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PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2000 - 7 LETTERS Funds for roads system lacking To the Editor: Is there a long-term problem for the funding of Ontario's road system? This is a serious question to which the Better Roads Coalition sought answers, but because of lack of provin- cial government cooperation, has been unsuccessful. The province funds a mere 10 per cent of Ontario's roads while municipali- ties, through property tax, fund the tran- sit and commuter rail system and the remaining 90 per cent of the road system that in total make up the Ontario trans- portation system. Road users who make up the BRC are confused and concerned because of conflicting messages. Municipalities say new community responsibilities, such as ambulance ser- vices, that have been added in the downloading must receive top priority and transportation services, whether commuter rail, transit or roads, have to be delayed or removed from their pro- grams because of a lack of funds. However, the province says these issues are now the responsibility of the municipalities and are of no concern to it because the downloading was revenue neutral. Traffic congestion is increasing, high road priorities are being delayed and we ~ are told there are no bridge inspections on rural bridges throughout the province. It makes road users ask - are we to wait for another Walkerton-type incident, such as' a school bus going through a bridge and children dropping into a river, before we get answers or action? To clear the air, the Better Roads Coalition recently offered to sponsor a symposium to which we invited politi- cians and senior representatives from the province and the municipalities. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario, local politicians and senior staff from municipalities quickly accepted our invitation. However, the reaction from the province was completely the opposite. Letters were written to Premier Harris, Finance Minister Eves and copied to Ministers Turnbull and Clement. We were told no one, from the Premier to the Deputy Ministers of Finance, Municipal Affairs and Transportation to senior ministry officials, could or would attend. As a result, the BRC cancelled the symposium and questions remain unan- swered. Road users, the people who pay the taxes, are once again being ignored. Harold F. Gilbert, Chairman, Better Roads Coalition Do we really want another tax? To the Editor: This letter is in response to reports about a planned $100 million Durham Region health care tax. Canadians are already burdened by two taxes they shouldn't have to pay: income tax and the GST. The income tax was sup- posed to be temporary, to be eliminated after World War I, and Jean Chretien was supposed to abolish the GST. Due to a $100 million download in progress by the Ontario and Federal gov- ernment, Durham Region citizens are about to be hit by another one of those so- called temporary taxes. This, to pay for something they paid for already through their incomes taxes - a health care tax. Generations of Canadians have been told that health care is a combined federal and provincial responsibility. However, these two levels of government, with large budgets surpluses and pockets full of money, are now abdicating their responsi- bility to the citizens of the Durham Region. They are standing idly by while the Durham Regional Council is about to impose a "temporary" health care tax upon the already overtaxed citizens of the Durham Region. This tax will take the shape of a 10 per cent increase of property taxes for a period of five years. All this because the federal and provincial government refuse to pay their fair share (if you believe the Lakeridge Health Corp.) of a $409.5 million hospital expansion and modernization program. For the Durham Region taxpayer it is difficult to assess how much of that expan- sion is necessary, and how much is frill and empire building. However, didn't the con- stituents of the Durham Region elect MPPs and MPs to advise and protect them in cases of this type of tax grab? Strange in that deafening silence of not hearing anything now from these represen- tatives of the people. Shouldn't they step forward instead and acknowledge their government's health care responsibility? They should advise their government to either pay up needed health care costs or refuse to deal with a region that is trying to get all the money it wants by hook or by crook when it is unable to get it from the appropriate levels of government. It is time for Durham Region taxpayers to take note of their say-nothing, do-noth- ing MPPs and MPs who seem to have for- gotten their taxed-to-the-limit con- stituents. They should also keep an eye on the Durham Regional Council to see which councillors will vote "yes" for this tax increase. All these politicians should experience the displeasure of the Durham Region vot- ers at the ballot box. Evert Vroegh, Hampton Making changes that matter Straight Talk by ALEX SHEPHERD DURHAM M.P. It was an honour for me to receive a call from the Prime Minister this summer ask- ing me if I would accept the position of Parliamentary Secretary of the Treasury Board. Treasury Board may be unknownsto many but it is the comptroller of govem- ment and oversees the financial transac- tions from the point of budget prepara- tion (this would run