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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-05-01, Page 11• °moon 1+t / r�frr� ,��:r,;l gh priced power Ontario Hydro's request for inereases in the price charged to municipalities through- out the province is certain to be met with al- most . universal opposition. The wholesale rate charged by the corporation was • in, creased by 12.4 per cent at the beginning of this year -=-and now Hydro is asking for a further 29.7 per cent, to be -followed by 25 per cent in 1977 'and 20 per cent in 1978. Those figures appear to total 87.1 per cent over a period of a little more than three years --but in actual fact the cumulative ef- fect will be an increase of 118.7 per -cent in that period. Is it any wonder that muniIipa. lilies, consumers' and opposition politicians are starting to scream? The present request for . 29.7 per cent is made to sound relatively inoffensive when it is described at $3 or $4 per month for the average hobsehold, but that is very far from the end of the tale. The average increase for commercial and industrial consumers will be calculated in the hundreds of dollars per month—extra charges which,. of course, must be passed on to private consumers in the form of,increased`prices for all goods and services. Inflation at its most rampant. Only a fool would suggest that Hydro can continue to provide energy for our homes and shops without some increase in a period when everything else is :agoing up so fast, particularly the skilled laborand fuel which is required for the construction and opera- tion of a public utility of this nature, .Hydro spokesmen have stated that the power cor- poration lost many millions of dollars last year—but the financial statements. of .such huge business operations have a . way of slanting themselves fo support whatever arguments are most helpful to the com- pany's aims. There is no point in setting up blind opposition to Hydro's stand on the matter of rate Increases. We have little sympathy for such organizations as Cantdu--the -group which opposes the further development of nuclear sites in Western Ontario. If such people have the time and energy to get out lengthy documents warning of the hazards of new energy sources they should continue their research to the point where some viable alternatives can be suggested. Power we must have and Hydro is our only provider at the present time. However, the 'gargantuan sums which Ontario Hydro is asking foV must give sen- sible people reason to pause and to demand .an_ independent and.- very -critical- examine- - tion of the factors involved. Scarcely any facet of inflation (except taxation) would be as universally felt as power prices. We must be very sure that Hydro's plans for expan- sion are necessary and valid beyond any possible doubt before we commit ourselves and our children to a program which could mean great hardship for our society. Do we really need another?_ The parliamentarians in Ottawa are getting set to create another statutory holi- day, this one to occur in the middle of Febru- ary when there is no place to gO and nothing to do. It's all a bit reminiscent of the ancient Roman emperor who purchased public sup- port by declaring special holidays on which the masses could go to the circus and watch the lions chewing on the Christians. • Monday holidays are among the most costly extravagances known to modern busi- ness. These one -day interruptions simply add to. every cost of doing business—which eventually must be added to the prices of the things we purchase. -For thousands of work; ers across the land Heritage Day will simply be another day without income at a time when most families are finding it difficult enough to make ends meet. • 0 In fact there are several reasons why one -day holidays should be abolished alto- gether. The death toll on our highways on a summer '° long weekend is staggering and travel at such times has become so risky that many Canadian families refuse to travel while the big rush is on. Those who do fight their way to and fropi the rivers and lakes return to work in no shape whatever to look after their jobs. It would make a great deal more sense to forget about the long weekends and add the nine or ten extra days in the year to the em- ployees' annual vacations. With the trend to shortened work weeks, three, four or five days, there is little reason to believe that an extra day in February has any real merit other .than a vote -getter which costs the poli- ticians nothing. Scrne intereiing questions In a recent display of in-depth reporting the CTV national network brought its cameras to bear on one of Canada's most vital publicly -owned *corporations, Air Canada—and certainly left a great many doubts in the viewer's mind about the way in which the national airline is being operated. Although the program must have been in its preparatory stages for some months, it hit the airwaves at a time when even Parlia- ment was forced to bestow more than casual interest on its foster child. A Montreal travel agent by the name of MacGregor had re- ceived no less