The Huron Expositor, 1987-01-07, Page 31,07
AREA .NEWS
. '
Aff ir,rmative actiori fund • extended'
' TheAI irnativeAct ion-ltmptoymentEqui-
ty Inventive hind for Ontario school boards'
will be extended for an' additional. three
calendar years, •e1fectIve January .1, .1987,
Education Minister Sean Conway 'announced
,recently.,
For 1987 the amount available to boards
will be $2.1 million, followedby 11'...1 million
m 1988 and -half a million dollars in 1989,
bringing the total to $3.7 million, in addition
to this amount, •$975',000 will be allocated
over the t n (•vearperiofl from 1987 to 11)91 for
other program support.
Since.the fund's introduction in 1986,79
school boards have ,received more than ,$2
million for board -,operated affirmative action
programs. Underthe fund,, school boards can;
• receive 75 per centof the cost•of employing an ,
affirmative action co=ordinator er undertak=
nig a special affirmative action project.
M r.. Conway said he is requesting that •
school hoards adopt the objective of achiev-
ing an equitable representation'of 'women
•
•
and men at all levels of the educational
• system'and that they raise the number and
diversify the occupational distribution of
Women in the educational system, The
Ministry of Education is committed 'to the
same goal for its :own employees,he added.
"In' addition, I plan to introduce amend-
ments to the Education Act, hi require all
boards to promote and maintain affirmative
action -employment equity in the employment
and,promotion of women,, " Mr. Conway said.
•
Federal government extendsact
1 u'nrer•s can continue to, get'credit, under groups and agricultural lenders, he said, Since the program was introduced in 1945,
the Farm Improvement Loans Act (FILA) for p"lhq.guarantees ihtermediate-term; loans f rini ;improvement loans have financed
the :next ' six months, Agriculture Minister' to farmers for thepurposes of buying investments of $6.3 billion: on Canadian
John Wise has announced. The House of a quipmeet or improving their operations, farms.
consmons recently • passed • legislation to'
extend nd the Act to .June10. 1.987• - To February 15
During this time, the program will he •
`ou+hr,uc'd by. farm leaders, lending institu•� i
b:Minty funds has Started'.
tions and the fovenunenl. •
' As 1•said on;September 26 in response to
• rumors that .the program would be cancelled
rt is a priorityof this government to ensure
•hat Canadian Farmers' have adequate access
• to credit."'•'Mr. Wise said- •
-
The Ministeradded•that although no major •
changes inlhe Act are expected; the program
-:does need sonic fine-tuning. to meet -the
'<urtrnt'needs of farmers.
This extension will give us the time we
need to eari;v out full consultations with farm •:
'Phil Anility Fund, the major fundraising
' campaign of the Ontario March of Dimes,
runs from January '1 to February 15.
Thousands of volunteers across the province.
will raise fiver $400;000. tocontribute towards
• fhecampaign goal of $.1.16, million, Honorary
campaign chairperson is the Honourable Paul
M art ie. '
in addition:'lo''the appeals made by the
volunteers, funds will:be raised through Mail
campaigns, coin boxes, and a .spectacular
black -tie fundraising event, the Celebrity
Gourmet Gala II'in Toronto; February 28.
This annual Campaign raises over half of
'the year's fundraising goal for. the Ontario
March of Dimes,, the funds go toward
assisting physically disabled adults through
services such as vocational •rehabilitation,
providing aids to increase independence,.
communityservices, residential camps, and
information for' people experiencing the late
effects of polio, •
MPP answers questions
, I have received a number of calls from
• small pharmacists in the • area ,expressing
concern oyer- the effect they feel the new
provincial drug legislation will have •on their
businesses and -on their ability to compete
with ,larger•,-pharr facies, Perhaps the follow-
' ing. will hdlp. to clear up , some of - the
misconceptions' surrounding this issue: •
The Ontario I.7rug Benefit Act' (Bill 54) and
the Prescription Drug. Cost Regulation Act
(Bill 55 cameinto 'effect on 'December 1;
- 1986. marking the beginning of greater
. - consumer protection and morerealistic drug.
prices.• -
A,s a result,' both the government, through
the drug benefit plan, andcash customers,
paid• artificially -high prices on -some drugs,.
