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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-11-2, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 2, 1994 Publisher: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Theresa Redmond News; Adrian Harte, Fred Groves, Catherine O'Brien, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transoortation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Norma Jones, Elaine Pinder, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership r s Inion Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 ,SUBSCRIPTION RATES: CANADA Within 40 miles (85 km.) addressed to non letter carrier addresses $30.00 plus $2.10 G.S.T. Outside 40 miles (65 km.) or any letter carrier address $30.00 plus $30.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 O.S.T. Outside Canada $99.00 (Includes 588.40 postage) Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519235-0766 0.8.7. 1R105210835 FDIiORIA1, Half a trillion, and rising anada's federal debt has just passed the half trillion dollar mark, over five hundred billion dollars. That sounds like a lot of money. Is it? Perhaps a man who -called in to CBC radio put it best when he said you have to imagine fresh, new $1,000 bills. A stack of $1,000 bills worth one million dollars would sit five inches high. A stack of them worth a billion dollars would stretch up 40 stories. A stack worth half a trillion dollars would teeter nearly 40 miles high into the atmosphere. This is the legacy of deficit spending - the assumption that a future, wealthier generation will be able to pay off to- day's excess spending. Is there any possible way today's, or tomorrow's Ca- nadians can reduce that stack of $1,000 hills? Let's see, if each and all of us could cough up an extra $100 on our taxes, just for debt reduction, we could take nearly 1,200 feet off the bottom of the stack a year. Big deal - at that rate it would take 170 years to pay off our debt - assuming the government was not still adding to the top of the stack. The question is, where did we manage to spend all this money'? And was it worth it? Since paying off the debt looks almost impossible, the government will attempt to ignore it, borrow more money to fund the programs we can't afford, and bor- row even more to pay the interest on the debt. Of course, we can all rest easy, they'll assure us, because when this country's prosperous future arrives, half a trillion dollars will be just small change. Half a trillion dollars will never be small change. Our government needs to take a chapter from the Wealthy Barber, and incorporate a debt payment as the first item in its yearly budget, with all programs and ministries dividing up what is left over. Deficit spending, like communism, is a failed political theory. And like commu- nism, its effects will be felt well into the next century. YoUUoLpIM STEADY WHILE I NITHIM W�Ti7HIS! Your Views Letters to the editor Postal contract goes out of area Mr. Mason is without doubt owed an apology from Canada Post. Dear Editor: On October 28, 1994, the people on Canada Post rural mail route R.R. #3, Exeter, Ontario were ad- vised by a letter from the present postal mail con- tractor, Mr. Ron Mason, that he had Lost a mail de- livery contract to an Ottawa, Ontario company and he would no longer be delivering our mail. Mr. Mason has serviced this route in an exem- plary manner. Now it would appear that the Ottawa firm in question will be hiring someone at their dis- cretion and not at Canada Post's. If so, we know the kind of service we can expect to receive. There will he an absentee contractor and a freelance "mail- man" operating without any personal accountability to the Post Office and this is not good enough. 1 consider my mail to be important even if Canada Post does not and to allow a casual employee of an Ottawa company to perform postal service strikes me as being an irresponsible act. Based on information contained in Mr. Mason's letter, he is without doubt owed an apology from Canada Post. Having gone to the trouble of prepar- 'ng and ,submitting a legal contractural tender he was told first by another applicant that his contract was not being renewed. To be first notified by the successful applicant, who is located more than 500 kms. away and not by Canada Post is an insult and an affront to the dignity of Mr. Mason who has conscientiously fulfilled the terms of his contract to deliver our mail. I am concerned about this proposed arrangement because no person in this area will be directly ac- countable to Canada Post for the delivery or non- delivery of the mail. Mr. Mason's tender should be reviewed and in light of the fact that his hid was for less than the pre- vious one he should be re -instated and thereby re- create some sense of mail delivery assurance for the people on this route. Sincerely yours N.N. Butler A View Fr�iueen's Park By Eric Dowd Premier Bob Rae is being accused of lacking the 'human touch', but should anyone really care? The New Democrat premier has been judged by some in his party and government and the media to be remote, aloof and cold except to- ward his small circle of friends. A former executive assistant said Rae feels at home only with those aged under five or over 75 and others complained he cannot make small talk and is uncomfortable in one-on-one situations and "his people skills are terrible'. Rae, a former Rhodes Scholar, is acknowl- edged even by opponents to have a formidable intellect. His supposed inability to look human is not for want of trying. The premier insisted not long ago that