The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-05-16, Page 3M1
JLtK' S JOT TIN OS
FROM QUEEN:S PARK
Ontario. Hydro announced -
last week that it was proposing
increases of 15 per, cent in the
cost of power to municipal used
utilities in 1975. The utilities
buy in bulk from Hydro andira
turn supply the majority of On-
tario's 2 1/2 million users.
Hydro said further' that it an-
ticipated annual increases of 10
to .15 per cent through the
period 1975' to 1979.
During the discussion of the
expenditure estimates of the „.
Ministry t,of Energy, opposition
,uin,wWuvz..rtty
members attacked Hydro's
proposal in the legislature.
They said the increases were
more apt to be I, per cent than
' 10 per cent and this if com-
pounded meant a doubling of
Hydro's charges in five years.
' Opposition' members - stressed
upon the Minister of Energy
that he .had to Step in and tell
Hydro that it must not dpuble
its ratcrx over five years.
• Hydro's rate application will be
reviewed by the Ontario Energy
Board in public hearings -begin-
ning June 10th. The board will
make recommendat' n to the
Government.
Mr. McKepugh, Mi stet .of
energy, told opposition mem-
bers that he was concerned
about the proposed increase
I1
and indicated that Ontario
Hydro's proposed ,r,ate • in-
creases for the rest ..of the
decade are staggering. .He said
the government would have to
look' things after the„ board has
made its examination and
report.
, Ontario -Hydro tried to justify
its rate of, increases by, laying
emphasis on the fact that it had
been hard hit by the escalating
prices of coal, oil and natural
gas. Coal used to. fuel the
majority 'of Hydro's Thermo
stations will increase 34 per
cent in price this year and
another 17 Rer cent in 1975, ,ac-
cording to Hydro. Oil and
natural gas prices are likely to
rise even faster and more thap ;
60 per cent of' new generating "-
units commissioned before 1980
will be -fired by coal or oil.
. Recognizing the impact of -
current inflation on., Ontario
Hospitals, Health Minister
Frank Miller said he will allow
w,
Hospital Boards that can prove
need to spend perhaps $100
million more than spending w
ceilings permit this year. The
increase grant will'be given on
an individual basis to hospitals
whose applications are ap-
proved. Mr. Miller told the
legislature extra funds will be
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GODERICH .SKO'N4L;STAR, THURSDAY, MAY 16.: 1974 P4G11 2
•
7
Ontario Hydro proposes 15 percent, increase
automatically granted to cover
forced costs, additional expen-
se's to Hospitals for higher
unemployment' insurance,
Canada pension plan and
workmen's compensation board
contributions. The government
will also cover actual cost in-
creases in hospitals of fuel oil,
food, medical supplies and
other materials. In addition
the ministry is prepared to con-
sider appeals from hospitals for
more money to cover wages and
fringe benefits, particularly for
,workers in lower wage
bracketa.
The , ministry's spending
ceilings allowed an increase in
HA,.spital budgets of 7.9 per cent
this year. .The ministry budget
provides 1.2 billion dollars for
hospitals about half its total
estimated s6ending this year,
and Mr. Miller chose not to
raise the ceilings.
Mr. Miller rejected
automatic `across the board
wage increases for all hospital
workers in the province,
modelled on the Toronto set-
tlement which provides $L50
raises in five stages over two
years. Although he hinted the
Toronto settlement may be con-
' sidered a model for workers in
other urban areas. He said the
wages paid may not be realistic
in rural areas where the cost of
living is lower.
Philip Givens, Liberal tran-
sportation critic accused the
Provincial Goverhn ent of
misleading the public over the
,-escalating costs of the magnetic
cushion go urban train system.
Costs of the .. go urban 2.5 mile
test track at the, Canadian
National Exhibition have risen
in recent weeks from $17'
million to $25 Mr.
Givens noted that the estimates.
for the system have risen 100
per cent. He indicated that the
Government's • argument that
4 inflation is the vil°lian is simply
unacceptable.
The Ontario Government's
overall spending will rise 14.2
per cent this year from 7.3
billion ,dollars to 8.34 billion
dollars. The two most expen-
sive ministries are Health and
Education with Budgetsin-
creasing about ..10 per cent to
2.4 billion and 2.3 billion
respectiv.ely.
