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Dave Hamilton, parks and recreation director, says the reason for this is an Ontario municipal board ban on recreation capital spending. Millions of dollars in Wintario community purpose funds are going for the asking. Yet Richmond Hill Town for five years is doing nothing about its 132 acres of newly-acquired land, including a new Spring Fair site. At the same time in Markham construction of a new fair grounds is going ahead. In Markham for the current year $800,000 was obtained from Wintario. Much more ‘will likely come in the future. Richmond Hill shouldn’t be giving up so easily. The town’s Spring Fair is bursting the bounds of its site, according to last year’s agricultural society president. And President Arnold Mortson says the same this year. You will no doubt recall that in the early part of December, the Liberals raised in the legislature the question of the Ontario Highway Transport Board ruling to allow Greyhound Lines of Canada Ltd. to run buses on routes between Toronto and Buffalo and Toronto and Sudbury. (PC â€" York Simcoe) Ottawa may well be one of the coldest capitals on earth, but it is not â€" as some suggest â€"â€" the dullest. Since then however, we have been warming up the place most afternoons with a parliamentary tradition so lively it has been known to thaw even those on the government’s front benches on the coldest days. _ These routes are af present served by Gray Coach, a subsidiary of the Toronto Transit Commission. The minister of transportation and communications told the legislature, initially, that he agreed with the board‘s reasons for giving this ruling â€" complaints of poor service by Gray Coach, and the need for competition on the routes in the public interest. When iiueen Victoria chose Bytown to be our main legislative centre, the town’s harsh climate was already legendary. Question Period, 3 custom we inherited from the British, is alive and well in Ottawa most afternoons at 2 o’clock. It has become a Canadian institution. Moynehan said that although more jobs might be provided, they would not be in Ontario. This was because Our parliamentary forebearers, fed up with the god-like pretensions of their rulers, decreed that once a day the government should be required to sit and answer questions put to them by other members in the House of Com- mons. , Speak/n g terms Leonard Moynehan, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union charged that telegrams of support for the Greyhound service, from local unions, which had been read in the house by the minister, were paid for by Greyhound. Centuries of parliamentary practice have found it prudent to have an im- parital speaker. He decides who is to speak. Neither side, of course, speaks directly to the othgr. ~ All questions and answers are ad- dressed to him â€" a device which prevents the uncomer spectacle of two members throttling each other in the “bear pit” between the bleachers. Hill fair site action needed The program committee is a com- mittee of the whole board this year and those trustees who elected Stephens can congratulate themselves on picking the best man for the job in this observer’s opinon. Events took a definite turn for the better at the York County board of education with the election of John Stephens as chairman of the program committee. Dear editor Letters I _ G 00d 0n 1r. kmdergartens Somé say it is Parliament at its best Too often visitors to the board are The Lubeval us published evevv Wednesday by Melvospan Con Ncnh Dwuswn, which also publishes The Banner m Aumva Vaughan News, and The Bolxon Emewuse PAGE A4 WEDI PUBLISHER J13. VAN WI By Sinclair Stevens, MP By Alf Stong, MLA (Lib. - York Centre) fillgt Zl'ihtral parliament hill 10‘01 queen's park Yonge Street, Richmond Hull L4G 4Y6 Onlano Melvospan Community Newspapevs Umned met In Auvova‘ Newmavket, The Woodbndge i Losing Grey bus jobs Stuart Smith expressed concern because the bus service to many small Ontario communities was threatened by the transport board's decision to permit an American-controlled com- pany to operate on the two main Ontario routes in question. Smith considered this a “sell-out to American interests at the expense of a Canadian company owned by Ontario taxpayers”. He said it was “equivalent to Ontario handing over a $10 million public asset to a US. - controlled company”. Gray Coach officials expressed the view Greyhound would skim the profits from these two money-making routes. This would make it impossible for Gray Coach to continue to. provide service on money-losing routes in the rest of the Province. Greyhound would then have a cross- Canada service. with drivers from the United States or from Winnipeg driving