HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-02-21, Page 11Catching His Breath- . Murray Cardiff, the PC
candidate who will be representing the Huron-
Bruce riding in Ottawa, stops long enough to catch
his breath with wife Betty during. the election night
gathering at the Brussels, Morris and Grey. Com-
munity Center. Mr. Cardiff topped the polls with
more than 2,100 votes over his nearest rival, Liberal
candidate Graeme Craig of the Walton area.
()Expositor photo) .
Jack's jottings
BY
JACK RIDDELL
M.P.P. . .
Last 'week I wrote
about the economic
si uation in this country
reported by- the
nference Board in
anada. I'm sure it came
as a surprise to those who
read the article that
�--Ontario- has :dropped ,
last place of all the
provinces from the
standpoint of economic
growth.
The Board predicted
that more than 80percent
of Canada's economic.
growth this year will
come from the Western
provinces and even the
chronically 'poorer
Maritime provinces will
outperform this province
in 1980.
I would like to conclude
this article by saying that
we in Ontario, for a very
long time, have prided'
ourselves on being nibs
successful, more
financially . secure than
our sister provinces. This
is no longer the case.
Sometime in late 1977
or early 1978, Ontario
became a "have-not"
province, within the.
meaning applied to the
national equalization
formula.
Alberta and s --British
Columbia have never"
qualified for equalization
entitlements under this
formula which is based
on the national average
and came into effect . in
1967-68. We little dreamed
at that time that within a
decade Ontario would
qualify for equalization
payments.
In the early 1970s,
Ontario's contribution to
federal revenues based
on personal income tax
and corporation tax, was
Declt4res war...
• from page 10
into taking over the entire
area south of town and
servicing it as funds and
-needs permitted.
The council indicated
they were not interested
in spending massive
sums of money to service
a very small portion of
land. To properly bring
the Conklin subdivision
on stream, the Goderich
had to spend in the an
estimated $2 million and
according' to committee
members the subdisivon
wasn't big enough to
warrant the expense.
The Goderich Township
representatives on the
joint committee became
impatient and =felt that
Goderich was , dragging
its feet. --The township
wanted to know if the
town was willing to sell
services, if a cost sharing
agreement could be
worked out, and also said
it was a waste of time to
haggle oyer -such an
agreement if the town
had no'intention of selling
the services.
Pressed for a decision,
,_Goderich council met in
closed' session and came
up with the decision not to
sell the services. The
council also indicated
that they planned to study
the impact, costs and
benefits of Goderich's
annexation of township
lands.
�4=
about 45 percent.- By 19771 .
the latest date for which
official figures are
available, our con-
tributionin personal
income tax had dropped
to approximately 40
percent of federal
revenues and to about
3.6.9 percent . in . cor-
poration, tax. This -strong'
�to�-
-downward-tax; and -~the -40
percent figure should be
applicable 'now. The
trend in corporation tax
is difficult to predict, but
at best it.jhould be about
the same (36-37 percent).,
Therefore, 38-39 percent
is a realistic figure to use
as Ontario's current
contribution to federal
revenue.
The Provincial
Treasurer , has
acknowledged that
Ontario has become •a
have-not province and
therefore, entitled to
almost $500 million in
equalization 1payments
over the past three years.
David Peterson, the
Liberal Finance '' Critic,
has demanded to .know
why Ontario has not
taken this money, and.
whether it is a question of
pride. The Treasurer has
taken the attitude that
Ontario's eligibility for
the-paym ents -only
how out of .date the for-
mula has become. He
argues that to give this
province equalization
payments would violate
the principle of
equalization since
Ontario's per capita
income is well above the
national average.
It's interesting to note
that.. if all oil revenues
were taken into account
in the equalization for-
mula rather than the
present level of 50 per-
cent, Ontario would be
entitle • .�.,� something like
$1.03 = on.
It's easy to see, of
course, why the
Turn to page 21 •
Dear: Editor:
It is nota practice of mine to write
letters to the .editor of the local paper,
in /lief, this is my first effort, but 1 feel
° there are sortie points I would like to
clear up in the matter of spot zoning in
Clinton, I would like to, state first,"
contrary to the thoughts of our Mayor
and Council, I have no argument with
Reis. ibranees
Dear Editor;
Sonne: tine ago, an article about
Heritage Reines, showing a picture of
the Silcock House, appeared in your
paper.
My husband, Dr. Wilfrid Grant,
would very much like a copy of the
picture, and we were wondering if one
could be obtained.
Bill is the only son of William Avery
Grant, who was not a stone -cutter but
a retired farmer who bought the
property.from:lames uearn-He-spent-
his youth in that house, went from
there to Normal School, then to
University and following his
graduation. in 1934, practised den-
tistry in Ottawa and is now retired.
He has many fond memories of his
old home and when we were in Clinton
at the last reunion, he went around to
visit and had a chat with Mr. Silcock.
We would be happy to pay whatever
the charges were for a photo.
Sincerely yours,
Ellen Grant
(Mrs. W. D. Grant) .
Ottawa, Ontario
[ r 'vrit.