The General Government
estimates include the spending
of the Revenue; goxernment
services and treasury ministries'
and the 'cabinet an.d
management board expenses.
,.The General Government
estimates also include .the
projected spending of the office
of Premier William Davis up
$115,000 to $1,216,000. The
Lieutenant Governor's office up
from $46,000 'to $61,000 and
the office of the speaker up
from $4.,8 million to $6.5
million. • 4
The Ministry of Housing took
its puce in the government °
books with its first official+
spending estimates more than
$226 million for .the 1974-1975
year, The Housing Ministry
,estimates previously inclu•dedd
in the ministry of revenue
showed, a drop from $237
million to $100 million in
grants,to_Ontario-Housing Cor-
poration,, The spending of
OHC was large last year
because it acquired land for the
proposed North Pickering
Development. In return'- for
that decrease this year's
estimates provide $19.8 -million
for the housing a. ton program
which housing minister, Sidney
Handleman hopes will provide
30,000 moderately priced
homes. Spending on com-
munity planning increases from
$:8,:1 million too$23.8 million, of
-this $2.5 million `'will go to
planning in North Pickering.
The ministry for the first time
is providing . mo.hey ` for com-
munity and. co-operative
housing, about $4.1 million.
The Ministry of Government
Services which handles the
Government's- Internal
° Business and finds its
Ministry's Accoromodat;ion, .is
estimated to cost $224; 792,000
to
this year, - an increase . from
$179,568,700.00 last year. Of
\this, the government will spend
almost $30 million buying land
for itself, more than 38 million
leasingoffices encl.-more than
75 million in building construe-.
tion. u
The Treasury, Economics
and Intergovernmental Affairs
Ministry shows in its $L26
billion estimates the costs of
the government's program of
grants to municipalities $307
million up from $202 million
estimated last year. The
Ministry also budgeted for the -
first time to cover flood
damage, excessive unem-
ployment and other specific
problem situations. Tew�-
amou`trts set aside is
$14,76§,000:- Of the total
Ministry budget . ,about half
$674.million goes in repayment
of the Province's Public' Debt.
°.The .Ministry of Revenue will
spend °$.110.4 million this year
almost twice last yearN
estimated -spending:. The dif-
ference comes mostly from the
guaranteed income programs
fon pensioners and the disabled
and increased tax credits an-
nounced in this year's budget. •
The changes will cost $50.5
million according to the
estimates.
The :Ontario Medical
Association misrepresented
scientific evidence in an at-
tempt to rove Optometrist
should not liwed to ad-
minister diagnostic drugs,
Albert Roy, Liberal ..Health
critic said this week. Mr. Roy '
said "he was appalled that the
Medica) Association ould
resort to misrepresentation and
scared ° tactics rt- to „ keep
diagnostic drugs solely in' the
domain of eye doctors. He ex-
plained that last month the
association sent a brief to all
members of the :legislature at-
tempting to show that Optical,
Anethetics and dilating drugs
could have serious side effects
and, that Optometrists shoo;ld -
not `be `allowed to use them.
Mr. Roy, M.P.E. for Ottawa
East, said there -is over-
whelming evidence that Op-.
tometrists with 'the proper care
can use diagnostics drugs in the
same way as eye doctors.
Members of parliami:nt have
been receiving a number of
,been
about the guaranteed
annual income system as it ap-
plies to Senior Citizens which -
comes into effect July 1, 1974
Perhaps the matter could be
clarified with the use of the
following example: -
A single old aged pensioner
who has no outside income
receiving a maximum old age
security and-guaranteedincome
supplement of $191.06 will
receive from the lirovince
$2&61 per month to bring the
pension total to $216.67. The
province -is guaranteeing an in-'
come of $216,67 per month to
each single, pensioner. If the
outside income plus the old age
security and guaranteed income
supplement equal or exceed
$216.67 then the,province will
not make any further
payments. However, if those
three sources of income do not
exceed $216.67, the province
"will make up. the difference.
