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stux vflekenqer slun 3 199 p3 durham- york candidates respond to the people the tribune asked a cross- section of the community to ask the candidates the question of most concern to them as voters here are the questions and responses 1 what is your position on benefits for same sex cou ples and adop tion for same sex couples john vankeffel 2 what initia tives would you like to see for youth in this riding to help keep them off the streets tyler currington 3 what is your party going to do about rising tuition costs is there any realistic way to cut costs without cutting funds to colleges and universities megan houston 4 is your party going to work to reduce taxes to seniors making less than 20000 per year bui nailer 5 how will pro posed cuts in gov ernment spending affect education especially junior kindergarten and french immersion and extra curricu- lar programs in our local schools janls bombaci 6 how would you propose to balance the budget while maintaining the already dimin ished availability of health care services don jackson 7 how do you think you are going to pay for public services like health and educa tion when we cant even afford textbooks in all the classrooms angela cumbers vince artymko fcp artymko 1 the fcp recognizes marriage as the union between a man and a woman and will never condone spousal benefits and adoption rights for homosexual couples spousal benefits originally implement ed to help families where one parent usu ally the mother stayed home to raise the children are in recognition of the impor tance of this work and its value to society in adoption the priority must always be the welfare of the child who has the inalienable right to be raised by two par ents a mother and a father even though this is not always possible in a homosex ual relationship there is no legal bond between the two people and a separation would mean equal responsibility for and right to custody of the child with no regards for the natural parents homosex ual activists are using this ruling as a pub licity stunt 2 this will only be resolved when par ents regain parental control over their children teach them to respect other peo ple and their property and accept respon sibility for their actions there are many recreational and cultural opportunities for children and teens in this area and they and their parents should be encouraged to participate but i dont think we can afford further expenses for another ice- pad or pool the fcp will not try to resolve a problem by throwing money at it 3 the fcp has no official policy on funding or costs for higher education but it is obvious that the student pays only a small percentage of the cost and the rest is paid by the taxpayers perhaps college and university students should be required to pay more towards their own education after all they will earn a high er than average income after graduation 4 the fcp policy is based on honesty and integrity and it would be iiresponsi- ble of me to say that the fcp could reduce taxes within a definite timeframe the fcp is not only concerned for senior taxpayers earning less than 20000 per year but we know that many families are also trying to survive support children and work towards the future on this much or much less 5 can we afford junior kindergarten is it an educational expense or is it mere ly a publiclyfunded babysitting service in an area that is predominantly english speaking even though we arc in an offi cially bilingual province should we be spending so much public money to edu cate children entirely in french the fcp offers parents the parents choice vouch er system they will have full control over the education of their children 6 the fcp will work to reduce the deficit by 20 per cent per year for five yeais reducing it to zero we will then legislate a balanced budget meaning that governments will not be allowed to spend beyond their income health care is one of our major expenses and one most sub ject to fraud the fcp will require that everyone be issued an annual statement of ohip charges such charges to be ver ified by the patient and costs in excess of 100 and up to 4000 will be reported as a taxable benefit 7 the fcp will cut government spend ing by eliminating much of the bureau cracy we are overgoverned with four levels of government federal provincial regional and municipal the most impor tant of these is the municipal because it relates directly to the people the fcp will review the need for regional govern ment with a view to eliminating it we will eliminate the iwa immediately review the advocacy act and the consent to treatment act and reduce the budgets for all government agencies boards and commissions by 10 per cent for the first year with a view to eliminating as many as possible unnecessary medical proce dures will not be funded by ohip among these would be surgical sex changes fertility treatments invitro fer tilizations fertility sterilizations and abortions none of these procedures cure or treat serious medical condition david marquis liberal marquis 1 a liberal government will not intro duce any legislation pertaining to benefits for same sex couples it has been a highly charged emotional debate and further debate would not be productive our liberal leader is on record of not supporting adoption right for same sex couples the priorities of the next govern ment should be jobs and balancing the budget 2 a liberal government is committed to providing hope for ontarios youth we will introduce a youth opportunities strag- egy that will help 15- to 24yearolds get education training and jobs we will also expand the cooperative education and apprenticeship programs the best way to keep youth off the streets is to get them a job a liberal government will provide the climate for job creation and economic growth to provide youth with job oppor tunities 3 we are the only party to commit to stable predictable funding at current lev els to our schools tuition fee increases for college and university students will be held in line with the rate of inflation any savings achieved within the system will be retained by the institution the con servatives want to deregulate universities and colleges creating an american style system of education the conservatives have also stated that they would take 400 million away from colleges and uni versities as a father of three i do not welcome the thought of having to pay any more than i have to for my childrens edu cation 4 a