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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-04-02, Page 4PAGE 4 - sOD'ERICU SICWAL,-STARR. WEDNESDAY, APRIL _2,1986 A vintage piece of •Canadian mennorabilia will soon find respite. in the incinerator as the dollar bill is replaced with a new coin next year. • -- The move is a, clstalrbing one to be sure. The old buck may be battered and bruised but it has been the bastion of our monetary system far generations.. To be personal and close about the whole thing (if you don't mind), it was rather corn-. forting to.know that the sinilingvisage of the royal monarch was neatly tucked into the front trouser pocket. Having a queen in one's trousers. adds an immeasurable amount of security and confidence to one's outlook. But, will the removal of the beleaguered buck have a psychological impact on Cana- dians? Is it wise for the government to play with our revered buck when it's being bat- tered around like a hockey puck on world markets. DAVE SYKES The. greenback has long been a purchas- ing companion of hard-working Canadians and the source of many time-honored pro- verbs. But those were days when a buck meant something; days when a rigorous daily bat - Opinion r.�V, tie in the business jungle was capsulized by the phrase, Another day another dollar or 71,26 cents American as is the case today. . I fondly recall days when a buck would purchase. gallons of gas (we're not talking • litres, folks)., hamburgers, entertalaiirient, a zillion packs of baseball or hockey Cards and other essentials. I remember days when a Welt was a, rather hefty allowance worthy of flaunting around the neighbourhood. When you hit the folding stuff in allowance it was -sign that one bad crossed the threshold into the•major leagues. Try waving a buck at your kid at allowance time and see if they even get up off the chair. Kids can waste a buck in an electronic ' galactical warfare experience quicker than parents can make the stuff. And I have•now reached the stage in life where money of the folding variety is at a premium. And, on a momentus occasion, when there are a few bills tucked in the packet, they are of the green persuasion. If those bills were eleven -sided gold coins, I fear that the load would either inflict ir- repairable damage on vital organs or re- quire that I hire a small bat able-bodied companion to carry loose change forme. Loose change, in prehistoric taxies', would. buy a fellow a'beer Or sothe fable goes, To' day, bartenders, aside from .acting as psychiatrists, will also arrange loans at bet ty interest rates, to allow patrons to indulge, in comforting beverages. But the buck has meant much more to Canadians. A person laden with avarice is deemed to have the first dollar he or she ever made. In business, the man at the top has always stopped the proverbial passing bock. Somehow, the phrase, The Coin Stops Here, just doesn't adpnl,ateh' e0 VON, the abruptness or intensity of the power in. herent with the"top position." Just as, it would *difficult to Buck a Phrase, it would heegeauy as cantata= to Coin the Trend. • • This business of changing the buck to a coin will only serge to confuse Canadians • -. about quaint Sayings not to mention the• con- fusionit will add to their monetary system. Another Day, Another Coin, just doesn't seem to carry the optimism of fair reward for, a fair day's work. But then -the old buckeroo has been reduced to a pile of change in recent years and carried .only a fraction of its former weight. I'm not convinced Canadians will be enamored with this new Canuck buck. But it will, at least, be cheaper to frame the first coin you've earned. THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 G•the EST ALL POUND COMMUNITY N.WSpAPaF11N CANADA � c,'I'L Close35CG. g,,,CC.,A scum N.N.r, cr NT 19&1 oderic vSIGNAL-STAR P.O. BOX. Lee hiUCKIiiIS ST. IC.I®ImiSTRIAL PARK OOIlERICH, =NT. 6c? = 45€9 PUBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded li' 1946 and published every Wednesday et Goderich, Onterlo. Msriiber of the CCNA and OCNA. Bubscriptlons payable in advance 622.00, (Senior Citizens 610.O0 privilege card number required) In Canada, 660.00 to 14.6.A., 680.00 to ell other countries. Single copies 6OC. Oleplsy, National and Classified advertising rates evelleble on request. Please ask for Rate Card No. 10. effective Fletcher 1, 1906. Advertising le accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, the sdvertlalng ammo occupied by the err item, together with the le ullowsnce for oratsn In the event eture, will not be ■ charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be paid for et the app typographical error.edvartising, goad. or services et s wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely en offer to sell. end may be withdrawn at any urns. The BIgnsl-sten 1s not responsible for the loss or damage of unaallolted manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing par paces. . General Manager Editor Advertising Manager SHIRLEY-d. KELLER DAVE SYKES DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES...please phone [519]!524, 2514 Second class mail registration number 0716 Member:►CNA Erosion of freedom CCNA The Government of Ontario is moving at an alarming pate to impose a socialist ideology