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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-05-09, Page 5Akiliekg"t, ArAiiir/.41c.7 .76 .%,744.1Y • 44*.e*v +0". '10k4MOOMP . ,."'W/i'4.4%,10•0,••• *VW./ /e/ v;‘ 41Y /VA. 41MARM:•,:61: THE CARDIFF REPORT By Murray Cardiff, Huron -Bruce MP 4.,..„1"601111tAllikof Canadians have a serious probwas cut to 10 per cent, but despi lem — our large and growing pub- that progress, the debt continues lic debt, grow more rapidly than our natio An hour from now, that debt will al income. have grown by $3 million. In just It is, thus, with a sense of urge two weeks, Canada will fall behind cy that Finance Minister Micha by nearly $1 billion. Wilson embarks on the prese The cost of financing the debt has budget -cutting course, also grown. Twenty years ago, 12 Spending will be reduced, an cents on every dollar collected this will affect a wide range of pr through taxes went to interest pay- grams. As well, the budget propo ments. When the Progressive Con- es revenue increases affecting co servative government took power- porate and personal income taxe in September 1984, a staggering 32 sales taxation, and the financing cents of every tax dollar went the Unemployment Insurance pro toward interest payments. This gram. Effective Jan. 1, 1991, th year, it will be 35 cents. Government will proceed with th The recent surge in interest rates reform of the federal sales tax, shows how vulnerable we are. In These debt control measures wi just one year, the projected cost ol be worth more than $5 billion thi making interest payments on the year and $9 billion next year. B debt has risen by $6 billion. This 1993-94, the annual deficit will b year, interest payments alone will cut in half, to 15 billion cost Canadians $39 billion. Clearly, °,,Financial requirements — the a sudden jump in interest rates am-clunt that must actually be bor- could be crippling. rowed — will be reduced to $3 bil- And how did we find ourselves lion from the current $20 billion, in this mess? By living beyond our and as the deficit goes down, the means, accumulated debt will shrink as a The debt places all Canadians in proportion of our national income. an unacceptable position and this Deficit reduction is not easy. government is determined -that it Tough choices have to be made, but must not continue. the budget ensures that the total The new budget recognizes that package of measures is balanced to maintain the social programs —reflecting regional circumstances and high standard of living Canadi- and placing greater burden on ans want for themselves and for those best able to carry it. their children, a serious program of This budget is about building for debt reduction must be undertaken. the future, not borrowing from it. Already, the government has That is why the government is tak- made significant progress. In 1984, ing aim at the prime obstacle to that the debt grew at a rate of 24 per future — the problem of our grow - cent. Last year, that growth rate ing debt. 4 Wk 2101t •s•'/ yff4•Vi;,:e f•AS‘L. ,A.,4•ARNA, te The cost of successful debt reduc- to tion may seem high, but the price of n- failure is unimaginable. In Agriculture n- • Federal spending in the agricul- el ture sector has increased. dramati- nt cally in recent years, growing from $3.2 billion in 1984-85 to some $5.8 d billion in 1987-88. Expenditures o- related to grain assistance alone s- exceeded $10 billion over the last. r- five years. s, This is largely due to assistance of given to farmers because of the - price collapse resulting from the e international grain trade war, three e major droughts within five years — federal premium contributions for. 11 crop insurance have increased at a s greater rate to cover deficits in the y program. The federal government e has borne the brunt of the costs associated with these difficulties,. and because of' declining market incomes, there. was the introduction of the Farm Credit Corporation and the Farm Debt Review Boards, and various transition programs to pro- vide. assistance to farmers in diffi- culties.. These are all ad hoc measures that are • not satisfactory as a policy framework over, an extended peri- • od. The approach to agriculture for the 1990s will be to strive for a pro- ductive and economically viable industry that is able to become self- reliant. The farm sector will be encouraged to respond to new mar- ket opportunities, and changes will be made to policies and programs that insulate farmers from market signals. • o>,4•,„3 JACK'S JOTTI•:*& NGS by Huron MPP Jack Riddell, Agriculture and Food Minister Avstivifv9wf.e*v. .sweRw froKmpagrger 40*4421), AgimkOAT.444‘4,s„ 4.4.4mw..hy To prevent unacceptable rate or handicap. A new classification increase and to avoid confusion system, however, should only be over putting Ontario consumers put in place with insurance reform. through two major changes in auto- In a system where automobile mobile insurance in a shr period insurance is mandatory the govern - of time, Financial Inst' fin- ment has a responsibility to ensure ister Murray Elston ha b or,...