of ‘I can do you one better’! Or the game played in local watering holes known, politely, as liars poker. One-upmanship where all can- didates come out firing blanks. For example: “We’ll cut the deficit in five years!”, says one. “We’ll do it in three!”, says another. Up pops a real spin doctor who proclaims, “There is no deficit! “It’s all a pigment of people’s imagination!” Or how about! “We'll create 200 jobs in the manu- facturing sector!” says one. “I’ll see that and raise 300 jobs for unemployed youth!” says another. “T’ll call both of you and raise 500 jobs for aboriginals!” cries a third. No doubt PCs, Reformers, Liberals and even NDPers will cry foul over the above scenarios exclaiming they have already stated their respective cases in R Ina pig’s eye. Putting people out of work in one sector of the country to create jobs in another sector is no solution at all to unemployment. So how is the unemployment albatross to be realistically attacked? — if at all? Which specific social programs will be cut to save money — and. by how much? Canada Pension? Unemployment Insurance (again)? Universal medicare? Where, specifically, will the money come from for retraining and apprenticeship programs? Will Canada’s military face cost-cutting? Where, and by how much? Where will these savings go? We need specific answers to these questions. In the Final Phase we have the Mad Max dash for the throne of Canada. An orgy of photo-ops, sound and video bites, the major rags falling all over them- selves telling people how to vote. Give me a break. Maybe if the public was given some real answers to their questions from the politi- me instead of doublespeak, we could truly elect of Canadians. Properly rep Don’ thold your breath. Colin Gibson The People’s Corn People’s Forum Impressions of election “93 — So far Al Vince Cicero, ‘Georgetown “#*1$%7@- censored.” Mary Maan, Georgetown : “I am not impressed with the leaders and they are all skirt- ing the issues.” Paul George, Georgetown : “The election is a big game with false promises and false hopes. Its time to reform the government.” Anne Fraas, Georgetown “So far, I have heard a lot 0 thetoric with little sub stance.” Offering an attractive To the Editor: Having waited such a long time for a federal election to be called, Canadian voters now have cause to be disap- pointed by what they are hearing from the leaders of the three major parties. Kim Campbell hints at this and that but makes no definite statements. on. any of-the issues that concern the public. Personality and gender seem to be all she has going for her, Jean Chretien’s plan to spend billions of dollars on job creation can only strike terror into the hearts of the already over-burdened tax- payers. We need more gov- ernmental spending like we need another senator! Audrey McLaughlin ham- mers away with her plan to distribute the wealth in spite of the fact that socialism has never worked anywhere in the world, is not working here, and will probably never work anywhere, any time, Get heavy trucks off Maple Avenue To the Editor: My family and I have just returned from our annual visit to Georgetown, where we are fortunate to have family connections. Yours is a lovely town in an area offering so very much, and we are more than happy to sing its praises wherever we go. But there is one thing that really, truly bothers us; the trucks, trucks, trucks! Nowhere have we seen so many huge, barreling trucks — and we don’t exactly live in a backwater. Perhaps we are keenly aware of these rogue vehicles because our * two family homes both lie on Maple Avenue - a sleepy, charming name which belies the street’s current rumbling nature (never mind its resi- dential status). How many times did we walk between the two homes, up from or down to the 8th Line intersection, clutching our children as dump trucks or semis gunned past in an attempt to catch the light, virtually, sucking us into their grinding “wake”? About 50 per cent of the time, I'd say, conservatively. Beyond. the obvious ques- tion (what sort of madness is this?), another kept popping up: who’s in charge here? (And what friends in truck- ing have they?) Whoever they are, I hope they listen to the voices of reason (amon; them, R.G. Sears, HHTW - Sept. 1), before something tragic occurs on Maple Avenue. Heavy trucks don’t belong there. That’s just plain, common sense, isn’t it? Tom Christie Los Angeles, CA alternative for voters ever. As Winston Churchill so aptly put it “...the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries”. Preston Manning's “Let the people speak” is the only statement that makes sense. If the people were allowed to speak and be heard as they were in the Charlottetown Accord referendum, they would make the decisions necessary to put Canada’s affairs in order. If the people are not allowed to speak and be heard, we can only expect more of the mismanagemer and wrong priorities that hav plunged us into debt, divi siveness and despair. Promises to seek out an act upon the will of th majority, to make elected rep resentatives accountable t their constituents, and to gen erally apply some commot Sense to the running of thi country’s business make th Reform Party of Canada a attractive alternative for vot ers in the upcoming election. Eileen Hutcheso: Acto Thanks for the coverage To the Editor: Here is just a short thank you note for your fantastic coverage of the 1993 Halton Hills Sports Academy. It was greatly appreciated. Our success is largely due to the stories and articles written by your paper. Thanks to your coverage, before, during and after the school, another group of hockey players from all ove Halton will be ready for th new season. Once again, thank you fo all your hard work and we’l see you again Aug. 29 t Sept. 2 next year. Dave Krause anc Tim Bennet 1993 Halton Hill Sports Academ: Students should know their politician te: Eileen Ross -old Grade 12 student at Georgetown District High School who has joined Halton Hills This Week as part of ye school _with them or their respec- _ tive platforms. If I was vot- ing I couldn’t honestly say T'd know who to vote for. I. spoke to several students at” School, and these are some a the reactions T received Georgetown District High happens to Canada, ven yet l haven't really th about it.” : 12. “Because I’m not 18 it Jen Richards 17, Grade 2 “I do care about what s really bee nD ‘follow: