HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-11-29, Page 4Seasons change
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THE EDITOR,
The people of Ontario have asked
this government to take on an
important job: restore confidence in
this province as a place to live, to
work and to do business. In order to
restore prosperity and bring back
confidence in our common future,
we must free Ontario from its
crushing debr load. That is why this
government is committed to
balancing the budget and taking
other needed steps to encourage
people and businesses to invest and
create worthwhile jobs.
In the last 10 years alone
government spending has doubled,
while the accumulated debt has
tripled. What do the people of
Ontario have to show for it?
Eighty-two thousand fewer jobs
than in 1990, higher unemployment
and nearly three times as many
people on social assistance.
Previous governments paid for
some of their overspending by
raising taxes repeatedly. Ontario's
personal income tax rates are now
among the highest in North
America. But even these high taxes
which drove people and businesses
out of Ontario, and fueled the
growth of the underground
economy were not enough to cover
the overspending.
Like any borrower, Ontario has
to pay interest on its debt. This year
we will pay close to $9 billion in
interest costs - more than double
what it was five years ago. Right
now our interest bill translates into
about $800 a year for every man,
woman and child in Ontario. If
interest continues to grow at the
rate it has since 1990, it will cost
each of us $1,700 by the end of the
decade. We will be paying $20
billion annually in interest costs
alone.
Presently, the interest payment
we must make on this borrowed
debt equals the total amount this
province pays for education. In five
years with unchecked spending, the
interest payment will equal the
amount the province spends on
health care. I believe we must
control our spending and in many
cases re-assess where we spend our
dollar so that there is education and
health care available to our children
and grandchildren.
Unless we act now, more and
more of the taxpayers' dollars will
Photo by Bonnie Gropp
be used to be pay these interest
costs, rather than to fund necessary
programs.
The alternative? Do nothing and
let the people who hold our debt
decide. This is not an alternative I
want for my children!
Helen Johns, M.P.P.
Huron.
THE EDITOR, .
The federal government has
declared December 6 a national day
of remembrance and action on
violence against women. It
commemorates the anniversary of
the 14 women killed in Montreal at
Ecole Polytechnique in 1989.
Locally, SWAN (Stop Woman
Abuse Now) The Co-ordinating
Committee Against Woman Abuse
in Huron County and Women
Today of Huron will remember
their deaths with a candlelight vigil
on Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 7:30 to
8 p.m. at the Court House Square in
Goderich. This third annual vigil
will feature music and speakers to
help us remember that the Montreal
killings are symbolic of countless
acts of violence by men against
women and children.
It is hoped by organizers that all
members of the community will
take this as an opportunity to say
no to violence.
Catherine Armour.
PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1995.
C The North Huron
itizen
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1995
P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston
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Macho cost cutting destructive
Politics lately seems to have evolved into a macho game of "I can
cut more than you can cut". While taxpayers certainly welcome a break
from continuous tax increases, the danger is that some of the cuts may
harm the very economy that
must grow in order to save
further deficits and tax cutting.
Huron County councillors
have rightly been concerned
about holding the line on
property tax increases but when does common sense become
foolishness? Faced with more provincial cuts the county is proposing
service cuts that may have far-reaching effects. The proposal to stop
winter maintenance of county roads between midnight and 5 a.m., for
instance, is a drastic step that could have both life-threatening and
economic consequences.
We have a lifestyle and an economy that is built on 24-hour road
service. We have trucks the run all night long. We have people who
work at shiftwork who depend on good roads to get to work and get
home again. While we may dream of going back to the 1950s or the
1940s in the size and cost of government, the reality is that we've
moved on to an era where transportation is essential to all aspects of
our lives. We can't afford to go back to the 1940s levels of service.
County taxpayers should be grateful to their council representatives
for wanting to hold the line on taxes but it would be foolish to be so
vorried about avoiding a tax increase that we cut essential services like
winter road maintenance. Surely taxpayers would rather a reasonable
increase than to endanger the lives of loved ones travelling late at night.
Surely businesses would prefer a small increase than to lose the ability
to move goods at night.
Let's hope councillors are more than just penny-wise. Let's hope
they are wise, period. — KR
Is the province close to you?
Writing in the most recent issue of Maclean's magazine, columnist
Dianne Francis expresses an opinion that has become almost a manta
for the elite (particularly of a right-wing persuasion) of today: the
federal government should give up more power to the province because
they are closer to the people.
Really? Ask yourself, do you feel any closer to the provincial
government than you do to the federal government? Do you feel you
have any more influence over decisions made at Queen's Park than in
Ottawa? Or, given the dominance of Toronto, do you feel you, as a
rural person, have even less influence at the provincial level than you
do in Ottawa where the rural balance is higher?
Do we really want to turn over our lives to provincial politicians?
Take universal health care, for instance. This was a program supported
by Canadians in every province, no matter what the stripe of the
political party that forms the government. This was a program initiated
by the federal government. It had to drag some of the provinces,
including Ontario, kicking and screaming into the program. It has had
to constantly be on guard for provinces trying to undermine the system
by initiating user fees or private clinics. Seldom are these governments
that want to change the system listening to their constituents: they are
listening instead to vested interests such as the provincial medical
association or large U.S. health providers who want to get into the
Canadian market.
Certainly there are things that the federal government could give to
the provinces. The Quebec claim that it should do all job training, for
instance, makes sense. If there are other programs that don't require a
national overview then giving them to the provinces may be fine. But
the federal government must remain able to balance the resources of the
"have" provinces with those of the "have-nots". We mustn't, as the
right-wingers in Toronto business circles would have it, adopt a
winner-take-all policy which allows the rich provinces to avoid helping
out the poorer areas of Canada.
And if we're really interested in getting closer to the people, why not
force provincial governments to give more power and resources to the
municipalities. There are plenty of things the province has taken over,
because it had the tax base, that were originally municipal field4 of
service. If we're going to be closer to the people, let's really get close,
not just make provincial governments more 6owerful. — KR
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