-Aed a that consumers receive fair cover - 7.6 per cern cap on car insurance age at a fair price. This government rates written after 1989. has concluded that insurance prod - The 7.6 per cent cap defers the uct reform is necessary to serve the June 1 implementation of an best interests of the Ontario public, Ontario insurance system that and is already examining alterna- included a new classification plan. tive car insurance policies, includ- The insurance industry now uses ing the possibilities of a "no fault" discriminatory criteria — age, sex, option. marital status, etc. — as part of its The bench -mark rate of 7.6 per formula for rate assessment. Under cent was established by the Ontario the new plan, an individual's rates Automotive Insurance. Board in will be determined by the driving February 1989, following months of record, public hearings involving members Mr. Elston stresses that deferral of the insurance industry, consumer of the new classification system groups and individuals. should not be viewed as a decision For the small number of drivers to abandon the plan. The govern- who would have received lower went feels that the classification rates had the classification system plan should be part of overall prod- come into effect on June 1 (mostly uct reform of the insurance indus- young men with less than six years try driving experience), Mr. Elston The government believes that an pointed out that as the costs of the effective auto insUrance system can insurance system continue to rise, be deliX144, AlAtkilAitatiRor Acthisd red uctiontiwoultdAtayttribetit on age, sex, family,or marital status, only temporary By reforming the 1.1'..4•SW101g. 2::::*•:og4Ag:;:•;:"AM Planting for tomorrow... Former Seaforth mayor chairs review committee. The appointment of Seaforth resi- dent Alf Ross as chairman of the Ontario Producer Review Commit- tee was announced last week by Huron -Bruce MPP Murray Cardiff. Mr. Ross is a former Seaforth mayor and is joined on the commit- • • • " -*Mg.. • smsor4....iserammin wv• 4.1.403,.,=Vg • : system, he said, the government can provide for savings for every- one in the long term. Mr. Elston also responded to sug- gestions that 7.6 per cent was too low for insurance companies and might chase several out of the mar- ket, explaining that with the prospect of product reform, respon- sible companies are likely to stay in the market and write their fair share of business. The government, he added, will be monitoring trends in this area. WCB Survey During May, the Worker's Com- pensation Board is undertaking Phase 2 of a survey to determine injured workers' satisfaction with various services provided to them by the board. Workers who have received or are currently receiving temporary compensation — as well as workers who have recently received pension awards — will be contacted. Responses will be kept confiden- tial and Will not become a part of the claims file. The survey takes "abolit /0 Minutes to answer. •!,ew Wgirketitkireliinditettnoi obligratibn to restraint and workers With a • st claim under appeal will not be included in the study. The survey is being undertaken with a view to continuing to offer adequate services to injured work- ers, and to evaluate the impact of recent changes at the board. It is through consultation with the user groups themselves that the board is best able to assess the satis- faction with information and ser vices provided, and tp make changes where deemed neessary. Grants To Riding Community and Social Services Minister John Sweeney has recently advised of funding assistance being provided to the Huron riding. The CAP program at Community Living Huron in Coderich will receive $4,700 in one-time Multi- year plan funding to assist in the development of services for handi- capped adults and children, and t $1,400 in annual funding for the a Community Activity Program. The Jack Reavie Vocational Centre 4 in Wingham will receive $14,991 in ha addftional year-end funding to sup- port people in employment stations in the community. tee by Ron Christie of Staffa, an Glen Walters of Dutton. The feder representative is Frank Webster the Agriculture Developmen Branch, Other committee members and provincial government representa tive are still to be named by th Ontario government. The producer review committee have been set up under the Canadi an Drought Assistance Program (CCDAP). Committees have bee established in Albert? Saskatchewan, Manitoba am Ontario. In Saskatchewan and Ontaric committees will consist of six pit ducers and one representative eats from the federal and provinciA governments. As their first order of business the committees will finalize detail on the appeal procedure. Furthe information will be announced fol lowing the first meeting of commit tee chairmen. Committees will also make rec ommendations to the ministers ce how payments should be made e7, forage crops and unseeded acreage Committees will work wir; CCDAP staff to review yield dat which will be used to establis• acreage payment rates for crops 4_, each drought zone. These acreage payment rates wi be used toMake final payments all eligible producers in July. To date, the CCDAP administm ion has sent out about 120,00t pplications to producers, an.: eceived back over 100,000. Ovei 3,000 interim payment chequer ve bee.nmailed to producers. A total of approximately 65,00f tbIrwWlegibi3zeointeeiro heques.