through Ontario. Leader concerned while others say it is Parliament at its worst. Whichever view you share, you must agree it is Parliament. The word Parliament comes from the French “Parler” â€" to talk and that is certainly what they do on Parliament Hill. Sometimes hot The exchanges are usually between the cabinet ministers and those op- position members who would be cabinet ministers if their parties came to power. met by responses from trustees that are too quick to defend current policy or wilticisrns ghat ere demeaning. They tend to forget their erpose in being. Not so Stephens. His response to the Junior Kin- dergarten question is a case in point. As one can see, there is much more than meets the eye initially. There surely are ways to get going on the new fair grounds. Preparation of plans is the first step and can hardly be prevented by the municipal board. And an audible off the cuff sally is attributed to “An Honorable Member”. But you be the judge. Who can say Parliament does not live when you have _ The climate â€" the political climate that is â€" is ideal for animated afâ€" ternoons. Those of you who have visited Ottawa may have taken in this free-for-all. But those who haven’t can, for $3 a year, subscribe to Hansard the offical publication of House proceedings painstakingly recorded for posterity. Missing, of course, is the House atmosphere of orderly mayhem. But it can be reconstructed with just a few pointers on how to read Hansard. Peculiar code Desk-thumping applause is referred to as “Some Honorable Members: Hear, Hear!” Jeers too numerous to record appear as “Some Honourable Members: Oh! Oh! ” The agricultural society isn’t controlled by the board. The society many years ago gave the town the present fair site. If the town gave back to the society the needed land, say on a 49-year lease, the society would have the needed equity to set off and get Wintario money. A fair grandstand and show ring could double for use at baseball games. An exhibition hall could do for curling. 7 It is one of the great bargéins of our time, 40 or so closely printed pages of the activities in the House. He always weighs the situation carefully and when opportunity presents, comes forth with positive response. They shouldn’t just be lying down and giving up. The town council and the agricultural society should at least be trying. Where there’s a will, there must be 'a way. After some two weeks of continuing WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 9. 1977 jHot and cold Ottawa Review ordered EDITOR HAROLD BLAME The minister of transportation and communications asked the OHTB to re- examine the economic impact of the decision, and determine how this would affect bus service to smaller com- munities and Gray Coach finances. pressure in the legislature, the Ontario cabinet told the Ontario Highway Transport Board to reconsider the decision to allow Greyhound Lines of Canada Ltd. to compete with the publicly-owned Gray Coach Lines Ltd. Some hon. Members: “Don't go away, Pierre ...... " Some hon. Members: "Shame." Mr. Diefenbaker: “I have been here under three Prime Ministers, and I have never witnessed a more con- temptuous attitude than the one he showed here today." Some hon. Members: “Oh Oh" Mr. Diefenbaker: “I hear a ‘Moo' over there, Mr Speaker. It just shows the degree to which he and others over there are being cowed today ...... ” Hot air removal Similarly, any tendency to grandeur on the part of Allistair Gillespie might have been corrected by the following on Nov. 4. The Toronto Transit Commission and union officials warned more than 200 Ontario jobs could be lost and the company put in the red by $300,000. The Right Honorable member from Prince Albert, Mr. Diefenbaker is a master. It is difficult for the govern- ment to be overwhelmed by delusions of Divine Right as long as we have the lively thunderings of Mr. Diefenbaker, who on Oct. 29 had the following ex- change: Some hon. Members: “Stick around, Pierre." Mr. Diefenbaker: “I want to deal with him, Mr. Speaker." Mr. Stanfield: “I would like to ask the minister a very simple question, I would like to believe he is an honest man." Some hon. Members: “Oh Oh” An hon. Member: “Certainly he is simple." thrusts and counter thrusts like the following. The President of Greyhound, on the other hand, maintained the new routes to be granted his company would “increase employment in Ontario by at least 90 jobs â€" and perhaps as many as 13019. . The rehearing before the Ontario Highway Transport Board is now in progress in Toronto. Division 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union asked Stuart Smith to make a submission. Thanks too, to Jim Irving for his astute assessment of the same situation. MARILYN RUSSELL, Box 72, Sharon, Ont. If our trustees generally could only learn to be more responsive in a positive way to parents who take the trouble to make presentations to the board, there would be less occasion for letters such as “school board visit unpleasant" and “rude trustees shock delegates”. Mr. Diefenbaker: “Mr. Speaker Holding hearing “Ookpic, you found love in Richmond Hill? Great! Where is she and what’s her name? (1) “Firstly, and most fun- damentally, the decision to allow competition on certain routes appears to us to be in direct contravention of previously established and accepted policy which preserved exclusive carrier operating rights on major inter- urban routes. 