.PZAGE 4, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 1 979, WHITBY FREE PRESS IIELU~Published every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishlngý and Photography Inc. Volceo f the County Town Michael Ian Burgoess, Publisher. Managlng Editortm Th ock F reet r thiîln lue oniy Whitby newspaper Independently owned and operated by Whltby residents for Whltby residents. . Box 206, Whltby, On Comrmunlty Edito, Contributlng Editor Production Manager Print & Promotionat Manager, Classilied Ad 1 rit. Whitby Chamber ot Commerce j - Mike Knoll -Mim Quail* -Mari Burgess, -Robin Lyon i I Better Business Bureau of Torontà Lead ershi is needed Centre Ward Councillor Barry Evans has said that we need "strong leadership" to develop the downtown. We agree. However, It Is flot the other mem bers of council who should be providing this leadership but Coun. Evans, who should be leading the council as he is the council member representîng the downtown area. Coun. Evans campaigned on t he issue of getting the downtown developed. (and ýpersonally promised a grandiose downtown development, but to make the downtown vital again flot only he, but ail members of council should take an' example from Oshawa. Oshawa is Ili'terall1y re-building Its downto,'wn. Within the next three to f ive years the downtown of Oshawa wili be home to the Mnistry of Revenue, a major hotel with convention fac Ilities as well as other new private commercial entelrprises. A few years ago, Whltby Town Council saw the Intersection of Brock Street and Rossland Road as the new downtown. As they know now, this is flot to be for many, many years, if ever. With this knowledge, Coun. Evans and.his collegues must turn to the downtown all Whitby residents know. Here must be the commercial centre for the town. Even the government 0f the town should be here but if would be too costly to move the municipal building again. The taxpayers ofWhitby own land i n the downtown area, It is timne that we told our elected representatîves to do something with'it. The downtown of any-municlpality is it's heart, here Is created the flavor and the character of the town, Its smeils, Its sights and here the people get together and give the town life. In Whitby, this may flot be so.î Our civic leaders have done Ilttle to preserve It, givlng their attention to other- heavy Issues. -People should be able to shop'downtown, go to fine restaurants, cinemas, theatres and receive any kind of servie that is needed. A senior citizen cannot go downtown to f ind out about municipal services, he has to go to Rossland Road and if he has no transportation of his own, he can't get there, being no towm run bus service.' Essential ly, our downtown Is fading into e xtinction, If we lose it, then we lose the character, identity of Whitby and this will, become not a town but merely a place, just a dot on a map. Report fro m Queen 'S ParÈk By GEORGE ASHE, MPP (PC - Durham West) During the two years sin ýe I was first elected, to represent Durham West Riding in the Provincial Legisiature, I have had an opportunity to gain greater knowledge of the process of parliamentary democracy in Ontario. One particularly interesting part of this process is participating in very open, free wheeling discussions between Cabinet Ministers and backbenchers, 'senior bureaucrats and leaders of the private sector. 1 have just returned from such a session at Elgin House in Muskoka, which was called an Ontario Government Policy Conferçnce. Here 1 met and talked with about forty people representing a wide variety of interests in Ontario, and we examined the past and future policies of the Ontario Government in an open and honest manner. The topics ranged from energy and economic planning to rural farming and social policies. Naturally the future price of oil, and the safety of nuclear energy were given considerable COn ferenCe gives. A sh alesson' m Ontario attention. It was interesting to note during this Conference how an obvious fact like the changing trends in Ontario's population can dominate s0 many of the discussions. For instance, the "baby boom" following World War II, which so overloaded our schools in the past, will cause similar problemns with hospital and health care servic'es in the near future. Ontario is headed towards an aging society, and in order to maintain the high standard of health care we now enjoy, we must plan ahead. About the only real conclusion reached on this particular probiem was the necessity for more preventive health 'care services. Improved medical knowledge has resulted in people living much longer. In'fact, those people who are65years , f age or older are increasing at a rate that is more than double the total population. Because of this, we must hegin immediately to make some very hard decisions concerning the Canada Pension Plan. The number of people under the age of 19 will continue to decline very sharplyat least unil 1985. This is going to impact on the labour market because there will be fewer people entering the labour force for the first time. Traditionally, it has been these new entrants who performed a wide variety of routine chores in order to gain some experiîence in their chosen field. The economy of course played a large role in our discussions at this Policy Conference. It demanded that we examine our industrial development strategy in relation to the increasing costs of energy; the unemployment statistics versus the skilled labour shortages; and inflation in conjunction with the high cost of government spending. As well, the Conference touched upon many, specific issues like hoiising, acid ran, training farm workers, federat/provin- cial relations, urban transit problems, the boat people and the Quebec referendum - This was the third time 1 have attended an Ontario Government Policy Conference. And always my only disappointment was that two days was not long enough to completely dissect and resolve the issues. However, it does provide us with an opportunity to realize the magnitude of the problems, not only in relation to Ontario but nationally and internationally. Certainly I wîll welcoine an invitation to join this dynamic group again in the'near future. Mailing Permit No. 460 The Free 'Press looks at the nation l 1