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THE HERALD Wednesday October Page Opinion Taxpayers should get involved with issues In todays issue of the Herald my editor Colin Gibson predicts in his editorial that Halton Hills cillors will anger local taxpayers whether they raise the tax rate enough to maintain existing services or they keep the tax in crease rate line with inflation by cutting services His point is well taken but I argue that this damn ed if you do damned if you dont scenario can and should be avoided as long as councillors act respon sibly and taxpayers take the time to inform council what kind of ser vices they think the town needs In response to a budget direction report presented to Council last Monday some of the councillors got up and flatly stated they wont be supporting a tax increase for 1991 that isnt in line with the inflation rate or approximately five per cent This is nothing more than political grandstanding Look at me arent I responsible to the tax payer On the contrary statements like this are nothing more than irresponsible rhetoric Unlike some councillors Acton councillor Norm Elliot was right when he said there is no point deciding now what is an acceptable tax rate increase until council knows what town services will have to be cut to allow for only a five per cent tax increase To do otherwise would only mislead the public By making statements now that only a five per cent tax rate increase is accep table tells the public that the coun cil realizes the ramifications of its actions and has decided the public Bens Banter By Ben Dummett support tig tax uunvu that isnt in line with the inflation actions and has decided the pi A A will be agreeable to the necessary cuts in service But when the cuts are made and councillors must answer to the general public for their support of the minimal in crease they will have no one but themselves to blame if taxpayers are angered Not only must councillors act responsibly to ensure an ap propriate tax increase is approved but also taxpayers must inform councillors what services they think would justify a suitable tax hike It s not enough to just say we wont accept anything more than a five per cent tax increase Inevitably its the very people who demand a minimal tax increase without first knowing the ramifica tions complain when services are reduced The public should make a point of attending at least one of the towns budget committee meetings which are set to get under way within the next while Attendance at these meetings will allow tax payers to understand what vices will be affected by certain tax increases In turn they will be able to make realistic suggestions to council in regards what if any services should be cut Even if peo ple cant get out to any of the meetings they should at least con tact their town representative to find out the issues Those who dont get involved in Hie process and are subsequently dissatisfied with the end result have no one to blame but themselves Councillors and the general public agree that the 1991 tax in crease cant be as high as it has been in previous years But the on way an allaround acceptable tax increase can be achieved is if everyone participates in the meetings will allow tax everyone participates in the lyers to understand what cess Partytime for New Democrats at Queens Park By PAULINE JOHNSON Queens Park Bureau TORONTO Hundreds of people hooted hollered and whistled Mon day as Ontario Premier Bob introduced his Cabinet nearly half of whom are women the provinces premier and the members of his cabinet were sworn into office at the University of Torontos gothic Con vocation Hall while many who watched had tears in their eyes at the sight of the first New Democratic Party government in Ontanos history As well as the estimated 1 people watching inside the overflowing hall hundreds more listened on public address systems from the lawns outside or watched on live television I cannot promise you a govern without mistakes I cant even promise you a premier without mistakes we can only try to be a government that admits its mistakes as openly and honestly as we can and then carries on with the job said in his first speech after being sworn into of fice Our task is to set taxes fairly to spend wisely to fight inequality to promote justice and to guard against institutional arrogance and the abuse of power wherever we may find it he said The recession which has fallen upon Ontario can be beaten Rae said He called on labour business and the entire community to plan and work together to build a part nership for economic recovery But he said no one govern ment can spend its way out of a recession Thats been tried before and it hasnt worked but thats not an excuse for doing nothing and for inactivity What we must do as a province and we shall be doing this is seeing how can can invest most wisely in the future of this province and we shall be discussing with all of the other partners as to how we can do it he said The cabinet sworn in yesterday in front of Gov Lincoln Alex ander and Secretary to Cabinet Peter Barnes has women more than any in the history of the On tario cabinet Women will be represented equally on the policy and priorities and management board committees of cabinet He said that two of his govern ments major commitments were to equality and to negotiating self governing agreements for native peoples that will have meaning in this term of office Watching from nearby on the stage was his choice of ministers which includes six northerners Floyd Nickel Belt as the Deputy Premier and Treasurer Howard Hampton Rainy River as Attorney General Bud Algoma as Minister of Natural Resources with responsibility for Native Af fairs Gilles Pouliot Lake Nipigon as Minister of Mines and with responsibility for Fran Affairs Shelley Martel Sudbury East as Minister of Nor Development and Govern House Leader and Shelley Port Arthur as Minister of Revenue The swearing in of and the individual ministers started off with laughter as the Toronto In- tergeneration Choir led into its first song We Aint Got a Barrel of Money maybe were ragged and funny but were rolling along singing a song side by side The ceremony was frequently in with cheers and whistles standing ovations and even yells at various ministers of Way to go Mum or Dad Leading the cheers were such well known figures as former On Leader and Am to the United Nations Stephen Lewis and his wife wnter Michelle federal Leader Audrey McLaughlin Manitoba NDP Leader Garv Doer and Bob White president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Other members of the On tano parliament cabinet included Hamilton MPPs Bob Mackenzie as Minister of Labour and Richard Allen as Minister of Colleges Universities and Skills Develop ment Windsor Dave Cooke was made Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs