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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1980-11-27, Page 81 Page 8 Citizens News November 27, 1980 By JACK RIDDELL You will no doubt be aware that the Treasurer's mini -budget eliminated the 7% sales tax on new household furniture, new major household appliances, buildifig materials for homes and apartments and new light trucks and vans. In fact there will be up to $700 sales tax rebates on purchases of new light trucks and vans weighing 9,- 000 pounds or less. These measures will apply until next June 30th. A new cabinet committee headed by the Treasurer, Frank • Juek'sJottings Budget eliminates some sales tax Miller, will get $750 million to spur economic and regional development during the next five years. Also the government wants to mount a three-year program, star- ting by early 1982, to cushion the effect of sharp Increases in home heating costs on people with low or fixed in- comes. Rural Ontario Hydro customers will receive rebates totalling $20 million next year to offset the high rates they pay compared to urban users. Hydro grant Liberal House Leader Robert Nixon commented that the already announced increase of 11.2% in rural hydro rates starting next year, and amounting to $57. million, will more than offset the $20 million rebate scheme in the mini -budget. The Energy Minister, Robert Welch, stated that thegrant would mean a $35 reduction next year for a rural household using more than 250 kilowatt hours, a month. However, the in- crease to take effect January 1, will raise the cost of using 1,000 kwh a month nearly $5 to 847.60. Benefits increase Some 175,000 recipients of welfare and family benefits allowances will receive a 7% increase in their monthly cheques in the New Year, and the increase will cost taxpayers an additional $49 million a year, for an es- timated total annual expen- diture of more than $695 million. Making the announce- ment, the Minister Keith Norton emphasized that this was an interim adjustment to compensate for inflation effects and is not to be inter- preted as the basic rate of adjustment for the 1981-82 fiscal year. A single person on general assistance will receive $238 a month, up from $222. A couple with two children between the ages of 10 and 15 will receive $535 (up $35). Benefits under the work -in- centives program will in- crease from between $25 to $65 a month, depending on the size of the family. The maximum amount of the handicapped children's benefits will go to $200 a month (up $25.) Mr. Norton announced a new program - a discharge allowance of up to $337 as of January 1981- to assist handicapped people "in making the transition from institutional to com- munity living, as easily as possible". Workmen's Compensation Board A report by Harvard Rabies, which is spread by infected animals, continues to 4 be a serious problem in Ontario. It is of special concern in built up areas where domestic and wild animals are infecting children who come in contact with them. Children should be warned to avoid stray pets, as well as wild animals, especially if they appear sick or friendly because these usually are signs that they are rabid. Pets should be regularly vaccinated and kept indoors at night. You can help to control rabies by reporting to your local police, humane society or health unit any pets or wild animals which are acting strangely. Do not handle your pet with bare hands immedi- ately after it has fought with a rabid animal. Do not touch dead animals. Seek advice from a veterinarian. Contact your doctor or health unit immediately if your child or pet comes in contact with wild animals. If you would like to know more about rabies write for a free copy of our pamphlet. ANIMALS. RABIES AND YOU from the Ontario Health Resource Centre. Queen's Park. Toronto. Ontario M7A 1S2. Dennis R. Timbrell, Minister Professor Paul Weiler on the WCB recommends a sweep- ing overhaul of the compen- sation system which would give more money to workers whose Viability leads to in- -come losses and less to in- jured workers able to main- tain earnings. The interim report tabled in the Legislature by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Robert Elgie, would protect all the earnings of 90% of the Province's workers: It also proposes thatin- jured workers should have their fringe benefits main- tained by the employer, the. integration of workers' com- pensation with other income • maintenance systems, such as Canada Pension Plan, lump -sum payments to a surviving spouse of a worker killed on the job equal to the income ceiling, and lump= sum payment to each per- manently disabled worker pegged to the degree of physical impairment and age at the time of injury. Dangerous trucking Changes in provincial law provide for fines of up -to $50,000 for anyone illegally trucking dangerous goods, and will also make it possi- ble for truckers to keep their licences to drive if they can prove medical conditions such as diabetes won't affect their jobs. The Dangerous Goods Transportation Act will be enforced by Provincial Transport Ministry Officials and the OPP. Separate amendments to the' Highway Traffic Act provide for greater flexibility in medical regulations. Education bill All parents of exceptional children will have the right to appeal school board decisions about placement of their children under a Liberal amendment added to a special education bill. The Minister. of. Educa- tion, Dr. Bette Stephenson, was initially opposed to a un- iversal appeal . mechanism, saying it would cause ex- cessive litigation. However, she and her party decided to back the amendment, which was opposed by the NDP. The Honourable Tom Wells, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, introduced a _bill which will assist .municipalities to resolve boundary and boun- dary related issues. The legislation would authorize a municipality wanting to resolve an inter- municipality boundary or boundary `• related Issue, to apply to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs rather than to the Ontario Municipal Board. A tact finder would be ap- pointed under the Act to look into the application. If necessary, direct face to face negotiations between the municipalities would follow. These would lead to an agreement and the agree- ment could be implemented either -through legislation or through an Order -In -Council issued under Section 14 of the Act. If, however, there was no agreement there would be a number of options, one of which would be allowing the matter to go before the On- tario Municipal Board. The Bill would amend the Municipal Act so as to limit annexation and amalgama- tion applications to the OMB to those involving unorganiz- ed territory and those authorized following proceedings under this new legislation. A warm plant is a healthy plant Among nurserystock people, the, buzzword these days is . "containers" -- growing trees and shrubs in containers rather than in the ground. And thermoblankets -- quarter-inch-thick sheets of flexible styrofoam -- will play a major role in the nursery industry's use of containers, according to Peter Hicklenton. Dr. Hicklenton, an or- namental horticulturist at Agriculture Canada's Kentville, N.S., Research Station, points out that there are several strong reasons for aping to containers. "When plants are grown in the ground, their roots get some protection from frost. However, they can only be moved in the spring or fall. Otherwise you run into root damage, or transplant shock. "But when plants are grown in containers, they can be planted any time. That greatly extends ;the nursery's selling season, and allows for sales in super- markets,' and so on," Dr. Hicklenton explains, But the scientist says there is one drawback. Container - grown plants only have a small amount of soil around the roots -- not enough soil to insulate them from frost. Left outside during. the Canadian winter, plants in containers have little chance of survival. "Moving the plants in- doors during the winter would be too expensive, given today's high fuel costs. And unheated buildings don't offer enough protection," the horticultural scientist says. To find an effective way of protecting plants in con- tainers during the winter, Dr. Hicklenton last winter Wilted four different kinds of coverings, at two. Nova Scotia locations. He covered three-year-old nursery stock with one of three colors of plastic sheets — clear, black, and opaque white —.or a thermoblanket, made of Microfoam, a styrofoam compound. Temperatures inside and outside the coverings were recorded and, at the end of the winter, plants were examined for damage. "All the thin plastic coverings' produced poor results, and the black poly was totally unsuitable. However, plants protected by the thermoblanket had virtually no damage," Dr. Mickleton says. "Canadian nurserymen have long envied their Californian counterparts for , the ease with which they switched to containers. It's really a much more efficient way of doing business. Now, using thermoblankets, the Canadians should be able to go that route, too," Dr. Mickleton says.