upon the face of this province. Is that what we really wanted when we votedfor..Change at the last election? ' The fiasco between government and the medical profession is an issue which is cause for concern. Actually, two basic issues emerge after all the smog of rhetoric has cleared. One is the issue of freedom of the individual and the degree to which we will permit the govern- ment to encroach upon it; the second is the quality of health care we can look forward to as citizens of Ontario. The extra billing aspect of the issue is nothing more than a smoke screen. Politicians realize that appeal to voters is best achieved by stroking their pocketbooks. Andso, while the extra billing issue grabs the attention of the public, the government can move in on the medical profession under the guise of better medical care for all at no extra cost. We've heard those kinds of promises before. What is astonishing is that so many people believe this will happen. Consider the record of government administrative ability. Consider the basic principles of human nature. Surely these would indicate that the people of Ontario will be the losers. Doctors, while they may appear god -like when one's life is at stake, are after all human beings with the same desires, sensitivities and needs as the rest of the human race. What is going to happen to the morale of these professional people if they are all reduced to the lowest common denominator by being forbidden to charge according to their worth? What will happen to their quest for excellence if there are no tangible rewards'for achiev- ing it? Where else in our society is that achievement denied? - And what is most disturbing, what profession or segment of our society will be next on the government's hit list? Basic human rights are being interfered with in this issue. Is that what we really want? What is at stake here is not the option to overbill, or equal access to medical care. It is the overall level of medical care we can expect by a group of once dedicated professional people. who have been squelched by an overbearing bureaucracy. And it is the tenuous status of some very basic freedoms we have all come to expect. We, in Ontario, enjoy an extremely high level of medical care. When world-renowned ex- perts are necessary, we need go nother than our own medical centres. Dove really want to interfere with the level of excellence we have achieved in Ontario? One thing is sure: it will not be here for us under a system where professionals are government -controlled. It is disheartening to see the spirit of freedom of choice and free enterprise, principles upon which our province grew arid flourished, gradually beingeroded from the Ontario scene. J.A. Shrier, Publisher. Improve welfare It was rather diturbing to note that a Toronto social planning council nation-wide Study revealed that the province of Ontario ranked among the lowest of all provinces with respect to welfare payments made toy families. • The council discovered that while Ontario could be lauded for its largesse in ranting, re- cent increases in the payment from 8 to 20 per cent, income for.the province"a; welfare reci- pients still"lingers between 25 and 55 per cent below the poverty line f '` Only the province of New Itrunswick ranked lower than Ontario with respec'•to the payments and while the province shares the payments with other levels of government, it is the province that sets the scale. The study found, disturbingly, that welfare recipients recieve amounts well below the poverty line and recipients are hard pressed to provide for basic needs of food and shelter. Thatkind of disclosure is disturbing. The welfare system used to be viewed , by many, as a free ride and taxpayers were of the opinion their money was being squandered on 'people who hhd no,ambition or inclination to work and provide for themselves and their families. But, that simply is not the ease. Because •of the unemployment situtaion, there are many people in need of assistance and yet, that assistance, does not adequately cover the r'Iic needs. Sure there were instances when payrtients were •received by fraudulent mealng many people need our welfae system just to exist and ihritive. But the province: should do morothan it has been doingf i r these°people and n 't�tkeat,'fflein nificant discrepancies threes). t fe Tl, as second class citizens. The study ai'so found si amounts paid by various pr. ovince*l Other proVitideS are doing a better job of Iris+` that two-parent farm). es Witliltwn Children, ter recipientf and, the cow cored for' in Onta1i";lrils�" ` . , e ,r ee the a`p v - revirice.i Ontario was Always considered the ihdiast�'a�e''p�ii:�tti � � � e t idliair otao tiiept`ovihCeM.S. jabs and money. Perhap$it'stime Whetter a t"t�0 Tina and Lucky by Sharon Dietz fanning extra billing will ensure universal access for everyone OUEEN'S BY JACK RIDDELL, M.P.P. HURON -MIDDLESEX Preserving the Canadian system of health care in Ontario is the -reason for - banning extra -billing. No one wants to turn back the clock to a time when patients were separated into two tiers or when files were classified as "private patients", meaning they could afford to pay, or "welfare pa- tients", meaning they could not afford to pay. eople in Ontario and across Canada