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THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday March Page 11 Peoples Forum We must regain government control Dear Sir Many of your readers have ex pressed anger and frustration at federal government waste in competence and indifference to the concerns of Canadians I agree with them but for me Lake brought the problem into focus I saw how Canadas constitution was redrafted behind closed doors while we Canadians played no part Now I see a similar constitutional crisis being manufactured this time with a pretense of Canadians involve ment but really a committee of deputy ministers will decide for us again behind closed doors As you know Canadas federal parliamentary system is ed on the British system where the Commons party with the ab solute majority has absolute power In Britain Commons members are under peer pressure to conduct themselves honourably and so any tion to abuse their power is checked The upper chamber the Lords also serves as a check against abuse of this power However in Canada these two checks have been broken down Our upper chamber the Senate has been subverted to serve the ruling party and greed has defeated honour in the Commons Changing the ruling party may result in minor improvements particularly with a minority government but on many impor tant issues the mam parties have taken identical positionscontrary to the known wishes of Cana I believe even a radically new party would be corrupted by the system once it achieved an absolute majority We now have the situation where unless they are persons of honour there is no incentive for MPs to put their constituents in terests ahead of party allegiance They may maintain a pretense of being interested in their const tuents concerns by holding public meetings or soliciting comments with questionnaires etc but such concerns are quick ly set aside when they conflict with the party line They may even drop this pretense and start ignoring constituents completely as my MP Garth Turner has but as long as they follow the party line the party will reward them They will gain prestige and money by being appointed to various parliamentary commit tees etc and there is always the possibility that they may be in vited to join the Cabinet They also know that if defeated in an election some government sinecure will be found for them even by the governing party that defeated them This situation is unacceptable It is corrupt and undemocratic Checks must be introduced into our system to ensure that citizens enter Parliament as an act of public service and not for per sonal gam or aggrandizement Such checks must also ensure that parties cannot pervert MPs from their first duty which is to their constituents and also en sure that the ruling party cannot ignore the will of the people I believe the following checks are imperative and have proposed only four in this letter for brevi 1 MPs should not be paid for parliamentary committee work etc as this should become part of their normal duties If defeated they should not be allowed to cept any public money for any goods or services for years A system of citizen generated referenda should be in traduced which would be binding on the government as Australia and Switzerland Ail government related business and information should be public as in Sweden Citizens should have the right to participate in tary votes With modem com tended communication systems in which Canada leads the world this has become a practical proposition MPs would represent the concerns of their constituents in debates and make recommendations on upcoming votes to them but citizens not MPs would vote Where less than half of the citizens responded bills motions etc would pass by default Perhaps such votes could be weighted according to pro vince so that no one area of the country dominated In this way the present or any revamped Senate could be abolished It is because we Canadians have lost control of our govern ment that our country is in the state it is I therefore believe that if our country is to survive politically economically and spiritually we must regain con trol of our government and I have outlined the preceding pro posals for the views of readers Yours truly Ray Burlington Cars left running are inviting disaster Dear Editor I find it hard to believe that years have passed since Acton was a media focal centre resulting from a monumental local tragedy but March 1976 was indeed the date It was an incident that shook all of southern Ontano and at traded attention from the entire country Some of the questions raised at that time are still being asked The event I am referring to is the loss of seven lives in a police chase just south of town This tragedy was a result of someone leaving their car running because they were just going to be out of it for a moment The attraction was too great for one youth who decided to take advantage of this golden opportunity and take a ride Spotted by police a pursuit began and the ride ended some two kilometers south of town in a headon collision with a car con taming six other young people faced with the loss of three close friends and three tances it was very easy to find blame first with the kid who had stolen the car then with the police for giving chase and lastly and most deeply with the person who left their car running I guess the years have seasoned me and the realization that hindsight is 2020 If any of the parties in volved could have foreseen the results of those leading events it probably would not have happen ed As a parent now I wonder if my children will ever be faced with the same pain that I felt Or will I as a parent be subjected to the horror that any of the parents of those seven kids had to face This brings me to the main point of my letter I cant even count the number of times I have passed one of those empty unlocked running cars here in town and elsewhere The voice in my heart screams out dont these people know what can happen what can hapen The voice in my brain says Of course they dont or they wouldnt commit such a careless act In those days so long ago while my wounds were still fresh I had no problem with lecturing people who engaged in this activity On some it seemed to make an im pact on others no effect I sup pose they had that feeling we all have from time to time that couldnt happen to me Im not as militant as I once was although those voices call out to me as loud now as they ever did It has however become important to me to wnte this let ter My hopes are that it will re mind people to consider the