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The Citizen, 2011-09-29, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011. PAGE 7. 1. Declining enrolment has created problems with the funding of education in rural areas like Huron- Bruce where transportation costs add to the problem. What steps would you and your party take to ensure the quality and accessibility of education in Huron-Bruce? Carol Mitchell, Liberal: Ontario Liberals have worked hard to improve our education system, which was in shambles in 2003. Students lost 26 million school days and our teachers were striking. Since that time, we have made great strides in education. We have increased spending in education by $96 million in Huron-Bruce alone, despite declining enrolment. We are building new state-of-the-art schools in North Huron and Walkerton, and upgrading South Huron District High School in Exeter. Full Day Kindergarten is offered right here in Huron-Bruce, giving our children the best start in education. It’s in 11 schools this fall and all schools by 2014, saving families an average of $6,500 per year. Specialist High Skills Major Programs give our local high school students a chance to test drive their career and connect them with local employers. We are also offering a 30 per cent reduction for the cost of tuition for post-secondary students in middle class families to help keep college and university affordable. This will especially help rural students, as their costs are higher. We have a plan for every student, from kindergarten to post-secondary to ensure they get the best education. This will not only help our children, but it is an investment in our future. Lisa Thompson, Conservative: Our leader, Tim Hudak’s father was a principal, his mother was a special education teacher. His daughter enters Junior Kindergarten next year. Education is a top priority for him and our party. Building a quality, 21st century education for Ontario students includes funding that matches or exceeds the Liberal commitments. Full day kindergarten will be fully implemented by 2014. Families from across Ontario have told us about the problems in rural schools. In Huron-Bruce rural schools closures have been based on a cookie-cutter approach. The current government has announced more accommodation reviews for schools in Holmesville and Colborne. The fact these schools are economic drivers in that they have a significant financial impact on communities and residents’ property values has not been considered by the current government. We recognize the education system is not one-size-fits-all, schools in rural Ontario including Huron-Bruce have different and unique needs which can only be addressed by changing the funding formula. On graduation from high school, financial support will be available for more families as a result of our decision to raise the threshold of OSAP eligibility. More middle class families will be able to send their children to university or college. Ontario families will also benefit from the PCs redirecting $30 million in scholarship dollars, which currently goes out of province, to all Ontario students. Grant Robertson, NDP: We are still funding our schools on a formula established in 1997 by MikeHarris. It is short-changing our schools, especially in rural Ontario. The Ontario NDP will implement a Rural School Stabilization program to end the Toronto-centric cookie-cutter approach to rural and small town schools. We face unique challenges in rural Ontario and we should not have to close down local community schools that provide a quality education to meet some bean-counting spreadsheet in Toronto. Along with keeping our students from having to spend hours each day on a bus, community schools are vital for economic development and attracting young couples to live in a community. That is why we need a government that understands our needs and the NDP is the only party proposing realistic and concrete steps to help rural schools. Another issue that affects accessibility of education is the large increase in fees we are seeing as parents. Parents keep being asked to fundraise, a situation that leaves small town and rural schools like ours at a disadvantage compared to those in more affluent communities. The NDP will end these fees and will then invest $20 million in parent councils to help with the costs of students participating in teams, on clubs and special events. Patrick Main, Green Party: One of the strengths of the Green Party of Ontario’s platform in the last election was its plank to merge the Catholic and public school systems. This would provide children with a much-needed sense of equality and acceptance from a young age, as well as improving enrolment in small rural schools, thus helping to keep more one-school communities with a school. The lack of need to bus to distant regional Catholic schools would lessen the transportation costs, as well as funnel more children to schools close to them. Christine Schnurr: Family Coalition Party: Since 2003, education budgets have increased 56 per cent with little or noimprovement in achievement despite the fact that the tests have become easier. The FCP believes that education should be results-oriented. It has been shown that achievement improves when students are in an environment that they and their parents value. It is better to keep students in smaller community schools where they thrive in their own environment rather than building super schools. Super schools are not the answer as this adds to higher