than $100,000 from Air'Canada and the airline officials declared that the payment was made in advance for services Mr. MacGregor would render. However, when the CTV cameras caught a passing view of that gentleman hurrying toward an elevator he certainly was in no mood to discuss his relations with Air Canada. Jean Marchand, the federal minister responsible for Air Canada, was forced to agree to an investigation of the MacGregor deal, but fought to restrict the probe to that subject alone, while opposition members of parliament demanded that the investigation should go. into several other aspects of Air Canada's operations. After seeing the CTV film and trying to make some sense out of the answers and non -answers of the airline's card chairman, Yves Pratte, we would gree that there are several aspects of the national corporation which should see the light of day. One fact which emerged was that a former employee, Yves Menard, had been treated with unusual • generosity by the corporation. When his work required that he be moved to Montreal (at a salary in excess of $60,000 a year) Air Canada paid for the move, paid the rent on his apartment for six months, provided both his wife and daughter with French lessons—and advanced money with which he could pay off a second mort- gage on his residence. The fact that the -resi- dence in question happened to be in Barbados did not appear to require explana- tion from Mr. Pratte. Commenting on Air Canada's business operations, the interviewer stated that the airline has on its books well over a million dollars in receivable payments. The board chairman offered no explanation. Despite the fact that the travelling public has been irritated beyond measure by recurring strikes of various unions within Air Canada Mr. Pratte insisted that labor-management relations are very good. • Former auditor -general Maxwell Hen- derson was ,present at the interview to ask Mr. Pratte some very probing questions about Air Canada's annual statement. Among other points was the fact that the statement does not list the individual salaries of -the top Level officials, which may be acceptable in the ordinary run of business corporations, but is something worth atten- tion when the employees are basically paid by the people of Canada. The program was anything but kind in its references to shoddy service and un- dependable timetables with which most air travellers are more than familiar. It dwelt briefly on the horror that is part and parcel of the new Air Canada terminal at Toronto international Airport—one of the poorest examples of airport facility planning on the continent. Perhaps there are satisfactory answers for all or most of these questions, but if so Mr. Pratte was -in no mood to provide them. His exposure to the public eye left one with the impression that he was there to say as Kittle as he possibly could about a publicly - owned service that costs Canadians a for- tune every year. Stand in line please There's a new version of an old game in Toronto these days. Apparently the big boys .who compose'the,directoratesof some of our largest banks are just kids at heart. They 4 still like to play 'I'm the king -of the castle'. Toronto -Dominion started the ball rolling when they erected the T -D Tower (s) in the block bounded by King, York, Well- ington and Bay Streets. But that4,as too much for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce just down King Street. They got busy on their own tower which rose a few stories above the T -D monolith. Now the Bank of Montreal is working on First Cana- dian Place and its steel skeleton is already poking above the B of C building. This could really lead to something. Maybe the Royal Bank will try -for a down - view on the CN Tower. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited Barry Wenger, President Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member — Canadian Community Newspapers Assoc. Subscription $10,00 per year. Six months $5.25 Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 Ontario Weekly Newspapers Assoc. To United States $12.50 Return postage guaranteed Armand is 13, tall and OM .with blonde hair, brown eyes and fair skin. He Is in good health ,and wears glasses for near- sightedness. French Canadian in,desc011t Armand speaks both French and English, so he could fit into home where either language is spoken. A bilingual family,'d be ideal, but most vital is a family full of warmth and eine. Armand Lacks confideince ? ;131rhself so the best thing for him would be if he can become soniebb dy's cherished son in a setting Where he wilt have brothers, dieters, aunts, , , grandparents. With all thosepeople to love him he willunclescertainlycousins begin to feel he is a worthwhile,p+i rson. Armand is a slow learner,.•now in opportunity class: He is doing better "this year than ever before and will take an oc- cupations course in high school. He works well in school with a keen interest in woodyiorking, his ambition is to be a car- penter.