Huron Expositor, 2002-02-20, Page 2111
12 -TI IS MIK* azrostTOII. FMnwy 14, 2001
News
Seaforth site of one `pathways' project in county
Sy Sarah Cddwdll
Goderich Signal -Star Staff
Four projects involving several
community groups have recieved funding
from the county's Pathways to Self -
Sufficiency Program, including one for
Seaforth.
This is the first time the program has
awarded funding to community groups.
The four recommended proposals are the
Huron Good Food Box in the amount of
$25,000; the Kids Booster Club in the
amount of $23,724; Our Place Family Drop -
In Program in the amount of $19,000; and
the Transition/Emergency Housing Program
in the amount of $20,000.
"The reccommended support of the above
four projects would form a substantial effort
to provide at -risk and high-risk families and
children in Huron County with community
resources that are necessary for their health
and well-being. Food and housing are
fundamental, basic needs of families;
access to recreation and.other parenting and
housing
Our Place Family
Drop -In Program
A pilot program will be started in
Seaforth. The Our Place Family Drop -In
program will use a parent mutual aid model
to address the needs of low-income
families. There is a documented need in the
Seaforth community about a need for the
services, especially among young mothers.
The project will offer a variety of
parenting, pre-employment, and food
security resources under one roof. Ongoing,
predictable programming to provide
parenting education, cooking
Huron Good Food Box
The Huron Good Food Box program is a
cooperative food buying club. The intent of
the program is to increase the availability of
economical, high quality fresh fruits and
vegetable to individuals and families at -risk.
Low-income families are less likely to
have access to these goods.
The boxes will be available once a month.
Each box contains the same amount of
produce, though the contents may change
with each delivery.
The cost to the participants will be in the
$10-15 range.
A part-time coordinator will look after the
program and buy produce directly from
wholesalers.
Partners and contributors involved in the
Huron Good Food Box program are the
Huron County Health Unit - program
development, supervision and promotion.
Rural Response for Healthy Children will
provide planning and coordination.
The Huron United Way will provide space
for assembly and distribution.
Huron Home Child Care and Family
Resource Centre will look at THE Bus as a
mechanism for delivery and promotion; and
the promotion of the program though the
existing centre programming.
This proposal meet the Pathways to Self -
Sufficiency goals in many areas.
The first goal achieved is it works to
assure families' basic needs are being met.
Services through the program will be
universal and non -stigmatizing.
Low-income families in Huron County
have expressed thier concerns around food
security and the Good Food Box program
addresses this.
Similar programs have been successfully
delivered in other regions, providing
resources to information for the planning
and delivery of the program.
Kids Booster Club
The Kids Booster Club will be recieving
$23,724 in funding mainly to be used to hire
a part-time Development Officier to secure
long-term funding through donor.
development. These funds will largely be
sought from outside the County. as there are
several provincial funding resources tat
have hecn previously unexplored durc to
tack of human resources. Local funding,
where approprialte will continue to he
encouraged.
This program helps children at -risk due to
living in poverty to have access to sports,
arts and recreational activates that are
currently inaccessible to them due to limited
family resources.
In the past, the Booster Club has been
able to assist a number of local children,
referred to the program, but due to its
limited resources they have made it
impossible to openly advertise this resource
throughout the commuinty and meet this
substancial need in the County.
The Kids Booster Club works under the
direction of the Huron Children's Aid
Society. Membership of the "Club
Directors" advisory committee include
Rural Response for Healthy Children, the
Huron County Health Unit, Goderich
Canadian Tire, McDonalds Restaurant
Goderich, Town of Goderich, Wescast
Industries, Exeter Lions Club, Goderich
Little Bowl, Matchett Financial Services,
Elizabeths' Art Gallery, GDCI Student
Funds 'and others.
Financial
RRSPs the govQrnrnQflt'S
greotQst tax rIief
Imagine, if you can, a
Scenario in which the
Canadian government pays
you almost half of the money
you require to make the
investment of your choice.
A GIC or a hot stock -- it's
your call. Then, when you've
made money on that
investment, be it through
interest earned on the GIC,
or the capital gain generated
by the sale of your stock, the
government tells you don't
have to pay tax on it. Keep
the profits they say. No
hitch. No hassles.
Sound far-fetched? Not at
all if you are among the one
in three Canadians currently
taking advantage of the
federal government's most
generous form of tax relief --
the Registered Retirement
Savings Plan -- commonly
known as the RRSP.
An RRSP is a government
approved program that is
designed to encourage
Canadians' to save for their
retirement by providing
powerful tax reduction
options. The tax breaks come
in two forms. The first is that
once you set up an RRSP, the
financial contributions you
make are deductible from
your taxable income.
Taking an example from
Gordon Pape's 9 Low Risk
Ways to Get (& Stay) Very
Rich, this means that people
in the middle tax bracket
whose marginal combined
federaVprovincial tax rate is
somewhere around
42%,(depending on which
province you live in), would
receive a tax refund of
$2,100 on a contribution of
$5,000. Therefore, the "real"
cost of the investment is only
$2900 but the full $5,000 is
still working inside the plan.
