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Oakville Beaver, 10 Oct 1993, p. 6

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s Ian Oliver Publisher ‘; Robert Glasbey Advertising Director E Norman Alexander Editor 8 Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager ers Monday night, was how each chose to deal with the issue of immigraâ€" tion. Four of the five participants fell all over themselves in their praise of immigraâ€" tion and how the influx of 250,000 people a year, even during recessionary years, was just fine, thank you. The sole dlssentmg voice was that of Reform Party leader Preston Manning. One of the more interesting moments in the debate among the political leadâ€" When Liberal leader Jean Chretien was talking about immigrants as consumers that would boost the economy and likening the influx of new people to the boom years following World War II, Manning jumped all over him. And rightly so. It showed just how outâ€"ofâ€"touch Chretien is with immigration and the current economic realities of 1993. At the end of the Second World War, there was a demand for everything, since the country had poured the majority of its resources into the war effort. When the war ended, the nation was hungry for consumer goods and the nation went on a spending binge for goods that had been denied them for years. The jobs then flowed from that demand. But in 1993, there are no jobs. In fact, there is an average of 11% unemployâ€" ment and that figure balloons into the 20%â€"30% and higher range in some areas of the country. It does no good to have consumer demand if the consumer can‘t pay for the goods. Will the television debates with the top political party leaders influence how you will vote in the election? Regarding the TV debatesâ€"I don‘t believe any amount of TV demagoguery will change my mind that the major parties are incompetent and the only one to support is Reform.â€"J. Harding Manning‘s plan that ties immigration to our productivity and GNP levels makes the most sense. To arbitrarily allow millions of people to enter an indebted country, does exactly the wrong thing to our economy. While some immigrants can make a contribution, many others have heard the word from others that Canada is a soft touch when it comes to social programs. We simply can‘t afford to allow people into this country at the rate imposed by the Mulroney government and that continâ€" ues today under Kim Campbell and is endorsed by the NDP and the Liberals. Regardless of who wins the election, it‘s about time we started closing the doors until we‘re in the kind of economic position to open them wider again. To endorse the current carteâ€"blanche immigration program is to delay a recovery and drive us further into debt. That‘s not fair to Canadians nor to those who would make a better life for themselves in their chosen land. number of crucial issues because in the leader‘s own words: "we‘re a new party and don‘t have a policy...." That‘s got to be of real comfort to those who look to the Atlantic fishery for their livelihood. Reform has no fisheries policy at a time when the very existence of this industry is at risk. T hear Preston Manning tell it, The Reform Party hasn‘t taken a position on a When pressed by a questioner this week, Manning also confessed that the reaâ€" son Reform didn‘t have an environment policy was because...his is a ‘new‘ party. They‘ve been formulating policies since 1989 and have issued ‘Principles and Policies‘ books since, so why are we, even now, still seeing generalities or worse, no comments at all on these issues? At a time in this election campaign when polls show Reform rising in public support, it‘s more than a little disconcerting to see just two of the shortcomings of the party. In seeking alternatives from the mainline parties, voters would do well to dig a little deeper into the policies of Reform before making an informed decision. EDITORIAL Untouchable The ‘new‘ party 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 3S4 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 Collingwood Connection, Etobicoke Guardian, GOG]%QM Independent/ Ecotomist and oun, mmwfim charpn, g::fi”@:ln “’'“fl“‘m’%?%fi‘.."fi m% .5'2 io t reproduction in whole or in part of this material consent of the publisher. \QUESTION OF THE WEEK Do you think the federal government was right in privatizing Terminals 1 and 2 at Pearson International Airport? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5012. All callers are allowed 45 seconds to respond and must provide their name, address and phone number for verificaâ€" tion. A sampling of the best answers will be published in the next Weekend ediâ€" tion of the Oakville Beaver. ere‘s an interesting little news squib in my daily paper... it says that a chap in the town of Skien, Norway is so infatuated with American motorcycles that he has legally changed his name to â€" Harley Davidson. I don‘t think I‘ll tell my pal Rick about this story. Rick had a wee bout of lovesickness over Harley Davidson motorcycles too, but I think he‘s over it. Imagine loving a hunk of machinery so much that you name yourself after it. In fact, I think the merest mention of the name might send Rick into a relapse involving toilet bowls, dry heaves, and some very nasty language. It all happened last year when Rick had a brainwave. Those of us who know Rick have learned to head for fallout shelters whenever Rick has a brainwave. This is a guy who took a flyer on Moscow real estate just before the USSR broke up. This is a guy who bought shares in Canary Wharf just before the Reichmann‘s bailed out. This is a guy who puts money on the Toronto Argonauts. "It can‘t miss," said Rick. Yeah, well. Still, Rick said his Harley Davidson caper was a natural gold mine. The idea was to buy a vintage U.S. cycle in Canada, ship it across to Europe, tour the continent for a Riding down the road of good _ intention requires reliable transport couple of months, then sell the bike at an obscene profit and float back to Canada on a matâ€" tress of hundred dollar bills. "It can‘t miss," said Rick. "Europeans, they‘re crazy for Harley Davidsons. They‘ll pay 30, 40 grand for them, no quesâ€" tions asked." As usual, Rick was about half right. He bought a Harley in Canada, shipped it at great expense to Rotterdam, and proâ€" ceeded to ride across the contiâ€" nent. He didn‘t get very far. The bike broke down. Again and again and again. It broke down in Holland. It broke down in Belgium. It broke down in Germany and France and Andorra for crynoutloud â€" which is so small there‘s barely room to ride a motorcycle, much less break down. But Rick didn‘t really mind the breakdowns. Because it was raining anyâ€" way. And sleeting and misting and fogging and generally being the worst European summer in a quarter of a century. It was so cold and so wet that nothing ever dried out. Especially if you were camping. Rick was: Between motorcycle breakdowns. It‘s okay, thought Rick, shivâ€" ering and cursing and handing over his Mastercard for the umpteenth time. "It‘s okay because once I get back to Holland I‘ll unload this twoâ€" wheeled albatross for 35 or 40 grand and fly back to Canada firstâ€"class on the Concorde." As with most of Rick‘s plans, it didn‘t quite work out that way. Oh, he eventually chugged into the outskirts of Rotterdam on his wheezing, smoking bike. He found a Harley lover willing to pay $20,000, not $40,000 for the bike. Rick was all set to shake hands when the Dutchman said, "Of course der vill be also tax." Tax? What tax? Well, it was a Dutch government tax, specifâ€" ically created to stop foreign wouldâ€"be entrepreneurial hotâ€" shots like Rick from cleaning up. In the case of Rick‘s bike, the tax would come to 9,000 guilders. Which meant that Rick would be selling the bike for $2,000 less than he paid for it. Rick‘s back home now. The Harley sits in a crate on a dock in Rotterdam, â€"destination unknown. Rick doesn‘t think about it much any more. Rick‘s more interested in this new scheme involving computâ€" erized vineyards. You see, he met this guy at a Harley shop in Marseilles who told him that for an investment of just a few hunâ€" dred thousand francs..... ~~‘ +o4

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