events that could happen Maybe they will ask themselves is it worth the just to keep the car warm just to save having to restart the engine or they will abide by the law and keep an ex tra set of keys and if they must keep the car running keep it locked I miss those friends Those parents miss their children Let us learn from events that have taken place and make sure that history does not repeat Ronald Ingles Acton Senate attendance bonus was pocketpadding OTTAWA If anyone offers to bet that the Senate will revive its attendance bonuses grab the op portunity It s money in the bank because as sure as there sand Saudi well never again see such a startling exercise in pocket padding It was quite unbelievable Just think about it As they prepared for the marathon debate on the goods and services tax the honorable members of the Senate voted themselves a aday bonus for merely showing up for work They wouldn even have to work All they had to do was show up Think about it again The longer you think the more in credible it seems But its history now And Com Speaker John did the Senate a great favor the other day when he ruled it did not have the power to award the bonuses last June He also did the country a favor The bonuses would have cost us 2 million this year The reason Mr deci sion can be considered a favor to senators is that he lifted a bit one of the most awesome embar rassments they ever inflicted upon themselves Oh sure there some who 11 continue to laugh at these non elected parliamentarians actually giving themselves an attendance bonus but there s no harm in these gig At least we won t be angry at the thought of contributing our tax dollars to this ludicrous cause And time we may even forget about it NO THOUGH Apart from the way Prime Minister Brian Mulroney stacked the Senate to push through the GST the attendance bonus was undoubtedly the event of the decade in the chamber of sober second income people like this many with vast political experience could think the bonus scheme could be implemented without a godawful outcry defies logic A raise is one thing and at a year plus a tax free allowance it might be that the good senators need a hike But to even contemplate a scheme that provided a cash bonus for merely turning up at the workplace well that of mind boggling What a precedent to set par in these times of belt tightening Just imagine how many Canadians would be happy to get their hands on a senators regular income Even if the Senate wag famous long hours and an overwork syndrome an attendance bonus would be one devilish thing to sell Most healthy senators could if they wished easily hold down full jobs Manydo BIG RELIEF The government will be relieved that Speaker put the boots to the bonus Although the government had nothing whatever to do with con the scheme it was tually started by Liberals these fine points tend to be overlooked Every little oddity and stupidi in Ottawa and quite a number jump to mind is invariably associated with the government just as everything that happens in politics is associated with the prime minister In this case it certainly for Mr s lack of effort in the ancient political exercise of disassociation Hed laugh openly at what the senators were doing to their own image Goofball stuff hed say Finance Minister Michael Wilson does not have the phrase forming ability of the prune minister and he s not a gtggler by nature But he allowed that Mr ruling was a good thing Ontario Tory MP Rene Soetens who led the Commons campaign against the distasteful bonuses said most of this caucus colleagues were happy with the Speaker s ruling And even Liberal Senator Philippe Gigantes didnt appear too upset If you were the government would you give us the money he asked No of course not Theres only one tiny regret Ottawa seems to thrive on a sense of the ridiculous And in this respect wejustlosta beaut CanadaUS free trade agreement under fire WASHINGTON Ralph America s leading consumer watchdog has joined a growing chorus in the S that is trashing the Canada free trade agreement Nadar claims the agreement is undercutting S consumer pro tection laws and endangering American consumers by allowing unhealthy Canadian products in tothe country Although the free trade deal has received little attention in the United States since it came into effect more than two years ago politicians and consumer groups are now suddenly paying tiontoit The reason is the request by President George Bust to Con for authority to negotiate a freetrade agreement with Mex and to continue fast track talks on the General Agreement Trade The request his sent consumer groups scurrying to find other agreements that were negotiated on the fast track which gives Congress only a yes no vote on any final agreement One of the few agreements they could find is the freetrade agreement with Canada And they don t like what the see Nader said a S law banning cancer causing asbestos is threatened by a court case filed by Ottawa to force the S into allowing Canadian asbestos into the country Similarly American timber companies have sue cessfully challenged a Canadian Washington Bureau by Kevin Bell Thomson News Service SrM government reforestation pro gram Nader said DISASTERS These disasters for safety and the environment were made possible because of the fast tracked S Canada trade agreement which allows vironmcntal health and safety laws to be challenged as non tariff trade barriers Nader said Other groups have seized upon a simmering controversy over Canadian meat entering the United States The trade pact allows for easy access of Cana dian meat because the inspection systems in both countries are judged to be equivalent but some IS politicians and farm groups the system allows wholesome Canadian meat to slip into the United States Since March the Govern ment Accountability Project GAP which calls itself a support orgamza ion has been investigating reports of contaminated Cana meat entering the S The evidence exposes how sharp increases in filthy meat on American plates are a direct result of the US Canada free trade agreement said Elaine Dodge a GAP lawyer The fast track deal has resulted in sharp increases in meat containing metal shavings pus filled abscesses and fecal maleoal she added If proper controls are not put in place in future trade agreements filthy food will steady diet Canadian officials and meat in dustry representatives have repeatedly denied such allega They say S meat inspec tors are stirring up trouble because they fear borders may become more open under trade pacts which could threaten jobs