5' tap jr. kin dergartens There has been much discussion in The Liberal lately regarding the reception by the York County board of education of a parents’ group adâ€" vocating junior kindergartens. Laying aside the question of whether the board was lacking in courtesy to the parents’ group, surely the board showed a responsible attitude in resisting the establishment of junior kindergartens. He appeared before the board Jan. 27 and stated the Liberal Party “is op- posed to the original decision of your board which granted to Eastern Canada Greyhound, Greyhound Canada and to Stock Bros, the rights to run a competitive service on those routes which are most profitable to Gray Coach. Our opposition to your decision, Mr. Chairman, is based on the following points: “We do not believe that a decision to open up the bus routes across central Ontario to competitive licencing should be made by a regulatory agency without recourse to the Legislature. The question period may not be as well known as skating on the Rideau Canal, but it is certainly as en- tertaining. “PCV licencing changes are being considered by a select committee of the legislature, and such a committee is the logical place for policy decisions on A wind tunnel? Well, not really. It’s all part of House procedure. The enormous rise in school taxes during recent years has been a matter for concern. Any increase will prove burdensome for some families and may tend to create frictions in the com- munity. I do not recall voting for any trustee who promised me the earth; I tried to vote for candidates who stood for fiscal responsibility. Some hon. Members: “Oh Oh" Mr. Baker (Grenville-Carleton) to a heckler across the aisle: “You are a wind tunnel." With this background in mind the board surely has a duty to be wary of any new program which would enlarge in a substantial way the educational establishment and involve an ap- preciable increase in expenditure. There is general agreement that one inflationary pressure has been the rise in government spending. Moreover recent years have seen in our country an inflationary spiral. Such an inflationary spiral is damaging to the fabric of society. It creates destructive anxieties, inequities and instabilities. Surely now, when the inflationary Hurting society By Sally MacDonald Not the time Opinion (2) “We are profoundly concerned a decision of your board might force a public carrier, based in this province, to restructure its Operations in a manner that could, according to Gray Coach, result in the potential loss of 248 jobs in Ontario; that could result in reduction of service to some 62 rural communities in Ontario; that could result in the elimination of bus service to an additional 76 communities in Ontario; and that may force an en- terprise indirectly owned by the people of Ontario to face an annual financial reversal of approximately one million dollars. Now is no time to demand from the government services that can be performed as well, and much more cheaply, by the taxpayers themselves. I suggest that providing a stable economic climate for our families is of greater importance to our children’s future than whether a four-year-old learns to cut and paste at his mother’s knee, or at that of a junior kindergarten teacher. basic alterations to this policy “We are concerned because of the effect this will have on the total value of an asset owned by the peeple of Ontario; an effect that is tantamount to giving away a ten million dollar public asset to a privately-owned corporation. “We recognize that, in a legal sense, the franchises are privileges and not aSSets to be sold. 0n the other hand, if the board feels the time has come to open good routes to competition, some direction should be requested from elected represen- tatives. Whenever it might be undertaken, this analysis should definitely be spiral is finally slowing, is no time to fuel it with non-essential increases in government spending at the municipal or any other level. compared with that of other possible