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eee -- nnennssititintidineateinesiapeneettberemaanee: ee Conservatives overspend, Davis _ disappointing: Liberal leader oe by Murray Moore Provincial Liberal Party Leader Dr. Stuart Smith led the attack on the provincial government during a Liberal rally in Cold- water last week. Dr. Smith generally lambasted the Con- servatives, with great sarcasm, for some of their economic management decisions. He also spoke at great length about the quality of Premier Bill Davis' representation of Ontario during the constitutional con- ference held recently in Ottawa. Dr. Smith allowed that the Conservatives were not bad managers in the 1950s and 1960s. But millions, he said, have been wasted in North Pickering, and Townsend. $60 million has been spent on Townsend, a planned, unbuilt community situated inland from Nanticoke, and a Steel Company of Canada mill on Lake Erie. Fourteen homesites have been occupied, he added. so the project is not a total waste. Spending He decried the province spending millions on a "little wilderness retreat in Nor- thwestern Ontario," Minaki Lodge, while the infusion of the same money would do wonders for Simcoe East's tourist service operators. The Conservatives, he claimed, initially spent $10 million on the lodge and have since spent $13 million more. And the result will be, if everything goes well, the lodge "will only lose $11 - $2 million a year, forever." Eighty jobs have been created. More would have been accomplished, he said, if every citizen of Minaki had been declared a winner of the top Wintario draw. The Liberal leader assailed the Davis government for not having money for in- spectors to cover Inco but being able to find $500,000 to convince citizens that acid rain is not a problem. He cited a television ad in which a girl in a bathing suit is in the water singing the praises of its purity. Dr. Smith's comment was that the water was probably clean because there weren't any fish. Critical comments from columnists in major Canadian newspapers were quoted by Dr. Smith to support his "admittedly biased opinion"' that Premier Davis made a poor showing at the constitutional conference. Davis, he said, did not defend the accident of history that put Ontario on the Great Lakes, or next to major United States markets, or that has given Ontario eight million people to keep employed. Piecemeal If Ontario, the heartland, goes down, the rest of the country will be swallowed piecemeal by the US, he warned. Tariffs are in place to make Ontario competitive in the world market, not to bleed the West, he said. Ontario needs leadership, Dr. Smith said, and an industrial strategy that will mean human tragedies, young people who can't find work and older people who lose their jobs and can't find other work, will not happen. The Liberal leader addressed 400 East Simcoe Liberals gathered to choose a can- didate to run in the next election. Student elections hard fought Busy night for town council Undoubtedly the major issue at the regular meeting of Penetanguishene town council on Monday night was the SCBE's ap- plication for rezoning for a proposed French high school. But there were several other reports dealt with by council which generated some discussion. A fairly extensive report from the town's public safety com- mittee, chaired by Deputy-reeve Frances St. Amant dealt with the issue of unprotected gas meters located _ in Penetanguishene. The issue relates to an accident which oc- CG lkah or ced iin Penetanguishene Aug. 2 when a car collided with a building and ruptured a gas line. The report states, "This had all the marking of a potential disaster."' In accompanying re p'o:r t's from Penetanguishene's Police Chief John Geere and Fire Chief Ted Light, it was pointed out several serious problems developed in conjunction with the problem of the leading gas line. For example, it took over one-and-a-half hours for a Consumer's Gas repair crew to arrive on the scene following difficulties in reaching them, the report stressed. Public Safety Com- mittee in its report suggested council request Consumer's Gas to enclose "in the very near future," all un- protected gas meters. It also recommended the meter located near the Main and Robert Street intersection next to McKinnon, DevVillers and Horton building be relocated behind the building, due to the nature of the in- tersection. 4 Report In another report relating to the Con- sumer's Gas Company, it was decided not to agree toa request by the City of Toronto to partake in joint action in monitoring future ap- plications by the company for rate in- creases. Citing previous lack of success with action taken against other rate increase applications, such as with Bell Telephone, the Administration and Finance committee felt any expense incurred in such futile exercises was wasted. Another report which generated considerable discussion was a public works report dealing with the closing of Skelton Street. Referring to requests by Mrs. Pauline Win- dross and Mrs. Blanche McLeod, that the street be closed, Public Works Chairman, Ray Baker recommended in his report the street bet- ween Robert Street and Jeffery Street be closed. But his report also recommends the leasing rather than sale of the lands pertaining to Mrs. Windross and Mrs. McLeod. Lease In deciding to lease the land Baker stated his department con- sidered the potential value of the parcel in future. "The land may be worth one dollar now,"' said Baker, "but has the potential as a building site of being worth much more....Therefore, the municipality is more in favour of retaining ownership." Legal representative for Mrs. McLeod, Gregory Rice of Midland argued the land in question had not been purchased by _ the municipality, but had been vested with them by virtue of a technical clause in the Municipal Act. Mayor Gil Robillard responded saying, the municipality did not wish to cause any hardship for anyone, but added, "at the moment, it (the municipality) owns the roads,...the land is owned by the taxpayer and council is not prepared 'to sell it when it may be worth a fortune." Referring to the Public Works report the 'Mayor said, it was "asking for a breather of five years to see what's going to happen with the property." The report was voted on and accepted by council. Museum Midland's first museum began in 1947 in the magnificent Playfair home on a hill overlooking Midland. Special Service The executive branch of the student council was elected last week at the Ecole Secondaire Francaise, in Lafontaine, and the closely fought election was narrowly won by la partie Vous Aut'. With just a 10 per cent margin of victory over La Réleve party, the new executive sports a slate of five members, in this the school's first student elections. The position of Prime Ministre was attained by Anne Desroches. La Prime Ministre Adjoint is Dianne Dorion, Sécrétaire is John Currie, Tresoriére is Danielle Desrochers and the position of Conseillére was won by Monique Jaiko. During the course of the elections, colourful and'sometimes humourous posters adorned the walls and doors of the school. For example, the losing partie La Releve had one poster which proclaimed: "Nos Promesses... (Y'en a pas!) 1. Il y aura de la neige pour Noel. 2. Le soleil ne se lévera jamais tard. , 3. Les Blue Jays ne gagneront pas les series mondials."' Foliowing several more "promises", the poster pronounced; "La Releve ne brisera aucune promesse car ce sont les seuls qu'ils feront ... Action Oui, Promesse Non." On the other hand, the partie Vous Aut' urged students: "Ne faites pas les mémes erreurs que dans le passe. Choisissez le comité qui Vous représente..." The affinity approach of la partie Vous Aut' carried the day, but the close results indicate both parties fought very successful cam- paigns. In any event it appears a good deal of fun was had in the course of carrying out the important business at hand. Following this weeks election of class reps, one rep from each Grade 9-13, the executive and class representatives will be getting together to draw up a new constitution and prepare for the many duties they'll perform throughout the year. Last Saturday was a special day at the Martyrs' Shrine. Jesuits from across the province gathered for the last big celebration of the year before the shrine closes f ; ty, oT sige the win ter next week. Focus of Saturday's mass was the 50th anniversary of the canonization of the martyrs by Pope Pius XI in 1930. Freak mishap stems from lig A young unidentified Tiny Township youngster was rushed to Penetanguishene General Hospital, early htning strike Monday evening, feeling the effects of being hit by lightning. It is understood the seven-year-old lad was laying on the floor of his parent's home near Lafontaine watching television. It is believed lightning struck the home's electrical system and worked its way through a floor heater near the lad. He reportedly received burns to a portion of his body. No other details were available at news time. Wednesday, September 24, 1980, B3