The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 19

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN CITY FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1997 B3 RIDING PROFILE LEEDS-GRENVILLE iace for reral riding is wide open I. 5 1 I V. I Rff I 3 v. -a lit uv WAYNE CUDDINQTON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Candidates vying for Leeds-Grenville seat include Jennifer Breakspear, NDP; Doug Aldridge, Reform; Sandra By Les Whittington lathe days leading up to the June 2 federal election, the Citizen is running profiles of the 15 ridings in and around Ottawa. Today, a look at the riding of Leeds-Grenville; tomorrow, Car-lefonrGloucester.

Brockville this riding along the St. Lawrence River it's hard to spot first name of the local Liberal on his party's lawn signs; The candidate's family name, Jordan, is splashed in large type across the middle of the signs, while his first name, Joe, is tucked away in small letters in the upper right-hand corner. "Some here would say the design is fitting. That's because Joe Jordan, the 38'year-old business professor who returned from three years' teaching in Europe to grab the Liberal nomina- the son of Jim Jordan, who held the Leeds-Grenville riding for the Grits from 1988 until this year. Jim Jordan's retirement as MP, announced a week before his son's flight home from Hungary in March, has created what appears so far to be one of the most unpredictable three-way races among the 15 contests in the Ottawa region.

stakes are especially high for the Progressive Conservatives. As a riding with strong Tory roots and no incumbent, Leeds-Grenville is the kind of contest Jean Charest's party has to capture if it hopes to become a serious contender in Ontario, the key battleground of the June 2 vote. "Leeds-Grenville has all the right benchmarks for us to win if we're going to do well this time," says PC campaign co-chair Senator David Tkachuk. "''if we lose ridings like that, we're in trouble." Sandra Lawn, who was mayor of Prescott for 15 years, the Tories have a seasoned candidate with an ability to connect with the wide range of farmers; city folk and others in the huge, diverse riding. k.Jsven standing in her patent leather shoes and ankle-length overcoat chatting with the guys in a hunting and fishing shop, Ms.

Lawn, who grew up in a mining town in northern Ontario, is not at a loss for words. "That was what we did in the mining country up north," she tells the shop owner and a customer. "Go fishing and shooting in the woods with a .22. When I was 10 years old, I put a fish hook through my forehead." It's all part of the job for Ms. Lawn, who keeps a pair of boots in her van to wear on the muddy fields as she campaigns.

viThe PCs lost in a close race in the 'riding in 1988, and then, with Ms. Lawn running, came a distant second to the Liberals in the post-Mulroney uprising against the Tories in 1993. time, the mother of three daughters believes she has a good chance. "'Certainly, the mood is improved around the Tory's Brockville head- There's worry over a wave of job losses jtrfqni factory closings. LEEDSGRENVILLE ''it LANARK-CARLETON Leeds Population: 90,235 Mother tongue: 93.1 per cent English; 2.1 percent French.

However, only 0.6 per cent speak French at home. Average household income: $44,201, however 36 per cent of households are under $30,000. Percentage who own their houses: 73.6 percent Percentage of detached, single-family homes: 79.1 per cent Percentage of households that moved within the last five years: 43 per cent. Percentage of residents legally married 61.4 per cent. 11th hour conversion is not doing his party any good.

Conversions on the way to Damascus are not going down too well." Another source of grumbling in Leeds-Grenville is what might be called the legacy of Jim Jordan's years as a backbencher in Parliament. "Jim Jordan hasn't done a whole hell ing. It shows up in a list somebody planted in the Internet, showing corh-plaints from air crews and replies from ground crews. According to the preamble, the notes were taken from U.S. Air Force files.

Problem: "Left inside main tire almost needs replacement." Solution: "Almost replaced left inside main tire." Problem: "Test flight O.K., except autoland very rough." Solution: "Autoland not installed on this aircraft." First Problem: "No. 2 Propeller seeping prop fluid." Solution: "2 Propeller seepage normal." Second Problem: "No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 propellers lack normal seepage." Problem: "Something loose in cockpit." Solution: "Something tightened in cockpit." Problem: "Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear." Solution: "Evidence removed." Problem: "DME volume unbelievably loud." Solution: "Volume set to more be- Ywey Lawn.PC; and Joe Jordan, Liberal.

got his pension, now it's time for Joe to cash says Reform's Mr. Aldridge. And Kathy Ashton, a dentist who lost the Liberal nomination to Joe Jordan, says some people question the way Jim Jordan delayed his resignation announcement until his son was back in Canada and in a position to vie for the nomination. Joe Jordan dismisses such talk as the work of the Liberals' enemies. Despite having been out of the country much of the last few years teaching in Africa and Hungary, the younger Mr.

Jordan knows the area well. He grew up in Brockville, has taught at St. Lawrence College since 1984 and has worked on his father's political campaigns. In his own campaign, Mr. Jordan is stressing the economic benefits for Canadians from the lower interest rates under the Liberals.

But he says he's troubled by the Liberals' need to cut spending on programs. "I'm glad to see that the government is putting what little money it has" as a result of fiscal belt-tightening back into social programs, he says. It is a reference to the Liberals' April 28 announcement that the government will scrap its plan for a further $700 million reduction in money for the provinces' health and social programs. The New Democrats' candidate, Jennifer Breakspear, is not expected to be a major force in the campaign here. But for Reform, like the Tories, conservative-leaning Ontario ridings like Leeds-Grenville are an important challenge.

Reform's ambition to become more than a western regional party is very much dependent on winning more than the one seat it took in Ontario in 1993. "People who are veterans of the last campaign tell me there's far more openness to accepting Reform's platform," says Mr. Aldridge, who is running for the first time. But on one recent evening when Reform held a well-advertised town meeting in the firehall in Frankville, a village south of Smiths Falls, not a single person showed up for the first half-hour. "There must be a hockey game on," remarked Mr.

