HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1980-07-31, Page 14Pas. 14 Citizens News July 31, 1980
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MIS
ASIO
By JACK R I DDELL
MPP Huron --Middlesex
No doubt you will have
heard of the C.D. Howe
Research Institute. This is a
private, non-political, non-
profit ,organization founded
in January 1973 to undertake
research into Canadian
economic policy issues, with
emphasis on fiscal,
monetary, and international
trade policy.
You may find interesting
some excerpts from one of
the Institute's publications,
"Accountability and Con-
trol: The Government Ex-
penditure Process".
Magician
scheduled
Huron County Library
announces that Rossini the
magician is coming to the
area. Besides comedy
routines, magic tricks, and
live doves, Rossini calls on
members of the audience to
assist him on stage.
Rossini, a professional
artist, will present thrilling
and exciting magical tricks.
Rossini, the Magician will
appear on Wednesday, July
30 at the Hensall Town Hall
at 11:00 a.m. and the Hay
Township Hall, Zurich at
2:00 p.m. There is free ad-
mission to this program and
everyone is welcome to
_attend. This performance is
`funded through Outreach
Ontario and sponsored by
Huron County Library.
Detpil government expenditure process
"The expenditure process
of any government is both
the backbone around- which
much of government
operates and its nervous
system - sending out
messages about what is im-
portant to government and
what actions are to be taken
... Parliamentary govern-
ment is, in essence, a "per-
sonal" system of govern-
ment - responsibility is
vested in, and exercised by,
an individual.
"This is necessary if there
is to be an accounting for the
use of power. However, ac-
countability is not always
clearly defined, because a
minister's individual and
collective roles have
resulted in a system of
deliberately overlapping
responsibilities."
"Public dissatisfaction
with how and where
governments spend money
probably began with the first
tax ever levied. The
timelessness of this problem
has not, however, dimmed
public debate or concern.
This is especially true of the
past decade or so, when
Canada, along with most
other countries in the world,
experienced rapid growth in
government operations."
"This growth in govern-
ment spending has been at-
tributed to a number of fac-
tors. One of these was a
number of decisions made in
the 1960s that. sought to
enlarge the scope and
significance of government
involvement in
redistributive social
policies. These decisions
resulted in increases in the
level of spending of such
programs as family
allowances and old age pen-
sions and the initiation of
new programs. such as the
Canada Pension Plan and
guaranteed -income supple-
ment and universal medical
and hospitalization
schemes."
"During the 1960s and the
early 1970s, attention was
focused upon the programs
that governments elected to
fund, but in recent years this
focus has shifted towards
the level and growth of
government expenditures as
a whole and towards the
economic implications of
this growth.
"For example, recent
debate has emphasized the
impact of government spen-
ding on the rate of inflation,
the effectiveness of govern-
ment spending in meeting
the objectives that people
believe characterize a cer-
tain policy. and the
possibilities for more ef-
ficient means of meeting
these objectives. Perhaps
the most consistent concern
has been the feeling that
government spending is
simply "out of control"."
"In democratic govern-
ment, ultimate authority
and responsibility for the
acceptance or rejection of a
spending proposal rest with
the elected members of the
legislature. How real is this
power in modern
government?"
"The principle objectives
of a government expenditure
process might be seen as
- providing Cabinet with
the means of directing the
total pattern of government
exjenditures towards the
overall goalsor priorities of
ministers;
- ensuring that the alloca-
tion of resources to specific
programs reflects these
priorities;
- enabling a review of the
performance and future
prospects of the economy, to
ascertain whether emerging
expenditure policies will be
consistent with the
economic aims of the
government;
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- ensuring that specific ex-
penditure proposals will
meet the government's
priorities in the most ef-
ficient and effective manner
available; and
- providing for the evalua-
tion of existing policies and
programs to determine
which are ineffective or of
low priority and should be
deleted."
The Institute's report
makes some suggestions for
improvements which would
clarify what governments
view as priorities and how to
deal with these priorities.
"These improvements are
based on the following prin-
ciples:
- A key to improved ac-
countability is a better -
informed and more aware
public which has the oppor-
tunity to participate in the
formation of fairly broad
national (and provincial)
priorities.
- Government itself, In a
democratic society, must
take responsibility for the
priorities it decides to pur-
sue and how it will pursue
them.
- While any selection of
priorities by the Cabinet
must, of :necessity, be sub-
ject to change. the set of
priorities that obtain at any
one time should be coherent:
However,' the application of
those priorities may present
numerous unresolved con-
flicts' calling for continuous,
but what may be at times
only partly successful, ef-
forts at co-ordination.
- If a system of control is
to be effective, activities
must be planned as
thoroughly as possible."
"Ultimate control of, and
accountability for, the ex-
penditures of government
must be exercised by the
legislature."
READY TO BATTLE — The Milverton Suns and Zurich Buckeyes will meet in o fastball game
in Hensall Tuesday night. Above, Lynne Farquhar of the Suns and Brian Hodgins of the
Buckeyes choose up sides while Zurich coach Murray Baker supervises. T -A photo
"0" TROPHY TO GODERICH The "B" championship at Saturday's annual fastball
tourney in Zurich was won by Fisher Building•of Goderich. Above, Paul Bedard presents the
Shaw Dairy Stores trophy to Fisher coach Jack McKinnon while Paul Morrison of the spon-
soring Zurich Buckeyes presents the cosh prize. Staff photo
WIN "A" TROPHY --- Goderich Ziebart won the "A" championship and. the Leo Meidinger
trophy at Saturday's annual fastball tournament sponsored by the Zurich Buckeyes. Above,
Meidinger presents the trophy to Goderich captain and Zurich native Ron Corriveau and
coach Vic Whetstone. Staff photo