• Though he has been a 1000, -,Armand has recently joined Scouts where he thoroughly enjoys " the program and the association with other boys. 4- ' Since Armand -gets -owwell tir children of all -ages, he can fit into a family as the oldest, the youngest or somewhere in the middle. � To inquire about adopting;, and, please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Services, Box 888, Station R, Toronto M4P 2112 <For"general adoption information, consult your local Childrep's>;AidSociety. �Y�:er HE WANTSABIG FAMILY The Advanceltnes, Winghatn, Ontario. Dear Editor, I would like to address myself to the letter appearing in the March 6, 1975 issue of your paper concerning the United Church "developing stand on abortion". The United Church's position on abortion is contained in "A Statement on Birth Control and Abortion", prepared by the Division of Mission in Canada, for the 1972 General Council meet- ing. This statement recommends that abortion be removed from the Criminal Code. The effect of this kind of recommendation has been, first of all, to promote abor- tion on demand. Despite the fact that the United Church denies that it_ supports abortion on de- mand, the fact remains that its position that abortion shouid_.be_ removed from the Criminal Code and abortion become a private matter between a woman and her doctor, produces a situation of abortion on demand. This is be- cause there would be no restric- tions on whether a woman should have an abortion. And if there are no restrictions, a woman denied an abortion will have been de- prived of her rights. The fact that a doctor must concur with the de- cision is no real restriction be; cause on what basis could he so deny her. Further, it should -be noted that the law has an educative effect on society because -what is legal is interpreted as' what is accept- able. This means chat if abortion were removed from the Criminal Code women would feel that this was an acceptable way to deal with the problem of an unwanted pregnancy. The United Church, by supporting the idea that abor- tion should be removed from the Criminal Code, is, in fact, telling its members that abortion is a permissible way to deal with a problem pregnancy, The second effect of the United Church's position on abortion is to undermine the rights of all hu- man beings. In denying that the unborn child has rights, the t1 't- ed Church is encouraging ana tude of mind where the rights of . others are no longer considered as important,as our own rights,..ft is encouraging a material rather than a spiritual attitude. Further, regarding Mr. Tiffin's letter and his statements con- cerning the amount: of time spent on the 1972 decision; it would seem that the response of the 1974 General Council, that is to send the '72 report back to committee for further study, indicates that the majority of those U.C. com- missioners attending the '74 meeting in Guelph this past sum- mer felt that the '72 report was - not an adequate one. How else can one interpret such an action? The task of resolving this issue within our Church is a difficult one. The importance of the Unit- -ed--Church'sposition-oar-abortion in relation to the rest of society is immense. For this reason it is felt that time, patience, intelligence and understanding are all :impor- tant elements in the resolving of this important matter. Jane Louise Fletcher, Ad hoc committee United Church People for Life. 0--0-0 Editor, Advance -Times Dear Sir : Last week was Education Week in Ontario. I hope every parent took the time to visit the school their children are enrolled in and see the efforts our teachers are putting into educating the chil- dren we send off , to school each day. Sometimes when they go out the door in the morning, we .as parents, don't stop to think "What will my child learn to- -day?" I had the opportunity to , visit Turnberry Central school's senior spring concert. The school wasdecorated beautifully. As we entered the auditorium the first thing that came into view was "Welcome to our Concert" hr .Amended act allows for egg production control The Hon. William A. Stewart, Minister of Agriculture and Food, has announced that the Farm Products Marketing Amendment Act,1975, has been passed by the Legislature. The amended act, given royal assent on April 18, provides for production control for egg producers in Ontario through powers delegated to the 'Ontario Egg Producers' Market- ing Board. Under the amended legislation the Farm Products Marketing Board is empowered to establish regulations Board to control (a) To on require be authorizing out carry the following chicks the Egg production basis that for placement produced on a quota basis; (b) To require that eggs be produced on a quota basis; (c) To require that hatching eggs be produced on a quota basis; (d) To require that fowl be possessed on a quota basis; (e) To license producers for the production of eggs or hatch- ,., ing eggs, and to refuse to grant such a license; (f) To provide for inspection of premises, without a warrant, where egg production and marketing are carried out, when it is believed that regulations are not being followed. The Farm Products Marketing Board will immediately imple- ment