The second tax advantage
resides in the sheltering of
the income and capital gains
that are generated by the
investments in your RRSP.
Simply put, your money is
allowed to grow tax free.
Anyone who has ever
invested in a GIC (outside of
an RRSP) knows that the
interest earned is heavily
taxed. Likewise, a capital
gains tax is levied on
investments like stocks and
mutual funds. But all
investments within an RRSP
are effectively "sheltered"
from tax and allowed to
compound.
Using the example once
again of the RRSP holder in
the 42% tax bracket, let's
examine the effects of a five-
year $10,000 GIC paying
10% interest held both inside
and outside an RASP. In a
sheltered plan where no tax
is paid, the investment would
grow in value to $16,105 in
five years. Outside of an
RRSP, the investor would be
required to pay $2,357 in tax
resulting in a cumulative
value of only $13, 257.
But why you ask, would
the government in these
desperate times of budget
slashing and tax grabbing
allow itself to miss out on
such lucrative revenues?
Aren't governments
supposed to encourage
consumer spending, not
saving?
The answer may well be
simpler than the question.
Governments are broke.
They quite simply do not
have the resources to
continue to support the
growing number of retired
Canadians who will be
dependent on government-
sponsored pension plans in
the future.
RRSPs are one method by
which the federal
government can encourage
people to take responsibility
for their financial future.
At the risk of providing
too much of a good thing,
however, the government has
established limits as to how
much an individual can
contribute to an RRSP on an
annual basis.
The yearly maximum
allowable contribution limit
is currently 18% of the prior
year's earned income up to a
maximum of $13,500.
Once you've determined
the amount of money you
can afford to put into your
plan, the next decision must
be where to invest.
Fortunately, there is a
plethora of options. Among
them Canadian equities,
international equities up to
an allowable limit, mutual
funds, Treasury Bills, bonds,
stripped coupons, GICs and
the list goes on. It is best to
explore your options with a
financial advisor -- one who
can help you identify the
options that are best for you.
After all, it's your money and
your future.
5 Year Rate 6,
minimum $1,000.00 for R.R.S.P., minimum $2,000.00 for non registered
some restrictions apply call for details
R.R.S.P.
Ron Keys V
519 263-3.
rates subject to change
Ilia
Brian E. Wightman
Certified General Accountant
64 Main St., Seaforth
(519)527-1331 •
Brian Wightman
• Accounting & Bookkeeping
• Personal & Corporate Tax
• Farm, Business & Indvidual
Tax Planning
527-1331
vkQ
Thtr are ways to getmOrQ
foreign content
in RRSP portfolios
How to get more than 25% foreign
content in your RRSP legally!
First we have to ask ourselves why
would we want foreign content in an
RRSP? There are several reasons:
The possibility of a higher return (world
returns have traditionally been higher).
Canada represents only 3% of the
world's markets. It makes sense to
diversify even if only to reduce the risk
associated with being 100% invested in
one market.
To protect against the possibility of a de-
valued Canadian dollar.
So how do we go about having more
than 25% foreign content legally?
There are several ways:
The first is to invest in a Canadian bond
fund that is made up of bonds that are
owed to other countries denominated in
their currencies. These funds are 100%
eligible for RRSPs.
The second way is to invest 75 % of
your RRSP in a portfolio that has 25%
built-in foreign content, then invest your
regular 25% foreign content. Now you
have 25% of 75% =
$18.75% + 25% = 43.75% foreign content
- legally..
A third way is as follows:
• Let's suppose that you have 75% of your
RRSP invested in a Canadian fund and
. 25% in a foreign fund in 1998 and that
they each grow by 10% per year. We
followa strategy of realizing the gains in
the Canadian fund each year by moving the
fund to a money market fund for one day
then back into the same fund on the
following day.
This gives us a new book value upon
which to calculate the foreign content. We
then re -balance the portfolio on the basis
of the new book value. We never realize
the gain in the foreign fund.
DID YOU KNOW
we think
retirement
.nouia be fu n
•
At Clinton Community Credit Union, we have trained
investment professionals to help you save money for your
Future. Personal attention to your hopes and dreams, investment
options like GICs and mutual funds, make us an option that
saves you money. .
Visit us to discuss how we con help you reach your financiol goals.
48 Ontario St, Clinton
Tel. (519) 482-3466
Mon. -Thur$. 9am - Spm
Fri. 9am - 8pm
118 Main St N, Exeter
Tel. (5 19) 235-0640
Mon. - Tlxxs. 9arn - Spm
Fri. gam - 8pm
165 Main St W, Dashwood
Tel. (519) 237-3777
Tues. 10am - 3pm
Fri. 2pm - 7pm
A different way of banking."
Clinton Community
Credit Union Limited i
•