the gambit from esti- mates to the final analysis of how the money was spent). In order to get the running of govern- ment right it is necessary to get close to what people expect of their government. And, more impontafitly, how government and people can interact. To accomplish this Treasury Board is also charged with what is known as Government-On-Line (GOL). For those of you who filed your tax retumn over the Intemet you have got a sampling of how 'we are trying to make interaction with government more seamless. This is an exciting development with many different dimensions. People will be able to directly interact with all departments using their comput- ers to get the answers to questions they want. They can perform research, down- load forms, get advice on how to fill them out properly, use departmental libraries, have access to personnel who are experts in their fields. Of course, government cannot do this at the expense of people who just want to sit down and speak to someone about a problem with CPP, El, taxes or bureaucratic red tape. The civil ser- vice cannot be faceless or nameless and must always be accountable to the people. For GOL to work the whole culture of the civil service must change. The con- cept of silos, that is, individual depart- ments of government being fiefdoms of their own is being dismantled to allow communication to occur horizontally. Another component to GOL is encour- aging Canadians from all regions to speak to each other. The problems of regionalization, becoming more evident everyday, are creating misunderstandings between Canadians. Just look at Alberta's premier Ralph Klein. He supports Stockwell Day because Day wants to weaken the powers of the federal government and give those powers to the premiers. To me that's just a recipe for more regionalization, the establishment of a puppet government in Ottawa and the rapid demolition of a great country that Canadians in all walks of life and all regions of Canada, spent the last 130 years trying to build. Initiatives like GOL provide a platform where Canadians can bridge regional dif- ferences and understand why differences exist. Wouldn't this knowledge go a long way toward unifying Canadians? With your help we can create a more responsive administrative system reflect- ing the views of all Canadians, in all cor- ners of the country. This is how we can strengthen the bonds which unite us as a nation. I will be proud to represent you as the Parliamentary Secretary to Treasury Board. Staying in Touch JOHN R. O'TOOLE 050 SNL 29S PANY I DVANN § Last Sunday, | attended the National Truckers Association meeting in Oshawa. Truckers, farmers, commuters and indeed every one of us are affected by fuel prices. Eventually, this will affect the cause inflation, which could slow down the economy. In 1995, crude was approx- imately $15 per barrel, but today an international problem has been created by the price of crude moving over $35 per barrel. Ontario has frozen the tax on gasoline since 1994 at 14.7 cents per litre while the federal government tax is 10 cents per litre plus the 7 per cent GST on the entire purchase (a tax on a tax). Our government has committed to arrange a meeting with all the stakeholders, which includes the petroleum industry, the federal govern- ment, industry and consumers. Stay tuned because as winter approaches, this issue will heat up. This past week was very busy as | was asked to be part of the Rural Economic Task Force. This involved traveling to a number of provinces and other jurisdic- tions to witness first hand the actions that have proved successful in maintaining rural communities. The key factors of success appear to be regional cooperation, bottom-up ini- tiatives as opposed to government dri- ven, top-down programs, involvement with local universities or colleges as a consumer price index and potentially Gas prices an issue to watch resource and adding value to local products before they are simply shipped to market elsewhere. One example was a popcorn manufac- turing process adjacent to a corn pro- ducing operation, another was a cheese manufacturing next to a dairy operation. The main concern was keeping our young people close to their home com- munities. Presently, there are several consulta- tion papers that have been issues look- ing for public input. These include: a Personal Health Information Privacy: Your personal information, for example your health information contained in computerized patient files, must be pro- tected. a The Motor Vehicle Dealers Act: This will enhance consumer protection and involve consumer complaints. a The Real Estate and Business Brokers Act: This includes a section deal- ing with potentially fraudulent informa- tion and the use of e-commerce transac- tions. a The Travel Industry Act: The propos- al includes protection for consumers in the event of bankruptcy, fraud or forgery and also requires more comprehensive disclosure by agents. a The Employment Standards Act: This document attempts to balance tra- ditional employment practices with the changing nature of work especially in the new economy. These consultation papers are avail- able on our web site (www.ccr.gov.on.ca) or you can call my office at (905) 697- 1501/1-800-661-2433. If you or your group wish to arrange a briefing and discussion on these or another provincial government topic, please call my office.