HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1978-05-10, Page 3DISCO DANCE 4s'rcs,
GONG SHOW
Ethel Community Ball
Friday, May 1 2th
Time - 8:30 - 12:00 Midnight
9:30 - 10:30 Gong Show
Booth
Prizes DOOR PRIZE - A.M. & F.M. RADIO
Admission - $1.50 Each
Bring your own play. Do your own thing. Fun for all
ages. Special prizes for show. Sign as you enter for the
gong show. Come early.
Everyone Welcome.
G Musk: STEVENS Disc Jockey 4'
a•••••••••••••••••••4•••••••555 .••••••••
• •
All purchases Over $10.00:
• al % OFF
• for Mother's' Day with this Coupon • • - • i•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••5••••••••
Final Clearance of SANDALS
Buy one at regular price and get the second pair for $1.00
•
Ray & Helen's
Family Centre
Open Fri..Night till 9 neu.ssels 887-6671 Member of B.B.A.
THE BRUSSELS POST, MAY 10, 1978 —
Huron F of A votes
down OFA tax reform
Police are friends
municipalities hear
[hy Keith Roulston]
Despite emotional appeals that the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture support the
Ontario Federation's stand on land tax
reform, members voted strongly against the
O.F.A. proposal for farm tax reform Thursday
night..
About 40 attended the meeting in Belgrave,
many saying they had come to the monthly
meeting of the Federation only because they
had heard a vote would be taken on the
proposal. They wanted no part of the 0.F.A.'s
proposal that food producing land be tax
exempt and farmers only pay taxes on their
farm homes and a minimal acreage around the
house. Speaker after speaker doubted the
government's motives in the proposal to ease
the burden on land tax by paying the taxes for
farmers on all but their homes.
In supporting the motion against the policy
of O.F.A. and the proposal of the provincial ,
government, Jim McIntosh., director for East
Central Huron said that a large majority of
farmers in Huron are not' willing to have the
government pay tax on all but the farm house.
There is nothing wrong with the market value
assessment which the province will be
adopting, he said, if all properties are justly
assessed, As a former clerk-treasurer for
Tuckerstnith township, he said, he didn't like
the farm tax proposal. He said the OFA should
stick to its original proposal of people taxes
paying for services to people and property
taxes paying for services to property.
Debate stopped at this point when Merle
Gunby, vice
president of the Huron Federation and
director from north west Huron to O.F.A.
moved a tabling motion which was defeated.
Mr. Gunby claimed that the time for
opposition to the O.F.A. policy was earlier and
that now that the policy had been accepted by
O.F.A. the county should stand behind the
provincial decision. r
After the tabling motion's defeat, Jim
Armstrong of Wingham said he felt that the
government's proposal was part of the
government's cheap food policy. He noted a
meeting of consumer groups and labour
unions some time ago in which both groups
called for public ownership of food producing
land as a way of keeping food prices down. He
wondered what would happen if he didn't pay
the taxes on his house for three years
therefore making it liable for tax sale. Who
would then get the land on the farm, he
wondered. Land taxes make up only about one
per cent of input costs, he said, and weren't
that serious a problem for farmers.
Defended
Maurice Bean, director for central west
Huron defended the O.F.A. Policy. He said
that farmers seemed to be happy with the 50
per cent rebate on taxes that the O.F.A. won
to offset education taxes so what was the fuss
over 100 per cent. If farmers feel so strongly
about paying their share of taxes, he said,
then why did farmers want exemptions from
sales tax on items they buy?
George Underwood of Wingham said that
he was concerned that many of the O.F.A.
directors from across the province who
approved the policy don't really know what's
going on. He said that at an information
meeting held, earlier in Clinton the 0.P.A.
executive didn't seem to get the message that
farmers didn't like the policy. Maybe now
they'd listen, he said. /
Ernie Ackert, a visitng member of the Bruce
Federation, related the story of a number of
lakes on farms in Bruce county where, during
the depression the owners had asked that they
be relieved of paying taxes on the water
portion of the lake since it was non-productive
farmland.Iater these owners discovered that
they had lost ownership of the lake portions of
their farm on their deeds and the lakes were
now owned by government.
Paul Ross, a Clinton lawyer, said that
before coming to Clinton he had worked for a
time at the Ministry of Revenue and felt that
they themselves didn't seem to know where
they were going with land tax reform. "Why
take chances v.tith your own land?" he
ondered.
Gordon Hill, past president of OFA came to
the defence of the O.F.A. policy saying he
believed the government was sincere in its
Federation had been asking for tax relief.
Under a great deal of stress, the government
did come up with the education tax rebate in
1970 ; he said: He said the government's taslt
in reform was complicated by the pledge of
former agriculture minister Bill Stewart that
any new taxation system would not be harder
ai the farmer than the old system. With the
education tax rebate and the fact that the
whole tax assessment could be claimed as an
ex pense it meant that farmers were only
paying about° 10 per cent of their assessed
taxes, he said.
People Taxes
As for the O.F.A. policy of people taxes for
people services and land taxes for land
services, he said, 'the problem was just what
were the services to land. The land itself
didn't need any services if there weren't any
people around.
Without tax reform, he said, how could
Ontario farmers compete with farmers in
Alberta or New Brunswick who don't have to
pay property tax?
