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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-04-01, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, April 1, 1987 1111111111111111111111111111111 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgama ed 1924 imes dvocate Published Each WWdnesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 !PCNA Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by 1.W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' 4 Some good signs While -Huron County -council's 1987 budget is slightly above the four to five percent guidelines to which elected of- ficials should be striving, it appears that some honest effort was made in keeping it as close as possible to those guidelines. Original estimates called for an in- crease of over 11 percent and it obvious- ly took some concerted chopping to get it down to a more realistic level and tax- payers should be thankful for that. Perhaps the most commendable part of the reduction process was the move to cut the budget by almost $5,000 in the area of council members' stipends. That could be made possible by a clearer distinction between committee pay fot' a half day or whole day. Some candid comments by Stanley Reeve Clarence Rau would indicate that some committees have been abusing the system in the past by starting meetings late in the morning, adjourning for lunch, then going back for another hour or so and terming that a full day's effort. A full day's pay is now defined as threthours or more of meeting time and certainly that appears to .her questionable definition, althi,.sh the travel time for some county officials may also be considered in that situation. However, county councillors would probably not condone their employees considering three hours of work a full day's allotment; and subsequently their own example in that regard should be treated more conscientiously. Travel time for those employees is not a con- sideration and therefore should not be seen as part of the day's work for elected officials either. Another interesting part of the debate was over holding night meetings and Zurich Reeve Robert Fisher said that should be looked at seriously as it could prompt more people to consider running for municipal council positions that include county work. There's no doubt that the day meetings that are currently a part of those responsibilities dissuade many peo- ple from serving and any effort to remove that problem could be beneficial in attracting capable people to the benefit of local councils and the county. Questionable policy Provincial court Judge Gary Hunter has set a rather interesting precedent by reducing fines for people who show up and plead guilty at their first appearance and thereby save court time by alleviating the need for adjournments and other time consuming procedures. In three recent cases, drivers who entered guilty pleas on drinking and driv- ing offences were fined $350 rather than the usual $500 because, he noted, they didn't tie up valuable court time. There are pros and cons in the situation. Certainly, there appears some merit in rewarding those who don't tie up the court's time needlessly, but it is time to which they are entitled and there is a danger that those who avail themselves of it may consider that they are being punished for only taking advantage of rights that the system currently allows. If there are unwarranted abuses and delays in the system, then the system should be altered to remove them, rather than penalize those who take advantage of them or, conversely, reward those who don't. Judge Hunter's practice should be further questioned as it appears to establish penalties for law breakers on the basis of how they move through the legal system and not for the crime or wrong doing that was actually committed. • Surely the fine for an impaired driver should be based on the cir- cumstances of the situation, for instance, rather than whether that person decides to plead guilty and get it over with on the first appearance, or whether that person has some doubt about his/her guilt and decides to plead guilty and use whatever delaying tactics or trial time that is the person's prerogative under the legal system. That person may decide to spend money on hiring 'a lawyer for a defence and then face the prospect of a higher fine because court time was tied up. That latter adds to the monetary consideration an accused person must undertake and oould dissuade some from pursuing one of the basic rights of having to be proven guilty. - On balance, Judge Hunter's practice is questionable as it does not make the punishment fit the crime on an equitable basis. However, if he sees the need to end abuses, as his action suggests, he should be encouraged to pursue the needed changes in that regard and should be ad- vised that many people would support any improvements as the present system does appear open to abuses that are cost- ly to the public purse. Affirmative action One of the current awarenes campaigns by the Ministry of Education and by many local school boards is 'called 'affir- mative action'. This translates in- to programs which increase awareness of new roles for girls and women in the marketplace. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that women have been passed over when it comes to better -paying jobs and occupa- tions which have high status. Though it is obvious that jobs such as secretaries, cashiers, and sewing machine operators are important to our society it should be equally obvious that those jobs should be filled by men as much as by women, and that high - paying skilled labour could be done by women if given the training. The field of education is a prime example of how this can be changed. When I first became a principal there w.ere no women principals or vice -principals in the forty or so elementary schools of the county even though • By the Way by Fletcher the ratio of women to men in those schools was four to one. In the last few years it has changed. Now there are three women prin- cipals and a number of women vice -principals, and in' a recent series of interviews for ad- ministrative positions there were more women than men applying ,r for those jobs. It will take time to make the ratio as it should be but at least we are heading in the right direction. It is vitally important that as more and more families have both parents working that we give girls the feeling that they can succeed in non-traditional areas such as math and science, in technical fields such as welding, drafting, and engine repair. Computer technology is another field which girls should be directed toward. Too, we have to fight against arbitrary restrictions in job areas for height and weight which would discriminate against women. For example, various police forces had to eliminate a rule which stated that officers had to be a certain height when it was realized that that rule went against the Canadian charter of rights. VIP Concerns are warranted There's a growing dissatisfac, tion among area municipalities regarding the inordinate in- creases in their current levies for the Ausable l3ayfield Conserva- tion Authority. A 9.7 percent increase is cer- tainly well above the inflation rate as well as being con- siderably higher than what municipal councils anticipate in their own budgets this year. While the Authority levy is a small