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’NEw RULES TO AN OLD GAME

The government side of the land use issue was heard. at a.student confrontation with government planner James Allison last Tuesday aftern- ,oon and evening as a part of a continuing series of en- counters with various groups . organizations, etc., being conducted by the "underdevel- opment” class at UPEI.

The discussion started slow- ly with Mr. Allison outlining the reccommendations of the Report on Land Use given to government earlier in the winter. It included various zoning reccommendations des- igned to maintain prime ag- ricultural land and correct—

‘ly designate land for housing, industry and tourist concerns.

Mr.-Allison noted. however» that the government had yet to hear the views of the ma— jority of Islanders on the vital issue of land useo He stated that in the main, islanders are a "reactive. bunch" great to complain but leSs than great in participating in government planning. He informed the students that whenever the Land Use Committee conducted public hearings, only a tiny segment of the public atten- ded. "As a matter of fact", joked Allison, "the last me- eting of the committee that I attended had apprOXimatelyL forty people in attendence of whiéh twenty-five were civil servants."

Stan Dalton asked if this 'reactiOnary mentality perva—

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ding the citizens of—P.E.I. was not directly related

to the style of leadership -and government the island has had since it became a reality some 300 years ago. Dalton' argued that the people of the

island had been shunned by the various regimes in Ch'town as far as planning on any le— vel was concerned and if

the government now intended to seek public participation it would have to re—eduaate the people of P.E.I. in re— alizing the importance and usefulness of public invol- vement in the decision making process. "This whole area

of public participation in government planning seems contrary to the modis oper- andi of Prince Edward Is—

?landers," claimed Dalton.

The validity of Dalton's argument was not challenged 'by Jim Allison, who surpris- ingly, agreed with Dalton's view. Allison added fuel to the fire by stating that he believed the current central— ization of power from the local communities to Provi— nce House in Ch'town ran contrary to the ideals of a democratic society on P.E.I.

-and to the possibility of

active participation by the mass of people on this island in government dec— ision making. ,

When asked what specifically the government was doing to restrict the sale of land to non—residents of P.E.I. Allison replied that this was a matter of top priority with the present Administra— tion. He informed the dis- cussion group that at pre- sent, government lawyers are.drafting legislation to strengthen the present laws restricting land sale tO' non—residents of P.E.I. A prime target of the new leg- islation, stated Allison, will be mainland agri-busin— ess who wish to establish vertical integration of agriculture. "In essence they will not be allowed such mon— opolization since the pre— sent policy of the government favours marketing—board control of the agri—business on P.E.I.", Allison said.

At this point one of the stu- dents questioned the gov— ernment—aid servant if

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collectivization was a goal of present government policy. Allison replied that this is necessarily so, especially in reference to the concept of government control of land—use. He was then asked if government control runs congruent to collectivasa- tion in the use of land on P.E.I. He replied that gov—

ernment control, in the eyes of the present Administration. means community control of land zoning for use on the island. "The government sim— ply wishes to identify the community's interest through dialogue with the people and then implement through gov— ernmaIt legislation," claimed Jim Allison.-“Of course the contradiction of lack of pu— blic participation in the pre— sent decision making process with that policy lies like

a worm at the center of the government's intent," he admitted. "However. the government's aim at present is on gaining public par— ticipation in the formation of laws on land use and, therefore. the government is intent on taking the steps necessary to "prime the vox— pop" by presenting proposals to the people of P.E.I. and noting their reaction," in— formed Allison.

This method of articulating the public interest Was seen as contradictory by most students in attendence. "It's mystifying the issue", argued Stan Dalton.

Everybody in attendence ag— reed, however, that it was a problem that can only be solved by the people making themselves aware of their responsibilities in the pol— itical arena.

As the dialogue with Jim Allison came to an end the ‘students seemed surprised and releived that a government bureaucrat could have such an open—minded political conciousness. "It hopefully reflected a radically new attitude on the part of government," noted Prof. Gary Webster (Poli. Sci.), "It's now a job for the media on P.E.I. to get this message across to the people immed- iately."

This article serves that desire.