Aldridge as he and his organizers dug into the box of doughnuts ordered up for the meeting. lem on ground." Problem: "IFF inoperative." Solution: "IFF inoperative in OFF mode." Problem: "Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick." Solution: "That's what they're there for." Ptoblem: "No. 3 engine missing." Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search." Action central If you're looking for something to do tomorrow, consider a trip to the Carti-er Square Drill Hall. It will be the headquarters for a party celebrating Christie Lake Girls and Boys Camp. There will be canoe races on the canal and a carnival atmosphere around the drill hall.

Things happen between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The camp offers summer outings for disadvantaged youth and has a tremendous track record of successful turnarounds. Many children headed for serious trouble have had their lives changed by the camp. Read previous columns at httpSwww.ottawacitizen.com quarters.

But while the extreme cynicism of 1993 has waned, disgruntle-ment and anger with the political process are still apparent. There's worry over a wave of job losses from factory closings in the riding and an unfocused resentment over Premier Mike Harris's plan to shut down the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital by 1999 with the loss of 600-plus jobs. Voters are unsure who to blame for cuts in health care spending, the federal Liberals or the provincial Tories. "Who can we bitch at? No one," said Mike Mitchell, a shopowner near the town of Tincap. Part of the battle in Leeds-Grenville will be over which party can best explain to voters the budgetary process that led to reduced spending on social programs.

"I'm sure the Liberals are quite pleased to see people pointing their fingers at Mike Harris on this issue," says Reform candidate Doug Aldridge. "But they also are aware that since 1993 the Liberals have cut $7.5 billion out of health-care transfers." Then there's gun control, the Liberals' controversial Bill C-68 that will force all gun owners to register their weapons and buy a firearms possession certificate. It has inspired outrage among some of the rural voters who make up a large chunk of the riding's 90,000 people. At Reform's Brockville headquarters, for instance, a farmer named Ben Moore, who had been left in charge one evening, hands out a printed shooting target with the words, "Vote Reform Abolish Bill C-68" across the bottom It's meant to be mailed in to the government as a protest, says Mr. Moore, who is wearing a green and blue plaid Reform cap and a party T-shirt.

"You use your shotgun on it and send it in." Because Tory Leader Jean Charest has only recently come out against Bill C-68, Mr. Aldridge sees it as an issue where his party has an important advantage among rural voters. "Yes, it's going to cost the Liberals votes," says Mr. Aldridge, a 47-year-old newsman who spent much of his career working for Armed Forces radio and TV in Germany. "And, quite frankly, Jean Charest's V'- vi Dave Brown Brown's beat rescue canoes were rafted together to form a stable platform from which strong men could lift Mr.

Pleiter and Mr. Donovan out of the frigid water. The rescued men didn't get names, but it's difficult to be closer to strangers. "There was a nurse. Under her direction we were stripped naked and placed in a two-person tent.

Five other people stripped to their underwear. They used their own body heat to get our core temperatures up. When we stopped shaking, we were able to get some hot chocolate into us and then the worst was over." Mr. Pleiter says he wants his near-disaster to emphasize the message to other canoeists: "Wear a whistle." Air lines There has always been competition between air crews, who fly the planes, and ground crews, who keep them fly NEPEAN CARLETON STORMONT- DUNDAS Grenville Largest religious groups: Protestant, 66.7 per cent; Roman Catholic, 22.6 per cent. Candidates: Liberal: Joe Jordan, 613-498-2242; PC: Sandra Lawn, 613-498-2080; NDP: Jennifer Breakspear, 613-498-2403; Reform: Doug Green, Peter Stewart Bevan-Taylor, 613-345-2899; Natural Law Party: Wayne Foster, 613-235-2181; Christian Heritage: Donny Piatt, 613-542-5296 of a lot as far as Brockville is concerned," Dave Pryce, who owns a restaurant north of the city, said in a typical comment.

The process by which Joe Jordan stepped in to become the Liberal nominee after his father's departure has also raised questions. "Some people say, 'Hey, Jim Jordan A i A PATRICK DOYLE. THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Philip Pleiter demonstrates the whistle he credits with saving his and a friend's life after their canoe capsized. lievable level." Problem: "Dead bugs on windshield." Solution: "Live bugs on order." Problem: 'Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-fpm descent." Solution: "Cannot reproduce prob fMenickville I Capsized canoeists whistle up life-saving heat I wo uttawa men owe their "lives to the canoeing skills of strangers, the body heat of those same strangers, hot chocolate and, most of all, a $5 tin whistle. Philip Pleiter, 35, tells the story.

'With friend Justin Donovan, 32, he decided to celebrate the end of winter last weekend with a canoe trip into Algonquin Park. They set up camp Friday night, and on Saturday went out on Booth Lake, near Barry's Bay, to do 1 some fishing. A high wind kicked up and at 3 p.m. their canoe capsized. The ice had left that lake less than a week 1 before, and the water was still near the freezing point.

i "Juus now law that canoeists wear a reeiie whistle. The fine if caught without one is $104. Mr. Pleiter was wearing a pea whistle similar to those used by referees. He keeps it pinned to his lifejacket.

"We owe our lives to that whistle. I The human voice doesn't carry as well as a whistle, and when you're that cold you can't shout for long. We held onto the canoe and I just kept blowing the I whistle. I thought we were going to i die.Jas starting to black out when I realized help had arrived." The whistle had launched six other canoes around the lake. The men in the water were too deep into hypothermia to help themselves.

The 1.