portion of any municipali- ty's total expenses in any given year, those elected officials know that it doesn't take too many sizeable increases from outside sources to build into situations where they have to set mill rates that are above acceptable levels • in the minds of those who have to pay those taxes. Every municipal department expects to get an increasein the four to five percent range this year, and when one bill comes in for double that amount, officials are left with the decision to either cut another department's allot- ment or present a total budget that is higher than either they or their ratepayers expect. This is a problem for all coun- cils, but obviously more so in rural municipalities where farm income from many commodities is declining and those producers simply can't afford major in- creases in their municipal tax bills because they are a part of their operating costs. The Authority members may argue convincingly that a decline in provincial grants makes in- creases necessary to maintain the existing and worthwhile work they undertake, but it falls short in the economic reality that budget increases nearing the 10 percent mark are above those which should be established under current conditions. No doubt area municipalities would be willing to join them in a fight to get the provincial purse strings loosened for conservation work, but those same municipalities are obviously also willing to fight local levies that . are too steep. * * * * * Further evidence that members of the Authority may Batt'n Around ...with The Editor have lost touch with economic reality may be seen in the recent decision to boost their honorariums by 50 percent from $500 to $750 per annum. That may appear to be a rather small sum in total, but it adds about $10,000 to the Authority budget and cer- tainly the percentage increase is totally unrealistic. The members also approved per diem increases ranging from six to 7.5 percent to bring the half day rate to $43 and the full day stipend to $53. It's probably a safe bet that most sessions are plann- ed on the half day basis, given the fact that a full day's work only results in an extra $10. The question arises as to why members receive both an honorarium and per diem stipends. Is the former just to en- sure that those who don't bother to attend meetings get some financial reward from their appointments? Few would argue with the $3 in- creases in the per diem rates and in fact they have far more justification than any increase in the honorarium as they represent payment for services rendered. It's repugnant that honorariums are hiked 50 percent when there is no associated stipulation that members must attend even one meeting to• get the payment, although attendance records in- dicate ndicate few take advantage of the situation and fail to live up to their responsibilities. However, the opportunity is there for anyone wanting to take advan- tage of the situation. * * * * * Municipal officials should also be concerned over the fact that their Authority delegate, with the exception of the 11 executive committee members, are left in the dark on some Ausable Bayfield matters which the ex- ecutive pass at committee of the whole sessions. Included in that list of items is the salary paid to staff members. Salaries on the municipal level are a part of the public record because members of the public are paying those salaries and have every right to know what the amount is, particularly when salaries make up a sizeable por- tion of any budget. If inordinate salary increases are part of the reason for the hike in. the Authority levy to municipalities , the latter should demand full public disclosure if for no other reason than to pro- vide their own Authority representative with that information. After all, if those represen- tatives,approved pay increases to staff in the same range as those for their own honorariums, it could be a matter for discussion with their municipal bosses. Slashing the deficit I guess you have heard that Cabinet has finally decided to privatize the Armed Forces. And it's about time, too. As we all know, the government loses money at everything it touches. Finally, the Department of Na- tional defence will be disbanded, and the Armed forces will be run by corporations who know not on- ly how to make a buck but also how to create employment in the process. Yessir, as of April 1st, Canadians will once again look upon their soldiers with pride. From now on, every time you see an army jeep on the highway, you'll know it is helping to reduce taxes. Instead of its ugly, uninspiring dirt -green markings it will sport flashy designer stripes with the GM logo pro- minentl3, displayed on the hood. Because our fleet of army jeeps will be owned and operated (at, maximum efficiency) byGeneral Motors (Canada) LtdWhat's more, theircrews will be employees of GM's Military Divi- sion, well-trained, well-paid, unionized and uniformed in stylish Rambo -type outfits - the envy of fighting forces all over the world. From now on, when a Canadian fighter aircraft takes off from Cold Lake, Alberta, or Lahr, Ger- many, you can bet your bottom dollar that the deficit is being slashed once again. Because it won't be the Canadian taxpayer's \, money that is being wasted in its afterburners. On the contrary, the plane will be on a mission to increase profits for its owners, Transair (Canada) Ltd., whose air force division will ensure air superiority over our own skies and abroad. How will NATO respond to the privatization of its Canadian con- tingent? NATO has no choice in the matter. We're a free enterprise country. If we decide to sell our assets to private in-` dustry, that's our business and no one else's. Besides, NATO should • be glad it is getting a more effi- cient force. Our submarines - all three of them - will be sold to the highest bidders. According to sources close to the government, it is a foregone conclusion that each sub is going to be owned by a dif- ferent company, so that the vessels can be operated on a com- petitive basis. Among the prime candidates are Mattel Inc., Hyun- dai, and Fat Albert's. One of the conditions of sale is a takeover of all crews and a guarantee that uniforms will include bell-bottom trousers. removable pockets and shiny brass buttons. Headquarters, too, will be sold to private industry. Bell Canada will run the communications system, while the bureaucratic maze will be handled by Office Overload. No matter what area of defence you're looking at, money will he made by the companies lucky enough to get involved. And the federal budget will be slash- ed by 30 percent. That means, of course, that your income tax will he decreased by the same percentage. What are you going to do with your extra cash? Areou going to invest it in one of the new defence companies? Will you buy a chunk of a tank or a fraction of a frigate? 'It'll be a bonanza, let me assure you. Unemployment? Forget it. We'll have to import foreign workers by ' the thousands. Our economy is going to boom as it never has before. Just you wait and see. The less the government cjoes, the better. Defence is only the beginning.' There is no reason why Health and Welfare Canada - the other big gobbler of tax revenues - couldn't be privatized. The insurance companies are already waiting in the wings for this opportunity. And what' about Please turn to page 5