He said the new policy for farm tax reform
was a good one because he thought the „
government was going to raise a lot more,
money from land taxes in the future than they
had in the past. The O.F.A. had two options,
he said. It could continue to say it would go
along with the old policy, or it could say
"we've tried, but now it's time to make a
deal."
Survey .
Jim Hallahan, R. R. #3, Blyth termed Mr.
Hill's'arguments "a lot of bull". He said he
had recently taken part in a survey of farmers
in East Wawanosh township and many were
irate about the O.F.A. policy. He said that .if
O.F.A. went through with the policy it would
lase half its membership in Huron County.
Frank Wall of the O.F.A. executive was at
the meeting and said that the report of the
CO mtnittee studying land tax reform
recognizes the rights of the farmer to his land
even if he doesn't pay taxes on the land.
Others supporting the 0,F.A. policy said that
the ownership of the land depends not on who
pays the taxes but on who owns the deed. But
Mr. Ross argued that just because you have
the deed to property doesn't mean you own it.
Another speaker warned that if the gov
ernment is looking ahead with this policy, it's
looking ahead to a cheap food policy. The
policy will be a great incentive to farmers to
buy up more farms, wipe out the farm houses
to keep down the taxes and just work the land.
it will make the countryside look barren, he
argued.
Mr. Gunby then returned with an emotional
speech in support of die O.F.A. policy refuting
many of the earlier arguments against the
policy.
He claimed-that a move by Huron county to
oppose an 0.F.A, policy would weaken the
position of O.F.A. and make it look ridiculous.
He said that the new proposal wouldn't mean
that farmers weren't paying their fair share of
taxes because it likely wouldn't mean any
difference in the amount of tax they paid. He
said that if the government really did, want to
get control of farmland then it could find much
easier wa: ys than under the new tax
proposals. He argued that farmers shouldn't
be against seeking a better break for
themselves because industry is always taking
government tax concessions.
Mr. Gunby said that he hadn't seen the
figures of what market value assessment
would mean to tax bills in Huron, but in
Halton region it would mean an increase of
four times the present taxes and farmers
couldn't afford a bill like that.
He said the O.F.A. stand was approved by
about 90 per cent of the directors from across
the province at the March meeting in Toronto.
A procedural hassle then arose since the
meeting had run past the 11 p.m. deadline set
by the Federation for completion of the
monthly meeting.Several people insisted that
a vote be taken on the motion. Mr. Gunby
hied to block the vote by moving another
motion to table because he said the motion
was not properly directed as to who it should
be referred to. This was shouted down.
Finally Gordon Hill suggested the motion
be sent to the 0 . as the policy of the
Huron Federation. The vote was taken and
showed strongly in favour of 'the motion,
opposing 0.F.A". 'policy, Mr. Gunby Said he
could not argue in favour of the motion in
Toronto and offered his resignation.
Mr. Hill said that wasn't necessary saying
the motion can simply be stated as policy of
the Huron group vOthout having to be
supported by Mr. Guiiby or any of the other
Huron directors.
That was the theme of ,three
addresses Friday at the silver
anniversary conference of the
organization of ,s small urban.
municipalities (OSUM).
And all three speakers
emphasized that there ,should be
no disgracein providing informat-
ion to assist those authorities. ,
The theme of the conference was
"Law and order--who's protect,
ing whom?,,
Ontario's Attorney General,
Roy McMurtry suggested "law
and justice" as appropriate for a
. modern society where there was
antagonism toward enforcement
officers, and that the "justice"
4iould be aimed at everyone
frying to see that just that,
justice, was done.
He said seven municipalities in
Ontario are taking part in a pilot
project dealing with vandals,
whereby convicted persons are
"sentenced" to work to repay for
damage. The type of work varies
according to municipal needs.
But one point is not yet clear in
the courts--does a provincial
judge have authority to assess
working hours in a criminal code
rose, the criminal code under
Federal jurisdiction. He said that
point is being studied.
Earlier at the Frida y session,
during a panel discussion, Sam
Lerner, LonclOn lawyer, said
The policeman walking the
heat, riding on motor car patrol,
or judges and other court officers,
are good friends whose job is to
see that justice is done.
responsiblility for justice went'
"right back to parents, school and
the whole community.- Let's have
a system of education," which
prodclic th es respect for each o.r,
He put the blame of the news
media for lack of credibility of
Bruce Affleck, of Oshawa,
former crown attorney who has
handled 35 murder, cases and
35,00Q criminal cases, told the
350 delegates that vandalism was
becoming a 'source of conern, and
that while legislation was coming
t• o ,compensate the victims such
legislation was valueless if the
convicted person had no money.
He said there had to be some
form of deterrent.
Police superintendent W.
Mervyn Johnson of London was
third member of the panel.
"Crime prevention is the re-
sponsibility, of everyone in our
society," and he thought there
was insufficient effort in pre-
ventative measures.
Mr. McMurtry said that "when
we have three public commissions
investigating activities of our
national police force which is an
internationally recognized symbol
of law and order, we all have a
duty to reflect upon what the rule
of law really means in Canada
today."
"The rule-, of law....simply
reflects the fact that any society is
in very deep trouble when it starts
to settle its disputes in the streets
or at the barricades rather than in
the ballot box and the court
mom."
WEDDING INVITATIONS
THE HURON EXPOSITOR
PHONE 527.0240 SEAFORTH