The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 1976, PAGE 9 NDP leader Stephen Lewis: The province is acting in bad faith with municipalities Pk The provincial government is acting in bad faith in its relationship with municýpal- ities, Ontario Opposition Leader Stephen Lewis said Friday at the opening luncheon of-the Organization of small Urban Municipalities conference. "The small urban munici- palities have become a kind of vocal minority in relation to the policies of the provincial government", said Mr. Lewis, commenting on the confer- '2nce theme: "Public Partici- pation--The Vocal Minority VS The Silent Majority". Mr. Lewis, speaking before nearly 200 delegates at Heydenshore Pavilion,express- ed concern about the exis- tence of bad faith in the relationship between the government and the small municipalities as illustrated by the amount of provincial revenue which is provided to municipalities. In Edmonton in November 1973, former'. provincial treasurer John White said "the Ontario government gives a guarantee to the local governments that provincial assistance will grow at a rate no less than the growth rate of Ontario's total revenue", said Mr. Lewis. However, he said "that wording altered from tine to time" during 1974 and in November 1975, after the last provincial election, Provincial Treasurer Darcy McKeough "inexplicably announced that because of an overpayment in 1976, assistance from the province could increase only five to six per cent". This figure was revised to an 8.1 per cent increase in December 1975, by deferring the 1975 overpayment to meet the Edmonton com- mittnient and because of the difficult financial situation facing municipalities, Mr. Lewis stated. He went on to point Out that the figure was again revised to 7.8 per cent ($225 million) after the budget was set in April 1976, and S98 million of this would be re- captured by taxes. "The budget repudiated the Edmonton agreement. That's no way to deal with other elected people", said Mr. Lewis. "The upshot of all this is that the rate of provincial revenue growth in 1976 is 19.4 to 24 per cent, but assistance to the municipal- ities is 7.8 per cent", he said. Mr. Lewis went on to say that while the increase in provincial assistance in 1976 is 7.8 per cent, the rate of inflation is nine per cent, representing actually a cut- back of 1.2 per cent in assistance. In 1975, provincial assis- tance to local governmein t was 22 per cent, but with inflation rates, it amounted to only 12 NDP Opposition Leader Stephen Lewis (left) addresses the members of the Organization of Small Urban Municipalities Friday; as Mayor Jim Gartshore, and Councillor Joy Thompson, a director of the organization, listen attentively. Mr. Lewis accused the province of dealing in bad . faith with the municipalities in renard to provsi cfPfu Phnt province determines local planning in the municipalities, and the government had reneged on its promise of 1973 to keep its assistance to snal municipalities in line with its revenue growth. Mr. Lewis suggested that it would inake more sense "than repudiating a commit- ment and putting a burdenon the municipalilies" to come up with some new source of revenue for municipalities, such as pro-rated attitional points of income tax. in addition to his com- ments about the province's financial assistance to muni- cipalities, Mr. Lewis said rnunicipal officials have expressed to him the frustration they find in dealing with Queen's Park, rree rress o o "and the isolation trom technocrats who imposed on the municipalities their political will". This situation was drama- tically conveyed by the recent hospital closings by the provincial government, he said, because the hospitals were "disposed of without a hearing" and the judiciary is now questioning the validity of this cabinet decision. "Even the cabinet decisions are being questioned by the judiciary because of the lack of fair dealing in advance of the decision being made", said Mr. Lewis. "We want a policy based on reason -and fair play", he said, expressing the view of the New Democractic Party on the subject. provision of funids. per cent, he said. "Municipalities are in a real cutback situation", he said, because of rate of provincial assistance, and have to cut "bare to the bones". Mr. Lewis went on to quote John White as saying in 1974, that because of the drawbacks of property tax base, local governments should not have to fall back on the use of this kind of tax. "A fairer and more realistic remued. is to provide the municipalities with new and faster growing revenue sources". he said, quoti ng Mr. White. Mr. Lewis expressed con- ceru t hat the money provided to municipalities by the Construction of a 33,000- square foot shopping plaza south of the four corners may begin in the fall, according to the town's Co-ordinator of Development Forbes McEwen. The plaza, bounded by Brock, Gilbert, Byron and Dunlop Streets, should be ready for operation by the spring of 1977, he said. The plaza will be built by Brock-Byron Centre Limited, a Toronto based firm which has been negotiating with the town for approximately four months. The plaza will include a 25,000-square foot Safeway grocery store, and six to eight smaller stores of 1,000 to 1,200-square feet each. No tenants have been found for the smaller stores as yet. There will be 150 parking spaces on the site, at one time occupied by a buckle factory. The property has been vacant for 12 years and, during that time, two or three proposais have been put forth fo develop the property with a combination of com- mercial buildings and high rise apartments, according to Mr. McEwen. However, none of these proposais were accepted because underground parking would have been required and because the devplopments would have to go to six or eight stories which would have made them "politically un- acceptable", according to Mr. McEwen. "The property has sat vacant for too long mainly because any proposai with apartments seemed unecon- omical and today there seems to be more resistance by the public against medium rise apartment development", he said. Speaking to the proposai by rock-Byron Centre Lirnited, Mr. McEwen said "I think the quality of develop- ment proposed is first chass". WHITBY COMMUNITY BINGO Every Monday Night 7:15 p.m. first Early Bird game BUS SERVICE AVAILABLE Heydenshore Pavilion JAYCEES KINSMEN KIWANIS OPTIMISTS ANNUAL MEETING of the DURHAM REGION LUNG ASSOCIATION (formerly TB & Respiratory Disease Assoc.) will be held at Northmnster United Church 676 Simcoe Street, North, Oshawa Wednesday, May 26th at 8:00 p.m. Annual reports to be received and such business as m-nay properly be brought before the meeting. Construction to begin in fall on"first-class" shopping plaza j, If you need us, we're here.1 From left to right: Bill, Wendy, John and TD branches in Whitby, and we're open from Marlene have the welcome mat out for you to 10 until 3, Monday through Wednesday, 10 until 5 help you with any of your banking needs. We're Thursday, and 10 until 6 Friday. So drop by and at 601 Dundas St. W. at Frances, one of three say hello, won't you. The bank where people make the difference. m