and as ex pected Ruth Grier Lakeshore landed the Environ Ministry portfolio Peter Welland Thorold wellknown for his fight against the threshold nofault auto insurance bill was made Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Minister of Financial Institu tions while Cambridges Mike was made Solicitor General and Minister of Correction Services with responsibility for the Drug Strategy Rookies appointed to the cabinet include Peterborough MPP Jenny Carter as Minister of Energy Hastings Peterborough MPP Elmer Buchanan as Agnculture Minister and Niagara South Shirley Coppen as Minister without Portfolio and Chief Government Whip Chretien losing support of the people OTTAWA The way Jean Chre tien tells it he decided to seek an early entry into Parliament because hes basically a House of Commons man impatient to get in to the thick of things As most politicians are wont to do the Liberal leader might have been gilding the lily just a bit What he could hve said is that his own feelings aside his fellow Grits were putting unbearable pressure on him to take a seat in the House Things have not worked out ex actly as planned Mr Chre tien won the party leadership last June His original idea was to he low during the summer which he did and then spend the rest of this year and part of rebuilding the partys grassroots and trying to eliminate its troublesome million debt His advisers who had so careful plotted the strategy leading to his runaway victory in June were convinced that Mr Chretiens popularity would remain high for the first year even with little ex posure And when he did finally seek a scat in Parliament they reasoned his fresh face image would carry over to the next elec tion In the meantime they thought Prime Minister Brian and New Democratic Party Leader Audrey McLaughlin would absorb all the flak from a very critical and complaining public But those terrible public opinion polls kept rearing their ugly heads And the latest one was the final straw What that poll indicated is that Mr Chretens popularity is falling faster than that of both Mr and Ms McLaughlin Stewart MacLeod Ottawa You might even say hes in a free fall For a freshly minted leader this is unusual Whats even more unusual is the Liberal leaders standing in his native province of Quebec There pollsters found that only per cent of respondents approve of Mr Chretiens performance while per cent disapprove Even allowing for his opposition to the Meech Lake Accord these figures represent a remarkable re jection of the veteran populist politician It also helps explain why at this particular time Mr Chretien has selected a New Brunswick riding for his attempted re entry into Parliament He should be home safely in Beause jour a riding thats been a Gnt stronghold for 55 years How this will affect his populan ty in where he vows to run in the next general election re mains to be seen But there are many Liberals who doubt whether he could win in his home province at the moment There are also some Liberals who have doubts about how the leader will perform in Parliament against Mr Despite all the talk of him being a House of Commons man Mr Chretiens reputation is built around his per formance as a minister a defender not an attacker NOT DISTINGUISHED In the nearly two years late 1984 to mid1986 when he was the op position external affairs critic Mr Chretien did not distinguish himself His apparent lack of inten sity or interest was attnbuted to the fact that just having been defeated for the leadership by John Turner he no longer had his heart in the job In any event he didn t par frequently in the daily question period and he seldom at tended committee meetings even those dealing with external affairs He now claims to be raring to go eager to clash directly with the prime minister But up until recently when caucus pressure became intense his eagerness didn I seem to have any im It was was more of a long term objective One thing is sure he will be under severe scrutiny the moment he enters the Commons The Liberals are not happy with the opinion polls particularly at a time when the govern appears so vulnerable So not only were caucus members adamant m demanding their leader join them in Parlia ment they also insist that he per form well Despite a high degree of personal popularity Mr Chretien has not yet convinced all Liberals that he is the man to lead them to victory The Image of yesterdays man still hovers around him and his MPs want it dispelled quickly To start the process he must be in Parliament where he can at least get media exposure Whether he really wants to fight a byelec- tion this soon is beside the point the man simply had no choice Buchanan to protect farmers Bv ROB SAVAGE Toronto Bureau Thomson News Sen ice TORONTO Agriculture must be protected from the harms caused by free trade Agriculture Minister Elmer Buchanan said Monday Buchanan the Hastings Peterborough MPP who was sworn in as agriculture minister on Mon day said in an interview he hopes to introduce measures to protect farmers He said the industry is suffering under free trade with the US We have to do something Otherwise afraid were going to lose agriculture as a main part of our economy We have to find something to help agriculture across the pro vince Buchanan wasnt any specific solutions But he was con fident he could work with agriculture interest groups to find the best solutions The was one of NDP members sworn into the new On tario cabinet during ceremonies m Toronto About 1 people attend ed the event which saw women sworn Into the cabinet Buchanan the former vice pnncipal of North Hastings Secon School was raised on a farm and said he is familiar with farm ing issues The Hasting residents experience includes working as the founding chairman of North Hastings Children Services He said he hopes to agriculture a higher profile In On tario although he didnt have a specific solution for achieving that end I wouldnt want to say what my priorities would be at this point un til I talk to some other people Ontanos new pcemier Bob told the audience attending the Toronto celebrations that his government would be more open He said the government would make mistakes but would be will ing to admit to them Our greatest challenge above all is to win the trust of Ontario citizens Rae said However there were signs the government wasnt quite ready to fully open itself Some ministers interviewed after the ceremonies were reluctant to discuss NDP policies Peterboroughs Jenny Carter the new energy minister was fac ed with concerns about nuclear energy During the swearing in ceremonies at the University of Torontos Convocation Hall one group hung a banner saying No need for nuclear But Carter wasnt going discuss it Im not going to say anything about policy today Today is a day for celebrations