Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 25, 1976, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press tuesday. May 25, 1976 big Mac s premiere budget must show finesse not Force Ottawa up if physical strength a Quick brain and a kind of cheerful Candor Are what s needed to wrestle the National Economy into shape then Donald Stovel thumped Macdonald i s your Man. But anyone looking for an economic or political adventure in finance minister Mac Lonald s first budget tonight at 8 . Edt is Likely to be disappointed. Experience has rounded off the Radical rough edges in the 44-year-old politician. After eight months in the finance Job his first budget presents a formidable Chal Lenge even for the towering Macdonald. He is a self confident giant of a Man at six foot five and 225 pounds and As killing a competitor in Ottawa Squash courts As he was when the pounding of his big feet provoked the nickname thumped in the hockey and football locker rooms of Bis youth. But there is also need for a certain finesse if he is simultaneously to grapple inflation to the ground get a grip on unemployment and please the steering Clear of any affront to business and labor. Family ivories explore there Canad Macdonald in the limelight that Calls for a delicate mixture of tactics but Noth ing too that might Freak people in the rueful words of prime minister Trudeau after the new year outcry when he suggested that a government might have to play a per manent controlling role to keep the Economy on track. If or. Macdonald comes even close to producing a winning combination in his budget he will gain the gratitude of Federal liberals fret Ting about the Trudeau administration s sagging popu Larity As revealed in opinion polls this Spring. And if he comes up with a Winner. Big Mac will also enhance his chances of being regarded As the natural poli tical heir to prime minister position held by John Turner until he quit the finance Job in the face of a deteriorating economic Situa Tion last september. Or. Turner incidentally. Has invited a select group of Ottawa journalists to a Pri vate party Friday thereby causing a stir of gossip sex Peci Auy since the party is timed so closely after the budget. It was John Turner s abrupt departure from government that helped keep Donald Macdonald in there. Not for the first time since he entered Federal politics in 1962. Or. Macdonald was openly talking last year about getting out. I had been Energy min ister for 3v4 he re called in a pre budget inter View. We had finished work on legislation setting up a National Oil the Petroleum administration when i discussed getting was giving a signal that if out by the end of the year i things went against me or the government and i subsequently got out it would not be a direct result of any per Sonal or political but when Turner left i had to decide on my future More quickly than i had he said. I decided to sign on indefinitely. I have a commitment to see the anti inflation program family anxieties also played a role in the personal uncertainties of last year. His wife Ruth a Brainy doctor s daughter who took a Harvard business course and worked As a Toronto Bond trader before marriage was found to have cancer and underwent a Mastectomy last Spring. The Macdonald have four daughters under 15. In or. Macdonald s words the illness came As a psychic particular problem was not something i was prepared it certainly caused me to take a reflective look at my life to wonder whether its Public aspects were Worth the but before the september political decision had to be made we received a Good diagnosis about Ruth s Reco she is Back to an Active social and Public routine. The minister himself has had to slow Down temporarily after a minor operation on his knee at easter. Normally he is an Active skier and Squash by contestants in the second rank of the government Squash contingent a match for Jean Chretien but not quite up to Alastair Gille Spie. Sometimes Brittle temper and a hair trigger tendency to sarcasm. Experience has also tended to straighten out a leftward lean in his politics and to temper any impulse to wards Radical experiments in government. He was a Bright Young corporate lawyer in the Toronto firm of Mccarthy and Mccarthy when recruited by i b e r a 1 nationalist Walter Gordon in 1962 to help fight the crumbling Diefenbaker administration. As a Rookie Bac Bencher in the minority Liberal govern ment elected in 1963 he watched or. Gordon As finance minister turn a promised "60 Days of decision into two months of political disaster with a first budget too Radical for the times. Or. Gordon had to retract much of it. That sobering Early lesson was followed by others that were More directly personal. His first Cabinet assignment from prime minister tru Deau whom or. Macdonald backed prominently in the 1968 leadership race was to overhaul parliamentary rules As government House Leader. He steered some reforms through the commons to streamline procedure but critics claim he might have accomplished More if he had been less Pushy. He attracted criticism after the 1972 election when the Trudeau government was Al most turned out of with an outburst that attributed the near defeat to red neck against French Power in Ottawa and Asiatic immigration. But associates say or. Macdonald has made a cons Cious Effort helped by a ready sense of humor to curb his Sharp Tongue. He has a determinedly mid d 1 e b r o w Outlook on the world despite his background As privileged son of the do Mion forester and the fact that the names of his Home Community in Ottawa and his constituency i n Rockcliffe and both synonymous with wealth and privilege. He recently Cut out of an important meeting to catch a one night stand in Ottawa by the Benny Goodman band. He has seats for