To calculate a pensioner
couple's new guaranteed in-
. come the -same procedure as set
out above is followed, Their
newguaranteed income is
• $433.33 per -month. At the
moment a couple that has no
outside income receives a
maximum old age security pen.-
sion ;plus the ' guaranteed in-
come supplement of $364.49.
To this will be added $68.84 to
make the $433.33. As long as
the outside income plus the old
age security and the guaran-
teed income supplement do not
exceed $433.33 the province
will 'rake up the difference to
that ,point: -.-
q
Hydro says:
By:
George Wilkinson, Mbnager
Utility Sales Division
Westinghouse Canada Ltd.
Because changes in the world
energy picture, will' take place
over a considerable time
period, it is important that any,
discussion on this subject be
conducted within the context of
a clearly-defined time span. For
today's 'disc>ission, let us con-
sider from, 1973 to 1990 as'
short term, from 1990 to 2010
as medium term, and the years
thereafter as long term.
With this time scale in mind;
any serious study of the -world
energy supply situation
suggests that a medium -tem
solution extending into the long
term is the replacement of the
present fossil energy base with
a nuclear energy base.
The question'. is not . whether
nuclear fuel resources should
be developed, but „rather the
rate at which development,.
should be undertaken.
In discussing world energy
supply, it is necessary to resolve
the immense quantities of heat
energy units involved and to set
down these quantities in
manageable form. For this pur-
pose, an energy. measurement
called- .Q is used, Q being
defined as ten ' to • the 18th
'BTUs or one BTU followed by
eighteen zeros.
Using this measurement
form, the world's various
e rergy sources expressed in Qs
are: total recoverable supply of
The Approaching
Nuclear Electric Age
coal - 170 Qs; oil 13. Qs;
natural gas - 10 Qs; nuclear
(energy available without the
fast breeder reactor) 69 Qs;
moil shale and,tar sands - 20 Qs.
Authorities differ in opinion
of what the \growth rate of -
.
energy use will be. At 4 per
cent, ,the year of depletion of all
conventional energy: supplies
would be 2080, at 6 per cent,
the year 2050. Either wa.y, all
conventional supplies would be
gone in one -hundred years;
- On a ' fuel -by -fuel basis, 60
per cent of the world's resour
• ces are coal. Oil, by contrast, is
only five per cent and gas, four
per cent. How .'we ,consume'
these fuels is another • set of
figures entirely. In 1972, `coal
accounted for 38 •per cent of the
world consumption of energy,
-oil accounted for 40 per cent
and natural gas, 20 per cent.
While oil and gas together
represented only nine per cent
hof the world's fuel supply in
1972 and 60" per cent of con-
sumption, it does not take
much imagination to see which
energy sources are in trouble.
Other source- 'nuclear (24
e per cent), oil shale and tar
sands (7 per cent), and hydro,
account for the balance of the
world's recoverable fuel supply
and consumption., Nuclear,
therefore, is the only source
that will compensate for the
depletion of oil and gas.
How can we maintain this
'nuclear electric economy? For-
tunately two new nuclear sour-
ces of energy have been iden-
tified. •
One, the fast breeder reactor,
brings an enormous increase of
420 thousand, Qs to total energy
resources.. Fusion technology,
using ',the deuterium content of
the- oceans 'as the• basic fuel,
adds the astronomical amount
of 10 billion Qs of energy to the
picture.
'Addition of the breederreac-
tor at a six per pgrrf'gr'owtlra;tie
of energy use would extend the
world energy supply into the
.38th century. Fusion , - which
• will be the ultimate solution
would add 400 to 500 centuries
of energy supply.
In presuming this future all -
nuclear base, other ^ possible
'sources of energy such as
geothermal, wind and tidal are
dismissed because , they offer
only a minor source of energy,
Solar energy is plentifrzl
enough, but is an area which
requires, considerable technical,
development."'
.Hydro ,electric power, has in
the past been .a major source of
clean low cost energy. It will
continue to be a factor for the
remainder of this century, in
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'Canada and the newly
developing countries of the
world. However, the total
amount of energy, the world
hydro potential can supply is
only about 1/10 of.a Q per year,
and much of this potential has
already been' • developed,
Therefore, in the overall energy,
picture, not only does hydro of-
fer a limited amount 'of ad-
ditional, energy to be tapped
but its present contribution,
although renewable, becomes
increasingly less significant.