transportation costs and is not conducive to the child’s learning environment. Therefore, FCP will work to create these education environments. In public schools, alternative programs that parents value will be developed, based on the needs of the community. Publicly-funded Catholic Schools consistently perform better on standardized tests than public schools. This can be attributed to parents who value the education environment. The FCP supports the constitutional right to this form of publicly-funded education. The FCP would also support parents who send their children to independent schools by funding busing costs, provide the same funding for health and special education support for diagnosed conditions (e.g. Down’s Syndrome) as is available in the public schools. For parents who choose to home school, there would be an education tax credit for learning-related expenses. Finally, the FCP supports Parent’s Bill of Rights Legislation which allows parents to withdraw their children from school if curriculum conflicts with the valuesof the home. Dennis Valenta, Independent: First I would meet with local residents, and determine what the majority wants to do. Second would be to encourage students to make use of the internet for their post- secondary education, I hear you can get an education online these days! Heck you could consider this for the younger grades as well. To solve problems we sometimes need to look outside the box! 2. Rising healthcare costs make it challenging for the province, and local hospitals to maintain, let alone improve, services. The doctor shortage continues to mean thousands of people in Huron-Bruce cannot find a family doctor. What would you and your party do to improve access to quality healthcare? CM: We have worked hard to rebuild our healthcare system across the province, and will continue to reverse PC cuts and closures, by investing in new hospitals and renovating existing ones. We’ve seen that commitment in Huron-Bruce. Hospital expansion projects will soon begin in Wingham, Kincardine and Southampton, ensuring that our families have better access to healthcare. We’ve created six new family health teams (FHT), which have hired over 50 new doctors, and more health professionals. These FHTs are providing care to over 61,000 patients, including more than 14,000 who didn’t previously have a family doctor. A seventh family health team is expected to open in Kincardinethis fall. We will build on our Aging at Home strategy, to help seniors stay in their homes as long as possible. Ontario Liberals are redesigning Ontario’s primary care and homecare system to provide seniors with access to doctors, nurses and other health professionals who will provide better services, such as house calls and check-in by telephone and online. We’re also offering a Healthy Home renovation tax credit worth up to $1,500 for seniors annually. We are on the right track, but there is more to do. Let’s continue moving our healthcare forward. LT: Our Healthcare plan contains $6.1 billion additional funding. The Ontario PCs are committed to publicly-funded health care for Ontario. Our focus is on patients, not on processes, long lines and bureaucracy. It must reflect on emergency care, care for chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes. It must also focus on people suffering from mental illness who often get lost in the system. Carol Mitchell was Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Health during the billion dollar E-Health scandal, she knows scandals, and wasting $300 million on bureaucracy for Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) in London and Toronto, has delayed some hospital upgrades until 2015. Rather than spending a million dollars a day on consultants, we will eliminate waste and scandals; I will fight hard to ensure badly-needed Provincial candidates face tough questions‘The Citizen’ asks candidates to tackle energy, the economy and agriculture cold weather ® ficiency built right inPlus, with efffi so you always feel just right at home. naces deliver consistent warOur fur e shot.heating system is always a sur ®ena, a Lennoxt arIn the comfor fface-offf ficiency built right in, it can so you always feel just right at home. mth,naces deliver consistent war e shot. home® fers.special seasonal of energy bills. Shoot for savings with our also put up a nice defense against high ® energy bills. Shoot for savings with our also put up a nice defense against high Offer expires 12/3/2011. * Rebate offer is valid only with purchase of qualifying Lennox products. © 2011 Lennox Industries Inc. See your Lennox dealer for details. Lennox dealers include independently owned and operated businesses. One offer available per qualifying purchase. Receive up to $1450 REBATE* with purchase of qualifying Lennox® home comfort products. Wingham and Port Elgin 1-888-357-4301 www.comfortcentre.com MUNICIPALITY OF MORRIS-TURNBERRY TAX INSTALLMENT NOTICE The first installment of the 2011 Final property taxes is due on Friday, September 30, 2011. Payment can be made by mail or directly at the Municipal Office, 41342 Morris Rd., PO Box 310, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0. For your convenience, a drop box is available at the front door for after hours use. Payments can also be made at most banking institutions and by telephone and internet banking. Failure to receive your property tax bill does not in any way exempt you from payment. Nancy Michie Administrator Clerk-Treasurer 519-887-6137 Continued on page 15