worked to build a medicare system of which we,can be proud. Our health care system is based on; the principle of universal access: that is, no one will be denied access to quali- ty health care` simply because they are not financially well off. Banning extra -billing will ensure universal access for everyone. The quality of our health care system in Ontario is, without questions as high or higher than any other in the world. When compared with the. system in the United States, Ontario definitely comes out on top. Looking at the U.S. we see a system where the cost of necessary medical treatmentlis the most common ' cause of personal bankruptcy , : An elderly woman from Northern Ontario wrote to Health Minister Murray Elston recently about her experience . in the U.S. She said in her letter that while she was visiting the United States, she had to spend several days in hospital. This woman told Mr. Elston that if she did not have OHIP, her care in the U.S. would have cost her $8,000: She closed her letter , by urging Health Minister Elston and the Ontario Government to stand firin in the commit- ment to eliminate extra -billing. 'Her concern, and the concern of many PARK - people throughout Ontario, is that the prac- tice of extra -billing will lead to a return to a two-tier system of health care in this pro- vince. We cannot turn the clock back 20 years. The Ontario Government is firm in its commitment to ban extra -billing. Cana- dians rejected such a two-tiered health care system decades ago when medicare was , first introduced. The unanimous passing of the Canada Health Act in 1984 by both the House of Commons and the Senate reaffirm- ed that commitment. In fact, the Canada Health Act imposes a penalty on those pro- vinces where extra -billing is allowed to con- tinue. To date, the federal government in Ot- tawa is witholding over $90 million in federal transfer payments from Ontario. In addition, another $90 million has come out of the pockets of patients in this province to pay extra -billing charges. Theses same pa- tients have already paid for medical care through their taxes and their OHIP premiums. Banning extra -billing will allow Ontario to recover that, money being withheld and permit the Ontario Govern- ment to utilize that money to improve our health care system. High quality health care is expensive. The Liberal Government in Ontario recognizes this fact. For this reason, funding for health care in this province amounts to over $9 million. This is virtually one-third of the en- tire provincial budget. This health care commitment translates into well over translates into well over $1,000 in health care services for every man, woman and child in Ontario. At Queen's Park, the Social Development Committee is continuing to hear presenta- tion from concerned groups and from in- dividuals on how best to ban extra -billing and improve our health care system. The legislation to end extra -billing was referred to committee to allow for constructive public input. When the house resumes sit- ting this spring, the legislation will receive third and final reading. Public support for an end to the practic e of extra -billing continues to build. Health Minister Murray Elston is receiving more letters everyday from concerned in- dividuals urging the Ontario Government to proceed with a ban on extra -billing. Moreover, on April 4, the Alliance to End Extra -Billing will be voicing its support for an end to the practice at Queen's Park. This group represents over 40 different organization and associations across Ontario. It is the responsibility of the Liberal Government in Ontario to ensure that all pa- tients have access to the physicians of their choice, that they are fully covered by their health insurance plan and de not have to pay extra for these services in Ontario. This is a commitment that has been made, and it is a promise the Ontario Liberal Government will keep. " RECREATION GRANT On behalf of my colleague, the Honourable John Eakins, Minister of Tourism and Recreation, I am pleased to announce that the Town of Goderich is receiving $20,000 for their Recreational Master Plan, under the Community Recrea- tional Planning grant. Costofbirth control is reasonable compared to cost of raising a child Dear Editor: $100,00;td raise a Canadian child to his ese astonishing figuresi8tii birthday? Thr LETTERS caught My attention some years back. I was more,astounded this last Sunday to leans on the.'Cana+tib;,A.M. program hat these, figures bee_00000. Below are • car ctlatlo : , f 1 clttl,;to compare the two + • 7i ar per ear: $5882.25, ���' yew �tl�,iy,l,i��ed0 - A day: $16.07 per �r ,it`iontti', 60.20, per hour: $.67, per mine: $.01 1 17 yearrfor 8800,000 - per year $17,6/.08, per month. $1470i69, per day.. $48.22, per hour: $2.00' pet' orifi: $.03. ... If one is not overly eager tospei d this sort Of money to raise a child, Bien it makes the cost of quality birth control seem downright reasonable. A major cause of childhood injury and death is accidents children get into when they wander away from their parents, Perhaps a line strapped ontdd the parents' belts and to the toddler's belt and a T-shirt ofi the�child stating "'VALUE $200,000.,M0 PRECIOUS S TO LOSE" would be in order. Thank' You, Beverly Nye Stratford l•