Thisnew law will help solve both problems.
Ontario Health Minister Murray Elston also•
announced that .a new, expanded formulary
has been -published .and distributed to
pharniacists.
In the months to -come', t -he Government
will examine other areas of- ODB policy,,
namely. Special Authorization fornon-forrnu- •
Iarydrugs. oxygen reipihursement, and most
important of all. the subject of appropriate
drug utilization. The latter is a major concern
since last year. despite a "frozen;' formulary:
and dispensing. • fee• structure, • because -
program growth remained at an unacceptably
high:per" cent.
If Ihe.Government is to continue providing
_eniversal coverage for approved drugs. to
seniors at no charge. or to consider expansion
of. eligibility or benefits tin a program now
costing. about .$500 million a year to assist
only IN per cent• of the population), -then we
must bring the drug plan• under control. To
stress this point. "savings" from the
elimination of the "price spread" ' are
expected to be largely consumed' by the
addition of new single -source benefits and by
pride increases of some existing benefits
whose listed costs has been the same since
January 1985.
finally, it must be pointed out to concerned
pharmacists and consumers that the Best
•
Reader is 'tired
Available -Price (BAP) pricing concept was.
•developed and promoted by .the, Ontario
Pharmacists 'Association -•1t was understood.
.by the drug wholesalers who supported the
KAP concept that it would ;address carrying
charges such as those levied by the wholesale
distributors. This has had a considerable.
affect on the "government's drug pricing
plans. .
The new•law will ensure that all purchasers
of drug products are able to- buy the same
quantity at the same price, with no
disadvantage • to. wholesalers, independent
pharniacisteor other groups. , •
• The drugcost mechanism in the new
legislation is different Man originally pro-
posed by, the governinent. One concern the
government has had from the beginning is -
hat 3r rigid definition in the Act itself might
limit flexibility in -dealing with unforseen
marketplace issues as the system adjusts to
the new legislation. -
The ' financial - viability. of 'independent
pharmacies is a' priori ty of the government. in
the event that a pharmacy provides evidence
of an inability to purchase a drug product at
the (1D13 reimbursed price, the pharmacists
. may claim acquisition cost under subsection 6
- Gallut out 'for. oldphotographst
(3 ).of the ODB Act: Similarly, the ,indepen-
dent pharmacist will be able to establish a
unique ''usual and, customary" • fee in the
cash market in 'order to, address individual
. needs. •
The Government • is 'convinced that the
regulations under the.new Acts will strength-
en the pricing mechanism,and'.eliminate past
weaknesses in the. system.' Proclamation of
the legislation 'andprovision of an updated
Formulary should resolve a number of related
issues' that have' been. with us for several
years.
The Ministry of Health will continue to
monitor the• situation closely immediately
after • proclamation, and mill discuss any
significant issues with representatives of the
profession and the industry as has been their
practice in the. past.
•3 hope the above information will help to'
allay some el, the concerns expressed to my
office regarding the drug pricing.• tegislatitln.
' Yours sincerely,
JackRiddell, M.P.P.
• Huron -Middlesex
Ministerof
Agriculture and Food
One of my first projects is to_compile. a borrow_ the pictures.. in fact. when you bring
phone documentation of •buildings' on the in a photo. 1 can make a photo copy of it and
main street. I' fit looking for pictures of give you the original back- while you wait. Tf
buildings on or near the Main Street of you can spare the picture for afew days, a'
Seaforth. from all periods in its history, This picture can he taken of it - then we'll have a
includes even small pieces of buildings that negative too. and could make extra prints tat
Maybe in pictures of .your family or friends or, . feast -one for you, free of charge). So, please
that were taken during a parade or big event help to solve some Main Street mysteries.
on 51ain Street. These kinds of -photos contain have a look in that old box of photos. Give me
• many clues that will ' help in preparing a call at 527.0160 or visit the Mainstreett
drawings for the renovation and ,restoration Canada office en the second floor of the Town
of downtown buildings. They *ill also help to , Hall. Thanks in advance.
piccelogether a few puzzles on how the main Toni Lennon
street developed and evolved, I only want to Mainstreet Co-ordinator
g Y
of connivin Soviet system
t can't begin to imagine the gamut of
emotions that must be tearing David
Meliwain apart at this moment, And anger is
surely the dominant one. Anger at a crooked,
.totally incompetent international hockey
system. Anger at officiating that is dishonest
and frighteningly inept. Anger at a slime -
conniving -Soviet system that has poisoned
everything it has ever touched.
