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HILLS OUTLOOK Saturday November Halton Hills OUTLOOK published rich Saturday by the It ALTON IllilS ALI Home Newspaper lUllon A Newspapers Llmlled IS Street Georgetown Ontario I Second Class Mall Number inn PUBLISHER David A MARKETING Caroline MacLeod Jean nine Valols DEPARTMENT Dave Hastings Annie Mary lorenian T Casting votes overseas is a trying process Twos a Crowd By GIL HARDY Thomson News Service Ottawa Bureau If youve been moaning because you will have to walk a few blocks to vote in the Nov federal election consider the conditions marking a ballot along the Iran Iraq The Middle East is just one of many exotic not to say dangerous locales outside of Canada where Canadians will in this federal election They come under the Special Voting Rules sec lion of the Canada Elections Act which governs all armed forces per sonnel as well as diplomatic staff Overseas Under the rules some 1900 Ester Affair employees spouses and dependents along with between and 90000 armed per sonnel and families here and abroad get the chance to vote The tar flung exercise using special ballots military aircraft lions Canat of elections The process begins with a state ment of ordinary residence filed by all armed forces personnel as well Ballots cast by Canadian armed forces in Canada US and in the western hemisphere are collected in Ed monlon Halifax and Ottawa The Edmonton and Halifax ballots arc counted in Ottawa KEPT SECRET The results are kept secret until election night One hour after the polls close in each time zone Lice lions Canada officials phone the count to the appropriate returning officer who Includes it in his riding totals The process costs about the same per vole as the domestic election says Chief Electoral officer Jean Marc Home I In the ISBt campaign Ihe total cost was about It has been In use since the election to dispel the myth of the so- called service vote impact on elections In previous elections the service vote was counted and an separately after the domestic results The fact that the votes were counted and mainly announced almost a week after the election had quite an Impact on public opinion says There was a common expression saying he was defeated by the service vote That was no more true than Ing so and so was defeated by Poll No It was only one of a number of polls But the fact It was on the Saturday following election day it far more importance than it actually deserved he The changes enacted in 1970 also those Canadians sent abroad the External Affairs Department The statement Indicates which riding a Canadian Is voting in When an election is called special ballots arc sent to military bases consulates and embassies Instead of listing specific candidates ingual ballots carry the phrase I vote for followed by a space for the Recently Elections Canada sent out candidates lists for all ridings From these Canadian soldiers on peacekeeping duty in the desolate battlefields on the Iran Iraq border and diplomats in cities such as Tokyo or Paris will pick a can didate Voting under the special rules curs between Nov and Nov 12 The External Affairs ballots are sent to Ottawa by diplomatic pouch where they ore tallied Armed forces ballots from the eastern hemisphere are collected and flown by military aircraft to London England to be counted The results are sent by military courier havcquallftcdlf thcbilf to Ottawa and their spouses and dependents for the first time The right to vote was also extended to armed forces dependents But then remains a segment of the Canadian electorate with no means to vote those who have taken up temporary residence in other countries Bill C79 which contained 180 amendments to the elections act died on the House of Commons order volving writein ballots for Cana dlans abroad who are not public ser vants or armed forces personnel Ham el estimates there may be con 300000 people SNAFU by Bruce i Coin Wash V-Vl-H- ft ri Power play There isnt going to be any commercial Now come on A liberal decline ft Your Business Diane Thomson Ntwa One of the more curious developments In this falls federal elections both here and In the United Stales is the apparent death of liberalism Liberalism Is the American creed the philosophy upon which the nation was founded Yet in America today a liberal Is what a communist used to be liberal has become a dirty In Canada liberalism means dif ferent thing its more liberal lets say than the American version Not long ago most Canadians called themselves liberals many voted for the Liberal Party Now Ed Brood bent leader of the New Democratic Party Is contemplating the end of the Liberal Party and the emergence of a twoparty slate The implications for the economy of this shift are enormous and fuzzy Is It liberal spending the Americans oppose Or is It liberal views What about US liberalism thats suspect not NEW AGE AT HAND Whoever wins the coming elec tions will take North America