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Page 8. WhIttv Free Pres., Wednesday, June 26,1996 BRIAN AND CINDI PERKS (middle) and employees Michael Nosko (let) and Tanja Nowotny were gvn the second annual Bereaved Famies of Ontario (BFO) - Durham Region' volunteer of the year award. The four, shown Iooking at a picture of Bnian's daughter (Cindi's sister) Brenda Jo-Ann Perks who died in Decem- ber, 1990 from injuries sustained in a car accident, have assisted the BFO with ts. newsletter. Photo by Mark Rossa. WhIIhy Fr»ee is Pa l .5nar , e ortý More about W11 of, rights By AM«xShepherd Canada'. personal taxation la one of the highest in the western world, second only to France. It lsafno wonder people cant afford a new car or household goods, since household disposable income le stIl In dedline. A lot of tht. has to do wlth the lack of planning and fiscal responsbiity by past governments of ail poittical stripes. Some months ago I wrote about mny plans for a Taxpayers' Bt» of Rlghts whtch I ar n troducing in the House, of Gommons In stages. The firet stage of the bill, the appoolntnient of a tex ombudsman, has had second reading in the House. Revenue Canada ta so shaken by the posstbiltty of a tax ombudsman that they Ilned up g..rnenmembers to speak agatnst my bill. I found'this odd since government ta forcing chartered banks to Install an ombudsman te looktInto complaints about thetr lending practices. Fortunaeymy govemnzent MPs weren't tatimidated by Revenue Canda'sacton and spoke tn favour ofMy btll. Thm second stage ofmy bil mandates government departments te attach with proposed leglslation coot estimates allocated on a per taxpayer basis. It aiso requires the method used for costing be certified by the Auditor General. Why do we need these controls? Because we should not have to wait until after your money le spent te discover that It la weil tn excess cf what taxpayers, would deem prudent spending. Alex Shaepherrl i. MP* bor Durham ridig whF includea Whtby, north of2Taunton Ro4 oe rem*k hù iaoesiwncy office, cou 723-7670 (Oasawa). whiob bsins Appli'cati.ons- double at training c-entre The number cf applications for places in the sktlls and apprenticeship progranis cf the Skills Training Centre -in Whitby Io more than double what it was a year ago. 'As of late May, the centre had recetved 467 applications fr-om people interested in one of the centre's four post-secondary, 13 apprentioeshtp' or 14 Idlîs programe offered this fait. By late May 1995, tn comparison, 'the centre had recetved sltghtly more than 200 applications. Whtle students from ahl over Ontario apply te the centre, the majority cf applicants tive in-Durham Region. One cf the progranis in greateet demand thls year ie motor vehicle mechangc, -te whtch applications exceed the number cf available, spaces. "Automotive mechanlca te a very visible trade. Most people understand what the job entat*is," * expains Lynda Sauriol, director cf student services at the centre. Sauriol says the- surge in applications le the result of greater * promotion of the centre and its programi as well as the appearance and qualtty cf the centre and !te high-tech equipment, and the beginntng of another 'shortage cf .sk1illed tradespeople. Since the centre opened in fait 1993, it ha. steadily increased efforts te promote programs tn high schoot throughout the region. As well, more students and their parents are vistting the centre during special information nights and other events. Industry watchers such as the Conference Board cf Canada are potnting te, the critical need for skcilled tradespeople. Industriesi are now saytng that they lack qualtfled journeypeople and-they're gotng offshore te find them, as they did in the early 1980s," saye John Woodward, directer cf trades, and apprenticeships at the centre. 'The average age -of 'a journeyperson in Ontario ta 55. if we don't train enough people moon, Ontario and Canada will be tn serlous trouble when these journeypeople begin to, retire." Woodward'notes young people research their options for post- wSendary study very carefully and they are seeing that a university degree doesn't necesearily lead te employment. "Our trades and apprenticeshtp programa offer practicai traimihg. When students complets their program, there's usually a job for them," he adds. 1For more information, cati Saurio at 72143300, ext. 4010 or 2314 or Woodward at 72143300, ext. 3302. 'Changer AUTHOR/COLUMNIST June Callwood spoke recently on 'Dealing with chanqe' at. the annual meetin of the Counsellors Association, R3egion of Durham (CARD~ Photo by Mark Rossa, Whttq mePia fraining inventory to be launc hed Thursday, TIheý unvetling -cf, a,«readâIy accessibe user-friendly traiiig invento wilt be hetd-tomorrow (Turday), il a.m.,iniOshawa. The Oshawa location (78 Rich- mond St. W.) of Human Resources Centre Canada ha. worked wtth local trainers to introduce the inventoiy, develo- pe yPlatinum Sstm & SoutIons and M.G. Truhan & Associates. Human Resources ha. alo developed a worldwide web site to, provide information on local labour market conditions er vices and programs, and pr-de links to, other govrnment sites and informative sites related to, Fo moenformation, call 725- 5980. mmD CROSS The Red Cross seeloe a volunteer to asssttha 'gol marathon;'"RMM ros n.the Green: The- Centennial Challenge," in late Aiugust te célebrate the *lOth annlersryof the Red Cross. 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