liberal government will cut taxes by a modest five per cent not an unachievable 30 per cent as the conserv atives promise the liberal party is against user fees for health care which is a tax on the sick and seniors a liberal government will restore coverage for out- ofcountry emergency health care ser vices to previous levels in adherence to the canada health act ontario liberals also reject user fees for the ontario drug benefit plan in a speech to the ontario hospital association in october 1993 mike harris stated that he supports user fees for the ontario drug benefit plan 5 ontario liberals are committed to high quality education with standards that can be measured and reported we will spend less on educational administration and more on classroom learning reduce the number of trustees and cap their salaries we are the only party to commit to sta ble predictable funding at current levels to our schools all school boards will be able to maintain all the services they cur rently provide our cuts are targeted for waste in the system 6 ontario liberals will balance the budget by making program reductions creating leaner government welfare reform and cuts to political spending these cuts are all detailed on page 76 of the liberal action plan we are the only party to commit to stable and predictable funding at current levels for four years in order to preserve health care the conser vatives who pledged not to raise taxes and yet they will intorduce a mike harris health tax that will gouge already over taxed middle class ontarians see page 7 of the conservative platform 7 ontario liberals are the only party to commit to stable and predictable funding for health care education and municipal ities any savings achieved will remain with our funding partners and not clawed back as the conservatives propose our system rewards initiative for creating effi ciencies and productivity mike harris penalizes those who create efficiencies i do not believe the conservatives when they promise to cut taxes 30 per cent bal ance the budget and not harm education or health care no jurisdiction in north america has been able to balance the budget with a 30 per cent tax cut julia munro pc munro 1 the pc party voted against the same sex legislation last year we are opposed to changing the definition of family but we are prepared to address the benefits issue in a broader context the adoption court case was a narrow decision which included a biological parent the para mount factor is to consider the best inter ests of the child 2 the initiatives begun by mayor wayne emmerson judy scala and sue sherban demonstrate the willingness of people within the community to make a difference for our youth the work of the various volunteer organizations has to be appreciated and if elected i will maintain my support for these endeavors 3 tuition costs reflect a number of fac tors over which the provincial government has little or no control such as the federal budget cuts for that reason our platform is to provide income contingent loans to ensure that students have the power to choose their postsecondary school educa tion we believe young people in ontario should never be denied the opportunity for higher education just because they cant afford the tuition 4 the federal government sets the income tax rates the provincial income tax rate reduction of 15 per cent in the first year and 75 per cent in the second and third years will benefit everyone giving them the equivalent of a 13 per cent pay increase with this extra money to save spend or invest in our communities we can have real jobs and real economic growth 5 classroom education is a priority for our party we will not reduce the level of spending for classroom education a mike harris government will make junior kindergarten a local option and will end the practice of mandating new provincial programs with out providing adequate funding to cover implementation costs 6 health care is a priority for a mike harris government we will make cuts to government spending in nonpriority areas to allow us to balance the budget within five years to do this means cutting only 11 cents of each dollar the govern ment spends 7 the common sense revolution was designed to allow a mike harris govern ment to protect health care classroom education and law enforcement the deficit elimination plan takes into account the protection of these three areas funding for these priority areas will remain at current levels however every effort will be made to spend it more effi ciently larry oconnor ndp 1 1 supported bill 167 this is a matter for the legislators not the courts 2 1 want to continue working with local groups to improve recreational programs for youth the very successful brock youth group programs in beaverton cannington and sunderland are a fine example of this i want to continue creat ing more jobs and training opportunities through programs like jobsontario and jump start through a number of pro grams we have worked hard to help keep farm families farming and to help create jobs for young people in rural communi ties 3 1 am committed to affordable higher education and this is a high priority col leges and university have to live within their means but cuts are not required mike harris promises mean a 20 per cent cut in funding in this sector 4 our government has already removed 270000 low income earners many of whom are seniors from the tax rolls action speaks louder than words and our direction is clear 5 under an ndp government junior kindergarten and french immersion are not threatened under a mike harris gov ernment the former would be obliterated and the latter would not be safe from cuts extra auricular programs will continue to rely heavily on local fundraising efforts 6 our government is on track to bal ance the provincial operating budget in 97 to 98 this docs not require cutting health care in fact as parliamentary assis tant to the minister of health ive been able to help improve treatment for people with cancer bring in new health and home care for seniors and a new program to help families with unamanagcable drug costs 7 our government is handling much of the problem through the expenditure con trol program which is set at 2 billion per year bob rae and i have one clear com mitment in this election we oppose the mike harris plan for usstyle health care there will be no twotier medicare ontario will not have one kind of health care for the rich and something less for everyone else oconnor campaign 95