Von all saw the ugly brawl that -took place
hist Sunday -between the Canadian Juniors
and instigated by a Soviet neanderthal goon
shoat!,
138th teams were disqualified and, as if
they never existed, all previous gattes and
results were,' forever, wiped out. '
The people responsible for stealing and
cheating our kids out of heir potential gold
medal are nothing shit of contemptable
puppet stooges dangling on the etid of a
string manipulated by morons who, like their
predecessors. cannot he trusted„
If it had been the Soviets fighting for the
geld and then Canada putted this truly
cowardly act you 'can bet your democratic
freedom •these pimples on fie fate of
humanity would have found a way to play this
game, Threats probably.,
Wa have witnessed this crap year in and
year out now. I'm fed up with these
hypocrites from Europe, who kick, spear,
•`;lash. take our money and run Koine white at
Writer`. elicits
:The Report of. the House of Commons
fataffng ebinrtrittea on Government Opera
fions in regard to the Canada Post Corpora-
t"ions five-year plan for 1986 87 td 1090-91
tailed ter the closure, amalgamation and
franchising of rural Post Offices.
`'h Committee Report which Was pre,
s'ented to the Hou;se on December i5, I946-,
'recommended a fete changes and empha-
sized some aspects Of the Platt Unepoint that,
the Committee enlarged linen was the
privatization of certain rural • Post Office..
While the Committees observations about
the human resource issues are appreciated, I
must stress that I consider"the privitization•of
these operations to be mast illogical. If, by
suggesting the Post Offiee8 in certain rural
communities be ttitited over to private
operators, the C erporation is saying that a
profit can be iii'ati a from them, Why then is the
Corporation, which needs money, giving
them till? If they are not profitable; what
t38tantee do the citizens of these communi-
h€'s have that their postal service wilt
Centilitre in the future
What, will happen to the • Gove'r'hinent
'representation in these com'munitte8, to
aYarlity to assist citizens with thecotnpletron of
Government feeret such as U,T,C,, gasohrie
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR H OR
the same time condemn ourway of life and do I would also like to give out a jerk of the
it all in the name of sportsmanship. year award. It goes to C.B.C. commentator.
Sportsmanship? The Soviet Union has Brian•Wilftams whose stupid comments -not
enslaved half of Europe and their Communist only upset many, Canadian hockey fans but
phdosophycontrolstheir sport as well, These also disgusted Den Cherry es well
people are a menace and Harold' Ballard is
right,
of eourse the Czech press portrayed
C'a"hada as the culprit. What, do you expect
front gutlesssyehophantsdandng to the tune
of the Kremlin?
t'nlitics. Now wasn't it Wonderful way for
Sweden to win the bronze medal. By voting to
expel `Canada they claim the third place
'prize. I hope they choke on it.
In the past when Canada sent teams to play
these people, we have been labelled
everything from bullies to goons. When the
Soviets sent this big, clumsy excuse for
hockey dub they are called young and
aggressive. -
it was a planned, deliberate attaek en our
kids, and i for one, have nothing butrevulsion
and disgust for these Soviet sportsman and
their lackies. -
1 thought Cherry Was about to instigate a
brawl of his own while sitting and listening to
Williams` ranting,
in closing, don't blame our players.
Anyone who gets kicked, speared, hacked
and butt -ended enough will fight back and
don't tell me you gotta suck in your gut and
take being brutalized. Bull. The Canadians
left their bench only after the idiot Soviet
coach sent his team out. Templeton Was
right, You don't sit on your ass while your
friends are being beaten up by a country -and
a system that has crushed and brutalized
millions before.
isn't it funny while (hey need us for our
hard cash and tournament prestige we surely
don't need theta,
Maybe it's time to pull out before we
become as corrupted at they are.