amendments to the Ontario' Egg Producers' Marketing Plan. The Egg Marketing Board will establish rules and policy state- ments for the province's 1,250 registered producers, while those not registered will also be affect- ed by the legislation. In making the announcement, Mr. Stewart said, "The Ontario Egg Industry Advisory Com- mittee, established in 1974 °' to study the best way to improve the marketing system, has recom- mended that production controls be adopted in Ontario's egg in- dustry. The committee was made up of egg and pullet producers, feed and hatchery suppliers and representatives of the egg marketing and egg processing companies. It was recognized that if the consumer were to be supplied with a traditionally high quality product, changes• in the marketing system would have to be implemented that would bring about stability of supply and nor- mal commercial returns - to the producers. "Experience has shown that market control over . the sale of eggs is extremely difficult, and current estimates indicate that the number, of laying hens avail- able in Canada far exceeds the market potential for eggs. It is expected that the current laying flock in Ontario will be reduced to the 8.3 million hen level, which would provide an appropriate supply of eggs to the market in keeping with Ontario's share of YOU THINK YOU"Vt INP Luca ? YEsTTRWAY'5 ROTATING ING ST? IK E FELL ON MY PAY OFF *WeIette -. flowers`oI many. wing, anti maby smaller arranOmmt. decorated the pia well as, ,the balls, the children had . thing You° oa feel "'Wanted " in their ach+`�,,,, The performance was *`ydone • thetoughlyenjoyedbye b audience. • One thing that did Stand was the quality of musical tr ing these children , both by their music, teather and the other teacher;.' in the achOol. Music in a #school iss very tin- tant part of the cunieulumand j, as a parent, wislrit could be part of the secondary curriculuam; For those going on to high school next year, this could well be the end .of.,, their musical training in,. It is a shame. Childrenare so • pp wh `-tD ey are nginfk: ---, ply an instrument and they should be encoura8ed to take in this every ce-they get. Qn the whole, h think Education Week was well demonstrated:, ,to • Lhe patents, our schools in Ruron County are doingan excellent: job. , "A well satisfiedI»atent Editor's. Nate: The above did not carry a sign since . it expresses a worthwhile, we have pahlialied it without alteration. `. 0-0-0 345 Dunvegan Wive,.. waterloo, Ontario:. April 24, _:1975:: "Editor?' Advance -Tunes Wingham, Ontario, Sir: I am sure that all who roadthe account of the ``near-tedy"'m the Aprils 24, 1975 edition of your .„ paper are happy that the story ended with the rescue of certain men. However, itseems then a foolish, irresponsible venture should . not warrant front page and photo coverage. Any stupid exploit by adults `deems no, pub- licity as it is only tekhing i>a- tive lessons to our children. How can our youth become resile citizens when exposed to suit they are rtions Grace Jutzi. the National Market:" The Minister of Agriculture, the Farm Products . Marketing Board and the Ontario Egg Pro- ducers' Marketing Board were signatories to the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency Agreement which was established under the National Farm Products . Agen- cies' Marketing Act in 1972. The agency allotted 38 per cent of the National Market Share to the producers in the Province of On- tario based on historic production levels. Since that time every ef- fort has been made to control the marketing of eggs in Canada to assure continuity of supply to the consumer and market stability to the producer at a price that would cover the cost of production. Mr. Stewart pointed out that he has been actively involved in negotiations with the federal minister of agriculture and the agriculture' ministers from all provinces in order to improve the operation of the National Egg Marketing Agency. Minding Your Own Business The Advisory Services Depart- ment of the Industrial Develop- ment Bank has just published a pocket book entitled "MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS VOLUME 1". The book deals with giving credit to customers, man ng current and fixed as- sets, forecasting for a business, working capital, changes of ownership, and other subjects. This book will be of prime in- terest to the owner -managers of small businesses. It will hiso be useful to businessmen, lawyers and accountants who deal daily with small businesses, teachers and students of business, and to personnel of financial insti- tutions. The price of the pocket book is $1.50 and it can be ordered from Industrial Development Bank, P. 0. Box 6021, Montreal, P.Q. H3C 3C3. IDB's Advisory Services De- partment helps owner -managers of small and medium size firms to imporve their business management techniques. It con- ducts seminars for small busi- nesses across Canada, publishes a arterly bulletin "SMALL INESS NEWS", and informs owner -managers about federal government financial and non: financial assistance programs available to business.