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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