Businessman objects to supermarket location
the building of a new supermarket in
Clinton. My concern is that after
forming the B.I.A. group with the
support of council i to beautify .and.
strengthen the core area in Clinton,
'the Council is already anxious to start
rezoning the fringe area without
suggesting that Old buildings and
property in the- centre of town be
cleaned up,` "If new business comes to
Clinton,' then it could 'be built in ,the
core area as the 14.A. and we (Red
and White),did 15 and 20 years ago.
I resent very much: when our mayor
states in the' local paper that he
cannot understand ho, w a few parties
can try to hold' up progress in our
town. I would like"to ask where he was
15. years ago when my son and .I
decided there was a great need for
another store in Clinton and at great
risk of losing a great part of my life's
work, decided to tear down an old
house and carve out a new business
section in the core area? As it turned
out it was a success and h
progress in Clinton. In fact, I would
state that both the I.G.A. and Red and
White stores have done a great deal to
male Clinton a shopping centre for
Huron County.
There is nothing makes me more
furious than to hear a handful of
merchants and a couple of elected
representatives tell of all the people
who are leaving Clinton to shop in
Goderich and other places. I would be
the first to say there are lots of people
who shop out of town. 'After being in
the retail business for 35 years, you
realize some of your relatives and
'CLINTON NEW
best friends do not patronize your but
that doe$n't mean you are. not a
success . CatSe everyone s
low to o
mention how many outsiders do shop
in Clinto . I, can truthfully say that
after keeping records of contests and
draws in lour store, approximately 00'
percent of our trade is from Clinton,
and, we
patronage
from the
Without
have beer
`As for ;; our, . Town Clerk and his
remarks 'Ejn te last week's council
news; ( hat the objections . were
frivilous) . I am appalled at Ws
negative attitude toward ` the.
problems .of small business. To prove
I am not all wrong and that I do my
re very grateful for this
, but there is also 40 percent.
ural_ routes and' other towns,
his trade our ,doors ,would
locked years agq..
horn ewor
article in
David S
much bet
it might
I found' the following
the Toronto Star, Witten by
pin which tells the story
ler than Ido, and jest maybe
good food for thought, or at
o_ ci o j -thin
to think about.
Sincerely yours
Maynard Corrie
' Clinton
"At long last one of the dumber
ideas of our "time that in politics
"small is beautiful" is beginning to
die out. May it rest in peace. In the
last couple of weeks politicians from
both the New Democratic and Con-
servative parties have shown they are
beginning to understand that small
governments are not necessarily good
Vanastra taxpayers being ripped off by farmers
Dear Editor:
Vanastra pays about 800 percent
more taxes than the township far-
mers. People in Harperhay,
E ondville, Ki en Iensall. and _
I3rucefield all have to pay a higher tax
than their farmer neighbours, But they
worst off is Vanastra. •
If it were not for all the above
named villages and localities, the
Township would fold. It is those
communities that allow Tuckersmith
to exist. The Township farmers are
being heavily subsidized by those
communities plus all the people in all
the other towns and cities in Ontario
are further subsidizing the farmers.
It's really great to have a large
political lobby. They have had their
own way for some time now and they
are still crying the blues. If they had
to pay their fair share of the tax
burden, you would really see them
scream,
It is my opinion that taxes are a
sharing of the cost of operating any
community (communism). We do live
communally: we share the roads; we
share the sidewalks; we share water
supply; we share the sewage system;
we share the hydro and street lights;
we share ,the telephone lines; we
share the schools; we share the
hospitals; we share the churches.
Believe . it .ornot,_.j.ust__about
>
everything . that goes on in any
community is shared by all in that
community (communism) right here
in our own backyards: Taxes are
designed to share that cost and is not
'designed -'to- make a profit for the
Townsh _They are. riot ,supposed•to
be in business for themselves. It is a
cost sharing organization (sup-
posedly).
Kin founder pleased
Dear Editor:
I cannot let the occasion pass
without a thank -you on behalf of my
brother for the very nice tribute you
made to the Kinsmen of Canada and
especially the fine group of men who
comprise , the Clinton Club. Sixty
years have passed by so quickly and
so much has been accomplished by
this organization.
Hal went to France at the age of 17
and came home a very large young
man indeed. I think of the innocent
times we lived in then. The
preliminary meeting of Kin was'held -
in our livingroom, a small group all
if you own a home in Vanastra, and
say you paid =$20,000 for it (the
assessments in Vanastra are•based on
current market value) your current
lax bill would be ' about $380 per an-
num. If you got extremely lucky and
sold that property for $40,000, the new
owner would have a tax bill of about
$750 per annum. He would get nothing
more for the* extra money. If he in
turn sold that same property for say
$80,000, the new owner.would be faced
with a $1,500 tax bill with nothing
more in the way of services. This in
my opinion, is not sharing the cost. It
is•.taing someone '`toi, the cleaners.
This same thing I thr"nk'applies to all
the other villages and localities of the
township except the farms.
