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Clinton News-Record, 1967-10-12, Page 3Respond to invitation ’ • t • f ’ 4 ^MORGAN SMITH • t«»is ■■■■•. . .Now , is..the,. time for all of us^ty Hcqnsider ^.carefully what is happening;to pur Provincial Government, It\ is becoming more’‘and more remote from the people, j a;nd as it grows older in.office'-more and more die. taTorfai^j . '' \ The high-handed" tumblings of the Conservatives are causing even staunch supporters to have urieasy, qualms. Ask any farmer or businessman of the multiple restrictions that are closing in on his operations,. and demand­ ing more ’and more of his time in making’reports and returns, all at his own expense. You have observed the cover, up methods used by the Con. servatives - public enquiries and Commissions, most of which appear at election time. These Jodies of course do not report pntil after the , election, when people have forgotten the cir. pumstances. The Conservatives are masters at the art of cover. |ip, and who re,members the highway scandals that were buried in a previous election? | They have whittled away at local, autonomy, because strong iocal government frustrates their dictatorial actions. They have reduced municipalities to serfdoms by their control of finance, and dictations' from the Department of Municipal' Af. fairs and the Ontario Municipal Board. Now they have proposed to do away with county councils, Without first strengthening the hands of municipalities, and without consultation. The axe is Raised, and will only drop after the election, | This-^Conservative govern--’- jient has been the most pro. Had. They are forced to buy their way out of troubles. They bribe the voter into acquies- pence.‘With the biggest deficit in Ontario’s . history, with a soaring public debt, and with inflation kindled by government waste, they compound matters by handing out election goodies. We have seen how they raised taxes in the past four years, and this trend is only held up temporarily until after the election. They have plucked the plums from the Smith report, and did not read further — and they hope the public did not read further — about the sharp rise in all taxes that will be needed to pay for their irresponsibility. ?• We are aware of the bunglihg methods in which they have Handled education since the war. They have allowed Ontario’s standard?,to slip behind that of the four western provinces. They have perpetuated the in. equality of rural and urban education, and have failed to provide advice and leadership for school boards. We have followed their fumblings in re. Vitalizing Centralia. Afraid of ah empty ghost-town, they started an Agricultural and Home Economics School. After their failure to gain industry following a year of effort, they use our tax money to open a branch of a community college, When the college itself should have been located in Huron. This cannot attract staff nor students, and can only be main, tained at great, expense until a WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE ■ LIBERAL NOW . After • twenty-four years, .the . Conservatives have grpwn tired in office. They have entrenched themselves in positions of power, which comes only from a complacency that allows them to disregard public criticism. They have wasted •government money to bolster their position, and have built up . an eippire • of civil • servants whose first duty is to the Conservative hierarchy. Their government contracts have been pointed at gaining Conservative support rather' than economy and effi. ciency. To make a democracy work properly, a balance must be maintained in the two parties. Only the controls and checks imposed by an alert electorate can ensure good government, and when,the voter is apathetic about changes and improve, ment, he gets the kind of govern, meat he deserves. Mr. Nixon and his team of liberals are ready to take over the Government now, ready with fresh policies to • revitalize leadership in Ontario. He will restore the functions-of. parlia­ ment, and open the parliament, ary committee system to receive advice from Ontario citizens. He intends to make great savings from correcting the waste of tax money by the entrenched Conservative hier­ archy. Starting with the twenty-four man cabinet, he will reduce this number to fifteen. He will then proceed to examine the organization and efficiency of each department. Budgeting Has been poorly handled." We have the spectacle of a Government that brings down its budget in the spring with the greatest deficit ever, and keeps on adding to the debt by monthly and weekly additions of further handouts to the voter.I < An Auditor.General will be appointed with powers that are independent of the government, powers such as this position has in Ottawa to critize govern, ment waste of inefficiency. The civil service will be revitalized’ and its orientation to serve the’, PUbHo ratherjihap- .theiC.onser-1 vative brass. Ontario Agriculture is at the crossroads., In this time of radical change, it is necessary to have long term planning, to be worked out by the govern, ment and our farm organiza. tions. We can no longer tolerate patchwork solutions, arbitrar­ ily imposed to correct a situ, ation that has already happened. We must have an Agricultural Industry Act that covers the whole industry, with a com mis. sion to supervise the growth and changes, a commission em­ bracing the various segments of agriculture and government, to plan the future. decent interval election. - • The new Liberal government will put a tight reign on govern, ment spending, keeping it within the growth of our province. This will be and by of the ments. toward taxpayer by reducing the educa. tional burden, by now over half