programs for the improvement of I feel that if the board feels Gray Coach has done a poor job of servicing the routes, clear directions should be given for improvements. The cost-benefit analysis of junior kindergarten suggested by John Stephens (The Liberal, Feb. 2) would be more appropriate when the economic climate improves. “Nonetheless, we believe that, if the policy is to replace publicly owned carriers by private ones on the lucrative routes, that policy should be stated generally, and should be im- plemented in a way that returns some consideration to the displaced carrier." Loss of jobs Thornhi/l prejudiced on housing By Lynda Nykor In most parts of the far east, if you had $600 of disposable income a year you could live like a king. ' In Spain, if you had $660 a month to spend you could still live like royalty. In England. that amount is ap proximately what the average wage- earner takes home in a month, if he’s lucky. In most American cities you wouldn’t dream of sinking that much money every month into putting a roof Over your head. V In most parts of Canada, that’s far more than most people would spend every month for a home; 7 In Thornhill, $600 a month for housing gets you pilloried, insulted and patronized. It costs more than that amount to live in J ohnsview Village. Yet that’s exactly the way people who have bought homes in the development are treated. My own experience has not made me opposed to junior kindergartens per se. I merely question whether they justify their considerable cost. The talk bégan even before it was built. It‘s an OHAP project. This simply means government funds to the municipality have provided for ser- vices quickly and allowed people to buy a first home with a small down payment. My children have been in school systems without junior kindergarten, and a school system with junior kin- dergarten. . What of the Grade 10 student who is struggling through a Slough of Despond in which he feels he has spent eternity in the public school system and has yet another eternity to spend there? But right from its announcement there was talk of “depressed property values" by people who lived a mile or more away from it. Some people seemed to feel an OHAP development would, in some nebulous fashion, attract the “wrong kind” of people. public education, such as smaller primary classes. I noticed no apparent difference between the general levels of achievement, nor in my children’s relative standing as between the dif~ t‘erent systems. Conceivably junior kindergarten might even have some negative aspects. It may seem like a gdod idea for a bright, lively four-yearâ€"old. This is a very common feeling among high school students. ' Purchasers of condominiums there had more trouble than other home- owners getting a deed to their property. Things really started to boil when the school that had been promised to Johnsview families was finally ap- proved. Markham council showed an abysmal ignorance of the kind of housing it provided. Johnsview children went to Bayview Fairways School. There was more talk about the kind of people who lived in “the project.” Bayview Fairways school only goes to Grade 6, Johnsview’s school will go to eight. So Bayview Fairways children were expected to take the final two elementary grades at Johnsview. If 14 years of school education is good. is 15 necessarily even better? (Mrs. MacDonald is a Thornhill resident at 85 lnverlochy Blvd. â€" Editor) On many occasions the teachers and architects and civil servants who bought there, overheard the kind of suggestive, quasi-derogatory remarks that are hard to‘ answer in concrete terms. Nobody seemed willing to accept the place for what it was â€" a place where people bought homes and paid mor- tgages every month just like anybody else. I can‘t wait till we get to the lesson about what happens when a genuine welfare recipient, a real live un- deserving poor, moves into the neigh- borhood. Wow! Kind of makes you wonder what you ever saw in this nice, clean community, I expect the board has many sup- porters in its resistance to the im- plementation of junior kindergartens. Bayview Fairways children, it now appears, will go by bus to Woodland Senior Public School to complete their elementary education. I think this whole situation has provided a kind of elementary education for all of us who live here in this trim, semi-pastoral suburb. doesn’t it? Johnsview parents started hearing how educational standards would be lowered in a school in an “Ontario housing,” or “welfare” development. There were vociferous objections, some reasonably legitimate, but some an emotional reaction to irrational fears. Council ignorance No improvement Endless school Talk began Silly fears Iynda's lashes