Dave Broome
support for postal service •
las rebate, incoine tak, birth certificates, Group is a service-oriented body, in stating
- accwsls to rnfotmation,ctc ". that.theydo-not-generatesufTicienLreveriuee_
The -Post Offit:es in the rural areas are the It is vitt Crew that die,girality of service. to
period et eget-0161µt what the motto of Canada rural resideul s should he nlaint'ained even at
Post means Sefwice to the People". Service,. a net dist to'Caivida Post. ' •
is exactly what the people in rural Canada- To this end we solidi your support iii
•tc int and that is what the Government. writing to your Fea,.••'at member stating that
should the
ensure y get. yourPostOfficeb'eSeth-A.thereforeensuring
s
•
The Rural Operations Group of Canada that postal service to yottr,4iminottitstrettrain
Post ('erpotahorl 1's supported by individuals as it is today,
Mailing in Smaller communities, and through
a variet vof services such as general delivery, • R. W . Starkey, '
tock box and rural route delivery. Canada • Presto!!, Ontario'
Post re'togmzes that the Plural Operatrt)8S K0E1B11
Communits
y wihed = Happy. Year
Tam writing on" behalf of the Van Esmond posipon'eduntil 1688 dire to illness Of sone of
Foundation to with everyone a Raptly New our voTulitee'is.
Year and 16 thank everyone who has On January 14 the Foutindation is sponsor
g, ortedrth8 da dation through Volunteer, ing a Victorian evening, rile rn 'the 19th.
supported the Fou
in participating in the events century, courtesy of Woodside Historic Park
during 1986. 1t;itchener, at the Seaforth Public Sch'o'ol; 7
Thr Murder -Mystery Night sponsored by p.m. Admis5t0li 5 free.
the Foundation and arranged by Don and A Micro XiaVeirtipperware party is beings
Cathy )flciSeli of Robert Q Tours WAS an planned' for early April to assist the'
•evening of geert food and mystery. If enough Foundation *lift the naihtenance' of if*
Yours.sincerel'y','
Betty Cardi &
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, JANUARY 7, 1987
FROM 1986 = Scenes. Ilke this one from the Legion, .t nnstmas concert are ever, but are not
, far from our thoughts as We settle back after a beetle Chrlatmes season.:;
Former commissioner
issioner
his
releases report
e
• Former Ontario Youth Commissioner. Ken
Dryden, in areport released recently,' called',
•on the provincial and federal governments to,
affirm their commitment to full employment.
Tn every poll taken in recent years, Mr. •
Dry' den says, Canadians, have cited unem-
pioyment es their number one concern. The
Forget. Commission Report makes clear that
at hearings across the country,: the message
was the same -- there should be . a • full
employment policy in Canada.. Yet while
unemployment has decreased _lightly, Dry
den, says, it is stilll'ar above full employment
levels and is forecast'to 'remain so for at least
the next decade. • • ,
"There' exists ,an enormous. mismatch
between public exectations and government
•policies,'•' Mr. Dryden points out. "More
money is b'eing spent on education; training
and ,ipb creation programs. There is greater
emphasis 'on .en.trepreneurship, small busi-
ness and export development, Weunder-
stand present and future needs far better. Yet
add up the .impact of all these; policies and
measure them against the problem and' the
result is not full employment or anything. near
it. now a in the near future, That is what the
forecasts are'really telling us." in short, Mr.
Dryden says. it means this -- "During the
next ten ,years, each day of every month in
everyyear, on the average about one million
Canadians will be unemployed."
"Is that good enough?" Mr. Dryden asks:
"It depends." he says. "What is our real
unemployment goal?'; is it to achieve full
employment? Or is it only to employ more
people :hovyever many that may be? The
distinction is crucial, he says. Economists
understand unemployment as a symptom of
underlying -economic problems. If the prob-
lems are dealt with, they argue, the symptom
will, disappear'. But to the economist, Mr.
