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

DECEMBER 5, I973° TERRACE BAY NEWS PAGE 5 OHA STATEMENT ON MINISTRY OF HEALTH BUDGET LETTER Hospitals across the province are today figuring how much money they will have to oper -ate with in I974. One thing is certain. Th- ey will not be getting the 7.9% increase quot- ed by the Ontario Government earlier as the I974 ceiling for both hospital and education spending. A letter from Deputy Health Minister, S.W. Martin to hospital board chairmen and adminis- trators states that hospitals will not be able to count their full 1973 budget as the basis on which to calculate the next year's increase. Instead, it will be reduced by 60% of the am- ount allowed this year for depreciation of equipment. The Federal Government's unexpect- ed increase in Unemployment Insurance premiums will also hit hospitals hard. The impact of this reduction will be felt more heavily by some hospitals than others, depending on the extent to which they have been forced to rely on depreciation allowanc- es to stretch their budget for operating ser- vices. The Ontario Hospital Association estimates that the Ministry's action will have the eff- ect of reducing the budget increase from 7.9% to an average of approximately 6.9%. "On a total bill of some $I.2 billion, that I$ represents about $I2 million worth of hos- pital services," said Mr. R. Alan Hay, O.H.A. Executive Director. "While we appreciate that the Ministry of Health has been put: under great pressure by the Cabinet to contain costs the government and the public also must real- ize the severe strain of trying to maintain efficient hospital services in the quantity needed by the public with limited funds." "Hospitals must pay higher costs for food, energy supplies, and so on, like everybody else. Employees' wages are rising steadily. The public demand for hospital service increas- es every year. When you consider that the cost of just standing still has been rising at a » rate of 8% a year, it's quite clear that hos- pitals face a very difficult task in maintain- ing the needed level of service with an increa- se of less than 7% in their funds." Mr. Hay said that if hospitals also have to absorb the extra cost which Ottawa has just added to Unemployment Insurance charges, the 0.H.A. calculates their budget increase will be whittled down still further to about 6.4%. "Our Association has already urged the Min- istry of Health to prevent that further threat to hospital services," said Mr. Hay, "by off- setting what is really a federal tax by pro- viding additional funds for the Unemployment Insurance surcharge, outside the Global Budget." SPORTS SLANTS - By Ray Shank Guess it's time to look at those National Hockey League standings and compare them with my predictions of about a month ago. Of cour- se, the season is far from over - it's a little better than one-quarter completed - but what the heck, it's better than talking about the Grey Cup final. Let's see now. Things aren't exactly go- ing the way I figured. Montreal Canadiens, the team I picked to repeat as Prince of Wales Trophy winners, have been disappointing. As of last Tuesday they had already lost six gam- es, just four short of their total losses last year. And isn't it interesting that of those six losses, four have come right in their own rink, the Forum. To go with those six defeats the Canadiens had two ties. Both of those also came at home. Of their I2 triumphs, IO had come on the road. : And Boston Bruins, the team I hate most. 7 continued page 6 for professional service... * Y My. ServicemasTrir OF THUNDER BAY to clean your Tugs, carpets, furniture, walls, and floors STEAM CLEAN ® Internaliofal;y Known, Locally Owned and Operated. 2 All Work Supervised by Grad of Service Mast « Academy of Service. : ® We Clean On a 1-time or Regularly Scheduled Basis. HOUSE-WIDE CLEANING SPECIALISTS 824-203] T EC) the one to call for a household spet---or a spotless house REMBER FURNITURE_WAREHOUSE I20I W.Walsh Street Thunder Bay,Ont. (at end of Walsh St.,near Airport) NEW FURNITURE AT DISCOUNT PRICES Bedroom, Livingroom, Kitchen Furniture, Westinghouse Appliances, Wall-to-Wall Broadloom, Motel Furniture and Bedding FREE DELIVERY in NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO