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The Citizen, 1992-12-09, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9,1992. Social service field workers go full-time With no end to the growth in welfare cases in sight, two field workers for the Huron County Social Service department went from having six-month contracts, to 12-month contracts to full-time employment at Thursday's meeting of Huron County Council. Councillors approved the changes in dealing with the reports of the Nov. 18 and Nov. 30 meet­ ings of the Seniors and Social Ser­ vice Committees. At the November 18 meeting the committee had Trees hold future profit for county They may just look pretty now, but the trees in Huron County's managed forests could hold a huge profit in the future, the manager of the forests told county councillors at the Dec. 3 meeting. The forests are managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) under a 50 years agreement with the county that expires in the year 2000. MNR costs in maintain­ ing the properties (such costs as pruning the trees to create knot-free wood) are accumulated, to be charged to the county at the end of the agreement. So far there have approved offering 12-month con­ tracts to the two workers. "It's safe to say for the next year we'll need them," John MacKinnon, adminis­ trator of Social Service said. But at the Nov. 30 meeting, after receiving a resignation from anoth­ er field worker, the committee voted to offer full-time employ­ ment to the two fieldworkers and advertise for another fieldworker. That offer brought plenty of debate from councillors who wor­ ried about the ramifications of making people full-time employees been $219,923.76 in expenses and $46,330.18 in income from the sale of wood, leaving the county's obli­ gation to the province at $173,593.58. But while one councillor won­ dered about the county's obligation when the agreement on the 1600 acres of forest expires, Marvin Smith, Management forester with the Wingham MNR office, said the county stands to make far more than it has invested. Although the trees won't be ready to harvest (white pine needs 60-70 years to instead of contract employees. "1 would assume a contract position could make it easier at the conclu­ sion of the contract not to renew," Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle said. When people are employees, he said, "you have to go through a process of downsizing." Other gov­ ernments are talking of reducing through attrition so as to avoid problems with unions, he noted. But Clerk Administrator Nigel Bellchamber said there is no union involved here and offering people mature), if the county can wait another 10-15 years it stands to make $10,000 an acre from the trees. Based on the 1000 acres of plantations, that would mean $10 million. In addition, harvesting of hardwood on the properties could mean some money to help pay the debt to the province in the mean­ time. "The dollar value here is tremendous". Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle wor­ ried that the province, in its current quest for money, might take over the forests. Mr. Smith said the permanent employment is a way of avoiding incentives to unionize. Anyone can be laid off at any time if there is a lack of work, he said. "My concern is the ability of a council to control costs, to make adjustments," Reeve Mickle said, "this is probably setting a new level of people working here (for the county). Do you believe we would lose control on behalf of the tax­ payers of Huron County to prevent empire building." "I believe you still have that flex­ ibility," Mr. Bellchamber said. He agreements run until 2000 at which time there are several options. The agreement could be extended, if both parties agreed; the county could pay the accumulated expens­ es and carry on with maintenance of the forest which isn't expected to be a big expense by that time; or the county could sell the land to the province, but at the cost of pur­ chase of the land in 1950. Given the current government attempts to cut back, the province probably will try to interest the county in taking over maintenance of the forests themselves, Mr. Smith said. said the difficulty with contract positions is that employees, under pay equity legislation, must be offered the equivalent of the bene­ fits they would get under regular employment. It made it easier to put people on the regular payroll and deal with benefits the same way, he said. Councillors approved the offer of full-time employment. Send a lasting treasure Radiant flowers and an exquisite hand-painted cardinal, crafted of fine porcelain. We can send one anywhere. Stable Funding concerns reader Continued from page 4 2) On conviction for an offence a person is liable to a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000.00. So apparently they are going to take a lot of farmers to court and fine them for not belonging to or paying a fee to a group they don't believe in. Is this the new Ontario? In closing, I would like to thank this paper for printing this letter. To the readers, Read it slowly and think carefully. It will soon be our Lord’s birthday so a Merry