by Chris Meyers Almey
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 28/97) - Mike Watt says the Reform Party is the only one that offers a real chance of change.

The Reform candidate for the Western Arctic talks of the fiasco of the national deficit and the failure of leadership during the Quebec crisis of national unity and the promises about GST.

He reflects upon gun control and says there is no understanding of the North by Liberal politicians who took the views only of city-dwellers in the South when the gun control law was passed.

He zeros in on Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew when it comes to gun control, saying she failed to represent Northern realities.

On party policies, Watt says the main philosophy is to stop overspending, reform the government and cut down on red tape and duplication.

The government can't create jobs -- only favorable conditions that can do that, Watt says.

Reform will chop government and make it more accountable, do only the things that government does well instead of tackling everything.

Control of many powers should turned over to the provinces, Watt says.

The best way to deal with problems is to have those closest to them, deal with them, he says.

Certain responsibilities should be transferred back to families and communities, as well as local and provincial governments, he says. "Of course, we would reduce government spending by $15 billion."

Watt says that reduction in spending has to be in step with a $15-billion tax reduction in all kinds of areas. The right-wing think tank, the Fraser Institute, has identified $13.2 billion that could be saved on departmental spending alone, Watt says.

Money to Crown corporations could be shaved by $4.3 billion, while natural resources and transportation departments could easily be scaled back, he says.

Restructuring government would have five separate criteria, Watt said --

do we really need it, can we afford it and can it be done more efficiently at lower cost to the taxpayer.

Finally, if it can be done by the private sector without taxpayers' money being poured into it, then so be it.

When it comes to business subsidies and special interest groups, Watt says the Reform Party believes that a dollar left in the hands of an investor or a taxpayer is more productive than that dollar in the hand of a bureaucrat, politician or lobbyist.

Reform would eliminate funding of special interest groups and business subsidies. That cost $10 billion in 1995, Watt says.

Reform would restore $4 billion of the $7 billion that the Liberals cut to health care, he says.

For years families have been discriminated against when mothers stay home to look after kids, because they don't get tax breaks for that like they would if the children were in day care or a babysitter was hired. Mothers at home would also get tax breaks, Watt says.