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PAGE 6, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 1982, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby w mm Voice of the County Town Michael Ian Burgess, 1 The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby Put Publisher - Managing Editor residents for Whitby residents. blished every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL J. KNELL Community Editor ELIZABETH NOZDRYN Advertising Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 Provincial government should increase its share of welfare funding for Ontario municipalites During the annual convention of the Associa- tion of Municipalities of Ontario held in Toronto last week, one Durham Regional councillor said that the provincial government will have to corne up wlth a bigger share of the cost of public assist- ance, the polite term for welfare. Oshawa's John DeHart, chairman of regional council's social services, said that if no money is forthcoming, it will place a terrible burden upon the municipalities. As it stands now, the provincial government pays 80 cents of every $1 paid out by the region in welfare benefits. That means that the regional property taxpayer is picking up the remaining 20 cents. OfficiaIs of the social services department have said that if the current economic trend continues locally, the region will have a $1 million welfare deficit. That means the taxpayers will be out-of- pocket $200,000. Regional council has already I first heard about the possibility of a Canadian entry in the world's most prestigious yacht race, The America's Cup, on a cold January night a year and a half ago, in Bruce Kirby's Rowayton, Connecticut living room. I was sworn to secrecy, of course. Kirby and I had newspapered together at the Ottawa Journal and the Montreal Star. He knew it was a hell of a story and so did i. That's why I had to give him my word to keep quiet about it until everything was settled and he could give me the go- ahead. The story had everything. The idea of a challenge had originated with a group of Canadians in Calgary, a group which understood that Canada needed a rallying point, something to get excited about, a symbol they could cheer. Kirby and I realized on that night 18 months ago that there was a delicious irony in the fact that the challenge was originating in land-locked Alberta, from a lubberly group of nationalists who wouldn't know a tiller from a spinnaker. I also realized something that Kirby may not have considered. . . that he himself was newswor- thy, that the Calgary group's decision was to approach him to design a 12 metre contender was an incredible suc- cess story in itself, whether or not the Cananda One ac- tually wins. When i first knew Kirby almost 30 years ago, he was a night police reporter, a champion dingy sailor, and a doodier. He drew boats while he talked on the telephone. A few years later, entirely self-taught, he designed the Laser, and in effect, created a new class of small boat racing. From obscure journalist, he became one of the top boat designers anywhere. Now he was to tackle the most sophisticated boat design job in the world, a 12 metre ocean racer, a design so demanding that one hundredth of a knot in speed can mean the difference bet- ween victory and failure. A 12 metre contender for the America's Cup is the Everest of boat design. And what had its beginnings in these doodles on a sheet of copy paper 30 years ago is now taking shape on Fred McCon- nell's ways on Georgian Bay, one and a quarter million dollars worth of aluminum beauty that could give Canada the America's Cup for the first time in history. I think it's an incredible story, but if the reaction to it so far is any indication, the Canadian media doesn't see it that way. And so tonight, there's a certain ironic truth in my clos- ing banality. That's not news, but that too is reality. allotted over $10 million for public assistance this year. DeHart also said that, if necessary, the province must pick up as much as 90 per cent of the cost of welfare because it will be "too much" for the tax- payer if the costs keep escalating. No one, but no one with sense, is going to argue with the latter observation. But once again, we see a prime example of government putting the cart before the horse. What we need in this region are more jobs, not more welfare money. What we need in this region is more growth, more new industry, more commer- cial, Industrial and residential assessment. The rise in unemployment has meant essential- ly one thing to employed, taxpaying Canadians. Since their numbers are becoming fewer, they will have to pay more of the freight to keep the unem- ployed in a reasonable (if not accustomed and high) standard of living. In reality, these businesses should be creating jobs. If there are more jobs, more people are not only paying taxes, but more people are buying more goods and services which creates a bigger demand frorn these companies, who in turn, will have to create more jobs and improve efficiency to meet the increasing demands of the market. Instead, the regional government's chairman of social services is demanding more welfare money which does little or nothing to create employ- ment. DeHart is correct in a few of his observations. The local taxpayers cannot afford the rising cost of welfare. The situation in Durham is getting out of hand, if it isn't already. Other news from the A.M.O. conference is just as disheartening to local taxpayers. For example, it appears as though the provincial government will not increase grants to the municipalities next year. If they do, they will be in the order of six per cent, all of which s in line with the federai govern- ment's restraint program. What this simply means ls this, if the taxpayers of this region (and town) are looking for the same level of service as was provided this year by the municipalities, they are going to have to dig deeper into their pockets. If this is not their in- tent, then services will be cut. Regional officiais have even -indicated that these cutbacks might even go as far as to affect police service. With a crime rate that jumped by 18 per cent ln 1981 alone, this is an ominous thought. Then it would appear that local officiais do not have much time to get their thoughts and priori- ties organized, after ail, there is an election coming up later this year. Once again, we have been forced to witness the apparent stupidity and foolishness of government (of whatever level). Instead of demanding senior government leadership in turning around our Im- poverished economy, our local leaders go to Queen's Park hat-in-hand to respectfully, and even timidly, ask for more welfare money. Putting the cart before the horse is not going to find any unemployed Durham resident with a job. Only with the guts to tackle our problems first hand will we achieve this. It's about time that the region started telling the province that, because they have.no choice but to start taking action. In turn, the province should get off its collective butt and tell the federal government that people are hurting and are looking for the leadership they promised us during the election campaign. Begging for more welfare money just isn't good enough. mur&