Christmas to all. One final thought; remember He said, “Do unto others as you would have then do unto you.” No one should be forced to join another organization against their will. To the NDP party I ask, would they like to be forced to join the Conservatives or Liberals against their will and policy? Glen Van Camp THE EDITOR, Many people have shared their thoughts with me about the “stable funding” proposal for Ontario farmers, and I would in turn like to share my thoughts on the issue with your readers. As you know, there is considerable disagreement within the farm community about the merits of this concept in general, and about the NDP legislation in particular. And I'm sure you're aware that a similar lack of consensus about this proposal also exists within the caucus ranks of the three parties of the Legislature. For my part, while I respect the views of those who have a position contrary to my own, let me be clear: I do not, and will not, support this legislation. I simply cannot accept the proposition of using legislation to compel farmers to join farm organizations. Furthermore, I believe this approach to be divisive at a time when all sectors of our economy, especially those of agriculture and food production, need to work together in order to turn things around. To this end, I have proposed that the Ontario government return to the original “stable funding” proposal that we all agreed to nearly three years ago. Under this plan, farmers would be allowed to select which of the farm organizations their dues would go to, or, if they did not wish to support any farm organization, they could ask for a complete refund. I believe this is much more fair than what the NDP now wants to impose. Regardless of their individual views, I encourage all farmers to share them directly with their local MPP. Given the intense lobbying on both sides, and in the absence of any direct vote on the merits of this proposal, it's the only way for individual farmers to make their voices heard. Michael D. Harris Provincial P.C. leader. THE EDITOR, More people are continuing their education in post-secondary education. Often it is because they see need for improving their education or because the lack of job opportunities make improved skills a necessity. The recession has caused an increase in the demands for funds under the Ontario Student Awards Program. The heavy demand has resulted in changes in the program. The changes will take effect in the next September. Demand for OSAP has risen 66 per cent over the last two years. In 1992-93 Ontario students will have $630 million in assistance. Faced with increased demands and with shrinking revenue the province had to consider three options. One was to help fewer students, another was to reduce the amount for each student, and the third option was to increase the number of loans and reduce the amount given in grants. The third option was selected. There will be more money available in form of loans and less in grant form. In September 1993 Ontario students will have access to more than $800 million in assistance. In 1993-94, most OSAP students will be eligible for loans but few will be able to get grants. They will have improved access to loans. About four out of 10 post­ secondary students apply to OSAP. Students who need to borrow more than $5,570 a year, on the average, won't have to pay anything over that amount for that year. They will have the amount of loan in excess of $5,570 forgiven. The loan forgiveness will be paid after the student has left post secondary studies. Loan forgive­ ness will apply to loans negotiated prior to 1993-94. The government will continue to pay the interest on loans while students are still in school. Beginning in 1993-94, students who earn up to $20,100 a year will jobsOntario • Training NEED TO HIRE NEW PEOPLE? NEED HELP TO TRAIN THEM? jobsOntario • Training will create a more highly skilled workforce. And will get people back to work. Goderich Wingham Exeter be able to get help paying 100 per cent of the interest on their provincial loans and students who earn between $20,100 and $35,000 will be able to get help paying part of the interest they owe. This help will still be available for up to 18 months. Repayment of Ontario Student Loans will depend on the ability to repay. Paul Klopp MPP Huron. ^.1 7'* Olfeieflotai Christmas & Country Flowers & Gifts Blyth 523-4820 How jobsOntario‘Training works: yEach new position you create is eligible for actual training costs upto$10,000. You can get help in designing the training program that’s right for each new job. yWhen you create a new job and receive training funds, you can also get financial help to train existing employees. •/ jobsOntario • Training is coordinated by local people in your community. jobsOntario • Training is a new program that’s designed to put people back to work with new skills. Find out more about jobsOntario • Training. It’s good news for your company and for Ontario. © Ontario Your local jobsOntario* Training broker is listed below. Call today. County of Huron Huron County Planning and Development Office Court House Square Goderich, Ontario N7A1M2 (519) 524-7722