American Politics
                ONLY IN CANADA, EH?




By JORDAN H. GREEN

  Most Metropolitan Toronto mayors aren't sitting on the edges
of their seats watching the U.S. federal election.
  "It doesn't matter what they do there, I mean whoever wins, 
how can it affect municipal politics here?" asks North York 
Mayor Mel Lastman. 
  Lastman's city north of Toronto, sells itself as 'the city with 
heart,' yet there appears to be a lack of heart for American 
politics this side of the border.
  "I don't think I spend a lot of time concerning myself with 
American politics," said Douglas Holyday, Mayor of Etob-
icoke, a city just north-west of Toronto. "I'm particularly 
interested in what we do here in Etobicoke, and what we 
do in Metropolitan Toronto and in the province of Ontario 
and in Canada."
  American politics isn't a concern to municipal politicians 
in the Toronto area, simply because it won't have any im-
pact directly on their jobs. 
  "I guess there could be a fall out from the United States, 
but it is certainly nothing that I'm going to influence," 
chuckles Holyday.
  However, slight interest in their southern neighbor appears 
when trade comes into the picture.
  "In terms of Canada/U.S. relations it would be a disaster if 
the Republicans won," comments Mayor Michael Prue, of 
Canada's only remaining borough, East York. "Because I 
think they are far too protectionist . . . we'd have a whole 
trade war around shingles again and all that kind of related 
stuff," he said.
  Canada is America's largest trading partner, but as with 
any relationship, it has been a bumpy ride.
  "The Helms-Burton law is one such example of a piece 
of legislation which is designed to deal really with a foreign 
policy issue through punitive trade action," said George Smith-
erman, the city of Toronto's Director of Operations for 
the mayor. 
  The Helms-Burton law is the strongest American bombshell 
to rock Canada since the start of American anti-Communist 
feeling in the 1960s, when famous Canadian author Farley 
Mowat was banned from entering the States because he was 
deemed a 'subversive.'
  Canadians and their families working for companies which con-
duct business in Cuba not only may be stopped from ever entering 
the States, but Americans can sue these companies for outrageous 
sums, because of the recently passed Helms-Burton law.
  "The Canadian government has been extremely strong in its con-
demnation of the bill, which potentially impacts on a good number 
of Toronto based businesses," said Smitherman.
  Canada's International Trade Minister, Art Eggleton, has asked 
President Clinton to exempt Canada from the law, calling it unfair 
and claiming that the United States should deal directly with Cuba 
in resolving their differences.
  Trade issues aside, Toronto's Mayor Barbara Hall, is paying par-
ticular attention to the federal election. Hall was a field organizer 
for the 1972 McGovern presidential campaign in Ohio.
  "She was working in Cleveland at the time as a social worker and 
got involved in that campaign," said Smitherman of the vacationing 
mayor.
  Toronto's mayor is following the election, but just how closely are 
the other area mayors? Columbus Alive asked the mayors if they 
could name the vice-presidential candidates as a test of their Amer-
ican political knowledge -- you be the judge.
"Dole doesn't have one, Clinton has the same guy," said Lastman. 
"What the hell's his name?  Grove?  No, I can't remember, but I 
know who it is.  It's on the tip of my tongue, if I stick out 
my tongue, can you see it?"
  "Let me think for a second here, I don't see a lot of them 
anymore," ponders Prue.  "Dole hasn't chosen his yet, and the 
vice-president of the United States is . . .  not coming to me real 
fast, if you gave me an option of three names I'd tell you 
which one."
  "I know he's an environmentalist, he ran in the last election and 
that he's running again . . .  not coming," he said.
  Mayor Holyday, do you know who's running for vice-president 
of the United States?
  "No I don't, the other one is the incumbent . . .  I can picture
him," he said. 
  Problem is, he couldn't name him, but Toronto's Smitherman 
could and more.
  "Because of some remarks by your governor, I take it that he's 
no longer on the list of choices for the republican vice-
presidential nominee, and obviously we know that's Al Gore," 
he said.
  Recently, Paul Mifsud, the governor's chief of staff announced 
his resignation amidst suspicion of patronage, prompting spec-
ulation that Governor George V. Voinovich won't be in the race 
for vice-president.
  "Gore! Gore!  That's the guys name," exclaimed an exas-
perated Lastman on his car's cell phone. "I told you I knew 
his name." 
  I wonder if his wife sitting beside him had something to do with 
his sudden burst of knowledge?