into the next decade one we approach with hope and dread When we read that a recession will strike in 1990 we tend to shrug it off But the 1990s are at hand ana the kind of govern ment North Americans elect this rail may determine how well we come through these troubled years Think of the dangers even If only a small part of what forecasters fear docs come to pass The federal budget deficit that favorite bugbear of economists really could gel loo big with all the disastrous conse quences economists have been predicting Big deficits leave the government Utile room comes to offsetting the effects of recession This is because interest rates must be kept relatively high to attract foreign money to buy govern bonds and finance the deficit Another scary thing is the interna debt crisis which has receded to the background but could erupt again at any time The problem Is by the weak financial position of regional American banks and savings and loan companies Financial Institutions with piles of questionable loans on their books could sink if the North American economy worsens Oil prices could languish for forcing oil companies to on exploration seriously ting Alberta and perhaps the project off the coast of New found land CLOSE THE PURSE Economic uncertainty tends to br ing about a retrenchment In liberalism does not necessarily bring about a parallel retrenchment In the govern ments liberality with the purse sir inga As each day brings new promises of spending from the contenders for the job of prime minister Its useful to remember that the billions dollars of goodies they ore dangling before our noses may hurt us more than we know In future Fortunately election promises are usually empty and quickly forgotten once the new government settles in All the Important Issues In this falls election in Canada arc economic free trade Interest rates housing the deficit even the en vironment A less liberal approach to government finance does not mean the poor have to face problems But It does mean that money should be spent carefully where Its needed the most Sooner or later North American politicians are go ing to be laced with the dangerous task of encroaching on our en titlements Indexed pensions unemployment Insurance and the like Sooner or later universality will have to be abandoned in favor of helping those who need it most Staff Comment By BRIAN During election different groups organizations often take a ver bal beating At the Acton oil candidates meeting lor municipal politicians Nov local press turn During the evening I overheard one audience member say to another The bull is flying tonight POWER member Robert Master brought out Mayor Rum Miller In February In the Herald which seemed to Indicate the Mayor thought a landfill site could be good for the town because It would bring In more money He also quoted the mayors comments against the dump In last weeks Georgetown Independent I cant be responsible for what the Independent writes Mayor Miller replied he was actually referring to the Feb article He then Implied the local media often gels Its facts mixed up Just ask the other councillors Ihe mayor said Okay Im asking Not for sweeping generalities but for dates and examples In my IB months covering local and regional council which would include literally thousands of inches of copy I have printed two lions One from Mayor Miller and one from Sheldon If the press is often wrong then I would anticipate that Hills highly media conscious council would be on our doorstep first thing Wednesday morning asking for cor reel ions s well known in journalism circles that a politician will say he or when theyre Higher profile politics Is filled with umpteen examples of politicians claiming they were misquoted or their remark was taken out of con text even though their comments were receded on tape When a politician or anybody else tells you Ihctr remarks were taken out of context means the political preamble that reporters must listen to before they cut to the meat of the matter was not included In the story As reporters we must listen to all that rhetoric But doesnt mean you have to read It In Wednesdays paper As a reader you get the meat of the matter If you want the rhetoric the minutes of the meeting arc available My first clash with a misquote adventure occurred while 1 toiled for Sheridan College newspaper retraction saying 1 didnt say thai You may have wanted me to say that but I didnt say it There was no retraction nor was therea lawsuit These days when a politician claims he or she was misquoted I It as a telling sign often means that politician is In a tight spot and theyre desperately seeking a quick solution to solve the quagmire their own words created In Acton Mayor Miller urg ed the audience not to be led astray by remarks made by Coun Sheldon The nest time you hear a politician claim he or she was misquoted If I may borrow the Mayors own words dont be led astray Indies and gentlemen Dont be lid