our county expenditures. He is not offering a bribe that he knows cannot be filled tomor. row, but will space this over a period of five years, as our revenues increase with growth, and when the savings in Con. servative government waste are mobilized. done by rigid economy, establishing priorities most needed require. Mr. Nixon will work assistance of the local Mr. Nixon is ready now with a responsible and trustworthy team to take over the Ontario Government* c..s, m^Haughton i. . • ■ ■ -•.. i » ' Most people, it seems, are saying ’ there are no serious issues in this election. I couldp’t disagree more. ■ <' The basic question in this campaign--- and all of us must face it squarely — is the management of Ontario’s finan. cial resources and its effect on this .province’s future. ‘ I know' it isn’t' a popular theme - and that’s probably why it hasn’t hit the headlines. But it’s .by; far the most im­ portant aspect of this election. The'hard fact is that Ontario, its'municipalities, and our Fed- eral Government collectively have reached the limit in the spending of public funds and in taxation. The total tax burden on the people of our Province is high enough in terms of our present economic level. The. time has come to put the brakes on spending and to hold the line on taxes. I’m sorry if I’m repeating my­ self here — because this is the same message I’ve given to se- veral Huron Riding audiences and indeed to audiences all ac­ ross this province in the past four weeks. But .1 can’t apologize for em­ phasizing as often as I can what I am firmly convinced is the real issue of this election. You must have noticed in the newspapers recently that the Government at Ottawa has now realized this point too. ■ They have undertaken* major cuts in spending in an effort to avoid higher taxes. I welcome this move because it recognizes the position' that «Pr erffter -JOhn^R obartS “ahd -TJ 'ft^veutakVh 6nfbhhaif of Glifariti-’' at all of our recent federal, provincial financial confer, ences. All governments — and all ci- tizens - of this country must realize that Canada just can’t undertake all the projects and all the programs wanted by all the people all at once. We must control our govern, ment activities - at all levels - to keep our taxes in tune with our progress. We must concen. trate our spending on the pro* grams that will give us the best returns for our invest­ ment. And we must insist on cutting costs, wherever pos- sible. The opposition parties are proposing that Ontario should undertake a great number of new programs - and some of their ideas are good ones which we can all support. But, as responsible citizens, all of us must look at the price tag associated with them. The Liberal Party lias pro­ posed many well-intentioned changes but it’s fair to warn - you that they are costly. To assume 80% of the cost of education, as they advocate, would cost $350 million. Their northern development program has a price tag of $100 million; universal ’medicare, another $100 million; other projects, well over'$150 million. That’s a total of $700 million - and we just can’t afford it! The NDP asks you to sup­ port compulsory ' auto in­ surance, guaranteed annual in. come and many Other programs EVER FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY 17.50 For Only 14.50Regular 15.00 For Only 12.25Regular Regular 9.75 THIS OFFER EXPIRES NOVEMBER 4th Please phbne early for your appointment 482-7065 BEAUTYCHARLES HOUSE of 74 VICtORlA - CLINTON 3 OPERATORS: BARB COWANLOCR KATHY FORCIER, CHARLES* PROCTOR' WE ARE OFFERING OUR FINEST QUALITY PERMS ; • • Clinton NeyvS'Record, Thursday, October 12, 1967 3 present their platforms that would involve the es- tablisibpiejit of. 41 pew depart­ ments, boards or commissions of government, given though some of these suggestions, may seem attractive to some people, I submit this important ques­ tion: Who is going to pay for them and how? The answer is« obviops-: the cost mqst come out of the pocketbooks of you and I, Governments, I assure you, have no magic way of produo ing money. The best they can do is invest their tax revenues in programs that will spur our economic progress. This priority of investment — this wise use of public funds ~r forms the basis of the sound Government you have received from the Robarts adminis- tr ation. Take our own Centralia In­ dustrial Park as an example, Here we are building, out of what might have been an aban. doned or dispersed community, a new base of opportunity -for Huron — one that I’m convinc- ed will not cost the taxpayers one nickel over the years and at the same time return sub­ stantial benefits to Huron’s eco- nomy. On top of "the industlres which have already been announced for Centralia, the Park has provided facilities for a new school of agriculture and home economics — a valuable addit­ ion to our farm education pro­ gram in this province and one whose justification is already apparent by a full enrolment in the first year. Take our new schools in , Huron as another example. Can there be any better investment than in a modern education for our young people who are grow­ ing into a rapidly changing world? And surely it’s signifi- cant that we are providing equal facilities in our rural areas to those which the cities offer. The new roads in Huron, the. Point farm Provincial Park and the proposed satellite site for Conestoga College are further examples of what I believe are sound investments. At the same time, we are keeping pace with our basic social needs, with new hospital beds and new facilities for our senior citizens. I believe our agriculture pro­ grams are sound too, because they are providing farmers with the tools to help them adjust'td’. changing.conditions. Wha't could. ’ ph mqr.e sepsjhle, 'for/exampl e,, than’ to provide 'capital aid grants to assist with physical improvements that will net greater returns for our farmers? On the farm income problem, what could be more logical than to undertake a comprehensive study of present and future conditions, in co-operation with our Federation and our Farmers’ Union? This is a part­ nership approach -toward the solving ofa recognized concern. I note some criticism in our local newspapers that I haven’t been-seen in the riding during this campaign as often as people might wish. That’s an under­ standable complaint because I am, first and foremost, your representative. I hope, however, that most of you will understand that my position in Government imposes responsibilities which I -can- not ignore. At the same time, JOHN BOYNE MEDICARE - OMSIP.is a truncated misguided attempt to Keep the doctors and insurance companies happy, It is a costly silly alternative to the Saskat­ chewan plan which fulfills all the recommendations of the Hall Commission. On this score the federal liberals appear to be reneging again on their promise in this area so perhaps the provincial conservatives will stay in step with them after all - but not with us. CAR INSURANCE - Over 200 companies in the field in On­ tario pay out only 67 percent of the premium dollar on claims. The Saskatchewan plan over many years has paid out 86 percent of every premium dollar on claims because pf simplified procedures find lower overhead costs, COSTS OF EDUCATION—The property fax base for education further strains the resources of the farmer, the labourer and the person on fixed income, It is an unprogressive tax — we propose to shift the burden of education to where It belongs to those with the ability to pay - with higher incomes. HOUSING — Both levels of government have neglected housing until the problem has reached crisis proportions in many areas. The best the Con­ servative government has done is introduce the HOME plan which Dr. Morton Shulman has defined sis Home Ownership Made Expensive. The best the Liberal federal government has done is to raise the mortgage rate to a fantastically expensi ve eight and a quarter percent thus making it even more ex. pensive to buy a home. Surely the housing problem requires the insights and planning and policies of people who have not totally Jost touch with reality, I believe these problems dei mand the policies and planning of the NDP. Therefore in this election you have the opport­ unity to vote for a reasonable meaningful change by voting John Boyne, New Democrat in Huron. Signed (John C. Boyne) FARM INCOME - The ■ Robarts government cannot boast about progress in the vital matter of farm income. Ten percent of our people work on farms in Ontario and they get five percent of the income. Net farm income is lower in Ontario than it is in Canada as a whole. Sixty percent of On- tar io farmers have a family income of less than $3,750. per year which has been defined by ARDA as the poverty line. The Robarts government in this area as in others has taken the old laissez-faire line­ better defined as do nothing until the crisis is so acute you have to react - therefore Vineland, the Hedlin-Menzies Report and the Farm Income Study group - all not part of a long-range planning programme but a be. lated, too little, too late reac- tion to the farm income pro. blem. Surely after 24 years of a lack of co-ordinated planning it is time to elect a group of people who believe in economic planning in agriculture as in other areas. LABOUR INCOME - Our pre. sent member went on public record at a party picnic as. opposing wage demands which amounted to ten percent a year over three years. This was after years of rising profits and dividend payments which had in fact outstripped labour income. However, I heard no- thing from him about the threat to die economy from a 25 per- cent increase in doctor’s fees' in On'e -year.'-h submit that the wirk’er'.Tn ’Huroh-County- is not threatening our economy. I therefore wholeheartedly sup­ port the organized attempts of workers to obtain a living wage and a fair share of the total wealth. Here too it is time labour asked serious questions about its present representation in the house. I can assure you that I have always recognized the import, ance of my home riding and I trust the results of my efforts, on behalf of our communities and individual citizens, are tan- gible evidence of the manner in which I have discharged my res­ ponsibilities to Huron. May I conclude by expressing my appreciation for the opport, unity of serving you these past nine years and to ask for your support again on October 17 - your date with responsible pro. gress in Ontario. upergifts | you like — but vote CONTINUES ALL NEXT WEEK - OVER 350 ITEMS ON SALE Vitamins - Hair Needs - Stationery - Christmas Cards - Cosmetics First Aid Needs - Shaving Needs - Toiletry Sets - Christmas Gift Wrap Dental Needs - Etc. CHECK THE HANDBILL YOU RECEIVED IN THE MAIL Phone 482-9511 Clinton, Ontario SAVE 10% DURING OUR PRE-SEASON SPECIAL on AUTOPAR SNOW TIRES By Firestone Or SAVE THE COUPON IN THE TABS AND YOU CAN BUY ALL THE SUPER­ GIFTS YOU WANT AT BP's BARGAIN PRICES - ASK FOR THE DETAILS NEXT TIME YOU GAS IT WITH BP Drive into your BP station. Get'a free Super tear tab. Take a chance. Open it up and you may find that you've won yourself a Supergift. Just like F/O Flower of the CFB Clinton, He lore the tab off a BP Supergift coupon at jour statin and won himself 4m Instamafic camera . , . absolutely FREE. A chance to tear a tab and win! Protect Your Car With BP ANTIGEL Permanent Type Anti Freeze ITS WARRANTED By BP PETER JONES prop. VICTORIA ST. (Hwy No. 4 South) 482-7820 CUNTON «MN*R