he has a mortgage and car loan like most and he, his wife and three children 'live pretty frugally.' He also said that he worries a lot more when one of his kids has a cold than over some affair of state. Rae explained that 'you put these things in perspective. Any crisis in government, is not the end of the world -- there are worse things in life'. Rae has been human enough to break down a couple of times in the legislature when recall- ing his younger brother's death despite Rae's giving him a painful bone marrow treatment. Once it extricated him when he was accused of being stingy to hospitals. Rae has tugged heart strings talking of how he loves to go 'fishing with my kids' and trudging from shop to shop to buy them a pup- py and how he would be distressed more if he forgot to buy his wife a birthday gift than by anything the opposition could hurl at him. No previous premier has tried so hard to show he has low brow tastes, parading his folk songs at the piano in schools and concerts and on TV. Your Views Letters totheeditor Time won't cost Hay grant funds "The Village of Zurich cannot legally issue a building permit for this building until the 'Sight Triangle' problem is resolved." Dear Sir: During the past few weeks there have been a num- ber of statements made concerning the proposed new municipal office for Hay Township. I feel that it is time to clarify some of the details relating to this project. The Township of Hay has applied for, and re- ceived approval of, funding of this project under the "Canada Ontario Infrastructure Works" program. In order to meet the time requirements of this program, 85 percent of the money must be spent by March 31 of 1996 (17 months from now). The Huron -Perth Separate School Board is going to build a complete high school, and have it ready for students in 10 months. It would appear that there is time available to meet the requirements for spending the money. Since a considerable portion of the funding is be- ing provided by this grant, it is important to realize that the project must meet all criteria of the Infra- structure Program. One criterion of the program is that the project "comply with all applicable federal and provincial laws and requirements (e.g. plan- ning, engineering, environmental assessment)". Since the building, in the present proposal, does not conform with the "Sight 'triangle" requirement of the Zurich Zoning Bylaw, this means that the pro- ject does not meet one of the criteria of the Infra- structure Program. Is there a possibility that the rat- epayers of Hay Township will have an opportunity to pay for the entire project with their tux dollars'? Lastly, whether the appeal of the requested minor variance to the Ontario Municipal Board is won or lost, the Village of Zurich cannot' legally issue a building permit for this building until the "Sight Tri- angle" problem is resolved. The building clearly contravenes the Zurich Zoning Bylaw on this point, and the Zoning Bylaw specifically states that "no permit for the use of any land. building, or structure ...shall be issued where the proposed building, struc- ture or use would be in violation of any provision of this Bylaw". We are very certain that the Council of the Village of Zurich will want to adhere to its own Loring By- law in this instance; otherwise what would it say to the next resident of Zurich who submitted a request for a building permit which did not conform to the Zoning Bylaw? In summary, 1 think that the funding of the pro- ject, under the Infrastructure Program, may indeed he jeopardized. However, it will not be timing that is the issue; it will he adherence to the criterion of the program which wilt cause the problem. Sincerely yours, Glenn Hayter Residents of Hay Association Does Bob Rae have the human touch? Rae has been as ordinary a joe in sports as anyone. He turned out on wintry nights playing for an MPPs' hockey team. He is as well known at Blue Jays' baseball as the umpires. He wears Jays' caps and t -shirts and fondly re- calls his boyhood idols were the Washington Senators, when his father worked in the U.S. Rae has been pictured playing tennis, golfing and skiing and in just about every sport but roller-blading. Rae may have participated in these activities because he enjoys them or to prove he is an av- erage guy people can identify with and should vote for. But voters have better ways of judging whether Rae is human. They can consider, among a host of examples, his increase in the minimuni wage starting next January to $6.85 an hour, one of the highest in Canada. The Pro- gressive Conservative premier William Davis a decade ago in contrast prattled daily about fam- ily values but kept one of the lowest minimum wages in the country. They can take into account that Rae now has the province pay wages owed employees when a company folds and collect from their former employers and requires that the traditionally ex- ploited working in their homes be paid over- time holiday pay and allowances for their equipment. They also can note from a contrary viewpoint that Rae introduced casino gambling to raise money for his government without concern for the problems this new opportunity to throw away income will cause some families. They can recall that Rae reneged and allowed stores to open Sundays so employees lost their day with their families and piled up huge debts year after year that will burden families of the future. Voters can judge whether Rae is human a lot more accurately from his policies than from whether he is well -liked by his office staff or comfortable kissing babies.