Election called for Sept. 4 Fenneil and Rison are off and running L..1.. huz,êniw ~1 ..~L ~ ,L~h+ hi.a mn,,1 hiiê M' *hp rrune Minister Jonn Turner's decision to cal an election on Sept. 4 his not really surprised anyone in untari Riding. In fact, two of the three major parties are already on the local "nu"im. The incumbent Mem- ber of Parliament for the riding, Scott Fen- neu, saimnu aun.yg"m that he is looking for- ward to the campaign and is sure not only of Progressive vative Party'si victory. I Conser- national * Vol. 14, No. 28 Wednesday, July 11, 1984 28 Pages w Hiro Yamaguchi, president of Makita Power Tools, (left) is seen here describing the sights of Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village to Eiji Kobata, (centre) Magistrate of Yokawa Town, Japan. Kobata is the leader of the -Hyogo Prefec- tural Government's mission for the study of North Ew American local government. Acting as Kobata's guide was Mayor Bob Attersley. Some 14 local government leaders from Japan spent Monday in Whitby seeing the sights and asking questions of town leaders and staff. Free Press Staff Photo Mayors sow seeds of friendship Monday saw "the new beginnings of friendship" between a small Ontario town and the people living in the province surrounding Toyko, Japan as 15 of their civic leaders came to Whitby to learn of our form of municipal government. Whitby was the only Canadian stop for the Hyogo Prefec- tural Government's mission for the study of local gover- nment in North America. The mission is also slated to visit New York City and Washington, D.C. The delegation was given a tour of the town by Wayne DeVeau, director of the Town of Whitby's parks and recreation department. They visited the Iroquois Park Com- plex, the harbor, the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, the jail, the Arts Station Gallery, the Whitby Boats Works and Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. Also visited was the construction site of the GO-ALRT line, the Senior Citizen's Activity Centre and the downtown core. The delegation, led by Eiji Kobata, magistrate of Yokawa Town, came to Whitby on the advise of the Canadian Em- bassy in Japan which told them that Whitby was "most suitable" for their study. The town also has a billboard at Toyko International Airport encouraging Japanese industry to look at Whitby as the site for their Canadian manufac- turing operation. At a luncheon held in their honor at the Municipal Building, town politicians and staff fielded a variety of questions from the delegation who were especially interested in knowing how the town has managed to grow so substantially in a period of economie uncertainty. Mayor Bob Attersley told them that the town has taken an "aggressive and positive" attitude towards attracting new industrial and residential development. "We had the foresight and the people to press ahead," he said adding that the town has adopted proper planning measures as a prelude to its growth. Attersley told his Japanese counterparts that Whitby has two things in its favor: people and environment. "We believe that the number one commodity in any com- munity is its people," he said, "And we are very proud of our people. "We also have the right environment," he added, "We are a rounded community." The Japanese mayors were also interested in what kinds of industry Whitby wanted to attracted. They were told by town administrator Bill Wallace that while the town had no preference, it is interested in attracting growing, aggressive and job producing industries that did not pose a hazard to the environment. Wallace told them that 30 new industries have come to Whitby over the past few years. "We have no problems in Whitby," he said, "only oppor- tunities." Speaking through an interpreter, Kabato said that his delegation was "much impressed" by the town and was pleased to have entered in to the bonds of friendship. "We hope that it will grow into a fruitful, large tree in the future," Kabato said, "We hope that you will be more and more prosperous in the future." Narou Akita, deputy mayor of Ichinomiya Town, told the Free Press, also through an interpreter, that Whitby "is a splendid town." He was especially pleased at the number of trees grown in this community noting that one of his town's major industries is foresty. Akita said that he was most impressed with the way the municipality was ôperated. Herrema signmng up new Grits in nomination bid Durham Regional Chairman Gary Herrema is quietly signing up new mem- bers for the Ontario Riding Liberal Association prior to making a bid for the local nomination in the upcoming federal elec- tion. While Herrema, who has headed the region for the last four years, won't make a definite announcement concer- niig his decision for a few days, he is expected to run for the nomination despite the fact that he said earlier this year that he wouldn't be a candidate. "I'll be at the nomination meeting," he said Monday adding, "Let's just say that I'm busy signing up new - members." Herrema, a resident of Uxbridge and former mayor of that com- munity, said that he will continue to serve as regional chairman should he be chosen as the Grit standard bearer. Another possible can- didate for the Grit nomination is former Pickering regional councillor Doug Sicker- son who is also expected to make an announ- cement sometime this week. Although the Free Press was unable to contact her prior to press time, Gwen Mowbray of Pickering is also likely to seek the local Liberal nod. The date for the Liberal nomination hat yet to be set. "When he (Turner) said that the country needs a new mandate, I couldn't have agreed with him more," he said. Fennell's campaign organization is already in place and is currently looking for office space not only in Whitby but in other parts of the riding as well. (Ontario Riding comprises of Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Uxbridge). His bid for re-election to a third term in the House of Commons will have three or four major thrusts. • Firstly, Fennell in- tends to introduce new ideas regarding • the operation of the post of- fice. -He says many areas in the riding don't get the postal service they're entitled to. "But my whole theme is going to be jobs and the bringing back of the entrepreneurial spirit as well as the stablization of interest rates," he said adding that all three are paramount to be a prosperous economy. Fennell wants to see incentatives introduced for small and medium sized businesses, saying that these are the ones that will create the most jobs. While he's sure his opposition will bring it up, Fennell doesn't believe that the now defunct Pickering air- port scheme will be a prominent local issue. "To me its a non-issue." He has often ad- vocated that the airport lands be returned to the farmers through a low interest government mortgage plan. Although Geoff Rison would have preferred a fall campaign, the local standard bearer for the New Democratic Party is also ready to fight the campaign. His efforts may be a little slow getting off the mark because both his official agent and cam- paign manager are away on vacation. "We're about as ready as we can be," he said yesterday morning adding that lie wasn't surprised at Turner's election call. While there will be a few local issues, Rison believes that the national ones will be predominant in this campaign. "The key focus of the campaign is the economy," Rison said pointing out that "The national issues encom- .pass the people living in Ontario Riding." The NDP's priority will be on jobs and Rison is critical of the Liberals performance on the issue. "If the Liberals think its such a big issue, then why haven't they done anything about it?" he said. Rison said that the NDP wants to prove it- self a real alternative to both the Liberals and the Progressive Con- servatives. He points out that his party has taken a different position on the Foreign Investment Review Agency, the National Energy Program and peace and disar- marnent. Rison said that his party opposes the testing of the cruise missle in Canada while both the Grits and the Tories favor it. The local issues the Whitby high school teacher will focus will include the Pickering airport, the extention of the GO Transit into the northern parts of the riding 1md the re- introduction of the Toronto - Peterborough - Havelock commuter train that used to run through Myrtle Station. "People can vote for what they want but if they want something different, they won't get it form Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," Rison concluded.