We are approaching an ,era
vtrhen virtually all energy will
come from some nuclear reac-
tion source. Oil and gas will be
the first to go. They will.. -be
replaced with' conventional
fission reactors furnishing elec-
tricity. These in turn will be
complements"din due course .by
fission reactors of the- WC:"
breeder type In.this„way, time
can be bought to develop the
fusion reactor the answer to
long term, world energy needs:
• The shift in energy sourcing
will bring accelerated use of
electricity. Electricity, with its
greater availability, and greater
efficiency, will have to sub-
stitute for various present day
fuels. We will rely more and
more on it for water• heating
and cooking as we phase away
-from oil and gas. We must shift
to more- efficient electric heat
for home and commercial
buildings. As world supplies of
Oil „run low, gasoline becomes
less and less available for per-
sonal use. The more efficient
electric automobile will come of
age. .
Mass -transit systems, diesel
.buses and trains will have to he
(continued on page 15)
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a
Riddell says:
Huron County MPP, Jack
Riddeil, questioned the. ef-
ficiency of the Ministry of
Energy, ,Darcy McKeough, in
an Ontario Legislature Debate
recently and referred to the
'Minister as one incapable of ac-
tion in the face of the .large oil
companies, He •added that Mr.
,McKeouugh was not pr pared to.
formulate policvv did not have
the courage of his convictions
and that he was not prepared
to ~rand on his own two feet,
Mr. Riddell pointed out that
circumstances of the times have
awakened Canadians 'to the
fact. that energy can no longer
he taken for granted. In this
light he asked the government
why they allowed Mr.
McKeough to continue with his
irresponsible procedure in han-
dling the provinces energy
problems.
He cited several examples in
the • recent legislature debates
when the Minister of Energy
was asked direct questions and
couldn't or •wouldn't,'answer
them. He shrugged off the mat-
ters •
attern' with apparent disinterest
according 'to- Mr. -"'Riddell. "Mr.
Minister, all I can say is: When
are you going 10 take your
responsibilities seriously? It is
obvious by this exchange of
questions and answers that you
are making 'a joke out of this
whole energy' situation'; which
in my way 'of thinking is ap-
proaching that ' of being
critical." '
Mr. Riddell ,then suggested
that the Minister of Energy was
playing politics and not' effec-
tively doing his job. He
criticized Mr. McKeough for
playing into Alberta's hands
because of their production of
PEAR EDtTO
(continuedh from page 2)
positive, compassionate alter-
natives, and social changes.
We just d.cn't go around
heating our chests a'nd
bragging.
The Pro -Life Group in
Goderich founded a separate
organization'" to help the
distressed pregnant woman,
Birthright is a nonsectarian,
non profit, no judgemental
free pregrra'ticv counselling ser-
vice for women who do not
.wish to 'have an abortion, hut
have no where to turn.
Confidential service, Bir-
thright works with qualified
professionals, doctors,. social
workers, attorney anal
clergymen and stand ready to
help, A home can be found in
another province, working with
other Birthright centres in
Canada for a girl to stay until
her baby, arrives.
Pro -Life people have listed
their homes with Birthright,
and help financially.
Which one of these
suggestions would Mr. Thomp-
son' 1 ike to fM1ov
This is only one thing that
has been accomplished,,. In 'or-
der to make a decision on
anything, you must have truth
and Facts, Mr. Thompson has
neither. The weakness of the
theory °', Shoot. first - Ask
questions. tater!
(".. Osbntn
Government not taking
responsibilities seriously
oil and not giving fair represen-
tation, to Ontario. "The
minister's theory seems to be
that when you are in Rome you
do as the Romans do. When
you are' in . Alberta . you -say
what the Albertans like to hear.
When you are in Ontario you
say what the Ontariaqs like to
hear. Toescape alienation you
either sit on the fence and do
nothing or pass the buck in the
hope that someone will bail you
out. I guess this is what politics
is all about ' if the Ontario
• government, and more par-
ticularly the -Minister of
Energy, is any example," he
complained.