Dryden argues,: lime is of little urgency. To
the unemployed. it it the issue, and time is
passing. The economist's perspective on
unemployment is important. he stresses, but
there are other,' indeed necessary. perspec-
' lives that deserve consideration. Mr. Dryden
says his -report tries to. offer • such a
perspective.
Mr..Uryden stresses that making full
employment. a goal represents more than a ,
gesture. "8 is the necessary first step," he
says. He cites Sweden ,,and- Japan as
examples. "it is not the Swedish system of
govenintent that is responsible for an
tmemployntcnl rate el less than three per
cent.' ' he argues. "It isn`t the relationship
that exists between industry and labour or
'specific employment programs. It is a haste
understanding shared by Swedes that full
employment is a principal economic goal"
Indeed. Mr. Dryden says, 11 is from that
understanding. with political expression,
that malty of these structures and relation- .
ships emerge,
Mr. Dryden believes the Canadian people
share those sante values and goals. It is the
political expression that is absent. "The
disturbing .irony. " he says. "is that so
fundamental a goal fes a ,It foreveryone who
wants to work and can work, should have
come to seem so politically unutterable."
Mr• Drvden's report also stresses the
connection .between education and unem-
plovment. Mr. Dryden says that the school
drop-out problem '=came as•my biggest shock
Lis Youth ('onimissioner.' Ile points out that
excluding Ovate schools ' 4l1 per cent of
Students. in Ont ir•io beginning in grade 9 co
not graduate from grade 12; 76 per cent do
not graduate. frons grade 13.....Put another
he says, "for a.medium-sized Ontario<
eily•twitb ten high schools, the equivalent.of
one school of grade 12 hound students, and
one; and -one •half schools of grade L•'{' bound
students disappears each year. ". And pre-
dietably. Mt•. Dryden says,ahe lower the. level
'of.education fora young person the higher the
unemployment rate. Mr. Dryden believes
that two major changes must take place
before the: drop-out rate will change.
- First. there needs to be a change in the •
'education system ii. psychcilogy-, Students at
riskof dropping out are often the hardest to
deal with. They require more time, more
elfin•(,• more patience, more of"the resources'
of the system. I'd 11 they leave. the system's
rcesponsibility is at an end, and the price it
pays for students leaving is small. The
psychology is backwards." Mr, Dryden says.
'and cnnspiresagainst success. Hesponsibil-
ityt'or•:yourrg people,; even drop -outs, should
reirrain with the education system until al
least age 18. to ensure they 'find the
counselling, training. apprenticeship or work
experience they need.''
Further. Mr. Dryden says, at risk students
hake goal within the education system. Tong '
before Iheyllecf(!c 10 drop out. they can feel
themselves falling behind. 'They know that
college and university are not possibilities.
"What then becomes their reason to gel up in
Mu. morning," he asks: •1.(r get to school on'
lino•. In work ,hard and lake home work at
night?. -.Too often." he says. "the only visible
goal is a (6th birthdate, 'fins must change: it
seems incredible, Mr. Dryden says, "that a
universal syslem should come so far from
meeting universal needs. It is a system which
by ils very structure encourages success in
the successful and reinforces failure in those
who are not. For reasons of 'equity and
etre nnticI)nsitrclivity. an education -training
system is necessary.
1h Dryden's report makes only two
recommendations. tie assts the Premier to
appoint n committee of senior ministers to
report hat•k to hurt in. six months with a
strategy • for fall employment. lie also.
rc'conmre nds that the Premier appoint a
similar cotton tee to develop a strategy for an
e(lttcalion Ir,aining system,
-Mr. Dl)•cien says he .considered making the
catalogue of -recommendations such reports
nnr'Inaty contain, and decided against 11. "1
asked Myself witat would make a .real
differet(ee'," he said. "Whitt would dose the
immense gap helasett public values and
expectations, and results,' t3its and pieces
added to the education system will do little to
impeove trop -out rates. On the other fide.
• the issue is not youth employment programs
or small business development or the tit
wysient They are important hot they are also
distractions."tile issue isunereptovnient. I( is
.here that we must put our focus.`
interest fs shown it will be tried again. property:
The itolshie'. Isurns Night lias been