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Political Forum- THE HERALD Wednesday January 1911 Pages Canadians should look forward to 1991 Ah Canada New Years Day and I opened up my Toronto Star to find the results of a new Gallup poll On ly per cent expect improve ment in the headline said Now the interesting part of this was that the poll had been con ducted in 37 countries and the people polled in 34 of those coun tries were more optimistic than we were Kong where China is going to take the place over in a few years and where people are scrambling to get out 31 per cent were confident of a better In Israel where there is cons tant death and turmoil people were 10 per cent more confident than Canadians In fact our con fidence level was the same as in the USSR where the stores have no food civil war is at hand and the economy is simply crumbl ing Ah Canada A country where you can buy anything travel freely say what you please and enjoy free medical attention and worldclass schools Why are we so grumpy and pessimistic Surely things are Queens Park Report New beginnings The New Year is always a time to reflect on the previous year and to look forward to new begin nings 1990 was indeed a year of change not only in central and eastern Europe but in Canada as well some examples being the failure or Meech Lake the OKA crisis and the change of govern ment in Ontario On reflection the September election victory by the New Democratic Party was a chance given to the to demonstrate what a social democratic govern ment can do I believe that the people of Ontario were prepared to look at an alternative to the two old parties While there was probably an element of protest voting in the sense that people were saying no to old style politics and policies of catering to one element in our society those that had power and money just look at the way the Peterson Liberal Party presented itself in the mass media and how it ac tually governed But the victory by the New Democratic Party was in the end a decisive one and the NDP government is aware that the people in this pro vince wanted change change in the way governments in the past did business deals done behind closed doors or through the old boys network They want a more open style of government that consults and listens to more of them and that responds to the concerns of the majority not like Brian and the PC Party in Ot tawa We intend to live up to that commitment and fulfill our Agenda for People over the next four to five years We will act and spend wisely on behalf of the people of Ontario Noel Iff Duignan eBmLmt- North PIP Draecnlic Put Vt A number of constituents have asked me what happens when the assembly is not sitting General ly what occurs between now and when the Legislative Assembly returns on March 18th is that the Standing and Special Committees of the House meet to debate and to hold public hearings on govern ment bills so that legislation reports can be presented by the Committees to the House when it meets again in March For exam ple I am the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Commit tee and we will be meeting for two weeks in February to deal with the review of the Freedom of Information Act I am also a member of the committee on General Government and we will be meeting for six weeks to deal with Bill rent control moratorium legislation maud to review beginning February 18th our governments new discussion paper on a permanent system of rent controls for Ontario If any constituent wants to ap pear before the Legislative Assembly Committee or General Government Committee please call my office at so that the appropriate arrangements can be made Resident fined Halton Hills resident Santis received the maximum fine under the Towns littering bylaw during a Milton court hear ing Thursday confirmed Town Municipal Law Enforcement Of ficer Ron Stein Mr De Santis who didnt at tend the hearing was fined for not cleaning up his Tenth line and Steeles Avenue property despite several requests by the Town to do so said Mr Stein The Town asked for the max imum fine because we wanted to set an example for the rest of the community Its peoples responsibility to keep their pro perty in respectable condition as courtesy for their neighbors said Mr Stein Using the phrase quite disastrous to describe the pro perty Mr Stein said it is clut tered with scrap metal used machinery wood iron beams shale and other assorted litter The enforcement officer was first notified about the problem by a neighbor last July at which time he visited the property A week later said Mr Stein I went back to the property and issued a notice of violation Mr Stein reinspected the property in early August and instead of fin ding any improvement Mr Stein said he found there had been an increase in the amount of shale dumped on the property Despite these notices Mr Santis didnt try to contact the Town said Mr Stein nor did he attend the Sept preliminary court hearing Since the Towns requests have fallen on deaf ears we hope the fine will trigger him into taking some said Mr Stein Mr Santis couldnt be reached for comment at press time He has 30 days to appea the decision said Mr Stein not ail bad Interest rates are falling for example The prime rate is down from more than per cent to 125 per cent with many economists predicting something in the per cent range by the end of next month Lower rates are going to help people with mortgages to renew Theyll help encourage business investment and bring a quicker end to the recession They will help the feds pay less interest on the national debt Something else went by the other day that the newspapers ig nored Ottawa came out with new income tax forms that dont even require any calculations Design ed for and lowerincome people they are the way all tax forms should be one page long I think thats progress Ben Johnsons going to run again Our sailors soldiers and pilots in the Persian Gulf are outclassing all other troops there Car prices are the lowest theyve been since Houses are much more affordable than they were a year ago I mean lets put all this in perspective Sure I know the economy is down after eight years of being up I know the separatists in Quebec are talking big and whip ping peoples emotions I know everybodys down on politicians And I certainly know that the GST confused a lot of folks partly because the Senate wanted to grandstand on the issue for eight months But I think were going to survive those things Surely we have more to be fident about than the people who live In Italy where the inflation rate is the highest in the western world and where no political par ty has the authority to govern In Italy per cent think 1991 will be better compared to 18 per cent here And the Americans Theyre determined to go to war Theyve had a failure of the savings and loans industry The mayor of Washington was busted for smok ing crack The economy is also in a recession according to the White House And in the US per cent of the population thinks 1991 will be better than You figure it out Are we that badly off compared to the rest of the world or are we just feeling sorry for ourselves Ill let you in on a secret When I go to Ottawa and I round the corner that lets me see the Peace Tower and the Canadian flag on the top of it I feel a shiver of pride It happens every time when I drive in from being home for a weekend Every morning when I head to the Parliament buildings Even when I leave my office there to walk across the street to the House of Commons That may be corny stuff to ad mit but it is still true Im not giving up on Canada in 1991 Not by a long shot I sure hope youre not going to either OVER 1800 CENTRES WORLDWIDE weight loss centres Call Today For A FREE Consultation GEORGETOWN ORANGEVILLE BROADWAY 8731900 detain art littU a art lhwc