"It's one thing. to talk about
a problem and to . reprimand
the oil companies for `charging
whatever the market will
bear; -but it is another thing to'.
take action against these,corn-
panies and legislate against
such profiteering and rape of
the public purse," he added.
Mr. Riddell suggested that
the Ontario Government and
the Minister of Energy are
taking Ontario's position with
regard to price controls too'
lightly. He feels they are un-
derestimating this province's
• right to haying power. to
regulate prices of oil and
gasoline. "Where is Ontario's
defence of its citizens? Where is.
this Minister of Energy, who is
so know led gearit oviwerful,
so' responsible and so mindful
of the needs of the people of
Ontario? I submit we can no
longer accept the
procrastination of the Minister
of Energy, particularly as it ap,
plies to ,the pricing of oil and
other sources of energy., We on
this side of the House feel that
Ontario,can and must take an
active° stand in assuring the
people of Ontario a, continued
supply of energy at a
reasonable price and free of en-
vironmentalq hazards."
"Overall the problem ot.4ght not
to be, as has been the case, of
Ontario simply accommodating
itself to price decisions in
Alberta or any other province," •
he said. "Rather I would argue
strongly that Ontario has an
'important part to play in any
price -setting scheme. Regarding
the. oil price agreement, our
Premier (Mr. Davis) has said
that he was `not unhappy'
with the results, even though
the new oil price will add $400
million to Ontario's energy
bill."'
Mr: Riddell- then suggested
that the powers of the Energy
Board be expanded to force oil
companies to justify their price
changes.
"Moreover, no explanation
has been given by the govern-
ment why a 62.5 per cent in-
crease over the previous• level
was necessary or justified.
Therefore, in such matters On-
tario should act with the
federal government, demanding
the justification of any price in-
creases. -'
Ontario must also take the
responsibility to protect the
consumer from oil company
price increases, The present'
Ontario policy is inexcusable.
But what, the government asks,
can we do? The oil companies
are national and multinational
corporations, The' Premier has
said that prices established by
national oil companies are mat
ters to be dealt with by the
federal . government, and , he.
flatly rejected the possibility of
Ontario acting unilaterally,"
"I would argue, however;
that Ontario ought to be able to
police petroleum prices. One
way in•, ,which this can be
carried• out is for the power of
the Energy. Board to be expan-
ded to extend their controls
over prices of fuel for domestic
uses," heymaintained.
Switching topics Mr. Riddell
voiced concern about Ontario
Hydro's policy over the
proposed reliance on nuclear
,energy for the province's elec. ••
tric supply. He was not in favor
of the reluctance of the power
supplier's spokesmen to tell
their customer's all the facts to ;
be considered in the switch. "I
am equally concerned about
the nuclear expansion
programme announced by On-
tario Hydro. Moreover, I am
concer-ned about the' reluctance
of Ontario Hydro to reveal• to
the public the potential dangers
of nuclear power. Ontario
Hydro has' stated that Ontario
will have to commit 20 million
kw of nuclear generating
capacity in the next 10 years to
meet the expected demand for
electrical energy. t, However,
nidny uncertainties are
'associated with this form of
energy," 'he pointed out.
The local politician then
'pointed out that their' are alter-
natives to nuclear energy that
he feels the government is not
investigating thoroughly '
enough to- merit dismissing
their possibilities so readily. He
went on to say, "There are
possible several safer alter-
natives-- to nuclear energy for
producing `electricity,- but
ecologists and many scientists
say they have been ignored
Some of these alternatives are
,solar power,. - tidal power.
fusion, geothermal power. It is
my feeling that these alter-
natives are within our
technological ingenuity and
that, any one of them could
(continued on page 15)
r0
TOWN OF GODERICH
Residents interested in making use of a possible
future municipal
i n
CARE CENTRE
' for their children (age 2 to;.5) are invited to telephone
Day Nursery Supervisor, Mrs. Carol Egener
524-7441 or 524-6806
or the municipal offices 524-8344
DEADLINE MAY 24