The farm assessments have been
stagnant since 1970, that is to say if a
100 acre farm with one house and one
barn and one drivngsled (typical)
was assessed in 1970 for 6,300, it still is
assessed, at 6,300 irregardless of how
many times. it has changed hands or_ .
how the price has varied. Now this
typical farm pays about 12 cents on
smoking cigars, it seemed to a small
girl. My 'mother served tea and drop
cakes with jam tarts.
Perhaps you'd be interested to
know that Hal has just been made a
Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary
International. He has made it at last!
I know he'll enjoy my copy of your
special edition. The Clinton and
Goderich Clubs have always had
special interest to him as our family
has hol idayed " here for exactly_ 00
years too.
Most sincerely,
, 'Hal Rogers' sister,
Doris Rogers Hunter,
Bayfield
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RECORD, THURSDAY, '
,governments,
"In fact, small governments are
usually pretty awful. Just look at the
way rural councils have pertnitted
developers to plant .shopping
in plazas
ozr,'the outskirts of small towns. The
Plazas drain business away from the
town main streets and kill most of the
casual sociability that small towns
are famous for. Stores move . away
and the town ;councils can't even
collect any tax° revenue -from the
plazas because the plazas are ,Jtt'st
beyond their borders:
"This syndrome became so corn.
.mon and so devastating that ° the
provincial government finally
stepped in and imposed some • strict,
planning controls on shopping plazas.
The provincial government did for
those small rural councils what they
did not have the wisdom to do fpr
themselves. •
"But . according to the partisans of
"small is beautiful" this is not the
way things are supposed to work.'''—
NARY 21, 1980—PAGE 21
.,fir' you knQW
According to Robert L.
Ripley (of Believe It or
Not) only one person in
100,000 Can `pronounce all
these words : correctly:
data3 gratis, culinary,
cocaine, gondola, ver-
sion, impious, chic,
Caribbean, viking. To see
i you • are • the one in
14 0,000, check the dic-
- tionary for the exact
pronottnciations.
66
oke'..9
eb'rea
.IT'S' THE 'MSN'S TURN
Equal ;, chalice. Equal
opport silty, Equal time
In front of the mirror.
How things • have
earigedF�"' r ` Xise`d to
be. one blow dryer in the
family, It was hers. Now
there are at least two, His
and hers. Brushes,
combs, skin fresheners,
setting lotions, special
soap bars. Two distinct
groups of grooming aids,
What a tretnendous
revolution: good looks
are in for everyone, male
and female.
It is the men's turn to
worry about the gray in
their hair -- wonten have
already worried enough!
It's the men's decision
now to do something
about it. If hair is too
limp, too dry, too hard to •
manage, it's the men's
turn to find ,a salon, a
stylist and make an
appointment for an
analysis. It's- the - men's
14.1.1.1_11_029.4 _as youn_g., as
_wll grooed,as good as
they possibly can.
Our : staff is trained in
all aspects of, hair -care
for. men. We would be
pleased to share our
knowledge and ideas with
you. '
(Do you have an opinion? Why not
write us a letter to the editor, and
let everyone know. •411 letters are
published, providing they can be
authenticated, and pseudonyms
are allowed. .911 letters, however,
are subject .to editing for length
or libel.
J
every dollar of assessment that
comes tO $756 per annum and he gets
half of i -back at the, end of the year so
his grand total tax is about $380 per
.innu.n ,Fxom-w.hat-Lcan-underst-any.-
the farms were. assessed like pinning
the tail ion the donkey game and it
hasn't changed since.
If the farmers were assessed today
like the properties at Vanastra' -are
assessed, then' that same 100" acre
farm would have an assessment of
about $24,Q00 and paying a 12 cents
mill rate the tax bill would come to
$2,880 instead of $380. In other words,
they are being undercharged by about
750 percent. You know who is making
up the difference.
While that rip-off is going on, look at
this. Vanastra is about 100 acres and.
like that farm it should be paying 12
cents on ,the dollar of assessment.
That it does, but it does it 200 times
over and .over again. The 12 cents on
the dollar of assessment should in the
case of Vanastra be divided by 200
then added to the -mill rate payable
T
per property so that same 100 acres
does not pay more than the 12 cents. If
you use the figures just given, you will
quickly see that Vanastra and the
other villagsnd ldeaitres-are-bein-g-.- ....
ripped off for not only the 750 percent.
extra, but now you must multiply by
200. which comes to an unbelievable
150,000 percent overcharge. Might is
right and our township councillors
are, with the exception of one, all
farmers. They surely will not make,
any changes for you and me.
Caviate emptor is rapidly disap-
pearing because of the government's
consumer protection laws, but those
same laws don't apply to the con-
sumer and the , government. The
government can go on ripping you off
as always, but a private person can't.
Who protects you from your own
government!
The sooner Vanastra gets a total
divorce from Tuckersmith, the better
off we are all going to be.
Charles Mazmanian,
Vanastra
Edith Anne.
Hair Fashions
CORNER OF RATTENBURY
AND GIBBINGS STREET
PHONE FOR AN
APPOINTMENT
482-7697
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