THIS ISSUE

Page 1 - 2 .................Election Thoughts

Page 3 ......................Waterloo-Wellington and Guelph-Wellington Election Readiness

Page 5 . ....................Hank Metzlar

Other Pages................Christian Heritage Party Communiques

According to the KW Record, in 1984, Pierre Trudeau left us with a federal debt of $40 billion. Today's debt is about $550 billion.

Many writers these days are telling us that Capitalism is overtaking Democracy. In Capitalism, those people who are good at trading or doing business make the most money. However, often money translates into votes and the wealthy have a greater say in political decisions. One writer explains it that "the person who has five dollars has more say than the ten people with fifty cents". The role of the government is to respond to the needs of all members of society. We have been falling behind in Canada in meeting the needs of our people.

Take children for example. After the Second World War, the government introduced a 'Baby Bonus' which helped mothers to stay at home to raise their children as their husbands worked. However, with a dramatic increase in divorce, apparently only one family in five has one parent stay home to raise the children. This in spite of the fact that many mothers would prefer to be at home with their toddlers until they go to school. Much of the pressure for this arrangement comes from Capitalism, the drive to produce more, faster and at a lower cost.

Hardly a day goes by that we don't witness a business closing, an amalgamation and downsizing where workers are put out of work or being laid off. This is Capitalism, the drive to find the best investment. Every business day, two trillion dollars is traded around the world seeking to find the best advantage. If a worker in South America ends up getting paid a dollar a day, but he needs three dollars a day just to survive, Capitalism doesn't care.

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Unfortunately, the Canadian government cannot do much to affect the Capitalist position of much of the world. I can remember when $1.06 American bought a Canadian dollar. Now it only takes 67 cents American. Some of this is reflected in our productivity, some in our debt and some in the perceived stability of our country. In the short term we have to increase our productivity and we can.

Consider the prison system in Ontario. We have a belief that when someone commits a serious crime, you put them into jail and when their sentence is over there will be no more problems. However we know that perhaps two-thirds of prisoners will reoffend. There are 7,500 people in prisons in Ontario. It costs $53,000 a year to house, clothe and feed them. We know that these people have problems. Ninety percent of inmates are men. Many of these have come from broken, father-absent homes. If we would spend a little now to help these people, we could save a lot later.

The Christian approach to prisons can be incredibly rewarding. Suppose you only reach 500 men and they never return to prison. After expenses you could save over $20 million a year in Ontario alone. When you add in the productivity of 500 men now working in society instead of being idle in jail, you could expect another $10 million of labour. The savings from far less police intervention, no court appearances, no property theft or damage or personal injury would be tremendous.

One industry where Canada has done worse consistently every year is the raising of children. You can't toss children out into day care and expect them to feel as content as when they are at home with mother, their own personal caregiver. The CHP has a policy to help one parent stay at home with their children. A tax credit of $1000 a month would be offered in recognition of the benefits of stability in the child, obedience and moral training achieved by parents. The opposite sees two parents dragging themselves home after work and having very little energy for their children.

The breakdown of both marriage and common-law relationships through divorce among Christians and non-Christians is appalling. If we would offer or support existing pre-marriage and marriage courses, we could achieve a new level of contentedness in our families. You cannot force people to take these courses, but we must work to lower the divorce rate. Too many Canadians are living through their emotions and sexual fantasies and not in the real world. Some students have had numerous sexual partners by the time they graduate. High schools should offer courses on determining how to go about selecting a life partner, how to deal with conflict and other basic life issues.

As Christians we have an obligation to share the wisdom which God gives. Otherwise we may be faithful in church, but passing by our hurting and lost neighbours.

In Waterloo-Wellington, we can't wait for Mr. Chretien to drop off the writ! Our candidate, Peter Ellis (843-3643), has a campaign team ready to go including: Rev. Alan Roberts (Prayer Coordinator 787-7883), John Bosman (Campaign Chair 291-4044), Detty Medemblik (Campaign Manager 843-4772), Therese Swaving (Official Agent 843-2727, Jake H. Bouwman (Fundraising Chair 843-5228) and Jake D. Bouwman (Signs and Publicity 843-3071).

We would still like to find a secretary as well as people who would like to help put up signs, etc. We have drawn up a modest campaign budget and we are confident that you, our generous and faithful supporters will send your cheques made out to

CHP of Canada and mail them to Hank Metzlar, R. R. # 7, Guelph, N1H 6J4 with a separate note indicating that your donation is for the Peter Ellis Campaign. Once the writ is dropped, cheques should read Peter Ellis CHP Campaign and be mailed to Mrs. Therese Swaving, R. R. # 2, Belwood, N0B 1J0

Please remember that for taxpayers, a $100 donation will trigger a $75 tax refund and a $500 donation will generate a tax refund of $275.

Thank you in anticipation of your prayerful support in the forthcoming campaign.

Our candidate is Gord Truscott (824-4642). After waiting on the Lord for two months to find a Prayer Coordinator, Mrs. Pat Woode (856-1055) of Rockwood has accepted this position. Mr. Fred Morris (843-4824) of Fergus will serve as Chief Financial Officer. The campaign manager will be Mrs. Barra Gots (836-3208). Mr. Frank Ellis (763-6892) will act as office manager, a post he has be occupying one day a week for several months now. We are praying for someone to do fundraising and for all of our members to send in some contribution toward the upcoming election.

In order to run a campaign, we need $2,000. The fee for running as a candidate in the federal election is $1,000. The other $1,000 goes to the national office to print brochures and assist with their expenses of training candidates and manning phones.

Here is your chance for your Christian views to be expressed or to pass by on the other side of the road.

One Day

One day we Christians will become angry enough to react to the moral decline in our nation. We are faced with unjust rises in prices, democracy decreasing, courts making new laws, adults having sexual relationships with children without punishment, lies being taught in our schools, home invasions by Family and Childrens Services, discrimination against Christianity, more abortions every year, exaltation of homosexuality and homosexual rights, more sexually transmitted diseases and a need for 12 more doctors in Guelph to name just a few. One day we should rise up and proclaim those situations which do not honour God

One day we will see Jesus face to face. He will ask us what we did to care for others and to live and bring the truth of Christianity to the world. He will want to know what we did to bring other people to a saving knowledge of Him. I hope that we have a good answer.

We welcome advertising from business or individuals who have a vision for a better Canada. The decline of morals in Canada can be tied to most of our problems. If you wish to sponsor a business card sized ad for $50 an issue, please call Gord Truscott at 824-4642. Imagine the difference in our area if Christians began to support one another as much as possible!