PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY. JUI.Y 17 1985 WHTTRY FREE PRESS PIublished every wednesday whitby b y NM.H.M. Publishing Cm uiyEio MICHAEL KNELL loCmd Imhotograpo mtIynE. /Im 1.M Poiw IU-6VALERIE COWEN Advertising Manager WIThe IFree IPress Building, AdotlnMage V e tor1 BrockStreetNorthSecond Class Mad .0. ox20, Whit ,O . Registraon No 5351 The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by whitby residents for Whithy residents. Time merchants made a commitment Much space in this newspaper (in recent mon- ths), has been devoted to the future of the down- town core. Most of the news and comments im- parted has concerned itself with certain programs and ideas that the Whitby Downtown Im- provement Area Board (or B.I.A.) is entertaining and executing. This week, B.I.A. chairman Ed Buffett candidly admitted for the first time that these plans and a weeklr news ooninait&"7 front one of Canada's outatndln gnw prnalig EEST 0F m TORGLBL MIE!WB The Press Gallery met the Prime Minister recently In what will probably be the last formai news con- ference before the first anniversary of his sweeping electoral victory in September. And I think it is fair to say that the man we poked and prodded, and sometimes annoyed at the conference, is not the same man who ran around the country last summer promising instant cures for every Canadian problem. Sadder but wiser, is the phrase that leaps to mind, but as the Prime Minister himself assured us, there is no sadness. Pragmatic and realistic are the words he chose to describe his approach now. It ought to be remembered perhaps, that Mr. Mulroney became Prime Minister after a single rookie season as a parliamentarian and the Leader of the Opposition. He had been active in politics since his student days, but he had never been in a gover- nment, and there are few areas of human endeavour in which there is such a gulf between thinkers and doers, between theory and practice. In answering a question about what he intended to do to restore decorum in the House, Mr. Mulroney made the point that he was new to Parliament. But I would hazard a guess that he has iearned more about Parliament, the realities of power, the dangers of ill-considered rhetoric, and the nature of this wonderful, mixed-up country of ours in eight short months than most people do in a lifetime. He has learned that on the right issues, despite his huge majority, the Opposition can be overpowering. He has learned that cutting the deficit is an agonizing problem, and although everyone supports it in theory, they scream blue murder when they are themselves touched by the practice. He has learned that it is much better to talk about what one has done and to leave the future unencumbered by promises. He has learned the country has to be chiv- vied along, that Canadians are likely to greet new ideas with what he called, with some feeling, "an overwhelming degree of ambivalence." The specific issue raised at that point, was the question of persuing a free trade policy with the United States. "Put out an idea like that", the Prime Minister concluded, "and you can count on the country to come down squarely on both sides of the issue, to say nothing of the government." It was on that wry note, which drew appreciative chuckles, that the news conference ended. And there was eight months of education packed into the simple closing line. I cannot imagine Brian Mulroney making a com- ment like that this time last year. Last summer, he didn't know what he was up against. He does now. aspirations face one major drawback. Simply put, the B.I.A. doesn't have enough money in its budget to carry out these ideas. Buffett noted that in 1984 the B.I.A.'s annual budget was doubled from $10,000 to $20,000. However, $10,000 of that amount has already been earmarked to repay a loan from the provincial government under the Community Area Im- provement Program (C.A.I.P.). So, in reality, the B.I.A.'s budget is the same as it was in 1983 and for years before that. While Whitby's C.A.I.P. project will be great for the physical well being of the downtown core (most notable is the development of the Perry St. parking lot), what really demands the board's at- tention now are the non-physical tasks. Another part of the C.A.I.P. project are two separate studies. The first will develop a com- prehensive store front facade guideline program aimed at giving the downtown core a common theme to make Individual businesses more attrac- tive to visit. But the other study is perhaps the more impor- tant. This is a long term marketing and promotional study that has two major thrusts. The first thrust is attracting new shoppers to the downtown core. The other, equally important, is to find the means to attract new business to the core. Not just any business, but business that will complement and add to those facilities that already exist. Buffett has said that this study will force the downtown merchants to make a tough decision. Marketing and promotion has become a specialized profession. In today's world of mass communications, it takes trained people to com- municate with the public-at-large. And that, Buf- fett maintains, is what the downtown core needs. The merchants in the core have to be united and take on the shopping plazas and other commercial facilities head-to-head. To compete effectively, they have to have the skills and resources at hand. Those skills and resources cost money. That's the rub. But eventually, the downtown is going to have ,ta make that commitment. The future is walting. The economy is in an upswing and the downtown core has a unique opportunity to assert itself not only as a place to shop but as a "people place" where local residents can gather to meet wlth friends over lunch or engage in a host of other ac- tivities. Buffett has said that if the B.I.A. members do not make this commitment, there is probably little or nothing that the board can do further. "We have to develop a stragedy to promote downtown Whitby," he told the Free Press in an interview last week, "not only as a place to shop but as a place to locate your business. "We have to be aggressive and progressive or let go of our dreams and aspirations." The chairman also warned that if the downtown core doesn't make these commitments it will become a "backward pocket in an otherwise progressive community." This newspaper has to agree. If the downtown core is to become vital and vibrant again it must take its destiny into its own hands. The merchants have to get out and actively and aggressively compete. People won't come downtown simply because its here. No one has an obligation to shop downtown. People have to want to come downtown. Many of our new residents are Toronto oriented. They are aware of what's available to them there. We have to make them aware of what's available here. That takes commitment. It also takes money. But it will prove to be money well spent. This newspaper is committed to the downtown core. We've located our offices here since the first day we opened nearly 15 years ago. We want to see people come downtown. We know what great potential it has. We can only hope that our fellow merchants and businessmen in the downtown core share a similar insight.