an Ottawa performance of Gilbert and Sulli Van s Mikado the night after the budget. And there is an unconfirmed suspicion that he might have broken away from his weekend of intensive preparation for the budget to catch a revival of old Marx Brothers films showing in a Cinema near the Macdonald Rockcliffe Bungalow. Whether you re planning an annual vacation or a get away from it All Long week end there Are a Host of exciting Holiday choices within comfortable distance of your Home. Resort holidays no matter which direction you take you re sure to be headed for a great resort. Maybe that s because resort areas and Manitoba s 10 provincial Parks go hand in hand. The shores of Lake Winnipeg in particular Are dotted with count less resorts. Each has a Charm and individuality All its own. Another great Way to see this area is to take a five Day cruise of the Lake from Selkirk. The Beauty of Manitoba s wilderness will be yours to behold from your own floating excellent resort facilities Are also available around Kenora Ontario. Breath taking Beautiful scenery and the Many attractions of the Lake of the Woods set a quiet unhurried Pace for your stay. Places to see naturally you re familiar with Winnipeg s Many attractions but when did you last visit Dauphin or Brandon spend some time in either place this summer and get ready for a really Good time. A visit to fort Brandon with its Marvel Lous reconstruction of a Hudson Bay company trading Post is certainly worthwhile. So is a tour of Churchill Park and Brandon University museum. And if you re there in june you la be on hand for All the fun and excitement of the Manitoba provincial exhibition. Rodeos Chuck Wagon races and a livestock and carnival show Are just a few of the Many attractions featured. The beginning of August is also a great time to visit Dauphin. That s when Canada s National ukrainian festival takes place. Everyone dresses in traditional costumes to join wild Cossack dances As the music of Balalaika fills the air. This old world old fashioned Holiday and All the traditional foods that accompany really be something great history Pioneer life today. And every Day. Can be found in Steinbach and Altona. In fact these two communities joyously celebrate the past every summer. Altona commemorates its historic past during the Sunflower festival in late july. Steinbach too has much to celebrate. So be sure to be on hand july 30-August 2 for Pioneer you la Marvel at the reconstructions of an Early mennonite Village. Every aspect of 19th Century life is displayed right Down to the last detail. The Early August icelandic festival in Gimli is another special ethnic Holiday which makes the past come alive. Outdoor fun Manitoba has so Many areas just perfect for outdoor activities you la have a delightful time deciding which ones to visit first. For instance these provincial Parks Spruce Woods. Grand Beach Bird s Hill and White Shell and Alf Hole Goose Sanctuary. Each Park has excellent recreational facilities and Many lakes in which to swim fish or have fun in a boat. There Are also Many facilities for golfing Riding and hiking. Think about it you Don t have to travel far when there s so much to do All around you. And ask travel agent about Low Cost close to Home Tours by motor coach air rail or ship. Look Forward to exploring your part of Canada this year. There s so much to go for. Backed Trudeau his new responsibilities As finance minister also prompted him to give up to Judd Buchanan minister of Indian and Northern affairs his be Hind scenes Job As the govern ment s patronage chief for Ontario an assignment Given or. Macdonald in 1968. The Job involves overseeing the distribution of government assignments judgeship and myriad other forms of Are the gift of the party in Power. The finance portfolio is More demanding More com plex than says the minister. Because almost every government activity has an economic effect you have to follow everything clo spending Agri culture Trade almost every thing. Finance is really a control the note of enthusiasm be trays his enjoyment of the the fact that he planned to spend the holi Day weekend before the Bud get boning up on the technical details of tax changes. It s a lot like studying for an he said. Fourteen years in Federal politics have helped him Shar pen an eager intellect that once carried him through a series of patrician Ashbury College in Ottawa Trinity of Toronto Harvard and Cambridge universities and Osgoode Hall Law school in Toronto. His years in politics have also helped him Cool out a census information often provides the starting Point for determining such things As regional development pro Grams social measures and the need for schools housing and transportation. For example based partly on population figures the Federal government makes various payments to the provinces including Grants for hospitals and other health programs. So although it May not always be apparent the use of census in formation can Benefit you in Many Many ways. Pap col your census questionnaire is being delivered right to your door. From this Point on it s just a matter of Reading the easy to follow instruction Booklet picking up a Pencil and counting yourself in. Junel is census Day. No one is More important than you on census Day be cause when you do your part on june i you re providing Basic information which helps All Levels of government plan social and Community services. So please help us make the 1976 census of Canada a Complete Success. During May 4 off on All i recovery drapes drapes custom made installed free estimates monthly payments available no obligation pm. 667-9023 upholsterers Ltd. Custom Fuh Notum and 311 Nairn phone 667-9023 census of Canada Canada s on you 0 . I statistics Canada St statistics Canada Statis Tique Canada ;